good vibrations

Hi there folks,

I am sitting in my school library, about 2 hours early from class due to weird scheduling, wishing I had brought more crocheting to do. I thought I'd take this chance to update you on my crafty endeavors over the last week!

Last weekend I headed down to San Diego for the Good Vibrations Unschooling Conference. There is oh so much to be said about the wonderfulenss that is GV. I love the philosophy, the location, the people especially... but I was NOT prepared for how much love they had for ME! I showed up pretty late on Saturday, and decided not to set out my wares. I was saying hi to folks I haven't seen in a long time, and I was just plain tired. I enjoyed the evening, especially singing loud and boisterous girl scout songs all night.

The next day I set up my table - I had carted with me all sorts of random hand made odds and ends: earrings of course,
and magnets,
ceramics,
some beanies, bags, coin purses, bird decorations and my new rings! (and probably more, I just can't think of what). I had a pretty full table inside - and was amazed by how I hadn't even finished setting stuff up yet when I had my first customers!

Unschoolers are definitly my best customers, by the way. My favorite thing of all time is having kids come over with a few dollars and buy them and their friends semi-matching things. I was selling my rings for $1.00, so that was very popular with the younger crowd (although the older folks liked them too!) I ran out of rings and was making them on demand right there!

Amy Steinberg, an amazing and inspiring musician was playing a concert for us at the hotel. I decided to set up my stuff in an outdoor table so I could watch the show AND keep selling! I am so, so, so glad I did. Amy is fantastic, beautiful voice, and every song has a wonderful message. There were people dancing and hula-hooping like crazy, and it was some of the most fun ever. I was supposed to leave that night, and people kept buying so I kept selling...probably til 11pm or so.

The unschoolers wiped me out! I came home and had to buy a bunch of ring making stuff, and am working on more birds and earrings!

Patchwork Indie is coming up in November, and there are a few smaller boutiques in October that I am going to - so I need to get cracking.

I'll leave you with this fun photo:


Look closely, one of my birds is in there somewhere!!!

Are you sasha?

Home from the Good Vibrations Unschooling Conference in San Diego - actually, got home about 10pm last night, and am up and at work on this MondayMondayMonday. Eating 0 pt. Barley and veggie soup from a paper cup, because I spent some quality time with the boyfriend last night instead of preparing for the week.

The conference was fantastic, I have to say. It was incredibly pleasant - with enough structure that there was always something to do, but tons of time where I felt like I could just sit and hang out. I worked on knitting, I sold a lot of my pieces (every one of my coin purses got sold - I have to make more!) and laugh and laugh and laugh.

I went to one of Sandra's talks, one of my mom's, the contradancing funshop and... that's pretty much it. I went to bed early on Saturday so that I could get up and speak coherently on Sunday morning, and I was fairly pleased with the result of my talk. I think I got across all the big points I wanted to make. Next time I am getting recorded, however, I need to remember to speak the questions into the mic before I answer. Beginner's mistake. Whoops.

Some of the highlights for me included hanging out with Kirby and Marty til 4am on Friday night, hanging out with my dad at lunch, during the USC game, and during my mom's talk, the Sasha dance, talking about the things I made to the people I sold them to, meeting an unschooling mom who offered me land in Ecuador, and meeting Andy - my new favorite 6 year old.

As always, I wish unschooling conferences never had to end. But I really, truly missed Adam by Sunday night. If he had only been able to be there, I would have been content to stay forever and ever. When I got home, he was waiting for me and we sat on the couch and had a great conversation about homeschooling our kids and his weekend and my weekend and - it was fantastic.

I want to go to the irvine fine arts center on Saturday to do some ceramics. I'd also like to start some more coin purses. I also have about 3 hats I am in the middle of knitting. I think I am not going to take a lunch today and leave half an hour early so I can get home early. Work seems like a tiresome interruption after this weekend. I'm a little frustrated with my day-to-day right now.