Category: Life

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Crochet Round-up

It’s been several years since I wrote and posted here. Here is a quick crochet round up of what has been happening in the studio.

Crochet

The crochet studio is under a buying ban in an attempt to reduce my quite sizeable yarn stash. It’s been quite unorganized as I put it all in storage as drawing become more important.

Four crochet blankets, three crochet striped pillows, and five crochet tote bags in the past 9 months seems a like a huge amount of work. There has been no pattern writing, though there have been plenty of rough drafts written. Two of the crochet blankets were WIPs (works in progress that have been finished, finally!

Thanks for your patience,

Talk to you later,

Karen

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Happy Thanksgiving

thanksgiving

Happy Thanksgiving to you and your family.

There is so much to be thankful for this year. Family, friends, food, a roof over our heads. I can’t even begin to list all of the things I am thankful for.

I am praying that you and yours are having a wonderful Thanksgiving this year.

It is too easy to get caught up in all the things to do. I am writing this a week ahead, because, like you, I have too much to do and too little time. Just this morning I was writing on the legal pad where I write my to-do lists…

The Giant Pre-Thanksgiving List

It had all the regular things on it, like:

Cleaning

  • Bedrooms
  • Kitchen
  • Refrigerator
  • Bathrooms
  • Attic storage room (“Huh?” you say. Well, this room was the studio at one point and needs a deep clean)
  • Living room, sunroom, etc…

thanksgiving cleanup

I take before and afters so I can tell that I am actually doing some good. This is the before of our coffee table. It is usually buried in yarn, books, and papers. One of the hazards of being a creative person.

Planning

  • Make a menu for Thanksgiving weekend
  • Plan a menu for next week
  • Figure out the food for the weekend (because there are food allergies involved)
  • Figure out when my brother and his family are coming

Shopping

  • Go Christmas shopping with Mom
  • Go get the cookie ingredients
  • Get the Thanksgiving food bought

The List Seems Endless

It also had things like:

  • Finish the week strong with Angie’s schooling
  • Do the Dogs need their shots? Schedule vet appointment
  • Fill the holes in the yard the dogs dug
  • Mow the yard (yes, I know it is November, but this is Oklahoma and it’s 80 degrees today)
  • Rearrange the furniture in the den (guests are coming; need the floor space)

thanksgiving

I did get one of our dogs in to the vet for her check up and she is doing fine. Here she is relaxing while waiting for the vet. We will take the other after Thanksgiving.

If I get really OCD, I will rewrite the huge list into an even bigger list with the smallest possible job increments and color code it with the most important stuff first. I will also portion out the work over the week so no one is completely overwhelmed. This is also when I delegate all the jobs from stuffing the turkey and mopping the floors to changing the towels. I know this is all crazy when you add in the Chocolate Dog Studio business stuff. I feel totally overwhelmed, yet thankful…

Very, Very Thankful…

  • We can get all of these things done
  • We are so blessed to have each other
  • To have friends and family come and visit us in our introvertedness (we overdose on Thanksgiving weekend and spend the next month getting over it–not really, but it does feel like we have overdosed. :0) )
  • For our grandchildren
  • To be able to cook, clean and go where we want to go
  • To sleep each night in safety
  • For dogs that bark in the night and keep us up (at least we can hear them!)
  • For kids that leave dirty clothes on the floor (I mean– we have clothes, and a floor to leave them on, and a way to get them clean)

Wow, that list is amazing! I am sure you have your own list of Thankfulness. I am not really usually this cheerful but being thankful is something I am working on daily.

Talk to you later,

Karen

P.S. I am taking some time off– I’ll see you back here December 1st. Have a great holiday weekend!

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A New Sign

This weekend I am working on packaging. It is the little things that count. Packaging, finishing work and tagging all speak for about the quality of your work. All the work that you put into your items should speak through your packaging and style of your booth. So, my booth has been getting an overhaul, I used to have green and white polka dot table covers and a fabric banner for the shop sign. So, it was time for a change. This is a much better sign than the one I had before, though it was good. It is easier to read from a distance and will stand out in a crowded marketplace.

A New Sign

It feels like things are starting to come together. There is a ton of work to do.  I still need to make table covers for the show and they need to look good. I have been searching out ideas via Pinterest and have quite a few ideas for good table covers. There are several with pockets on the back for calculators and small things. That is the style I am thinking about but I’m just not sure what I will end up with.

The trees here are lovely in their orange and red leaves. The oak tree in the yard is dropping all its acorns. The squirrels are trying to evade the dogs in the yard. They seize the minutes when the dogs are in the house to scrounge as many as they can. There is a nip in the air that promises colder weather in the future. Winter seems to have held off longer than normal this year. Friends and family were still getting harvest from their gardens this weekend, but the end is in sight. My rose bush is still blooming and I need to trim it back and harvest the sage and basil. We are busy on fall home improvement projects like caulking and getting the house ready for the winter. I hope that you are enjoying glorious autumn weather at your house.

Talk to you later,

Karen

 

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Being Boss

  • Sometimes being self motivated and your own boss is an issue. This week I am doing a good job of being boss. I feel the craft show looming down on me. I am so worried that I won’t have enough stock that I feel like I am working overtime. Taking time off to play or be social is truly hard for me, so I tend to work all the time. Then I face burn out.

If I look at my work as play then my attitude is much better. So, this week while playing. I finished up these colorful and fun hats. I love them.

Being Boss

I sent my daughter in to yarntopolis (my yarn storage) to pick another color for the same style hat and she picked light blue. They are so much fun to crochet. The colors change all of the time and that makes it quick work. I have also been busy hand sewing the  tags on a bunch of the crocheted items.

Today, I am cleaning in the makerspace and getting the next round of sewing organized. I am waiting on some supplies but I will sew pot holders and coffee press cozies today. I also need to do cut capes out so I can get them sewn. All this planning is overwhelming but I am using my Kanban board as a reminder of what needs to be done, what is in process and what remains.

Talk to you later,

Karen

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The Neverending list of to dos

Here is my to do list for the week.

I am working on my to do list and all the WIPs that I have accumulated over the year. I am getting quite a bit completed but nothing new or earth shattering. Thisneverending list of to dos just has to get slimmed down by a bunch of work. Here is the list so far.

Yarny things:

  • Crochet shawl

The Neverending list of to dos I love the colors in the scarf/shawl. It will be big enough to be a shawl  and yet small enough to wear with a coat. It matches my winter coat and most of my clothes so when I take off the coat I can still wear it.

  • blue and white Stripe

The Neverending list of to dos 

I have added four white rows and will probably take it tomorrow to work on while I wait for classes to be finished.

  • multicolor granny stripe

I haven’t touched this one yet. I love the colors and it is only a matter of time.

The Neverending list of to dos

Sewn things:

  • Various cup cozies – I have made 2 batman cup cozies
  • coffee press cozies
  • hot pads or pot holders
  • 2-3 aprons
  • a quilt that needs the machine quilting I have worked on the quilt and just lack the long sides and bias binding in order to finish this up.

The Neverending list of to dos

 

  • I have been cutting and sewing some satin that has been sitting in the studio since 2013. I am glad that I am finally sewing on it. I am still in the process of drafting a workable pattern so I have some prototypes. I am probably going to take them with me tomorrow and see how they work on real life kids. Since I am lacking little kids in my house any more.

As far as being organized.

  1. I have made a menu for the week
  2. I am planning to make some jelly this weekend
  3. I have checked my appointments to make sure that I am missing nothing.

I read this great blog post by Michael Hyatt and I am breaking my tasks down to smaller pieces. This will help me be more organized. I am also going to set a time and date for myself to go and sit at the sewing machine to sew. I am also going to decide which project to work while I wait for kids at various activities. Cooking dinner and the clean up that goes with it add all kinds of stress to my day. I am making a menu and then setting an alarm to remind me to start dinner at a certain time every day. I tend to work up until the last minute and then dinner is unhealthy (no vegetables or salad), sandwiches, or fast food. All of which are bad for the budget, and add stress.

Things I am going to work on to whittle my neverending list of to dos down to a manageable size.

  1. Finish the quilt (there is probably only 2-3 more hours of work.)
  2. Sew 3 coffee press cozies
  3. Sew 20 coffee cup sleeves
  4. sew 3 bibs (already cut just need to be sewn)
  5. sew up 5 flannel blankets (already cut just need to be sewn)
  6. sew 10 more paper pieced quilt squares
  7. Finish the crochet consignment pieces
  8. Finish the crochet scarf shawl ( I think I am only lacking 6 more rows and then a picot border)

Here is what I said last week. http://www.chocolatedogstudio.com/2015/01/06/tuesdays-project-progress-week-one/

Talk to you later,

Karen

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The New Lab Puppy

It was a busy weekend here as I know it was busy at your house as well.  We had a great time at my Mom’s. My brother was down visiting and we had an incredible time working together. My mom has recently moved to a smaller home in the area. She had tons of things that all needed to find a new home and we had a great big huge sale to help her get rid of them.  We arrived on Friday afternoon and the garage was stacked with boxes of things. We all pitched in and by Saturday afternoon her garage was swept and empty. Simply an incredible afternoon was had by all. Here are a few action shots of the one thing we came home with. Kids can sure talk you into things that you were pretty sure you would never do again, like have another lab puppy in the house. They simply chew everything up for years and years.2014-10-25 13.27.31 2014-10-25 13.30.14Our daughter put a collar on her before we decided she could come home with us. Her owners were ready to give her to a new home. She just wandered up to the garage in the middle of the sale and lay down on the dog bed that was for sale. She made herself at home and slept pretty much all day. She was tired after howling under our window most of the evening on Friday. After a bath and a visit to the vet, she is now named Daisy and seems much happier. She just needs some extra food for a little while and she should be doing great. She didn’t cry too much last night but seemed to settle down pretty quickly.2014-10-26 17.43.01-1So, we are adjusting to having Daisy at home, and while one of the other dogs is a bit jealous I think things will settle down pretty quickly. I am not getting much crochet done with a new furry baby in the house that seems to need constant attention. Here is a pretty picture of her face.2014-10-26 11.56.27Daisy is very content and so are we. I hope to get back into the swing of things later this week.

talk to you later,

Karen

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I’m Hyper – Procrastinating This Morning.

Today: quite frankly I am procrastinating, I am hyper – procrastinating! I’m not even sure if that is a word. According to Merriam Webster’s online dictionary this is the definition of Hyper

Full Definition of HYPER

1 :  high-strung, excitable; also :  highly excited
2 :  extremely active

and this is the definition of Procrastinating.

pro·cras·ti·nate

verb \prə-ˈkras-tə-ˌnāt, prō-\

: to be slow or late about doing something that should be done : to delay doing something until a later time because you do not want to do it, because you are lazy,

Ouch, that hurt! It is how I feel though. I am intentionally lazing around and resting. The weeks have been filled with RUN..Run… Do this and do that! I need down time, my body craves it like I used to crave quiet (when I had four little people in the house.) I have done some of the chores that were screaming for attention yesterday; laundry and some picking up. I have some unpacking to do and some dishes to do. I have yarn I bought yesterday that I can’t wait to get my hands on. I have a bunch of photography for the Etsy shops and then some Christmas gift creating to do.

hyper-procrastinating

I have tons of things that have to be done, some errands and so forth but I am being a procrastinator on purpose. I’m not thinking or planning or scheduling. I am not considering the clutter in my house. Well, yes I am but I am ignoring it willfully. I am doing something incredibly difficult for me to do; sitting. I know that I will have to jump up and go and do before long. Chores, errands,  sewing, crochet and life calls, but for this little while I am going to sit and rest. I am adding white space or margin to my life. I have not had a chance to do this since our vacation in August, or at least it feels that long ago. Do you remember when I talked about margin? I have had two cups of coffee in bed and then some poking about on the internet with no specific purpose, a little thinking about this or that, and I ordered a music book for my daughter.

hyper-procrastinating

I have been taking stock of my life. Looking at what is truly important and while I haven’t reached any conclusions I do have some renewed purpose. I think I am back on track and headed several degrees into a better direction. You remember geometry class where you learned that a degree off of the right direction would put you miles away from your destination. Life is like that as well. So I am puttering into the right direction again. The photos are from our vacation this past summer. The last time I got to sit and just be. I am ready for a bit more of that time off.

Talk to you later,

Karen

 Well, if you want to read what I wrote about Margin you can find it here: http://www.chocolatedogstudio.com/2014/02/04/margin/

PS. It is now Friday and I wrote this on Thursday. I am still procrastinating. I guess rest is what I need to do right now in between life as wife, daughter, mom and chauffeur.

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Life is Busy

It is one of THOSE weeks, when everything converges and happens at the same time! So it is incredibly overwhelming but I think I can squeeze some crochet in between all the other activities. I love busy but this is a bit much!

Here are some lovely peaceful photos from our days at the beach. 2014-08-05 19.56.36 2014-08-05 07.08.20

It rained just a bit every single day! It was wonderful to sit around and play a board game with everyone involved. There were the 7 of us and my Mom. Our oldest son and his wife joined us and it was wonderful to have everyone under one roof eating meals together.

Talk to you later,

Karen

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Monet at the Philbrook

We took some time this week to go to the Monet exhibit at the Philbrook art museum in Tulsa.

2014-07-09 12.06.27

It is a lovely museum with lovely grounds and gardens. It was a bit too warm to wander around the grounds on this visit. We  did get to see the Monet exhibit.

2014-07-09 11.40.35

We were not allowed to take photos in the exhibit so the only photo I have of any Monet work is this one from the front entrance. His artwork is lovely and I really enjoyed how he worked with light. We also saw some Native American Pottery.

2014-07-09 11.53.40

The pots on the bottom are easily 3-4 feet tall.

I hope that if you live in the are you will take the opportunity and go see the beautiful paintings by Monet. FYI kids 17 and under are free!

Talk to you later,

Karen