Two Amazing Things were Accomplished Today

and both were before 9am.  First I finished the leg warmers!!! and I'm sorry to say that I had to wear them a little and take pics of them...not the greatest pics, but proof that I can make leg warmers....

And as always there's Max....he always loves to have his picture taken....

The other amazing thing that I did was I discovered that I could crochet a mini pumpkin in under and hour...

I mean come on....how cute is that little guy.  So needless to say I am taking to night off, but tomorrow..tomorrow it's cleaning and off to the post office.  Got stuff to mail!

then it's right back to knitting/crocheting for things to do, projects to finish!

Distance Can't Keep Crafters Down

I moved to the East Coast and left friends and family behind.  I post on Facebook, Twitter, have this blog, text, g-chat, talk on the phone A LOT.  But sometimes that's not enough.  My best friends and I craft.  and craft hard.  Christy can paint, draw, crochet, decopage, and if there's something she wants to learn she does it.  Emily cross stitches better than almost anyone I know - and now has a computer program to design her own cross stitch patterns for herself and her mom (who also cross stitches AMAZING pieces).  Then I moved and we lost some of the ability to be able to collaborate face to face.

But Christy, genius that she is, started a blog for us where each week we come up with a small "mission" that will prolly include some kind of craft so that even though I'm so far away we can still show each other what we've been working on and joke and laugh.

And even though I'm far away we still have a way to craft together.  Sappy yes...but totally awesome.  So while there's knitting groups and things out here, there's no reason why you can't craft long distance too.

CAMEL!!!!

The yarn for my newest project came!!!!!!!  This blanket is gonna rock the house.  I was working on the camel square a little last night and Oh YEah, i'm excited.

I love blankets that are made in squares/strips whatever.  Full piece blankets can get tedious, especially when you're working with one or two colors.  I usually end up hating life by the end of a blanket (no matter what colors or pattern I'm working on) just because I'm so over the pattern I'm working on.  This is another reason why working on two - five (sometimes six) projects at once helps me.  That way when I start hating one a little I can just move onto another one.

Back to projects!!!! Woop!

Cats and Crafting

I love animals.  Always have, that's why I'll never be able to be one of those people who advertises her wares as "made in a pet free home"....

This morning I was trying to work on one of the multitude of projects I'm working on at the moment and Pandora - who hasn't really handled the move to the East Coast well (she should have let me tranq her - like I did her sister, Py hasn't even noticed we've moved) - came over to me and laid right in the midst of my knitting.

And truthfully it wouldn't have mattered what project I was working on, she would have laid across anything.  Their favorite is when I'm working on the computer to come and lay across the keyboard.

So for all you crafters out there with cats (because dogs really don't so much get in the way as lay next to you and make you REALLY warm) maybe you should set aside a room that no one is allowed in but you and you can craft in piece.  Or you can do what I do and set my crafting aside to pay attention to the cats.  Which really just encourages their poor behavior.  So really the Fortress of Solitude is the way to go.  Right Beth?

The Working Girl VS The Knitting Girl...an epic battle

I started a new job today (WOOP) but already my projects are suffering.  I set a daily goal for myself to keep myself and my projects on track....not today....today I started work at 10 worked till 4.  that shift eats up my whole - hold on....hubby and I are arguing about who's turn it is to pick a movie, I'll be right back...ok I'm back. Where was i?

Oh!  Right, that 10-4 shift eats up my whole day and then leaves me with getting home just in time for dinner then  to hang out with hubby and animals....oh man the animals are really upset about my working.  I have both my cats on my legs right now and Max (my dog) well he's not really speaking to me at the moment.  Which would mean you would think that I would now have plenty of time to knit/crochet....whatever but I just dont have the motivation.  So I guess it's either work, and take on less projects, or dont work and think homicidal thoughts the longer I'm at home with everyone....it's really a tough choice.

I think it'll get better when I start working the 1-7 shift.  Then I'll have the whole morning to do my projects then work all afternoon/evening....yeah that's the ticket. Just gotta make it thru these 1st couple of weeks then it's back on track!  *cheerleaders scream in my head*  I CAN DO IT!

Craft Fairs

I was thinking about starting on the craft fair circuit.  The only problem with that is that I would need to build an inventory....I'm not really that great at crocheting/knitting something and then hanging onto it unless I made it for me.  I also have a problem repeating patterns (which is why - most likely these leg warmers are taking me forever and a day [sorry Chloe, they're coming I swear!]).  So that being said how could I really go on the craft fair circuit and have stuff to sell?

I was trying to think of options, like maybe I could crochet/knit hats and bags or scarves for an inventory (each one different...)then maybe have a binder with pictures and prices of bigger items - like afghans, baby blankets, etc.  If someone really wanted an afghan they would pay me and it would be first come first get.  I would just have to keep a log, which thanks to Hedy I'm actually quite rockin at.

I think it's too late for the craft fairs this year anyway  - they just sent out their sign up sheets, but you'd already kinda need to have stuff to sell before you sign up right?  Or it would be a mad dash to the finish line to make sure you had enough.  Besides people at those shows/fairs have a TON of inventory ready to go.  I dont really have that kind of time, not with how many people are getting pregg-o that I'm making blankets for already. ;-)

That's my other problem.  I gift.  I don't sell.  Take for instance when I made a pair of baby booties for my friend Jaime's little nephew. (Super cute converse style booties), anyway I had been working on other projects and forgotten about those booties and she asked when they would be ready and I flipped and felt so bad that I didn't charge her for them and she pitched a fit.  Told me that was no way to run a business.  And I know it's not, but I had forgotten about her order, I had to make it up to her somehow.  Right???

SO maybe it's too soon to be thinking craft fairs.  I'm too likely to gift something than not, and I have a problem making something for some that I've already made once...not too mention I pride myself on being an awesome pattern picker for people.  I rarely let people see the blankets that I've picked for them, or their babies, because I believe that, aside from the colors (and even that sometimes I dont let the people pick) the blanket should be a surprise.  Now for complete strangers ti would be different, seeing as I don't know them like I know my friends and family....

Also (and please don't tell my husband this) it's probably a little bit of anxiety that keeps me from going and doing craft fairs.  On Etsy it's easy cuz you don't see who looks at your work, you don't see their faces.  I get nervous whenever I give someone anything that I've made.  No matter how amazing I think it looks while I've been making it, when it's time to give them the blanket, the hat, whatever I'm sure it looks like trash.  It never does, but it's how my brain works.

Before I can craft fair must work on:
Repeating patterns
building an inventory of stuff not for me and not for gifts
getting over that people will pick out something that doesn't suit them in the least and that I believe I could pick for them better....
my anxiety

I don't think that list is completely insurmountable.  Just a lot of easier said than done stuff.

Afghan Hooks (A Gripe)

I'm making a blanket.  It needs a size F Afghan Hook.  Now this is not to be confused with a normal crochet hook (I have multiple size F crochet hooks)...No what I need is an afghan hook.  What, you're asking yourselves, is an afghan hook?

Well if a knitting needle met a crochet hook on a blind date, got married, and had a baby - that baby would be an afghan hook.  It's got a hook like a normal crochet hook, but it's long and has a stopper at one end like a knitting needle.  and I need one.  I have a size J afghan hook from a project I made a few years ago, but this is for a different project and if I use the J hook (which I could) it would throw the gauge of the whole project off and instead of a normal size baby blanket I would have a GINORMOUS (that's right, I said it) baby blanket....not that there's anything wrong with that, but then I would need to buy a lot more yarn than I have to.  In other words it would be a mess.

So I went looking for one, Joann's only had the size J, Michaels had never even heard of an afghan hook, so I called a specialty yarn store, surely they would have them.  Nope.  I was told by the proprietor of Mystic Yarns that "There really hasn't been much call for afghan hooks since the seventies, but maybe you should check with Joann's."

*SCREAMS*

So I went onto Joann's website and found what I looking for, FINALLY! but then there was the cost of shipping which was twice as much as the hook itself.  *thud*  So today I've decided to order the hook and to offset the cost of the shipping I'll just order more yarn for this blanket.

Which - those of you out there who know about fiber work know, there's a problem with dye lots.  HA!  Not this time.  I have all the yarn already for the background of this blanket and each individual square of this blanket has it's own colors.  So that being said I can buy whatever yarn (provided it is the same weight) that I want. :-P Take that.

So, that's my gripe, what's the point of bringing back "vintage" crochet if NOWHERE is going to sell the right tools??????

*sigh* off to order my hook....