Patrick

I don't think I've ever cried this hard. You'll be missed, sweet boyo.

I need a Crow Steals Fire bracelet

It's important. :D

Designing with Nina Designs -- Nina Designs Blog Partner

One down...

Three first off my donation hats is done. It's wee, and it's tiny, and it makes my ovaries ache.

I don't have anything deep to say, really, but I wanted to show it off.

On Pins and Needles

I've finished two off my gifts already this week.

Miss Anne's tiny tatted butterfly wasn't my best work ever, but considering I'm a month out of practice, I'm okay with that. It was mostly my picots (which is said pick-o and not peek-o no matter what the book says) - they were all loopy. But it was pretty, and I laid it out neatly in the letter, so maybe the USPS will flatten it out for me.

Miss Millie's flower pin turned out well. I want to tack the petals down in place, and I need to sew the pin on to the back, but I'm close to done.

I'm torn now, because I promised myself I would make the hats, but what I really want to do is tat. I think I'll use it as incentive to get the hats done quickly, then dive in to my tatting. I found a tatting group on Facebook to help inspire and motivate me, too.

Making Myself Feel Better

It's that time of my cycle again.  Things are not going well.  I found out I might be losing my job.  I'm already on rocky financial ground, and losing my job pretty much just breaks me.  So, in addition to taking the time to apply to any job that provides a salary, I'm sowing the seeds of good karma.

The worse I feel, the more inclined I am to do nice things for other people.  I'm making a list of people I want to send something to, no matter how small.

There's a woman at my church who stops me every Sunday and says, "Trin you darling girl.  You're so wonderful."  Every Sunday.  The first few times I heard her say it, I kind of shrugged it off.  She's just that nice. She'd probably have a readied hug and a compliment for everyone.  But after enough Sundays, I realized that seeing and hearing her just made my day.  If Miss Millie said I was amazing, I darn well must be.  She loves wearing flower pins. So I'm going to make her one. (This is the pattern I ended up picking: A flower brooch)

There's a little, old lady (also at my church) who I didn't see this last Sunday.  I hope she's okay.  I realized yesterday that she reminds me of my great-grandmother.  I once wrote her a postcard when she was in the hospital, and she hugged me a few weeks later with tears in her eyes.  She'll be getting another letter, and a tiny tatted butterfly.

I've also decided I'll be donating at least 6 hats to a hospital on my birthday, or thereabouts.  It doesn't seem like much, but it's a start.  I want to do something positive in the world, and there are always going to be little ones who need a handmade hat.

And oddly, despite all the possibly terrible things that may be upcoming, I feel sort of at peace.  It's a nice change.

And it goes on and on and on...

Project Afghan continues. I'm now 20 squares in (2/7ths of the way in! Huzzah!), and feeling mildly accomplished. I wish I had more time to devote to it, but I knew this would take a while, and I feel committed to it.

In keeping with its tradition of being contrary, my brain will sometimes start bringing up old projects to taunt me in to straying from the path of commitment. "You remember that sweater you started 5 years ago? The one that would have been huge on you at 9 months pregnant? The one with arms that seem to be best suited for an orangutan? Have you thought about frogging the whole thing, and starting over?" Oh, sure, I don't remember where the pattern is, and I have been crocheting more than knitting lately, but it seems like such a lovely plan!

So far I haven't been swayed by the lure of new, shiny projects. I dabbled a bit with the idea of starting a shawl, but I haven't finished the first one.

So wish me luck. I may have an afghan as a birthday present to myself.

The Long Haul

I broke a friend's crochet hook the other day (don't ask, I have mad skills), and decided I was going to replace it, or die trying.  I hit up Hobby Lobby where it was originally purchased, but they were closed on Sundays.  That's another rant, though.  I then headed Joann's but couldn't find the same needle, and finally Michael's before giving up in utter despair, and buying some Tester's glue.  Problem solved.

I cannot tell a lie - part of that trip was to find me some fuzzy, velour yarn to whip up a quick little baby blanket or something.  Said friend was working with some, and it was just glorious feeling.  You know the project I'm talking about...buy like 3 skeins, get started, find it again a few months later, wondering why I never finished it, and get totally screwed because they don't make the yarn color or type any more.  I certainly DO NOT have 9/10ths of a sweater that I could fit three of myself in.  Don't be ridiculous.

While I was poking around, I found a pattern booklet with a gorgeous afghan on the front.  So I had The
Moment with myself, and I said, "Self, this thing looks gorgeous, but we never finish big projects like this any more.  Maybe we should just buy one skein of each color, and then see how it works out."  Of course, in response to being told this by my superego, I instead decided that no one was stopping me from doing anything I could so do.  I promptly dropped about $30 and bought 12 skeins of yarn (Thank you, Red Heart Super Saver!) so I was pretty much stuck finishing this project, or feeling like an ass for dropping over three hours of pay on this moment of stubbornness.

So far, I have about 6 of the 70 squares I'll need to finish this project off.  I work on it while I watch TV.  I work on it while I'm stuck on a long call at work.  I work on it while I read, if I'm feeling frisky.  It's still in the easy stages, where I'm not bored by every stitch I do.  I realized early on that I needed to start crocheting in my loose threads, or there was a huge chance I'd lose my ever-loving mind in a month or two, when I had to sew all that crap in.  I'm still a little sketchy on whether or not I'll get through all the squares (so far all of relatively equal size) and then totally peter out when I realize how stupidly much I'll be sewing together to make a whole afghan.

So here's my goal:  Start a big project.  See it through.  I'm not the best with follow through - clearly - but I feel this is an important lesson I need to learn.  We'll see in a few months if I can keep it up.  I'm optimistic, but then, who isn't at the beginning of a new project or journey?

In other crafty news, I managed to whip up a batch of facial cleanser/scrub.  It's made of freshly ground almonds, clay, glycerin, witch hazel, and essential oils.  If it didn't look so much like a paste made out of soggy ash, I'd post pictures.  I'm going to try it out tomorrow, and see how it turns out.  Maybe I'll find a way to pretty it up next round.