July Roundup

I only finished one project last month. I've always loved big circle vests, and I won a pattern last winter, so it was time to get it made. The yarn is some I got when Kerry was a baby, so it's almost vintage. I used a bottle of dye from a tie-dye kit on the edge for some purple. It turned out pretty cool.

We also had a pageant! I'm so proud of Khloe. She really broke out of her comfort zone. Her dad and other grandma even came to see her, much to my surprise. The whole row of us teared up when she started singing.

It was a long night, but it was great. Sadly, she didn't win anything (but should have...grumble, grumble judges) but gained confidence in front of people and, according to her, the ability to smile for three hours straight. Now we're on to senior year of high school (already!) and all of those adventures. Are you wondering why I only made one thing? It's because I've been writing. There are always stories in my head, so I decided to start putting them on paper. No, it's not great, but I'm having fun with it. That's it for now. I hope your August has started well.

Catch-Up

I really need to do this more often. I think about what I want to tell you all the time, but then I have to work or get lost in a movie or fall asleep...so here are a few things from the past month. Mother's Day was nice. Khloe made me a beautiful ceramic elephant in art class

Kerry took me to a movie at the new theater here in town (yay! movies!) to see Rampage, starring my imaginary boyfriend Dwayne Johnson. It was fun and had some very funny parts. I'll watch it again when it's on video. Eric got me a boom box for my craft room.

Now I can play my cds when I'm back there. It also has an aux cord port and Bluetooth, so I can play the digital albums from my phone. As for things I've made, well, I can't seem to get any decent pictures. I recently finished this vest

I saw it on instagram and thought it was cute, so I bought the pattern on etsy. The pattern was a pain to figure out. The designer tried to be cute or something instead of straightforward. I had to read it several times to figure out what she was talking about. It's also sized by chest measurement, which is crazy for something open-front. I messaged the designer about it and she just sent me a picture of the size chart with no helpful information. Sigh. At least I figured it out and can make another one if I want...maybe a slightly longer one next time. That's all for now, I guess. I'll have to start taking notes of everything or start blogging more often. We'll see what happens. Have a good week, dears!

Life and Other Stories

Wow, March sure went fast. I think it's because the weather was insane and gave me a near-constant headache. So far, April isn't much better. I know it's been crazy everywhere, not just here. Eventually we'll all be wearing our fab warm weather duds...I hope! I've only finished two projects lately, a request from Kerry and a mesh shopping bag. Kerry texted me in February with a picture of a headband and asked if I could make one. The original was $230. Seriously. I found one on ebay for $30 and suggested it, but he said the magic words - "it wouldn't be a special as if you made it." So I charted it out, ordered the yarn, and got busy. It's super small gauge so the knitting took longer than I planned. I lined it with some fleece for extra warmth. It's not bad:

I did order the ebay one, too, so he has two headbands to keep his ears warm next winter. When he came over to get them, he put it on, slid it over his eyes, and slept for about four hours - he'd been out all night with his girlfriend and then worked all morning. He turned nineteen two weeks ago. Nineteen. He's still growing, too. I think he's about 6'3" or so and works out nearly every day. My big boy is a big boy. The grocery bag was a quick something to turn in for the House Cup:

It took a small amount of sock yarn, so I think I'll make a few more since I have plenty of leftover yarn. (Want one? Let me know!) I keep a bag in my purse and several in my car because I hate plastic ones. Today, though, I went to get a few things and gave the cashier my bag with the store loyalty card as usual. He rang up my things and I noticed that the sacker was putting my stuff in plastic. I asked about my bag and she said "no one told her to use it." Ugh. I said to put everything in it, which held up the people behind me which I hate doing. It wasn't my usual store, eigher, so I was already out of sorts. The kids at my store know to fill my fabric bags to the top. In girl child news, Khloe finally signed up for soccer. She's wanted to play for years and finally just did it. She's having a good time with it, but we discovered that she has exercise-induced asthma and carries an inhaler with her now. Some of her games have been cancelled because of the rain and snow and crappy conditions, but she's gotten some playing time in and, honestly, has been sleeping and eating a lot from the exercise. She also signed up as a contestant in the local Queen of Friendship pageant. My baby is a beauty queen! She knows she won't win (? you never know!) but wants the experience of speaking in front of people and facing her fears. For her talent, she's going to sing and is learning to play the ukulele. The pageant itself isn't until July, but the contestants have a bunch of activities around town that they help with. She's made some new friends already, too. I know I'll be a crying mess when she's onstage. Maybe I should stock up on xanax... That's about all for now. Have a great week, everyone. I'll be back soon!

Seasonally Inappropriate Knitting

I don't know about you, but I've had enough of winter and it's cold, cold wind. I hate being cold in my house because the furnace can't compete with the draft coming in the window. I hate having to wear layers and layers of clothes. I don't mind having Buffy snuggle up in my lap, though - she's such a sweetie and is warm and fuzzy and loving. I decided to make a couple of tops for spring, if it ever comes, while still procrastinating on the cables cardigan that would be better for the weather now. First is a top called Paloma from the book French Girl Knits. I've made this before, but it's rather quick and doesn't take much yarn. I had three skeins of sock yarn from a friend and it was just about enough - I had to use a bit of coordinating yarn for the bind-off and sleeve edges.

The other top was inspired by the yarn. I found this at Wal-mart when Khloe and I were finishing our holiday shopping. It was so pretty in the ball - all striped and calling to me. It's called Mandala by Lion Brand. This top took just one ball. I really like how it turned out.

I have found out that they make this in purples. Yay! I want to get maybe three balls to make a dress after I finish the couple projects going right now. I've wanted to knit a dress for a long time. It may even be this pattern. It was fairly easy to knit and would look nice with some length, I think. It has short sleeves, but I couldn't knit them and make the stripes work out, so my top is sleeveless, but maybe with more yarn the sleeves would work. I couldn't get a good picture of what the cats got for Christmas (after Christmas, but they don't mind). Last year we looked at cat trees at Pet Smart and they were so expensive! I love these kitties, but I can't really justify spending over two hundred dollars for a tree. One of my friends at work found one on Chewy.com for 40 dollars and showed me a picture. It was just what I wanted. I ordered one and Eric put it together while I was working. The cats were wary at first, but I sprinkled some catnip on the platforms and now they love it.

Here is Buffy in her new spot - right on top where she can oversee her kingdom. She loves being at face-level with us. Joshua is very healthy right now and races up and down like crazy. It gives him plenty of exercise but makes him eat like a horse. He's healthy, though, and that's all that matters after how sick he has been. You may have seen on instagram that we got a new washer and dryer. Our old ones were over fourteen years old and were starting to not work very well. The spin cycle made the washer sound like it was going to explode! We went to Menard's last Sunday and Eric let me choose which set we should get. It will take us a little while to get used to them, of course. I feel like such a grown-up for being excited about appliances. I didn't make any resolutions this year. I've made a list of things I want to make, but we all know that my attention span is like that of a hyperactive toddler with a sugar buzz. Most of the list is stuff that didn't get finished last year. We'll see how that goes. I'll share what I make, of course. I just need to clean out my sewing room and decide what to make first. Have a great week, guys. I hope lots of good things happen to you! See you soon.

Fast, Cheap, and Easy

Not me - this sweater I recently finished. The pattern is $5 in Paris, a free one that I've made before. I've been working on a cabled cardigan and it was annoying me, so I decided to make something simple and familiar. The yarn is Simply Soft. I think it cost maybe six dollars total. I still have enough of both colors for another project when I find one. So, what do you think?

I've taken a few days off to clean the house and do some baking. You can tell from the mess behind me that the cleaning isn't going well - I'm obsessed with Stranger Things and don't want to do much else but watch it over and over. I did bake some cookies, though, for Khloe and her friends to decorate after school. I'm going to try to persuade them to unwrap some chocolate kisses for peanut butter cookies. Recently I watched some makeup videos on You Tube. Apparently I do it all wrong! One girl talked about blending her eyeshadow for 40 minutes. My whole face takes less than 10 - I have better things to do. I still do mine how I learned when I was young, when disco was everywhere and color was in. I like it. I don't want over-painted eye brows and tons of contour and fake lashes (can't get them to work, honestly!). I've never wanted a "natural" look. I guess it's dependant on when you were young and what you latched on to. Well, I should go do something responsible. The laundry still doesn't wash itself. Darn it. I'll see you all later!

Mind Calming Activities

The past few months have been insane - fires, hurricanes, earthquakes, a terrorist attack (even if the news won't call it that)...and I was making myself crazy thinking about it. What can I do? Why don't I have any useful skills? How can so much happen all at once? What kind of crap person leaves their pet out in a hurricane? What can I do? What can I do? I had to do something for myself to settle down and not have a breakdown or something. One of the things that I love about knitting and crochet is the relaxing rhythm and knew that I needed something simple to work on. Khloe had bought a scarf on her birthday shopping trip (she's seventeen. Seven. Teen. I can't even believe it.) that I picked up - a bunch of thin knit strips tacked together in a lattice pattern and then fringed. It reminded me a bit of a pattern I'd printed out earlier in the summer, so I dug it out, grabbed a ball of yarn, and got to crocheting. The pattern was just what I needed - chain some, double crochet, chain one, double crochet, repeat to the end, chain four, turn, over and over until it was as long as I am tall, slip stitch the short ends together, and add fringe. Calming rhythm, pretty yarn, and I have a new infinity scarf!

I showed it to Khloe and she asked for a black one. I got out some yarn for it and, well, I was kind of worried about this second one. The yarn is acrylic and was kind of stiff to work with. After I'd finished, I tossed it in the washer and dryer with a load of laundry and it came out super soft and lovely. Yay!

Khloe is wearing it to school today since it's gotten cold all of a sudden (it was 80 degrees last week and almost freezing this morning) and asked if I could make one in burnt orange. By the time I had finished both of them my mind had really calmed down. I've donated to some charities, especially for the animals, and am trying to add a donation amount to my monthly budget for future chaotic events. The other thing that's been helping has a bit of a backstory. When I was about 13, Duran Duran released Rio. I loved that record so much and played the heck out of it. I knew every song by heart and sang them constantly (to myself only because people gave me a lot of crap when I sang...a-holes). I actually had quite a great record collection but it's gone because I had trusted someone who turned out to be quite untrustworthy. Anyway, I have driven a Kia Rio for sixteen years now and often sing Rio to her while we're driving. Last week I found a cheap cd of Rio and had to have it - and I still remember almost all of the words to all of the songs! Singing along loudly on my way to and from work has been very therapeutic and keeps me in a decent mood. I walk in smiling and get home with none of the stress or drama that had been bothering me. Eventually I will rebuild that amazing record collection...probably not the colored vinyl import EPs that cost a lot back then, but the rest of it. The 80s are back - did you see Bananarama on Graham Norton? I sang along to that, too! I'm off today and plan to spend some time in my sewing room finishing a project that's been slowly going for a few weeks. I should be back soon!

Finally A Weasley

As a Harry Potter lover, I've long wanted the knitwear from the movies, especially one of the sweaters that Molly makes the kids each year for Christmas. In January I decided on a yarn and started one and finally finished it last week.

I'm so happy with how it turned out - oversized and snuggly. The yarn is a wool blend and will be nice and warm this winter. The pattern wasn't hard, it was just a lot of flat stockinette stitch which bores be, so I put it aside a lot for more interesting things.

The pattern is from the book Charmed Knits. It's all items from or inspired by the movies. I've had it for nearly ten years and this is the first thing I've made from it. It won't be the last, though.

Next up, though, is a cabled cardigan. The pattern was gifted to me several years ago and I've finally decided on the perfect yarn. I'm making some baby hats for charity, too, and have an expecting coworker who I want to make something for. That's all for today. Hope you all have a great weekend!

Inspired By Stevie

Stevie Nicks is rarely far from my mind. Lyrics come out of my mouth randomly and I often have the urge to twirl as if draped with chiffon. I can't tell you how often I have a kid get frustrated with me dancing to no music - because Sara or Gypsy is in my head and they just can't hear it. I follow a couple of Stevie fan accounts on instagram and am treated to dozens of pictures every day, and, as you know, Stevie wears a shawl like no one else. I've read that she crochets, too, and an idea was ignited. I have a shawl pattern book from 1971 and decided to make one of them -

using some red yarn that I've had for ages. Mine isn't as full as the picture, but I really like it.

Yeah, I'm in jeans today. I've been feeling kind of down. Today is the last day of J. C. Penney in town. It's the latest in a long like of businesses that have closed up. This town seems to be dying. We even had a thrift shop close - that can't be a good sign. I've been moody, too, and I'm blaming it on the upcoming eclipse. I mean, if a monthly full moon can make people crazy, a full solar eclipse must make us insane...that's my excuse, anyway. Joshua has been trying his best to cheer me up. If I'm sitting, he's on my lap. I appreciate the effort, I must say. That's all for the end of July. Happy birthday, Harry Potter! Have a great week, everyone!

Socks With Stories

I haven't gotten any better with my time management - maybe when school starts back up I'll be able to make a schedule that will stick. I have made a few things to show you, but today I just have a couple of pair of socks that I've knit over the past few weeks. Sock story number one: a couple of months ago one of my Ravenclaw friends asked us in the group if we'd like some sock yarn as she was destashing. I said sure because I always have room for a couple of skeins and I knit a lot of socks. About three days later I was watching Ghostbusters (the new one - I love Holtzman and Patty so much) and enjoying a day off when I heard a thud on the porch. When I opened the door, I saw a giant box and wondered what Eric had ordered and if I had maybe bought something and didn't remember. Well, it was addressed to me and when I opened it, it was full of sock yarn. Full. Thirty-four skeins. I was floored. I couldn't stop looking at all of the beautiful colors and squishing it all. One skein didn't have a label, so I caked it up and picked a pattern and this is them:

The pattern is called Double Agent and was inspired by Snape, but the colors are so bright that the stitches don't show. They're so bright and cheerful! I have a nice-sized ball left to make a little something else or maybe a pair of footies. Sock story number two takes us a bit further back. Several years ago, when Khloe was about eight or nine, I gave her a big skein of plain yarn to dye up. She had a great time picking colors and made a very springy and light colorway. I had already made socks for my mom from it and the giant cake has been staring at me, waiting for more attention. Well, I got it out and started knitting, planning to overdye the socks when I was done because green and orange are not my colors in any way. I rewatched a documentary called Paris Is Burning while knitting one afternoon - it's about the drag balls in New York in the 80s and the birth of voguing and interviews many different people. I've watched it several times because it's so interesting to me and especially now knowing that RuPaul and his best friend Michelle were a part of that scene but not in the movie. As I was watching, it came to the part where we, the viewer, meet a young girl named Venus who is so tiny and sweet but tough and has huge dreams of getting married and having a family. It hit me that the yarn was the same colors as what Venus wears, so I decided to leave them green as a tribute to her tragic story - spoiler, she was murdered.

I didn't capture the greenness very well in the picture. It's more of a fresh leaf kind of color. The pattern is called Fawkes, more Harry Potter inspiration. The designer faked her own death to get out of some obligations and caused quite a stir in the knitting community a few years ago. I don't know if her actions ever caught up with her. Finally, a kitten update. We determined that her birthday is in the first week of July, so she's one now and has gotten huge.

She's a very healthy eater and loves stealing Joshua's food. I kind of have to prepare myself when I want to pick her up since she weighs at least twelve pounds now. She still has her sweet face, though. Eric recently got a smart phone and it's full of pictures of Buffy which Khloe and I think is hilarious. That's all for today. Have a great week and I'll see you again soon.

Summer Top

I finally did some sewing. I've wanted to make one of these ruffle tops since last year, but my time management skills are lacking.

I'm not sure how I feel about the color, but it's cotton so I can dye it if I want to later. It was super easy to make. I used one of the hundred tutorials on Pinterest but can't remember which one exactly. Now I'm going through my fabric stash to make a couple more! Mother's Day was yesterday. Look at the great cards I got!

Khloe went the sweet route. Eric knows my geeky heart. The two latest Star Wars movies have really reawakened my love for the series. I saw the original movie when it came out and had a tee shirt and Chewbacca action figure (don't know where he went). I put my sci fi love on the back burner for a long time, but now I'm in a place where I can be as much of a fan as I want. Last night, on my way home from work, I saw a woman walking her dog. Not unusual, of course, but I took a second look and saw that she was walking a big orange cat! It's the first time I've seen that around here. Khloe wants to walk Joshua and Buffy, but they aren't too thrilled with the idea. Buffy flopped flat on the floor when Khloe put a harness on her. She's such a dramatic kitten. That's it for today. Have a great week!

A Bit Of Crochet

My grandma taught me to crochet when I was young, but I didn't do anything with it. Many years later a woman at work was working on an afghan and everything came back to me. I began getting magazines at the store when they were available - back in the early 90s the magazine sections were seriously lacking in the creative arts area. Fast forward a bit to 2005. The winter issue of a magazine called Crochet Fantasy had an article called Modular Madness.

The pictures really got my attention - the models looked so cool and 70s. The article was interesting and really got me when the author said that the book, Modular Crochet, was available sometimes on ebay for over a hundred dollars. I had to see it. My library got it for me through an inter-library loan and, well, I fell in love with it...so much so that I photocopied every page and put it in a binder to look at all the time. I made five sweaters from the instructions in the book and eventually found a copy on Amazon for thirty dollars. Now I have my binder copy and an actual hardcover copy that both get pored over regularly. Where am I going with this? Well, last summer I got a kit with a pattern for an oversized pullover and yarn from an online shop. I started to work on it and wasn't feeling it. The yarn was nice and the stitch pattern was cool, but the top wasn't working for me. It clicked in my brain to open my book and make a modular vest. Perfect! It worked up fast was fun to make. The yarn is a blend of alpaca and acrylic, so it's very light but warm and keeps my middle warm.

I still have some of the yarn left. It may become a hat or scarf or something...or it may rest in my stash until the perfect project comes along. Kezzie asked to see the boot cuffs. I've worn them all several times, so they're a bit stretched.

I somehow managed to make one of the cabled ones longer than the other. It doesn't show when it's in my boot, though, so I'm not going to remake it. The blue yarn is from New Zealand. Several years ago I sent some Easter egg dye to a woman who wanted to use it to dye yarn with her daughter. She sent the yarn as a thank-you gift. It's beautiful. I have a bit left that I had to hide from a certain kitten who thinks it's a toy. I have plans to make more, but right now I'm struggling through a pair of socks for Khloe to give to a friend. I did make some hats for the march last weekend. The yarn store in Peoria was collecting them to hand out, so I took them in. I saw a picture of someone wearing one of my hats. It made me really happy. I'm not going to get any more political than that. Well, I'd better get back to that sock. It was supposed to be for Christmas. Oops.

Here's Looking At You

In September, there was a sign-up sheet in the break room at work for a pumpkin decorating contest. I signed up even though I'd not done any kind of pumpkin carving or anything in years. I had no ideas at first and originally had decided to paint my pumpkin as Spock to celebrate the 50th anniversary of Star Trek - but my skills with a paint brush are rather basic. So I spent some time browsing Pinterest until our pumpkins ere delivered. Then it all came together! I saw one painted as a big eyeball and figured it wouldn't be too difficult. Then I really looked at Khloe's eyes when we were outside and wanted to try to replicate her color. After that, I dug out my paints and got to work.

I had to work slowly, over a couple of days, to make sure the layers got dry...although I'm sure their are some cat hairs from a certain nosy kitty stuck in spots. The front turned out almost exactly how I'd imagined. The back is a bit messed up, but time ran out and it had to be turned in. And guess what! I won! One of the judges owns the local candy shop so the prizes were little bags of candy. I didn't get a picture, though, before I started tasting it all. Right now the eye is on the porch, watching for trouble and creeping out little kids as they walk to school. Sadly, though, its life will be short. Pumpkins don't last too long, so its destined for the garbage can. Then I can start gathering ideas for next year!

Glitter and Lace

Hi, guys! I didn't mean to not post in so long, but the new job is more than I expected. I'm now doing housekeeping in a small hotel, mostly second shift. It's very physical - I can feel lots of new muscle tone in my back and legs. It's kind of fun, though, too, in a way. I spend most of my shift doing laundry and listening to my ipod and dancing around because no one can see me. Well, no people, anyway. There's a shadow that everyone has seen and most of my coworkers think it's the man who built the hotel but died before it opened. It freaked me out the first time I saw it. He's probably laughing at me dancing around the laundry room. While I haven't finished any big projects, I have done some small things. I glittered some sneakers

because I needed more purple sparkle in my life. I've also been embellishing my book bag, inspired by so many ideas I've seen on pinterest and around on blogs:

My button skull is still a bit wonky, but I really like how it's all looking so far. I have a few more ideas, too. It's amazing how many things are in my big stash of stuff that lead to inspiring my imagination. I wish I had a Spirograph, though. A few years ago I saw where someone had used one to make an embroidery design. Wouldn't that be great on a bag? Maybe with some zentangles! That's all for today. Try to stay cool outside.

For The Well-Read Sex Symbol

As I mentioned last time, I planned to make something to celebrate Marilyn's birthday. I've read lots of biographies and they all say the same thing - Marilyn loved to read. She didn't finish high school and read to make up for the lack of education. The Marilyn Encyclopedia called her the "best-read dumb blonde" in Hollywood. I decided to make a bag inspired by another famous book lover-the Grainger Bag inspired by Hermione in the Harry Potter series. As for fabrics, I wanted to use stash. I decided to use some jeans that Eric had worn out and was going to toss. (In fact, the only thing I had to buy was a pack of denim needles for my machine. I had everything else.) You may know that Marilyn really rocked jeans. She was an early wearer in Hollywood and wore them in her movies, as well:

The bag turned out great -

It's big - almost 20" long and, well, let me show you a scale picture:

Inside the bag is the Encyclopedia, and the squares are an inch long. This bag will hold plenty! It has four pockets inside:

The lining fabric is quilting cotton that I bought a few years ago. I had made a dress that didn't turn out, so it's been added to the recycle box. I like how the pattern looks like the marbled pages inside older books. (I've seen tutorials for making marbled paper. It's been hard to resist trying it!) Because I used what I had, I had to make some modifications to the pattern. The strap is fixed in length, not adjustable. It hits me at my hip, which is just right. I didn't have a magnetic closure, so the top is open. Maybe, eventually, I'll make a buttonhole or add some other closure. Since the denim is old and worn I don't have to worry about it getting dirty - it can handle a trip through the washer. I can decorate the outside with some patches or get crazy with paint like Melanie did with her jeans, although she's much more artistic than I. Tomorrow I start a new job. I've been nervous and antsy for the past couple of days. Thank goodness my little shadow has been around -

He's always making sure I know that, well, he needs me and appreciates me - even if it is as the one who feeds him and plays with him. He was sleeping on the couch when I went outside to take pictures. I turned around and there he was, watching through the door. If anyone is looking for me, they can just follow the cat. It's crazy. Last week I planted four pepper plants. The bunnies have eaten three of them. But, look! A little pepper!

I love seeing little tiny vegetables. They're so cute. I saw a tiny baby bat when I was out, too, but didn't think to take a picture. I hope he made it back to his nest. I think bats are cool. We have a group of them that live in the roof of our porch. I like that they eat the bugs that bother me. That's all for today. I need to go be busy to burn off some of this pre-job stress or I'll explode. Then who would feed Joshua? Enjoy your day!

Following The Muse

It's been a little while since I've shared any finished makes. I've been busy making more things! In April, I finished knitting a retro-inspired top called St. Moritz from a book called Knitting It Old School that I've had for a couple of years. I love how the top turned out, except the yarn is too rough to wear next to my skin. It felt fine while I worked with it and the swatch didn't feel bad - and I've used this yarn before in another color and it's great. I guess this bright magenta just wanted to be rough!

I also finally made a kimono-style jacket. The fabric has been in my stash for decades...and I kind of hate being old enough to say that! But the kimono turned out great. I used a "pattern" from pinterest and every bit of my piece of fabric. I made a sash, too, but forgot to take it out for a picture.

I also recently finished crocheting a drapey vest, also with deep stash. The yarn is from Goodwill, bought when the boy child was a new baby. A local yarn distributor had donated their whole supply. The labels are all in Greek, but I think this yarn is cotton with some nylon for the silvery strands.

I've been distracted, though, by my bead stash. Every time I start to work on something the beads grab my attention. I've found that they're a great way for me to refocus my thoughts when I get really upset (often, as it turns out, in my life). I just turn on some music and start stringing. Time flies by and I'm much calmer. I've finished these necklaces so far in the past four weeks or so:

The one on the left is an experiment - I strung about six feet of seed beads on some silk yarn (thread weight) and held it with a second strand of the silk to crochet a chain. Then I chained that chain with a bigger hook and tied it into a circle. It's really light for how chunky it is. I started it as a ind of prototype for an idea that's been haunting me. Since it turned out so cool my bigger project has been green-lighted. Last week was the anniversary of Marilyn's birthday - she would have been 90 years old. I'm working on a project to celebrate her life - and not just the glamorous movie star part. It's also from stash materials. Since she grew up in the Depression I'm sure she would appreciate and understand why. I've also had Theda Bara on my mind. I recently saw A Fool There Was, I think the only movie she made that still fully exists. It has stuck in my mind for both the beautiful clothes and the content. We still have movies about "bad" women who ruin the men who fall for them. Some things just don't change, do they? Eric borrowed the first season of Game of Thrones from a friend and we've watched about half of it. It's not doing much for me. I know it's hugely popular. I'm not seeing why. I don't like shows that take several episodes to a full season to get "interesting" - I want to like at least one character right away. I also don't care for "bad people are bad, good people are stupid" kinds of stories. I do quite like a new show called Houdini and Doyle that's on Fox. It's a police procedural, like so many shows, but it's main characters are Harry Houdini and Arthur Conan Doyle. I couldn't resist! The main police officer is a beautiful woman who reminds me of Hermione in her logical approach to things. The costumes are gorgeous. It's nice to enjoy a show after so many have crapped out on me. Of course, we're now into the summer television season, so I should maybe look for new stuff. I'm enjoying old movies so much, though, that I forget! I did recently watch The Great Gatsby. Kerry had told me that it's his favorite, so I had to check it out. I love the book and have read it several times (but couldn't find it for him to read, darn it!). It's a beautiful movie. I think it really captured the feeling of the book with the opulence next to the desolation in such a small area. I'd love to find an autographed copy of the DVD for Kerry for Christmas. Maybe I'll be able to save up enough in six months! Okay, I'd better get going. I have work to finish before the lure of the bead stash grabs me again. What will I do when the well runs dry? Oh, I'll think about that another time. See y'all later!

Too Sparkly? Nah!

Last week I couldn't sleep, so I just snuggled under my covers and thought about things. I wondered how I didn't have any pins to glue on the back of the shrink plastic dragon I'd made when my stash of supplies is so big and varied. Then I thought about other things that could be made with the shrink plastic and how they could be made and decided to experiment with earrings. The next day I found some round things to trace and a purple marker. I made a bunch of different sized circles and colored them on both sides before baking them. The color wasn't quite as strong as I'd hoped, so I got out the glitter nail polish. I used three different polishes to get a look that was perfect. I super-glued some posts on the back, linked the circles together, and voila!

They're very long but super light and make a gentle jingle when I move. I love them. I need to put some top coat on them to keep the sparkles where they are, though, so I don't wind up with chips around the edges. They touch my shoulders and I have to wear my hair up so I don't get tangled up, but look at how they are when worn (but ignore how icky I look):

Of course, I have tons more ideas for big, sparkly earrings now. I have a place to work, too, so I don't have to clean up my mess to fix dinner or anything. The ideas will have to be written down and sketched for now, though, because I seem to be developing the hereditary arthritis in my hands. It's not a good time. Last night I could barely turn a door knob. I won't stop doing what I do, though, because I would probably explode in frustration. There are too many things to make for me to just give it all up. When I'm hurting a lot I enjoy an old movie or two and admire the brilliant actresses of the 30s and 40s - and not knitting while watching means that silent movies are easier to keep up with because I read all of the cards. Well, I'd better get going. Joshua seems to be up to no good. He's got spring fever and can't keep from climbing the screens to try to chase the birds and squirrels. I'd better go get him before he gets stuck somewhere.