July is Racing By in Craft Land

Hello out there in craft land. I’ve been busier than a long tailed cat in a roomful of rocking chairs.

And my limited satellite bandwidth makes it hard to blog at all. I’m hoping to switch to something better but the company I am changing to has a 2 month wait for installing the service. Talk about a bad infrastructure out here.

Anyway, my newest project is a crocheted necklace made of flowers with 5 petals.  So far the colors are red, gray, cream and maybe I’ll add light purple.

In pottery I had a burst of creativity and made a bunch of things including little dish shapes for a rain chain, a dragon for my marionette show, a puffy box for storing paint brushes, a twisty vase for knitting needles, 2 marionette heads, 2 fairy doors and some doll faces and shoes. Holy cow I’m going to need to slow down and finish some things. I wanted to go yesterday but I coughed all night. Then I wanted to go today and woke up with a nasty migraine. Part of the slowdown is I have to give the studio staff a chance to fire everything.  There are many students now and piles of stuff to fire.

Also, I am doing embroidery on a denim apron. That is slow going because it makes my hands hurt. I need to start using a thimble (work smart not hard).  I just get lazy about it.

I also got some red bandanna fabric so I could sew an official country blouse, now that I live in the country. I haven’t decided on the pattern though. We shall see.

Now off I go to make all the things. Peace out. 

All the discs for the Rain Chain have been glazed and fired. I just need to assemble it.

Class Update

I'd like to fill up my craft classes in Lucerne Valley, CA, so here is the new information: http://pigglewiggins.com/content/arts-crafts-classes Make sure you click on the Read More button at the bottom of the paragraph. A few lucky people got to take my Right Angle Weave Earring class for free. If you missed out you can still take it, but it is now $10. a session.
Right now I'm making a waiting list for the Brick Stitch Earrings.

Right Angle Weave Earrings made from Black and Red agate beads and crystal faceted beads. 

Crafty Update

When I don't get enough sleep I don't feel like creating anything. We've had high winds which keep me awake at night. I worry about the chicks. If the power goes off the heat lamp will go off. Last night our water pump went off. I think the power blinked and flipped the breaker. But luckily the heat lamp on another circuit stayed on so the chicks were fine today. They are growing so fast! I had to build them a new brooder but did it for under $10 thanks to Pinterest.

I'm at the library so no pics. But when the first rolls around I'll have enough bandwidth to do Blogger at home.

I started a gauge square for knitted socks. The needles were too big so I got smaller needles. So I am ready to go as soon as I have a spare moment. The sock yarn is called Rusty Stripes.  Sock names are weird don't you think?

I've seen some cool home dec ideas on the Dottie Angel blog. I liked her collection of wall knick-nacks and was thinking of hanging up some mirrors when I stepped on the back of a mirror and cracked it. My cat knocked it off a pile of boxes. Naughty kitty. And he scratched me today when he flung himself into my arms. Left a 1 inch gash right through my sweater on my left arm by my elbow. He needs to be an outdoor kitty but there are too many predators out there.

Just today I had to relocate a squirrel. And I think we have feral kitties in one of our old storage buildings. So that is a whole new problem in our yard.

My library time is up in 8 minutes, so I guess I am out of here. Maybe I'll go have a peanut butter milkshake at Cafe 247. And lunch. It's already 3 PM. Bye bye.

Voodoo Doll Made With Cotton Yarn

Yesterday was my busiest craft day in a long while. I went to Fanciwerks from 10 to 5 to meet with local fiber artists. I had planned to work on 3 or 4 projects but then I got into knitting my voodoo doll and I wanted to finish it. It seems like it has been so long since I finished a knitting project. I can't believe I ran out of time! So I didn't quite get the heart in the right place. Today I had to cut it off and re-position it. But I am satisfied now.

The debate rages on as to whether (in the USA) you can buy a craft pattern, make the item and then sell it. I don't think it would be a very nice thing to do, but lately I've been reading about how it won't hold up in court. Especially if you used a different color of yarn, yadda yadda. I don't know, and I wish I could sell these but I won't. But I do have some idea for new dolls based on big head, small body.

A lot of artists are now saying why buy the pattern at all, if your hands are tied as far as selling it? Just another can of worms caused by the Internet.

Yesterday I felt like I was in an awkward position. One of the knitters had made a beautiful sweater from a pattern in a magazine. She offered to copy the  pattern and give it to all of us. She was counting hands to see who wanted it. I said I'll have to pass because of copyright issues. The rest of them said I was incorrect. Well, magazines are copyrighted last I checked, as is the pattern. Whether the designer holds the copyright or the magazine does, I'm sure someone does. Yes, even if it is an old magazine.

None of us like these rules when they are not in our favor. But as a knitwear designer, when I sell a pattern, I would want to protect my rights. And so I want to protect the rights of other artists everywhere.

After knitting, I went to Burning House and worked on my marionettes and my rain chain. I had a lovely talk with some of the people there about hypnosis and metaphysics. And I got four of my pots back that had been fired last week. So a productive day all around.

Ceramic Rain Chain

Today I started a new project I've wanted to do for awhile. It's called a rain chain and I learned about them on Pinterest. I'm making little dishes out of my white paper clay. Then they will be sorted by size and linked together with beads and chains to make a rain chain that goes from my eves to the ground. Considering the wind out here I think I'll sink it into a bucket of cement in the ground. I've never made anything like this before. I'm excited.

I'll take them to pottery class tomorrow and make some more.

Knitting in Lucerne Valley, CA

 Spring has arrived at my home in Lucerne Valley. In spite of the chickens trying to eat these daffodils when they first sprouted, they've managed to bloom.

Moonrise in Lucerne Valley CA

 I'm enjoying the perfect weather before the blasting heat of summer arrives. We have a very short spring here. And it is still winter according to the calendar. I bought a red pear tree to plant as well as 2 olive trees. The olive trees are different varieties and will cross-pollinate each other. The label promises more and better fruit if you do it that way.

I think this photo will be a good reference for a future painting.

The sunsets here are often spectacular.

Northern Lights Cowl folded in half.

 A nice knitted cowl to stave off the cold.  With much of the U.S. still covered in snow, I'm sure someone out there needs this so it is going in my Etsy shop.

Pretty cowl (neck scarf loop) to keep the chill off.

 The cowl in it's normal width.  Hand knitted in acrylic yarn. The name of the yarn is Northern Lights.

A view of Lucerne Valley, CA at sunset.

The view from my front yard.

I hope some of the Joshua trees bloom this year but I don't see any buds yet. They have huge white flowers.  They don't bloom every year and we didn't get much rain this year.

Making a Gelatin Printing Plate

I just poured my first Gelli plate for printmaking. The directions should have been simple, but there is a discrepancy between how many packets of gelatin to add to the mix. It says '7 1 oz packets' but the whole box weighs 1 oz and has 4 packets. So as per the directions I have to let it set overnight. I wanted it to be twice as thick so I will double the recipe next time. I don't have enough glycerin right now to do another batch. I made my best guess and we'll see how it turns out. Also, the new clear acrylic frame I'm using as a mold wasn't really flat on top when I opened it. It was slightly convex. So I hope it all comes out. I think that is why I've been procrastinating. The instructions are a bit ambiguous.

One Inch Square (Inchie) Art

Today I figured I was well enough to get back to the business of being an artist. I was dying to get started on several projects. The first one is making an Inchie Art Embroidery Piece. I'm doing my best to stick to a natural color scheme (white, brown, tan, muted tones). So I pre-washed and ironed some thin muslin. Part of this I dyed in a coffee bath. Part of it I left natural and hung to dry. Then I ironed it and drew a grid of 1" squares on it.  If this was going to be my final piece, I would just embroider every square. But since I rarely do things the easy way, I'm going to cut out and hem each piece, so in reality, only some of the squares will have embroidery or embellishments on them. The rest of the squares will be part of the seam allowances. This muslin was very thin so I doubled it to make a better foundation for the embroidery.

My first square is a little brown sheep. The second one is a bit of pink ribbon. The third one is a button sunflower. Some of the squares will be set on the diagonal, and some will be horizontal.

My kitten thought it was playtime and he really interfered with me getting much done.  Then we both took a nap.  The coffee dyed fabric should be dry now so I'll go bring that in and iron it.

Ready for embroidery and embellishing.

One inch grid on muslin.

Brown sheep with button head. I tried to hold the button on with French knots but it just popped right off.
I think I can do better.

Button sunflower, brown sheep, and pink ribbon.  I'm looking for just the right thing to put on the ribbon inchie.

Button sunflower on the diagonal.

The 2nd project is a primitive doll or prim. That was why I bought the coffee in the first place. So I also threw the doll's face into the boiling coffee.  She's hanging out on the line too.

Polly Pyewacket before coffee bath.

After being boiled in coffee. I thought it would be much darker. I may have to bake it.

My View On Multiple Projects For Knitters & Crocheters

Multiple Projects

When I am in my pottery workshop it is impractical to make just one pot from start to finish.

If I throw a pot today, it will be wet for at least a week. It has to be covered in plastic and dried slowly so it doesn't crack. Then it has to be trimmed, then left to dry, then fired, then glazed, then fired again at least once. The whole process might take a month or more. So during the rest of the workshop I’m not just going to sit there twiddling my thumbs. I’m going to throw another pot.

In oil painting, a painting may be too wet to do anything else that day. It must be left to dry another week or so. In the meantime, I will start another painting. In a week or two I may have a dozen paintings in various stages of being finished. Sometimes I won’t know what to do next. Or I might have a commission to finish. Or a birthday deadline. Or maybe that painting just wasn't working out to begin with and needs to be painted over. Or I may not have the skill level to finish it at this time.

But for some reason when it comes to knitting and crocheting, the artist often feels they must finish one thing at a time from start to finish. They punish themselves by not allowing themselves to start anything new. Often their current project begins to bore them and grinds to a halt. Or they can’t go on because they broke or lost a needle or a hook.  Or the project has so many mistakes they can’t bear to pick it up again. Or maybe they realize they didn't charge enough and have lost their motivation. Or they don’t have the skills yet to finish.

No matter the reason it is always good to have another project on stand-by. I like to keep one mindless project I can grab if I am going to be stuck at an auto mechanic or a doctor’s office or a train ride. I switch off between knitting and crocheting because each uses different muscles and my hands don’t get so many repetitive injuries. I like to keep a hard project handy so I can improve my skills and not get stuck in a rut. And I like to keep something super fun handy, like crocheting teddy bears, so that when I just want to relax and have fun that’s my go-to project. And I have seasonal projects going, like hearts for Valentine’s Day or potholders for wedding presents. And now I’ve learned the hard way to always have a prayer shawl in the works long before its needed. Oh, and a charity project. I think I’d kill my creativity if I stuck to one thing from beginning to end. I’d go bonkers! I’m not saying you should start 100 projects and not finish anything.  I’m saying it is not unreasonable to have 5 or 6 going at any one time. 

I had to stop working on this because my cat always used to pounce me and then we lost the cat so it made me too sad to work on it. I just started working on it again this week.

My current favorite project is this Hitchhiker Scarf from Ravelry

Crocheted Magenta Hat

It is rare that I start and finish a project in the same day, much less the same evening.  But I just whipped up a magenta hat.  It started as a beanie, then wanted to be a slouch cap, but that didn't really happen so now it's a rather long beanie. I rather like the way it came out, or maybe I'm just tired and delusional!  It is now just past midnight so I think I'll wrap things up and go to bed.

Overcoming Creative Block

First, you immediately stop doing anything creative. If possible do something the complete opposite of whatever has you blocked. Since a lot of creativity is mental, it might be helpful to take up something physical. Perhaps a daily walk, or going bowling with friends or taking your tennis racket out of mothballs. 

If you have health issues that are causing you pain, that can also kill your creativity, so deal with those if possible. 

If you are grieving, making things can be an escape, but if you escape too much you aren't dealing with the thing causing you the grief. Allow yourself to experience that fully so you can perhaps gain some balance. Repressing things isn't healthy in the long run. 

Focus on any beauty you can find around you: The sunrise, the local zoo, photos on Pinterest or Flickr, your favorite happy movie. 

I find writing in a journal helpful. You can backtrack to when you first felt like you were losing your mojo. Was it when someone died? Was it when you felt like you weren't selling enough on Etsy? Was it when you gave up something you loved to focus on something that would sell? If you can figure out what went wrong, you can fix it. Sometimes it is just the doldrums, and this too shall pass. 

Also I find if I clean a table completely off, or clean my sewing area or clean my kitchen, I suddenly find myself ready to create something new in that space. Clutter can freeze up all your creative energy. Sweep out any corners with dead energy. I hope something I said helps.

Lastly, be kind to yourself. You are not a robot or a sweatshop. If you had a lot of deadlines before Christmas or a custom order, you probably have burn-out and should rest and do simple things that make you happy. Don't rush it. Sooner or later your creativity will come rushing back.

Hobby Lobby in Victorville, CA 

Crochet Projects on the Hook

Good morning. Since I don't want my new Mood Afghan 2015 project to take over my entire craft blog, I've made it it's very own page. Just click on the link.

I'm also working on the project I've come to think of as the Accidental Hat.  It was supposed to be a circular afghan.  But it was sitting next to my desk yelling at me "I want to be a hat." So guess what? Now I'm making it into a tam or a slouch cap or something. We'll see.

The Accidental Hat by Fayme Harper ©2015

New Projects For a New Year

Some of my New Year's rituals have ended. Without a TV and with limited bandwidth, I no longer watch 'the ball drop' nor can I watch the Rose Parade. Those were pretty passive things to do anyway. Instead I decided to get started on my new free form crocheted afghan. I'll be doing a different color each day for a year. Then I'm going to start my brand new line of resin distressed jewelry, talismans, prayer boxes, amulets and pocket shrines.

A New Day For A Fresh Start

Around midnight last night I was just about done with making an embossed box out of a soda can using a tutorial I found on Youtube. As I folded up the first side, it broke off in my hand. I threw all the parts away.  But now I'm thinking I might be able to salvage some of it and use it for journal embellishments or hang tags or something, so I guess I'll dig it out of the trash and try to add a patina. Last night after it broke, five minutes later my glasses fell apart. So I decided I was done for the night.

Today the weather is as beautiful as weather ever gets so I'm going to go out in the  yard and work on crafts.

The Problem With Knitting and Crocheting

I just frogged an infinity scarf I was making. In spite of 5 tutorials explaining what an easy pattern this Feather and Fan is, I kept losing a stitch somewhere and having to fudge it by adding a random stitch somewhere, or I'd have the right side rows facing to the backside of the scarf! Ack. So I took the whole thing out. I think I've figured out how not to do it wrong, or maybe I'm just a glutton for punishment because I'm starting again. I'm casting on 88 stitches on size 10 needles. There is an 8 stitch border on each side and I'm starting with 8 knitted rows. I need to keep better track because the pattern is a 4 row repeat and I don't want to end up with the front facing the back again.


And speaking of knitting projects, I joined a knitting group on Facebook. Some of those knitters have already picked out their projects for the entire year of 2015!  Which brings me to another point. A few years ago I decided to cut back on knitting and crochet for 3 reasons. First, people still think of them as granny crafts and aren't willing to buy them for a price that reflects the time spent and the materials involved. And if you decide to sell the pattern instead, people often feel entitled to a free pattern, especially if they are just going to make it once. Second, they are hard on the hands and very time consuming. In the time it takes to knit one scarf out of yarn I could probably sew 10 out of fabric. Third; they create a huge amount of clutter, at least the way I do it. Skeins of yarn are like Tribbles; they end up in every room, drawer, closet and storage space.

The problem is knitting and crochet are both portable. I can take a project to a waiting room or a train ride or a bus station.  Try that with oil painting or mosaics or stained glass or pottery.  So when I just want to surf the Internet or sit in a park, knitting and crocheting are the easiest to keep up with. But because I get so sucked into the knitting and crocheting, I sit too much.  I think I've gotten lazier over the years and just lean towards projects where I can sit in one chair a long time and not get up.  I can't do that with sewing. I have to hop up and iron something every five minutes. I can't do that with clay. And yarn is a clean medium.  It's not messy like casting resin or gluing art journals together. And don't get me started on the cost. Now that I've joined a real knitting group in a real knitting shop, I've never spent so much on yarn in my life.  Even if I choose not to buy the $20. a skein yarn at the shop, I might go buy something similar for $10. a skein at Hobby Lobby or Michaels, when before I stuck to yarns that were under $5. a skein.  And if I spend $100 on yarn, that's $100 I can't spend on paints or chainmail supplies or candle wax. So don't knit, you say.  Knitting is so addicting and there is guilt involved. Every project I don't finish makes me feel guilty. It feeds my imagination and there is always more I want to try.  Socks? Sure. Cowls? Why not.  Slippers? My mom made us slippers when I was little. So there is an emotional connection there.

For some reason if you paint, throw pots, or draw in pen and ink, people call you an artist.  But if you knit, people just think, "Oh that is so cute, deary. My auntie used to make those too." I've given up on trying to change the world's view of knitting. It is what it is. I just can't seem to give it up. I must have yarn in my veins. And no other craft seems to go so well with sitting at a computer. I tried doing beading at my computer and I just kept dropping things on the floor.  I'm sure I'm not the only one with these issues.

An almost finished knitted bunny rabbit.

This will be a crocheted bear.

Calling It Quits Folks

Stick a fork in me, I’m done.

After many years of blogging I’m calling it quits. I’ve done everything I know to build a following.

I follow a lot of blogs and they all have fans and readers that leave comments and participate and even buy things from them. I constantly promote the works of others, but there is no reciprocation.

After spending thousands of hours and taking thousands of photos the task has expanded to eat up large portions of my day. I have over 70 blogs, and 3 of them are daily blogs. I’m going to take all that time I used to spend blogging and use it on things like writing novels, sewing a new wardrobe, and making things to sell. I’m sure I can find something to do with all that time.

I’m leaving my blogs up, since I’m sure they’ll be useful to someone from time to time. And every now and then I may miss it and make a few new posts. I don’t think anyone will notice one way or the other if I blog or don’t blog. When all is said and done, I think it only mattered to me. 

Crocheting a Snood

Bunny needs eyes.

Work in Progress Wednesday: Knitting and Weaving & Other Fun Things

Well, I'm taken my first woven hat off the cardboard loom. I took it to the knitting gathering at Fanciwerks and it was a big hit. I did the crocheted edging and now I'm weaving in ends. And weaving in ends. And weaving in ends.

Top of beret.

Inspired by that success I grabbed an old oak frame that for some mysterious reason was left sitting out in the weather and sanded it as best I could and warped it to make a new weaving. I just don't know what design I want to make yet so I stopped there. It's a big time commitment so I want to make sure I pick a design that inspires me.

Warping a frame for weaving.

As far as knitting goes I'm still working on the 2x2 ribbed 'architect's scarf'.

As far as crochet goes I did all the granny squares for my purse and now what?

I'm also making a funerary wreath from a grape vine base. I need to put that together today for the service on Oct. 13.

Autumn wreath with side spray.

I also need to get my fashion box together to send to my neice Faith, my birthday box for my grandson 'Gameboy,' and a pair of socks I'm knitting for him. The birthday already passed. That's how far behind I am.

And I have a plethora of pottery items that will need glazing when I get into the studio tomorrow. Ack!

I want to make dolls too. And I just ordered another amigurumi animal book, a paper piecing quilting book, 2 weaving books and some cards for card weaving. Yeah, I'm a bit busy. And this doesn't even include the non-crafting portion of my life.

The one from the library is falling apart so I just ordered my own copy.

The hat is in this book. I decided I better buy a copy before I wore out the one from the library.

Making a Perpetual Calendar

Today I remembered I had started a perpetual calendar years ago. I suddenly wanted to write something on it. I poked around my desk and found it. I got out of the habit of using it after we moved to Lucerne Valley. Now I'm really thankful I started it, because I moved to today's date and found that 2 years ago yesterday we drove out to Lucerne Valley to pick up the keys for this house. So yesterday was our 2 year anniversary. And that is the beauty of perpetual calendars.

Oct. 13 would have been Guy's mom's birthday. But it is the day she will be buried. So reading that in the perpetual calendar was poignant. But it makes me appreciate life more. The previous entry was in 2011. It said we forgot her birthday. Talk about feeling guilty!

So, if you want to make your own perpetual calendar, here is how to do it. Get a box big enough to hold about 400 index cards. I like using the multicolored cards, but that is up to you. I used a clear recipe card box I got at a dollar type store.

Then you need one divider for each month. I used old postcards cut to size. Then you need to put the dates on each card and keep them all in order in the box.  Then on that day of each month you write down the most significant event. I try to write it on one line, but sometimes it takes  2 lines. Put that card to the back so the next day is ready to go in front. You will miss days. That's okay. Just put that card to the back.

If you have young children it is a helpful way to keep track of those big moments like first tooth, first haircut, and so on. It's only a sentence a day, when you don't have time for the baby book or the blog post.

Boho Gypsy Style Purse

Right now I'm working on a granny square boho purse. The granny square I chose has a tutorial here: http://edascrochetroom.wordpress.com/2011/04/http://edascrochetroom.wordpress.com/2011/04/. So I made six of these (three for the front and three for the back of the purse in autumn colors. From here on out I have to figure out how to attach all the pieces and fill in the background. No one seems to call them purses anymore. Everyone else calls them handbags around here. I'm looking forward to making the fringe but that's a long ways off.

Center of granny square.

I need six of these for the handbag.

Getting Ready For the Pow-wow

I am dealing with a mountain of unfinished projects. Ever since I joined Burning House Art Gallery, I'm making pots faster than I can keep up. Right now everything is trimmed and in drying mode. That's only because I didn't throw any new pots yesterday.  I did make a plaque with a roadrunner carved into it and some ankh beads yesterday. I put a handle on the pitcher and trimmed another bottle. By the time I cleaned up the mess from that, it was time to go home. How can 4 hours  pass so quickly?

I didn't even knit at the knitting meeting. I worked on origami.  I wanted to send cards today so I wrote my two cards, made 3 origami cranes and then it was time to grab dinner before pottery. I had so many errands to run yesterday that by the time I got to the knitting thing, I was too tired to knit.

I got some odd balls of yarn at the thrift store to use in my Abandoned Art give-away stick weavings. It's the perfect use for small bits of yarn.

All the photos I took yesterday are still on my camera somewhere. I think I left it in the back of the car, but my boyfriend needed to drive that car to work today, so I'm pretty sure my camera went with him.

From here on out I'm dropping everything except the projects I need to finish for the Pow-wow in Lucerne Valley, CA on Sat. Oct. 4 and Sun. Oct 5, 2014. I can resume the other projects after the Pow-wow. If you are a local it will be at Pioneer Park this time. If you are not local, it's not a huge event. I personally wouldn't drive 300 miles to be there, unless your family is dancing there or something. Even worse there is a similar event in Apply Valley/Victorville area the same weekend. I wish they'd coordinate and have similar events on different weekends.

The medicine pouch necklaces I'm knitting for the Pow-wow.

Using circular needles to knit pouches.

The pitcher I put a handle onto last night.