I Tried

I wanted to just blog today about how lovely it was to get an order in my shop. It came in early in the morning and I got to spend much of the day tatting. It was soothing and focusing for me. Schooling went well and afterwards I got to sit on the couch with some comfort TV and my needle and thread.

Later, when the necklace I was remaking was completed, I pulled
out my crochet project and worked on that. I even finished the project, my cocoon. I'll get a photo later today to show you. It is beyond comfy. Then in the evening when the husband and the oldest daughter were out at a football game, I stayed up a little late with my youngest and we read our novels side-by-side until we were tired enough to go to sleep.

Then I made a bit of a mistake, I checked my emails right before bed and saw the notification for a comment on yesterday's post here. I wanted to just ignore it, but I decided that the gloves are off now and I can't just follow the rules of polite conversation and pretend that I'm okay with all of this anymore. This is not a matter of simple divergent political views, I respect those even when they are diametrically opposed to my own. Diversity is the spice of life and that is precisely why this election result is so sad. I understand that people were frustrated and wanted economic and governmental change, but I refuse to accept that this was the right way to get it. We are faced with a leader endorsed by the KKK, loved by the Alt-right, the preferred choice of Putin, white supremacists, misogynists and those people are already using his election as tacit permission to be awful in plain sight. We are faced with millions of people possibly losing healthcare they won't get back, rights that they fought so hard for stripped away, being deported, banned or forced to register because of their religion. Will all of that actual happen? Who knows, but he said he'd do it all and why shouldn't be believe that it's certainly possible.

Look I don't like ranting like this, I like tying knots in string and telling you about it. I am going to do that every chance I get, but I'm still dealing with my own grief cycle here and since this is my space, I'm going to use it when I need to. The comment I got said they they won't be reading my blog anymore and frankly if everything I just ranted about is totally fine with you, please do go and don't come back, because none of that is okay with me.

Calming Cats

It was mostly a nice and quiet day yesterday. Schooling wrapped fairly early with no issues and I sat down to knot with one cat who cuddled with me much of the day. I got a couple of rounds done before we were off to the comic book store early with the family. We wanted to go early so that we could get home in time to watch a DVR'd show before the debate.

Then there was that last debate and a couple of glasses of wine. I actually managed to keep knotting during the debate until someone was baited and lost the plot again. It's hard to knot when you're yelling, 'liar' and, 'yes, you did say that," at the orange man on television all night. I have to say that I'll be quite glad when this nonsense is over, provided it actually hasn't jump started the apocalypse. It's a good thing I'm surround by thread and calming cats.

A Brave New World

I have made it a point to not mention religion or politics here as it has absolutely nothing to do with tatting or creating in general, though I suppose it could fall under the heading of nonsense. I am however finding it hard this morning to not at least acknowledge what happened last night. I feel like I am standing at a moment in history that will not only stand as a great historic event but a defining moment for a generation. I know that I will be talking about this time with my children as they grow up and I am hopeful that this will help to shape a better world for them to live in. I've no illusion of instant change and perfect solutions, but often the first step is the hardest part of the journey and we are walking now.

Alright, I think I've gotten that out of my system. I hope that didn't annoy anyone, but this is my one outlet for expression. Other than all the election drama yesterday was quite mellow. I started work on a new custom order that is proving to be quite enjoyable. I have been charged with recreating the design of a lost favorite necklace. The original was not of course tatted, but I really enjoy the challenge of trying to replicate other mediums with rings and chains. It is a gift, I believe, so I won't share anymore until after the gift has been given just in case.

I have also tried out a couple of the antique patterns I talked about yesterday though nothing has gelled quite yet. Sometimes I just need to be patient and look beyond the pattern. It is also quite a bit more difficult to read theses old patterns. It appears that there was no uniform method for pattern writing and many of them must be read all the way through repeatedly even before you begin to understand them In fact without the pictures, I think it might be impossible to tat some of these designs. I think I will have to rewrite them if I ever plan on remaking any of them more than once.

Oh, once more thing for the day. I have been gifted with another blogging award. I have also recently been 'tagged'. While I have no intention of playing along because I really dislike the chain letter nature of these things, I feel it is only right to thank and acknowledge those who like my blog and/or work enough to give them to me. I really am humbled by any acknowledgment of my rambling and my tatting. So thanks Jewelstreet for the award, that was lovely of you. Please visit her blog and store, she does make wonderful jewelry. Thanks also to CatherinetteRings from the steam team for tagging me, the rings at this shop are just so wonderfully unique and interesting. I do feel a bit bad about not playing by the rules, but since there's nothing anyone can do about it, I respectfully decline.

Religion and Politics

I am interrupting my regularly scheduled mask coverage to address these, the largest of all controversial topics. Now, don't freak out, I'm not going to spew forth my opinions on them, but merely my opinion on opinions, or rather the placement of them. Lately the forums at etsy have been rife with threads on these subjects and as a rule these threads dissolve into playground brawls in record time. I personally avoid commenting in these topics, but that does not stop me from lurking in them with shocked disbelief much as one might watch a car accident.

So I started thinking about why such divisive subjects were always popping up on a crafting site. It occurred to me that artists are passionate people. In fact most people who create are passionate people. It then makes perfect sense that a group of people who are as diverse as any other and possessing of a large amount of creative passion would get into extreme debates with as much ease as other people breath. All that being said, we need to cut it out, seriously.

We all have opinions and we all feel ours is worth expressing, but there is a time and a place. The anonymity of the Internet has made many feel like anywhere is a good place to discuss that which riles us up, but we must consider the company anytime we bring up these subjects. I know that old fashioned ideals of etiquette are out of favor, but there really was a good reason why we were told not discuss these topics. I am not for one minute suggesting that these thing never be discussed, but their discussion requires a level of civility on respect that seems all but impossible to maintain in a virtual setting.

I do have a suggestion for those who still feel the need to engage in the discussions on etsy. First, read what you wrote out load before hitting the post button. Hearing something out load, might reveal unintended hostility and make you rethink your statement. If you still feel the need to respond at keast it isn't in the heat of the moment any longer. Next, I ask that before you hit post that you imagine something for me. Imagine that you are at your job and for the purpose of this exercise you work in a mall. You are standing at the front of the store, they are customers both new and old where you can see them and others you cannot. You are also within easy ear shot of other stores, their owners and employees as well as your own coworkers. Now, what were you about to say? Would your statement cause you to lose the repect of any of those people? Would it affect business, your job? Is it still worth it?

I know that many people value their right to free speech over common courtesey and they will disagree with me wholeheartedly. That's fine with me. I value my freedom of speech as well as I respect yours. I just think there are better places to talk about these things. I know that some people don't care if their opinions turn buyers or other sellers off, but I feel that if I have to work with these people in any capacity it's better to not invite controversy and conflict were none exsisted. This is all just my opinion and It's a bit of a downer from all my creative goodness, so I'll go now and make something to take the edge off. I'll have a mask or something tomorrow, I promise.