Other crafts I do

Besides cross-stitch, I have dabbled in a number of other crafts.  First on the list is origami.  I have been doing origami for at least a decade.  I haven't done any in a while, although a bunch of my cranes ended up on the building's Christmas tree this year.  There is a woman in the building, Niki, who also does origami, but we haven't been able to get together yet.  I talk to my buddy John in California, who does TONS of origami, and is very inspiring, but mostly we talk about funny stuff about language, math, computers, bowel movements (! I'm not kidding!), food, and a bunch of stuff.  He is really great at origami, modifying existing models and getting on folding jags where he folds the same thing over and over using different modifications and materials.  

Another of my crafts is crochet.  Again, I haven't done it in a while, but I'm aching to, and I'll include some of my crochet in this blog.

I spent a lot of time learning calligraphy.  I'm not nearly as good as I used to be.  I used to wake up and do calligraphy every day.  I got really good at Celtic calligraphy.  I don't do the fancy cursive stuff, though.  I like using fatter pens.  All my calligraphy stuff is in a drawer in my desk.

I've done scrapbooking but I don't know where all the stuff is.  I was doing a scrapbook about my trip to Vienna with my parents, but I wish I'd brought the stuff along to Saint Louis so I could finish it.  

I sew.  I just acquired a sewing machine and cabinet from Craigslist but I haven't touched it yet.  I want to make crazy stuffed animals/people/things.  I have 8 ties in a bag that I picked up at Salvation Army to make an octopus.  I also shrunk a wool sweater to make a silly cat.  Haven't made it yet.  I really need to get this sewing machine going!

I have some gift wrapping books which came in useful at Christmas.  I used some of the methods to wrap Christmas presents as well as Birthday presents for my daughter's birthday, which is two days after Christmas.

I also bead.  I'm in the middle of a bracelet.  Beading is MUCH faster than cross stitch and crochet.  I enjoy beading a lot.  I am also buying a necklace and earrings from the wonderful beader Phyllis Dintenfass, who was featured in Beadwork magazine last month.  I just fell in love with it.  It's $375 and I'm paying her one month at a time.  I've already made one payment -- two to go.  Phyllis was one of my beading teachers.  I can really bead anything at this point but I like taking classes.  Classes are a quick way to pick up new beading designs and to be motivated to get something done.

I've also dabbled in bookbinding.  I would like to get back into that.

So I do/have done a lot of crafts.  I wonder how many other people there are who have started and continue to do a lot of different crafts.

Phyllis Dintenfass's work may be seen at http://www.phylart.com.

Pinn-Stitch -- Thai Stitching Company

I just discovered a unique cross-stitch site from Thailand, with all kinds of patterns not to be found anywhere else.  There are Buddhas and other Asian, Chinese and Indian gods and idols.  There are adorable easy charts of pairs of Asian couples wearing Kimonos -- I think they are Japanese.  There are lovely landscapes.  Difficulty of charts takes the entire range of products they offer.  I ordered a chart of a Japanese mother and daughter in Kimonos, and the shipping was on $5.00 airmail.  The chart was $8.50.  Everything is sold in US dollars.   

The website can be found at http://www.pinn-stitch.com.  It's charming!  Go for it!

The rat and the hand

I have my son's little brown rat on my shoulder, and my left hand is in a bandage from the surgery.  The rat is wiggling inside my shirt.  I don't know what she's doing in there -- maybe cleaning herself.  Pet rats are very clean.  They are meticulous.  I love this rat.

I am able to type with the bandage on.  The surgery wasn't bad, and I don't have to take pain medication because my hand doesn't hurt enough to go through the hassles involved with the medication.  The medication is actually worse than the pain.  If you don't need to take a powerful pain killer, why bother?  The only thing I didn't like about the surgery was recovering from the anesthesia.  That was hard.  My surgery was done like at 9:00 and I was in recovery until around noon, sleeping most of the time.  I barely remember going into the operating room.  I have a vague memory of somebody putting an oxygen mask on my face, and of moving from the gurney to the operating table.  The anesthesia stung a little when it went into my hand, but I had been warned about this, and I was hardly aware at that point.  I remember it for a couple of moments, and then the next thing I remember was being in recovery.  Charlie, who had picked me up from surgery, stayed with me until 4:00 in the afternoon, when Camille came over.  Camille spent the night and left late morning, then came over this evening and had pizza.  She also brought me sodas and ice cream (the breathing tube left my throat sore).  Charlie and Camille have been really helpful while I have been recovering, doing things like walking the dog for example.  I am lucky to have people who care about me.

The rat has settled down on my shoulder, quiet and still.  I know my son will really love her when he gets her.  I will have her for another week, but I really want him to see her as a baby.  She's already growing.  I have been checking to make sure there is a little bump in her tummy from eating food, but I don't see her going up to the next level for her food and I don't see her drinking water.  I know she is eating and drinking though.  She is a very happy rat.  She doesn't have a name yet but I've been calling her Lily.  

I have a good life.

What's your favorite Valentine's design?

I've been looking at small Valentine's Day designs on 1-2-3 Stitch.  There are three web pages of hearts, Valentine's sentiments, love symbols and (the ubiquitous) reds and pinks.  I'm not going to tell you my suggestions -- just that I'd love to make a couple of quick designs for my sons and their amores.  What would you suggest?  What Valentine's Day designs are your favorites?  I'll reveal mine soon!

My trigger thumb and surgery tomorrow

I am going in for surgery tomorrow on my trigger thumb.  Apparently trigger finger or trigger thumb is caused by inflamation around the joint and tendon.  Mine has some sort of related cyst on the place where my thumb joint meets my hand.  That's very common.  Trigger thumb is called digital tenovaginitis stenosans.  Tomorrow I am going to be knocked out and my doc is going to do the surgery.  Since I have diabetes, I get the first slot in the morning, which means I have to be there at 6:30 am, and I'm not thrilled about that.  A friend of mine (I call him "Happy Charlie") is coming to pick me up at noon, around the time I will be out of recovery.  We will need to go to the pharmacy to fill the prescription for the pain medication, then off to my house.  At some point my 17 year old daughter Camille will relieve Charlie.  I need to figure out what kind of "loose clothing" to wear tomorrow, and I'm not sure I have anything that will work, except maybe my pajama top.  I might try that.  I don't know how big the bandage on my hand is going to be.   It would be a drag to have to split open a shirt just to get my hand in there.  Maybe the pajama top is the right thing to take.  I could always replace the pajamas, right?

I don't have a picture of this right now, but I'll take one and post it.

Sale at The Bold Sheep

The Bold Sheep is having a 3-for-2 sale.  Buy two patterns or kits, and the third is free.  The free one will be the one that costs the least.  Besides cross-stitch patterns and kits, The Bold Sheep also carries tapestry kits.  A lot of the designs are the same as the cross-stitch designs, but there are some different ones.  They carry both baa-ginners (beginner kits) and regular kits.  Some of these are really pretty!  I'm going to try out tapestry myself and I plan to use a baa-ginner's kit.

The trick to the French knot

I had a lot of trouble with French knots until I learned the trick.  The trick is to keep your thumbnail or finger on the knot as you pull the needle through.  The knot must be against the fabric when you do this.   That's all there is to it!

I have looked for a picture on Google Images for exactly this procedure, and I can't find any that show it the way I do it.  I just know that I haven't had any problems with French knots since I started using this method.  Try it!

Gridding Aid from 1-2-3 Stitch

A couple of years ago I wrote a blog on how to grid cross stitch fabric to make stitching easier.  In fact, I can't stitch without gridding.  It makes it a lot easier to count and prevents mistakes.  It is especially useful on evenweave fabric, although I need a magnifying glass to make sure I get the rows right.  I always use a thread color for gridding that contrasts with the fabric.  This is done with regular sewing thread, by the way, and not floss.  After you're done stitching, the threads pull right out.

Well, 1-2-3 Stitch (www.123Stitch.com) carries a product that makes gridding easier.  It is called Easy Count Guideline and runs for $7.83.  It looks like the grid can be inserted without a needle, and appears heavier than the plain sewing thread that I use for gridding.  I haven't tried this product, but it does look useful.

La D Da cross stitch

Another one of my favorite designers is La D Da.  The designer is Lori Markovic.  She does great stuff.  This one is called "White Cat" and is done with Gentle Art Sampler Threads.  This was one of the first La D Da designs I saw and I really liked.  I don't have a white cat (I have an orange tabby instead) but I love this design and would love to stitch it some day.  A good place to buy La D Da designs is 1-2-3 Stitch online.  She has a lot of options.  Strange, I haven't looked at La D Da in a long time, but there don't seem to be any recent patterns.  I am wondering if Lori has moved on to other things.  Anyway, all of the La D Da designs are what I would call "primitive."  

Bonheur Des Dames Eyeglass Case

Bonheur Des Dames, a French company, has the greatest designs.  I picked this one to show because it is so delicate and lovely I couldn't resist.  I would love to make one.  It appears to be on blue linen evenweave, which would make half-stitches possible.  I haven't ordered anything from Bonheur Des Dames in a long time, but I'm going to order this one.  I need an eyeglass case to keep my reading glasses close at hand.  (No, I don't wear one of those chains around my neck!)  Look at the delicate flowers on the case.  Aren't they charming?

P.S.  I did order the kit for the eyeglass case from the company.  It is expensive (in Euros) as is the shipping, but I'm looking forward to receiving it and stitching it.  I don't know how long it will take to get here, but I'll let you know.

SPAM

I got this horrid SPAM from somebody advertising their webpage about making the most of the economy (or something like that) asking me to link to their page and write a blog about it.  This person found my private email address and wrote to me there.  I can't believe she did that.  (Or was it a he?)  I find this really annoying.  People looking up my email address instead of using the blog.  Can you imagine?  I tried to write back telling this person not to email me again, and the email address was set to nonresponse.  I thought blogger was supposed to protect us from this kind of SPAM.

Beginner Cross Stitch Kits from The Bold Sheep

I have been in the market for a beginner design for my 17 year old daughter.  It occurred to me to go to The Bold Sheep website (link in my sidebar) and see what they have.  The Bold Sheep is a British company, and although they have both patterns and kits for more experienced stitcher, the beginner patterns are all kits.  I understand European kits have a greater allotment of fabric than US kits, so I thought I would try this out for my daughter.  It is on 8 count Aida with bright colors and sooo cute!  Designs from the bold sheep are cute, fun, relatively easy, small and have a variety of charts for several different levels of stitcher.  

The price is in pounds and it looks relative expensive, with costly shipping added.  I hope she appreciates it!

British Cross Stitch Magazines

I have a vast collection of British cross stitch magazines.  Most of them are in storage in Wisconsin, which makes them impossible to access, since I live in Saint Louis.   My favorites are Cross Stitch Crazy and Cross Stitch Card Shop.  Some of the other British cross stitch magazines, such as Cross Stitcher, don't appeal to me.   If I want a big design, I don't want one that is stitched on Aida in whole stitches, with tons of backstitching just to define the edges.  That is why, for big designs, I prefer charts from, say, the US or France or Ireland, and I stitch them on hand-dyed linen.  I don't do kits, either.  There are a lot of references to kits in British magazines.  I don't understand kits.  I don't understand why all the threads are not already sorted and labeled in some kits (Dimensions kits would drive me crazy for this reason), or why the fabric pieces are always so skimpy and almost always white, or why they use boring brands of thread rather than hand-dyed thread, which I prefer.  I do like Cross Stitch Crazy and Card Shop because the designs in them are small.  I don't mind stitching something on Aida in entirely whole stitches with cheap thread if it's something small and quick, although small and quick for some of the designs in these magazines means up to 50 hours.   They do have "one nighters" which for me would take a week because I just can't sit down and stitch for four or five hours straight -- unless it's Monday and I have an iPod full of new podcasts I could listen to for hours on end.   If I could read and stitch at the same time, that would make me happy.  Okay, so I could (and do) download Audible.com books and listen to those.  That kind of multi-tasking would make me happy.

So back to the British cross stitch magazines.  They are fun to look at.  They are fun to read.  Sometimes I find nothing in them I would want to stitch, but there's a lot more in them than designs.  They are almost cross stitch gossip magazines.   They're very entertaining and fun.

I get my British cross stitch magazines from the racks at Barnes & Noble.  The only problem with buying them at Barnes & Noble is that oftentimes some idiot cheap stitcher will have already stolen the free gift out of the plastic wrapper.  It's not that I really want the free gift (I almost never use them), but it does take some of the fun out of it.   It's important to check that the free gift is still in there when buying the magazines sold in wrappers.  

Now I'm off to fantasize about stitching silly little designs in the latest issue of Cross Stitch Crazy.

My New Fish Tank!

I got a 10 gallon tank with all the paraphrenalia on Craigslist, and today I had a guy from a fish store come out and set it up for me.  He put in gravel, plants, a few guppies to condition the water, and chemicals (bacteria to speed up the process and decholorinizer).  He left me some other stuff, including fish food and chemicals, and pointed out that I had a device to clean the bottom of the tank.  He also left me a big bucket for water.   I am not thrilled about the guppies, and plan to return them to the store when I get the real fish for my tank.  These are very boring guppies.  I know where to get Moscow blue guppies (another ad on Craigslist) and I would like to get a couple for my tank.  The fish store says they take in guppies from time to time, so I would have a place to take all the babies if I get a male and female pair, or even two females who would probably already be pregnant.

I used to have guppies and other live bearers in my 5 gallon tank when I was a kid.  I had fish since I was about 10.  I loved my fish.  I had one fancy guppy I called Golashes.  That fish seemed to live for an eternity.   I generally took very good care of my fish.  I had several types that were livebearers, and some that laid eggs.  I had a constant supply of fish.  They made me very happy.

Reading Kurt Vonnegut!

I got Slaughterhouse Five because I heard it was about the firebombing of Dresden.  I've had the book for a couple of weeks, but I just picked it up yesterday and I am amazed!   What a great author!  I haven't read any Kurt Vonnegut and now I am going to go to the library and get several more of his books.  Wow!

My son Mark has a tattoo of Kurt Vonnegut on his back.  My ex- used to read to them at night, and he read a lot of Vonnegut's books to my boys.   By the way, my boys have excellent vocabularies and are wonderful writers, and I attribute this at least partly to being read to every day!  No baby books for my boys.  We started reading novels to them when they were pretty young!

New Year's Resolutions

I have three very simple New Year's resolutions.  

1.  Eat healthy food.  I have been seeing a dietician at my endocrinologist's office (in case you don't know, I have insulin-dependent diabetes).  Last time I went, I had lost one pound.  Very disappointing.   The dietician put together a healthy diet for me.  It's hard to keep up with it, especially with all the fruit and vegetables.  I think I have managed the fruit, but I have neglected the vegetables.  I am also eating oatmeal, one of her recommendations.  I love my oatmeal and eat it nearly every day.  I do go through a lot of oatmeal!  Anyway, eating healthy means sticking to the diet she put together for me.  Sometimes I feel like I'm eating all day just to keep up, but supposedly it's going to help me lose weight.  I need to lose about 15 pounds.  Not much, but it's a struggle.

2.  Exercise.  I belong to a gym just two buildings away, and I haven't gone in a while.  I also have walked the dog a half mile in the past, but I'm just taking him down the street real quick right now.  It's been too cold to walk.   Today it seems to be a bit warmer, so I'm going to try to start again today.  Walking is key to losing weight and being healthy.  

3.  Write.  I have lots of ideas in my head, and my goal is to publish.  This takes discipline, which I don't have yet.  I want to write three pages a day.  Right now, I am thinking of some pet articles, to send to pet magazines.  I also want to write a novella about being a young musician (as I was) and also some science fiction.

That's it for my resolutions.  So far, I haven't done too well, but I keep working at it, and that's the key.

Update on the PayPal Account Compromise

Well, I just want to report that the situation with PayPal was resolved in only eight days, at which time PayPal put the money directly into my account.  They moved quickly, got the money back from the sellers, and prevented the goods from being mailed out.  Somebody in the automobile repair business was involved in this.  He (and I'm almost certain it's a he) bought body parts and even put the name of a auto repair business as one of the purchasers.  I think this guy was stupid.  He didn't get what he wanted, and very likely got a visit from the police!  

PayPal keeps their word!

Selling Silkweaver Cross-Stitch Fabric on Craigslist

Well, I accumulated too much fabric stash.  I had an entire cardboard file box full.  I decided I would sell each piece on Craigslist for $5.00.   Two women came out, one with her daughter, the other with her husband, who actually found the posting for her.  They each bought 14 pieces, and I've got a lot left, I'd say half a box.  My posting lasts for 30 days, and I might get more takers, but if I don't, I'll repost after the month is up.  If you are interested in purchasing some silkweaver fabric for cheap, send me an email and I'll send a description of what I've got.  

No worries, I have more stash of my own in another box!

Somebody compromised my PayPal Account!

So, Wednesday I go to my online banking site, and see that there are three PayPal deductions, totaling about $700.  I didn't buy anything with PayPal, let alone spend $700.  As PayPal put it, somebody compromised my PayPal account.  What a mess.  PayPal says that the stuff won't be shipped to this guy in Colorado (he bought stuff for a Chevy and a Pontiac and a Walmart gift card -- I have a Saab and don't shop at Walmart).  I have to wait 10 days for an investigation to finish before I get my money back.  In the meantime, my PayPal account is locked, and I had to go to the bank to prevent any further withdrawals from PayPal for the time being.  In addition, I had to cancel my debit card.  All this takes time.  In the meantime, I have to write checks or use my Chase Visa, which has a limit on it.   I think I will just get some cash at the bank and pay for everything with cash for a couple weeks.   I had to ask for my maintenance check early to cover the debits, but I need to pay my rent on the first, and I don't know if the investigation will be done by then.  I really need that money!

I got a spyware program which I ran, and discovered two viruses my virus program hadn't caught.  I've only had this hard drive for a few days, so somebody acted fast.   I am glad I got the spyware program (called Stopzilla).  I've also been going to every site I can think of where I have a password and am changing it.

This has all been a big hassle, but luckily it was caught in time.  This guy, whomever he is, is going to have some explaining to do to somebody.

Christmas Day & My New GPS

My kids gave me a GPS for Christmas, a Garmin.  I tried it out inside the building, but it doesn't work in there so I'll have to go out to the car with it.  It's pretty amazing.   If you select a few letters of a town, it fills in the rest for you.  I love it!

They all came over for Christmas Eve -- Camille, Mark, John and his partner Dan.  I made chicken soup with rice and t-bone steaks and mashed red potatoes.  I was going to make Viennese cookies but didn't have the time.  I'll probably make them today.  My house is still a mess with some of the dinner dishes still out and gift wrapping not completely picked up.  I have work to do before everyone comes over again today.  

Mark brought me a bouquet of white flowers and a bottle of wine.  I put the flowers in a red vase.  It's awfully nice to get flowers.  The wine was a Shiraz and it was very good.  

Mark, Camille and I watched It's a Wonderful Life before John and Dan got here from Wisconsin.  I recently bought a $29 DVD player and it works fine, and I got three Christmas movies to play on it.  Other than the Christmas movies I have Harvey and a Tai Chi DVD.  I need to get myself some more movies.  I was thinking City of Angels and Groundhog Day, two of my favorites.  I like movies that have some magic to them.  

Mark and his friend Sarah are moving into an apartment on the Upper East Side in a couple of weeks.  I bought Mark dishes and cuttlery for his new apartment and he loved them.  He said Sarah would also love them.  I also got him a framed poster of Van Gogh's painting of a cafe in Arles.  

John and Dan got a KitchenAid mixer.  John got this miniature video camera he'd asked for.  I forget what it is called.  It's smaller than an iPod.   

Camille got a stack of video games and guides, also clothes and books.  All the kids got books.  I gave Camille a photograph of Bob Dylan, and she'll hang that up in her bedroom at the other house.   Camille's birthday is the 27th and I have another large stash for her.  She really rakes it in around Christmas.  

So we had a good time.  And I got my GPS.

Sewing Dog Scarfs

I just got a sewing machine (paid $200 for it and the cabinet on craigslist) and the first thing I'm going to work on is a dog scarf.  My dog, Ace, has two scarfs.  One is your normal red bandana, and the other is tie-dyed.   I went to Jackman's and found some red Christmas fabric covered in little green bones (!) which I'm going to use for the scarf.  I am going to use the tie-dye scarf as a template because it is bigger, since the fabric I bought is thicker than the usual scarf fabric.  I am going to run a very narrow seam around the outside of the scarf to get rid of the selvages, and then I am going to tie it on Ace for the Christmas season!

My friend Carol (another anthropologist who has two border collies) was surprised Ace tolerated scarfs.  I love the look of dog scarfs.  They look great with his border-collie black and white fur.  I think he likes them.  He sits patiently while I tie them on.  He is such a good dog!

Michio Kaku and teleportation

I have discovered Michio Kaku, a Japanese-American physicist from New York.  Professor Kaku talks about such things as teleportation, parallel universes, and mind reading.  The only difference between Kaku's discussion of these things and mysticism or the paranormal is that his views are based upon physics.  For example, Kaku says we have already teleported small particles, and we will soon be teleporting to the space station and to the moon.  It will be centuries, he thinks, before we are able to teleport an entire human being (he uses Captain Kirk as an example).  We humans have just too many cells.  But he says Star Trek takes place in the 24th century, "so we have plenty of time."  He also thinks that if we were contacted by aliens, that it would be a matter of national security and the common folk should not know because it would be too disruptive.   He believes in SETI, that it should be expanded and supported, pointing out that lots of private funds matched by government funds are now pouring into SETI.  He says that our universe is like a membrane, a bubble, and that he thinks black holes have a white hole on the other side where energy and matter are spewed out into a parallel universe.  

I think Kaku is fascinating.  I want to get his latest book (Physics of the Impossible), but I am going to wait until I have an Audible credit to get it for free.

Phyllis Dintenfass's Beading

I went to lunch with Phyllis Dintenfass and a number of her friends yesterday.  In case you don't know, Phyllis is a preeminant beader.  She has an article in a magazine this month showcasing her beadwork.  I am trying to find out which magazine it is so I can buy it.  While we were at lunch, I bought a pair of Christmas wreath earrings from her, and they are beautiful enough (an not specific enough -- except they are green) to wear all year round.   She also had an amazing necklace with matching earrings and I am determined to buy them.  Only problem is they are $375 for the set, and I didn't get enough from the furniture sale to cover the cost.  So I have written Phyllis and proposed that I pay for them over time.  I wish I had a picture to show you.  The set is amazing.

Craft Materials in Storage

I have a lot of crafting materials in my storage unit.  One of the reasons I came up here to Appleton, in addition to selling the furniture, was to dig out my craft materials and take them back to Saint Louis.  I really want to find the box containing my cross stitch patterns.  There should also be some beading materials in there.  I will have to dig around in the boxes to find this stuff, probably someplace past the books to the back of the unit.  Hopefully I will be able to get to these things.  

Selling the Furniture in Appleton, WI

I am currently in Appleton to sell the furniture in my storage unit.  It is snowing.  There is snow all over my car and on the ground.  I don't have a scraper for my car (I intended to get one but coulen't find one before leaving Saint Louis).  I am wondering if the sale is going to happen anyway.  I am wondering if the agent is going to cancel.  I am wondering if the buyers are going to come out despite the snow.  I really need this to happen.  The money I will get will go mostly to my boys.  I need $2000 after the agent's commission, some to help with John's MacBook and some for Mark to help him move to a new apartment in NY.   I am hoping for a little beyond that to make getting through the month a bit easier.

I paid off all my bills except Amazon.com and a credit card with a big debt on it.  The credit card is going down, and I can pay off Amazon as it comes due.  Everything else is paid off.  I sure hope we can get this done in the snow.

Singing "Woodstock" with my Daughter

We were on our way back from rehab.  My daughter is 16 and has a drug problem.  Her drugs of choice are LSD and pot.   We put her in rehab after she got kicked out of her third high school.  She is currently not in school -- she will take the GED and depend on her excellent exam scores to get into college.  So we were driving back, and I had my iPod connected to the tape deck, and she was fooling around with it.  "May I play some songs?" she asked.  "Sure," I said.  She put on Bob Dylan.  "Everyone Must Get Stoned."  I asked, "Isn't this a little contradictory, playing this Dylan song on the way back from rehab."  "Oh, it's not really about drugs," she said.  "It's political."  I hadn't listened to the words to this song in years, so I sat quietly for a while while the song played out.  "You're right.  How did you know that?"  "It's obvious.  How about some Neil Young?"  She played a Crosby, Stills, Nash and Young song.  It was "Woodstock."  "Joni Mitchell wrote this, did you know that?"  'No."  "Well she did."  We sat for a moment until the lyrics began, and then both of us started to sing at the top of our lungs.  We sang our hearts out.  "I came across a child of God, he was walking along the road..."  I couldn't believe we were sitting in the car singing to my favorite songs.  I never expected this from my daughter who is 39 years younger than I am.   I guess I did something right.

The Empty Best Buy

I went to Best Buy this evening, to get car chargers for my phone and iPod, and when I walked in I was shocked to see only one person there.  All the cashiers were milling around, and the greeters had nothing to do.  (I am surprised they didn't all converge on me.)  As I entered, I exclaimed, "This place is really empty!"  I guess I shouldn't be so shocked given the state of the economy, but one would think Best Buy would be really busy three weeks before Christmas.  It was a very strange experience.

I haven't been around for a while...

...but I'm going to start posting about crafts again.  There are still quite a few people visiting this website despite the fact that I haven't been posting.  I think it's very worthwhile to continue this blog.

I am currently getting ready for my cleaning crew to come.  My friend John Andrisan calls it "pre-cleaning."  I don't know anyone who doesn't pre-clean before their ladies come.  

I bought a sewing machine.  I went on craigslist and advertised that I was looking for one, preferably one with a cabinet.  For $200 I got the sewing machine (a Kenmore) complete with a cool real-wood cabinet that looks like a piece of furniture.

What am I going to sew?  Well, I got a wool sweater at Salvation Army and shrunk it down.  I am then going to make a stuffed animal (well, they say "plush").  I am using a book called Plushorama for the design.  (It's available on Amazon.com.)   I like the kitty-cat made out of felted wool with felt features.  I am even going to make use of the area with two stripes on the sweater, putting the stripes down across the lower body of the cat.  It is so cute!  The subtitle of the books says something about "immature adults"!  These stuffed animals are really crazy, and some of them are purposefully ugly or scary!  It's such a cool book, and I really like the idea of shrinking/felting the sweater for the fabric.

Ace and Me in my Office/Art Room (with insulin pump)

I took this picture of myself today in my office/art room. I put the camera on my office chair and as soon as I sat down, Ace came over to get petted. This is how it often is for me! As soon as I sit down, there are a couple of dogs competing for my attention.

The bulge under my shirt (my border collie shirt) is my insulin pump. I've had it on now since Friday (it is Monday). It has been pumping saline -- sort of a dry (or salty) run, as the case may be. Tomorrow I go in for the final step: to get insulin in the pump. I can hardly wait.

More Border Collie Cross Stitch

My dogs are an important part of my life. They take me out of myself and force me to pay attention to and take care of another life. This is especially true of Ace. Tonight I took Ace to dog agility class. He does well, better than I do. It requires concentration on the dog and on my actions. We are working toward becoming a team, learning about each other and the equipment.

The cross stitch pattern here is called "Next to Go." Probably sheep dog trials. Border collies are called collies or sheep dogs overseas. I love this pattern.