One of the Buzz

2012-01-24T23:24:00.002-05:00

I came up with several ideas for the hearts. I asked on facebook to see what people thought of the hairpin idea or maybe making a bracelet. Some didn't think the size eliminated the possiblity of earrings. I also played around with more thread sizes to see how they turned out. The simplest option was the largest size thread I had (size 3 crochet cotton) as a pendant and the 20 crochet cotton ones as earrings:
Simple but effective, I think. I like the set, but if I can do simple, the next step is always going overboard. I used a couple more of the size 20 crochet cotton hearts and one made out of size 10 together with swarovski crystals, chain, and some eyepins to make a necklace.

I really like this. I think tomorrow I'm going to make a bunch of the size 20 hearts and try a bracelet and see what the pattern looks like in size 80 tatting thread. I also need to take some better pictures if the sun decides to peek out so I can get these babies listed on etsy! I'm feeling amazingly motivated lately. Let's see how long it lasts.

Best Laid Plans

2012-01-24T12:25:00.003-05:00

I was thinking about making some jewelry for Valentine's Day to add to my shop and I remembered that I had created a small heart pattern several years ago. I've previously made the pattern with fairly small thread and used the little motifs on cards and scrapbook pages. The pattern is in my journal but I never attatched a sample and I hadn't worked it up in years. I thought I would be smart and make the hearts with size 20 crochet cotton so they would be a little bigger and dangle them either directly from earwires or attatch a headpin with some beads in between. Seems like a great plan, right?

Then I worked two little hearts up. I discovered that in that size thread, they're roughly the size of a quarter. Drat! My brain couldn't really work out how to make plan A work, so it's back to the drawing board. I'm not sure whether to tack them to some felt and make hairpins or clips or just work up a whole bunch and figure out an edging to connect them and make a bracelet. I guess we'll just see how motivated I am in the end. Here's a sneak peek of the "little" guys with the threads still trailing and terrible lighting.

Busy Little Listing Bee

2012-01-19T16:50:00.006-05:00

Back at the end of November, I spent a good three weeks tatting my fingers to the bone and acquiring endless paper cuts working on cards to get ready to a craft fair I wanted to attend. Most of the work I wanted to accomplish done, I went to turn in my application and pay my fee, only to be told they'd been full for two weeks. Frailty, thy name is procrastination. The end result of this, is that I now have lots of work to photograph and list. Procrastination got in the way again. But I finally wrestled that evil little devil to the ground and pinned him down long enough to get a little etsy work done. One pair of earrings sold within twenty-four hours! Here are a few of the other little items I've listed this week:

White Filligree Drop Earrings

Live Charmed Earrings

Ring Around the Daisy Pendant

Peachy Keen Pendant

There are a few more items in my shop that aren't listed here, so take a sec and go check it out! More to come soon.

Keeping Track

2012-01-10T13:56:00.004-05:00

I know what you're all thinking: How can someone so scatterbrained that she can't keep up with a simple blog manage to keep track of all her tatting patterns and ideas?

Well, I'd love to say that it's because my outward disorganization is just a mask to hide my inner-genius, but I can't. The truth is, it's all about the tatting journal. Whatever craft you do, particularly if it's something you as a business, it's important to find a way to stay organized. Here's a quick look into my tatting journal.

I chose this journal in the bookstore because the circular design on the front made me thing of a doily for some strange reason. It's easily identifiable from all the other journals I have.

I try to work up a sample of most patterns I like and want to be able to repeat and glue them into my journal. I make notes about the pattern on the same page. Sometimes I'll take a day and just make some rough sketches of ideas that popped into my head.

I also glue in pictures that inspire me whether it's ideas for packaging or pattern inspiration. I loved the idea of the hairpins all little leaf cutouts so I pasted it in here for future reference.

As you can see from these pages, sometimes I don't work up a sample to glue in but simply make a rough sketch of the pattern. I've found that just writing a pattern isn't enough. I like to have a visual for reference. I need to be able to remember details like the length needed for picots, etc. Most of my samples are worked in pearl cotton or crochet cotton to increase the size of the pattern.

And that's how my poor little over-stuffed brain keeps up with all this stuff. It's the secret to being able to repeat earring patterns in multiple colors and sizes. If perchance you can read and understand my chicken scratch notes, please keep in mind that these are my personal patterns developed to be sold as finished products through my shop. If you wish to recreate them for your own use, you may but do not sell the finished products without my permission. Thank you for your consideration.

A New Year's Poem

2011-12-31T16:34:00.003-05:00

I must admit that this poem started when I was thinking more about doing the church newsletter for this month rather than paying attention to church a few weeks ago. Yes, paying more attention in church is one of my resolutions this year. Anyway, I'm typing up the newsletter now and decided to share this with the couple people who might actually still be reading this sadly neglected blog.

Ready for my Resolutions:
by Keena Lindsay

I'm keeping to my resolutions
I'm brimming with hope for the year
So far, it's been really easy
And I'm sure I have nothing to fear

I haven't failed in my diet
Or fallen behind on my bills
I'm keeping on top of the housework
No dust on my window sills

I'm not saying anything nasty
Not one rumor has passed through my lips
I'm being kind to all children and animals
And leaving big whopping tips!

This year, I'm going to make it
I'm positive it will be so.
It's five whole minutes past midnight!
Just five hundred twenty-five thousand, five hundred and ninety-five to go!

And there you have it. The reason no one is paying me to be a writer lol. Sigh, back to the newsletter. Everyone keep your fingers crossed that I figure out why the computer has decided not to ready the memory card from my camera and fix it so that I can include pictures from the Christmas cantata ;)

A Little Something That's Been Bothering Me . . .

2011-04-09T18:37:00.006-05:00

The hubby and I finally invested in a Netflix subscription and I'm happily rewatching my way through the first season of Glee. I was struck again by something that bothers me. I'm really glad to have a popular show aimed at teens with a disabled character. It gives a sense of empowerment. However, why does it seem that all the storylines revolving around Artie seem aimed at making us feel sorry for him? It feels like being given a pat on the back with one hand and smacked in the face with the other.

I have lived my life coping with a disability. I won't lie and say that I've totally come to terms with what I've lost physically and what I still have left to lose, but I don't spend all my time moping about it either. You can't. If you spend all your life handing out invitations to your pity party, you'll feel even more isolated than you need to. I've had my fair share of breakdowns and moments of self pity. I remember one time when my long-suffering college roommate walked it and found me staring at my books on the top shelf where she had placed them in a cleaning fit. I couldn't reach them and didn't know what I was going to do so I just stood there and cried about it. It's funny now, but it felt like a very low moment then.

If the entertainment industry is going to try and give disabled teens a role model, they need to work a little harder at it. Perhaps that wasn't the intention with the character, but if you think you can put someone on screen that fits into such an obvious niche, you're a fool to think they won't be looked to for inspiration. It's hard enough to accept the life and limitations that God has given you sometimes. Do I wish that I was born "normal"? Yes. If I were given a chance at a miracle cure tomorrow would I take it? Probably not. My road hasn't been easy or smooth and probably won't be as long as those around me, but it's made me who I am today.

So my advice to the writers of Glee: Artie needs to suck it up and stop whining so much. Oh, and please find him a wheelchair his legs aren't miles too long for. That is all.

New-ish Work

2011-03-15T11:48:00.006-05:00

I've posted pictures of these on facebook and I'm finally ready to talk more in depth about these little guys.

I keep a notepad beside the bed for a good reason. Many nights, as I'm falling asleep, an image will pop into my mind. Something new to try and make when my brain and fingers are awake. I always try to jot these ideas down. Lots of times, I wake up in the morning and find that my notes make no sense to me or my brilliant idea isn't going to work for one reason or another, but sometimes it actually becomes something great.

My first attempts to make this butterfly pattern work resulted in the usual pile of twisted discarded thread. The basic idea was sound, though, and eventually I made a wing. I held a mirror up next to it to see just where to join the second half and finished the first one. I loved the way it looked, but it was turning on itself rather violently so I had to block it aggressively.

Pinned out you can see the butterfly starting to take shape. I left it on the blocking board until it dried and then added a layer of stiffener to make sure it maintained that shape and voila! A butterfly:

I made a two for a special order and they turned out beautifully. One had a body made of split rings stitched down the center and I attatched a cameo to the center of another.

This pattern is an excellent lesson in the importance of blocking. I don't have any pictures of the butterfly before I blocked it because it really did just look like a twisted mess. The first one is going to get pasted into my tatting journal so I won't forget this pattern. Hopefully, there will be a few in my shop soon :)

New Earring Designs

2011-02-27T13:04:00.006-05:00

I know, I know, I've been neglecting my blog again. I can't help it. Writing patterns up in my tatting journal, filling orders, facebook, there are just too many distractions these days. But here I am to show off some new earring designs. So, while I've been off neglecting the handful of people actually interesting in reading about my life and projects, this is what I've been doing:

Shamrock Earrings

Bell Earrings

Captured Rain Earrings

Those are the new patterns I've added to my repertoire. Enjoy and take a moment to see some of the one of a kind items also in my shop.

Grumble, grumble, pattern, grumble

2011-02-06T22:06:00.002-05:00

All right, I would just like to state for the record that the fact you can't copy from Word, Works, or Notepad and paste into Blogger is frickin stupid, annoying and useless!

Okay, got that off my chest. I'll feel a little better still after pouting and complaining about it for the next week and a half, but what can you do? So, because I love this pattern so much and want to share the love, I'm going to type this pattern out again. Now please go to my shop and buy something so I can tell that you all love me for doing this ;)

Old is New Again Shawl(ette)

I made my shawl with lace weight yarn and an F hook. Pretty sure it would work with other yarns/hook sizes and plan to experiment to that end myself. I'm not giving a gauge because, frankly, I'm too lazy to go measure it on the finished shawl or work up a swatch. Play around with it until you get something you like.

This pattern is an adapted version of shawl 7b in Beehive Knitting Booklets No. 9, A Practical Guide to Knitting and Crochet c. 1915. It has been tweaked to no longer be a full circle and written more simply.

Special Stitches:

Dc cluster: yo, pull up a loop in st indicated, yo, pull through first two loops, yo, draw up a loop in same st, yo, pull through first two loops, yo, and pull through all loops on hook. Counts as one st.

Beg dc cluster: ch 2, dc in same st. Counts as one st.

Ch 4, join with sl st to form ring.

Row 1: Ch 4 (counts as first dc and ch 1 now and throughout) (dc, ch 1) five times in ring, dc in ring. 7 dc with ch-1 spaces between.

Row 2: Ch 4, (dc, ch 1, dc, ch 1) in each ch-1 space across, dc in last st.

Row 3: Beg dc cluster, ch 1, * dc in next ch-1 space, ch 1, (dc cluster, ch 1) twice in next ch-1 space, ch 1. Repeat from * across, dc cluster in last st.

Row 4: Beg dc cluster, ch 1 *(dc in next ch-1 space, ch 1) twice, (dc cluster, ch 1) twice in next space. Repeat from * across, dc cluster in last st.

Repeat in this manner with one additional dc being worked between clusters in each row until there are 22 dc between clusteres. Begin edging.

Row 1: Beg dc cluster, ch 1, *skip next ch-1 space, [(dc, ch 1) twice in next space, skip next ch-1 space] twice, (dc cluster, ch 1) twice in next space. Repeat from * across, dc cluster in last st.

Row 2: Beg dc cluster, ch 1, *skip next ch-1 space, (dc, ch 1) in next two spaces, (dc, ch 1) four times in next space, (dc, ch 1) in next two spaces, skip next space, (dc cluster, ch 1) twice in next space. Repeat from * acrooss, dc cluster in last st.

Row 3: Beg dc cluster, ch 1, * skip next two ch-1 spaces, (dc, ch 1) in next two spaces, (dc, ch 1) four times in next space, (dc, ch 1) in next two spaces, skip next two spaces, (dc cluster, ch 1) twice in next space. Repeat from * across, dc cluster in last st.

Row 4: Beg dc cluster, ch 1, *skip next two ch-1 spaces, (dc, ch 1) in next two spaces, (dc, ch 1) six times in next space, (dc, ch 1) in next two spaces, skip next two spaces, (dc cluster, ch 1) twice in next space. Repeat from * across, dc cluster in last st.

rows 5-7: Beg dc cluster, ch 1, *skip next two ch-1 spaces, (dc, ch 1) in next three spaces, (dc, ch 1) four times in next space, (dc, ch 1) in next three spaces, skip next two spaces, (dc cluster, ch 1) twice in next space. Repeat from * acrosss, dc cluster in last st.

Row 8: Beg dc cluster, ch 1, * skip next two ch-1 spaces, (dc, ch 1) in next three spaces, (dc, ch 1) six times in next space, (dc, ch 1) in next three spaces, skip next two spaces, (dc cluster, ch 1) twice in next space. Repeat from * across, dc cluster in last st.

Rows 9-12: Beg dc cluster, ch 1 *skip next two ch-1 spaces, (dc, ch 1) in next four spaces, (dc, ch 1) four times in next space, (dc, ch 1) in next four spaces, skip next two spaces, (dc cluster, ch 1) twice in next space. Repeat from * across, dc cluster in last st.

Finish off, or continue in this manner for desired length. I did a row of beg dc clusters along the bottom to add little scallops before I finished off. Weave in ends and enjoy!

Happy stitching!

A better look

2011-02-06T21:46:00.004-05:00

Ta-da! Finally good pictures! And it's even listed on etsy, I was productive today :) Rolling River Shawlette

I'll post the pattern as soon as I can figure out how to copy it from Works and post it here. It's not letting me for some reason and after taking half an hour to type it out in the first place, I really don't want to have to start all over again.

From the depths of time

2011-02-05T20:33:00.003-05:00

I'm not scared of lace. Not at all. I mean, I tat, right?

Okay, I'm a little scared of lace. I can knit and crochet lace stitches like there's no tomorrow, as long as it's with nice safe worsted weight. My knitted lace never looks like the pictures and my thread crochet always buckles and ripples on me.

I've had some lovely lace weight yarn in my stash for ages. Every once in a while, I pull it out, fondle it, try a few stitches, cock my head from side to side, decide it looks like crap, pull it out and stuff it back in my stash again. Yeah, I'm a little scared of lace.

I finally decided to suck it up. It's time to work my way through my stash and put some new things in my shop. I just had to figure out what to do with the yarn. Lots and lots of false starts later, I landed on the perfect thing.

I knew from the start, I wanted it to be a shawl. Knitting seemed to be out of the question until I can learn more about patience and probably try blocking some of my swatches. (There, I admitted it, I don't tend to block things unless I absolutely have to.) I searched through all the books I've downloaded from antiquepatternlibrary.org and finally found something that looked simple enough to play with.

It was a circular shawl and I don't really like having to fold a great big circle over to drape it around my shoulders. I worked several rounds of the pattern as written until I figured out where to basically cut out a piece of the shawl pie. I did the foundation as written, and the edging as written, adding a few additional rows until it felt like the perfect length. And Ta-da!

I just love the way this turned out! The picture is awful, but I had to take it in my bathroom because it was raining all day yesterday. Better pictures coming soon and probably my version of the pattern. Stay tuned for that.

I'm working on another one in a solid color yarn that will be bigger. This first one is the perfect size for keeping the chill off your shoulders, but I want to see if I can make a larger one that will look as good. We shall see.

My Own Little Time Machine

2010-11-22T15:41:00.002-05:00

I sent out a plea to everyone I know who knits or crochets for scrap yarn for my afghan project. How's that going, you ask? Well, I'm still working at it. NaNoWriMo is taking a lot of my focus away along with all sorts of various other tasks and distractions, but I'm still plodding along. The reason I bring it up is that my wonderful aunt sent me a box full of yarn and a few other surprises. The best surprise was one of my grandmother's cookbooks.

I'm not talking about my grandmother's copy of The Joy of Cooking or any other sort of published tome. This cookbook is essentially a scrapbook. It's full of scraps of paper, recipe cards, and even typing paper wedged, glued, and hole-punched in place. It's simply amazing. The book is more than just a collection of recipes, it is a scrapbook. It is a glimpse into my grandmother's life.

It helps that my grandmother was a librarian. Being a librarian, or in my case raised by librarians, gives one an overwhelming urge to cite every source, it seems. Noted with almost every recipe whether typed, handwritten, photocopied, or clipped from a newspaper is a little notation of where it came from. It's a time capsule.

There's one recipe hand-written by one my grandmother's students from her time teaching fourth grade. There's a basic bread recipe and numerous variations on it from when my grandmother learned to bake bread during "WWII (the big one)." A handful of recipes are from my great-grandmother, who I never got a chance to know. Just being able to look at all these scraps of paper covered in my grandmother's handwriting is rewarding.

I think one of the absolute best things is that I can now share recipes with my husband that I grew up eating. There are tons of recipes I remember loving, and even more I can't wait to try. If I'm really lucky, going based on the ingredients underlined in the dozen or so spaghetti sauce recipes in the book, I may be able to cook up something close to the amazing spaghetti sauce that neither my mother nor grandmother got a chance to teach me to make.

A Cord, a Cord, My Kingdom for a Cord!

2010-10-24T19:30:00.004-05:00

Over the past month and a half or so I have been having a standoff with my laptop about power issues. I have come to a simple conclusion. The laptop hates me. Laptop cords hate me even more.

Because I am a very impatient person, I wanted a fast laptop. Because I am dreadfully addicted to World of Warcraft, I wanted a gaming computer. I have a lovely ASUS laptop. It has a huge display to show me all the pretty little pixels WoW has to offer. It's almost fast enough to please me. I'm sure that the computer actually fast enough to please me has yet to be invented.

There is a very big downfall to having a laptop with a large display and powerful video card: it eats power. After about six months of having a wonderful relationship with this powerful machine, disaster struck. The light on the power pack of the cord gave a sad little flicker and went out. I was running on battery.

The little card that displays the information about the computer at the electronics store we purchased it from (let's call them Preeminent Purchase) said that the computer had 3 hours of battery power. After some tears and a few nasty words aimed at the cord, I took a deep breath and realized that I has three hours to use the computer and find a solution. The first thing I looked at when I turned the computer on was the battery power indicator. My dreams slipped away as it proclaimed I have 1 hour of battery life. 1/3 of the amount I was promised by smiling salespeople at Preeminent Purchase. A fresh wave of tears and I shoved the laptop at the confused hubby and sent him out to Preeminent Purchase to see what they have to say about it.

Guess what they said. "Your cord is dead." Thanks, guys. I feel so much better knowing that I'm not just stupid. "Well, we can give you this $100 'universal' cord if you can find your receipt." Back home the hubby races to find the receipt.

Guess what happens next. No receipt. This laptop is a replacement to one we bought about a year and a half ago. We paid the difference between the gift card they gave us to refund the purchase price of the other one that died while still under warranty. We have the receipt for the original laptop and the packaging for the gift card. Did we save the receipt for the amount paid for the price difference? No. Can't they just look it up? No. We paid with cash from Christmas. Great.

The hubby searches on line and finds a suitable replacement. It says it will work with our model of laptop and it's only $10! We laugh in the face of Preeminent Purchase and their $100 cord. Thank you, electronics gods for bestowing this bounty on us.

The cord arrives and there is much rejoicing! Yay!

After about two weeks, the cord begins to have issues. It will still slowly refill the battery, but cannot supply power to the laptop during operation. This displeases me as it brings an end to my ability to play WoW on this computer. The hubby does some research.

Of course the new cord died. It's only a 90 watt cord. This powerful, energy eating machine requires 150 watts to satiate it. So . . . another cord is ordered. Almost $40 this time. With the hubby out of work, waiting on a class action suit before he can even get unemployment benefits (long story and I thought this one was rather short when I began, so we'll save that for another time) and us therefore surviving on my disability payments and etsy sales, this is bad for our lack of budget.

That was about a month ago. The new new cord, just a few minutes ago decided it hates me too. It will not cooperate and run this beast of a machine. I am displeased to say the least. Oh, I should also mention that the $100 "universal" cord that Preeminent Purchase wanted to sell us, as it is the only cord they carry, is also only 90 watts. Very glad that at least we didn't waste our money on that.

I'd like to tell you the moral of the story, but I don't know what it is yet. If anyone has any ideas, I'd love to hear them.

Listing Adjustments

2010-09-28T10:45:00.003-05:00

I realized a few days ago that there are people in the etsy world who don't seem to understand that we're all just self-employed crafters. I had an order come in for one of my patterns around 8:00 at night. I saw it in my email box, but due to the hour, decided to sent it off in the morning as it was time for me to get off the computer and start winding down so I could get a decent amount of sleep for once. I awoke in the morning to an email from the customer with a timestamp of 1:30 am asking when she would recieve the pattern. It was not, by any meaning an angry or irritated email. Still, it annoyed me. Maybe because I'm not a pleasant person first thing in the morning, I don't know.

Don't get me wrong, I'm always glad for a sale. I love all my customers. It's just, I'm not a mindless computer. It isn't, click this button, I'll take your money and you can immediately download your file. I think I was also annoyed because this forced me to realize that I had to go into every listing for a pattern in my shop and add to the last line so it now reads "PDF will be emailed to you within 24 hours after payment is recieved." Thankfully, there are only nine pattern listings at the moment.

Enough of my complaining. It's a little thing, but it got under my skin, and now it's over. I've also gone into several other listings and changed them so that any piece I make when ordered will now say that.

Other than dealing with this, I've been working on orders and making cards, which I still have to photograph and list, if the sun will even peek out again. I've also been trying to tat some new ornaments, but nothing seems to be working out right. I have a large stack of twisted threads and nothing finished to show for it. If I really worked the amount of false-starts into the time it takes to create a piece when I price it, I'm underselling myself by a lot more than I already know I am.

I am also, of course, still working on creating a mountain of squares for afghans. There are lots of other little projects drifting around in the back of my brain begging to be started, but there's just not enough time to do any of them and no money to get supplies. On the horizon, I'm planning to get some fiber reactive dyes and start dying some of my own tatting threads. But that's probably a long way off. I'm dding my best to keep on top of things, but it looks like I won't be finished with everything I'm already working on until the new year. Sigh, by then I'm sure there will be a new mountain of projects to climb.

I wouldn't have it any other way.

Good Karma and My Favorite Holiday

2010-09-09T14:02:00.003-05:00

Last night, I got proof that good things come back to you in the end. This is what happened. While we were unpacking and organizing craft supplies among other things, we donated a lot of things to Goodwill. See, I'm not a hoarder, I can part with things. Many things that we donated were old inventory from the last time I was doing craft fairs several years ago. Rather than have to deal with taking new pictures and listing them in my shop, only to have them not sell because they were based on styles from several years ago, I donated them. I left the tags on because they had care instructions. I didn't even think about the fact that my old website address was on the tags. Last night I got a convo on etsy from a woman who bought two hats and, not finding my old defunct website, looked me up through google and found my etsy shop. She wanted to know if I would be interested in making something else for her. So, in giving away a lot of inventory, I got new business!

I feel I may be a little late to the game getting my Halloween stuff up on etsy, but yesterday, I made a dozen Halloween cards because I felt inspired. I wish I had more Halloween stamps, but the spiderweb edging punches I bought on clearance were definitely a good investment. In fact, I didn't even use the one Halloween stamp I had because I was having so much fun with the punches. I've now added a Holiday Kards section to the shop. It's all Halloween cards right now, but as soon as I get some made, Christmas cards will be keeping them company.

My Big Project

2010-09-05T23:24:00.003-05:00

Yes, I have been a bad girl. I have neglected my shop. I have neglected my blog. However, it's all been for a good cause.

About two years ago, I started a shawl ministry at my church. It began as crochet lessons for most of the other ladies at church, but they all dropped out one by one. I continued on doing shawls, baby blankets, afghans, etc when they were asked for. Since that time, our church has joined with another to form a new church, and I'm still the one-woman shawl ministry. I'm not complaining about being alone in this effort. It doesn't really bother me. The shawl ministry project was something that God laid on my heart to do and I never really expected a big turn out.

Each Christmas, our church takes care packages to a local nursing home. The first year after starting the ministry, I found an easy slipper pattern to work up. It involved crocheting rectangles and then doing a little simple stitching to form the slippers. I crocheted rectangles for the required number of slippers and the ladies helped me stitch them together. Last year, they made knotted edge fleece blankets.

I decided last Christmas that this year, I would make afghans for the residents. So in January, after unpacking some of my scrap yarn, I set to work. I started crocheting granny squares. I thought that the afghans needed something else though, so I started knitting mitered squares as well. I did this in my spare time with my scrap yarn for a while. Then it hit me. I haven't done the exact math, but I have a general idea that I will need over 2,000 squares to make the required number of blankets. Since figuring this out, I've taken the project into overdrive. I worked through all the scrap yarn I'd started with, I searched and unpacked more, I was given scraps from a woman in my needlepoint class and asked my etsy fiber team and my friends. Well, there's a bin full of yarn to be worked through and another bin full of squares, but lots more to do. I have finished the first afghan, all stitched together:

I like the way it turned out. I'm hoping and praying that some of the ladies at church will help me stitch squares together to make the rest of the afghans. I'm going to have to go out and get more black yarn soon to keep edging them as I've run through all the black I had and bought for the project already.

So that is why I have been so absent and neglectful. After Christmas, I should be back to being productive at other things.

Hopefully.

Different World Views

2010-08-02T19:47:00.002-05:00

The hubby and I are sitting here watching tv when that stupid commercial comes on with the guy talking about how he loves all the best things in life but also likes saving money. What is that commercial for anyway? I never remember, therefore, it's completely ineffective. But I digress.

So my hubby watches it for the tenth or so time and starts going on about having a problem with the set-up. Hiss problem is that the slender gorgeous woman hands the guy a tray that has a remote balancing on a stack of gold bricks. He's not sure he could even pick up all those gold bricks, much less this skinny little woman balancing them in one hand.

While he's going on about this, I'm watching the commercial for the twentieth time or so and as it draws to a close, all I'm thinking is: "I want a tiny little giraffe!"

New and Exciting!

2010-07-27T09:45:00.004-05:00

Finally took some pictures of the totes I made over the weekend and got them listed in my shop.

Rainbow Waves and Shells Tote

Shoreline Waves and Shells Tote

I also managed to list a crocheted business card pouch. I finally found a use for the little 1.5 oz hank of wool I dyed a few years ago as a demo at Michael's. They've discontinued two of the colors of Kool-Aid I used for it. I'd been saving it until I came up with thee perfect project since I loved it so much and could never recreate it. There was enough to make two business card pouches (one for me and one for the shop) and still enough left over for a felted flower or something else small. Want to know what it looks like? Well check out the one on my shop!

Also added a whole new section to my card shop! Friend Kards feature friendship quotes and some tatted flowers.

My hubby takes pretty good pictures. I might just have to get him to keep doing it from now on ;)

Happy Birthday ADA

2010-07-26T15:10:00.002-05:00

I remember twenty years ago when my mother called me to come sit down so she could talk to me. She explained that something wonderful had happened. The Americans with Disabilities Act had passed. That meant that no one could deny me a job because I was disabled. It meant that public buildings would be accessible to me even when a few steps became a problem. It meant that I belonged to a group of people who would no longer be treated as second class citizens or a nuisance to the general public. It was more than just more handicapped parking spaces. It was change.

I'm not saying that the ADA is perfect. There is no way to mandate compassion. So while it may be illegal to discriminate against me because I can't walk up the stairs, it doesn't mean that people don't still roll their eyes at me for being slow. It doesn't mean that people stopped parking in handicapped spaces because they're "only going to be a minute" or even that fines for parking in such spaces are more readily enforced. It simply means that we are people and we deserve to be treated as such.

So today, I thank all the people who drafted the ADA, all the people who supported it. Everyone who made what my mother had always dreamed for me a reality.

Is It Fall Yet?

2010-07-25T16:03:00.002-05:00

I am officially over summer. It's hot. It's sticky. It's buggy. I can't stand to go outside long enough to take pictures of new items to list in my shop. It would mean leaving my air conditioned sanctuary. Actually, the air conditioner is having some trouble battling the heat sneaking under the door.

I'm tired of heat. I'm tired of it being so bright I can barely open my eyes. I'm just tired. Heat makes me tired.

So really, can it be fall now? I'm ready to move on to a more hospitable season.

My Husband Thinks He's Funny

2010-07-16T16:20:00.002-05:00

Yesterday we were driving behind a car with a plastic kiddie pool balanced on the roof. There were two passengers in the backseat, each with one arm out the window holding the pool so that it didn't fly off. My response was to say something about the fact that this is the south and I don't see how there's anyone living in this area of the country that doesn't at least know someone who knows someone who owns a truck. Why not get a friend or a friend of a friend with a truck to bring the pool to your house instead of making idiots of yourself?

My husband responds with a perfectly straight face "They're just trying to get in the car pool lane."

Sigh.

Random Musing

2010-07-15T21:15:00.001-05:00

Perhaps you should wait until the lead paint advisory and removal notice is taken down before you put up your apartment available sign again. Just a thought.

In the works

2010-07-13T17:48:00.002-05:00

I know, I know, I fell off the radar again. Well, lots of projects going at the same time don't tend to leave me much time for blogging. So, what am I up to you ask? Lots of things!

I have a green and brown scarf on my needles at the moment. Pictures will come when it's all done and ready to list. I'm also working a shawl with my pineapple shawl pattern in a laceweight virgin wool yarn I picked up in a thrift store a while back. This is in addition to the Queen Anne's Lace doily I'm still working on, the needlepoint homework I'm not quite keeping up with, being driven mad by a handful of fruit flies, and continuing a little story writing on the side.

See, I'm not ignoring my blog, I'm just a little busy. As usual. Stupid crafting ADD. One day, I'll only have one project going at a time.

It could happen! Stop laughing at my pathetic attempt to control my wandering mind!

Ok, I need to stop lying to myself. I'll never stop trying to learn new crafts, I'll never stop reading two or three books at the same time, and I'll never have just one project. That reminds me, I really should get started on Halloween costumes soon. Maybe I'll be able to get a sewing machine set up and working soon and even get a little money set aside to buy fabric. Here's hoping!

Summer's Colorful Snowfall

2010-07-05T11:05:00.005-05:00

I named the pendant pattern I created a few days ago Neige because it looked like a snowflake. Well, there's a sprinkling of more snow around here!

Neige Soleil Pendant

Admittedly, that's where my memory of French classes gave out and I didn't feel like looking up translations, so . . .

Neige Tropical Punch Pendant

Those are the only two I've listed so far, but there are two and a half more and I've still got lots of interesting thread colors! I need to write this pattern down soon so that I don't forget it. That means I have to figure out where my tatting journal has disappeared to. Why do things always run off and hide when I need them?

Playing with new techniques

2010-07-03T13:56:00.004-05:00

I checked out a new tatting book from the library the other day and started playing with some new techniques. I always seem to find that things I think are going to be difficult never turn out to be in the end. After some frustration and confusion, I finally mastered the Dora Young knot, in spite of watching a YouTube video that had it completely wrong. One of these days, I might have to do some of my own videos, but that's a project for another time. Anyway, after playing with using the Dora Young knot to cover some small plastic rings I had lying around, I ended up creating this stunning new pendant:

Neige Noir Pendant

It still boggles my mind that I covered that ring using the shuttle when the shuttle can't fit through the tiny little ring! If I hadn't done it myself, I wouldn't believe it was possible. I still almost don't. I see many more pendants with that pattern in my future.

Between continuous thread technique, the Dora Young knot, and split rings, I worked the whole thing without breaking the yarn until after the very last chain. I'm sure that for any readers I have that don't tat, this is all sounding like a lot of nonsense. To you, I'll just say, look at the pretty pendant, and don't worry about it.

Comments

2010-07-03T09:50:00.002-05:00

Okay, just to let everyone know, yesterday I changed the settings for my blog. I now have to review all the comments before they post. I was tired of the random links being posted to strange sites that have nothing to do with me, my blog, or my interests. I'll do my best to check in and review comments as often as possible. Thank you for your understanding.

Etsy Love

2010-07-02T10:50:00.011-05:00

I don't just sell on etsy, I buy and trade as well. Today seemed like an excellent day to share a little etsy love and pass on info about some great sellers and products.

Normally, for some reason, I seem to have a neon sign over my head only visible to all the biting nasties in the summer air proclaiming "All You Can Eat!" But this year, I've kept them at bay with some wonderful handmade soap from my friend SmileyMoo

Bugs Be Gone Soap

This soap smells great to me, but not to the little buzzy guys. It's a great way to shut down the buffet and feel clean and fresh. No more spray on repellent for me! And as a bonus, Smiley also has the best lip balm I've ever used!

When I finished a prayer shawl for a good friend, I decided I wanted a nice shawl pin to go with it. OutNumberedNovelties has so many beautiful wooden pieces in their shop, they were the first ones I asked. I was not disappointed in the least! Through a series of convos, we collaborated on exactly what the finished product would look. (I'm not going to share the pictures of the one I got, because I still haven't sent it or the shawl off and I'd like a little surprise left) Much like me, making one just wasn't enough for Out, so there are more in their shop, each one totally unique.

Wooden Shawl Pin and Ring

One of the favorite things in my jewelry box is a pair of earrings that belonged to my grandmother. They are a pair of little gold wire birds' nest with tiny pearl "eggs" inside. I have loved them ever since I was little, but I never wore them. They always seemed too casual to wear any time I might wear a string of pearls and I just didn't have any other necklace to wear with them. I found the solution in the fantastic shop of thecuriouscupcake.

Cupcake and I traded the pendant for a pair of tatted earrings. This little baby may be all mine, but there are similar ones left and loads of other cute items!

So what are you still doing reading my blog? Go shop and find yourself some great items, too!

I also want to note that all the pictures above are from the individual sellers and I only borrowed them to show you all some of the amazing things out there ;)

Why Michael's Is Out to Drive Me Crazy

2010-06-27T10:57:00.012-05:00

I finished tatting the most amazing choker the other day, by far my favorite yet. I needed ribbon clamps to finish it off and, of course, didn't have any on hand. If all were the way I wanted it to be, I'd just put in an order to Fire Mountain Gems for them, but this plan had two flaws. 1) I'm far too impatient to wait for shipping when I'm so close to being done and 2) we didn't really have the money for me to put in an order because Wal-Mart screwed up the hubby's paycheck (but that's another rant for another time). So off we trek to Michael's where I've always gotten my ribbon clamps in the past.

I stare at all the findings for a few minutes. Where are the ribbon clamps? I must have missed them in this massive wall of head pins, eye pins, clasps of all sorts, cell phone charm ends, and, what the heck? wine bottle stoppers and badge clips? Really? Badge clips? Whatever. As long as I find the ribbon clamps, I don't care what other pointless stupid supplies they have. But, alas, there are no ribbon clamps. No, I scream in my head, that can't be! They're here somewhere! I mean, there are badge clips for crying out loud! Deep breath. Okay, new plan. Get all the other things I need and then order the ribbon clamps from Fire Mountain Gems when I get the money together.

After ten more minutes of comparing and contrasting the beads available with the imaginary ones I had my heart set on, I grab what I'm willing to settle on and make one last desperate search for the ribbon clamps. Nope, they didn't magically appear while I was debating the merits of various beads. Dammit! Okay, I'll just get this other stuff and . . . wait, what's wrong with me? Why am I willing to give any of my money to this chain that doesn't have the one thing I really need? Okay, plan C, shove everything back on the first hook I can reach and leave the store.

That's pretty much how it happened. I pouted all the way home because I wasn't going to be able to finish and list this awesome piece. Then the miracle happened.

I found a pouch I'd been using for projects around Christmas and had abandoned when I'd gotten something better suited as a gift. I opened the pouch to pull out the handful of vintage buttons I knew were stashed away there, hoping to distract myself with a totally new project. A little glint at the bottom of the bag caught my eye. I reached for the small package and, would you believe it, RIBBON CLAMPS! I found some I didn't even know I had! So here we go:

Vampire's Kiss Tatted Velvet Choker

Evening Sky Tatted Velvet Choker

So there they are, new totally new choker and the one I've been working on off and on for a good long while. All finished and listed :)

Busy Saturday

2010-06-19T13:32:00.005-05:00

I believe I've accomplished a lot this afternoon so far. I finished and listed a new pair of tatted earrings:

Jayne Hat Earrings

I made two treasuries: Cunning, Don't You Think? inspired by the earrings and Not Another Necktie in honor of the Father's Day gift cliche.

And I added some more to the Queen Anne's Lace Doily:

Now it's time to type up some of the story idea that's been banging around my brain for about a week! So much for Saturday being a lazy day, lol.

I Live!

2010-06-18T08:56:00.003-05:00

Once again, I have been neglecting my poor blog. It seems that I just end up leaping from project to project without giving myself a break. I've honestly been avoiding the computer a little lately as well. I'm trying to break myself of bad habits like sitting playing silly facebook app games all day long.

I'm been doing a LOT of tatting lately. My tatting calluses have calluses and my fingers are beginning to get a little achey. I've finally learned at least one method of making split rings with the shuttle and spent some time experimenting with that. So far, I haven't come up with anything great, but I'm still working with on it.

We've been driving around listening to audiobooks a lot. One of the best things about this is that it's wildflower season. I've been staring out the window at butterfly weed, tigerlilies, and queen anne's lace (my favorite) for hours and found a little inspiration.

I've been working on a Queen Anne's Lace doily. It's been trial and error so there's a pile of twisted, discarded false starts at least as big as the doily so far. I'll post more pictures as it continues to take shape.

Settling In

2010-02-08T12:00:00.002-05:00

I am officially tired of boxes. I'm also a little tired of the fact that we don't seem to be doing anything about them. I love my hubby, but sometimes he just doesn't see the same point that I do. He wants to put off getting the storage units I want for the craft room and getting that room organized. He wants to tackle the boxes in the bedroom closet first.

That's all well and good, but he's not the one desperate to have a sewing machine up and working. The one who feels an overwhelming urge to make some cards. The one who wants to know what's in her yarn stash so she can organize and purge.

I don't think he realizes that the longer we put this off, the more I'm going to want to keep because I'll have more and more ideas for what to do with it!

Being stuck in the apartment for a week because of the snow piled on the sidewalk didn't help either. I'm feeling stir crazy. More than that, I'm feeling creatively antsy. I need something to do. I can't even add to the box of completed granny squares for a shawl ministry project, because I've run out of accessible worsted weight yarn. I'm starting to feel like I'm losing my mind!

I have a really awesome idea for a messenger bag. If I ever get a sewing machine set up, that is.

How to Feel Settled

2010-01-11T22:26:00.002-05:00

I think I finally figured out why I don't feel settled in the apartment yet. It's not the huge stacks of boxes in the computer room. I've been working on the laptop in the living room, so I don't see them on a daily basis. It's not the boxes in the kitchen or the living room. There aren't many of them to bother me. It's not the little everyday things I keep realizing we don't have anymore like a vaccuum cleaner (because of the stupid storage room thieves) or a toilet brush (because we had one of those disposable ones and just haven't unpacked the handle or replaced the pads yet).

It's the kitchen. The dishes are unpacked. Most of the pots and pans and utensils are unpacked. We have the microwave, the tea kettle, our brand new coffee maker (thanks, Andy, awesome Christmas present, btw).

We don't have any sugar. We don't have chocolate chips or self-rising flour or yeast or anything I need for baking. Last night I was struck by a sudden need to bake something. Cookies or cupcakes or something sweet and I couldn't do it. Yes, I know, the last thing I need to do is bake up a batch of cookies or cupcakes when there are only two of us to eat them, but sometimes it's about making them rather than eating them. Not for long, but initially it is. We got some Bisquick at Sam's Club, so I can make some pancakes, but I can't make chocolate chip pancakes. And we only have a few bottles of spices. I want to bake some bread or something, but it's just such a pain to get everything together when you aren't starting with some of it in the cupboards.

So that's when I'll feel settled. When there's sugar in the cupboard.

Resolutions

2010-01-01T15:17:00.002-05:00

A few of my friends have been asking what everyone New Year's resolutions are. As for me, I have many resolutions because I can't narrow anything down in any part of my life. But here's my major resolution:

Not to tell the world what my resolutions are so that I don't have to own up to it when I inevitably fail.

There, now stop asking, everyone! :)

Good News, Bad News

2009-12-31T16:51:00.002-05:00

On the good news side, we're no longer living with the in-laws. On the bad news side, we're living with a bunch of boxes yet to be unpacked and a toilet with a slow leak.

Good news, we have digital cable and a DVR so there's lots to watch when I'm home alone all day. Bad news, we have digital cable and a DVR so there's lots to distract me from doing anything productive all day.

Good news, I woke up with a great writing idea. Bad news, that was four o'clock in the morning and I don't remember where I was going with it.

Good news, I have time to play World of Warcraft and level up some of my other characters finally. Bad news, my guild seems to be falling apart and it's not particularly appealing to be around while it happens.

I guess that's about all. I'm really glad that we've mostly settled into a place of our own for the new year. It's nice to have our own place, but I miss the cats. I need to stop watching Animal Planet during the day. Cats 101 makes me sad with the need for a small furry thing to cuddle. Next time we move, I want to go some place where I can have a kitty :)

Who's Conditioning Whom?

2009-12-08T15:52:00.004-05:00

For our anniversary, my hubby and I went to the Festival of Lights which seems to be our new tradition. This year I actually managed to convince him to pull off at the gift shop so I could look at all the crafts and we could maybe buy our ornament for this year. I managed to brave the crowd, in spite of my phobia, and look at all the wares ranging from crappy kitsch to glorious crafts.

As I looked at the various things, sometimes marvelling and other times thinking that I could make something ten times better, I looked at prices as a reflex. As someone who sells my crafts I guess it's a matter of "sizing up the competition" even when not in direct competition. There were a few people that I thought were charging too much. I admit that I'm not always drawn to "primitive" painting and crafts, but sometimes I like it. However, I'm never going to spend good money on a piece of bark that looks like it was painted by a kindergartner. As usual, there was no tatting but a lot of knit and crocheted items, most of them desperately underpriced knowing how many hours went into them.

I started to wonder about where this drive we seem to have to undercut ourselves as artists comes from. It seems to happen mostly with the fabric and fiber artists. The woodcarvers, potters, and such seem to know what they're worth and price accordingly. I got to thinking about why the fabric and fiber artists do this. I'm still not sure, but I have a few theories.

1: The usual "I have a friend/sibling/parent/grandparent/etc. who sews/crochets/knits and I'm going to get them to make me something like this" comments make us worry that if we don't price it to move, it won't. I am guilty of this one. I'm not saying that there aren't plenty of people who will get something similar to what you've made somewhere else for less money or a favor. I once had a woman stand not five feet away from me counting my stitches in a scarf I had for sale. If she'd asked, I would have gladly told her. Garter stitch isn't a personal trade secret. However, this annoyed me. Rather than buy a $10 (yes, grossly underpriced, I know) scarf or even talk to me about it, she just stood there trying to figure it out without acknowledging my work. I think this sort of attitude that you shouldn't expect people to pay you a decent wage for what most people consider a hobby is one of the reasons we undervalue ourselves.

2: Plenty of people want to blame Wal-Mart, K-Mart, Target, etc. for selling items that have the same look as handmade for what breaks down to less that a penny an hour. I don't think this is the real problem. Yes, there are people who look at what we've made and say to themselves (or callously aloud) "I could get this at Wal-Mart for three bucks." Ok. Go for it. If what you want is mass-produced junk, get it. Have a field day! You're not my target consumer. The person I'm looking for is the one who wants something unique. Something that took more time and thought to design and create.

3: We've conditioned our customers to undervalue us. Too many of us have thought of what we're doing as a hobby and maybe a way to make a little money on the side. The hobby sellers are the biggest threat. It's not the big chain stores because most people understand the difference between handmade and mass-produced and will buy accordingly. I think that the hobbyists have taught too many customers to expect prices based on wanting to be able to go out and get more yarn or fabric just to keep up a crafting habit. They're not looking for profit and they're not going to get it. I don't have too much of a problem with these types. I just wish they'd stick to ebay and leave things like etsy to the rest of us.

So that's what's been rattling around in my head since Friday. Each time I look at my new little Santa ornament, I have mixed feelings. I feel bad for the crafter knowing that he probably took at least 2 hours to make and I got him for under $5. I'm also proud of myself, because I got a bargain ;)

On a side note, while World of Warcraft was down today to institute a new patch, I finished a new tatting a new ornament. I have to stiffen this one because it isn't as tightly packed as I usually make things. Pictures to come later.

Warning: Impending Rant

2009-10-27T21:25:00.002-05:00

Wow, I am so lax about posting to this blog. Luckily tonight I'm just pissed off enough to have to write something. I just got a message on etsy that basically told me one of my chokers was overpriced. Way overpriced. Something about how they would be willing to pay up to $20 for my 30 some-odd hours of work, but $100 was out of their price range. Oh, and as if it were possible they threw in "no offense." Well, offense definitely taken. I understand that there aren't enough people out there who understand how delicate and time-consuming tatting is. This is I've started adding to the listing that the large pieces all day over 20 hours of work. This is a low-ball estimate for some pieces. I guess I just don't understand how you can basically tell me that my piece isn't worth the price I'm charging and expect me not to take offense. You expect me to take less than $1 per hour for skilled work and not be offended.

Ugh, I can't even respond to the message because I'm so angry it would be needlessly snippy.

Oh, and Eliza Dushku was nominated for a Scream award for best actress for Dollhouse when she is the one thing that makes that show nearly unwatchable. How can you play a character that's supposed to be able to change into whoever/whatever is called for when you play the same person in every episode and don't even do that very well. This has been a night of disappointments.

"Fame" Falls Short

2009-09-25T19:48:00.002-05:00

For months, I've been on pins and needles. Ever since I heard there were making an updated version of "Fame," I've been counting down the days until I could see it. Every time I saw an ad or trailer that made me doubt its merits, I'd see another that would renew my hope.

Anyone who was a theatre geek in high school, college, and beyond should understand what I mean. The original "Fame" was iconic. It was something that spoke to every young performer in one way or another. It was one of the first things we could look at and feel like someone got us. Someone understood that it was hard, that it was work to be a performer. It was the first thing I can remember seeing where the artistic people were normal. They weren't some over the top, ditzy, arty, weird for the sake of being weird freak like they always have been in movies and sitcoms. It was the kind of thing you should show your non-theatre friends to help them understand your world. The sort of thing you show to your overachieving History major roommate who doesn't think you work because you're not writing papers and spending 24/7 in the library.

Seeing that the film featured accomplished actors as the faculty gave me hope. I knew that it wouldn't be the movie I fell in love with so many years ago. I hoped it wouldn't be. As long as it held true to the essence, I would be happy.

I'm not happy. The movie fell far short of my expectations. I'm going to try to explain without giving "spoilers" because I hate people ruining movies for me whether they're good or bad.

It wasn't terrible. It could have been much worse. However, it could have been far better. The original showed blood, sweat and tears. It showed the work that goes into the crafts we practice and the love that drives us to make ourselves so vulnerable. I've seen it at least a dozen times and I cry every single time. I didn't cry this time. I didn't see the struggle, so I didn't feel the triumph. No one seemed to be sacrificing, no one seemed to be vulnerable, and everyone seemed to get a happy ending.

I wasn't looking for a rehashing. I wanted it to be different, but feel the same. I wanted to feel the same inspiration at the graduation scene. I didn't. The finale didn't have the power it needed. The whole thing felt rushed. There wasn't enough depth to the characters, which is sad in a movie that's all about finding depth to improve your performance.

Overall, it was a raging disappointment, but not a totally horrible film. I suppose there was no way to live up to my expectations, but I would have given points for effort.

Chasing Imaginary Beads

2009-09-04T09:50:00.002-05:00

It's a good idea to have a vague impression of the project I want to create. It's a bad idea to picture a totally finished piece in my head. I end up frustrated. I end up with a choker I can't finish because I don't have the perfect bead to put at the end of the extension chain.

I think I'm going to have to take the tatted and ribbon piece and drag my hubby to the bead store. Maybe a charm instead of a bead. . .

I also have a beautiful necklace in my head to go with the awesome Halloween dress in my head. Neither will turn out exactly how I'm picturing them. I've come to terms with that, but I'm still searching everwhere to find the perfect beads for the necklace and trim for the dress. I'm getting closer. I finally have some gorgeous cameos and settings for the necklace. Well, I have two sets of cameos and two kinds of settings. I think I'm going to use one of these cameos in one of these settings and save the other pieces for another project. The great thing is that I have extras! If the necklace turns out anywhere near as nice as it is in my head, I may have to make another and list it.

If I ever find those elusive beads, that is.

Oooooo, I Love Red Tag Fabric!

2009-08-20T15:33:00.004-05:00

Found the most beautiful brocade back in the red tag discount section of the fabric store. I'm going to make it part of the bustle of my Halloween dress. I'm not even thinking about historical acuracy, not enough time or money. I think I've almost figured out how to make this work. I'm going to take a basic pattern I already had (top C and skirt F) out of the light blue and then use the gold and the brocade to fashion the bustle as a separate piece so I can wear the dress again. Life would be so much easier if I had a dressmaker's dummy, but I should be able to make it work. It looks great in my head, at least.

The pattern for the dress I liked wasn't available in my size to begin with and then the store only had the smaller size. I bought the smaller size to give me some ideas of how to make this work, if nothing else. If anyone has suggestions to make this project easier, let me know. Hopefully there will be work in project pictures coming.

So Glad I Wasn't Alive in the 1880's

2009-08-19T18:24:00.003-05:00

I finally got Chris interested in an idea for Halloween costumes. If I'm going to make something decent, I have to start about a month ago. Unfortunately, the pattern he decided he likes is this. Not bad until you consider that puts me in the position of having to make myself something witha bustle. I've already got enough of a natural bustle, I shudder to think what I'm going to have to do now. I'm looking at this (the full length dress, not the saloon girl versions). It's the only thing I've seen that I think I can handle both in terms of construction and self confidence. Of course, the don't make that pattern big enough to fit me, so it will probably end up being a combination of that pattern and a couple plus size formal patterns I already have.

The good point is that I get to add some tatting into whatever I do! Period appropriate and all that good stuff :) I'll have to make myself a choker with some of the velvet ribbon. Sigh, as if I need one more project on my growing to-do list. The madness never ends.

Conversations with my Body

2009-08-11T11:37:00.002-05:00

I have found myself talking to myself more often these days. It's not a matter of going stir crazy anymore. I've begun to bargain with myself. I've always done this on some level. When your body begins to break down and betray you little by little, you start to see it as a foreign entity. You separate yourself from the traitor. My mind still works fairly well but my body doesn't seem to be working with the same operating system.

I remember back in high school having to go up or down a flight of stairs to get to every class. I used to charge up the first five or so and get progressively slower eventually mentally pleading with my sluggish limbs to carry me up the last two or three stairs so I wouldn't be late to class. It seemed like the end of the world looking up that flight of steps. Boy, those were the days.

Now I'm verbally pleading, begging, and threatening my body to get me up the four stairs at the front of the house so I can get inside where the temperature is more moderate, where the bathroom, bed, computer, etc are. It seems a million years ago that it wasn't really so bad until the sixth or seventh chair. Now my downfall is the third.

There was a time when I could get up from the ground. At least, I think there was. Now when I fall, I have to wait for Chris to get home and help me up or scoot on my behind to the bed and hope I can roll over onto my knees so I can sort of flop up and pull myself up with the sheets. Straightening from a sitting position is nearly impossible sometimes. It just feels like I'm losing the fight by inches.

I suppose this sounds like a pity party, but that's not my intention. I'm honestly just trying to preserve a piece of my current experience to look back on someday when I've lost a few more precious inches. I suppose the best way to explain is to say that there was a time when I could run, when I could sit on the floor and get back up again. I know there was, but I don't remember what it was like. I'm hoping that someday I can look back at this post and say to myself "Look, it's a struggle, but it's always been that way."

I may have a traitor for a body, but at least I'm fighting back, even if it's just verbal threats.

Work In Progress

2009-07-02T10:19:00.004-05:00

I'm still on the fence over whether or not I like tatting onto velvet ribbon. The result is attractive, but the ribbon likes to warp at the edges. I think the one thing I am sure of is that I have to do an edging on both sides to even it out. Anyway, here are some sneak peeks of my experiment:

The pictures aren't the best, but I was just trying to take a couple quick snapshots to share my progress. I tried something else a little different with this piece. The edging on both sides are variations of the same pattern. The rings are the same size with the same number of double stitches, but on one side, I put lots of picots to make it look frillier while the opposite side has just one center picot on the big rings with a bead to give it a more stream-lined look. Not entirely sure I'm in love with the way this plan is working either. The farther I get on it, though, the more I think I like it.

And, of course, I still have no idea what I'm going to name it when it's done.

You Know You're a Theatre Geek When . . .

2009-06-16T16:24:00.001-05:00

Someone says "Money, money" and suddenly Joel Grey and Liza Minnelli are doing a number in your head

Gotta Love the Internet!

2009-06-05T08:56:00.004-05:00

My best friend from childhood found me on Facebook and I feel like I've gotten a piece of my childhood and myself back. It's hard to explain what that means. I guess that when you've lost as many people as I have in my life, you start to feel like no one remembers who you were once upon a time. Does that make sense? Between moving around, changing schools, changing family situations, I don't have many ties to who I was when I was very young.

Besides, do you ever forget your first best friend? I don't think you do. That's a very strong bond. I'm so excited I think I might burst! It's nice to reconnect with someone you cared and still care about and to know that you haven't been forgotten either. You can tell I'm excited because I'm babbling even in print! Now I'm going to stop babbling and go work on productive things for church puppet team. Oh, and breakfast, there should be breakfast. Food is good.

Happy Birthday, Babydoll!

2009-05-28T22:35:00.004-05:00

We finished! Through the combined efforts of my in-laws, my usually working sewing machine, and myself, we finished my hubby's birthday present in time for his birthday today! Meet Hugh:

Chris has been saying for a while that he wanted a puppet of his own. He had an idea to have a newscaster who could do the between portions of the church puppet programs and even have a few skits of his own. We have a few skit ideas in mind, but nothing fleshed out yet.

Well, I grilled him for a little while to get an idea of exactly what he was thinking of and teamed up with my father-in-law who knows how to make puppets and leads the puppet team. The sewing was done by me, and he put it together.

Chris was thrilled with his present and Hugh was happy to have a life and purpose.

I Need More Hours In the Day! Someone Get On That Please!

2009-05-19T21:18:00.002-05:00

Today, I was very good. I did not allow World of Warcraft to steal my time away from me. Yes, it was patch day and the servers were down, but I didn't even know that. I was a very good girl. I didn't touch the computer until a few minutes ago. All day. No email, no shop, no WoW, nothing. I was productive.

I spent the morning tatting a special order Ninja Temptress choker and it's more than half done. I even spent an hour sitting out on the back porch soaking up a little sun. (Just a little, still sporting my normal pasty look.) Hubby and I went out to dinner and I continued tatting while he played WoW when we got home. See, I'm a good girl. Do I get a cookie?

Tomorrow, while I might not have quite as much self control, I'm hoping to finish the choker and maybe get a little more work done on hubby's birthday present. I have about a week to finish. I'd tell all about it, but with my luck, this would be the one time he'd actually read my blog and ruin everything. Don't worry, I'll tell all about it next week when it's finished and given to him. I'll take pictures, too.

So now the question is whether or not I can go to sleep tonight without hopping on WoW. . .

Intellectual Infringement

2009-04-08T12:34:00.002-05:00

I just found out that two cards were removed from my shop because the attorney for Dr. Seuss Enterprises objected to my use of a quote from Dr. Seuss. I had given credit for the quote, not claiming it to be my own. I'm more than a little annoyed by this. It's a quote I had heard before and found online on various quote compilation sites. Seriously, do you not have anything better to do with your time than hunt down things like this and complain? If I had not given credit to the author of the quote, I would understand. I guess I'm just frustrated by the idea that you can lay claim to everything someone said.

I was told by etsy that "The letter stated that these listing(s) incorporate designs or symbols or language or images or photographs that infringe upon the concerned party's copyright or other intellectual property right." So I can't use language that infringes upon another person's intellectual property. Well, as all my cards feature quotes by other people, I might as well just take the whole thing down! Heaven forbid I'm moved and inspired by something someone else said and want to incorporate it into what I do!

Being raised by a children's librarian, I had a great respect for Dr. Seuss and still do. However, I feel that his current representatives might not being operating in the spirit he seemed to embody. They let that horrendous Mike Myers movie mutilate The Cat in the Hat, but I can't put a quote on a $3 card? Are there any of us who didn't grow up with Dr. Seuss books? His work is so much a part of our culture that you see little things everywhere. The banter of Green Eggs and Ham has spawned more parodies than I can think of.

My rant is running out of steam because I'm just flabergasted and annoyed by this so much that I can't think straight. I'm not denying that there are copyrights and patents that are important, I just think this is an overreaction on the part of people with more money and power than I could ever dream of having.

Overwhelmed!

2009-03-31T09:07:00.005-05:00

I haven't blogged in a while because I'm up to my neck in projects. And people just keep giving me more. One of these days I have to learn to say "no" sometimes.

Like that will ever happen.

I'm crocheting egg cozies, a baby afghan, and working on tatting on a handkerchief. I also have to make an afghan, a hat, and work on puppet costumes. Between family and friend showers and events, church, and my shop I'm stretched pretty thin. I have to try to accomplish most of this by Easter.

The egg cozies are crocheted so tightly, they're making my wrists hurt a little, so I have to take lots of breaks, but they're almost done!

During my breaks, I've made a few cards that aren't listed yet. I figured it was time to make some appropriate for Mother's Day.

I had to re-do part of the second one. I love my sweetie, but he's very unobservant sometimes. He put a plate with some grease on the bottom down on top of it. I had to replace the quote block. I guess it's my fault for not putting it somewhere more out of the way. But don't tell him I admitted to that ;)

And now I'm sitting here blogging when I should be working on one of these myriad projects. I don't know if I'm going to get all this done before I go insane. I sure hope so.

New Shop!

2009-03-23T09:08:00.002-05:00

My shop was feeling a little crowded and scattered, so I decided to move all my cards (including the new ones I made this weekend ;) to a brand new shop! I'm hoping to add some scrapbook pages and other things in later. For now, it's just cards. Come take a look and tell me what you think!

www.KeenasKards.etsy.com

Come and Vote!

2009-03-16T12:23:00.001-05:00

Well, the voting has been going on for a few days for the Spring Contest. I'm a little behind posting this, but I wanted to make sure I did ;)

Come see all the pretty spring items and vote for your favorites!

http://missknitsetsy.blogspot.com/

Let's Move Out!

2009-03-15T13:11:00.002-05:00

I finally added a clearance section to my shop. Things are getting a little crowded in my shop and my finished projects box at home, so it's time to move some things out. Drop in and see if anything strikes your fancy. Pendants at 50% off! Prices so low I must be crazy! ;P

Finished!

2009-03-12T15:19:00.003-05:00

I finally stopped being lazy, refilled my shuttle, and completed my latest choker:

Twilit Roses Choker

It's my first nod to my Twilight obsession. Yes, I admit it. I'm addicted to the Twilight saga. I read them all twice within a two week time frame and have listened to them multiple times on audio. I think they're filling the void that the last few Anita Blake books I've read have left. Don't get me wrong, the Anita books are still good, but it seems like we're losing a lot of the mystery and chase aspect and replacing it with power and sex. I still love Anita, but she's becoming someone different than the character I fell in love with ten years ago. Or maybe that's just me.

This choker might have turned out a little better, well at least a little more like it was in my head, if I'd been able to find a red apple charm. I couldn't find one easily, so I had to settle for a pewter apple instead. It still looks great, but it's not exactly my original vision. Of course, how many projects ever turn out the way it is in my head initially? If it ever happens, I'll let you know.

Ever Get the Feeling Everything Is Against You?

2009-03-12T10:11:00.002-05:00

Well, yesterday was exciting. Wait, let me wipe up that dripping sarcasm before I continue.

I spent the morning arguing with the printer about whether or not it was going to print my business cards correctly. I insisted it would, it kept saying it wouldn't. As usual, the stupid printer won. Luckily have some business cards in the mail which I ordered from KBdesignCo so I don't feel quite so bad.

After losing yet another battle with technology, I went back to working on my Twilight inspired choker modeled after my Rose By Any Other Name choker. About three inches from being done, I ran out of thread in my shuttle. As is the theme of my day, the thread was across the room and buried. I was so frustrated, I put it away for the day, so I wouldn't defenestrate it. (Vocabulary word of the day, kids ;) Go look it up if you're confused)

Good news is, I've got a decent start on a baby afghan using some newly purchased yarn to go with the leftovers from the one I finished about a week ago. Bad news is, I'm not entirely sure I like it. We shall have to wait and see how it all turns out.

Random Musing

2009-03-10T11:53:00.002-05:00

I think men, as a general rule, are better at making sound effect noises because, as little boys, there were constantly immitating explosions and gunfire.

Finally Listed

2009-03-10T11:30:00.002-05:00

The camera decided to be evil and uncooperative for a few days. For some reason, it took me five tries to get decent pictures of this choker:

Heart of Gold

At last, I got usable pictures and was able to list it in my shop. I love this choker! Hopefully someone else will love it, too!

Busy, Busy, Busy, Yet Again

2009-03-09T12:15:00.003-05:00

Finally finished the choker and listed it in my shop. I decided to go with organza ribbon ties. It's nice and long, a whole yard of ribbon, so that it can be cut, adjusted, etc as necessary by whoever buys it. Of course, now I have two more yards of organza ribbon in two other colors because I wasn't bright enough to remember to take the piece with me to the store to pick out the ribbon. Oh well, I'm sure I'll find a use for it eventually.

I have another choker waiting to get photographed and listed. It's actually been waiting around for a while for just the right opportunity to list it. So far, the pictures have all been disastrous, but I have high hopes I'll get some good ones today or tomorrow.

I loved the way the rose choker turned out so much, that I got an idea for another one. I'm going to use only crocheted roses this time because I like the three-dimensional effect. If I can get the cat distracted long enough to let me work on it, it should be finished soon. Unfortunately, one thing I really wanted to put into it, a red enamel apple charm, has turned out to be a lot harder to get my hands on that I would have thought. I think I'm just going to have to settle for the pewter apple charm I picked up just in case. Not quite what I had in mind, but it should work anyway.

So Now What?

2009-03-03T10:57:00.005-05:00

The crochet and tatting is done for the choker, at least the main part.

But now I have the problem of figuring out how to turn this great piece into a choker. I don't know if I should just add a lobster claw and a split ring chain like my Ninja Temptress choker. I'm also toying around with the idea of sewing ribbons, probably sheer to both ends to use as ties. Anyone have any suggestions? I'd really love to finish this within the next few days and I just can't seem to make a decision! Help, everyone out there in cyber land ;)

Snow and Roses

2009-03-02T11:15:00.007-05:00

It's a beautiful snowy day today. Well, it's beautiful as long as I don't actually have to go out in the snow so that it can turn to slush in my shoes. I made Chris go take pictures this morning so I could enjoy the snow from the comfort of my electric blanket.

Still trying to get the choker idea to work. There is now a large pile of mistakes and misstarts and bits of thread representing many failed attempts to make it look right. I think I've finally got it, though.

I'm going to have to use spare thread to figure out how to turn the corner and go back along the other side. I don't want to have to restart the whole thing. Hopefully I'll make some good progress today. I think it will only take a few more roses to get it to a good length. I love it when an experiment starts to come together well!

Why Don't Scientific Discoveries Happen When You Need Them?

2009-02-28T10:48:00.002-05:00

Too bad they didn't have this research done when I was in school! Maybe my Trig teacher would have realized I was paying attention after all! ;)

Keep Your Fingers Crossed

2009-02-28T10:22:00.005-05:00

I had a brilliant idea for a new necklace/choker, but I'm not entirely sure how to make it work yet. I'm hoping to combine some tiny crocheted roses like these:

and tatted roses like these: with a tatted edge. The trick is going to be making the tatted roses and crocheted roses as close to the same size as possible and then coming up with an edging pattern to connect them. Not to mention, keeping the cat out of my hair while I do it. If it works, I'll probably use it as my entry for the Spring Contest being held by MissKnits and sarahinflorida, which means I need to get to work! Still wonderine what colors I'm going to use, whether I should make the roses all the same color or vary them, use solid colors or varigated thread. Too many decisions, too little time!

Oh, and I'm featured on a fellow etsian's blog! Come check it out: ww.gemsbyjerri.blogspot.com

Okay, off to work on various roses, more info to come as this project develops ;)

Busy, busy, busy!

2009-02-27T13:18:00.003-05:00

Well, I finally managed to fight the new kitten off long enough to make a few quick projects. Cat toys, of course! I even managed to make a few extras that she hasn't claimed yet to list in my store.

I also finally got around to photographing and listing another baby afghan. Been a busy day or two. Now I just have to finish listing cat toys and go make some more.

And I still have to put the findings on another tatted choker and try to come up with earrings to go with it or something. No rest sometimes.

A Chicken in Every Pot. . .

2009-02-22T15:28:00.000-05:00

And a sweater for every chicken!

New Pretty!

2009-02-19T13:38:00.003-05:00

Finished the one with the beads first:

She Walks in Beauty Choker

Still working on the other flowering vine choker, but this took center stage for a while. Now I just have to figure out what to do with the rest of the star beads. Earrings, maybe?

It's Almost That Time Again

2009-02-18T11:19:00.002-05:00

Ash Wednesday is right around the corner and this year I've thought long and hard about what to give up for Lent. Last year, I gave up going to the movies. It wasn't nearly as bad as the year I gave up chocolate, or worse, the year I gave up chocolate AND coffee.

I had a hard time figuring out what was the right thing to give up this year. Finally I decided to give up fast food. I eat way too much of it and I know that it's not good for me. Hopefully, I'll get a little healthier and maybe even lose a little weight in the process ;)

I'm also hoping that after giving it up completely for 40 days, I might eventually be able to find a little balance and not eat so much fast food in the long run. Yeah, I know I'm not good at balance and moderation, but hope springs eternal, right?

Or Not

2009-02-17T13:48:00.005-05:00

I decided it didn't need anything after all.

Flowering Vine Choker

I started another flowering vine choker last night with a slight variation in the flowers. After a few repeats, it began to feel too monotonus to do essentially the same pattern twice in a row, so I also started another choker with beads. We'll see which I end up finishing first.

Seems to Need Something More . . .

2009-02-16T15:56:00.003-05:00

Someone suggested that I try to make a tatted choker with some bright spring colors. I've been experimenting with this traditional edging pattern and thought it might work. So now I have this happy line of spring flowers, almost to the length I want it, but it seems like it might need something else to make it a choker. I don't know if I should go back and do the same edging along the other side, whether back to back or trapping the flowers in the middle, or if it's fine and I'm just trying to make more work for myself. Opinions, anyone out there in cyberland?

The safety pin is placed at the last spot I measured it to save time and frustration ;) We took several pictures, but it's so delicate, this is the only one that turned out decently. I suppose I should just get it to the length I want before I worry too much about what else it needs. Good thing my amazing tatting callus is back!

What Do You Do?

2009-02-15T16:35:00.003-05:00

I know all of you out there are thinking how awful it must be to have your hubby working all day on Valentine's Day, leaving you alone to entertain yourself. What do you do when you're alone on V-Day? I'll tell you.

You watch your husband get ready to go to work and whine at him and make him feel bad about leaving you alone. (Well, you try to make him feel bad, but he's so annoyingly level-headed it doesn't work so you get mad at him instead.)

You sit in bed wondering what to do with yourself. You do this for a while.

You get up, get online and spend a few hours messing around, promoting your shop, blogging, etc. You get bored with this.

You put a chick flick your hubby doesn't like watching in the DVD player and gather supplies to make a silly sock creature out of Valentine's socks given to you for that purpose.

You get annoyed when you can't find the socks and fire off an angry text message to hubby at work accusing him of losing/hiding the socks.

You find the socks in plain sight and send an apologetic text message.

As you watch chick flick, you create a strange creature and then get annoyed with it when it won't tell you its name or story.

You give up on Valentine's Day altogether and do family stuff for the next few hours. When you get home again, you fall and twist your knee, thus ruining the next few days as well. You curse Valentine's Day and all who celebrate it and become bitter and cynical (well, more bitter and cynical).

The next day, you post about it in your blog and hope that makes you feel a little better.

It does ;)

Quoteables for Valentine's Day

2009-02-14T13:58:00.002-05:00

I love quotes! Here are a few of my favorite love quotes in honor of Valentine's Day:

"Where there is great love, there are always miracles." -Willa Cather

"Love doesn't make the world go round. Love is what makes the ride worthwhile. " -Franklin P. Jones

"If you have it [Love], you don't need to have anything else, and if you don't have it, it doesn't matter much what else you have. " -Sir James M. Barrie

"Love is a friendship set to music. " -E. Joseph Cossman

"When you are in Love you can't fall asleep because reality is better than your dreams." -Dr Seuss

Missing: Muse

2009-02-14T13:11:00.003-05:00

Alas! I have lost my creative spirit today! I can't seem to think of my next project.

So, I've added a poll! Help me design my next tatted choker. Maybe even more than one ;) Take a look at the chokers already in my shop to get an idea of what I can do. Or at least, what I'm talking about. Thanks in advance for the input and keep your eyes out for pics of my new projects, coming soon to a blog near you! (Well, this blog at least ;)

If the poll options are too limiting (it's harder to figure out what to ask than I thought it would be) just leave me a comment with your ideas. Inspire me!

Promotions! Promotions!

2009-02-13T14:31:00.003-05:00

It's time to start moving stuff out of my shop. There are too many things that have been sitting there for too long. So, here are my current promotional deals:

Free shipping on all baby afghans in the month of February.

And, this weekend only, buy any knit, crocheted, or tatted item and get the card of your choice for free! Just tell me the name/item number of the card you want in 'notes to seller' and I'll bundle it up with your item!

More promotions and specials coming soon. Help me make room for new inventory!

At Last! I'm Popular!

2009-02-10T19:08:00.002-05:00

Take that everyone who was snotty to me in high school!

Okay, I'm not Prom Queen popular or anything, but I did sell two copies of this pattern in one day! And I've sold two sets of Juggling Geese within a week. Makes me feel pretty good. Now, if only some bigger ticket items would become popular ;)

After working on tatting projects for about a week, my tatting calluses are finally starting to build up again and the thread isn't cutting into my fingers as much. I really need to stop letting the calluses soften and heal. It's a pain to build them back up, in more ways than one!

Busy Hands

2009-02-06T18:24:00.002-05:00

Two new tatted chokers in two days! It might have been three if I hadn't screwed up the spacing on the second one and had to redo the whole thing. Anyway, here's a peek:

Both are listed in my shop if you want to see more pics!

http://www.etsy.com/view_listing.php?listing_id=20732284

http://www.etsy.com/view_listing.php?listing_id=20732465

Random Musing

2009-02-06T16:16:00.001-05:00

I believe that daytime television reflects the decline of the intelligence of the average person.

Warning- Impending Rant

2009-02-04T10:15:00.002-05:00

I'm getting sick of people in the ad business. I'm sure it's a much harder job than all those of us sitting at home on our butts shouting "I could've come up with a better idea than that!" think it is. But, honestly, I'm tired of stupid ads, ads that don't truly reach their target audience, and ads that shoot themselves in the metaphorical foot. I have two main complaints about advertising at the moment.

1. Why are ads being aimed at me not written by people who understand me? Does anyone think that Always' current slogan "Have a happy period" was written by anyone other than a hopefully deluded man? I don't know a single woman who would consider having a "happy period." How often to you get an excuse to be bitchy to everyone? This doesn't mean that anyone of any gender should assume that a bitchy woman has reached "that time of the month." Keep those opinions to yourself, or we'll have to kill you. I just mean that all I do when I see those ads is grumble and scream at the TV rather than actually listening to the intent of the commercial. There are plenty of other commercials that fall into this category, but I can't think of them at the moment.

2. Why are all the personifications of bad things so darn cute? It started a few years ago with the absolutely huggable "Migraine" monster attacking people at restaurants and such. I took one look at that precious little thing supposedly causing all this misery and wondered "Why don't my migraines look like that? He's cute! I want a little one to cuddle!" Now it's adorable Heartburn, and the cutest of all "Hungry." My annoying Hungry is more like a rabid Cerberus and he doesn't ever offer me food, simply demands I go hunt and/or gather my own even if it means risking life and limb.

I guess, like many of us, I just sit at home and watch TV commercials (no, I didn't even watch the Super Bowl for commercials, I watched DVDs) and marvel at the fact that someone got paid for that idea, people competed to play those roles, and someone is going to make a ton of money from it in the end.

Back from the Blackhole

2009-02-03T11:53:00.003-05:00

Hooray! I found the camera! It was trapped in the multi-dimensional vortex that was the pile of crap on our coffee table. The chaos has been contained for the moment, but there's no telling what the future holds. . .

Anyway, now I finally have the infamous Jayne Hat picture on the computer, so here it is:

I think they turned out well! Of course, my pants are still coated in a fine layer of wool in various shades of yellow and orange. I can't seem to get rid of it all. Totally worth it though!

What Is Wrong With These People?!

2009-01-31T17:28:00.004-05:00

Last night I was watching one of my favorite zombie movies and began to get frustrated with the same thing that always bothers me when I watch a zombie movie. Why is it that no one in a zombie movie ever appears to have seen a zombie movie? Or heard of a zombie? I can understand a certain amount of shock and mental shut-down, but wouldn't there come a point when you say to yourself or hapless companions "Holy crap! They're zombies!" Shouldn't some sort of knowledge kick in? I mean, it seems to me that we live in an age where few, if any, reasonable adults have never heard of the concept of a zombie.

Thankfully, today we watched a zombie movie we rented. We rented The Slaughter thinking it would be terrible (amusingly so) based on the obvious poor production quality, lack of recognizable actors, etc. I have to say, I recommend it. If you can suffer through the bad acting/writing in the first half, it gets a lot better. There are some funny lines and situations in the second half. My favorite scene involved a zombie shuffling toward his intended victim while her cohorts discussed and debated where this particular zombie fit into zombie culture so they could figure out how to defeat it. Finally! At last I get to see someone doing something more along the lines of what I'd be doing faced with the walking dead.

I'd like to see more people who seem to have even the slightest idea of what they're facing. It's just so much more realistic. At least, as realistic as cinematic walking dead ever are. If the creature villians of the story were rabid squirrels, you wouldn't have a bunch of idiots standing around trying to figure out what these furry little creatures with fuzzy tails are! They'd know they were squirrels!

So let's think about this logically:

Does the person coming after you, whether shuffling or running, have a grey-ish dead tint to their skin?

Did your friend just let out a death rattle, go slack for a moment then open his/her eyes again to reveal a glazed look?

Is someone trying to eat your brain or any other part of your body?

If you answered yes to any of the above questions: ZOMBIE! SHOOT IT IN THE HEAD!

Any questions?

Pins and Needles

2009-01-27T12:25:00.003-05:00

My wrist is a little bit better. I still have a tendency to aggravate it when I forget about it. I've had to change the way I lean on my leg to stand up and the way I hold the railing to get up the front steps. Of course, with the cold weather, the stairs are already more difficult. I've decided not to try to leave and have to tackle the stairs more than once a day.

The good news is that I've found that needle tatting, at least small projects like my tatted flowers, doesn't hurt my wrist at all! Hooray! And I've finally organized my tatting threads so that I can actually find what I'm looking for and see what I have. I decided to offer a couple of specific color assortments of tatted flowers in my shop. It just feels kind of weird to make them without just using scrap thread. It's been a long time since that was the project I set out to work on straight from the balls of thread.

I've got a stack of fabrics for sewing projects sitting around. I should really do something about that. I'm just trying to wait until I'm sure I'm done making cards for a while since I'm using the same table the sewing machine lives on. I should really work on my apron. Since I've decided to offer a class in about a month on how to make the project that's currently only an idea in my head. I should stop doing that. It's going to catch up to me some day.

Far too much to do. Can someone add a few more hours to the day for me, please?

Hurried Photo Session = Lousy Pictures

2009-01-22T12:21:00.002-05:00

This shawl is so gorgeous, but the pictures just don't do it justice! I'll have to try again later. Maybe we'll be able to find our camera by then. I'm hoping it won't continue to hide until we move again or something. Retracing my steps hasn't helped. Looking where it should be and where it shouldn't be hasn't helped. Maybe it was stolen by Borrowers or something! Who knows.

Well, anyway, the shawl is listed. Right at the last minute since the team meeting to show it off is tonight! I'm such a slacker!

http://www.etsy.com/view_listing.php?listing_id=20064474

Old Wounds Heal Slowly

2009-01-17T12:28:00.002-05:00

As I've been knitting since I was very young and crocheting and tatting since I was fairly young, I expect a certain amount of carpal tunnel issues to ensue after a long stretch of doing any of these things. Usually, I slap a brace on whichever wrist is hurting at the moment, avoid doing any of the previously mentioned activities for a few days and then ease back in. It's not working this time.

After knitting four frog hats in two days to fill an order, I tried to take a vacation from fiber related pursuits for a few days. That was over a week ago. I didn't knit, crochet, or type for three days. I almost went crazy. My wrist still hurts. It starts to get better and then it gets worse again. I have things to work on, orders and obligations to fulfill. I don't have time for this! I know typing isn't helping much, but I avoided that for a while as well. I have to figure out what I'm doing wrong this time so that this won't happen again. I'm going to go insane from boredom if I can't work on anything productive!

I'm hoping that as long as I wear my support glove while I work on things the pain will at least stay the same. As long as it doesn't increase, I can continue to work. I'm just starting to get worried that my over-enthusiastic knitting may have lead to damage of a more permanent nature.

Doesn't matter. Doesn't change the fact that I have a choker to tat and an afghan to crochet. Guess I won't be pursuing a career in data entry, though.

Progress . . . sort of

2009-01-13T16:56:00.002-05:00

So, I managed to aggravate my chronic wrist pain through over enthusiastic knitting last week. I've put myself in a brace to keep from doing further damage. Of course, resting my wrist means no knitting, crocheting, or tatting. That doesn't leave me much to do. But I figured something out!

It had been a while since I'd done any cardmaking, but my Chrismas cards turned out so well that I decided to make some more. I've got a stack that I'm slowly listing. Of course, with the camera still AWOL, that means my only option is to scan them and this produces less than stunning results. Still, I've listed two cards for now:

http://www.etsy.com/view_listing.php?listing_id=19693718

http://www.etsy.com/view_listing.php?listing_id=19694235

I decided to start with lovey-dovey cards with Valentine's just around the corner. I love quotes, so I scoured the web for some to use to spice them up and give me a little inspiration. Okay, it wasn't exactly scouring, just a 45 minute search. I wish I still have my old quote list. I'd been collecting it for most of high school and a year or so of college, when my computer crashed and I lost it! I really should try to put something together again. It was so much fun collecting them. I did manage to track down a couple that I remembered from my list to make sure I got them just right for the cards.

Wow, typing with a wrist brace sucks. That's enough for now.

Resolved and Resolute

2009-01-09T11:21:00.003-05:00

I've never been one to make new year's resolutions. I know myself too well. I have a hard enough time giving something up for Lent, and that's only a few weeks. For some reason, I've decided to change this year. As it's January 9th, obviously one of my resolutions is not to give up procrastinating. I've got to hold on to a vice or two or I'll never make it.

Well, here goes nothing:

1. I'll do a better job of keeping in touch with people.

I'm so terrible about calling, emailing, etc to communicate with people I care about. I don't want to lose touch permanently with anyone I'm still in contact with. I've lost too many people in my life in permanent ways to let any more simply slip away.

2. I'm going to write something every day.

I used write almost constantly in school, sometimes when I was supposed to be doing something more productive. I haven't really spent much time writing since I finished college. I'm not sure I was ever very good, but it was something I enjoyed. Since all my crafting has become my job, I need some other sort of escape. Also, the knowledge that some of the monologues I wrote in high school for auditioning are still floating around in cyberspace, being read and presumably used is kind of inspiring. Someone actually contacted me out of the blue on Facebook asking if they were from a published play. Maybe I can come up with some sort of cohesive theme to make that play a reality.

3. I'm going to take better care of myself.

That's a pretty broad statement, but it boils down to a few specific things. I'm going to get set up with all the doctors I should be going to, not just the cardiologist. I'm going to take all my pills every day and not forget. I'm going to get up and move more. I'll walk sometimes when I don't think I can.

4. I'm going to finally change my last name.

My life for the past few years seems to have always been in flux. I need a feeling of permanence. It's time to finally fill out any and all tedious paperwork and finally legally have the name everyone already assumes I have.

I guess that's it for now. I could swear I had a few more in my head while I was thinking about this in the shower this morning. Oh well. I reserve the right to add to, subtract from, or otherwise amend this list without prior warning as necessary. Isn't chaning my mind my right as a woman? ;)

I'm an Idiot!

2009-01-08T20:53:00.004-05:00

I've lost my camera.

I didn't even get a chance to download my holiday pics and now I've lost track of the camera! That means I can't list anything new in my shop. Too bad it's not like my cell phone. Whenever I lose that, I just have to call myself ;) Yes, that's happened a lot.

I'm trying to decide who to blame for this one. The last person I remember having my camera was my hubby, so maybe it's his fault. However, I have a tendency to put things "in a safe place," so safe, not even I will ever find it to damage it. And I'm sick. So, the question is, who lost the camera? And why isn't there some sort of locator device on these things?!

I miss my camera :(

I Knew It Was Too Good To Be True . . .

2009-01-01T13:02:00.002-05:00

For the first time in over ten years, I didn't have a cold on Christmas! I truly can't remember my last non-snot-filled, sore-throated, tired, cranky, all-around-miserable Christmas.

Should have known it couldn't last long. My hubby had three whole days off this week and my body picks the day he goes back to work to feel dreadful and need to be taken care of! Ugh, I win the crown for Queen of Bad Timing yet again.

So much I should be doing and I just feel too yucky to accomplish any of it. I need to make a total of six frog hats to send out, two are totally done, two need flies, and one more is a little more than half-knit. I should really be trying to do something productive, but my brain just isn't working right today. Stupid cold germs. Maybe I'll get over this quickly.

Unlike every cold I've ever had :(

This Made Me Smile Today . . .

2008-12-08T12:55:00.001-05:00

This birdhouse is just too cute!

http://www.etsy.com/view_listing.php?listing_id=18042817

I had to share my smile with everyone :)

Baby, It's Cold Outside

2008-12-06T13:46:00.002-05:00

It's starting to feel a little bit like winter. Perfect time to work on scarves! I came up with a new pattern the other day and liked it so much I made it in four colors!

Shells and Scallops Scarves:
http://www.etsy.com/view_listing.php?listing_id=18298099
http://www.etsy.com/view_listing.php?listing_id=18298928
http://www.etsy.com/view_listing.php?listing_id=18299508
http://www.etsy.com/view_listing.php?listing_id=18299799

Then the leftover yarn inspired me to think in stripes again!
Chocolate Parfait Scarf:
http://www.etsy.com/view_listing.php?listing_id=18300226

I love the way all of these turned out. One of these days I'm actually going to have to make a scarf for myself rather than freeze. Talk about the cobbler's children going without shoes . . . Oh well, one of these days maybe I'll love something so much I won't be able to part with it ;)

More Promotion

2008-11-29T10:59:00.001-05:00

Free shipping on all of my knit and crocheted items through Monday.

Need to make some money to buy more audiobooks ;)

Whew!

2008-11-28T19:13:00.001-05:00

Just spent about 3 hours listing new items in my shop! 14 new tatted items including Christmas ornaments, pendants, and even a brooch! Take a sec and check it out!

Love for the Frogs!

2008-11-27T10:20:00.003-05:00

I've been selling Frogs and Flies hats almost as fast as I can knit them lately! I'm so happy that people are liking this quirky little design of mine. I had no idea there were as many frog lovers out there! Hooray!

Maybe I should start making some in other color combos . . .

Sale!

2008-11-10T14:28:00.001-05:00

Having a sale on pendants! Buy one tatted pendant, get one free! Just purchase any two pendants from my shop and I'll send you an adjusted invoice through Paypal! Help me make room for new stock.

http://www.etsy.com/search_results_shop.php?search_type=user_shop_ttt_id_5252351&search_query=pendants

New Pretties!

2008-11-07T14:16:00.002-05:00

I've spent the past few days sorting through a big assortment of vintage buttons I ordered from a fellow etsian. I got some really interesting pieces! So far, I've made three new pendants which I've photographed and listed and four Christmas ornaments which I haven't. Here are the listings for the new pendants:

http://www.etsy.com/view_listing.php?ref=sr_list_3&listing_id=17034969
http://www.etsy.com/view_listing.php?ref=sr_list_2&listing_id=17035747
http://www.etsy.com/view_listing.php?ref=sr_list_1&listing_id=17036202

Off to sort more buttons!

My new theory

2008-11-04T12:36:00.002-05:00

I was patrolling the etsy forums last night and ran across a thread that made me think. A woman was questioning why after she'd done all the work printing, embellishing, addressing, etc all her wedding invitations, her fiance took a nap rather than feeling lead to help her with the envelope stuffing. I was thinking about it this morning, and this is what I've figured out about why men don't feel the need to help out with things like this:

They figure it's a lot easier to get us to forgive them for not helping than for screwing it up.

They know that if they don't help, we'll be upset, but we'll move on eventually. If they mess up something for the wedding, they will be reminded of it on every anniversary until they die. Besides, they know they'll most likely do something that isn't up to our standards, get yelled at about it, and then we'll take on the task of doing it ourselves so that it's done properly. They're really just skipping a few steps in the process.

This is not a conscious decision by any means. Men do not realize that this is the thought process. They simply avoiding doing things that they might make mistakes at because we women have conditioned them that way. It's not that we aren't grateful when they help, it's just that they don't help "right" and we're tired of cleaning up the mess. What they don't understand is that, while deep down we may not really want their help because they will inevitably screw it up, we still want them to want to help. Maybe they do, but they just hide it very well.

So, ladies, next time you feel frustrated that your sweetie isn't lifting a finger, just remember that he's actually saving you the time you would have to spend chewing him out for getting it wrong. Be honest with yourself, you know he won't do it right. Save everyone the resentment and frustration. Thank him for not screwing it up by not trying and move on.

Happy Halloween!

2008-10-31T11:46:00.004-05:00

Sooo . . . . Not dressing up today. Nowhere to go to get dressed up for. :( But, went to a party last Saturday. We weren't sure if we were going at first, so the costume was kind of last minute. I'll improve on it before next year when we'll get to have a zombie movie marathon again! (Prom themed zombie party, it'll be great! 1st annual Prombie next year guys, be ready ;) Anyway, here I am as a zombie prom queen:

I didn't get a chance to destroy the dress and sash as much as I wanted to. I was too busy trying to make the sash in the first place and alter the dress to fit me. The make-up was also supposed to be a lot better, but I didn't have the best things to work with.

As I did my make-up, I had a real "You know you're a theatre geek when . . . " kind of moment.

You know you're a theatre geek when being forced by the state of the economy to go from Estee Lauder to Cover Girl in your every day make-up isn't as traumatizing as having to go from Ben Nye to Wal-Mart make-up for Halloween!

It was very sad. I wanted to have great big hole in my cheek made up to look like it went all the way to the bone, but cheap scar wax is terrible. It was so soft I couldn't get it to cooperate at all. I was very disappointed.

I still looked pretty good though. If I do say so myself. Not bad for a $15 dress that was three sizes too small ;)

Happy Halloween, everyone!

Goslings ready to fly . . .

2008-10-20T18:18:00.001-05:00

Hooray! Sold the first set of Juggling Geese! Relisted them because there's another set all finished. I'll have to get to work finishing the third set now. It's nice to stay a step ahead sometimes. Not that I manage to very often.

Happy Hooking

2008-10-18T14:45:00.004-05:00

I realized there's a distinct lack of crochet in my shop lately! Time to get out the hooks and get to work. So . . . . . .

New scarf!

And new hairclips! Off to work on more!

Hooray!

2008-10-14T20:14:00.002-05:00

I sold my first pattern today! I've had a few original patterns up in my shop for a while now and I finally sold one today! I was starting to doubt that it would happen. I'd dropped and raised the prices a few times. So excited! Can't wait to tell hubby when he gets home!

Winnifred Choker

2008-10-13T11:31:00.003-05:00

Her life was very ordinary. She looked after her house and family, went calling on friends, and did her various handiwork projects. But Winnifred carried a secret. While many of her friends wore a cameo or other token at their throat, Winnifred wore a small bottle with a few drops of water. It was her reminder of a long-ago summer filled with enchantment and the warmth of a family who had taken her in. She carried the drops of enchanted water to remind her of the importance of life and its twists, turns, and eventual end.

One of my favorite books as a child was Natalie Babbit's "Tuck Everlasting." If you have never read it, I highly recommend you do. It was the inspiration for this charming lace choker. After working with the little bottles for other projects, this one popped into my head begging to be made. I had no idea that the trickiest part would be finding the ribbon! Picot-edged ribbon seems to be a dying commodity around here. Perhaps it's going to go the way of coronation braid. I hope not! Anyway, there was no picot-edged ribbon at Hobby Lobby so I had to go allllll the way to Michael's in Greensboro to find some. (Don't worry, I bought lots of colors and I'm pretty well stocked now!)

This project has been in my head for a while, but the nudge to finally make it came when I decided it would be perfect for the latest contest on craftness.com. The theme was children's stories, so this just seemed right. I can't believe I did it, but I got this done in about 3 days, including all the false starts where I made mistakes and had to start all over. I really can't believe I finished it on time given the fact that I spent Saturday night being sick to my stomach. But here it is! Isn't it pretty?! I must say I'm fairly proud of myself on this one, folks! ;) If you want more information about this piece, here's it's listing in my store:
http://www.etsy.com/view_listing.php?listing_id=16142397

Frogs and Flies

2008-10-08T10:44:00.004-05:00

My newest hat. Well, I suppose it's not that new. I made one for myself 2 or 3 years ago, but this is the first time I've made one since then. And it's done in entirely new yarn! Mine's made with wool and is a pain in the butt to care for, so this one is acrylic. The first has already sold! I relisted and hopefully someone else will love it!

It features fair isle style frogs along the bottom and little knit "flies" instead of tassels on the ends. Check my shop for more pics of this adorable little hat. So much fun to wear!

Sweet!

2008-09-28T18:08:00.002-05:00

Okay, I think I have a new favorite etsy store!

tinaseamonster is my new hero:

http://www.etsy.com/shop.php?user_id=10085

I really want this shirt:

http://www.etsy.com/view_listing.php?listing_id=13759279

Still laughing uncontrollably and waiting for hubby to get home so I can show him!

More Juggling Geese!

2008-09-28T12:26:00.002-05:00

I decided to do French knots for the eyes, mainly because I didn't want to try and pick out beads and deal with sewing them on. I have one finished goose and 5 waiting to be stuffed. I can't stuff them yet, because I was not specific enough went I sent hubby out to get supplies. I neglected to say that I needed nude colored knee highs or footies. I stuff the poly pellets into the toe of the nylons so that they don't try to escape through the knit fabric. If he'd brought home off white, it would have worked, too. Unfortunately, he grabbed off black which will show through too much, so the little goslings are just sitting there with unfinished seams honking at me because they want to be finished. Sigh. Maybe he'll get it right tonight ;)

Juggling Geese

2008-09-26T16:26:00.003-05:00

I was watching through my Firefly dvd set the other day and an idea popped into my head. I was inspired by Wash to try to knit or crochet some goslings that could be juggled. And behold:

He still needs eyes, but I'm not sure if they should be French knots or beads. I still need to make a couple more to have a set to list in my shop. But isn't he cute? I used front and back post double crochet on his feet so they look webbed. Unfortunately, since they're black it doesn't show up in a picture :( He's still cute, though. :)