I am incredibly tired tonight - just from a sheer lack of sleep. A coworker bought 2 scarves from me, which is amazing, wonderful, superb, yay! I also did the crochet portion of a new granny square bag. I have two others that I have to attach handles to and sew linings for. I'd really love to get to a fabric store and buy some zippers to try to make little coin purse wallet things.

I downloaded the etsy sellers spreadsheet, but it's not quite working for me. They have awfully elaborate excel formulas and I'm afraid to alter anything in case it affects something else. I might go old fashioned, and do it by hand. My aunt has one of my favorite family heirlooms - I want to say it was my great grandfather's - it's a giant ledger from his grocery store...and this tiny, fragile pencil spiderweb script for thousands of pages reads "eggs...mrs matherson... 25 cents. bread...mrs johans...15 cents.." etc. It's amazing. One day my great great grandkid is going to open up my archaic excel spreadsheet... hardeeharhar.

tomorrow I will delve deeply into the etsybloggers team site and figure out what I need to do to get more involved! I am having a hard time keeping track. I am like this at work lately, too. There are things I just think "okay, tomorrow" and put them off each day. No more ostriching! I am gonna do it!

But right now - I am going to fold some laundry, then get to bed!

etsy bloggers carnival post

What do I do to reeeeelllaaaxxxxxxxxx....

I had to think about this for a while. I never think of myself as either particularly stressed or relaxed. Neither one of those words is frequently in my vocabulary. But, yes, I guess there are times when my shoulders ease up, my neck is less tight, and I might even actually let a sigh of relief issue forth. There's one moment in particular I can think of that it happens every single time I do it --

the moment after I have pulled on my swim cap, adjusted my goggles, sit down at the edge of the pool, and slip in. There's a chill of yuck for a second, then I push off, and that first 25 of my warmup is always, always, always pure relaxed bliss. For some reason, the first 25 and the last 25 of my workout are effortless. I watch my hands and fingers in the water, and just sort of...marvel at this crazy thing the human body, and how it can get me from one end of the pool to the other.

Swimming. That's what I do to relax. In the ocean, in the pool - any sort of water. I love it.

I also spend an inordinate amount of time just staring at yarn. :P That's kind of hypnotizing and relaxing as well. heehee. (That's where the photo comes in...can't you just stare?)

I sing a lot - sing loudly and without embarrassment. Something about that is relaxing as well - just kind of emptying myself of everything except my throat.

It's funny to talk about relaxing right now, though - because I am a little anxious. The wind was kicking up today and it was wonderful. All I wanted to do was be out in it- except I also wanted to curl up warm inside away from it. Except for one little walk and a trip downtown for lunch, the latter won. So tonight I am not so interested in relaxing. I'd rather be up and doing something - except I need to go to sleep early tonight. So I am going to try to purposefully relax...maybe put on different music and curl up with crocheting. ja. go team!

I got a lot done on mygranny square bags this weekend - finished emily's, finished amber's - took pictures and posted them. I am really happy with them! I also listed a few new ones, and did the liners for a few more.

The photo is emily's bag... originally supposed to be small plastic handles, we decided on longer canvas ones so it could be an over-the-shoulder bag. I was a little skeptical about how such a large bag would work, but I think it turned out superbly.

The blue bag has been listed on etsy - it wasn't a custom order.

It's been getting colder and colder and colder this week - we actually turned the heater on tonight. I have been thinking about knitting or crocheting some personal items (fingerless gloves!!!) but here it is, 8pm on Sunday night, and I am busy all week.

I am proud of the photos I took today. I managed to get outside while it was daylight which definitely adds a lot. Nothing beats natural lighting, eh?

Okie dokie. That's all for now. I am going to go make progress on something - I crocheted a few flowers for a new bag, so I think I will go work on that!

no time!!!

(This picture - taken on the June 2008 Cruise to Alaska with A2A)


Ack! I am so running out of time every day to do even the little updates on items I want to do. I haven't listed anything on etsy in a week, which is just driving me CRAZY.

Tonight won't be any better - I have karate, schoolwork, and some other work I need to do. Yarrgh. Tomorrow, though - I get off work early and will be heading to Joanne's to see if they have a bigger handle to use for Emily's large pink bag. Then I can finish that, and finish the lining on Amber's - plus do the lining on the cool orangish bag I did a while back, and voila, I'll have things to list again! I also need to finish the handles on two bags that are already crocheted - and then I can add lining to them and put them up. I just need one good weekend of sewing linings and I'll be ready to do some listing!

I want to do the granny squares I am doing, but make them little and put zippers in and make them into coin purses.

No time! No time!


My garden is faring all right - some of the cabbages seem like they are getting smaller and smaller, and the artichoke looks awfully wilted, but I am hoping that they will carry through. I still have about 16 plants that are sitting in the containers from the store because I ran out of soil. Tonight I'll go get more too.

I finally took some time to do some personal mending last night - I can finally wear my favorite pants again (fixed a seam) and fixed a button for my fella. I love doing that. It would really stink to feel like I couldn't sew on a button or fix a tear or something.

I remember having that thought process in Alaska - no one where we were would have called a plumber, or an electrician, if something went wrong. Nope - they figure it out, trial and error, put it together with random pieces and duct tape, and ask their friends. It's very liberating, realizing you can fix those things with your own two hands.

A friend of mine from work actually created their own etsy page!!! YAY Michael Thantrong! Everyone go to ISO100 and take a look at his amazing photos!

yay gardening

The reason my post about gardening is going on my etsy blog, is because it's something I am creating with my own two hands -and it gives me the same self-sufficient feeling that making something utilitarian into an art form does.

There's my justification. Here's my post!

So yesterday I went to Home Depot and purcashed a gajillion plants for "winter" gardening (although the temperature here was 98 degrees today..). I don't have anything in the way of a real garden space in my backyard, so instead what I do is plant everything in pots, and cluster them in one corner of the backyard, so it kind of *looks* like a garden. My wonderful, amazing, handy boyfriend actually made me a white picket fence to put around my garden area so the dog won't pee on them. ;oP

During the summer I had tomatoes, jalapenos, cucumbers, strawberries, thyme, basil, cilantro and chives. The jalapenos grew like crazy - I have never had success like I had with those peppers. My cucumbers didn't do as well - one plant died right off the bat, and the other produced about 4 or 5 fruits. My tomatoes produced so much that I could not eat them all. We were having some serious fly issues, though, and I think the flies were doing something funny to the tomatoes, so I was always a little iffy about them. I let the cilantro go to seed accidently, and then kind of...neglected.. my poor garden. Anyways, I uprooted the dead plants, revitalized the ones I could salvage, and then bought.......

more strawberries
3 artichoke plants
6 red cabbages
12 romaine lettuce
6 red lettuce
1 acorn squash
1 butternut squash
1 crookneck squash
1 zucchini
6 cauliflower
1 strawberry

also - seeds for snap peas, bok choy, and spinach

I want carrots, too. I would do potatoes but those big giant prehistoric bugs that go along with them freak me out!

Anyways, I am super excited about my garden. I can't wait to take my crocheting out and sit amongst my leafy greens. :) (there, full circle, back to etsy..)

delivered the black granny square bag with red flower today. I was really proud of the lining I sewed for it. It was classssy. Today I also sold the Raphael pencil holder! yay. I really like the items I have made from famous paintings, but they are not showcased well in my shop. At some point I would like to retake photos of the picture frames where they are up on a bookshelf, or somewhere looking like picture frames.

quick post for me tonight. I have a lot of crocheting to do. I have the pink granny square bag to work on - I am going to make it a "granny rectangle" bag instead, because the person who ordered it said they want it that way...so now I get to make up the pattern for that, which will be fun. Then I get to try to recreate it for the other side. ;)

Also for the purple granny square bag, I need to sew the lining. I think I am going to do a light yellow lining, I just need to sew it!

yay!

plus, the weather here is getting collllder, finally - I hear it is going to rain this weekend. EXCITED.

oh, I keep forgetting - the person who bought the red flower bag, suggested I make little coin purses out of small granny squares, and put a zipper in it. She said if I start making those she'd buy one. Also, a coworker wants me to make a dog sweater. Plus, I have the three christmas gift orders from RB. Gotta get crackalackin.

Hi everyone,

I am participating in a poetry contest through etsy, and would love your support! Go read the poems and vote!

http://pheakkley.blogspot.com/

--Roya