Reflecting on the chaos of the craft show, family matters (not the show Urkel was in), and the crazy way "chaos" is spelled.

I'm feeling the need for some self-indulgent catharsis. Is that redundant? Whatever.

It's Thursday night and I'm waiting to watch some good TV while hubs gets his fill of cable shows. I'm thinking about crafting and about setting up, and then reworking, and then reworking again, and again, my "practice" table so I know how to display everything when show day gets here. Thinking about the dreamcatchers and mini sweaters I've made in the last couple of weeks and feeling like I still need more. Add those to the jewelry, bookmarks, illustrations, flower pins, and knitted toys and I'm not sure how it's possible that I would need more. So my brain is a little fried between wanting to make more more more and wondering if I'm spreading myself too thin by splitting my time and attention among so many different kinds of projects.

And then there are the fears that my items are not well-executed, or that my prices are wrong, or that my setup looks unprofessional, or that the photos online are not good enough. It's hard to be objective when you spend so many hours and energy-watts on these things. And because I'm an anxious individual by nature, I see all of the superb things that my peers are making and worry that I just don't measure up.

But I'm never going to stop crafting. I think it's the mix of being creative and technical at the same time. It sucks up all my disposable income (and, on occasion, more) and clearly I stress about the details of being in a show - but I'm also really, really excited for the show because I enjoy making stuff and I'm in awe of the stuff other people make. There's something to be said for spending money locally, too. Plus, even though I know you walk a fine line when you gift something handmade, I like making people's presents because I'm going to be making stuff anyways so it's kind of like saving money. While I'm making it, I imagine the recipient enjoying the gift. Whether they toss it out once they've got it I don't know and I just don't think about it!

Also, having been jobless for a while now, crafting gives me something to do to feel productive. It distracts me from the real problems in life...my anxiety (I wasn't kidding before), my aging grandma, finances, oil spills, homelessness, etc. Possibly more than anything else: my sister and her plight of misfortune. It seems like nothing in her life is working out and sometimes I literally feel sick about it. She's my best friend and she's smart and responsible and loving and her life and her happiness is tied to mine. She doesn't have the time to craft these days, so I appreciate that I do.

That's what I'm thinking about while Futurama is on the tele. Also, I need to get groceries, find a job, and clean the house. In that order.

Being an adult is hard. Chaotic, even. And speaking of that, we can apparently thank the Greeks for the spelling of "chaos;" a word I was very proud to master the spelling of back in the fifth grade.

New dreamcatchers; 11 days left until the Spring Market!

Looking at them is mesmerizing....

TIIIIINY sweaters for sale; 12 days left until the Spring Market!

These new creations are just a reminder that small things are cute. I would stick one on the wall, but they may very well fit a doll or could go on the holiday tree. They aren't available on Etsy, but they will be at the show!


The "MN" sweater, the "two is better than one" sweater, the "two-toned tunic" sweater, and the "heart of bricks" sweater.

It's a fairytale ballpark with *almost* perfect bathrooms

Today I saw my first game at Target Field. We lost, but that's probably because Joe Mauer, a.k.a. "Baby Jesus," wasn't playing. Blasphemous, perhaps, but hey, I didn't come up with it. Whoever did, though, was brilliant because they can just buy a shit ton of WWJD bracelets and sell them to some pro shop for like $12 a piece, and then the pro shop can sell them to us for like $36 a piece. Anyways, our losing did not really detract from the blatant awesomeness of our new park.

I look slightly bewildered because I'm not photogenic.

My first impression related to this outing - not necessarily to the game, the team, or the field - was gained on my ride to park on the light rail and it is this: people kind of smell. So I guess I'm really glad it's open-air, because there were A LOT of people there, and after the most crowded train ride I've ever had, I can only assume that a lot of those people smelled.

My second impression was that a lot of money has gone into this place. I'm clearly having an obvious day, ok? The giant Budweiser sign, the epic screen that I'm pretty sure is going to get someone killed someday because you can see it from the freeway, the Twin Cities homage that lights up in various ways when various plays are made... seriously, what's the electric bill like for this place? I realize that the park is LEED certified, which is worth the money. I'm just saying. Also, if my sources are correct (and by "sources" I mean my husband), there are like 50 extra people on staff just to take care of the grass. That would mean every person is responsible for 2,000 square feet of turf - an area more than twice as large as my city-sized back yard, where I cannot control the creeping charlie, dandelions, crab grass, and maple saplings.

By the way, I appreciate that the MN sign shows a crowd-pleasing cordial - even friendly - bond between Minneapolis and St. Paul (a.k.a. "Pig's Eye"), but let's be honest... Minneapolis should be punching St. Paul in the face while St. Paul is kicking Minneapolis in the groin. Also, the bat that St. Paul is holding should really be a bottle of Irish whiskey.

Anyways, this is the view from our seats. Denard Span takes a strike. Also seen from our seats: a lot of Justin Morneau. "Jason," as you may know him from when he won the homerun derby.

Ok, now here's what I really wanted to post about: the bathrooms. To hubs's horror, I did take pictures. Impression 3: Target is really pushing this "green" thing, which is cool but confusing given the exorbitant electrical "needs" of the park. Refer to the LEED Certification mentioned above. This sign is posted inside every bathroom stall door:

Dual-flush toilets. Awesome. Saves a lot of water. Impression 4: Target wanted to protect our health, but they kind of missed the mark on how to do this.

Apparently, "green" is not only a lifestyle, it's a germ-resistant color. Isn't it kind of a rule that you just flush with your foot in public restrooms? I feel like we've already figured out that part and don't really need the coated handle. What we do need are doors that open outward so you don't have to touch a handle on your way out, right after washing your hands. Right after washing your hands with hot water and soap, people. You disgust me. Or at least they should put a trash can next to the door so you can open it with a paper towel. Or they could just get bathroom attendants.

Final impression: Target Field offers the most delicious hot chocolate I've ever had. Also, the largest hot dogs I've ever had. I seriously had trouble getting my mouth around it and felt like it was some kind of sick joke.

Crossing my fingers that the weather is this nice every time!

Hey, I cleaned the bathroom floors yesterday.

And on the crafting front, I haven't been doing nothing, it only seems like it because the blog is gathering dust. Mostly I'm trying to get ready for the Spring Market, which means making stuff that probably won't go up on Etsy because I'm sure it will all sell at the show, plus redoing business cards and updating "the books" and laying out how I'll display things, and so on. Lots to do. Also, Becky and I made a special birthday package for our Aunt Colleen that included this:


and this:


Apparently I didn't take pictures of the other stuff - an apple, three strawberries, a lemon, a lime, an orange, and a pear. Becky's pear is my fave. She's got excellent pictures here. Seb's toy food was the inspiration, but we stuck to fruits for a theme. No ice cream cones. The grapes were a by-the-seat-of-my-pants creation, and I'm pleased at how the purple rounded out the colors in the collection.

It took me long enough

I said I was going to post my as-of-yet favorite original design on Etsy like eight weeks ago and I finally did. Well, I said it last week. But here she is:


I'm particularly pleased with the loopy tail.



Onward!

Wild and plushy items on Etsy!

New stuff up today! These are the first baby items in the shop.




This is Green-butt Ben. There are better pictures in the shop. And there's one more item going up later that is my favorite, so you'll have to look at the shop to see.

Bwahahahaha! Using a child for profit is, in this case, totally hilarious.

My friend Heather has opened my eyes to Tiny Art Director, a blog where this dad illustrates whatever his daughter wants. It's definitely falls under "kids say the darnedest things." I don't know how he makes his living, but he's clearly an artist and has released a book stemming from the blog. Here's one of my favorites:

"Dragon and Princess"


The Brief: I want you to draw a dragon eating a girl.
The Negotiation: How about if they're actually friends?
The Critique: No, he has to have that girl is his mouth. He's not supposed to be a nice dragon. He's supposed to be a bad dragon. I want to see that girl's head pointing out of that dragon.
Job Status: Rejected
Additional Comments: He has to be biting and squishing it.

From what little I've seen of this blog, there seems to be a lot of dragons and dinosaurs eating more innocent creatures. I like this girl.

Super random post about broken needles and prodding the mind. Not in reference to a singular occurance, because that would hurt A LOT.

*cue taps*
This was one of my first sets of needles. But size six is no match for knitting front/back several times in a row. I'm a tight knitter, and this sequence of stitches just makes the yarn tighter and tighter and harder to stretch and then almost impossible to manipulate and then SNAP! For some reason I only had four to begin with, so I guess it's time to make a trip to the store.


So there's some trivial news. Also, I wanted to share this post I read today on Feministing about makeup. I wear it sometimes (ok, rarely - mostly because I'm lazy) and make no judgments on whatever people like to do (except clowns - they're frickin weird); I just find the concept fascinating. I do hate cosmetic advertising, though. Hate it. I swear, in no other industry is it so accepted to market products that promise ideals and results they can't possibly deliver. Whatever. Calm down. Ok, seriously the post is good. It got my brain working.

Joe's felted slippers; making them was quite a "feat."

HAHAHAHAHAHAHAHA! Sorry.

As you can see, hubs was in desperate need of new slippers...


The $10 ones were leaving bits of themselves all over the house (which, actually, I was cool with because we just got a new vacuum and it works on every kind of floor and has sweet attachments and is so awesome that I had to empty the canister after my very first run through the house - and that truthfully doesn't even include two whole carpeted rooms).

So I went for a tried and true pattern that my friend's mom, Betty, has done a bunch of times. Here's what the slippers looked like before felting:


Jagnormous.


The best thing about them is that they knit fast so even though I had to make two of them, I did it fairly quickly. Honestly, I thought they'd be ready for next winter, so I'm pretty pleased with myself. The other best thing about them is that the felting makes them real sturdy-like so I won't have to make any more for several years.


Voila! One of them is a bit wonky for some reason, but I think (hope) that it'll sort of right itself with wear. In any case, I'm told they are comfortable.


If it were up to me, I'd put some sweet toggle buttons on them, just for interest, but I'm guessing that ain't going to fly.


Stay tuned for news about the newest items going up on Etsy!