First Craft Fair

I just signed up for my first craft fair! Pretty excited about it. Just not sure I can get ready in time with all the things I have to do.

In other news, I finished a round of VE.

The theatre opened Jackie and Me, and it's going well

The costume shop has begun work on Rudolph!


If anyone needs a customized pillowcase, come talk to me. ;)

Going to Strike

Today the costume and I striked.  

A set, that is. :) 

We took down Ivy and Bean's costumes and washed and put them away. We did most of them, but some of them will have to be done tomorrow.

Ivy and Bean the musical was the first production I did with the theatre, and I think it went well. While it was running we've been working  on costuming for our next production - Jackie and Me.  It's about Jackie Robinson and what segregation was like during his time.  The theatre does almost all kids shows, since it is a family theatre.


I've also been doing some editing on VE (though not enough. I was just working on it before I started typing this post).

And lots and lots of sewing at home.  I've made cockades, hats, pillowcases, and purses!


I still have 3 purses and 6 pillowcases to make as well as a quilt to finish embroidering.


Oh, and I joined a rowing team! It seems like it will be alot of fun. Today was my first day, so we only got to sit in the boat in the shallows and practice technique, but it should get to go out next week =)

Time To Sell

My Hair, that is.

I found out my hair is worth quite a bit of money, so I'm selling it.

Or, trying to.

I hope it sells quickly! :D

Lonely But Fine

So things have been going well, I think.

I go to work every day and sew all day then come home, play rummikub with my grandmother, sew some more, and go to bed.

All in all. It's pretty lonely.  I have to admit I miss my people quite a lot. Makes me want to move back home.

But I will persevere. I have to move out eventually. :)

Busy, Busy

So, I  don't remember if I told you all about my job.

4 weeks ago or so I moved to Florida and got a car and a job. :)

I looked for sewing jobs online while I was still in Tennessee. I wanted to move to Florida to help take care of my grandmother and to keep her company (Which I've actually been to busy to do lately! Oops). One advertisement was for a costuming internship with the Orlando Repertory Theatre (www.orlandorep.com), it looked like something I wanted to do.I had been looking for an internship for a while.

So I applied, they interviewed me on the phone, and I got the job. :)


My parents were kind enough to drive me down to Florida with all my junk and such and help me find a car to buy.

So I bought a car on a Friday and started work on the next Monday and my parents left on Thursday, and I've been working ever since.

We started and finished a show called Ivy and Bean. It's still playing, but we (the costume shop ) are done working on it until it closes (then we wash everything and put it away). I wish I could show you pictures, but I can't until it closes. :)


Next we're working on Jackie and Me    ... and Rudolph.  We'll also be working on Aladdin Jr (It's a Kid's Academy show, which is a teaching show. So all the actors will be kids who are paying to learn how to act, etc)  There are others we'll be working on this year, too.

Anyways. It's been fun and I'll be working there until April, when my internship is done.

I also found a clogging group (Dancing)  I get to dance with every Thursday night after work.  Clogging was something I did in Tennessee - I don't remember if I told you all about it.

Alive and Well

Just so you know, I am alive, and I am well. Just very, very busy. :)

Just finished filling an order for 220 les Miserables cockades, also finished my 4th week of work. :)

Answered Prayers

God's been doing some pretty amazing stuff around here. :)

The move is back on! I'm going to Florida on the 8th!


We had a Dr's appointment scheduled for the 20th, but we were praying (July 30th) there would be a cancellation and I could go sooner.  The very next day (July 31st) the Dr's office called and offered me a new appointment for the day after (August 1st)!  How cool is that?

We had the appointment and I liked the Dr quite a lot - which is surprising 'cause I normally don't like Drs. :P They seem condescending to me, but she wasn't at all.  We were also able to rule some things out and get a diagnosis and medication.  She also ordered some more tests to cover all the bases, but we're pretty sure it is Postural orthostatic tachycardia syndrome (POTS).   I can't even remember how to say it most of the time.  

Of course we're hoping and praying I will eventually get over it, 'cause I can tell you it is a pain to live with. We're going on 8 weeks now. It's manageable, however.


So why am I going to FL on the 8th specifically? 

I got a job!

Sort of.  

Post about that to come.

Remember Florida?

Remember that I was supposed to move to Florida?

You might also have noticed my absence posting here.

Well, the move to FL might be postponed or canceled, depending on some things, and my absence here is related.  The past few weeks my health has been extremely poor. I haven't been sick, but I have symptoms that are frightening and we have no answers as to why I'm having them. We're trying to find a general practitioner Dr in our area now (We don't currently have a Dr.), who will see me on a short notice, because I am not doing well at all. Most days I have to stay in bed for the majority of the day.

So please keep me in your prayers if you've a mind to. It would be awesome if God would decide just to heal me and I wouldn't have to go to the Dr., but that might not be in His plan, and we just don't know, so we're moving forward with the Dr. Sometimes it takes 3 weeks to see a Dr. if you're a new patient, and we really don't want that. So also please pray for an expedited process of me getting seen. Thanks. :)

Moving!

I'm moving!

Not the blog. It's staying right here. But me, myself, I, am moving.  To Florida.

On a long term/semi permanent basis.

More info later.

Writing Assignment #3

And here's another one for you. Pretty sure you haven't read this one. :)

              I clutched my copy of The House of Seven Gables, feeling the worn material of the binding beneath my fingers. Rocking up and down on my toes, I stared at the house in front of me. The hodgepodge peaked roof with weathered wooden shingles almost fit ‘my’ house, as I had started calling The House of Seven Gables when I was a kid.

               This wasn’t ‘my’ house, but it was close enough, and I had seen this one many times before. I eyed the Sale Pending notice that dangled from only one chain on the real estate sign. Interesting. It had been for sale for so long yet no one had even given it a second glance—until now, apparently. Sale Pending waved in the cool breeze. I frowned. It wasn’t as though I came by often, I managed a visit to my hometown only once a year.

             Shrugging, I turned away. The house was one I always admired, despite its dilapidated state. Whoever was buying the house was buying a ton of work. I tucked the House of Seven Gables into my purse. It was time to get going. The shop closed at three, and besides, nine in the morning wasn’t very far away when I still had ten hours of driving ahead of me. It wouldn’t do to be late for an interview, either.

                  I turned away and took a few steps down the cracked sidewalk. The chill wind picked up again, and I buttoned a few more buttons on my coat, closing it up to my neck. I hurried to where my car waited at the curb. I tugged on the handle once, but as usual the door didn’t budge. After a quick kick with my scuffed boot the door popped open.

            I slid into the driver’s seat and turned the key. The engine groaned then rumbled to life. It let out a sigh, as if saying, “Do we have to?” But once I put it in gear the car chugged obediently along, leaving the house behind us.

               The clock on the dashboard read 2:45. Fifteen minutes to go. The only reason I had stopped in this little town was to go to the shop, so I had better not be late! The house had distracted me from my mission. My wondering mind often got me in trouble that way.

              My car chugged along a street so narrow that the sidewalks threatened to invade the road. A few blocks down the road I stopped in front of my destination—Yum’s Ice Cream.  Less than imaginative name, but the owners made up for it with the crazy flavors and combinations they came up with. There was one in particular I was craving. Kiwi pecan ice cream—a flavor less than conventional, in fact, I didn’t know of another place that served it, and so I got to sample it only when I came into town to visit my parents. I put my car into park. Visiting my parents. That wouldn’t be happening anymore, and I was moving on with life.

               I stepped out of the car and headed for the ice cream shop. Kiwi pecan ice cream and then a 9 hour trip to a job interview and possibly a bright future.

Safely Home

I made it safely home this morning, since my mom so graciously decided to come out and get me from my brother's house (where I was last night). :)



While I was away a snake ate 2 of my chickens. :(  Woe for the chickies!    He also ate 6 of my sister's chickies.  Woe on the snake!  Stupid snake.


Fortunately, my dad and sisters caught it and cut off its head, so it won't be eating any more chickies. (It is legal in Tennessee to kill any snake harming livestock.  It was harming quite a bit of livestock.)


So now I'm home and getting back into the swing of things.

On the agenda:

Making 16 cockades
9 pillowcases
1 hat
2 purses
6 skirts

and editing my book :)

Another Trip - And Home Again

So, I slacked off again. It's a habit of mine.  I had an excuse. Again. That happens a lot, too. ;)

I was in Colorado for 9 days!  I was finally able to go to my writers' group annual get together/ retreat for the first time since 2008. We had a lot of fun and did some writing, some prompts, etc. I have a couple of more stories to share if anyone is interested =)

Tomorrow I'll be home again and sewing a ton of things!

Another Writing Post

I wrote this little story excerpt back in March, but I thought you all might like to read it.

“This is why we’re not friends!” Timothy ducked behind a rusty oil drum and held his gun at the ready. A bullet whizzed by his head and thunked into a barrel nearby. Black liquid spewed from the hole, pooling on the floor. Another bullet followed the first.

“It’s not my fault!” Andrea’s voice sounded from nearby, echoing in the warehouse’s high ceiling. “I was told they weren’t active!”

He peered around his barrel.  “You were told wrong!”

The whirring noise of a swivel gun turning caught his attention. The large black machine turned in a 360 above his head. A red light glowed at its base, a laser seeking out its target.

Oil encircled his feet and started seeping into the fabric of his shoes. He hissed and looked over his shoulder. The rusted barrels stood stacked on top of each other almost to the ceiling. A light flickered overhead.

“Uh oh.” Andrea appeared from behind a barrel five feet away. Long black hairs dangled loose from her ponytail and sweat beaded on her forehead. She vaulted over a barrel and charged toward him.

The gun whirred again and a spray of bullets flew toward her.

“Watch out!” Timothy grabbed her arm and pulled her behind his barrel. Something pounded into his oil drum and pierced his shoulder. Pain flared in his arm and black liquid spewed onto his arm, soaking his sweat dampened shirt.

Andrea pushed away from him and crouched low. “Thanks.”

“Anytime.” Grunting, he clutched at his shoulder. “They’re not going to let us get out of here alive.” Blood flowed from his wound, mixing with the oil. He closed his eyes for a second and fought off the pain pulsing in his shoulder.

“Then I’ll distract them.” Andrea pulled a burlap-wrapped bundle out from under her shirt. “Just make sure they don’t get this.” She pushed it into his arms. “Otherwise, I’m going to die for nothing.”  She stood. Another bullet flew. She flinched to the side, and it grazed by harmlessly.

He took her hand, forcing her into a crouch. “Don’t be stupid. We’ll get out of this!”

“They’re in here!” A voice shouted. “The gun’s active.”

“Yeah, it is.” Andrea muttered. “They found us. I wondered how long it would take.” She drew her hand from his. “You’re hurt. I’m not. I’m the distraction.” Lowering her voice, she continued. “They’ll turn off the gun as soon as they come in. That’s our chance.”

Timothy leaned away from the spewing oil. It soaked his shirt and part of his pants now. His clothes clung to him, and he held the package away from himself. “Right.”

“Ready?” She peered over the top of the drum.

The swivel gun’s whirr sounded again, and she tensed. The noise stopped.

A door creaked open. “Drop your weapons and come out with your hands in the air!” An amplified voice echoed through the room.

Andrea raised her eyebrows. “Are they serious?”

Pain lanced through Timothy’s arm. “Of course they’re serious.” He stuffed the package down his shirt despite the oil. He would need both arms free.

She shrugged. “Ready?”

He saluted her.  “See you at the rendezvous.”

“If you do not surrender your arms, we will fire upon you.” The voice sounded again.

“If I get out of this alive.” She shook her head.

“You mean if they do.” He crawled forward a few feet, holding his injured arm to his chest. “And thanks.”

“It’s what friends do.” She smirked and pulled a small gun from her belt.

A shot fired, striking another barrel.

“Hey, over here!” Andrea shouted.

Bullets sprayed across the room.

Timothy ducked his head. Hot pain lanced his back. He collapsed and squeezed his eyes shut.

“Over here, you idiots!” Andrea’s words sounded desperate now.

Foggy haze swirled in Timothy’s mind, but he forced himself back onto his hands and knees—forced himself to go forward. The door. That’s where he needed to go.

More shots whizzed by his head. He flinched and scuttled forward.

“There one goes!” A gunshot sounded. Someone shouted in pain.

Another shot. Andrea screamed.

Timothy reached for the exit’s doorknob and froze.

“Get out of here, Timothy!” Andrea’s words sounded harsh—forced.

His hands, slick with grease fumbled with the knob. It turned, and he slipped outside.

When in Florida

I forgot to mention that when I was in Florida, I got to see 'Miss Margie,' the lady who helped me learn to read.


Some of you know I have dyslexia--and a pretty severe form of it.  Because of my dyslexia, I had to receive intense language therapy when I was about 9 - 11 years old. My therapist's name was 'Miss Margie' (Or so I called her), and after I was done with therapy, I didn't see her again until last month.  The first time in 11 years, and. . .

I got to give her Precisely Terminated, the first novel I had had published.  It was pretty cool, since she has seen me go from not reading at all to reading fluently under her tutelage and now she got to have a copy of the book I wrote.

It was great seeing her again, and I hope it encouraged her to keep teaching--she's still been doing language therapy after so long, and I'm glad. She's a great teacher, and I don't know if I would be where I am today without her help.  

Dyslexia and other intellectual learning disabilities come  in many forms and severity, but I'm glad there are people like Miss Margie out there to help those of us who have them to overcome and be victorious. 

Florida and Back

So during my long absence I sneaked off to Florida and back.  Well, not literally sneaked. I rode in the car while my parents drove.

We left TN around 4 PM and arrived in FL at around 8AM the next day. Our first stop was in The Villages, FL to drop my sewing machine and embroidery machine off at a machine repair store (Stores down in FL charge 1/2 as much as those in TN)  and then we got to my grandmother's.

Then two days later or so, my niece was born!


Sammie is very cute, of course. 


So we stayed another week or so and then my dad had a writing workshop, we picked up my embroidery machine and headed home. 


Notice I didn't say sewing machine. It was broken beyond repair, so now I'm machine-less. We were able to buy a used-only-twice machine off of craigslist for $50, but that one is technically my mom's. ;)


So now I'm home again and in the swing of things. Sewing, writing, that sort of thing.

I'll have another writing assignment to share with you tomorrow or so =)

A Writing Assignment

I think I've said before that a writers' group I'm part of puts up weekly writing assignments. Well, I participated in this week's and I thought you all might like to read it.


It hasn't really been edited at all, so just ignore the mistakes. ;)


Here's the assignment

Write a story in the first-person point of view. This means that you will refer to the character as I/me/myself. It's like seeing everything directly through your point-of-view character's eyes. Because of this, the reader can know only your point-of-view character's thoughts and feelings. What's fun about first-person is that the reader experiences the story as the character does. To make this squab even more fun, build your point-of-view character from one of the following options:

-A compulsive liar
-Someone who thinks they're a genius (they may or may not truly be one--that's up to you)
-Someone who likes to explore

Genre: Writer's choice
Goal: To stay in one POV & to explore a POV you may not have used before
Word Count: 500 – 800


---

And here's what I wrote

--



Rusty nails protruded from the sides of the crates, and dents riddled the surface of the wooden boards. I pressed a finger into one of the small craters in the box’s surface. This dilapidated container was only one of thousands in this warehouse the size of Rhode Island.

I craned my neck and gazed up at the ceiling. Or, I would have, if it had been visible. Darkness covered the area above me, disguising whatever was overhead, but I knew it had to be high. The crates and boxes extended into the oblivion and out of sight.

Discouragement washed over me. How was I ever supposed to map this monster? Even with Fin’s help it would take eternity, and this mission was supposed to last only two months.


Pulling a tablet computer from my satchel, I glanced around the aisles formed by the boxes around me. Perhaps pretending I was an intrepid explorer would help. Some of the adventurers I obsessed about as a child had the most excellent expeditions one could ever hope to have,


Perhaps I would be like Timothy Krislen who mapped a portion of Mars on his one-man expedition of the red planet, or I could be like Adrianna Lemth, who reached the bottom of Marianna’s Trench.


I turned on my computer tablet and the screen flickered to life, displaying a vague map of the warehouse’s layout, some of the lines cut off abruptly, missing sections of walls, as if the person who sketched it wasn’t sure what to put there. Did the room continue on in that part or stop? I squared my shoulders. It would be up to me to find out. Me and Fin, anyway. Where was he?


I scrambled to the top of the crate, careful to put my boots on the thicker slats. Still, the boards creaked under my weight. Raising an eyebrow, I pulled up the 300 page inventory list on my tablet. Hopefully, this crate didn’t contain anything hazardous.
The box must be weaker than I first thought, too. I looked down at my combat boots, laced tight around my calves. Boards splintered under the toes. I clambered onto another crate nearby. It wasn’t as though I weighed a lot – the opposite, actually. I was the smallest on the expedition. My boots even had to be special ordered from a children’s shoe store, and my sea blue uniform had to be taken in by a seamstress near base. But that was all far away now. Thousands of miles. A few light years were more accurate.

I refocused my attention on my tablet. Where was I on this thing? I activated the wireless locater embedded in my wrist. A green light flashed under my skin, glowing dimly in my epidermis.

My tablet shone a corresponding green light. I looked up at the ceiling again, but there still wasn’t anything visible.

I sighed, letting my shoulders relax. At least a wireless receiver was nearby and could see me.

Aliff thought the walls of this room might be too thick to penetrate with our equipment. Apparently he was wrong.


“Hoff?” A deep voice reverberated through the aisles, twisting through the maze of metal and wood boxes.

“Here!” My voice sounded shrill compared to Fin’s.


“We need to get to the hanger.” Fin’s voice sounded far away. “We’ve picked up something on the sensors. We need to be in a more secure room in case it’s hostile.”

“I’m coming.” I jumped from a crate onto the metal flooring—Finished before I even
got a chance to get started.


Something rumbled under my feet. I shut off my computer and tucked it back in my back.


The rumbling came again. I headed for the exit. Who would have ever thought a room this big would ever be discovered on an abandoned spaceship?
I passed in to the cool, metal hallway that ran alongside part of the warehouse. And who would have thought there would be other spaceships that could rival the size of this one?


I shook my head. Who cared ‘who would have thought?’ I was just glad I was around to experience—to be chosen to explore it, even if it was dangerous.

Sewing

I really need to make one of these. Is cute. :)



http://unpetitdesign.blogspot.com/2012/04/kcwcday-one-tiered-ruffle-dress.html

What Now?

What now? I have a blog?  Really?


Why  yes, I do!


Well, something to post.   Remember how I said I had some Americana eggs in the incubator two months ago?


They hatched last month!

They're almost all feathered now and all out in the barn again.

And we're about to have another batch of Red Star crosses hatch tomorrow! 

Also, I went to Florida. :) More later

Just had to share

Velociraptor Bunneh Strikes Again!

The squealing noise your sister makes when you jump out and make velociraptor noises at her . . .  Priceless


I'm a velociraptor bunneh. Hear me roar.

More Info on the Fluffies

So the story behind the fluffies?


Well, some of you know that we had 26 chickens at one point.  At one point, we were down to 20, due to some tragedies and tasty dinners.

Our chickens are for egg laying purposes mostly . We eat the eggs and sell the excess to friends and family (To help pay for chicken feed).  Now a good laying hen normally only keeps laying for about 2 - 3 years, and it takes a hen about 7 months from birth to start laying, so since our hens are encroaching on their first birthday, we thought it might be a good idea to get a new batch started.  We gathered up 32 eggs and put them in our incubator (pictures to come) and waited.

And 21 days later, 13 of them hatched!  That's not a very good hatch percentage, but we're still new at this and hope for better success next time.  In the meantime, we have some very cute fluffies. They're living in a kiddy pool right in front of our front door (that people hardly ever use).  They'll go out to the coop in a few weeks.


A friend of mine also promised me 30 + Americana eggs to incubate (Starting Friday  4/19/13) so we'll have some chickies of a different breed, too.   She doesn't have an incubator and so we'll be splitting the hatching. I get some and she gets some.   So  21 - 23 days from Friday, be on the lookout for some new fluffies!

 Also, we wanted more fluffies than we thought we would need because you never know what gender you're getting from a hatching, and of course, roosters don't lay eggs. So any fluffy that starts to crow will end up dinner.  :) 

Fluffies

Look what we have. :)

Back again! :D

Where did I disappear to ? Here and there in a flood of busy - ness. Running about trying to get things done. The good thing is, VE is progressing well. I've also been blessed with many orders on etsy lately, too, so that's kept me busy. We just got back from Missouri late last night. And I have a surprise for you all in a day or two. Hint: It's fluffy. Thanks for all you who keep reading despite my long absences. :)

Nifty

Isn't it cool when you've lost something and pray to find it and it shows up in the next place you look?



Thankful for that.   Found my smartphone. ^^

Keeping an Average Head

You've heard of getting a big head, right?  Of course, everyone I've ever heard say it means it figuratively, and I mean it that way here, too. 

On a side note - my head is larger than average, but hey.

Something I've been struggling with lately is having a big head.  Hopefully, no one has noticed, since I think it's all been internal, but it's been something I've been thinking about.

There are many things I can do and do well, but what I need to remember is that it's not all me.  I didn't give myself any talents - I had nothing to do with that. God is the one who made me and He can take away any of my abilities at any time. Sometimes I wonder what would happen if I lost use of my hands. I'd feel useless, but it's not up to me.   I hope this makes sense.


Anyway. I'm going to try to be focusing on giving God credit for my talents and not myself.  Yes, the work I do is my own and I put a lot of hard work into it, but with out God, I couldn't have put the hard work in in the first place.


Sometimes I think He gave me dyslexia to keep me in focus and help keep my head an average size. If there's one thing that keeps me thinking I'm not all that, it's definitely dyslexia, I make mistakes because of it quite often.

Anyway. Back to working on Viral Execution.

I hope to post some pictures of a new sewing project soon, too, so keep a look out.

Gone Shootin'

I don't remember if I told you all that I got my gun carry permit a few weeks ago.   I also purchased a small handgun, but I wasn't very confident in using it - because I'm used to my dad's much bigger handgun. Mine is very  cute, but very small. Not very accurate after 5 yards or so (And no, it's not me, I'm a good shot. ;) )  

So I brought my gun down to Florida with me (After checking to make sure Georgia, Mississippi, Alabama, and Florida all honor the TN gun permit (They do) ) and asked my police officer brother to teach me to shoot better. We went to a range near my grandmother's and fired about 90 rounds at paper targets. Yay, what fun.

I am definitely more comfortable with my gun now, and I think I'll be comfortable carrying it now, but first I need to get a holster! 


Do you like to shoot?

The Florida Christian Writer's Conference

Remember I said I was going to a conference soon?


That conference ended today.  It's difficult to describe it. It's something that is hard to capture in words. Lots of fun, lots of work, late nights, hanging with people, learning new things, and helping out.

We started on Wednesday afternoon, checking people into the conference, making preparations, and just getting ready.  There was a critique group that night, I believe. People gathered around and read their works to each other and tell each other how to improve their work.

Thursday - classes began.  Authors, editors, and agents spoke  on various topics, teaching the conferees about those topics, and things like that.  When I explain the conference in such terms, it's hard to see how it's fun, eh?  But it is fun.  My job was the 'go-fer'  I ran errands, fetched things, and kicked the copy machine into submission.    The teachers needed handouts for their classes, and it was my job to make those copies. The copy machine liked to jam a lot.  About 10 - 20 times a day.  It became my job to fix it.  After awhile, I began to kind of enjoy it, believe it or not.


Each day continued similar to the next - I met many kind people who I was privileged to help serve in the small ways I could.   I spent any free time I had knitting scarves, and was able to sell them to some people.  I hope they like them. :)   I didn't get to get pictures of the scarves, though, because people purchased them before I even had them finished (and in some cases, started!)


 Now I'm back at my grandmother's house, and we're going back home tomorrow. My grandmother is riding up with us so she can visit her sister who lives about an hour away from us.


When I get back home I have many, many things to do, inncluding knitting 4 scarves, sewing 3 hats, 2 pocket books, 11 cockades, and 2 euro shams.  Oh, and my book. :) 

Have a lovely day

Wow

It's been awhile, huh?

I've been so busy I've barely been able to think.   Except yesterday, I took time to think yesterday, and I thought 'Hey, I have a blog, don't I?'

Then I came here to visit you all. :)

I've been making cockades, knitting, sewing other things, working on a fence, taking my grandfather places, and working on my book.

You know. Like my last post. Same old same old. ;)

 I'm very happy with my same old same old, don't get me wrong! I love it.  I just don't have much time to blog. :)

I've written 30,000 words on VE   and . . . deleted 26,000. Ouch. 

I've made 40 or more cockades

Knitted about 10 1/2 scarves  and listed some of them for sale in my shop.

http://www.etsy.com/shop/BunnyCraftsNFiber?section_id=13080904

Helped my sister and father put up about 280 feet of fencing, which included digging a 280 foot long trench to bury the fencing 6 inches deep.  (Wire stock fence 2x4 holes).

And Taking my grandfather various places for various tests that come with being 83 years old.


Today I am back to work on cockades - have to get 6 or 7 shipped out today along with a hat. I hope more orders come in soon, though, because, believe it or not, 6 or 7 cockades isn't that many. ;)

And I need to prepare for the upcoming Florida Christian Writer's Conference. It's happening next month (But we leave on the 24th of this month), and I'm teaching a class there!

Hope you all are in excellent health and will continue  reading despite my  absences. :)

Crafting and Writing

Any guesses as to what these are for?

I use them in my crafting.

Cockade templates!

I use the circles when I'm pinning the cockades so that they're all about the same size. They're often a little bit different, since I  personally pleat them all by hand then stitch the pleats by hand.

The circles are drawn in permanent marker onto an old bulletin cork board and the cockade pleats are pinned in place so I can position them perfectly. :) It works out pretty well.



I've been pretty swamped  with things to do - writing on VE, making cockades, making pillowcases, taking care of the chickens - that sort of thing. You know, every day usual run of the mill stuff. :)


I'm having to rewrite the first 15 or so chapters of VE - it should have been done a loong time ago, but that's how the world turns. Anyway. I'm working! Don't worry.

A Regular Day - Ish

Today was a regular day. Sort of.

Just running errands and working at home. I took my grandfather in for a monthly blood test.  We did some errand running -- nothing special.   That's the not normal part. It's a debate on whether or not it's normal, really, since it happens once a month, but that doesn't seem that often in the day to day scheme of things.


And I'm back to writing and back to sewing.

Star Wars - A Pillowcase

You might be bored with these pillowcase posts by now. But I'm not. So I'm going to keep posting them. ;)


This is the fabric my other cousin chose.

I like this fabric a lot, but I haven't sold one yet for some reason.

My cousin opted for this font of embroidery, and I had never done anything in this font before, but I think it looks pretty cool.

The below picture shows how I do the embroidery before I put the pillow case together so the embroidery doesn't show through on the other side.

This one is also for sale here -

https://www.etsy.com/listing/118158926/star-wars-death-star-and-x-wings

Adorable Doll Newsie

Yesterday I made this hat.

I'm rather pleased with how it turned out along with the pictures I took. Normally, my pictures are terrible.

This is my 'Eponine Hat'  but doll sized.

And that's Samantha modeling it for us.

I took my Eponine hat and just cut it down to Samantha's 13 inch head and voila!   Perfect.

It's for sale now on my etsy store.

http://www.etsy.com/listing/120477715/eponines-hat-newsie-hat-18-inch-doll-hat

What do you think?

Cutesy Cupcake Case

When my cousins were here my grandfather asked me to make pillowcases for them, so I did. They each chose their fabric and embroidery font and color.

This is what one cousin chose.

I really like how it turned out. What do you think?


If you /really/ like it, you can buy your own here 

http://www.etsy.com/listing/115741750/cupcakes-and-cherries-pillowcase-cupcake

Of course, you'd get your name embroidered on it and not my cousin's. ;)

Chillin' With Family

We had a bunch of family over this weekend.  Two cousins and 1 uncle drove down from MD on Friday and spent Friday, Saturday, and half of today with us before driving home again. My brother and his wife also drove in from Memphis (1 1/2 hours ish away ) and spent the same amount of time with us. 


 We played games, talked very loudly, told stories, and ate good food. Then everyone went home again.

The end

A Strange Sight Indeed

My mom using my sewing machine!

This rarely ever happens. So I had to take a picture.  And she's just cute. ;)



She was working on a pillowcase as a present for someone, so I let her use my sewing machines, hehe.    I then made two pillowcases and a hat and shipped them out (Sold them :) )

Did You Miss Me?

You've probably noticed my absence (Once again)

Wondered what I was doing?

Goofing off.


And making this.

Stage Version of Eponine's Outfit - Les Miserables

And this hat

I made the costume to wear to opening night of Les Miserables, and the costume is based off of Eponine's outfit. Eponine's outfit as seen on Broadway and other stage productions, her movie outfit is quite a bit different.

The hat is also based off of it, but I made it to sell, because I do not wear tan/beige hats on account of my hair color. It'd clash. My friend Rebekah was kind enough to model this one for me.