Sew Dance

I finished the Study of Planet Earth CAL. Yay! Another project done. However I did buy the yarn this year. After putting my last bit of stash in my craft closet (of doom) I'm pretty sure I have more than I started the year with. Oh well. Plenty of time to catch up on some things before the end of the year with the way my job search is going. And this is progress on my friend's afghan. However the temp climbed up and this one is getting a bit large so back to cross stitching. So, I made a  facebook page  for my Lilla Rose business. I've been thinking, they make good shawl pins. Use one to keep your shawl on at a wedding, then when you warm up from dancing, pin your hair up. Hehe. No nibbles on the job front quite yet, despite the increased views on my LinkedIn . Might start looking for places to be a vendor, assuming they don't have a big upfront cost.

So this is all I got to for Waterfall Dragons before developing a crick in my neck for a few days. Which led to going back to this until it started getting a little too warm. And then starting this which is a wedding present for a former co-worker. She chose the yarn and pattern. I was worried the pattern would get lost in the yarn, but it's turning into a nice gradient. So, not sure what Clyde was looking at here. But I did get him on TV for Black Cat Appreciation day. Speaking of work, I will no longer have a job by the middle of November. A contract was not renewed so my services (along with about 150 other people) will no longer be required. The closure many people, including governors in two states, weighing in as a local TV news outlet will be disappearing. That being said, I've started job hunting again. Any help would be appreciated and I will really have to stick to my "no stash buying" rule I tried to implement earlier this month.....

I didn't do much crafting this week. Monday and Tuesday were spent on job hunting. Wednesday I went to an event at NYIT in the evening. Thursday I managed to get a good # of the squares done for the CAL. Friday was a wash because I was busy. Saturday I finished the squares and pulled out 2 cross-stitch to start, but one I didn't have the floss cards made and the other I had missed a few rows when I made a working copy of the chart. Now, I can't find the book the pattern was in. I did however, finish sorting and rearranging my floss.     I still may need a 5th set of rings. 

So I'm working on Pg6 of Peacocks. All colors have officially been used. Additionally I started the Yarnspirations CAL. 20 granny squares made for part 1. Came across another CAL called Sophie's Universe which is calling to me... But I shall refrain. For now. Still applying to jobs, have an interview on Monday for a possible opportunity. Also starting to look into freelance work some more.

I finished pages 2, 2a, and have most of 3 completed on Peacocks. If this looks familiar it's because it is. I finally finished my redo of my Chrysanthemum shawl. It now matches the finished size from the pattern, but I didn't use the 4th ball of yarn Also finished this little guy although I'm going to reattach his limbs so he's a little floppier. Right now he doesn't sit up on his own. Also going to add a mane. Also accomplished this week is forcing myself to write. I bought a course a few year ago and am going to make it through it to the end this time. I bundled the first 3 weeks of lessons together so at the moment, I'm letting my muse fly around and find me new ideas. So far it likes to bring them to me when I'm trying to go to sleep. I'm also back on the job hunt. I've had a freelance job since October and while that gave me peace of mind to take a rest from applying for a while, it's only once or twice a week now th...

My progress on Dancing Couple. The dragon filet. And look! I finished the lacy cami. A little too poofy for my tastes now that I finished it. Onto etsy it goes. Oh, if the 'skirt' looks different from the last time I posted it, it is. I ripped it out completely and redid it after realizing the 'v-stitch' directions were wrong. (They said ch 1, the remaining instructions always referred to ch 2) The change made the it a much looser, less poofy fabric. I still required an extra ball of yarn than the directions said I would. I didn't get as much done this week as I usually do. I had a two day job as a videographer for an equestrian event. Up at 4am, be there at 6am, show started about 8am, done around 5pm. I've included some pictures I took of the course (in between horses). The first picture is of my company for the morning of the first day. After this I'm really convinced I need to find a full-time...

What did I work on this week? It's more like what didn't I work on. I started a lot of crochet projects, but none could really keep my attention. There's a skirt. Two shawls (the brown I'm unhappy with the drape. By the way, that's an E hook). A dress. I even did a bit of plastic canvas in the form of an e-reader case and the kitty purse. And started a fuzzy scarf (not pictured.) I additionally bought more yarn stash. I local yarn store is closing at the end of the month and I took advantage of their 50% off sale. Most of this is cotton. The green is a superwash wool blend and the orange/brown is merino. I'm going to see if this is the one wool I'm not allergic to. It's also where I got the e-reader case. Then today, a friend called and told me there was yarn at a yard sale. I went and picked up this. The one on the bottom right contains 30% wool and I swear it made me itch (there was also a dog around which may have contributed to my ...

This post can alternatively be called. I have no luck lately. Last week, the tops of the frogs were barely visible. This week, you can see four and I've started on the fifth. I also broke down and bought some yarn. I got everything pictured for under $20 from Goodwill. All cotton, a combination of Glace, Cabled Mercerised Cotton, and Nice, the latter two are discontinued. My best haul was the six balls of blue cabled pictured at the top. As for the no luck, for almost a month I've been dealing with the ramifications of being caught in a fraud scam. That reared it's head again a few days ago and today I got rear-ended while stopped for a light. That's on top of still not having a job. I do have something this coming week, but it's unpaid for five 12-16 hour days, including two overnight shoots. So my current mood is a combination of depressed and annoyed.

I have finished all outlines. Does this mean I'm finished? Not by a long shot. Although the backstitching is a time when I find I've missed stitches. Espeically quarter stitches. I have to put in at least 10. And also move a toe over because it would've messed up something I still have yet to stitch. My new game has taken up more time that I probably would like, although I'm not going to quit it just yet. I also was not chosen to sing the national anthem at graduation. I'm also still hearing crickets in regards to my job search.

Well, I frogged what I needed to and continued on with my dragon. The tail is almost complete. After a bit more on the border it's back to the body with another coil. I'm enjoying the Olympics, nice to have on in the background while I stitch. I would love to be able to be a part of something like the opening ceremonies. Anyone know an opening in the tv/film industry in the New York City area? Still looking, and replying, and hearing crickets.

I finished a little over a quarter this week. I forgot how quick a stitch these are. I think spring has finally come to my area. It's finally reached above 50 degrees for more than one or two days. I register for my summer and fall classes Tuesday and I'll be finished with my Masters in December. I'm still in the process of applying for internships. If I don't manage to get one for the summer, I'll be applying for extra work. I'll at least get on set and will be able to observe the 'creative process' of filming. In the meantime, I've signed up for Camp NaNoWriMo, which is like NaNoWriMo but I can set my own goal. I've decided to turn my '11 NaNoNovel into a script with a goal of 20,000 words. Wish me luck. I also completed one of my new year's resolutions. I ripped my CD collection to my computer. There are still a few outstanding disks (the one's in my car and another CD sleeve) but 95% are now digital. Yay.

I started this blog one year ago today. I figure I might as well sum up the past year. While I feel 2012 was a bad year for me in general, it was a good year for my crafting. These were my resolutions for last year: 1. Lose another 10 lbs. 2. Finish at least one cross-stitch project that I have in my stash. 3. Organize my craft closet. While I didn't complete #1, I did lose a few pounds. They all came off the first two weeks in December while I did nothing but work on my crafts in my bed while watching Murder She Wrote via Netflix. Go figure. As for #2, I exceeded this goal by finishing five cross-stitch pieces. Granted three of them were acquired after I made that resolution and weren't in my stash... I really outdid myself if you count all the scarves I made. I did complete #3, everything was nicely organized and put away. Then I got more yarn and it got messy again. Oh well. As for my blog, I got over 7,500 views. My most popular posts were my opinions on Dancin...

Well, actually I have two. I finished Leopard Shoe Kitty. Then I managed to start and finish Queenie. Today I also made two Christmas stockings. Here's one before I added the name in silver glitter glue. Please ignore the crazy background of the couch it's sitting on. I also added a bunch of items to my etsy shop. Lots of different scarves and a few other items. Amazing what I can get done when I have lots of time on my hands. I may not have found another job, but I am going to go back to school for a Masters degree and a career change. So I will be looking for part-time work in January so I have some sort of income. I also need to think of other items to make as soon it won't be scarf season for a while.

First the good news. I danced in the (delayed) Fall Classic this weekend. I swept my smooth categories. Final medal count was 12 first in smooth single dances, first places in smooth scholarship and 3-dance, 13 firsts and 2 seconds in latin single dances, and third places in latin scholarship and 3-dance. I've linked my videos below. Smooth: Latin: I also got a picture with Tony and his mirrorball. Not the best picture of me, but oh well. I had been dancing for a while. My hair for latin. I think there were 30 bobby pins to hold it all in place. Now the bad news. I was let go from my job on Monday. I was planning on leaving there anyway but I had been hoping to do it on my own terms. So my dancing will be put on hold sooner than I had thought. This is an expensive hobby and with no income (my etsy shop hasn't really taken off yet) I can't pay for my private lessons. It also cuts down on adding to my stash on whims as I've taken to doing lately...

Latest picture of Dew Drop Fairy. As you can see, the majority of her dress is finished along with the left most petal of the flower she's standing on. This week wasn't too good for me personally, if you read my other blog or follow me on facebook you'll know why. Also, I know I just started my new job at the end of February, but it's not what I was expecting it to be. May start looking, maybe a complete career change and go into something other than engineering.