Brrrrrr....

Wow, it is COLD outside!  I scurried from home to metro to Mazza Gallerie and back to see "It's Complicated."  It was cute and funny at times, though not a raucous comedy as they make it look in the previews.  Meryl Streep looks great, and Alec Baldwin's holding up pretty well too, though Steve Martin definitely has had some work done.  Definitely a chic flick!

Crochet-wise, I'm overrun with ideas but just haven't started the execution yet.  I came up with a boy's hat pattern for FaveCrafts, (I'll post the link when it comes out) but am torn between working on the shrug I'm envisioning and the little girl's afghan project.  Dah!  I'll probably just try to get each of them started and see what happens (my friend and life coach (for lack of a better term) DeAnn says it's ok because it's probably my true preference according to the Myers-Briggs Personality Testing :-).  She gave me a stack of reading, which of course I've done none of (sorry DeAnn!), but I will next week.  It really is interesting to get insights into why and how you do the things that you do.

Alright, I hear the dinner bell, so off I go....

Today's Thought:  I don't care how well a hat is crocheted, it's just not warm enough for weather like this!

Just My Luck

Of course I misjudged how much yarn I would need for my newest design project -- another sweater for a little girl.  And, of course the yarn is now discontinued!  But, thanks to a wonderful yarn lover in Houston, TX (http://www.yarnlove.com/), I will hopefully be getting 4 more balls in short time!  She's a sole proprietor too, so I started to read her cool blog and thought I would pass it along, especially this posting on new FTC rules for bloggers (http://craftygreenmom.com/2009/10/blog-with-integrity-its-what-the-ftc-wants-you-to-do/) that require that bloggers to disclose if they've received compensation to review or promote a product.

I'm in the clear because all of the "today's thoughts" really are just that -- my thoughts on something I've come across and thought was worth sharing.  I'm not getting compensated (nuts!), but if I do, I will be sure to let you know ;-)

Today's Thought:  Mmmm, loving my Culligan filtered hand-held shower head -- we have a lot of chlorine in our water here in D.C., and this shower head with replaceable filter removes all sorts of stuff from our water.  Of course my favorite filter shop has it at a great price http://www.discountfilterstore.com/

Happy New Year!!

Wow, 2010, here we are!

I had such a great day today, I hope it's a sign of how the year is going to go.  I went to Barnes & Noble and found "Inside Crochet", a crochet magazine from England!  I haven't had a chance to really pour through it yet, but one word of caution that I have to remind myself of -- the English use different crochet abbreviations for stitches than we do here in the US.  But, I'm still excited to see how crocheters in other countries approach projects and what they're focusing on in the UK.

I also had lunch with a friend of mine who's currently living in Germany.  I got him to agree to look for crochet magazines for me when he gets back there :-)

I also figured out how to add more "buttons" to the blog for Ravelry and Lifetips, but these were harder because I had to configure the HTML myself to match up the pictures and the website addresses -- I'm feeling like quite the techie ;-)  It really was fun in a way.  Maybe this is the first step in getting me to the point where I can actually tackle doing something with my main website, but let's not get ahead of ourselves, let me just bask in the glory of getting two buttons working right!!

Ok, I need to go get ready now for a private lesson that I've got scheduled for tomorrow morning.  Happy New Year to everyone again, and thanks for reading my blog!

Today's Thought:  http://www.knitpicks.com/ seems to be very knitters-oriented, but they have an amazing palette of yarns, so might be worth checking out http://www.knitpicks.com/yarns/Palette_Yarn__D5420132.html?intmedid=Bottom1:Palette+Colorwork

The Last Post of the Year

Hard to believe the end of the year is here and that we're starting a new decade.  Time seemed to go so slowly as a child, but now just seems to zoom by.  Well, I'm not going to get sloppy and sentimental about stuff, "it is what it is".

But, I do want to wish everyone a great new year ahead, full of fun, health, and lots of crochet!!

Today's Thought:  If you go out tonight, just be safe.

Too Soon?

Well, I've already got  a free Valentine's heart pattern posted on my Ravelry designer page and on FaveCrafts (http://www.favecrafts.com/Valentines-Day/Pink-and-Red-Crocheted-Hearts)!  It's probably too soon, but it's nice to be thinking about Valentine's Day, mainly because it means that we will be half way through winter by then!  Though I did just see candy heart boxes in Macy's today, so I guess I've got to go with the flow :-)

Also, I am extending the special pricing on the Yarn Club for Crocheters until January 15, 2010, because I've been having some technical difficulties in advertising the discount.  But that's it, so sign up soon ;-)

Today's Thought:  Having trouble keeping the sides of your crocheted blankets straight and even?  Hope this newly-posted tip on http://www.crochet.lifetips.com/ helps!  Check under the category "starting a project".

A Revamp is in Order!

As the new year approaches, I will of course use it as an excuse to try to recommit to half-done projects, to reorganize my ever-growing yarn stash, and to revamp my online presence.  I meant it when I said that technology is overwhelming -- there are new widgets, apps, and programs available every day to do things that you never thought of.  And, as each one comes out (and I become aware of it!), it makes me rethink the way the blog is organized and what I've posted, the services that I use, and whether I'm ever going to actually get my "real" website up and running :-)

But, I think all of that might have to take a back seat right now to my creative juices, they are flowing!  I'm having a project spurt and I need to just go with it.  I wish I could be more methodical, setting aside the same time blocks each week to take care of preplanned tasks, but who am I kidding?!  I guess since my day job is so structured, I let my crochet life be free flowing.  Well, it is important to get in touch with one's inner artist :-)  I hope to have pictures and patterns posted soon.

Today's Thought:  I'm going to repeat my encouragement to all the crocheters to join http://www.ravelry.com/  It's free and easy and there are so many talented knitters and crocheters on there, sharing their creations.

Technology Can Be So Overwhelming!

So, I was thinking about the monthly newsletter that Helen and I send out each month for Many Creative Gifts and what changes, if any, we might want to make to it for the new year.  I was also thinking about how to make more people aware of it and make it easy for them to sign up and how to make back issues available.  So, I decided to do a search of "how to add email subscriptions to a blog".  The result?!  I think I've yet signed away even more of my life to Google!  Google Feedburner provides a free email subscription service (you can see it to the left) -- if you sign up, you will get my latest posts by email!  I will also add you to our monthly newsletter email distribution list.

For those of you wondering if you want to sign up for yet another newsletter, let me tell you a little bit about ours.  It comes out monthly, usually around the 15th of the month, and basically has 4 sections:  mind, body, spirit, and... crochet!  Each section tries to give a useful tip for the month, and we try to include some free recipes and crochet patterns as well.  We try hard to make it interesting and helpful, so if you would like to check it out and keep up with our blogging, then please sign up!

Today's Thought:  Amazing how white, fluffy, frozen water can bring the kid out in just about anyone!  Hope all of you on the East Coast are enjoying the blizzard (don't think about the aftermath just yet!)