More stitch markers!

I have posted more stitch markers on Etsy.com. I have one more type of marker to post, but I am not ready to post yet.

Frog and butterfly stitch markers, made with polymer clay beads.

http://www.etsy.com/listing/50261497/frog-stitch-markers-set-of-4

http://www.etsy.com/listing/50252186/butterfly-stitch-markers-set-of-4



Amethyst bead stitch markers
http://www.etsy.com/listing/50260162/amethyst-stitch-markers-set-of-4

Where have I been?

Wow! I haven't posted since last August? Why?


I was hired last August! I accepted a job in Baltimore, and moved here at the end of August. I have been very busy with finding and setting up my new apartment, then rearranging the apartment (my current "project"), job training, project deadlines, long hours, and getting used to living in a major city.


I have completed several projects: 5 blankets, two ferrets, and my new interest: stitch markers! I am posting handmade stitch markers on Etsy.com, and just posted my first sets today.

http://www.etsy.com/listing/50240337/pewter-heart-stitch-markers-set-of-4

This move has been very good for me: I was getting depressed being unemployed, but now I am happy with my new job, the people I've met, and I have a new city and state to explore! I even lost 25 pounds!

I am going to be more active with posting from now on. I may even post pictures of some of the projects I've completed in the past year.

Busy busy

There I go again, not posting for a long time. I have been busy the past few weeks with a plethora of job interviews (yay! finally!), job hunting, packing, and more.

I was commissioned to make two baby blankets. A while back I made a baby blanket for my mother, who wanted to give it to the great-grandmother of a new baby. The grandmother loved the blanket and asked me if I take commissions (get paid to do something I love to do? Are you crazy?). I told her I would take commissions, as long as the yarn was paid for and I got a fee. She bought the yarn for two blankets and patterns! Nice stuff, too. I set aside the almost-finished baby dress again to work on them. I will try to take pictures to post at some point this week. No promises - I have to pack my room up in case I have to move quickly. Plus work on two baby blankets.

I love the first blanket's yarn: Bernat Cottontots in pink and white yarns. The cotton is different from working with blends; less give, but very soft.

I am angry about the second blanket's yarn: Nice yarn but it's covered in little tuffs of stuff every few yards, which it is not supposed to have. I contacted Bernat about it, but have yet to hear back from them. I may try taking it to Michael's to complain and try to get a refund (then purchase a different dye lot of the same stuff! Down side of letting her pick the yarn). I have only started balling the first skein, so maybe they will take it back and deal with returning to the manufacturer themselves.

I went to the beach with a friend today. We drove to Yorktown Beach. The traffic on I64 became atrocious 10 miles before our exit, so we got off and took the scenic way in. Totally worth it. Yorktown is so cute and full of little roads and old houses and cute shops! There was a fiber shop down the block from the beach! It was small and didn't hold a lot, but it had spinning wheels, two large looms in the back with "if you touch it you finish it" signs, bags of fiber sold by the pound, and a few skeins of dye-ready yarn. Lot's of books and hooks and needles. I may have to go back, especially since I want to go back to Yorktown with my camera. I brought my camera, but was too lazy to take it out more than once. I got pictures of a boat and one beach shot. But I was there to relax and play in the water, so the camera stayed safely packed away from the sand.

Only trouble was with the clear jellyfish that kept coming into the water every time there were few people in the water. I got stung a few times. It wasn't too bad, but annoying to have to swim away from those beasts. I couldn't see half of them in the brackish water. There was one really big one that belonged at the Baltimore aquarium! Sorry, no pics - not taking the camera into the water!

I may be moving in the next month, so posting may continue to be sporadic. I will say that if I do, I am very much looking forward to it!

10 Favorite Sounds

Yay! I am back! I hate the flu. A week of my life gone. I finally got my appetite back today! My friend invited me to lunch. We went to the Thai place down the road from his office and then had soft serve ice cream. It was a great break from my day!

Anyway, 10 Favorite Sounds:

1. My cat purring contently, especially that extra-loud purr when she stretches.
2. Rain on the leaves in the forest.
3. An orchestra warming up. Not a high school orchestra, where even playing they are out of tune, but a professional one.
4. The sound of snow falling off a branch or other object into more snow.
5. The crickets or other insects outside my window.
6. Ocean waves on a shore.
7. Bird calls.
8. Wind chimes.
9. Water gurgling in a stream.
10. Keys typing in a keyboard. After all these years of writing on a keyboard, I find it easier to concentrate on what I write if I type it out rather than when I hand write it. I hand write all thank you notes, especially after an interview, but I usually get the rough draft faster if I use the computer! Besides, it saves paper.

I lost a week of my life to the flu...

I was really busy last week (but I can't remember doing what), and this week I had the FLU! Yay! First time as an adult, and I can't even be sure that the one time as a child that it was the flu. I was on holiday (Holland? Don't remember, really - I was sick the whole time), and was sick the evening we got there until right before we went back home. My parents are Army, and we were stationed in Germany on/off for 9 years, so we took our holidays in Europe most of the time.

Now you visit the doctor, they shove a q-tip up the nose and a second one down the throat, and can tell you whether it was strep or flu.

I have an excellent immune system, so this is really the first time as an adult with the flu. Let's hope it doesn't happen again any time in the near future. And my mom says it was a MILD version. Bleah.

But today was a GREAT day. I actually made it through the whole day without a nap! What a strange concept a nap is, but what a necessity it has been this week. Today, my Mom drove me to Williamsburg, VA. We went to the Kingsmill Shopping Center, which was having a sidewalk sale at every store, including the Knitting Sisters. I love that place. They are so nice there.

I had called a few weeks ago because I ran out of yarn for my baby dress. They did not have the colorway, but had promised to help me find that dye lot at another store if necessary. When I went there, they had just gotten more in, including one in the right dye lot! Perfect! They also had a bag sale, with bags sorted by color. I bought a bag of beautiful brown yarns for $20.Two skeins alone in that bag covered the price. We went to an antique store, the bead shop, and my mom went to the cross-stitch store there as well. I found an antique lace magazine there for $1! I couldn't find a year on first inspection, but the pricing and language suggests pre-1950s! I'll hopefully be able to find a date - it is in somewhat sorry condition. I'll take a pic of it later.
We then went to New Town in Williamsburg for lunch, More Than Just Beads, and Barnes & Nobles. The bead store there had just what I wanted - accessories for my facinators. I think I can make them now. B&N had a great selection of magazines, just none that I wanted/could afford. But there were 75% off knitting (and wire jewelry) books I couldn't pass up (thanks Mom!).
I would also like to note that the Richmond Main Library has an excellent selection of knitting and crochet books. I am currently enjoying a book from the 1970's of styles from the 1920s-40s. I would like to say that if you are going to take a book out of the library, don't tear the pages out. I mean, yes, it's YOUR tax money and all, but it's our tax money too, and use the stupid copier instead. It's $0.10 a page after all. Jeeze. I have checked out a dozen craft books so far, and a third of them are missing pages - one or two pages at a time. Half of them are scribbled on. I know most of these are old, but there have been copy machines since the 1970's. Just saying. You are just going to lose that page, anyway. The book is going to be there for a LONG TIME. I checked out a bibliography on George Washington from 1860! It'll be there when you need it. Stop tearing out pages, people.

By the way, the bibliography written in 1860 was better written than the one written in the 1980s. And it was a quickie written by request for people in the UK, as compared to something someone had time to work on in the 1980s. Yes, I am geeky enough to check both out (they were next to each other) and read them at the same time. :) There is a little more detail in the 1980s book, but it was just starting to get easier to do research at the time.

It is so cool reading a book from 1860. There is a pressed stamp (pressed into the paper, not inked) stating that the book is the property of the Richmond Library. The book had been rebound, but it is so neat to look at. Plus the language then was more stately. At that point the written language was generally the same, but it was definitely more stately.

I have an in-person interview and a phone interview on Monday! Amazing for someone suffering from the flu all week. I am looking forward to both - they are both wonderful positions, both at potentially wonderful companies. Wish me luck!

Truckin'

The Mack truck graveyard was great yesterday. It's way out past Powhatan, VA. I met the Richmond Photography Meetup Group at the Target at I 288 and Rt 60 (nice super Jo-Ann's out there) and rode with a friend the rest of the way. It is definitely out in the middle of nowhere. Beautiful drive.

I think the place used to service trucks. It had an open-air shed and a medium-sized building, plus a couple of pumps from various eras slowly rusting alongside the large gravel driveway. A row of trucks ranging from Mack freight trucks to very old Ford pickups lined the driveway and partially covered a big field. Tractors and fire trucks added to the mix. I haven't had the energy today to look through my pics, but I will post some this week. Besides, I want to be able to post one of my best on the meetup group page.

Instead, here's pic of the Black-eyed Susans growing next to the shed in the yard. I love these things. There were some growing in the graveyard, too. I am going to bed now.

Oh Baby Love!

Here is the second baby dress I am working on. It is definitely an easier pattern than the first, at least up to this point of the skirt. The bodice is the same as in the first pattern. This is from a set of four pattern, so the other two dresses probably also have the same simple bodice. This one's skirt is turning out to be very full and wavy.

Eye Candy Friday

I had a great interview today, which kept me too busy to post anything yesterday. Well, technically it is no longer Friday, but I am posting anyway! I will take that pic of the cute baby dress this weekend. I am also going to a truck graveyard tomorrow for a photo shoot, so I may have something to post on that this weekend.
This is a weird vine we have in the yard. It had flowers this spring, and now it had purple pods on it. I like the contrast of the light leaves on the darker background of trees. We live in the woods, with trees surrounding the garden.

Wish me luck!

I as going to post a cute pic of the other baby dress I am working on, but I ran out of time to take one tonight. I am busy preparing for my JOB INTERVIEW! Yay! It's Friday morning and Thursday is my busy day, so I was trying to prep as much as possible tonight.

Cute pic sometime this week, hopefully.

In the meantime, here's a random picture instead. An unusual sunflower from my neighbor's yard.

Later!

I am a little uncomfortable with this week's 10 on Tuesday, so I won't be participating. Yes, sometimes people can be annoying or do annoying things. However, I would feel rude if I were to list them here. Besides, the lists already done give a good representation of things people find annoying about other people.

I'd rather show this cute baby dress I am working on. This is the one I have had to set aside until I get more yarn for it. I love the pineapples! I will block it when I am done to see if it looks different/better that way, but hopefully it won't be a necessary thing (after all, what mother really has time to block her baby's dress?). I envision this over a white slip or one-piece. It is so soft, too!

Yum!

I made Vegetable Gyoza and Edamame Succotash from the Vegetarian Times tonight! Yum.

Sorry, no pic - we dug in before I could take a picture.

I will note that I did not use sesame oil (some of us react to it), and I don't have cilantro or chili oil, so I used dried oregano and cayenne powder. I try to limit the oil I cook with anyway, and chili oil isn't very spicy (or maybe the stuff I bought once wasn't). I buy cayenne pepper, along with most of my spices, from the bulk section of the health food store. It's a lot cheaper than buying McCorrmick or any of those bottled spices from the grocery store. A decent health food store has good turnover with the spices, so they aren't already old when you get them. Also, you can get cayenne pepper (or red pepper) powder in various levels of heat at the health food store, and the hottest stuff is not much more than the regular stuff, so it actually is more cost effective because you use less (yeah, right - I like it hot!).

Wow! Almost a month!

I just realized how long it has been since my last post. I have been very busy.

I am unemployed. I was laid off from my job and haven't been having much luck finding a new one. I started this blog because I have been crafting more and wanted a record of my work.

I am as busy, if not more so, as when I was employed, but now I am making time to craft. For one thing, I can crochet while I read job ads. I couldn't do that at work!

I am getting crochet and crafting done, just haven't finished anything yet for various reasons.

I may be getting a commission for a baby blanket! I made one recently for my mother to give to a coworker who just became a great-grandmother. Everyone loved it! The new mother was showing off her baby in the blanket and now another relative of my mother's coworker wants one!

I used to sell Avon to the coworker, so she asked my mother to ask me if I was willing to take a commission. Now I have to figure out how to charge for it, besides the yarn. I've only done crochet for family, who bought the yarn for me.

So here's what is on my plate right now:

Crochet:
1. 2 baby dresses. I started a second when I ran out of yarn last week for the first. I have to go back to my LYS to get another skein. The pattern book I am using just said 6 oz of a type of yarn that I didn't want to use. I made a big mistake in translating that into yards. The owners of my LYS said they were out of the dye lot I had bought, but if what they have doesn't match, there is a website for finding a dye lot they can use to get my yarn. I don't want to spend a lot on another skein, so I may try using a different color to finish the dress if what they have in stock won't work. It's missing the last few inches at the bottom of the skirt and the sleeves.

2. The Chic Ripple cardigan out of Crochet Cardigans. For my mother. Of course, she's an in-between size, so now I have to study the pattern to see I can alter the pattern to fit her. The small is too small and the medium is too big!

3. Baby blanket?

Craft:
1. Finish those butterflies I painted. My sister wants one. I need to find a good clear acrylic paint sealer or glaze so I can coat the wings and add them to the bodies already made.

2. Started drawing again. Nothing to write about here.

Sewing
1. 1930's evening gown. I haven't touched it since April. The sewing room just got cleaned, so I can start on it again. Maybe. I need a sewing manniquin.

2. Duct tape sewing manniquin. Needs to be stuffed and put on a stand somehow.


Sigh. I need a job. Being unemployed is wearing me out.

Eye Candy Friday

I like it when other blogs I read have Eye Candy Friday, so I thought I would post a pretty pic:
A pink coneflower. I thought it turned out great - I was playing with my camera in my Mom's garden. I don't have my own property, so I enjoy my parents'.

Ten on Tuesday

I thought I would give this week's Ten on Tuesday a try. It's better than complaining that I just frogged round 17 on my baby dress for the second time.

10 Things You’d Bring on a Deserted Island

1. Kookie - she would be so happy to be there, and so useful. A big, protective Malinios with a penchant for digging is perfect for any deserted island. Plus I wouldn't be lonely. Poop might be an issue, though.

2. My bag of crochet hooks (that's one item, right? It's a little bag)

3. Baby yarn - it's so soft and I love working with it. Plus it's warm but not too warm - perfect for most temperatures you'll find on a deserted island

4. Sock yarn - I've got to have something besides baby yarn, otherwise I would get bored

5. Books - lots of them

6. Sun hat - I am not big on wearing sunscreen unless you have to, it's still made of chemicals. Avoidance is better.

7. Eye liner and eye liner brush - I know someone mentioned mascara. For me, I have to have eye liner. My lashes are dark and bushy, so normally it's not that noticeable if I wear mascara. And yes, I use an eye liner brush and either powder or eyeliner in a jar. I have been known to use pretty, dark eye powder instead of liner, but the powder tends to dust my cheeks when applied.

8. Natural bug spray - although there are some insects that will ignore eucalyptus, lemongrass, citrus oils, and other bug repelling oils, a good blend does work on most types of insects. And it smells good!

9. Rum - GOOD rum! Wine wouldn't do well on a hot island and beer needs to be cold, so rum! Especially if there are coconuts on the island. :)

10. Two long-haired goats - a male and female. The kind I can get yarn-quality hair from. I figure I can make a spindle from what's available on the island, and the goats will give me roving to make my own yarn with when the yarn I brought with me ran out. Milk for making soap, babies to grow a small herd if need be. Plus they are smaller and probably easier to deal with than alpacas and llamas! I would be hoping to be rescued before inbreeding became an issue.

Later!

Baby Blanket - check!

The baby blanket is done! My mother commissioned a baby blanket for a coworker who just became a great-grandmother. She paid for the yarn. It was made from approximately 1.5 skeins each Bernat Baby Coordinates in Iced Mint and Lemon Custard. I used a shell ripple stitch for the blanket and a shell stitch for the edging. The edging has alternating yellow and green sides.

Baby Ripple Blanket

Started May 22 2009

Completed June 14 2009

The corners curled up until I added the edging, now they lie flat.

I actually managed to keep this one nearly fur free! That can be near impossible at times, what with Maybelline's penchant for laying on anything I am reading or working on. She loves laying on my crochet if I put it down somewhere without putting it in a bag.

Also, sorry for the week without posts - I was busy during the week so that I could go to Massachusetts with my Dad to visit family. I got to see my Grandmother, so I am really happy about that! I had a great time, and I have lots of photos to sort through from riding around Ware, MA on the back of my Dad's motorcycle. I'll post some soon.

Yay for the Weekend!

What a week! I am glad it is over. However, I am not going to rant. I refuse. This is a craft blog. Let's talk about crafts.

I ran out of yarn for the baby blanket I am making, but here is a picture of it so far.
Sorry that it is so dark - my flash shines off of the yarn.

I entered Kookie into a photo contest last week. I had to train her to sit still in front of the camera - she was initially afraid of it. I also had to cover that stupid green light that shines when you hold down the shutter button. As far as I can tell, it doesn't do anything except shine a green light in the eye of anyone looking at the camera right before the picture is taken. But my big bad belgian doesn't like the light, or the flash, at all.

I did manage to get some good shots of her to send in. Maybelline got jealous and wanted attention, too.

In the Land of the Frog

I have been crocheting, really! I had to frog the Michael's baby blanket pattern twice, so I looked around. I couldn't find something else I wanted to do, so I looked at stitch patterns until I found something I liked and now I am doing a baby-sized blanket in that pattern. I wanted to be half-done at this point. This is for my mom's coworker, who just became a great-grandmother. The baby is already born, so I am trying to get it done as quickly as possible. I'll post a pic later.

On a positive note, yesterday we went to Woofstock on Monument Ave. in Richmond. It was in the same area as the Easter Parade/Festival, but not nearly as many blocks long. They crammed a lot of vendors in the smaller space, though. We made off with quite a bit of swag: two cans of pet food, two reuseable bags, several things of treats. Kookie had a blast, just like at Easter! She had to say hello to every dog she saw. There was a doggie fashion show, which was cute and silly for the few minutes I watched. Mostly little teensy dogs in clothing. A basset hound was paraded across the stage in a hoodie that kept covering its eyes - not a smart fashion statement!

I couldn't bring my camera because I had Kookie, and my mother didn't bring hers. Sorry, no pics.

Baby If You'll Give Me All of Your Love

I'll hug you squeeze you tight as I can...

I started making this baby dress on Monday. Isn't it cute! Sorry for the dark picture, the flash of my camera shone off the yarn when I tried to use it.

Unfortunately, I will be setting this aside for now. My mother has requested a baby blanket for a co-worker who told her last week that she is now a great-grandmother! I would have a WIP pic of that, but I had to frog all the work I did last night and start over.
Yesterday we went to the super Jo-Ann's on Midlothian with coupons and picked out the yarn. Safe yellow and green Bernat baby coordinates. I am making this pattern from Michaels.com.

I love baby yarn! It's so soft and baby stuff is small and cute!

Blue Butterfly

My friend took the pictures for me! She also trimmed the antennae, which I ran out of time to do. Here is a handpainted butterfly I made for my friend's birthday! I decided to make it a pin, so that it could be multi-purpose. I love the color, so I will have to make it again. Unfortunately, I am running low of this paint, and I haven't been able to find a place to buy it. I need to look online. I may be able to recreate it by mixing paint, though. I am pretty good at that.
I mixed the paint for the monarch in the previous post because I don't own an orange I liked enough to use. I am not a big fan of orange, so I only have two bottles. I bought the second bottle after painting the monarch!

What was I doing?

Oh yeah, getting ready to write this blog. Oh, look, shiny blog written by someone else!

Sorry, I can get easily distracted.

Today, my Mom and I went to Williamsburg to meet an online friend of hers, Joan E. from Canada (123stitch.com)! We had a blast. We met her at The Village Shops at Kingsmill. We went to Haus Tirol/Stitching Well (cross-stitch), Knitting Sisters (YAAAAARRRRRRNNNNN), and Bead Haven (I love beads!).

I promised Joan that I would put up pictures of a bead project I made before starting this blog, and of the butterfly wings, which I haven't posted because they are not finished yet.

This is one I created last year for my mother.


I have been creating butterflies. I have handpainted the wings and am working on attaching them to bead bodies. I made one successfully, but had to give it away as a gift immediately - so there is no picture. I need to get the person to take a picture for me! At least so I can make it again. But here are the other wings I have done so far, as promised:






I find that the plastic I am using tends to curl, but I think that actually works well for the wings. I am basing them on real butterflies, like the monarch. I love the glasswing butterfly one, but am afraid to spray the acrylic sealer on it. I found that the sealer makes the plastic a little opaque.

Thank you, Joan, for showing me the chainmaille jewelry and how to make the rings. I am so hooked!

And finally, STUFF!