I'm Back

Hello everyone, which is probably just a small handful of people at this point I'm guessing. Clearly I've been taking a bit of a break on the blogging. I've also been taking a bit of a break with basically everything craft related. Sales in my etsy shop have had me wondering lately if I ought to just throw in the towel with the whole endeavor. I'm not quite ready to let go yet though. I do still quite enjoy creating and that's still the best outlet for it.





Over the past couple of weeks, I've spent a lot of time on family stuff, birthdays, moving, divorces, none of those things are mine by the way. I spent a weekend cross stitching a clearance sampler kit while watching Netflix with the family. I've also spent some time with the slowly growing Armenian lace doily/tablecloth, though I haven't taken a picture of it in a while. I probably spent the most time reading actually. Well that and contemplating the idea of writing something myself. I'm not certain I have the skill set for that though.

It's also the home stretch of the homeschooling year. We have just a few weeks left and that means a lot of projects and state testing to deal with. So I guess that I just took the time off from being an artisan to focus on all these other things for a while. I did just finally get an order in my etsy shop yesterday that got me tatting again and that is likely what brought me back here as well. I finally have something tatting related to share, though to be honest it's just a pair of barefoot sandals you've seen countless times before.

So I'm hoping that I can get back into the habit of creating and blogging again soon, though I somehow doubt I'll be as consistent as I used to be. I just need to find a bit more motivation somewhere to really get back into everything. Here's hoping that it actually exists. Regardless, life is fine and I'm still making things, always making things.

One Day Wasted

Nope, I didn't get to any tatting yesterday at all. Well, it started with our schooling being delayed due to technical issues at their school site. Trying to keep them in a learning place while waiting for a website to come back was a bit of a challenge. When it finally came back about an hour late, we were basically an hour behind. Once I was off the schooling for the day, I was a tad more exhausted than usual, so I chose to mindlessly cross stitch and catch up on television.

I'm still waiting patiently for things to pick up in my etsy shop, but it is showing no signs of holiday influence yet. I'm hoping that it picks up, not only because I need the income, but the busier I am, the more creative I begin to feel. The more creative I feel, the more likely I am to get real ideas for new pieces and make time to create them.

Of course that creativity will not be with me today as I have jury duty. I am crossing my fingers that I will not be needed beyond today, but if history has taught me anything, it's that I have awful luck with this civic duty and it could waste days of my life. Since needles and sharp objects are prohibited in the court house, I'll just have to read to pass the time, hopefully I won't need to do so for long especially for the sake of the kids education.

Headache

You know how I was worried that my doctor's appointment was going to put me off the rest of the day, well it didn't. Nope, the Migraine I got after lunch did that. I've only gotten a handful of these crazy things, but man I can't imagine what it must be like for chronic sufferers of them. This one's aura started as little shimmery dots that made me stop cross stitching because I couldn't count stitches. Then it got bigger until it encompassed my whole filed of vision making it nearly impossible to do anything. The aura faded about maybe and hour or two later and left me with the headache.

Once I could see again, I went back to cross stitching. It was honestly the quietest activity I could think of doing. The oldest child asked why I didn't just lay down and mostly it's because I would have felt useless and bored.The headache stayed with me, dulled by some generic aleve, until I went to bed last night. I seem okay this morning, so here's hoping its another six months before I experience all that again.

I think I'll have to get some cat ears made today to make up for the lack of any tatting yesterday. I think I just move too fast when I tat for it to be okay to do with my head pounding. The cross stitch is much slower and steady. So I suppose after the sidelining events of yesterday, I can probably look forward to today being at least a little better...I hope.

Not Much

The day is always a bit more boring when I have a plan to remake things all day. You really can't have any interest in seeing more pictures of my cat ear headbands. I checked the other day and since I first designed and made them I've sold over 75 sets of them. I find that to be absolutely nuts, but then again you never know what will be popular. Some of my more favorite and complex designs have never sold a single piece and some of the most simple have.

I did manage to take one photo yesterday to liven up this text heavy post. I took a few cross stitch breaks throughout the day. I also took a few video game breaks as well, but that's not really picture worthy. It's one of those really complex designs with mixed colors. I've done them before and they take forever, luckily that was just what I needed when I started it, a side project to work on when I needed a break that would be around for a while.

So today's plan is the same as yesterday's. More cat ears tatted with cross stitch breaks and probably those video game breaks as well. So I guess that means another boring blog post for you. I apologize in advance.

Done, Done, Done

Well I felt fairly productive yesterday. Since we had the day off I started straight away on my  framing project. So here's the new wall. All the frames are the ones I painted black, the newest one is the big one on the altered cross stitch. The rest of the wall is still blank, much to the husband's chagrin. I think he thinks decorating any wall is an all or nothing prospect, but I'm happy with my little corner of odd cross stitch for now.


Once that was done I finished up the embroidery project I was working on as well. I think I'm really getting the hang of consistent stitching. I don't have a clue as to what I'm doing with this now, but I think there may be more laser cut wood frames in my future, because I do have plenty more wall to fill.







I also got the tatted necklace finished and listed. I was apparently much closer to finished than I had thought when I put it aside due to tatting fatigue. I only had one more motif section to add and then it was just pressing, getting the hardware on and photographing. I am getting progressively more lazy about that last point though. I did also get the matching bracelet photographed, but I was saving it to list today. That way it'll look like I accomplished things two days in a row and I can spread out the feeling of productivity even if it's a lie.

All I have on tap for today besides schooling, is another embroidery design. I can really hardly wait until the shop gets a little more consistently busy for the holidays. At least I really hope that that is coming soon, because I think I really would rather be tatting with purpose.

Done and Done

I certainly was busy yesterday, but it was mostly with decorating for Halloween. To be honest most of our decor could already pass for a holiday decoration, but we have so much more hidden away that is a bit much for everyday, unless you mean every day of October. I did manage to complete a few other tasks though.

This is the final pendant for a friend. I had to change the stitch count a bit from the prototype because as you might know, each color of thread is ever so slightly different in size, I assume it's because of the different dyes used. This means that sometimes the thread I use for prototyping doesn't translate perfectly to the finished piece. Usually that makes little difference, but this piece needs to be fairly exact in proportions to work. I'm thinking about offering it in the shop as well, as either a piece or pattern, or both, but I haven't decided. I'd love to hear your thoughts. It seems a bit simple for a sale pattern, well the weaving's not simple, but still, it's small.

In other news I finished the altered cross stitch. It too could be a Halloween decor, but no. Once I find a proper frame it'll go up on the wall. The bloody spiderwebs were harder than I thought they would be. Of course in the end it was me over thinking it and trying to graph them out. Eventually I just started stitching and they came out fine. I kind of wish I actually had more of these old sampler kits to muck with, but this was the last one I was gifted and I can't spend money on silliness.

I did have one sale yesterday, my cat ear headband. That leaves me down to only one left on hand, so it's time for some more assembly line creation of them. They seem to sell in little bursts, so it's wise for me to have more than one made up. I guess that's what I'll work on this weekend and hopefully the sales based distractions continue.

Knotting

I managed to stay pretty busy yesterday with the my cross stitch, for the most part. I finished the saying in the center, then started looking for some small designs to add to it. I settled on this quirky looking skull and a simple spider. I added them to both sides, you know, for symmetry. I also added a bit of black, after this photo, to the border to help tie the black in. I thought I was finished, but the husband has suggested that I add some spider webs next to the spiders, so I'm going to play with that idea today. It's been really fun to turn something so 80's classic cross stitch into something I can hang on a wall.

Later in the afternoon I got a request for a design from a friend. This so rarely happens, that I went straight to work on it. She sent me a picture of a Celtic motherhood knot and I tried to make it happen. The first go, I clearly miscalculated the stitch counts needed to maintain the proper shape. Though I got the weaving part down making it, so it's wasn't a complete waste of time.

Next up I increased the stitch counts dramatically and I really started to worry about the integrity of the longer chains, but once weaved together, they seemed to behave properly. This version was approved and today I'm making the final piece in her chosen colors. So all in all pretty good, creative day. I got to make new things in two different crafts and I received a sale in the shop, so I also have something I can remake today. Here's hoping today is a repeat of yesterday.

This and That

I had quite a lovely day yesterday. It started out pretty bad though. I got a sale in the shop from Italy that I had to immediately cancel. If you were unaware, shipping things from the US to Italy is problematic because they have some of the strictest customs regulations I've ever seen. Primary among them for me is the prohibitions of "Haberdashery and sewn articles of any kind, including trimmings and lace; handkerchiefs; scarves; shawls, needlework including stockings and gloves; bonnets, caps, and hats of any kind". This means I can't ship anything I make, so order canceled, customer disappointed, and day started on wrong foot.

I tried to turn things around by finishing the pair of dream catcher earrings with spiders I was working on, then after schooling we went to an open house at the husbands work. They moved into a new facility some time ago, but this is the first time we've had cause to visit. When we got back from that I started graphing out the new saying for the cross stitch I'm working on. I got so busy doing that that I hadn't yet checked my phone or email. Turns out I had received not one, but two orders while I was distracted! So I went to work remaking one of the pieces I sold, a bracelet I call rickrack. It's been awhile since I had cause to make this one. It's one of my simpler designs, but I love the shape it makes.

The other piece I sold I couldn't remake because I am completely out of the beads that I used to make, yet another reason I tend to use few beads in my work.  I went back to the cross stitch and with the new saying fully graphed, I got most of it stitched. I still have a bit more writing and then it's onto the additional elements, to make it more appropriate to my household. I am truly hoping there will be more tatting distractions for me today, but if not the end of the cross stitch should stretch my creative muscles a bit and that's always a good thing.

Crossed

Again I must say how much I adore my repeat customers. Their support means so much to me and so does their uncanny ability to make requests when I really need the kick in the rear to tat. Yesterday I got another request for the tatted dream catcher earrings with a spider and a got them almost complete. They just need their spiders today and then I can send them off to their new home.

Before that request though I was cross stitching. Speaking of cross stitch, here are the ones I was
talking about over the weekend that got framed.I still don't know where to put them, but they will eventually get a permanent spot on a wall somewhere, because everyday is Halloween when it comes to our home decor.

Back to the other cross stitch though, here's a bit of that one. I'm almost finished with the border, just one color left to finish. I told you it was a simple one. After that color is done, then I need to graph the new saying for the center. The current one is a little cheesy for my tastes. I also plan on adding a few small details to it once that's done that should make it more, 'me'. It should be done sometime this week and hopefully that will be enough wasted time that I will feel compelled to design again.

So Many Crafts

I ended up spending more time cross stitching yesterday than anything else and my fingers paid the price for it. I mean I have calluses from my tatting needle as well as where the thread crosses my fingers, but pushing that tiny cross stitch needle through the tough plastic of the phone case did a number on me. I, of course, managed to break one needle and stabbed myself several times, but the case is done and I went back to tatting.

I opted to not get to the burgundy necklace first, so it will get it's hardware and get listed today, barring any unforeseen circumstances. I had actually forgotten that I had a handful of earrings that needed remaking as well, so I got one pair of those done rather than work on the bigger necklace in queue. Then as evening rolled around I went back to crocheting the white spiderweb that's been sitting around waiting for me to finish it. It was like fiber craft circuit training.

So today I have a few pairs of earrings I could make and the necklace I avoided yesterday. I could also get distracted and just crochet the day away again. I guess we'll just have to see how the day progresses. And just because I forgot to take any craft based photos, here's Isis and Chi Sai, the footless using each other as pillows during our schooling time.

Another Monday

Mondays are always more work than they're worth. Yesterday was one of those housework kind of days. Laundry and dishes and the yearly onslaught of ant invasions has also begun. Not to mention how long the schooling day was. All it takes is one writing assignment and I can add an hour to class time. All this occupied me until lunch time and then the mail brought me the task for the rest of my day.

You see, me and the husband are finally upgrading our phones after putting money aside for the purpose all year. Instead of selling our old ones, they're being passed down as ipod touches to the kids. We pass down everything rather than get rid of it, but that means the kids need their own cases and the youngest liked the idea of a cross stitched one. The blank case arrived in the mail, she settled on a Nyan Cat design and I went to work on it. I kept working on it all day not saving any time for tatting.

Oh, right...the band-aid. I was making dinner and foolishly attempted to move my electric griddle while it was on. I reached just a bit too far under with one hand, missed the cool plastic and put my finger directly on the heating element underneath. Usually I react so slowly that my injuries are made worse, but I was on the ball with this one and took care of it straight away, while still cooking. It doesn't even hurt this morning so hopefully it won't impede tatting today. I'll probably work some more on the phone case, I have a rainbow to do and some stars. After that though I still have at least a necklace to remake for the shop and if that gets done that burgundy necklace needs to be remade as well. Lots to do, but on a Tuesday everything is just a bit calmer and more pleasant.

Just Keep Making

I am going to attempt to not complain in this blog post. There are quite a few things I could go all whiny about, but you don't want to hear it. I'm just going to buck up and recap the creative things I did manage to do yesterday. First, I did get the new pendant design done and listed. I didn't get any extra colors done, mostly because every time I do that, I end up with several pieces nobody is ever going to buy. It is listed as available in every color thread I have on hand though.

I couldn't seem to get motivated to tat anymore, so I looked about for something else to make. I remembered that I had bought this cross stitch phone cover and never did anything with it. I had ordered a black one, they sent white and then wanted me to jump through 100 hoops and pay for return shipping before they would send me the right one. I got a bit...we'll go with tiffed and put it away instead. So anyway, I found it and cross stitched little skulls into it and there was my afternoon project.

It wasn't a long project, so I found myself wanting for something else to keep my hands busy and my mind distracted. I'm not sure why I decided on crocheting a spiderweb doily, but after a quick internet search I'd found and interesting enough pattern and I was off. I know I should be more focused on the shop and tatting, but...wait, I said I wasn't going to complain. I'm not even halfway through the spiderweb, so I'll at least have that to do today and probably throughout the weekend. I'm using some odd thin yarn I was gifted whose true origin and makeup I am unaware of, but it has a bit of stretch to it and it's fun to use for this. Once it's gone I'm done either way.

That was a pretty complaint free post. Yes, I feel okay about that. Here's to having a day and weekend I won't feel compelled to complain about on Monday.

Dissapointing

The only thing worse than starting yet another day without a sales in the shop is knowing that you just lost one because you won't lie on a customs form. I got a message overnight asking for a pair of ankle corsets to be shipped as a 'gift' with a value under $10. It's been a long time since someone tried this one. I mean I know why, but I'm pretty sure I'm the one that gets caught and pays the heavy fines. Then the item is confiscated, the customer wants their money back and it's just totally not worth even playing that game, so I said no.

In other news, while the etsy seller I mentioned yesterday with the copy of one of my necklaces did remove the listing, the message I received back from her was disheartening. This was part of it:

 "I removed my listing but not because I made it after your design.  Is this pattern(design) copyrighted? I foud it on google, I didn't know it was your "original design"."

Oh, dear. While I'm not a lawyer and I don't want to get into the copyright issue, I am sad that anyone thinks that just because you find something on Google that it's fair use for everyone for any reason. I suppose it could just be a cultural difference, I know there are a couple of countries that seem to keep popping up with this issue, but seriously EVERYTHING is on Google. How can anyone think everything posted online is free to profit from? Clearly this person found my listing image in a Google search and copied it not knowing nor caring that the design belonged to anyone. I know I can't fix people that see no issue with this, but I can write about how it's wrong and inconsiderate and hope someone reads this before they try it themselves. I let the seller know to be careful with that as I am by far, not the meanest tatter in this regard. She copies the wrong one and they'll be cease and desist letters and threats of lawyers.

In other, other news, I didn't get any tatting in yesterday either, but I did list the white collar and I did do more cross stitching. I'll get stir crazy again soon I'm sure and they'll be fresh tatting. I just can't sit on my hands and make nothing. I just have to keep my hands moving.

Labor Day

Well, I started the day on a bad note when I went looking through tatting listings on the etsy. Yep, another copy floating about. Now, I don't get upset when folks use the same source material, antique and vintage patterns, for their piece, but when I make something more unique and they copy it, I get touchy. So I've sent off that mean, take down your listing, note which I honestly hate sending. The seller is from overseas so there might be both a language and cultural barrier there, but we'll see how it goes.

That reminds me of something else I ran across the other day that has me a bit nervous. Remember when everyone was talking about that lady who was making embroidery machine templates to look like tatted lace. I, and many others were contacted for permission to use our patterns, which I refused. I'm pretty proud of the fact that tatted lace requires more work than pushing a button on a machine. Anyway, I just saw the first example of it pop up on etsy described as tatted lace in the form of a pair of earrings. It makes me nervous because while we can tell the difference, many people may not, particularly if the seller is not forthcoming with the truth. So we wait and see if it's an aberration or the start of something unpleasant.

So, I had all these plans yesterday and instead of accomplishing any of them, I cleaned. Yeah, that's right I vacuumed and steam mopped the floors. Did some deep cleaning on cat stains and since the sick cat hasn't soiled anything new, I properly cleaned the couch as well. I guess I labored on Labor Day...that's celebrating right.

I was going to make a mask, but I couldn't find the beads I needed, so I did a little cross stitch instead. As you might have guessed, it was another, no sales in the shop, day. You might think I'm going to use these cross stitch pieces for Halloween, but they'll likely find some cute clearance frames after the holiday and go up all year long. I've got a few more in the kit to make, so if boredom strikes again, I've something to do. I promise I will get photos of the white collar today so I can get it listed. Not that anyone is waiting for it, but it certainly can't sell if it's not listed.

The Next Generation

The household managed to slide right back into routine without too much fuss. There was a little resistance to schooling, but not much and after that when I sat down to start tatting for the day the cutest thing happened. Well, let me back up a bit. When I was cross stitching the butterflies last week, the youngest child was lamenting that she wanted to do that too. I thought maybe the desire would pass, but she didn't let it go. So over the weekend I picked up a couple of kids cross stitch kits, assuming the older one wouldn't want to be left out. I started teaching them on Sunday, but yesterday when I sat down, they both pulled out their little hoops and started working. The oldest wouldn't let me photograph her though.

You'd think with the vast array of hobby crafts I've done, they kids would have learned tons by now, but they've showed little interest in all but the ones they really can't do yet due to sharpness of tools or harshness of chemicals. I admit I got a little excited thinking that they would take to this, understand patterns and then I get to start them on the path to knitting, crochet, sewing and of course tatting. I may be getting a bit ahead of myself especially since they require my constant nearness to help with tangles and the pattern and all that which may challenge my patience as I try to get my own work done. It is a nice thought though.

So I'm trying to knuckle under and get all the remaking done that needs to be done. I got some completed yesterday, but there is still more and I am determined to get caught up again. I've also been falling back into the nasty habit of not finishing the pieces I am making, not adding the findings, I mean. Today I hope to get a pile of lace all finished up and I don't think it will be much longer before I get the hankering to design something again...or not. I am still feeling pretty lazy.

Free Time

I really should have shown you this picture yesterday, maybe then we would have all started out the day in a better place. This is what the husband refers to as, 'if I fits, I sits'. I am certain I have the internet and LOL cats to blame for the grammatical atrocity, but I suppose it is appropriate. This was of course right after the child had emptied the basket of all it's candy contents leaving a nice soft paper shred bed behind. The cat stayed there until he was over annoyed by the children who thought he was being adorable.

On to yesterday now. I spent the morning doing wunderkammer posts for the entire week so I would be free from self imposed obligations. That means that barring any immediate shop issues or custom orders, I am free to pretend I am on vacation too. Okay, that is only partly true, I still have dishes and laundry and a fairly long list of other tasks that never go away for me. These are the days I wish I was still a kid, but since you can't go back, we do what we can.

We went out to let the children spend birthday money and our last stop was Michael's. The youngest loves all the art kits things...okay, both the kids do, but it was her gift certificate. While we were at the checkout line I spied these mini butterfly cross stitch kits for a buck fifty so I picked up four of them to make for the kids. The youngest wanted to make one herself, but I'm pretty sure it would be unwise to hand her this tiny needle. Even if she could handle the needle, I've seen many an adult go mad from counted cross stitch. I told her I'd find a kids kit for her. You know the printed ones with the plastic needle. That would be the right path I think.

So today it's off to Monterey in the rain. We figured it might actually be nice to visit the aquarium in the rain or it might at least take the edge off the holiday crowd. Well that and we really have no choice if we want to go as it is supposed to be raining all week. I'll try to get some nice jelly fish picture for tomorrow's post since clearly there will be no tatting.

iSad

I know that this has nothing to do with tatting, but since all I did yesterday was working on sold orders and remaking pieces, you'd be bored with that anyway. So here's a short post for Steve Jobs who was at least a small part of reason I can do what I do everyday. Heck, I still have the first computer that was just mine, a Mac Classic from 1991though I used quite a few before them. It certainly is true that if it weren't for my household full of Apple computers  and other products I certainly couldn't sell my wares online...at least not nearly as conveniently. Heck, I wouldn't have even found tatting without a computer and since I only own Macs, I owe a thanks to Steve for thinking differently so I could too.

I read this text from the Think Different campaign yesterday in one of the many tributes online and it inspired me once again so I thought I'd post it here for you too.

"Here’s to the crazy ones. The misfits. The rebels. The troublemakers. The round pegs in the square holes. The ones who see things differently. They’re not fond of rules. And they have no respect for the status quo. You can quote them, disagree with them, glorify or vilify them. About the only thing you can’t do is ignore them. Because they change things. They push the human race forward. And while some may see them as the crazy ones, we see genius. Because the people who are crazy enough to think they can change the world, are the ones who do."

Yes, that is a cross stitch project I made years ago based on a 1997 Wired Magazine cover. Now I feel compelled to clean the canvas and frame the sucker. Back to tatting though, I still have a couple more pieces that need remaking, but I hope to get some time to make another one off or something else creative. Here's to a better day.