Moving ASAP

I may be off line for a few days as I shuttle all my stuff to the new house. I have no idea how quickly we can get the computers back on line. I'm bummed that I may be stuck with dial-up.  It's another disappointment after learning our dryer won't work out there, and there is no garbage disposal. It's rustic, that's for sure. I guess I should be grateful that they have Internet access at all.  I'll be living on a dirt road as well. I'm going to have to invest in hiking boots. My sandals just won't cut it. The earth is very rocky with lots of stickers. But I am looking forward to the solitude. And the night sky should be amazing far from the city lights. It's going to be culture shock. They did promise to paint the trim on the house, and that should make it look more cheerful.

A Night Out With the Knitters

I was showing someone my witch doll yesterday and how I still needed to make the hair and the hat and maybe a broomstick or a cat.  As I was tucking it away it suddenly dawned on her.  "Oh, you made that from scratch.  I thought you bought it that way and had to finish it." LOL  I guess like a kit. Not only did I make it, I didn't even use a pattern.  I want each doll to be different. I want to flex my creative muscles.

At any rate, I didn't take my reading glasses so sewing the doll was out of the question.  But I was able to work on the knitting as the double pointed needles are fairly large and it's just regular size yarn (worsted weight).

One of the women was working on embroidery over a silkscreened background print, and it was so beautiful.  It made me miss embroidery. Must get back to that soon. 

How to Make a Crafter Cry

Today I went to a grocery store to pick up some chicken for dinner.  And then I saw it.  My favorite thrift store was gone! I go there almost every week and never saw any signs of it's demise.  They will be re-opening in Fountain Valley, but that's 15 miles from me. And even so, once they are in a new building, the prices will no doubt increase to help pay the bill. They built a new Goodwill across the street from me a few years ago, but their used prices are higher than retail, so I don't even go there.

Video of Me Talking About the Knifty Knitter and Bead Embroidery

I know I haven't posted lately so hopefully this video will make up for it and catch you up on what I've been up to as 2009 comes to an end.

Four New Paintings

I'm supposed to be working on my Nanowrimo novel, so of course all I want to do is paint. I've done four paintings in two days to try out my new watercolor crayons. I like the little girl in the snow the best. It's called 'Snow Day'. Next time I'll tape the paper down to a board first so it won't curl as much. These were all painted with a combination of watercolor crayons, watercolor pencils and white acrylic paint. They dry quickly. They are in a folk art or naive style. Ironically, once you've learned to paint in art classes, it's harder to go back and paint in a primitive style and throw proportions to the wind.

Power Outage

Last night I was just about to grab an Etsy treasury at 5:20 AM only my power went out at 5:15 AM. Some sort of weird auxiliary lights came on inside the apt. And right as the lights blipped the first time I heard a popping noise out on the street. So I wonder if we blew a transformer. That has happened once before on this block. I'm glad I was already up because my aquarium filter was making a godawful noise. The power shortage somehow interrupted the siphon and the pump was running dry. If that had gone on until morning it surely would have burned out the pump or maybe even caused a fire. So I unplugged it until morning and also unplugged my answering machine which kept trying to restart with the weak current going through it. My ISP wouldn't work at all. Finally I went to bed about 6 AM and by morning, everything was back on line again. But alas for me, no treasury. :(
At least the aquarium filter seems OK.

Craft fair tomorrow

Right now I'm getting ready for a craft fair.
It will be at the Anaheim Cultural Arts Center
280 E. Lincoln
Anaheim CA from 9-2 on Nov. 10, 2007.
It is a fund raiser for the Anaheim Ballet so come on down and support the arts.