National Archaeological Museum of Athens (Part 1)

As I work to get back on track, I'm starting by working on labeling the many still unlabeled pictures that I've got on Flickr. Right now, I'm tackling one of the bigger sets, those that I took at the National Archaeological Museum of Athens. Last fall, I visited Greece and Turkey, and it was fantastic, and I took a ton of pictures, but I still haven't gotten most of them labeled. I took about 800 total at the National Archaeological Museum of Athens, which was the most spectacular assemblage of ancient Greek art that I've ever seen. Now, that includes all the labels, so it's really closer to 400 - 500 pics. I've only labeled about 50 of them so far, so as I proceed through the labeling, I'll post some more that I particularly like or found interesting. (normally, I'd wait til I'd done the whole set before doing a post like this, but I'm determined to get back on track posting in the blog, so sacrifices must be made... :) ) The marbles are definitely the highlight of the museum. They have thousands, and many are very, very fine, from throughout Greek history. This is a Kore. Kore are a traditional type of female sculpture from the ancient Greek empire. This one is the most beautiful I've ever seen. Some of the pigment is still left on her chiton, and the detail work is spectacular. When I see a work like this, I wonder how ancient sculptures must have looked when they were fresh and new and hadn't been buried, weathered, and otherwise damaged by the past two millennia. This is the base of a funerary sculpture, showing four people betting on the fight between a dog and a cat. The details are just breath taking. I think that dog is in trouble... Speaking of dogs... I just like this one. The most interesting thing I've already labeled are the shot I took of the remains of the Antikythera device. The Antikythera Device is one of the amazing remains of the ancient world. Found in a ship wreck off the island of Antikythera, it's taken a century of research to figure out just what it might be. As far as we can tell, this complex construct of gears and bits and pieces was a mechanical astronomical clock, which used the movements of the moon and stars to tell the time. Workmanship of it's like doesn't appear again for 1500 years. It was made in the 1st century BC. The one I most wanted to share on this blog is this one... Not as remarkable as the others, but take a closer look! That lady, sitting on he left, is holding a spindle in her hand! Yes, she's a spinner! This gravestone dates to the 5th century BC, but some things really haven't changed that much. :) That's all for now!

It's Friday!

The first Friday of the new year! A bout of stress-induced insomnia chased me out of bed at 4:30 this morning, but I didn't let that worry me - I immediately got to work on my personal goals for the year to come, in this case, poking through my closet. Why? Because today, I'm going to the Farmers Market, which I intend to make a regular weekly task of. I want to go Green, it's one of my main goals for the year in fact, so I wanted to quickly sew up some cotton cloth bags to shove produce in so that I won't have to keep taking plastic bags at the farmers market, grocery store, or any where else. While I was at it, I decided to pull out a few other things that reflect my current crafting goals - to craft what I want to craft, when I want to craft it.

But first, my cotton bags! They took just over an hour to make. I made 2 big ones (like, to hold a whole head of romaine lettuce), 4 medium ones (like to hold a couple pounds of potatoes), and 8 small ones (like, to hold an apple or two).

I started with this muslin I got a few years ago to make curtains for an apartment I don't live in any more. It was plain, simple stuff - the same stuff I use as my photo backdrop, in fact.



Then, I cut it into 6 strips roughly the same width. Two of these, I left "as is," two of them, I cut along the center fold, and two of them, I cut along the center fold and then folded in half and cut again. This was all very approximate, but it got the job done.



To make them in to bags, I just sewed a flap along the top edge (so I could put in a draw string) then sewed up the sides. I used some random old scrap trim I had and some yarn bits to insert the draw strings, and then I was done, and ready to go!



At the same time, I pulled out a few things I want to work on. I've been loving Nerd Wars, and I'm not quitting, but it's caused me to focus almost exclusively on knitting and crocheting and spinning for the past year. I miss my other crafts. I miss sewing. I really miss cross stitching. It's time for me to start making better crafting choices. NW will manage, especially since I bet I'll be more productive across the board if I just relax and do what I want to do, when I want to do it.

So, what's in the pipeline?

Socks!
I started these socks in September. One is done (more or less) and this is the second. It's a great project for my purse - small, time consuming, and not too likely to fall off the hooks while I'm traipsing about town.

Sorceress Crochet!
Remember this project? It was what I was JUST finishing up when I stared this blog in August, 2010. I worked on it all that summer, and got it to this point...and then stalled before I finished the detailing work. I really want to get it done. It's so close. So out it comes, lets see how this goes. :)

Lap Loom!
One of my good friends sent me a lap loom for Christmas, with a note that I should use it to play with my homespun. She's BRILLIANT. So I'm gonna play with the loom, and see what I can do with the rainbow yarn I spun in November.

Cross Stitch Design
Lastly, I'm going through some rough personal stuff, and have felt pretty low for a few days, but last night I reached an epiphany point, and really finally absorbed (rather than just hearing and having it bounce off) that if I don't love me, no one else will either. While I was waiting to fall asleep, I thought about a strategy my step-mom uses, and that a friend of mine also suggested - leaving notes to myself. The one I was thinking about leaving was "I Am Beautiful," to help with my self-image. But then I thought...I should do this like I would do this. I wouldn't write a note. I'd MAKE something! So I'm gonna design and make myself a very simple cross stitch that says that, I already know how I want it to look. I feel really good about this project, and already have a few ideas for more.

All in all, for the first time in ages, I kinda feel like I have my crafting mojo back. I was excited to put all this together. I was excited to write this blog post. I'm excited to be about to cross stitch, and learn to weave, and to go back to designing things. I'm excited that I think that two of these ideas - the produce bags and the self-inspirational cross stitch - actually have some marketability potential, as I think about building this business more. It's a little hard to ignore the things that theoretically I HAVE to finish, but I'm just making myself relax. I have to love this again, first.


Read what everyone else is thinking this first Friday of the New Year, over on Wisdom Begins in Wonder and Tami's Ami and Other Crochet Blog.

Work In Progress Wednesday: This Blog!

Well, it's a New Year, and looking back on the year that passed, I'm not proud of the way things have gone for my crafting, my blog, and in general with my production. Don't get me wrong. I've done some fabulous things, some FO I'm VERY proud of, and some good work. I raised money for Japan, I became an important moderator in two Ravelry groups - one of which is the one of the most prominent boards in the entire site - and I got a solid core of a website that I just need to finish developing. I made more money that I did in 2011 from the business - though still not much - and I generally had all manner of minor successes. But oh, the things I let slide! So what comes next? I'm down for the count, but I'm not out yet. You won't see me tap! I'll do a post at some point soon reviewing the goals I set for 2011 (almost all of which I have failed) and outline my goals for 2012. I'll also do a post about business in 2011 - what I did that seemed to work, how my profits and money looked, how much I sold and of what, and what I think I might do differently. I'm keeping my goals and expectations for the year to come modest, perhaps more realistic, and I'm conservatively hopeful and even a little excited about what is to come. It's been a long 2011, with a lot of downsides. But as I looked at 2012 and thought, "I have to cut back, I have to do less," because I was at my limit last year, I realized: this is non-negotiable. I'm looking forward to what's to come! It'll be fun! ;)

Free Pattern for Winter! The Diamond Scarf

In September, I took a chance on designing my very first knitting pattern. My goal was to do something so simple that even I could make it, and design a scarf that would look nice and yet highlight my pretty homespun. The result was my Diamond Scarf!



Well, it's now been written up, and tested, and I'm ready to release it to all of you, for free! It's my first pattern release since, er, the spring, I think, so I'm pretty excited about it!

Materials:
Worsted Weight Yarn (at least 150 yards)
Size 9 Knitting Needles

Finished Size:
Width: 11”
Length: 50”

The scarf can be easily shortened or lengthened as desired by using more or less yardage.

Gauge:
Approximately four stitches to the inch.

Abbreviations: Note that this pattern uses US definitions.
CO: Cast On
K: Knit
K2tog: Knit 2 together
YO: Yarn over

Directions:

You can modify the width of this pattern in intervals of five. Each interval of five increases or reduces the size by 1 and ¼ inch. Thus, if you want a scarf of 9 and ½ inches wide, only CO 33; or for a scarf of 13 and ½ inches wide, cast on 53; etc. To get a scarf approximate 11” wide, use the below instructions.

CO 43
Rows 1 – 8: Knit across

This pattern is constructed using a repeating 5 stitch motif.

Repeat the following pattern:
Row 1: K4, (K2tog, YO, K3) across, K4
Row 2: K4, purl across, K4
Row 3: K4, (K1, K2tog, YO, K2) across, K4
Row 4: K4, purl across, K4
Row 5: K4, (K2, K2tog, YO, K) across, K4
Row 6: K4, purl across, K4
Row 7: K4, (K3, K2tog, YO) across, K4
Row 8: K4, purl across, K4

Continue to desired length. Each repeat of this pattern adds approximately 2” in length. When you have repeated the pattern to the length that you would like, knit 8 rows, then bind off and finish.

Weave in ends. Block.

...And now you’re done!!

You can also download this pattern as a PDF from Ravelry by clicking this link!

Feel free to get in touch with me any time on his blog or on Ravelry if you have any questions!

Christmas Cards - It's That Time Again!

Wow, I can't believe it's already nearly the end of November! I've got Thanksgiving pie in the oven, plans all set for the weekend, and Christmas is right around the corner! Yes, it's that time again!

Do you write Christmas cards? If you are in the market for a truly special set of cards, I can work with you to pick out the images you like best from over hundreds of images I've taken of fall and winter, and custom print and cut you a set of cards just for you! My cards are currently selling for $2.50 each, but for the Holidays, you can get a set of 10 - 19 of my cards for $2.25 each, or 20 or more cards for $2 each! There are loads and loads of wonderful images for you to choose from, or you can tell me the kind of thing you want, and I can make suggestions!

Some of the possible images are in this post, where I advertised the cards last year (but ignore the prices, things change. ;) ). I've taken some wonderful images in the past year since then. I love winter photography!





















So, if you are in the market for some nifty, nifty cards, get in touch with me! I also do prints. For holiday orders, I'll need to know what cards you want by December 10th.

To get started placing your order, e-mail me at unforth AT yahoo DOT com!

Happy Thanksgiving, everyone!

Back on Track, Step by Step

It's funny, no matter how many times I go through this process, it's always so easy to forget that getting things done is a matter of taking it one step at a time. As soon as I let things accumulate - oh, I'm so far behind! oh, I have so much to do! oh, how could I have let so much time pass! - it gets overwhelming so fast, yet in the end, it's always as simple as just doing one thing.

One blog post, earlier this week, to own up to how far behind I've gotten.

One pattern, that I know is ready to go and be tested, now up in Free Pattern Testers here. I went with something recent - the scarf I made in September - but it's still a bit ambitious. I'm pretty busy, and it's my first knit pattern, and I'm really a crappy knitter still (though I'm getting better - I'm actually working on two knit projects right now!)



Once the testing is done on this, I'll be distributing this pattern for free, which gets me back on track in the area of releasing free patterns.

One day at a time, one thing at a time, I'm NOT going to give up on the dream of pulling off a craft business!

On Hiatus

Even though this blog has clearly been on hiatus, I've been strangely reluctant to go ahead and make a post to that effect. I have no idea why not. It's just been a crazy fall - though, I'm happy to say, mostly not in bad ways. After a rough spring and summer, I'm still busy with work, but I've also got some good things going on in my life. I'm still playing Nerd Wars like always, and being captain of a team keeps me pretty occupied. I'm modding for the Free Pattern Testers group on Ravelry, also, and keep assuming more duties. I've been traveling a lot, I've been working a lot, I've been trying to take more time with the dog, and to keep up my other responsibilities, and I've recently gotten in to a long distance relationship which is making me very happy, but also eating it's fair share of my time.

Something always falls through the cracks, and the last six months or so I guess I can't deny that that has been the craft business, and by extension this blog. I'm not gone - I'm still making things - but I don't just want my blog to be week after week of WIP Wednesday and FO Friday. So, while I figure out just what I'm doing with all this craft stuff - specifically, how can I find the time to get my patterns and such out there while still doing everything else that I'm supposed to do? - this blog has been on the sidelines.

It's not going to last long. It's surely a sign that I'm moving forward that I'm even making the hiatus post, and what's funny about it is that it's coming even as I'm expecting to break through my inertia - today, for the first time in ages, I looked at my to-do list and realized...I'm not late on ANYTHING for work right now. Oh, I've got things in progress, and a few things that are behind where they should be, but there's nothing that is waiting entirely on me that I look and think, "crap, I should have done that yesterday...or last week..." So, looking at Thursday, my next day in the office, I've decided: I'll do the work that has to be done, maybe a couple hours, and then I'm going to get organized on some pattern stuff. I've got two patterns written up that just needs some photographs before it can be tested, and I've got others that need to be prioritized, written up nicely, and then re-made by me. I know that, just as in all things, I just need to crack through the being frozen and start doing it regularly again - not every day, but often - and all will be well.

I'm looking forward to getting to share some actual honest to god progress again. Until then, I hope all of you are having a good year. :)

Work in Progress Wednesday - 10/12/2011

Well...things haven't been good in the blog-o-sphere for me, in that I've been incredibly negligent. Internet had proved to be an unexpected issue during my vacation (which was fantastic) but now I'm back, and it's good to go. I've got a new philosophy towards this blog, a new attitude towards my craft business in general, a new tournament of Nerd Wars, a new addiction to Doctor Who, and probably some other new stuff I'm not thinking of. I've also got a PILE of Works in Progress, cause I'm in the middle of a lot right now! :)

Socks!
The longest-term of these projects, I started at the beginning of September, and it was my main trip project. I tackled my first ever pair of socks!

The less said about the tip of the toe, the better, but for the rest, I'm quite happy with how the first one turned out. Thank god for self-striping yarn!

Mystery Spot Blanket
I made that pillow in August, and now I'm on to the whole blanket. I've made 3 entire squares and am in to the fourth already.

I'm spacing out the making of this over the next 3 months, so I'm almost done with this month's quota. :)

Spinning
The last few days, I've spun this:

Pretty thin. I'll be plying it with this:

Just as soon as it arrives from the lady I bought it from in the UK. :)

iPad Case
And last but not least, this unpromising bit of crocheting is going to be a case for my iPad.


So, that's me! It's good to be back! And there's more in the works, just not actually started yet. :)

Read all about everyone else's WIP over on Tamis Ami and Other Crochet Blog!

Finished Object Friday, 9/9/2011

Hey, I finished another project!

Beginner's Diamond Scarf
I've had this mental block about using my own homespun to make a project. The time had come to overcome this bit of ludicrousness, so I grabbed a hank of my spun yarn, and figured I'd use it to knit, cause knitting uses so much less yarn than crocheting and I wanted to make sure I ended up with something, ya know, usable. Anyway, while I was making the Gull Lace "Shawl," I realized that using those principles, it'd be pretty easy to design something similar, so I gave it ago. This scarf was the result!




I kept it very, very simple. I hoped that it would form a diagonal pattern, but instead it looks much more like diamonds. Ah well, it was a good first effort none-the-less. :) And it shows off my lovely Cathedral spun yarn, and will, I think be an excellent winter scarf for the coming season. So, er, small squee, I guess. :)

See the fine work of my fellow craft-bloggers over at Finished Object Friday (at the time of writing, her post isn't up yet! How unusual...) and over at Fiber Arts Friday!

Finished Object Friday, 9/2/2011

Well, I've missed an entire month of FO Friday, which means I've got an entire month of Finish Objects to share! And I did make a lot in that month...all of which were Nerd Wars submissions. Oy vey. It's definitely time for me to make something not NW related - and do a post about just what Nerd Wars is, so I can just link to that every time I talk about it. The super short version is...it's a Ravelry group for geeks. We're put on teams based on things that we are fans of, then compete to win points for our teams by making awesome FO inspired by our fandoms.

SO!

Under Arrest!
I made a little clutch for when I get arrested...




The Impala
My most ambitious FO of the past month, we were challenged in NW to make something out of non-traditional materials, so I used electrical tape, fishing line and wire to design a car.





I'm pretty proud of my little car, the wheels even turn and the doors open!

Gull Lace "Shawl"
I finally finished that "shawl"/blanket that I was knitting...

...only to discover that I seriously screwed up on my dye lots, and that my third spool was a flagrantly different shade. Fortunately, it doesn't actually show nearly as bad as in that picture!! I didn't even NOTICE til I took the shot...

Crochet Zouave Jacket
I also finally finished the crocheted zouave jacket I started in the spring.

As a reminder, I was making this based on a pattern from a fall edition of the Godey's Lady's Book published in 1862, but I discovered not long after starting that part of the pattern was actually completely incomprehensible, so I improvised like two thirds of it. It'd been like 4 hours from being finished for three months, so I'm glad to have finally FINISHED it, and I can wear it in the fall. :) The expensive, lovely fingering weight I used is soft as butta'.

Mystery Spot Pillow Case
Lastly, I made this pillow case (it's the both on both sides).

I finished this in 6 hours on Wednesday night, I've never crocheted so fast in my life, my hand wasn't hurting but it was getting crazy stiff. Unfortunately, it's much too big for the only pillow I've got, so it'll be a bit before I get a pillow that actually fits it.

Rainforest Worsted Weight
For good measure, I did some spinning! 8 ounces of pure wool, to be exact. I had four ounces each of blue and I had green, so I thought it'd be fun to mix them all together.

I just boiled it today, and once it's done, I think it's screaming "winter hat" - my old hat was made two years ago and has gotten so beat up that it's partly felted, just from all the snow it's been smothered in over the past couple winters.

Phew! It seems like a lot when I stack it all together like this, though in truth I spent most of the month feeling like a total slacker. Funny how perception is like that...

Go see all the awesome! Fiber Arts Friday! FO Friday! Wisdom Begins in Wonder and Tamis Amis and Other Creations blog - be there, or be...square? How about not-crafty?