Will It Ever Come?

So I continue to plug away at all the work I put on hold to prepare for Stitches West -- which was very successful for us, by the way. Unfortunately, all the "regular" work has continued on plus all the backed up work -- it seems like an endless loop. So much so, I haven't even had time to knit. What's worse, I actually have some designs in my head that I want to get on to needles (at least in minature) to see if they will really work, but I am betting that isn't going to happen until at least the end of next week if not the following week.

I have also gotten myself over whelmed with church stuff. Just a few extra short term commitments, but they are adding up and are all occuring about the same time. And I think I am just about through with being cold all the time. Like today, we didn't make a fire because we were out until 1:30 and then worked in the yard until 4:30 or so. Now, however, it is almost too cold in the house to stay up, but it is only 9:00. And it will be no better in the morning; if anything, it will be worse. We have to get the HVAC system replaced or I will be having the exact opposite feelings in August!!!

I just want to have some sense that I am making progress. That I am getting somewhere. Even a false sense of progress would be welcomed at this point. I want to be able to take a day off -- to have a weekend where I don't feel obligated to work to try and get caught up. Today there is no light at the end of the tunnel (and it is cold)! Will that feeling of a job well done, that sense of accomplishment ever come?

Read More

I Have Been Found

So I was just going to read my favorite blogs and then go to bed. This has NOT been a good day. Huge storms here in the west. My old farmhouse, actually out in the middle of a farm, has no protection from the gale force winds we were having today. So the power went up and down about 5 or 6 times throughout the day. Thank heaven for battery backup. Ah, but now the server is mysteriously down -- shouldn't be, it is on back-up too. And just when I thought it couldn't possibly get worse, I mistakenly open an e-mail virus.

Now the virus thing turned out okay in the end, but it ate up 3-4 hours of my afternoon. And I suppose the worst part of the whole story is that I used to be a Vice President incharge of Information Technology. (No, I didn't get fired for being stupid)! This one caught me off guard as it came from someone I was expecting something from. And then it even looked like what I was expecting -- no I wasn't expecting a virus. Luckily, my professional training took hold immediately, I knew I had an issue and was able to minimize the damage, but the time was going to be lost.

But the day ends on a good note. As I am crusing my favorite blogs, I find that one of my friends has discovered my blog. This, for some strange reason, brought me great joy and happiness. So, on a day that everything seemed to go wrong and I felt totally lost, I have been found -- by my friend Annie!

Read More

I Think I Can...I Think I Can!

It never ceases to amaze me how much time the paperwork side of the business takes once I get home from a show. I have been working on it pretty much continuously and I am finally seeing the end of the tunnel. The good news, is the show was very good for us and it looks like we are off to a good solid year!!!

I still have to get a number of non-knitting things done for this knitting business, but once they are done, I can start designing. Which I have been doing in my head every day for the last couple of days. In the morning, I come down to my desk, make a few sketches and notes so I can remember the important stuff and then get on to all the boring stuff required for the business. Anyone who thinks a knitting business is the way to go because they will get to knit all the time...think again! But at least I get to do it some of the time.

So for the next few days, I will just be the "Little Train Who Could", working my way through the piles of paperwork and administrative duties...I think I can, I think I can!!!

Read More

So Very Tired

For the first time, in well.....a year, all the pre-show work paid off. We had a great Stitches West show from a vendor point of view and the students I had in my classes were GREAT! It really clicked! But now it is time for the aftermath. I still have a tremendous amount of work to be done. Most of it stuff that was put off until the show was completed -- which is now -- needs to be done by the end of the week. But alas, I am tired -- very inspired and wanting to be creative -- but tired.

So today I took my first stab at getting caught up and did a decent job considering all things. And I will persevere, one day at a time. But soon, very, very soon, I am going to take a couple of days off and not do anything related to the business. I will play at my lampworking, I will think about decorating the house, I will work in the garden, I will (heaven forbid) exercise, but I will not work.

But for now I have resigned myself to trudging onward, plugging away at the ''to do" list. Knowing that I am going to be quite a bit less than energetic, because I am tired...so very tired.

Read More

Crabgasm

Tonight is the night I look most forward to when attending Stitches West -- the trip into SF, to Pier 39, to the Crab House. It is my very favorite spot to have dinner. There is a dish, aptly named, Killer Crab. And it is the very best, non-sweet thing, my mouth has ever tasted. I won't even ruin it by trying to describe it. Let's just say it is an orgasm for your taste buds -- a Crabgasm.

Oh Yea -- My class went very well and the market was good today!!!

Read More

And So It Begins

Finally....we are here, booth set up, sneak preview complete, network connection working! So we are ready for the knitters to arrive tomorrow! All in all, this really hasn't gone too smoothly, but it should have. We have done this before, several times before. But as always, a few kinks here and there seem to really monkey up the works! The biggest issue was the fact that the truck didn't start this morning -- electrical short! But, after that, things actually went pretty well. Setting up seemed to take longer, but I think we just got a later start.

But now we are here, ready to sell our hearts out! Hopefully folks will like what we have and we will have a good show. And then we will be on to the next thing on the ever growing "to do" list. It seems we are always at the beginning....of something!!!

Read More

What's Done Is Done

All the yarn that is wound, is labeled. All the yarn that is labeled has been assembled into kits. All the kits that are assembled have been packed into shipping crates. And so it continues. Of course, there is still much to be done, but I am finally seeing (feeling) progress. There is still some yarn to be wound and labeled. There are still kits to be assembled and packed. But the false sense of calm, that it is all going to get done, has now settled over me. I know, from experience, that this will come to some sort of a crashing end about 24 - 36 hours before we need to leave for Oakland, but for a day or two, it is all going to be okay.

And then there is the web page update. It too seems to be going much better than anticipated. This little experiment in reacquainting myself with the basic art of programming has proven to be very beneficial. I can actually create or update web pages fairly efficiently and only require a minimum of support from TechBub (our webmaster). I am excited about the new look and feel -- hopefully others will be as well.

So today is filled with a sense of accomplishment, of satisfaction, that all will be okay...and what's done is...well...done!

Read More

I Love To Knit

It is amazing how much can actually get done with a few people, working together, focused on the same outcome. Today, thank heaven, was one of those days. Bev and Kate arrived by 9:00 to get started on the "all the stuff that needs to be done before Stitches West" list. And the amazing part is we got A LOT of it done. I wound about 25 lbs of yarn, they labeled probably about 50 lbs, we printed and folded patterns, made labels and stuffed kits. All and all, we made a significant dent in the list.

There is still quite a bit left to do and of course I am still waiting for some the things for which I did not plan, but there is hope! I now know that there is light at the end of the tunnel and whatever it is, it isn't going to hit me! I may even be ready to send out the sales rep packages by the time we finish Stitches West. And most gratefully, it appears that no harm will come to anyone who has worked on this project -- and that was definitely a concern a few days ago (mostly for myself)! So tonight I can rest and still say:



(Happy Valentine's Day)

Special thanks to Mariko for having a link to the heart generator. You can get it here.

Read More

Plan Must Be A Four Letter Word

I just cannot get over it. No matter how much I tell myself that this show will be different, I am continually surprised by the fact that I have to work like a crazy person just prior to a show to be ready. Most folks would tell you that I am organized, but from this show thing -- you could never prove it. So even though NONE of this is new information to me, here are the things that I missed this time and am now scrambling for:

1. Packaging -- one type we caught just in the nick of time and it arrived today (a whole week before we need 80+ kits packed) and one I just noticed a few days ago which will arrive a day or two before we leave!

2. Yarn -- Why am I having to wind 70+ pounds of yarn, much of which I have had in my possession during the last 3 days. Do you know how much yarn 70 lbs is? It is a lot. And why am I having to send a few skeins express? It is not like I didn't know that I was going to need them?

3. Kit Components -- I dutifully keep track of the various miscellaneous components needed to create our various kits, so why am I running short. It probably has to do with the fact that I don't carefully review this information the three to five weeks before we begin this process.

4. Patterns -- This year it is a double whammy in that we have reformatted our patterns so ALL of them need to be reprinted. And of course, some of the sample pieces have either just been photographed, or worse yet, are not yet finished to be photographed. On the good side, we purchased a digital camera which knocks a lot of time off the processing, but still, it is not enough.

5. Packing -- I haven't even started this yet. Well, that isn't quite true, the booth set up (which is always packed) is ready to go. However, everything else needs to be packed and labeled in some fashion so we know which boxes to open first. It isn't as bad a when we actually ship the stuff, but still -- we should be further along. Of course, that leads to the fact that the kits themselves haven't been packed yet (see items 1-4 above).

The first time or two it was understandable, it was new afterall. And last year, we had just moved or it was our first time to have to ship everything to a distant location. But what kind of excuse can I give this year? Maybe my appearance of organization is just an illusion -- you know, plan is a four letter word!

Read More

Maybe It's Not Cold Enough

It is disappointing, but I had to cancel my Fun Fingered Glove class due to lack of interest. Not enough students to make it worth the effort of driving into town. I had the same problem with the mitten class, although other folks have great success with these classes. The only logical answer I can come up with is folks in California don't generally wear mittens or gloves. Even when it is pretty cold here, you still see a lot of bare hands. It probably is a bit of mind set thing, but maybe it's just not cold enough!

Read More

The Hair of a Mo

Yes this is a quick post to include the results of what yarn are you. Yes I am the hair of a mo -- otherwise known as Mohair.


You are Mohair.
You are a warm and fuzzy type who works well with
others, doing your share without being too
weighty. You can be stubborn and absolutely
refuse to change your position once it is set,
but that's okay since you are good at covering
up your mistakes.


What kind of yarn are you?
brought to you by Quizilla

I also got to update the progress on two of my projects. I had a travel/seminar day so about 8-10 hours of knitting!!! I may get those samples done before Stitches West yet!

Read More

Smile -- You're On Photoshop

Today was my day with Photoshop. Not that I don't have other days with Photoshop, but today was specifically set aside to rework most of my current images. After having an internet site for over two years now, I have finally learned enough to make our site more user friendly (I think) and load faster (I am sure). Of course the key to all of this is effective use of Photoshop to scale JPEG files appropriately for their particular use. I am by no means an expert, but we are definitely on our way to improvement!

Part of the speed issue for the new and improved website (due to be released at the end of the month) is the use of thumb nail photos instead of "full size" photos. When we started, we only had a few things and needed to fill space a bit, but that is no longer really the issue. So I spent most of the afternoon taking this:



and making it look like this:



In and of itself, not very exciting, but the fact that I have figure out how to load up images is!!! So, another item of things to learn has been ticked off the list! Now that I have that figured out, we can add other pictures to the blog. Undoubtedly, some will be better than others, so SMILE, you're on Photoshop!

Read More

I'm Addicted

Yes, I am addicted to these ridiculous web quizzes. I don't know why I find them so fun, but I guess it is a case of simple minds....! So you will see these kinds of things added from time to time. Today -- the color quiz (which I think is fairly accurate)!

you are greenyellow #ADFF2F

Your dominant hues are green and yellow. There's no doubt about the fact that you think with your head, but you don't want to be seen as boring and want people to know about your adventurous streak now and again. Your saturation level is higher than average - You know what you want, but sometimes know not to tell everyone. You value accomplishments and know you can get the job done, so don't be afraid to run out and make things happen. Your outlook on life is very bright. You are sunny and optimistic about life and others find it very encouraging, but remember to tone it down if you sense irritation.

the spacefem.com html color quiz

Read More

Two Plus Two is Four

Today is going great! I have gotten a ton of stuff done including a bunch of things that have never quite made it on to my "to do" list. What do I owe all this wonderful productivity to -- my guess is getting an early start. Why, you ask would I make this assumption? Well, because every time I return back to getting an early start, the same thing happens -- I get a ton done! You would think by now, an intelligent gal like myself could take two plus two and actually get four, but every time it is like a new discovery!

Of course, part of the productivity may be leftover excitement of creating/coverting/moving my blog into "production". I am still much too pleased with myself! The sun has also decided to shine today -- that could also be the cause of this effect. Weeks and weeks of fog, rain and overcast days get to you after a while. Maybe it is just that I am not sitting at my desk freezing for the first time in weeks! It appears that towel on the window sill really is helping. Or maybe.....2 + 2 = 4.

Read More

Woo Hoo!!!

It only took like 4 hours, but I finally have my class/blog/knitting information page ready for public viewing. Now I am not really sure that anyone is going to want to view my thoughts on various knitting subjects, but I also have my class schedule posted on the page. And if anyone gets bored reading my posts (which wouldn't necessarily surprise me) some of my favorite blogs are available as well.

So now I need to schedule in some additional classes, make sure the registration page is actually working (I need Arlis' help with this) and continue the refining process. All in all, it has been a great learning experience. There really is a lot you can do with just some basic html code, but there is also a ton to really dig into if one is so inclined. I guess on the whole, I enjoy the fact that I am doing some sort of purely geeky thing -- although I have tied it together with knitting.

Tomorrow I need to send out an update to my student/local knitter's list so they know where they need to look to find new information on classes and such. Personally, I am really psyched about this whole thing -- you would think I actually did something important! Maybe it is just the feeling of accomplishment and being able to be creative in a different way -- yea that sounds good!! So WOO HOO -- here is to my new blog!

Read More