Jason's Birthday

Happy Birthday Jason!

(my son-in-law, married to oldest daughter Tammy and father of Kaycee and Tristan)

Jason is shaking hands with Kasey Kahne. He also got him to autograph a car. This picture was taken at PIR, the Phoenix International Raceway in November of 2005. Jason came down to Phoenix from Utah to go to the race with my husband Jim. This driver is one of his favorites. He and his family are racing fans. I, however, am not and had to look up the driver's name so I would know for writing this up.

Me and Exercise

Way back in my archives you will see posts about my struggle to quit smoking. I think I have become a nonsmoker now. I feel good about that. However I gained about 20 pounds since then and it is really bugging me. I really don't think I changed my eating habits. I have heard that your metabolic rate changes when you don't have nicotine boosting it all the time. I have no idea if this is true. I just know what happened to me.

I am trying to get serious about getting back down to a weight I was before. I was using some exercise dvds from Prevention the past few months about 3 times a week and they felt pretty good. Doing the same routines in front of the tv every morning can get kind of stale though. I picked up a walking dvd by Leslie Sansone the other day. I am really glad I did. I feel more energized with the walking routines than I did with the Prevention exercise dvds. My goal is to do the 4 fast mile walking routine every weekday morning. I figure if I can increase the calories I burn each day and watch what I eat something has got to happen. I will let you know.

Soon To Be In My Shop

These two scarves will be in the shop soon. I need to measure them and get descriptions written. I wanted to share their pictures with you today.

I am feeling better about my pictures lately. A lot of that good feeling comes from using tips found in the etsy.com forums. I have a nice Nikon D70 camera and am learning new things about how to use it every time I take pictures.

When my husband bought the camera he got an extra light to go on the top of it. When I first started taking pictures for etsy I used that light source inside because he said it would be all I needed. Somehow those pictures were never ones I was really proud of.

Over and over I kept reading that the best shots were taken outside in natural light. I tried this on the last several things I have photographed and have seen a huge difference. To tell the absolute truth, I am not really happy about needing to go outside though. You see, I live in the Phoenix area and it is so hot all summer that it is not much fun going outside. Even early in the morning it can be closing in on 100 degrees by 9 or 10 am. When it gets cooler in the fall and winter I am sure I will be more enthusiastic about it.

I thought you brought it....

Jim and I seem to do this all the time especially with cameras. We have three nice ones and never seem to have them with us at the right times. We have a very nice Nikon but it is big and heavy. It is wonderful for taking my online product pictures and posed shots of visiting family and friends here at home. We have two small slim cameras that do a good job of touristy snapshots away from home. It is these cameras that we never seem to have at the right time.

We took a trip to Lake Havasu City and were there from Thursday to Saturday and of course had no camera with us. One of the slim easy to use ones was at Jim's office. The other was at home and we talked about taking it. It ended up that each of us thought the other would pack it and of course neither of us did. This trip to Lake Havasu City could mean changes for us soon. We will know more by the end of the week.

On Sunday my brother came through Phoenix on his way to Long Beach from Houston. He and his girlfriend Leslie will be back at the same address again and they stopped to see us on the way back with her car and the last of her things from her Houston condo. It was nice to see them. We had a good visit and meal at Saute. Of course I told them all about Etsy. Leslie is a jewelry maker and may be looking for online selling opportunities some day. It would be nice to have an Etsy buddy in the family.

I showed her some of the thing I make and she really liked a ladder yarn shawl I made. They are some of the most dramatic things I make. She wanted one in the colorway you see below to be made as a gift. I have the knitting done and now need to get the fringe on it which is my least favorite part of creating one. That is today's project and the goal is to have it done by noon which should happen unless I spend too much time messing around online. (As if I would ever do that!)

I sold a lot of these in Utah in many different colors. I haven't made them to sell on Etsy yet but I suppose I should. They are a great way to dress up that basic black outfit. I sold many of them to people who go on cruises. They will pack very well without taking up much room and are a good accessory for formal night.

Off now to do a few chores, exercise, get dressed and get the shawl fringed. Have a fantastic day.

Craft and Art Helpers

I belong to the Etsy Bloggers Street team and it is such fun. The team has been hosting weekly blog carnivals. We are given a theme and then members create a post to go along with it. This week it was about who or what helps you in your crafty or artistic world. You can find links to all the entries here--
http://norabella-baby.blogspot.com/2007/08/this-weeks-blog-carnival-who-are-your.html

If you sell on Etsy and would like to join and get weekly blog inspirations go to Etsy Bloggers.

Everyday Companion

This guy is always a big part of my day. His name is Patches and he follows me through the house and lays down whenever I stop to do something. Even as I am writing this he is in the doorway of the room ready to go for whatever we do next. Maybe you can tell he is a great listener. With his one up one down ears and a tilt of his head I get positive reinforcement from him every time.

More seriously I think, like a lot of crafters and artists, that the inspirations come from all of our environment. Color and texture impressions come from all directions. I think we take a lot of this in without actually realizing it. It can be as simple for me as seeing the clothes for a new season on display in a store or the piles of fabrics or yarns in your favorite store.

One of my favorite things to do is spend an afternoon or evening going through my collection of knitting, crocheting and quilting books and magazines. I really don't do it very often because I would go into idea overload. They are great however for planting the seeds for new projects with colors, shapes or stitch patterns. I keep notebooks around for jotting down ideas as they come to me. Flipping through these notebooks can help me make new lists of ideas.

On a final somewhat silly note, one of my biggest pushes to create comes from housework avoidance. After all if I am spending an afternoon on an idea or project that may eventually be for sale online or at a craft show that is work right? To me it is and that certainly beats dusting or folding laundry in my book.

Audio Books

I discovered something about myself recently. I used to think that I wouldn't enjoy audio books. I am a visual learner and listening to a book in times past didn't appeal to me. As needlework, mostly crocheting and knitting, fill my hands and time this has changed. I have listened my way through television and movies for years while concentrating on the latest project. After listening to Kelly of Knit picks in her podcasts talk about audio books I thought I would give it a try. The Phoenix library has helped me out here with audio books available for download if you have a library card. I am so happy to have discovered a way to enjoy my two favorite things, reading and needlework. Getting the software needed which was easy to download from the library. My first book is by Michael Connelly and I am looking forward to more.