Here are numbers 6, 7, Â and 8!
I love this purse. It has such a clean classic look to it! I had everything I needed to make this from my stash including the lining and the snap closure.
There is the tiny smidge of yarn I used to create the rose leaves!
Talk to you later,
Karen
One of the joys of reaching this point in my life is the ability to say “I don’t do that well and I don’t have to prove that I can, or I can survive quite well not doing ___________.” In fact I reached this point one Thanksgiving when a very close and dear friend gave me a recipe to create a 3-d turkey cake. In fact it is this very cake here.
Susy made it and it was beautiful. “You can do this, won’t it be fun! It is so Easy” she said.When I was finished, my turkey was laying on his back with his little turkey feet up in the air. He looked like someone had blasted him with a shot gun. In fact, I made little turkey feet out of pipe cleaners and stuck them in so that you could see that he was in fact a true Thanksgiving turkey! I still smile about that turkey cake. Will I every make an elaborate cake like this again. Nope, never, ever, ever… I can make a bundt cake from scratch and I can cook good meals. I don’t have to make 3 -d cakes ever again! I don’t have to keep up with the other women in my life…they have their gifts and I have mine!
There are other things that have I have decided that I just don’t have to stress about anymore. I don’t have to have superstar perfect children. Bear with me a minute on this. Then there is the time we were signing some papers and I sent all four of  the kids 10 and under out the back yard to play. The lady we were meeting with said “what well behaved children you have.” I said, oh they are probably playing in the mud in the back yard. What were they doing…yes, exactly playing in the mud, rolling in the mud, throwing the mud. There wasn’t an inch on any of them that didn’t have mud on it or in it.
Our children are perfect children, and are perfect at being imperfect human beings growing, learning and making mistakes. Don’t even get me started telling you how I know what five rolls of toilet paper dissolved in a bathtub looks like…or how much water it takes on the floor to make it like a slip and slide,or exactly what kittens do when they are dunked in a kiddie pool, or what happens if you put a twist tie in an electrical outlet, or ….well the list is endless.
I don’t have to have a perfect house. Wow, I admitted that on paper. Really, all my real friends really already know, I don’t have a perfect house. It is usually in a state of perfect disarray. It has six visual people that leave things out so they can find them again. A perfectly logical thing to do. We also tend not to see the work that needs to be done, but I will admit that I am working on that. It is getting better and getting cleaner as time goes by but a neat freak I am not. Come on by and hang out.
Talk to you later,
Karen
This is meant to be funny but often times hits closer to home than I intended it to. I hope you can enjoy the spirit in which it is meant.
The life cycle of a large crochet project.
Personal experience tells me that there are at least 5 distinct phases of a project. There is the  dream phase, the beginning phase, the please let me finish this phase or Mount Everest, the I can’t wait to finish this or the downhill phase/ dreaming of a new project, and finally the I can’t believe that it is finished phase and I can’t wait to start the new project.
The dream phase is incredible fun. I tend to surf the internet looking for patterns, styles, colors or just plain inspiration. I will pull out all of my yarns and make a huge mess while I play with it. I have been known to start and stop, frogging the trial swatch several times before I hit on the perfect project. Pinterest is huge fun at this point. Dreaming about all of the projects, colors, styles and incredible possibilities. Â I am full of enthusiasm, excitement, and a bit obsessive.
The dream phase has enough enthusiasm and excitement to carry me through the beginning phases of a project. I am thrilled and happy. I am brilliant person for picking that particular color combination or pattern. How wonderful it is to be working on this project. Look the colors just sing! This  phase is accompanied by  stretching out the blanket and showing how beautiful all the colors are and much required admiring remarks from the family. This all sounds like bliss, until we hit the dreaded middle of the project or Mount Everest.
Mount Everest is the middle of the project where you aren’t quite half way. I have committed a fortune to the supplies for this monster. Yes, monster of a project and I am just not- Going- To – Quit. This is often muttered under your breath while your family sits on the opposite side of the room and says things like “Would you like chocolate while you work on this? Would you like to watch a movie and eat chocolate? How about some chocolate? Yes, frequently chocolate does help, but the bigger the project the larger and longer this Mount Everest feels. Quite frequently this is also where a project can become a WIP (work in progress) or PIG (project in grocery bag) and quietly put aside. My final thoughts on a big project are “please,please, just let me finish this before I die.” Which is silly since I am not on the brink of death and I will finish this project. Great background music is Night on Bald Mountain from Fantasia (the original production). Followed by the Ava Maria as you pass over the middle of the project and slide down the back half of the project.
The last half of the project or down hill from Mount Everest is filled with anticipation of the next project. My thought processes are filled with dreamy thoughts about how wonderfully the next project will go and how happy I will be to complete it.  It will go so quickly and be so completely fabulous that I will finish it in no time…etc…  I may even order the yarn or spend time flirting with the yarn stores on line by putting items in my shopping cart one day and removing them the next or even a week later. Finally, good sense will take hold and the $30 per skein specialty yarn will get evicted from the shopping cart and I will decide to work with what I have on hand already. My husband will give me the look by which he means… “You already have five laundry baskets of yarn downstairs and two upstairs and you mean to say that you can’t use what you already have?” All the while I crochet happily away thinking and saying to myself “I am SO DONE with this project. Why did I pick such a large size blanket? What was I thinking about making so many color changes and look at all the ends I am going to have to weave in at the end?”  About 25 rows from the end I start estimating how many rows it will take to finish it and how many more nights I am going to spend crocheting. It looks like this. “Ohhhh, look I only have 15 rows left, surely I can get this done tonight. Surely I can just crochet faster and get it done by 9 tonight.”
My Husband finally looks over at me after ten and says… “Aren’t you going to sleep tonight”. Â So I grudgingly put it away and finally finish it up the next night.
The next night will show me doing a happy dance. As I show off the beautiful finished creation full of beauty and  of course loose ends that aren’t completely woven in. So, I sit down for the next two or three nights weaving in the ends of the project as I struggle to really finish it off right! Enthusiasm for the next project might shorten this weaving in phase or it might eclipse it altogether as I head off in the blissful beginnings of a new crochet blanket, or the middle of Mount Everest. Which is exactly where I am right now on this project.
Happy and obsessed is the crocheter that never runs out of yarn, because there is always a little bit left over to crochet with!
talk to you later,
Karen
So sorry about the bad photo at the end but I am a bit obsessed with finishing this one. I have another project on my mind that I already have yarn for, and the yarn for the project after this one is on it’s way in the mail! :0)
The weather was bitterly cold for our part of the world. Oklahoma is not known for the temperatures in the teens. The snow is pretty but under the snow is a nice coating of ice.
This is the view off of my front porch.
Here is the back deck and yard. The ice isn’t as bad as it was last time but it is colder.
I stayed in and thought about goals, deadlines, chores and menus. Then I thought of this!
Yes, I am procrastinating on my cleaning! A basket liner for my favorite large yarn basket. It has turned out better than I thought.  Why is it that the New Year starts and we all get the organizing bug! Anyway this isn’t much of a tutorial more of a how to do it  yourself for your basket. The tutorial will come tomorrow.
Talk to you later,
Karen
As I look at my computer/internet. I find myself being challenged to change, to remember and to continue marching forward. I don’t know about you but as a stay home mom, I have struggled with isolation. I have struggled with loneliness and feeling like the only one home in this huge neighborhood. This was never so true as when the kids were babies. I am old enough to have experienced life before the internet and cell phones. Life is is better with both.
Allow me to explain…
Pinterest allows me to indulge my need for new information in bite sized pieces. I can be challenged to remember to exercise, to restart that old habit, to find a new way of doing things. Just this week I remembered how easy it was to freezer cook. I simply cooked twice as much and then froze the extra.
Strange that I had forgotten how easy it was. I have tried new ways of doing things. Flylady.com keeps nudging me and reminding me how easy it is to clean/home repair in little easy baby steps.
I also have to confess that I am a visual person so, I tend to keep projects out where I can see them, along with lists, books to read, papers to deal with. That tends to keep things very disorganized. So, once again baby steps on the cleaning. I can fold one load of laundry. Run one load of dishes, wash three pots, sweep the floor and wipe down the bathroom. Â Even if I am still not into routines, I do have things cleaner than they were. JUST remember, that if you drop by the house was clean until it sensed you coming and then it self destructs.
Facebook keeps me plugged in with friends and family. I see faces of friends and get encouraged to keep plugging ahead in this life. Heartwarming stories scroll down the screen and  remind me that the world is not always a cold place. It isn’t an answer to everything but it does help keep the odd lonelies away. The ones that come on is a rush when things are quiet. Which seems to be happening more and more these days as the kids are growing up and away.
I get blog updates from different folks that remind me to stretch, to achieve, to reach out and grow. I get tidbits of information on all kinds of different topics from new craft ideas, to organizing, to parenting and marriage and tips on managing our family finances. I love having lots of resources to pull from. These little gadgets will make my life so much easier. Everyone has cords and what to do to keep them separated….now I can color code the kids’ charging cords. Incredible idea!
Yes, the internet has changed our lives for the better or worse, it depends on how you use it. How does the computer challenge you?
Talk to you later,
Karen
A new year is here and staring me in the face. Â I can’t get away from the fact that another year is starting, with it comes all of the hope of a new start. So as I get out the new calendar there are things I want to improve or change.
https://www.etsy.com/listing/73146917/now-is-the-time-inspirational-art-prints
I have two Jon Acuff books that I want to read. They won’t take long and will inspire me toward more change. I also have several Beth Moore books that I want to read as well.
I have a some crafty things that I want to make for my house.
There are some home improvement projects that are “needing” to be done and some that NEED to be done.
I have a ton of crochet patterns that I want to write.
https://www.etsy.com/listing/168758302/black-fridaytypography-printblack-white
Blogging that is crying out to me.
A boy to graduate from high school and send off to college, which will put us down to one child at home.
College applications to send.
A house to clean, and dogs to care for.
https://www.etsy.com/listing/157870226/8×10-pattern-inspirational-quote-print
Friends and family to spend time with and two quilts to sew.
Some college kids to feed and listen to while they are here for Spring break and Thanksgiving.
https://www.etsy.com/listing/173613259/8×10-a-friend-loves-at-all-times
A garden I want to plant, sow, harvest, can and eat from.
Some computer skills that need to be learned.
Some bills to pay off.
2 sets of braces that will come off this year.
So my year is going to be full to overflowing and yet time marches on. I need to be careful that I spend time doing the right things or the busyness of life will overtake me and the important things will get lost in the shuffle of papers.
 https://www.etsy.com/listing/75996440/adventure-time-block-print-in-bold-blue
It is time for the adventure of the New Year. Are you ready?
I must go and get ready…
Karen
Passion is quite frankly over-rated. I am really down on passion these days. Passion is a flash in the pan, a moment in time never to be attained again in precisely the same way.
https://www.etsy.com/listing/153674550/taylor-hanson-passion-chalkboard
Now that I have your attention I will say that following your passion in business is over-rated. So  are the statements “create what you love and you will do great in your artistic life”, “be true to yourself”,”be who you are”. All of those statements are truthful to a point but the real truth is that  unless you put old fashioned HARD WORK you aren’t going to make it. Hard work is what keeps you making that one item the hundredth time. Hard work will keep you creating when you are tired and worn out. Hard work and not passion is what keeps musicians practicing in tiny rooms for hours at a time. Passion might put them in the room but hard work is what keeps them improving and practicing for long hours with no audience.
https://www.etsy.com/listing/109005760/kevin-durant-basketball-inspirational
“Create what you love and you will do great in your artistic life”. Hmmm, where do you think the term starving artist came from? Â If you are doing your art or craft to pay bills, you might have to compromise your vision with what the people will buy. It is a terribly tiny line that you walk between earning money and following your dream. Somewhere between your dream and reality lies the middle line. Your job as an artist is to find a middle point that fulfills you as an artist and provides a living. At least until you have made a name for yourself. I know that there are people that will disagree with this, but if you are going to spend time and money creating, then you need people to buy your items to finance more creating. What do you think?
Talk to you later,
Karen
Help! I have had Google Analytics for years and have never really understood what I was doing. Here are some websites that should help you understand what it is and what an incredible FREE tool it is!
This list covers a bunch of tutorials, explanations, videos and blog posts about using Google Analytics.
http://blog.kissmetrics.com/50-resources-for-getting-the-most-out-of-google-analytics/
http://www.movements.org/how-to/entry/analytics-tools/
I hope that it helps you understand a bit more about Google Analytics. Evidently, I haven’t even scratched the surface  of the information available in Google Analytics much less used any of the tools. I know so little about it. I have just been using it to find out where people are coming from to find my Etsy shop or this blog.
I am going to have to change all of that. This looks like another item to put on my To Do list.
Talk to you later,
Karen
When I list out my goals it tends to look a lot like a To-Do list of a type A incredibly organized person. I have needed to scale back on my To-Do lists and just write the most important items down.
Family
1. Make cookies with the kids
2. Pick up the college girl for Christmas break
3. Take youngest DS driving so he can get his license
4. Bake Banana bread
Home
1. Do a basic clean sweep of the house.
2 Â Organize the Laundry room
3. Touch up the paint in my bathroom
Studio
1. Get shipping ready every day
2. Pick up the clutter in the studio
3. Work on custom orders every night
Personal
1. Water Aerobics once this week
2. Read pinned information about blogging
3. Complete devotional times
4. Plan 2 Christmas dinners….and see what needs to be done!
5. Complete Christmas shopping
6. wrap gifts
Ok, I just need to stop. This list is huge already and I keep tacking things on.
The great thing about having facebook is the links that people post are often interesting. This one really spoke to me, in fact it spoke so much that I have asked for the book for Christmas. It talks about the opposite of being fragile or Antifragile. The book is Antifragile:Things that Gain from Disorder is written Nassim Nicholas Taleb. I am taking my understanding of Taleb’s book from this website; http://www.artofmanliness.com/2013/12/03/beyond-sissy-resilience-on-becoming-antifragile/
The article discusses the opposite of fragile. They discuss the fact that the opposite of fragile isn’t robust or resilient. As being Anti-fragile should put you ahead of where you started before the bad time happened. Instead of breaking during stressful personal or business times we should become stronger.
I have come through a time recently when I felt very fragile and I am continuing to feel fragile. So this concept is very attractive to me from a personal standpoint and as a small business owner.
The article touches on how large often equals fragile due to red tape, an inability to swiftly react to market changes, or icebergs in the case of the Titanic. Â It talks about being optimized to make use of every resource. In my case it would be a calendar with no extra time for the daily life occurrences that happen ie a flat tire, a sick child, medical emergencies that all play havoc with our calendar, budget and life. Â People try to reduce this randomness in life by planning it out. An example of this in real life are parents that try to keep their children from experiencing small hurts like Johnny doesn’t want to play with Jimmy. The author states that stress strengthens us and removing stresses from our children’s lives weakens them.
Resilience or the ability to bounce back while a great ability to have is useless if you do not grow from your experience. Growing means that you have moved beyond randomness or become anti fragile.
The great news is that Taleb feels that being small is great for being antifragile! Small business are more able to change direction.
You really should read the rest of it and gather some great insight but here are some insights that I gathered from this article.
1. What doesn’t kill your small business should make it stronger. Will you learn from your mistakes? Change your focus if it is needed!
2. Have a back up plan! Having more than one critical piece of equipment isn’t a bad thing, for my business this would be to have more than one sewing machine that works well.
3. Add some stress to your life! Â You can do this by changing your work schedule, or how you do things. See if there is a new way to do what you have always done. Stress strengthens you as it forces you to change.
4. Play it safe and also take risks. In a small retail business this might be continuing to sell your best selling items while you learn a new skill or sell something else just to see how it goes.
5. Don’t take advice from someone that doesn’t also do what you do.Why would you take advice from someone that doesn’t also run a small business?
6. Reduce the negatives. Remove things that are detracting from your business or life. Do you have bad habits or debt? Get rid of the debt and work on the bad habits.
7. Keep your options open. So,keep some money in the bank for the slow times. If your best selling item stops selling then stop making it and move on.
I am excited to get to read this book as it reinforces what I have always known; What doesn’t kill you makes you stronger! We just have to decide that we are going to grow from what has happened and move forward or in a completely different direction.
This poster just says it all! I’m off to change my focus, add some stress, and finish some things up!
See you later!
Karen