http://search.deviantart.com/?q=by:ArielManx&section=today deviantART RSS for by:ArielManx en-us Copyright 2009, deviantART.com Fri, 04 Dec 2009 04:29:52 PST deviantART.com http://blogs.law.harvard.edu/tech/rss http://s.deviantart.com/minish/widgets/apple-touch-icon-precomposed.png http://ArielManx.deviantart.com/journal/28710073/ http://ArielManx.deviantart.com/journal/28710073/ Wed, 02 Dec 2009 13:28:51 PST I do still have a number of ready-to-ship items in my Etsy shop. [link] (update - as of 12/3/2009 I have my shop in vacation mode, so to see the items I have ready to go, see this journal entry [link])

I hope everyone had a wonderful Thanksgiving! We had a great time here, lots of food and very good company.

and I will be going back to North Dakota the 5th through the 11th or 12th, and will be largely without internet (we have the Blackberry, but frankly I try to unplug when I go home to see my folks). So don't be surprised to hear even less from me than usual.

-----

Proud Member and Admin of:
Proud Member of:


Holiday Crochet Commission Queue
1: cunning hat for someone who may want to keep it secret!
2: CLOSED
3: CLOSED
4: CLOSED
5: CLOSED

Current personal crochet projects in the works (or at least in mind!)
Plushie dice, dice bags, kitchen stuff for my mom, baby blankets for 2 other cousins, afghan for my neighbor

Current personal embroidery projects
None right now

50 Book Challenge 2009
16/50 ]]> =ArielManx http://ArielManx.deviantart.com/journal/28559038/ http://ArielManx.deviantart.com/journal/28559038/ Tue, 24 Nov 2009 23:04:15 PST

While it's been a great year for Robert and I in many ways, we've had our fair share of loss, worry, and heartache. We know many have had a worse year than we have. When things seem bad all around you, sometimes it's easy to say, "What do I have to be thankful for?!"

Well, here's what I'm thankful for this year:

I am thankful for my wonderful, precious husband.
I am thankful for my friends, those I know in the flesh and those I only know online.
I am thankful for my family, and especially thankful that my mom is home from the hospital and will get to enjoy Thanksgiving with my dad and some friends of theirs.
I am thankful for my health, which, though it will never be perfect, is so much better now than it was a year ago.
I am thankful for the opportunity to work for myself, and for all the people who have supported our new endeavor, whether they've bought a book or just said "Good for you!"
I am thankful to have hobbies and pastimes that bring me joy and relaxation.

Money's pretty dang tight for us these days, we've lost two friends and a family member this year, we've had parents and friends in and out of the hospital all year - any one of those things is enough to be a downer, put them all together and it's enough to get you waaaaay down. But despite all those things, I have much more to be thankful for than I do to be glum about.

Think about the positive things in your life and focus on them this Thanksgiving Day.

-----

Proud Member and Admin of:
Proud Member of:


Holiday Crochet Commission Queue
1: OPEN
2: OPEN
3: OPEN
4: OPEN
5: OPEN

Current personal crochet projects in the works (or at least in mind!)
Plushie dice, dice bags, kitchen stuff for my mom, baby blankets for 2 other cousins, afghan for my neighbor

Current personal embroidery projects
None right now

50 Book Challenge 2009
16/50 ]]> =ArielManx http://ArielManx.deviantart.com/journal/28054622/ http://ArielManx.deviantart.com/journal/28054622/ Fri, 30 Oct 2009 21:41:13 PDT And a blessed Samhain to my fellow pagans!

I'm always excited for Halloween, but especially so this year, as we'll be going to a Halloween party for the first time in, oh, probably 10 years! We have spent many a Halloween sitting at home waiting for the trick-or-treaters - we love handing out candy to the cute little kiddies! But after getting ZERO kiddies last year and talking to our neighbors who say the kiddies never come down our street, we don't feel bad leaving the house this year. The Sandbaggers Game Club, of which we are members, is having a 20th anniversary Halloween bash! Gaming starts at noon, with the party kicking off by 6pm. Poor Robert has to work tomorrow (sigh) so I'll be over there solo for a while until he gets off work. It's going to be lots of fun!

Robert and I are dressing up as Jayne and Kaylee from Firefly (Jayne's a male character, for those not familiar with the show).

Robert did an awesome Halloween feature on his latest journal - better than I would probably do! - so go check it out! [link]

Have a safe and fun holiday! Be good - the Great Pumpkin is watching!

-----

Proud Member and Admin of:
Proud Member of:


Holiday Crochet Commission Queue
1: OPEN
2: OPEN
3: OPEN
4: OPEN
5: OPEN

Current personal crochet projects in the works (or at least in mind!)
Plushie dice, dice bags, kitchen stuff for my mom, baby blankets for 2 other cousins, afghan for my neighbor

Current personal embroidery projects
None right now

50 Book Challenge 2009
16/50 ]]> =ArielManx http://ArielManx.deviantart.com/journal/28035667/ http://ArielManx.deviantart.com/journal/28035667/ Thu, 29 Oct 2009 19:20:53 PDT , passed from this world this morning from cancer at the way-too-young age of 49. Traci was a kick-ass gal who worked on the railroad in Arkansas, and I always admired her blunt, open, and honest journals and comments, and while I'm not a huge railfan, she took some awesome train photos. She was a gamer-girl and a Wiccan, like me, so I always felt a kinship to her. I wish we'd had time to get to know each other better.

You'll be missed, Traci. Rest well in Summerland.





-----

Proud Member and Admin of:
Proud Member of:


Holiday Crochet Commission Queue
1: OPEN
2: OPEN
3: OPEN
4: OPEN
5: OPEN

Current personal crochet projects in the works (or at least in mind!)
Plushie dice, dice bags, kitchen stuff for my mom, baby blankets for 2 other cousins, afghan for my neighbor

Current personal embroidery projects
None right now

50 Book Challenge 2009
16/50 ]]> =ArielManx http://ArielManx.deviantart.com/journal/27795819/ http://ArielManx.deviantart.com/journal/27795819/ Wed, 11 Nov 2009 09:52:26 PST I have four slots left. Naturally if there isn't a strict deadline on when you need your commission done, I can still take your name down and get to it as soon as I can.

I also must make the caveat that while I will do everything in my power to get commissions done in time, if my mom takes a turn for the worse, obviously my family needs to come first. I will keep everyone updated if anything like that happens.

As always, commissions must be paid for fully in advance (including the shipping costs!) via PayPal. I will consider a trade for something I truly NEED. I cannot work with animal fiber yarns due to my allergies.

Commission Prices:

Plushie Dice

d4 - $5
d6 - $6
d8 - $7
d10 - $8
set of two d10s (either percentile or two different d10s) - $15
d12 - $10
d20 - $12
Matched set of 7 - $45

(I have not yet posted pictures of the d12 and d20 because I am still working on them)

Dice Bags

In two colors (main and contrast) with two beads at the ends of the drawstrings - $30
If you want a larger bag, or one made with three colors, or one with more decoration, the cost will go up. If you want a smaller bag, or one with no beads, the cost will go down.

Covered Ball Ornaments

$8 each or 4/$25

Single Color Beanie Hats

I can make these in various styles. Price will vary with size of hat (I need a head measurement) and pattern, from $10 to $20. If you want more than one color in the hat, the price will go up.

Cunning Earflap Hats

For a manly-sized, multi-colored one like this, $40. Smaller hats, or single-color hats, will be less.

Standard Size Scarves (6" wide by 5-6' long)

With or without fringe, single color, $25.
Multiple colors, $30.
Longer scarves will cost more.

Muffler Scarves (9" wide by nearly 8' long)
=ArielManx http://ArielManx.deviantart.com/journal/27623442/ http://ArielManx.deviantart.com/journal/27623442/ Tue, 06 Oct 2009 20:18:54 PDT
I'm so very grateful to my uncle, who took it on to drive her to Rochester and back in my absence. My father has a very hard time driving in cities, and his hearing is going so even if someone is in the vehicle to give him directions he doesn't always hear them correctly, so my parents were honestly panicking more about the trip itself and how Mom would get to the Mayo Clinic than the surgery itself. Thank the god and goddess that my uncle stepped in, and my dad was just able to stay home, which was easier for everyone.

We are currently planning a trip home in early December, but that may or may not change depending on my mom's health. We may end up going home earlier, or multiple times, or we may even end up going to take her to Rochester in November if something comes up and my uncle can't take her.

With all this going on, I'm debating whether I should close my crochet commissions until after my mom's health is more stable. I certainly could use the money, and I like to crochet anyway to relax and wind-down, so I'd be working on one thing or another even if I don't have commissions. But I would hate to take on the work and then end up back in ND, making a long trip into MN, and not be able to get the commissions done, especially if they're holiday gifts.

But I haven't fully decided yet. If anyone was thinking about commissioning me, could you please send me a note? We can talk about it there. Even if I don't leave the queue wide-open, I may still be able to make a few things for people if given enough time.

This weekend Robert and I will be headed to Montana Game Faire in Helena, where we'll be (hopefully!) selling lots of copies of our books. We're looking forward to getting out of town for a couple days. It should be a good time!

-----

Proud Member and Admin of:
Proud Member of:

Crochet Commission Queue ALWAYS OPEN! Click here [link] for a general price list and note me for details!
Afghans, Scarves, Dice Bags, and more!
Visit my Etsy shop for ready-to-ship items [link] DICE BAGS ON SALE NOW!

Crochet Commission Queue
1: OPEN
2: OPEN
3: OPEN
4: OPEN
5: OPEN

Current personal crochet projects in the works (or at least in mind!) =ArielManx http://ArielManx.deviantart.com/journal/27478622/ http://ArielManx.deviantart.com/journal/27478622/ Mon, 28 Sep 2009 23:36:32 PDT , who is my best friend and the love of my life, turns 40! Go wish him a happy birthday!

-----

Proud Member and Admin of:
Proud Member of:

Crochet Commission Queue ALWAYS OPEN! Click here [link] for a general price list and note me for details!
Afghans, Scarves, Dice Bags, and more!
Visit my Etsy shop for ready-to-ship items [link] DICE BAGS ON SALE NOW!

Crochet Commission Queue
1: OPEN
2: OPEN
3: OPEN
4: OPEN
5: OPEN

Current personal crochet projects in the works (or at least in mind!)
Plushie dice, dice bags, kitchen stuff for my mom, baby blankets for 2 other cousins, afghan for my neighbor

Current personal embroidery projects
None right now

50 Book Challenge 2009
15/50 ]]> =ArielManx http://ArielManx.deviantart.com/journal/27178552/ http://ArielManx.deviantart.com/journal/27178552/ Sat, 12 Sep 2009 20:38:26 PDT

So keep an eye on my journal, or feel free to note me if you have something in mind and want a quote. I will gladly work up a non-obligation quote for you - just please do let me know if you decide not to proceed with the order after getting the quote. It's very disconcerting to be left hanging! I won't be upset with anyone who decides they can't afford my rates, I promise!

-----

Proud Member and Admin of:
Proud Member of:

Crochet Commission Queue ALWAYS OPEN! Click here [link] for a general price list and note me for details!
Afghans, Scarves, Dice Bags, and more!
Visit my Etsy shop for ready-to-ship items [link] DICE BAGS ON SALE NOW!

Crochet Commission Queue
1: OPEN
2: OPEN
3: OPEN
4: OPEN
5: OPEN

Current personal crochet projects in the works (or at least in mind!)
Plushie dice, dice bags, kitchen stuff for my mom, baby blankets for 2 other cousins, afghan for my neighbor

Current personal embroidery projects
None right now

50 Book Challenge 2009
14/50 ]]> =ArielManx http://ArielManx.deviantart.com/journal/26974757/ http://ArielManx.deviantart.com/journal/26974757/ Wed, 02 Sep 2009 10:30:20 PDT I use my older different handle (of 10+ years) when e-mailing them.

My cousin and his wife just had a baby girl over the weekend. Take a wild guess at what they named her.

Wait for it...

ARIEL!



I sincerely doubt they intended to name her after me, but I can't help but be a little touched - and highly amused!

Now I really need to get my ass in gear and get a gift done for my new little namesake. I was running behind anyway, but figured I had a little more time. Nope, l'il Ariel showed up early! She's tiny (not even 6 pounds!) but just fine. Bet she'd like a blankie, though...

My 15-minutes-a-day thing didn't go so well last week - I was really struggling with the pattern I'm developing for a d12 plushie, and with my camera trying to get pictures of the percentile dice plushies I've finished, so I had to just put it all aside before I pulled my hair out! Plus I've been super busy with our next book. Gotta get back to the crafting though, I need my fix!

-----

Proud Member and Admin of:
Proud Member of:

Crochet Commission Queue ALWAYS OPEN! Click here [link] for a general price list and note me for details!
Afghans, Scarves, Dice Bags, and more!
Visit my Etsy shop for ready-to-ship items [link] DICE BAGS ON SALE NOW!

Crochet Commission Queue
1: OPEN
2: OPEN
3: OPEN
4: OPEN
5: OPEN

Current personal crochet projects in the works (or at least in mind!)
Plushie dice, dice bags, kitchen stuff for my mom, hooded baby blanket for my cousin's daughter, afghan for my neighbor

Current personal embroidery projects
None right now

50 Book Challenge 2009
14/50 ]]> =ArielManx http://ArielManx.deviantart.com/journal/26732208/ http://ArielManx.deviantart.com/journal/26732208/ Fri, 21 Aug 2009 11:08:03 PDT " (I also sometimes hear "I wouldn't have the patience" or "I don't have the talent", both of which I'd also argue with, but I hear the time issue the most. )

First off, I don't even consider myself all that productive. Considering the quantity of work I see some of the talented people on the forums and blogs I frequent churn out, I feel like a craft slacker. But I still get a fair amount of stuff done.

I think the two main things that hold people back from crafting, or reading, or drawing or painting, or processing photos - you can substitute any hobby here - are two of my own worst habits: spending too much time online , and having it in my head that if I don't have a huge chunk of time to work on something, I might as well not bother.

Let's face it, the internet is a time suck. Don't get me wrong, I loves me some internets! I love dA, and e-mail, and forums, and blogs, and any other of the kabillion websites out there. But I'm sure you can all relate when I say I've lost count of how many times I've sat down to check e-mail and the next thing I know, an hour has passed. Right there's some time I could have spent creating something, if only I could have dragged my lazy ass away from the computer.

OK, so let's say I manage to resist the lure of the internet in my free time, but I only have 15 minutes before I need to get back to work/start supper/leave for my doctor's appointment, etc. With that small a chunk of time, it doesn't even pay to start anything, right? I admit I've thought that in the past, but really, it's wrong.

On one of those many blogs I like to read, Mary Corbet's Needle 'n Thread, Mary made a post on how she manages to get a lot of embroidery work done by taking advantage of those 15 minute blocks of time. [link] I've been making a concerted effort to do this in the past week or so, and much to my surprise, I've nearly completed a 10-piece plushie. And it gets me away from the computer, and out of my home office, long enough that when I go back downstairs, I feel refreshed and more productive.

So! I would encourage everyone who feels like they don't have time for the creative things they enjoy to try to get just 15 minutes a day at it. Set a kitchen timer if you want so you don't have to watch the clock, or risk going over and being late for an appointment. I'm aware that some arts and crafts really do need more than 15 minutes of attention at a crack, so figure out what the minimum amount of time is that you need to accomplish something on those projects, and go with that. And just try it for a week. See how much you accomplish.

In other news, I've set up a Live Journal for 4 Winds Fantasy Gaming. I'm going to try to keep all the company news there instead of here - I know some of you are interested in our business, but that many of you aren't, and I'm also trying to keep my work life and personal life separate (which is hard when you work from home!). So for those of you who care, here it is! [link]

-----

Proud Member and Admin of:
Proud Member of:

Crochet Commission Queue ALWAYS OPEN! Click here [link] for a general price list and note me for details!
Afghans, Scarves, Dice Bags,... ]]> =ArielManx http://ArielManx.deviantart.com/journal/26569594/ http://ArielManx.deviantart.com/journal/26569594/ Thu, 13 Aug 2009 13:15:21 PDT The Book of Arcane Magic has hit the streets!

Wanna buy a copy? Here's where you can go:

PDF or Print via our distributor, Indie Press Revolution

PDF or Print at Lulu.com

Print at Amazon.com

Print at BarnesandNoble.com

PDF at DriveThruRPG

PDF at Paizo.com

You can also have your local Barnes & Noble or your local game store order the book for you! All you need is the ISBN, which is 9780578029900.

Or...you can order directly from us, which will give you the benefit of getting a signed copy! Each copy is $15.95 USD plus shipping.

-----

Proud Member and Admin of:
Proud Member of:

Crochet Commission Queue ALWAYS OPEN! Click here [link] for a general price list and note me for details!
Afghans, Scarves, Dice Bags, and more!
Visit my Etsy shop for ready-to-ship items [link] DICE BAGS ON SALE NOW!

Crochet Commission Queue
1: OPEN
2: OPEN
3: OPEN
4: OPEN
5: OPEN

Current personal crochet projects in the works (or at least in mind!)
Ice cream cozies, plushie dice, dice bags, kitchen stuff for my mom, hooded baby blanket for my cousin's daughter, afghan for my neighbor

Current personal embroidery projects
None right now

50 Book Challenge 2009
13/50 ]]> =ArielManx http://ArielManx.deviantart.com/journal/26387819/ http://ArielManx.deviantart.com/journal/26387819/ Tue, 04 Aug 2009 19:00:40 PDT Robert and I had been trying to hold out for the "new" to wear off before we went, but today we couldn't take it any more! We love Sonic and haven't had it since our trip south in December. So we dealt with waiting in the stupid staging area, and getting our turn to go.

We had to call our car hop back twice upon realizing we had neither straws nor napkins, but damn, our food was good, and the big-ass cherry limeade was to die for. (Normally I order water or a small pop/lemonade wherever we go out to eat. But when it comes to that cherry limeade I get the big-ass 44-ouncer!)

I think any hopes I've had of losing some weight have just gone out the window now that Sonic's in town. And now Sonic will be much less of a treat when we go south, but that means we can eat more at Steak 'n' Shake instead!

-----

Proud Member and Admin of:
Proud Member of:

Crochet Commission Queue ALWAYS OPEN! Click here [link] for a general price list and note me for details!
Afghans, Scarves, Dice Bags, and more!
Visit my Etsy shop for ready-to-ship items [link] DICE BAGS ON SALE NOW!

Crochet Commission Queue
1: OPEN
2: OPEN
3: OPEN
4: OPEN
5: OPEN

Current personal crochet projects in the works (or at least in mind!)
Ice cream cozies, plushie dice, dice bags, kitchen stuff for my mom, hooded baby blanket for my cousin's daughter, afghan for my neighbor

Current personal embroidery projects
None right now

50 Book Challenge 2009
13/50 ]]> =ArielManx http://ArielManx.deviantart.com/journal/26294201/ http://ArielManx.deviantart.com/journal/26294201/ Fri, 31 Jul 2009 09:34:35 PDT It's a good kind of hectic, but still. Our company has some big milestones coming up very soon so a big majority of my energy is focused on that.

Artsy-craftsy wise, I've been making ice cream cozies for a couple people for gifts (you know who you are!), am trying to get a dice bag done as another gift, and am still plugging away at the plushie dice. I think I may have conquered my nemesis, the d10. So I'm feeling pretty proud of myself...or at least I was until it hit me this morning that it's just as good as August and I haven't even started planning Christmas gifts. And my neighbor brought me another big bag of yarn (13 full skeins and 5 partials!) so I better get my hooks flying!

Unfortunately those gifts I'm working on may not go into the mail until next week, because I found out yesterday when I took Snow Wolf (my Dodge Durango) in for his oil change that his power steering lines are leaking very badly. He's 10 years old, so stuff is starting to wear out. They have to order in parts, so he won't get fixed until Wednesday. I am trying to drive him as little as possible until then. I may have to go out and go to the clinic today to have my toe looked at again, but otherwise I don't plan to go out (and the post office is not on my route between home and the clinic), so my apologies to those waiting on packages from me! I will send them as soon as I can, I promise!

-----

Proud Member and Admin of:
Proud Member of:

Crochet Commission Queue ALWAYS OPEN! Click here [link] for a general price list and note me for details!
Afghans, Scarves, Dice Bags, and more!
Visit my Etsy shop for ready-to-ship items [link] DICE BAGS ON SALE NOW!

Crochet Commission Queue
1: OPEN
2: OPEN
3: OPEN
4: OPEN
5: OPEN

Current personal crochet projects in the works (or at least in mind!)
Ice cream cozies, plushie dice, dice bags, kitchen stuff for my mom, hooded baby blanket for my cousin's daughter, afghan for my neighbor

Current personal embroidery projects
None right now

50 Book Challenge 2009 http://ArielManx.deviantart.com/journal/26139052/ Sun, 26 Jul 2009 13:49:21 PDT

-----

Proud Member and Admin of:
Proud Member of:

Crochet Commission Queue ALWAYS OPEN! Click here [link] for a general price list and note me for details!
Afghans, Scarves, Dice Bags, and more!
Visit my Etsy shop for ready-to-ship items [link] DICE BAGS ON SALE NOW!

Crochet Commission Queue
1: OPEN
2: OPEN
3: OPEN
4: OPEN
5: OPEN

Current personal crochet projects in the works (or at least in mind!)
Ice cream cozies, plushie dice, kitchen stuff for my mom, hooded baby blanket for my cousin's daughter, afghan for my neighbor

Current personal embroidery projects
None right now

50 Book Challenge 2009
13/50 ]]> =ArielManx http://ArielManx.deviantart.com/journal/25923511/ http://ArielManx.deviantart.com/journal/25923511/ Mon, 13 Jul 2009 15:20:31 PDT Big Announcement from 4 Winds Fantasy Gaming!

My husband Robert and I will be at Action Cards and Comics in Great Falls, Montana, from noon to 6 pm on August 22, 2009, to sign copies of our first book, The Book of Arcane Magic: A Sourcebook for Bards, Wizards and Sorcerers. If you are in the area, please stop in, we'd love to see you!

The Book of Arcane Magic will be available for sale on August 13. Pre-orders are not available right now, but I will post more information on how to purchase our book as the release date nears.

For more information on The Book of Arcane Magic and other products by 4 Winds Fantasy Gaming, visit our website: [link]

We now return you to your regularly scheduled artistic endeavors.

-----

Proud Member and Admin of:
Proud Member of:

Crochet Commission Queue ALWAYS OPEN! Click here [link] for a general price list and note me for details!
Afghans, Scarves, Dice Bags, and more!
Visit my Etsy shop for ready-to-ship items [link] DICE BAGS ON SALE NOW!

Crochet Commission Queue
1: OPEN
2: OPEN
3: OPEN
4: OPEN
5: OPEN

Current personal crochet projects in the works (or at least in mind!)
Ice cream cozies, plushie dice, kitchen stuff for my mom, hooded baby blanket for my cousin's daughter, afghan for my neighbor

Current personal embroidery projects
None right now

50 Book Challenge 2009
12/50 ]]> =ArielManx http://ArielManx.deviantart.com/journal/25835935/ http://ArielManx.deviantart.com/journal/25835935/ Thu, 09 Jul 2009 10:24:23 PDT
1) Our first book will be hitting the streets August 13th! We approved the final version this week, complete with ISBN, and have sent a couple copies to a distributor in hopes of being picked up by them.

2) We are feverishly working on our second book, and trying very hard not to get distracted by books 3, 4, and beyond. Too many ideas and not enough hours in the day...

3) In hopes of getting rid of even more distractions, I'm in the process of cleaning/re-organizing our home office (I'm taking a break to write this!).

4) I'm still crocheting in my downtime! I just finished a commission and am working on a few smaller things right now. I'll have some more pictures up soon.

5) I had some minor toe surgery a little over two weeks ago to remove an ingrown nail. I never said anything here because it wasn't a huge deal and it's really not worth getting sympathy over (though it sure did hurt!). It's been a slow healing process and you never realize how much you use your toes until you have to try not to bump one of them. I'm just very thankful I haven't been my usual klutzy self and dropped anything on it! It's finally feeling better and healed up enough that I can start leaving it unwrapped part of the day, which is a relief.

6) I'm tired of the heat of summer, and it's not even that hot yet. I would say winter can come anytime, but I want my toe to heal first since all I can wear until it's healed are flip-flops.

7) Robert and I joined a Wild West RPG at our game club and I'm having the time of my life playing a madam!

That's it for now!

-----

Proud Member and Admin of:
Proud Member of:

Crochet Commission Queue ALWAYS OPEN! Click here [link] for a general price list and note me for details!
Afghans, Scarves, Dice Bags, and more!
Visit my Etsy shop for ready-to-ship items [link] DICE BAGS ON SALE NOW!

Crochet Commission Queue
1: OPEN
2: OPEN
3: OPEN
4: OPEN
5: OPEN

Current personal crochet projects in the works (or at least in mind!)
Ice cream cozies, plushie dice, kitchen stuff for my mom, hooded baby blanket for my cousin's daughter, afghan for my neighbor

http://ArielManx.deviantart.com/journal/25611493/ Sun, 28 Jun 2009 16:39:31 PDT but my neighbor rescued it for me (I have the best neighbors!).

I'm really excited to start using it, but of course it only comes with so many patterns programmed in, and only 10 applique fabric squares and 15 thread cartridges. I know I'm going to go through that in no time. So I started looking online for where to buy more goodies for it. Apparently my neighbor's sister has had this thing in her basement for a while. I'm not finding any supplies for it online! I couldn't even find any at the Brother website.

I sent an e-mail to Brother to hopefully find some answers, but I thought I'd ask here too - does anyone have one of these? Can you still get supplies for it? I've been googling like mad for the past couple days with no success.

Thanks in advance!

EDIT: Thanks to and for their helpful links! Thanks to them I was able to find a couple online sources for supplies for my new machine. I also finally heard back from the company, and they recommended one of the sites that I was able to find through my friends here. I guess now it's been confirmed - deviants know everything and I should always just ask here first!

-----

Proud Member and Admin of:
Proud Member of:

Crochet Commission Queue ALWAYS OPEN! Click here [link] for a general price list and note me for details!
Afghans, Scarves, Dice Bags, and more!
Visit my Etsy shop for ready-to-ship items [link] DICE BAGS ON SALE NOW!

Crochet Commission Queue
1: Hooded baby blanket for local friend Jude - on the hook!
2: OPEN
3: OPEN
4: OPEN
5: OPEN

Current personal crochet projects in the works (or at least in mind!)
Plushie dice, kitchen stuff for my mom, hooded baby blanket for my cousin's daughter, afghan for my neighbor

Current personal embroidery projects
None right now

50 Book Challenge 2009 http://ArielManx.deviantart.com/journal/25461683/ Sun, 21 Jun 2009 20:41:13 PDT Still, we moved some more stuff out of the garage and made a little extra cash, so I can't complain. But the best part of the day had nothing to do with the sale itself!

As I've mentioned here before, we live in a side-by-side duplex, with another directly across the street (and our street is only as long as the duplexes and our yards!). The duplexes are all owned by the same awesome landlord, and we all get along marvelously. All the neighbors stopped in to see how the sale was going, and one neighbor, Pam, stayed to visit for quite a while. Since it was so slow, I was crocheting as I was sitting there in the garage. Pam told me she used to crochet, but hadn't done it in years, and the last time she'd tried she couldn't quite remember how. I told her I'd be happy to show her again whenever she wanted. She went off to a few other garage sales with her sister, then came back later in the day to visit with me some more. We got to talking more about crafting, and that she had done many different crafts over the years, but just didn't feel much like doing it anymore and would rather spend her free time reading. She mentioned that next summer she and her sister were probably going to have a big garage sale together, and that she was going to get rid of all her crafting stuff. I asked her to be sure to tell me when it was so I could go! Then she floored me by asking me if I'd like to take all her yarn!

I of course said I would, and offered to pay her something for it, but she wouldn't hear of it. She wanted it to go to someone she knew would enjoy it. I was stunned and very grateful! She went home and came back with two bags stuffed full of 18 skeins of yarn, all in gorgeous colors, plus a box full of gorgeous embroidery thread already wound on bobbins. And she said there's more somewhere in her basement that she'll bring over whenever she gets it dug out!

I am SO excited and already thinking about what I'm going to make with the new yarn. I already have one project decided - some of the yarn had been bought specifically to make an afghan, and even had the pattern tucked in the bag with it - I'm going to make that afghan and give it back to Pam. It may take me a while to get to it, but it'll get done!

I really couldn't ask for better neighbors.

-----

Proud Member and Admin of:
Proud Member of:

Crochet Commission Queue ALWAYS OPEN! Click here [link] for a general price list and note me for details!
Afghans, Scarves, Dice Bags, and more!
Visit my Etsy shop for ready-to-ship items [link] DICE BAGS ON SALE NOW!

Crochet Commission Queue
1: Hooded baby blanket for local friend Jude - on the hook!
2: OPEN
3: OPEN
4: OPEN
5: OPEN

http://ArielManx.deviantart.com/journal/25351888/ Tue, 16 Jun 2009 12:35:26 PDT
Circle is home to the Wooden Nickel cafe. Running an eating establishment in a tiny town is a tough proposition. Your customer base is mainly farmers and laborers, and the moment their wallets tighten, they're going to stop eating out. If there isn't much else in town for business and folks have to drive somewhere else for shopping, they'll probably eat in that bigger town before coming home. If you're along a well-traveled highway, you can hope for tourist and truck driver traffic, but we've become such a fast-food oriented country that many people will turn up their noses at a sit-down mom-and-pop restaurant, instead stopping at the gas station for pre-packaged snacks to tide them over until they see the next McDonald's drive-thru. So many people are so afraid to try something that might taste a little different than what they're used to, never once considering that it just might be good!

Anyone who has passed over the Wooden Nickel with this mentality is missing out on some fantastic food! Robert and I have only been there once, but it sticks in both our memories as one of the best road meals ever. Chicken strips (really good ones!), homemade potato salad, homemade Jello salad, AND chocolate pudding, all for only $6 a plate. The owner herself was our cook and our waitress. I still regret that we were too full to have pie, as there were a bunch of good looking ones (and I'm not even much of a pie fan, so you know how good they must have looked if I was wanting one!).

So why am I waxing so poetic over the Wooden Nickel today? Because I read in this morning's newspaper that the owner and her husband won $1 million in the lottery. How awesome is that! While I wouldn't blame her one bit if she retired, I hope the money lets her keep the Wooden Nickel open a while longer with a little less stress on her own finances. Because the town of Circle, and anyone traveling along Highway 200, will be missing out if that little cafe closes its doors.

Support your local hole-in-the-wall eateries, folks. There's a whole world of good food out there beyond fast food and chain restaurants. If you don't believe me, check out Alton Brown's two "Feasting on Asphalt" series. Local joints are the best!

-----

Proud Member and Admin of:
Proud Member of:

Crochet Commission Queue ALWAYS OPEN! Click here [link] for a general price list and note me for details!
Afghans, Scarves, Dice Bags, and more!
Visit my Etsy shop for ready-to-ship items [link] DICE BAGS ON SALE NOW!

Crochet Commission Queue
1: Hooded baby blanket for local friend Jude - about to start!
2: OPEN
3: OPEN
4: OPEN
5: OPEN

Current personal crochet projects in the works... ]]> =ArielManx http://ArielManx.deviantart.com/journal/25297538/ http://ArielManx.deviantart.com/journal/25297538/ Sat, 13 Jun 2009 19:57:07 PDT
At the time, I was furious. Today, while I'm still not happy about how it went down - who wants to be fired, especially for something you have no control over? - I'm just so glad I'm not working there anymore.

I don't miss the job one bit. I miss the money and benefits, sure. I miss the friends I had there, though the longer I'm away from the job the less contact I have with them (I'm pretty much out of sight, out of mind, for them, I guess). But I don't miss the horrible hours that probably took a couple years off the end of my life; the stress of sitting at the radar trying to decide whether or not to issue a warning on a storm; the panic of knowing that even if it dumps two feet of snow overnight, there's no chance of my work calling and telling me to just stay home and stay safe; the sinking feeling of hearing that a plane went down and wondering if you could have prevented it with a better weather forecast; or the blatant meanness that people sling at meteorologists without even thinking (I once had a death threat, and on another occasion a man threatened to come to the office and kick my ass).

I don't even want to think about how unhealthy and miserable I'd be if I was still working there. If I were still there, I wouldn't have the time to have started my own business with Robert. I wouldn't be able to follow this dream. Hell... I wouldn't even be able to volunteer at the buffalo jump like I did the past two days. I've volunteered there more this summer than the previous 4 summers combined.

So yeah. Reflecting back on it a year later, it was seriously shitty at the time, but it sure worked out well in the end. My life is better for it.

(completely unrelated: happy 120th birthday to the little town of Ulm! And happy 10th birthday to the First People's Buffalo Jump visitors' center! It was a big damn fun party yesterday and today - so now you know why I was volunteering at the jump!)

-----

Proud Member and Admin of:
Proud Member of:

Crochet Commission Queue ALWAYS OPEN! Click here [link] for a general price list and note me for details!
Afghans, Scarves, Dice Bags, and more!
Visit my Etsy shop for ready-to-ship items [link] DICE BAGS ON SALE NOW!

Crochet Commission Queue
1: Hooded baby blanket for local friend Jude - about to start!
2: OPEN
3: OPEN
4: OPEN
5: OPEN

Current personal crochet projects in the works (or at least in mind!)
Plushie dice, kitchen stuff for my mom, hooded baby blanket for my cousin's daughter

Current personal embroidery projects
None right now

50 Book Challenge 2009 http://ArielManx.deviantart.com/journal/25142223/ Fri, 05 Jun 2009 11:45:37 PDT

The dice bags I currently have listed in my Etsy shop are now on sale at 25% off! Instead of $25, they are now only $18.75 plus shipping.

Why the sale? While I love this particular style of dice bag, the pattern is not my own. It's by the generous Shala Kerrigan, who was kind enough to grant me permission to make and sell bags from her pattern. I'm working on a couple different bag designs of my own, now, and am feeling less and less comfortable selling bags made from another designer's pattern (even though I have her permission). So, the bags I already have made are going on sale, and all new bags will be of my own design.

Get these while the gettin's good!
[link]
[link]
[link]
[link]

-----

Proud Member and Admin of:
Proud Member of:

Crochet Commission Queue ALWAYS OPEN! Click here [link] for a general price list and note me for details!
Afghans, Scarves, Dice Bags, and more!
Visit my Etsy shop for ready-to-ship items [link]

Crochet Commission Queue
1: Hooded baby blanket for - FINISHED!
2: Hooded baby blanket for local friend Jude - picking out yarn
3: OPEN
4: OPEN
5: OPEN

Current personal crochet projects in the works (or at least in mind!)
Plushie dice, kitchen stuff for my mom, hooded baby blanket for my cousin's daughter
=ArielManx http://ArielManx.deviantart.com/journal/25109083/ http://ArielManx.deviantart.com/journal/25109083/ Wed, 03 Jun 2009 14:49:03 PDT 's most recent journal contained a fun little meme, so I'm stealing it for my own selfish use.

1. What does your deviantart name mean and why?
It's from the D&D Forgotten Realms campaign setting. Ariel Manx was the true name of the wizard Midnight, who took over the mantle of the goddess of magic, Mystra.

2. What fandom where you obsessed with when you joined and what are you obsessed with now:
My non-artisan craft searches have always been largely focused on Inuyasha, fantasy, and all things drow elf. I do searches for any other fandom that tickles my fancy, when I have time. I haven't even had time lately for my standard Inuyasha, fantasy, and drow searches, but I watch enough artists in those fandoms to get a good fix.

3. How many watchers do you have now?
71!

4. Name 3 of your favorite artists on DA?
Only three?! Oh man...
Photography: My hubby,
Fantasy art: My good friend,
Inuyasha fanart:

5. Do you comment, fav, or both?
I fave and run a lot. I comment when I have time, or something really profound to say. If a dozen people have already said, "Wow, that's great!" and that's all I was thinking, I see no need to say the same thing. To me a fave is the ultimate compliment anyway!

6. Do you participate in clubs' contests here on DA?
I've only done one so far. Most of the time I see a contest I want to enter, and then I blink, and suddenly the deadline is past...

7. What is your most popular deviation?
has the most views with 1,039
has the most faves with 22

8. What are you favorite non-anime TV shows?
Battlestar Galactica (which sadly is over!), all the CSIs, Criminal Minds, The Office, Castle, Dollhouse, House, Ice Road Truckers

9. What are the things you wish you could draw better?
I wish I could draw at all! I had great talent at it as a kid, then pretty much quit drawing once high school started and art class ended. I lost my drawing mojo.

10. Summer or winter?
Winter. You can always put on more clothes/blankets to get warm, but you can only take off so much clothing to cool down! (at least to stay within the limits of the law... )

11. Rain or Sun?
Rain... love it!

12. What's your favorite type of music?
I am so trapped in the 80's - I love hair bands! I love hard rock, too, as well as some country and classical.

13. PC or Mac?
I'm a PC!

14. Anime or Manga?
Both

15. Coke or Pepsi?
7-up! (gotta watch my caffeine intake)

16. Read or TV?
Hurm... I watch a LOT of TV. But I also love to read. Tough call.

17. How ma... ]]> =ArielManx http://ArielManx.deviantart.com/journal/24949675/ http://ArielManx.deviantart.com/journal/24949675/ Mon, 25 May 2009 19:07:10 PDT I can hardly wait for next year!

MisCon is small as far as sci-fi conventions go, normally bringing in between 300 and 350 people. This year 590 showed up! It was absolutely amazing. Having never been to a con before, I was more than a little nervous, but it didn't take long at all to realize that I was with my people. I had found my lost tribe. It was like coming home.

Being that it was such a small convention, we had some wonderful opportunities that many con-goers don't get. On Saturday evening Robert and I headed over to our game club's party room to see if we could find anyone to go out to supper with. As luck would have it, two of our guys were about to go eat - with Guest of Honor Steven Brust (author of "To Reign in Hell", the Vlad Taltos novels, and other works) [link] . And they invited us with! Luckily I had sat in on Steven's reading that morning and had actually chatted with him a bit then, so I already "knew" him, but my poor husband was so tongue-tied he barely said a word all through the meal.

We also had the pleasure of meeting/talking with/getting signed books from Christine Morgan [link] and Alina Pete [link] . We also briefly met Guest of Honor John Kovalic of Dork Tower fame [link] , but then it was my turn to be tongue-tied and all I managed to do was get him to sign a book. Last night author Maggie Bonham [link] was in the Sandbaggers Game Club party room and we talked for hours!

We didn't actually sit in on any RPG sessions (we didn't run one either, much to the dismay of a lot of people, apparently! Next year we will though!) but we did have a lot of fun playing casual board and card games, going to panels, and just plain making friends. And of course there was the dealer's room, where we spent way too much money on books, dice, minis, way cool dice earrings, and the world's most adorable dragon puppet, Mordiford, who jumped into our arms and insisted that we take him home.

I'm sure to the few people at the hotel who weren't there for the con (we did take up most of the place!) we must have looked like a bunch of freaks, with weird clothes and too many tattoos and piercings. But let me tell you - not once all weekend did I encounter another con-goer who was anything but nice and polite and friendly. There wasn't a jerk in the bunch. Don't judge us just because we roll dice and speak in tongues. Geeks need love too.

Next year we will be going as dealers, so it'll be a whole new experience again! This con left me so pumped up and inspired; I have so many ideas I don't know when I'll find the time to work on them all! But for sure I won't be working on any of them until I get caught up on sleep. After three nights of being up waaaaay past my bedtime, I am beat!

Here's a link to some pics from the con! [link]

-----

Proud Member and Admin of:
Proud Member of:

=ArielManx http://ArielManx.deviantart.com/journal/24880301/ http://ArielManx.deviantart.com/journal/24880301/ Thu, 21 May 2009 19:32:37 PDT
I am officially giving up on "Friday Night Knitting Club" by Kate Jacobs. I thought it might be fun to expand my reading horizons a bit and read something like this - I don't know if you'd call it chick lit, women's lit, or what - but I am obviously not the type of chick/woman that this sort of book is geared toward. I thought the fact that it takes place in a yarn shop would keep my interest. Nope. I've read three chapters and just can't bring myself to pick it up anymore. The characters don't do a thing for me, they just make me roll my eyes. And it's pretty poorly written, in my opinion. Bleh.

It was a huge best seller, so I guess there's definitely an audience for it. And I'm sure Kate Jacobs is a lovely woman - I feel a certain fondness for any fellow yarnie. But damn. I cannot bring myself to read another page of this book! Back on paperbackswap.com it goes. And I'll pick another book from our personal library of hundreds...

In other news, Robert and I leave tomorrow for MisCon in Missoula (Montana's longest running sci-fi convention, in its 23rd year!). I've never been to a con before so I'm excited and nervous at the same time. Here's hoping it's an awesome time! (Especially considering that we'll need to frequent the con circuit as our gaming company gets bigger! )

-----

Proud Member and Admin of:
Proud Member of:

Crochet Commission Queue ALWAYS OPEN! Click here [link] for a general price list and note me for details!
Afghans, Scarves, Dice Bags, and more!
Visit my Etsy shop for ready-to-ship items [link]

Crochet Commission Queue
1: Hooded baby blanket for - on the hook
2: OPEN
3: OPEN
4: OPEN
5: OPEN

Current personal crochet projects in the works (or at least in mind!)
Plushie dice, kitchen stuff for my mom, hooded baby blanket for my cousin's daughter

Current personal embroidery projects
None right now

50 Book Challenge 2009
9/50 ]]> =ArielManx http://ArielManx.deviantart.com/journal/24852260/ http://ArielManx.deviantart.com/journal/24852260/ Wed, 20 May 2009 07:25:21 PDT and I said "I do". We'll probably go out to eat tonight to celebrate - we've long since abandoned anniversary gifts, since we treat each other to things all year long, plus we'll be going out of town for the weekend and will count that as an anniversary trip.

I don't know if being married nine years and being together for eleven years makes us wise experts on relationships. But I do have to say that one thing that always gets to us is when other couples say that a good marriage takes a lot of work. I have to completely disagree. Being married to Robert is hands down the easiest thing I do. Never once have I felt like I've had to put any "work" into our marriage, and I know he feels the same way. But again, I'm no expert. Maybe we're just very lucky.

Anyway! Happy Anniversary, Boo! I'd marry you all over again - but in the judge's office without the big wedding!

-----

Proud Member and Admin of:
Proud Member of:

Crochet Commission Queue ALWAYS OPEN! Click here [link] for a general price list and note me for details!
Afghans, Scarves, Dice Bags, and more!
Visit my Etsy shop for ready-to-ship items [link]

Crochet Commission Queue
1: Hooded baby blanket for - on the hook
2: OPEN
3: OPEN
4: OPEN
5: OPEN

Current personal crochet projects in the works (or at least in mind!)
Plushie dice, kitchen stuff for my mom, hooded baby blanket for my cousin's daughter

Current personal embroidery projects
None right now

50 Book Challenge 2009
9/50 ]]> =ArielManx http://ArielManx.deviantart.com/journal/24825317/ http://ArielManx.deviantart.com/journal/24825317/ Mon, 18 May 2009 15:53:16 PDT
Robert and I took in "Angels & Demons" on Friday night to take our mind off things. Friday is normally game night for us, but Robert had no voice left after a week of talking to school kids all day, every day, so we canceled the game and decided to go to the movies instead. It was very very very good! Quite a bit different from the book, but I didn't think it was done in a bad way, as it made the story tighter and a little less convoluted, which is often necessary when making a book into a movie (and there was one thing in the book I thought was completely asinine so I was very glad it was left out of the movie! ). Ewan McGregor stole the show as far as I'm concerned - I may be a wee bit biased, but I thought he had the best performance in the film. Not that Tom Hanks is bad by any means! I also thought it was a better movie than "The Da Vinci Code" (just as I thought this was a better book than "The Da Vinci Code").

I actually plan to go see it again tomorrow by myself. Going to see a movie in the theater more than once isn't odd for me, but what is odd is that I've never gone to a movie by myself. Yes, at age 31, I've never gone to the movies alone. I've always gone with a friend or on a date - I've lost track of how many times Robert and I have gone to the movies! So this will be exciting. I've already got my game plan - buy ticket, hit the ladies' room, THEN buy snacks, then go find my seat. Usually we buy tickets, then snacks, then go find seats, then take turns going to the restroom while the other one guards the seats and snackies. I've got to shake up my routine since I'll be there solo!

Today I was out at the buffalo jump volunteering, giving the "What the Buffalo Became" talk to 130 8th graders, and I'll do it all again on Thursday. Last week I went out on Thursday to give the talk to 4th graders, and that was a blast, because they were full of questions! 8th graders, not so much - too cool to ask questions or show interest in anything, I guess. I had to give a few of them the stink eye to quit talking and listen. :eyeroll: Good grief. Rough crowd...

-----

Proud Member and Admin of:
Proud Member of:

Crochet Commission Queue ALWAYS OPEN! Click here [link] for a general price list and note me for details!
Afghans, Scarves, Dice Bags, and more!
Visit my Etsy shop for ready-to-ship items [link]

Crochet Commission Queue
1: Hooded baby blanket for - on the hook
2: OPEN
3: OPEN
4: OPEN
5: OPEN

Current personal crochet projects in the works (or at least in mind!) http://ArielManx.deviantart.com/journal/24766643/ Fri, 15 May 2009 08:33:02 PDT
Kenneth worked at Fort Union with Robert for many years. He was in our wedding party. He also was a member of our gaming group back in Williston. We shared a number of Thanksgiving and Christmas dinners with him, and he made the best sweet potato casserole you could ever hope to taste.

For whatever reason this morning I simply could not cry - it simply did not seem real - until unbidden the image of him sitting at our game table, shaking his dice in his dice cup, came to me. Then I lost it, and haven't quite been able to pull it back together yet. I have errands that must be run today, so I'll have to get my game face on pretty soon, I guess. Robert had to go off to work after learning this news, where he'll have to put on his game face and talk to over 130 kids today. Time doesn't stop when something like this happens, and I tend to think I deal better with death than many people do, but damn, I wish Robert could have stayed home and we could have just shut out the rest of the world for the day.

I would guess his funeral is going to be either back home for him in Louisiana, or in Colorado, where he was currently living. Either way, we're not going to be able to go.

I'm sure it's going to hit us again hard at Christmas, when we get out the beautiful crawfish ornament he gave us a few years ago. He told us that it was to remember him by.

We'll never forget you, Kenneth.

]]> =ArielManx http://ArielManx.deviantart.com/journal/24740747/ http://ArielManx.deviantart.com/journal/24740747/ Wed, 13 May 2009 16:14:19 PDT

Saturday was a big loooooong day as it was garage sale day here on our block. It was nowhere near as successful as the sale we had last year, but it was still very worthwhile having. Sadly I still have a lot of stuff I want rid of, so I'll for sure be having another sale sometime this summer. I would have gotten rid of a lot more if every single person who came in had bought just one thing, but I just can't get over how many people just come in, look, make a comment like, "Well, I just don't see anything I need!" or "I've got too much stuff of my own!" (then why are you out going to garage sales?!) and leave. People in general just crack me up.

When I finally called it quits for the day and went to my computer to check e-mail and such, I found, much to my surprise and thrill, that I had sold my first handmade item on Etsy! I've sold a lot of supplies there, but nothing I'd made had ever sold. I sold the daisy napkins Yay me!

With plenty to celebrate, we went out to eat once Robert got home from work, and then to Hastings to spend some of our newly-earned garage sale fun money on some DVDs. I even went in armed with a list! I recently finished reading Dan Brown's "Angels & Demons", so I finally let myself start looking at things online about the upcoming movie. I'm super excited to see the movie not only because I love the book, but also because it stars one of my very favorite actors, Ewan McGregor. (If all priests looked like him, I'd get my ass up every Sunday morning to go to mass. And I'm not Catholic. I'm just sayin'.) As happens whenever I'm surfing the net, I got distracted - oh look, something shiny! - and ended up researching my crush Ewan far more than the movie. I was stunned (and embarrassed!) to discover how few of his movies I'd actually seen! So I wrote a bunch of titles down and managed to pick up a good handful at Hastings. On Sunday I watched "Moulin Rouge" (so good, but why didn't anyone tell me it was so sad?! ) and today I watched "Velvet Goldmine" (oh...my... Overall it could have been a better movie, but there are parts of it that I'm going to watch over and over... ).

On Monday Robert and I actually went to the theater for the first time in nearly two years! We had cut out going to the movies when my migraines started coming back because sometimes the loud volume and bright flashes on the screen could trigger them for me, and then once I realized I was going to be losing my job we stayed away to save money. But damn! We missed going to the movies. It's always been our favorite date. So we've finally decided it's one frugal hack we just can't make anymore. We got over the sticker shock at both the ticket booth and the concession stand and really loved both movies we saw - "X-Men Origins: Wolverine" and "Star Trek".

This weekend we will be back at the theater to see "Angels & Demons".

-----
Proud Member and Admin of: =ArielManx http://ArielManx.deviantart.com/journal/24571621/ http://ArielManx.deviantart.com/journal/24571621/ Sun, 03 May 2009 18:02:54 PDT (I guess that's what I get for putting the option there!) and those who said I shouldn't do it. If anyone has a really strong opinion why I shouldn't do it, please share the details with me? If you really think I'd be doing the wrong thing please say so and why while there's still time to stop me!

This doesn't mean I'm going to stop accepting commission work, not by any means! I still love doing that and always will. I will continue to take commissions and make items for my shop. I'm really just trying to expand my customer base - I mean, if you know how to crochet yourself, why would you pay me to crochet something for you?

Speaking of things I've crocheted, the American Pride Scarf I made for surpassed 1,000 views a little while ago, and the views keep going up! This makes me so happy! Thanks to everyone who has viewed it!

Most of the snow from last week's record breaking storm has melted, leaving a yucky, muddy mess. I'm hoping it dries out by Saturday. My neighbor called me this morning with the idea of having a 'half-street' garage sale this Saturday - you know how sometimes everyone on a block will have garage sale on the same day? Well, our little baby street is only as long as a side-by-side duplex plus the side yards, and there's an identical duplex across the street. Both gals across the street are going to put stuff out, and so will I. We had a garage sale right before we moved in here last summer, and everything that didn't sell, we just packed up and moved here, thinking we'd have another sale later in the summer. That never happened, so I have a full inventory of garage sale stuff ready and waiting! Tomorrow I'll start getting the garage cleaned up and stuff unpacked, and see if there's anything else in the house that could go. We made a decent little chunk of money at the one we had last year, so I'm hopeful this one will be good too.

-----
Proud Member and Admin of:
Proud Member of:

Crochet Commission Queue ALWAYS OPEN! Click here [link] for a general price list and note me for details!
Afghans, Scarves, Dice Bags, and more!
Visit my Etsy shop for ready-to-ship items [link]

Crochet Commission Queue
1: Hooded baby blanket for http://ArielManx.deviantart.com/journal/24381170/ Wed, 22 Apr 2009 16:48:17 PDT ) which means the migrating birds are coming back. We have a bird feeder hanging outside our kitchen window, so I can watch the little guys while I'm washing dishes. Now, I grew up on a farm, so I hate chickens with a passion, and you could not pay me enough to have a pet bird in the house, but I love watching birds in the wild.

In honor of spring - as well due to the fact that the old feeder was getting pretty gross after a year's worth of use - I bought a new feeder last week. Came home, took the old feeder down, filled the new one and put it up, and waited for the little birdies to flock to it. I didn't think it would take long, as it was basically the same style of feeder, and I hung it in the exact same spot.

It took them DAYS to figure it out.

In the past two days it's finally hit the little guys that "HEY! There's food here!" Now I know it's just a matter of time before they start going nuts over it and swarming it. Today I swear the same male house finch was sitting and eating at the thing every time I walked by the window. Of course I can't tell for sure that it was the same one, but he was sitting in the same spot. If it was the same one, he's going to get FAT. I'm contributing to avian obesity.

In other news, I've been pretty busy with both the business that and I have started, and with volunteering out at the buffalo jump. I never had much opportunity to volunteer when I was working outside the home, so I'm making up for it now. We've also been trying to walk several times a week to get rid of our winter insulation. Plus I'm almost done with my spring cleaning - I just have the last few icky things left to do, like washing the curtains, cleaning the canning jars I have up on top of the cupboards and china cabinet, vacuuming under the heavy furniture, etc. You know, all the things that you can only bring yourself to do once or twice a year.

The craft front has been oddly quiet since I finished the blanket for 's little girl, as I've been so busy, and couldn't quite decide on what to work on next. But I've just picked up a commission for a hooded baby blanket for 's new nephew, and just found out one of my favorite cousins and his wife are expecting another little girl this fall, so there's yet another baby blanket to make! I was going to make some dishcloths and potholders for my mom for Mother's Day, but she wants me to pick up a pair of shoes and mail them to her (she has to wear special ones and she doesn't get out much for shopping), so I might do that instead. At any rate I'll have plenty to do for quite some time!

-----
Proud Member and Admin of:
Proud Member of:

Crochet Commission Queue ALWAYS OPEN! Click here [link] for a general price list and note me for details!
Afghans, Scarves, Dice Bags, and more!
Visit my Etsy shop for ready-to-ship ite... ]]> =ArielManx http://ArielManx.deviantart.com/journal/24149665/ http://ArielManx.deviantart.com/journal/24149665/ Thu, 09 Apr 2009 15:42:24 PDT posted to his journal about why life has gotten so busy here, I haven't said anything. Since not all my watchers watch my hubby, I thought I better take a quick break from my work and give a little update.

Robert and I have started our own business, 4 Winds Fantasy Gaming [link] . We will be producing products for tabletop fantasy roleplaying games. This is something we've dreamily talked about doing for years, and it was finally time to put up or shut up! And since I haven't been able to find a new job outside the home, the timing couldn't get much better. It's a scary time economically to be starting a business, but we're gonna give it our best shot.

So I technically do have a full-time job again - though it isn't paying yet! We've got deadlines to meet, so it's keeping me very busy. I'm not abandoning dA by any means, no way no how, but I may be doing even more faving and running - and less commenting - than I usually do, especially until I get a good groove going for working at home and not getting distracted. I've quickly learned that working from home, while awesome, isn't as easy as one might think - there's a serious learning curve to finding the balance between home life and work life.

But I'm still going to be crafting in my downtime to unwind. I am keeping my crochet commission queue and my Etsy shop open too! Though any crochet orders that come in as I'm staring down a publishing deadline will obviously have to wait a few days.

So that's what's up! And now I have to to get back to work!

-----
Proud Member and Admin of:
Proud Member of:

Crochet Commission Queue OPEN! Click here [link] for a general price list and note me for details!
Afghans, Scarves, Dice Bags, and more!
Visit my Etsy shop for ready-to-ship items [link]

50 Book Challenge 2009 6/50 ]]> =ArielManx http://ArielManx.deviantart.com/journal/24121021/ http://ArielManx.deviantart.com/journal/24121021/ Tue, 07 Apr 2009 22:12:50 PDT I hit 10,000 pageviews this evening, just seven months after hitting the 5,000 mark! Thank you all so much for stopping by my page, everyone! If y'all haven't figured it out yet, I love it here.

The lucky winner of my kiriban for this milestone is , a pretty new friend of mine here on dA. She's a talented anime/manga artist and has a kiriban of her own coming up soon! I sent her to my Etsy shop to pick out a prize and she selected the copper penny fashion scarf:

which I will have in the mail to her by the end of the week! Congratulations on catching the kiriban, Angela!

-----
Proud Member and Admin of:
Proud Member of:

Crochet Commission Queue OPEN! Click here [link] for a general price list and note me for details!
Afghans, Scarves, Dice Bags, and more!
Visit my Etsy shop for ready-to-ship items [link]

50 Book Challenge 2009 6/50 ]]> =ArielManx http://ArielManx.deviantart.com/journal/24041359/ http://ArielManx.deviantart.com/journal/24041359/ Fri, 03 Apr 2009 13:54:20 PDT Maybe dA will bring the little guy back for Christmas or something!

This is a somewhat pointless journal just to get the April Fool's references off my front page. But it is also a reminder that there will be a kiriban at 10,000 pageviews, and we're almost there! Keep an eye out for it and be the first to catch the screenshot and you get a prize! Why? Because it's fun and I'm feeling generous.

-----
Proud Member and Admin of:
Proud Member of:

Crochet Commission Queue OPEN! Click here [link] for a general price list and note me for details!
Afghans, Scarves, Dice Bags, and more!
Visit my Etsy shop for ready-to-ship items [link]

50 Book Challenge 2009 5/50 ]]> =ArielManx http://ArielManx.deviantart.com/journal/24004124/ http://ArielManx.deviantart.com/journal/24004124/ Wed, 01 Apr 2009 12:09:01 PDT
I am not a fan of April Fool's Day. I hate being tricked. Now, before you think I'm a no-fun-stick-in-the-mud, let me explain. When I was growing up, my best friend loved to trick me on April Fool's Day by calling me to tell me that her family was moving away. She was a fantastic liar when it came to this, and I fell for it every time - sometimes she'd call me the night of March 31st, to "prove" it wasn't a trick, and she'd often enlist the help of her siblings and even her mom if I tried to insist she couldn't be telling the truth. I'd eventually end up crying in panic over losing my best friend - I didn't have a lot of friends growing up, so one of them moving away would have been a huge deal - and then she'd gloat triumphantly about having fooled me yet again.

(Gah. Looking back, that doesn't make her sound very nice, does it? She was a very good friend otherwise. I lost touch with her about a dozen years ago when we were both in college - she really did move away that time!)

So, therein lies my hate of April Fool's Day. But a harmless little trick that just makes me go, "Hey, wait a minute..." I don't mind. I like the snowman!

-----
Proud Member and Admin of:
Proud Member of:

Crochet Commission Queue OPEN! Click here [link] for a general price list and note me for details!
Afghans, Scarves, Dice Bags, and more!
Visit my Etsy shop for ready-to-ship items [link]

50 Book Challenge 2009 5/50 ]]> =ArielManx http://ArielManx.deviantart.com/journal/23900111/ http://ArielManx.deviantart.com/journal/23900111/ Thu, 26 Mar 2009 13:31:00 PDT (as an asthmatic that's always my biggest worry when I'm sick) I will be glad to get my sense of taste back and for the raw skin on my poor little nose to heal up.

I went to my primary care doctor today for an already scheduled check-up, and it was the first time I'd seen him since the NWS fired me. He just kept going on about how much healthier I looked, even with this cold! The longer I'm away from that job, the more I'm convinced that not working there anymore is the best thing that could have happened to me. Yeah, it would have been great if it hadn't gone down the way it did, but it was the right thing to get out of there. And I don't miss it at all.

I'm thinking a lot today about my good friend Kim who has been in the hospital since Tuesday evening awaiting the birth of her little girl! I hope for her sake that the bambino has arrived already as I type this. Which means I better get her gift done pronto. (How sad is it that I've known this little girl was on the way for almost 8 months and I'm still working on her gift at the last minute?! Typical me!)

UPDATE: Kim had her baby girl, Abigail, Thursday evening!

-----
Proud Member and Admin of:
Proud Member of:

Crochet Commission Queue OPEN! Click here [link] for a general price list and note me for details!
Afghans, Scarves, Dice Bags, and more!
Visit my Etsy shop for ready-to-ship items [link]

50 Book Challenge 2009 4/50 ]]> =ArielManx http://ArielManx.deviantart.com/journal/23846650/ http://ArielManx.deviantart.com/journal/23846650/ Mon, 23 Mar 2009 10:40:02 PDT Keep your fingers crossed for me that some of that attention will turn into sales!

Spring sprung here in the USA on Friday (Happy Ostara, fellow Pagans!), and to celebrate, I woke up with a doozy of a spring cold! I'm pretty sure it's the nasty cold that's been going around town and knocking people on their asses for a week or two at a time - that's what I get for venturing out into public last week, I guess! I've been pretty much down for the count ever since Friday morning. I honestly haven't had a cold this bad in a loooong time. I know I'm sick when I sleep 10-11 hours at a stretch (at least when I'm not being awakened because my throat hurts so bad ). I've been doing little other than watching TV and reading for the past several days - I'm itching to crochet, but having a snotty nose that constantly needs blowing just isn't conducive to working with yarn, especially when you're working on a gift for someone. I wash everything I make before it leaves my house, but still. I don't know that I feel any better yet - Robert says I'm not as pale as I was, so I guess that's a plus. I have a doctor's appointment for some other stuff on Thursday, so if I'm not better by then I'll definitely be having it checked out.

I'm less than 500 views away from my 10,000th page view! The people have spoken, so the winner of the kiriban will get his or her choice of a three-month dA subscription OR one item available for sale in my Etsy shop at the time the kiriban is caught. You all know how this works, send me a screen shot showing you logged in to dA with my 10,000th view to win! Good luck everyone!

-----
Proud Member and Admin of:
Proud Member of:

Crochet Commission Queue OPEN! Click here [link] for a general price list and note me for details!
Afghans, Scarves, Dice Bags, and more!
Visit my Etsy shop for ready-to-ship items [link]

50 Book Challenge 2009 4/50 ]]> =ArielManx http://ArielManx.deviantart.com/journal/23743410/ http://ArielManx.deviantart.com/journal/23743410/ Tue, 17 Mar 2009 09:05:53 PDT

I had a message from Etsy admins this morning that my Ostara Covered Ball Ornaments have been selected for possible inclusion in a Spring Equinox Gift Guide feature! If you're not familiar with Etsy, that probably means nothing to you. Think of getting a Daily Deviation here on dA. We're talking that level of recognition!

However, there are sixty items being considered, and they won't all make it, so I need votes to get the feature. If I could ask all the Etsy folks reading this to go vote, maybe I have a chance?! Obviously if you look at the selections and find something you like better than my ornaments, hey, vote how you feel. (You may be able to vote for more than one item, I'm honestly not sure.)

Here is the voting poll: [link]

You have to be a registered Etsy member to vote. Etsy is free to sign up for, so if you're so inclined to sign up just to vote, it won't cost you a thing except a couple minutes of your time.

Thanks in advance!

-----
Proud Member and Admin of:
Proud Member of:

Crochet Commission Queue OPEN! Click here [link] for a general price list and note me for details!
Afghans, Scarves, Dice Bags, and more!
Visit my Etsy shop for ready-to-ship items [link]

50 Book Challenge 2009 3/50 ]]> =ArielManx http://ArielManx.deviantart.com/journal/23727161/ http://ArielManx.deviantart.com/journal/23727161/ Mon, 16 Mar 2009 10:54:46 PDT

We had a wonderful time. Robert enjoyed his conference (the banquet was wonderful, with a cowboy poet as the keynote speaker and a fantastic BBQ meal), and we got in some good eats and shopping. Billings has a Hobby Lobby craft store, which we don't have here, and I bought a little too much there . We also hit our favorite used book store - Heights Bookstore. It's the best organized used bookstore we've ever found in our travels, with everything sorted properly by genre and then in alphabetical order by author, just like a new bookstore. You'd be amazed how many used bookstore owners can't seem to grasp that simple concept! The owner is super nice and we always snag some great finds there!

(Note to the owner of The Bead Depot - who I sincerely doubt will ever read this, but any other store owner reading this would do well to think about what I say: Your bead selection was awesome, and you were very nice, but I will never be setting foot in your store again. I'm sure that incense/candle/air freshener smelled fantastic to you, but it was so strong it almost knocked me over when I walked in the door. It made my eyes water, my chest tighten, and my head ache. Your store can't possibly be so stinky that you need something that strong to cover up some other smell. Just put on a pot of coffee or something and your place will smell fine and potential customers won't be driven away. Thanks!)

While we were there I was terrified that I'd somehow caught pink eye - I woke up our first morning there with very irritated, gooky eyes! (gross and potential TMI, I know!) But it cleared up on its own, so I'm pretty sure it was just an allergic reaction (based on my WebMD research) to something. I am so glad as I always hate having to try to find a doctor when I'm out of town. I threw out all my makeup just to make sure nothing was contaminated with something icky, including my brand new powder foundation, which I absolutely loved. *sigh* I'm about ready to give up on makeup entirely!

I spent this morning and a bit of last night (though I was hampered by a migraine - the first one I've had in five months, a record!) getting caught up on dA. I think I'm all caught up now!

-----
Proud Member and Admin of:
Proud Member of:

Crochet Commission Queue OPEN! Click here [link] for a general price list and note me for details!
Afghans, Scarves, Dice Bags, and more!
Visit my Etsy shop for ready-to-ship items [link]

50 Book Challenge 2009 3/50 ]]> =ArielManx http://ArielManx.deviantart.com/journal/23651120/ http://ArielManx.deviantart.com/journal/23651120/ Wed, 11 Mar 2009 20:37:15 PDT

While I wouldn't call Billings my favorite place in the world, by far, I do love going there every once in a while - there's an awesome used bookstore that we hit every time we go , a Hobby Lobby craft store, a Borders entertainment store, and all sorts of yummy restaurants we don't have here in Great Falls. It makes for a nice little weekend trip!

I will have my laptop so I'll be checking in, but depending on how busy we get I may not have much time online.

Have a great weekend everyone!

-----
Proud Member and Admin of:
Proud Member of:

Crochet Commission Queue OPEN! Click here [link] for a general price list and note me for details!
Afghans, Scarves, Dice Bags, and more!
Visit my Etsy shop for ready-to-ship items [link] ]]> =ArielManx http://ArielManx.deviantart.com/journal/23616845/ http://ArielManx.deviantart.com/journal/23616845/ Mon, 09 Mar 2009 19:45:32 PDT

Today, while cleaning our office/game room, I moved a stack of papers on one of the desks, and lo! There it was! It's been right under my nose this whole time. What's even more embarrassing - it's also been plugged into the surge protector/power station this whole time. But because the charger part itself was covered up I never made the connection.

So now I have a happy, fully charged Mavica. The two deviations I posted today were taken and processed by me! My husband has been so wonderful to take and process my pictures all this time, but now I can do it myself and not have to wait until he gets home from work. Hooray!

(Don't forget my kiriban coming up at 10,000 views!)

-----
Proud Member and Admin of:
Proud Member of:

Crochet Commission Queue OPEN! Click here [link] for a general price list and note me for details!
Afghans, Scarves, Dice Bags, and more!
Visit my Etsy shop for ready-to-ship items [link] ]]> =ArielManx http://ArielManx.deviantart.com/journal/23572209/ http://ArielManx.deviantart.com/journal/23572209/ Sat, 07 Mar 2009 10:19:09 PST

Not a lot new has happened in the past week and a half here, hence the lag in updating my journal - there just wasn't anything new to say! I've just been doing the same old crafting/housework/job hunt cycle. If there's ever anything new to report in the job hunt, I'll post it here of course!

I did get new glasses this week! Sexy, foxy, Penelope Garcia glasses (fans of Criminal Minds know what I'm talking about here). I love them! I may just be brave enough to take a new devID picture with these. Assuming I can find a day when the light is good and I can get my hair and makeup to look right... If you haven't figured it out yet, I hate the way I look in pictures!

-----
Proud Member and Admin of:
Proud Member of:

Crochet Commission Queue OPEN! Click here [link] for a general price list and note me for details!
Afghans, Scarves, Dice Bags, and more!
Visit my Etsy shop for ready-to-ship items [link] ]]> =ArielManx http://ArielManx.deviantart.com/journal/23402091/ http://ArielManx.deviantart.com/journal/23402091/ Wed, 25 Feb 2009 16:04:40 PST In doing this, I discovered a few things:

I fave everything I love, and I clearly have a big heart full of love for dA! (seriously, why be stingy with faves?!)
I fave about 2400 deviations per year.
I apparently really love cats, kittens, and all other creatures great and small.

I don't know what everyone else thinks about the collections feature for sorting their faves. I really like it! I wish I had done this before I did my last journal feature, as it was so frustrating remembering cool things I had faved, but not being able to find them again easily.

Anyhoo, now that that's done, maybe I'll have to move myself away from the computer and do something else for a while... My eyes and my mouse hand are sure glad to be getting a break!

-----
Proud Member and Admin of:
Proud Member of:

Crochet Commission Queue OPEN! Click here [link] for a general price list and note me for details!
Afghans, Scarves, Dice Bags, and more!
Visit my Etsy shop for ready-to-ship items [link] ]]> =ArielManx http://ArielManx.deviantart.com/journal/23360468/ http://ArielManx.deviantart.com/journal/23360468/ Mon, 23 Feb 2009 10:39:57 PST I've really come to like the collection feature through my work as an admin for =dAKnitters so I am determined to get my faves sorted.

So I will plugging away at that until I get it done, and I don't want to add any new faves to the pile until my older faves are all sorted. It is killing me not to fave some of the awesome stuff currently sitting in my devwatch! I will catch up on everything as soon as possible.

-----
Proud Member and Admin of:
Proud Member of:

Crochet Commission Queue OPEN! Click here [link] for a general price list and note me for details!
Afghans, Scarves, Dice Bags, and more!
Visit my Etsy shop for ready-to-ship items [link] ]]> =ArielManx http://ArielManx.deviantart.com/journal/23274364/ http://ArielManx.deviantart.com/journal/23274364/ Wed, 18 Feb 2009 15:51:41 PST [link] for some of the most awesome embroidery patterns ever!) newsletter had a link to their yearly stitching survey, with some bonus questions they'd included on request of an NPR reporter seeking info on crafting and the economy. Those bonus questions had the theme of "With the economy being in the crapper**, are you crafting more?" (They didn't say "crapper", actually, I'm embellishing... )

I for one certainly am. As you probably are all aware by now, I've been unemployed since late October. While I didn't lose my last job due to the economy, I certainly haven't had any luck finding a new one, so the economy is keeping me at home. If I hadn't had crafts I enjoyed already, I'm sure I would have found some by now - there's only so much housework, cooking, TV-watching, reading and internet-surfing (when not applying for jobs of course!) that can be done in a day and not leave me wanting more.

Crafting makes me feel like I'm doing something productive. Yeah, I may be passing the day sitting on the couch watching old reruns of Match Game and Family Feud on GSN instead of earning a paycheck, but while I was sitting there, I made something! A ball of yarn, or some cloth and embroidery floss, magically became something beautiful while I was watching Richard Dawson kiss women like he was the hottest thing in town. So at least I have something tangible to show for my day at home without a job. I'm working on something almost every day, either embroidery or crochet or just working on and planning new patterns.

Crafting is comforting. I'm ashamed to say how little news I watch anymore because it's so depressing to watch. Times are tough - not Great Depression tough, or even early 1980s tough, but tough enough - and there's a lot of gloom and doom out there. Making things makes for warm fuzzies, as far as I'm concerned. It's hard to think about bad things when soft yarn is sliding through your fingers and becoming something pretty and useful, stitch by stitch.

I know I'll be making more gifts this year, even if I do get a job soon. Just because I can't go out and buy something doesn't mean I can't give someone I care about a nice present. I think we as artists are lucky that way. (Unless of course you have friends/family who don't like/appreciate the things you make... but that's a whole nother issue...)

One thing craft-wise that the economy has really put a damper on is buying new craft supplies. Again, I am lucky, as I have a big stash of supplies and will have lots to work with for some time to come. That doesn't mean it didn't break my heart to watch the craft store down the street liquidate its stock before it closed last week and not be able to partake in the sales. I was sorely tempted! But I couldn't justify it, and I'm not sure I could have justified it even without money being tight. I've never been a free-wheeler with my money, but I've certainly become more frugal. Crafting is certainly cheap entertainment if you don't need to buy a lot of extra supplies!

What about you all? Has the economic situation had any effects, good or bad, on your artistic endeavors, be they artisan crafts, drawing/painting, photography, or anything else? I've added a poll if you'd like to vote! [link]

**I am specifically talking about the U.S. economy being in the crapper. I know it's not great in other countries either, but I don't know much in the way of specifics. Please don't give me grief for not being up on world economy issues!

And PLEASE, I don't want any discussion to get political! My question that I have posed is not a political one, it's an artsy one, so please play nice!

-----
Proud Member and Admin of:
Proud Member of:

Crochet Commission Queue OPEN! Click... ]]> =ArielManx http://ArielManx.deviantart.com/journal/23195462/ http://ArielManx.deviantart.com/journal/23195462/ Sun, 15 Feb 2009 08:10:39 PST If you're one who thinks it's a stupid holiday and or hates it because you don't have a Valentine...enjoy the candy if nothing else. (I'm all about holidays with candy, even if I don't celebrate the holiday itself!)

Today marks two years on dA for me. When I first signed up, I never thought this would end up becoming a home for me online. I come here every single day (unless I'm without access, of course) - in fact, it's the second tab I open every morning on Firefox. I've lost count of how many enjoyable hours I've spent looking at beautiful artwork and reading journals, getting to know people through their creations and their words. I've recently become an admin at and that's proving to be tons of fun, too!

I also never imagined I'd make so many friends here! I'm not new to making friends online, but I really wasn't sure that I'd fit in here. I'm so happy that I was wrong about that! I have met lots of wonderful people, and have made some true friendships. I've even gotten to meet one of my dA friends, Kristen, in person! I'm hopeful that I'll cross paths with more of you in the future.

In two years' time, I've had 8,271 pageviews, with 8,971 views on my deviations. My deviations have received 682 comments and 386 faves! And 57 people watch me. I appreciate every single view, comment, fave, and watch! Thank you all!

EDIT: This morning, my American Pride scarf (a custom commission for ) hit 500 views! Awesome to the max! (Yes, I am trapped in the 80s, why do you ask?!) Thank you, everyone!


Keep an eye out for my 10,000th pageview! I haven't decided what I'll do for that lucky person yet, but there will be a kiriban!

-----
Proud Member and Admin of:
Proud Member of:

Crochet Commission Queue OPEN! Click here [link] for a general price list and note me for details!
Afghans, Scarves, Dice Bags, and more!
Visit my Etsy shop for ready-to-ship items [link] ]]> =ArielManx http://ArielManx.deviantart.com/journal/23049065/ http://ArielManx.deviantart.com/journal/23049065/ Fri, 06 Feb 2009 20:41:32 PST I know a lot of people dislike them but I generally think they're fun! I stole this one from my good friend - both on dA and IRL! - .

1.- If I were a fruit I'd be...a honeycrisp apple, tart yet sweet!
2.- If I were a color I'd be...purple, spiritual, creative and mysterious
3.- If I were an animal I'd be...a bunny, my totem animal
4.- If I were a domestic appliance I'd be...an air conditioner, with my always icy feet and hands!
5.- If I were a book I'd be...either about crocheting or vampires!
6.- If I were a clothing item I'd be...a soft, cozy sweater
7.- If I were a jewel I'd be...a garnet
8.- If I were an object I'd be...a crochet hook
9.- If I were a car I'd be...a Volkswagon Beetle
10.- If I were an element I'd be...earth, steady and practical
11.- If I were a tree I'd be...a maple tree
12.- If I were a drink I'd be...plain old water, straight from the tap!
13.- If I were an ice cream flavor I'd be...Ben & Jerry's Cherry Garcia
14.- If I were a person I'd be...me!
15.- If I were a planet I'd be...Venus
16.- If I were an insect I'd be...a firefly (can't stop the signal...)
17.- If I were public transport I'd be...a bus, I guess?
18.- If I were a song I'd be..."You Shook Me All Night Long" by AC/DC
19.- If I were a movie I'd be...The Princess Bride
20.- If I were a season I'd be...Autumn or Winter
21.- If I were a flower I'd be...a morning glory
22.- If I were a job I'd be...a professional crocheter
23.- If I were a cartoon I'd be...Sango from InuYasha
24.- If I were a place I'd be...Montana
25.- If I were a gift I'd be...handmade
26.- If I were a memory I'd be...sweet
27.- If I were a city I'd be...Great Falls
28.- If I were a sense I'd be...touch
29.- If I were a game I'd be...Dungeons & Dragons! (why did I put down Trivial Pursuit originally?!)
30.- If I were a candy I'd be...a dark chocolate covered cherry
31.- If I were a time of the day I'd be...midnight
32.- If I were an invention I'd be...Hermione Granger's Time-Turner
33.- If I were a body part I'd be...hands
34.- If I were a country I'd be...USA
35.- If I were a flavor I'd be...chocolate!
36.- If I were a sport I'd be...broomball!
37.- If I were a smell I'd be...cookies baking
38.- If I were a subject I'd be...Crocheting 101
39.- If I were a flag I'd be...the USA stars and stripes, baby!
40.- If I were a building I'd be...my house
41.- If I were a month I'd be...January
42.- If I were a perfume I'd be...seriously pissed - I hate perfume!
43.- If I were a gummy candy I'd be...a cinnamon bear
45.- If I were a toy I'd be...a Barbie doll
46.- If I were a textile I'd be...yarn!
47.- If I were a shape I'd be...a heart
48.- If I were an answer I'd be...Maaaaaaybe...
49.- If I were a common licorice I'd be...Red Vines, mmmmm!
50. - If I were a fictional character, I'd be...Lady Lithra Zelasta of the Duchy of the Four Winds (my own character!) or Hermione Granger

Steal if you want!

(I've been crafting quite a bit making stuff for my Etsy shop - hopefully I'll have pictures up here soon!)

-----
Proud Member and Admin of:
Proud Member of:

http://ArielManx.deviantart.com/journal/22922751/ Sat, 31 Jan 2009 12:17:29 PST

So that's the question I'm posing in my latest poll: How did you learn your art(s) and/or craft(s)? And since I don't think it's fair to ask a question without being willing to answer it yourself, I'll tell my story here.

As I know I've mentioned before, I come from a long line of crafty women, on both sides of my family. My grandmothers, and even my mother, grew up in the time where you learned sewing, embroidery, crochet, etc., as necessity - it was cheaper to do such things yourself, and when my grandmothers were young women there wasn't that much of it available in mass production anyway. So I was surrounded as a child by sewing machines, needle and thread, yarn and crochet hooks, and other assorted craft supplies.

As a little girl I had a sewing machine all of my own - it was one made for children, but it was a real machine that came with patterns, and I made as many things with it as I could. I had my frustrations with sewing in Home Economics class in high school - I liked the way my mom had taught me better, so my teacher and I butted heads a bit. My mom is (and her mother was) an incredible seamstress, and I fully admit that I just can't compete. I have one of my grandmother's sewing machines, though, and we recently got our basement straightened up enough that I have a nice place to leave it sitting out, so I have every intention of getting back into sewing. The itch to make costumes and learn to quilt is soooo strong...

All through my grade school days I waited impatiently every week for art class on Friday afternoon - that was all we got, but I lived for it! I loved to color and make things out of construction paper, glue and glitter. While I'm no traditional artist, I think I carried a lot of the lessons of color and creativity with me that help me a lot in my embroidery and crochet projects.

I was about 10 or so when my mother taught me to embroider. At the time there were a number of girls in school doing counted cross stitch for 4-H projects, and I wanted to learn. Mom didn't know how to do counted cross stitch, but she taught me traditional embroidery, and I took to it right away! One of my first projects that I remember was a dresser scarf that one of my great-grandmothers had started, but hadn't finished before she left this life. Looking back I can't believe Mom let me touch it, much less stitch on it! But I loved having that connection to a woman who passed so many years before I was even born. While I've gone for long stretches over the years where I didn't make time for embroidery, I always come back to it, and it's just like getting back on a bike - I never forget how.

When I was about 12, I asked my dad's cousin (who was and is like an aunt to me) if she'd teach me to crochet. She made such incredible lacy doilies, and I desperately wanted to make some too. But she said, "Oh, no, I think crochet would be too hard for you! I'll teach you how to knit, instead." Well, poo. I didn't want to learn how to knit! I wanted to crochet! I wasn't going to be rude and turn down the lessons, though, so I dutifully learned how to cast on and knit and purl, and made a few coasters. But since it wasn't what I really wanted, it didn't stick, and I gave it up a few months later.

It was about 4 years ago that I decided that I still wanted to learn to crochet, so I went to Michael's (a big box craft store), bought a "learn-to-crochet" kit, and taught myself. I haven't stopped since! Everything I know how to do in crochet, I've learned either from a book or from internet resources, and it's all been so much fun.

And since I've posted a few food deviations - my mom taught me how to cook and bake. I've expanded a lot on what she taught me, since I'm not afraid of herbs and spices and new foods like she is (or more like my dad is scared of those things!), but it all comes back to what I learned from her, which she learned from my grandma. Cooking and baking were yet more things that my Home Ec teacher and I butted heads on! http://ArielManx.deviantart.com/journal/22768872/ Fri, 23 Jan 2009 20:02:41 PST

There are some crocheters who get in a bit of a huff when someone assumes they’re knitting (and I’m sure there are knitters who get in a similar huff when someone assumes they’re crocheting!). I am not one of them. I’m sure that to someone not familiar with needlecraft, crochet and knitting seem very similar, if not identical. Some may even think they’re interchangeable words for the same thing. So I am never offended, and just gently correct people. But since it does happen on a somewhat frequent basis, I thought I would take a moment to explain the basic differences between the two crafts.

(Please note: this article is not intended to be a tutorial on how to crochet and/or knit. There are a number of tutorials here on dA, as well as tons of websites and online videos that can help you learn. You can also usually buy an instructional kit at any craft store for $15 or less. I also make the disclaimer that I just barely know how to knit, so if I have made any mistakes in my knitting research, please correct me privately and I will make amends in a public comment.)

The primary reason people confuse crochet and knitting is that their end product is essentially the same – a piece of fabric created from interlocking loops of thread or yarn. As always, the devil is in the details, and that’s where the differences lie!
Crochet is done using a single tool called a crochet hook. No matter what you are making you only need one hook. Hooks sized for working with yarn are typically made from aluminum, plastic, bamboo, or wood; smaller hooks sized for working with thread are usually made from steel. The sizes range from just 0.60 mm in diameter for working with very fine thread, to 19 or 20 mm in diameter for hooking rugs out of strips of fabric or many strands of yarn held together.


Knitting is done using a minimum of two tools called knitting needles. Socks and other round or tubular (non-seamed) objects require either circular needles (two needles connected by a cord) or a set of four or five double-pointed needles. Needles are typically made from aluminum, plastic, bamboo, or wood. Sizes range from 2 mm in diameter to 25 mm in diameter.


To start a crochet project, you attach the yarn or thread to the hook with a slip knot. You then pull the yarn through the loop on the hook to create what is called a chain stitch. You continue making chains until you have enough for your foundation chain, which you will work your first row of stitches into. Note that the chains are all hanging off the hook – the loop on the hook does not count as a chain.


Knitting projects are started by a process called casting on (sometimes it’s also called binding on, and there are a number of different ways to do it). There is no foundation to work into as there is in crochet; those first stitches you cast onto the needle are the first row of your project, and they’re all in play.


This is about as far as I can get in knitting and still have it look decent, but I’m sure you can see already just from how the two processes start that they’re very different.

When you crochet, you usually have only one stitch active (on the hook) at any given time. Make a stitch, move on to the next one, no worries. When you knit, you have an entire row of stitches active (transferring them from on needle to the other as you make each stitch in a new row). If you drop a stitch off one needle and don’t get it transferred to the other, that dropped stitch will cause a run in your fabric, just like on snagged pantyhose, and all your hard work is ruined. In crochet, there’s no way to... ]]> =ArielManx http://ArielManx.deviantart.com/journal/22631253/ http://ArielManx.deviantart.com/journal/22631253/ Sat, 17 Jan 2009 10:42:56 PST
Gaming bloggers StupidRanger and Geek's Dream Girl are writing a guidebook to female gamers around the world. To write this book, they need to hear the voices of gamer girls. They want to hear your experiences on everything from being the token girl at the gaming table, to going to gaming stores and cons, to how you explain RPGs to non-gamers, and more!

This does specifically relate to players of table-top RPGs, not computer games like WoW.

The survey is fun and only takes about half an hour of your time. There are additional, optional, more-in-depth surveys you can take beyond the main one if you want.

Here's the link, and please feel free to pass it on to any gamer girls you know!

[link]

(And yes, they did have a survey for guy gamers to add in their input, but they filled up their quota of male responders pretty quickly!)

Thank you. Regularly scheduled yarn talk will resume shortly.

-----
Proud Member of:


Crochet Commission Queue OPEN! Click here [link] for a general price list and note me for details!
Afghans, Scarves, Dice Bags, and more!
Visit my Etsy shop for ready-to-ship items [link] ]]> =ArielManx http://ArielManx.deviantart.com/journal/22564326/ http://ArielManx.deviantart.com/journal/22564326/ Tue, 13 Jan 2009 16:50:22 PST
I currently have five crocheted items listed, as well as an assortment of yarns and other supplies I'm destashing. I've already had two sales on supplies, so I am pumped and hopeful for the future!

If you're interested seeing what I have up for sale, please check out my shop:
[link]

As always, feel free to note me here regarding commission work - or if you prefer the added security of going through Etsy, you can contact there for commission work as well.

-----
Proud Member of:


Crochet Commission Queue OPEN! Click here [link] for a general price list and note me for details!
Afghans, Scarves, Dice Bags, and more! ]]> =ArielManx http://ArielManx.deviantart.com/journal/22534972/ http://ArielManx.deviantart.com/journal/22534972/ Sun, 11 Jan 2009 22:31:17 PST . There are artists of all mediums and techniques there, so do check it out if there's anything you want to have done!

As I've looked through the profiles of the other community members (and in various other places where people list prices for their wares/talents), I've noticed something that makes me sad and honestly a little worried about the future of selling art: a lot of artists seriously undersell themselves.

It certainly is hard (especially in this economy) to set prices for your work that are affordable for customers, and not too high to turn them away. I also understand wanting to start a little lower on your prices to get your name out there. But starting your commission prices at $1? Or maxing out at $5-10? Too low, folks. Way too low.

First off, on a $1 commission, you're literally making just a few pennies by the time PayPal fees are taken out (because let's face it - unless the person commissioning you lives close enough to hand you a buck in cash, or they're willing to pay almost a dollar for a one-dollar money order to mail you - which with the cost of the stamp, costs even more than the commission! - odds are that's how you're getting paid). The PayPal fees always hurt a little, but especially on low dollar amounts. I know - I sold stuff on eBay for many years.

But way beyond that... Really, is that all you think your work is worth? If all artists price their work that low, how will people ever come to value art that is handcrafted/hand-drawn/hand-painted/etc? If people come to expect that they can get a drawing for a dollar, or a blanket for $30, will they ever buy from those of us who price our work more appropriately? Will they ever buy from you again if you raise your prices?

I've heard the argument that, "Well, this is a hobby of mine, I'd be doing it anyway, I just want to make enough to pay for my materials." I can almost understand that one - almost. But I think a lot of people who take that route are barely breaking even, if at all. Say you're offering a small drawing for a dollar. If you're a traditional artist, you still had to buy paper, pencils, and erasers, and a scanner so you can digitally show the piece to the customer. If you're a digital artist, you had to buy the computer and the drawing software. You have to pay for your internet access to post the piece on dA or at the least e-mail it to the buyer. It takes a lot of one-dollar commissions to cover all that. Or you might be offering a blanket for $30. It's nothing to pay $30 for yarn for a blanket for an adult. Add in the cost of crochet hooks or knitting needles, the pattern (if you bought one), other notions... you might be going in the hole now. And isn't the time you put into your creation worth something?

Ah, getting something for your time. There are two arguments I've heard here. One is: "Oh, but it doesn't take me long! I can do this in an hour!" Alright, then. If you worked an hour at most any job in the U.S. that wasn't expected to be supplemented by tips, you'd make $6.55. Does it still seem reasonable to sell your hour's worth of work for just a buck?

Of course, the louder argument is: "There's no way I can ever get reasonable reimbursement for my time." This, I completely agree with. I'll give an example from my own experience. One of my first commissions was a large afghan - big enough to cover a full-size bed. The yarn for it cost me about $50. Normally I go with a commission price of 3 to 5 times the cost of the yarn, depending on the pattern. This pattern did work up fairly quickly, and wasn't too difficult for me, so I charged 3 times the cost of the yarn for $150 total. I kept a rough track of how long it took me to complete the afghan - I clocked in at about 45 hours total working time. So that $100 profit I made on the commission came out to $2.22 an hour. I'm not complaining about that at all - I was happy to get that much, I had fun making the afghan, and I know odds aren't high that someone would pay me $295 (+ $50 for the yarn!) for an afghan at minimum federal wage.

Few, if any of us, will ever get rich off our commission work. They don't call us starving artists for nothing! But just because we can't get a working wage doesn't mean we have to cut ourselves so low that we're in the red! There can be a middle ground, and I would urge all artists to find it. We do ourselves no service if we don't value our own work enough to ask a reasonable price for it, and we hurt our fellow artists as well.
=ArielManx http://ArielManx.deviantart.com/journal/22363931/ http://ArielManx.deviantart.com/journal/22363931/ Sun, 04 Jan 2009 18:23:25 PST
Here are examples of my work and what you can get for your money. I am open to making just about anything! Please feel free to ask if you want something you don't see here!

All prices are in U.S. dollars and do not include shipping. Prices may vary due to complexity of pattern, size of finished object, etc.


Covered ball ornaments (start thinking about next year's tree!) - $8 each or 4 for $25 (a great deal!).


Simple scarves - single color (this one is just a multi-colored yarn), with or without fringe, standard 6" wide by 5-6' long, $25.


Hogwarts-inspired scarves, in your choice of house colors, movie-accurate size (9" wide by nearly 8' long) in either the Sorcerer's Stone wide-stripe (shown) or the Prisoner of Azkaban trapped bar stripe, with fringe, $40. (Hogwarts scarves in a standard size - or any standard size scarf in multiple colors - are $30.) (Hogwarts and all things Harry Potter belong to J.K. Rowling of course!)


Simple dice bags - 2 or 3 yarn colors, no embellishments, $25.


Embellished dice bags - 2 or 3 yarn colors, with bead, charm, and/or applique embellishments, $30.

For afghans, the price will vary greatly based on the size, the pattern, and the yarn used. Some ballpark estimates:


Baby afghans - about 36" square, around $30-$40.

http://ArielManx.deviantart.com/journal/22279737/ Tue, 30 Dec 2008 12:44:22 PST It was definitely a rough year and I can't wait to get it behind me. If I stop to think of all the crummy things that happened - losing two jobs, having to move, health problems galore in my house and among the family - ugh. It's depressing to think about!

But if I then stop to think about the positives, it all balances out. While unemployment is not pleasant, and certainly not a situation I ever thought I'd find myself in, it has been exactly what I needed to start getting my health back. Our move of necessity turned out to be a wonderful thing, as we love our new place, our neighbors and our landlord. As the year winds down, the health of those I care about is improving all around. And because I was unemployed and didn't have to worry about getting vacation time, Robert and I were able to take a wonderful long trip to see family and friends. Getting to meet in person was definitely a big highlight of my year!

I hope 2009 is wonderful for everyone! I, for one, hope it brings me gainful and enjoyable employment (because I've had enough of not liking my job!), continued improving health, and a lot less stress and worry.

We'll be staying home for New Year's Eve and will be going out for New Year's Day brunch/lunch with friends. I forgot to buy the traditional black eyed peas for New Year's Day supper, but they sure didn't bring me much good luck last year, so maybe it's not a big deal!

Last year around this time I made a list of crafty New Year's Resolutions, and it's time to hold myself accountable:

1) Starting Christmas presents early.
I started working on the covered ball ornaments I handed out this year in August! I made about half of them then, and half in November. I did have to make a couple more here right around Christmas because I miscounted and ran out, but they only take a couple hours of work at most, so it was no big deal. This year though, I really need to start even earlier if I want to give anyone something bigger.

2) Finally getting brave enough to crochet with thread.
That's exactly what I did in making those ornaments! And now I wonder why it took me so long to give it a try. It's a lot of fun!

3) Making something for ME.
I made two things for myself! An afghan and a dice bag.

4) To make at least one blanket for Project Linus, a charitable organization that makes and distributes handmade blankets to children and teenagers in need.
Epic fail here. I am disappointed in myself over this, but yet not surprised. I think I failed on this mainly because I so prefer to be anonymous in my giving to charity. I don't like people knowing who I gave to, or what or how much. I've just always been very p... ]]> =ArielManx http://ArielManx.deviantart.com/journal/22152030/ http://ArielManx.deviantart.com/journal/22152030/ Tue, 23 Dec 2008 21:56:36 PST I wish all my dA friends a very happy holiday season, whether it's started already or you still have a day or two to go. Yule, Hanukkah, Festivus, Christmas, Kwanzaa... whichever or however many you celebrate, it's all good! May you all be able to spend time with the ones you care about, enjoy some good food and good times, and revel in the warmth of the season. And I wish you all the best in 2009!

(And never forget... there IS a Santa Claus, so be good, for goodness' sake. )

-----
Proud Member of:


Crochet Commission Queue CLOSED for the holidays - set to reopen after the 1st of the year!
Afghans, Scarves, Dice Bags, and more! ]]> =ArielManx http://ArielManx.deviantart.com/journal/22056832/ http://ArielManx.deviantart.com/journal/22056832/ Thu, 18 Dec 2008 20:37:04 PST Having never received a gift from a landlord before, I was so stunned I only managed to say 'thank you!' and forgot all about 'Merry Christmas'.

When we looked into the gift bag, we found four huge oranges (perfect for baking my cranberry cobbler!) and... a ham! Not some cheap little water product log shaped ham either, an honest to goodness bone-in half ham! It went straight into the freezer and will be our Christmas dinner, with lots of good leftovers and a pot of split pea soup made from the bone to follow. Robert and I have officially decided that we are NEVER moving because we can't afford to give up this awesome landlord!

I have to admit I've been having a hard time getting in the Christmas mood this year for some reason - maybe because we were gone for the first third of December and didn't do our traditional tree-trimming, maybe because of the stressful year it's been, maybe because there's no shopping to do this year since our trip was our gift to each other and our families, I don't know - but I just haven't been in the mood. This is very odd for me because I love the winter holiday season. Yesterday I did put up a few decorations (no tree this year for the first time in my life - no room in this place for the big one we had, and we're waiting to buy a smaller one at the after-Christmas clearance sales) but I've had no ambition to do cards or bake. After this nice surprise from our landlord, though... Well, if the weather and streets are fit for being out tomorrow, I think I'll go buy cards and cookie and fudge ingredients. Better almost late than never!

-----
Proud Member of:


Crochet Commission Queue CLOSED for the holidays - set to reopen after the 1st of the year!
Afghans, Scarves, Dice Bags, and more! ]]> =ArielManx http://ArielManx.deviantart.com/journal/21961793/ http://ArielManx.deviantart.com/journal/21961793/ Sat, 13 Dec 2008 10:20:31 PST and I made it back to Great Falls late Thursday evening after a nearly-three-week-long trip!

We left on the morning of 22 November - in beautiful clear weather! - and drove to my folks' farm near McClusky, ND, arriving there that evening. We spent five days there relaxing and stuffing our faces with German-from-Russia culinary delights as well as the huge turkey dinner on Thanksgiving Day.

On the morning of 28 November, we left the homestead to head on to Robert's folks' place in Etowah, TN. That drive took three days and we arrived there in the evening of the 30th. The first day of driving was fantastic, then we fought rain, snow, and bad roads the second day. The final day of the drive was pretty good with just a little rain. We spent five days with my in-laws, enjoying a second turkey dinner and seeing some very good friends along with the family.

Then on the morning of 6 December we started west again, though our drive was short as our destination was Nashville! We spent the rest of that day and the night with the sweet and wonderful Kristen , her hubby Chad, and their super-affectionate kitty Zoey! Kristen is the first of my dA friends I've been able to meet up with in person, and we hit it off just as well as I hoped we would! We had a wonderful time at her place and I can't wait until we can get together again.

After having breakfast with Kristen and Chad on the 7th, we drove south through Nashville to Franklin to spend the day and night with another good friend, his wife, and their 11-year-old son (as well as yet another affectionate cat, who slept on the sofa bed with us!). We had a great time with them too, and even played a quick little D&D adventure.

The morning of the 8th, alas, was time to finally head toward home. We had originally planned to jaunt back up to see my folks again briefly, but a big ol' winter storm foiled those plans. We had to punch a lot further west before we could safely drive north, and the weather/bad road delays meant we spent four days on the road. But we made it home safe and sound... and just in the nick of time! As I type this we are under a blizzard warning, and temperatures of -25 to -30 are expected tomorrow night. So glad we got back before this hit!

It was a wonderful trip but I am so glad to be home and sleeping in my own bed and cooking my own food! Our friends and family kindly provided lots of good food for us but when we're driving we don't have that luxury. It's amazing how quickly junk food and eating out get old. Last night I made steaks and pasta primavera and today I have a big ol' crock pot full of chili going. Later today I'll be making cornbread muffins and cranberry-gingerbread cobbler! Yum-O!

I did some crocheting while on the road - I've already posted the ornaments as well as the Gryffindor scarf I finished. I also made a couple more dice bags that I'll get posted soon. I am going to close my commission queue for the holidays, because at this point I just would not be able to get anything done for anyone in time for Christmas, plus I need to get ready for Christmas myself! I will reopen them after the holidays.

Hope all my friends here had a great Thanksgiving!

-----
Proud Member of:
... ]]> =ArielManx http://ArielManx.deviantart.com/journal/21595282/ http://ArielManx.deviantart.com/journal/21595282/ Fri, 21 Nov 2008 10:10:36 PST Four of my quotes apparently were tricky, so I'll take pity on you all and give you the remaining answers!

3. "I am the one who can't smell it!" is from Mystery Men (specifically uttered by Paul Reuben's character, The Spleen!)

5. "It's a teenage girl walking along the side of the highway. I mean, they, they, they make scary movies that start out like that."
"Hey, but, but they make porno movies that start out like that too, man." is from Detroit Rock City

8. "Jimi Hendrix deceased, drugs. Janis Joplin deceased, alcohol. Mama Cass deceased, ham sandwich." is from Austin Powers: International Man of Mystery

9. "Would any of you boys happen to be a smithy? Or otherwise skilled in the metallurgical arts?" is from O Brother, Where Art Thou?

Tomorrow morning and I depart on a three-week trip home to see first my folks in central North Dakota for Thanksgiving, then on to see his folks in eastern Tennessee for a belated Thanksgiving (two turkey dinners! ). On our way home from seeing family we intend to see friends in both TN and ND, including a stop to finally meet in person! I am so excited for this trip I can't say how! It's a much needed trip for both of us and there is always something so comforting and grounding about going home to see Mom and Dad. My mom has had a very rough year health-wise and will be having her thyroid irradiated shortly after we leave, so it's especially important that we get home to visit with her and my dad. We haven't seen Robert's folks in over 2 years so that's super important too of course! And I've always felt that friends are the family you get to choose, so seeing them is just as important. I can't wait!

So today is a busy day of doing laundry and packing! I've already got the mail held and the landlord notified, and the house is clean (a habit I picked up from a former co-worker - clean house before you leave, and then you have a nice clean house to come back home to and can be all recovered from traveling before you need to clean again! Of course he was such a procrastinator that that habit usually resulted in him leaving town a day or two later than he wanted!). I'm trying to decide how much crafty stuff to take along. When we stop in hotels for the night I like to have something to work on, but I don't want to take too much. Room is limited in the pickup!

Internet access may be very limited for us, at least at my folks - we can't find the software for our Verizon card, so we may be completely offline for about a week. While that's hardly the end of the world, I sure would like to be able to check the bank account and weather forecasts for our route to TN! Hopefully Robert can get ahold of Verizon today and find a solution... If not, I'll talk to you all when we get back!

Despite what a crappy year it's been, I still have lots to be thankful for. My loving husband, my family and my dear friends, and the return of good health. And those things are more important than anything else. Have a wonderful Thanksgiving, everyone!

-----
Proud Member of:
http://ArielManx.deviantart.com/journal/21542917/ Mon, 17 Nov 2008 21:43:37 PST Update: There are four left that seem to be giving people trouble! Bwah ha! #3, 5, 8 and 9 remain unidentified!

I stole this from !

1. Pick 15 of your favorite movies.
2. Go to IMDb and find a quote from each movie.
3. Post them here for everyone to guess.
4. Strike it out when someone guesses correctly, and put who guessed it and the movie.
5. When you guess, try not to cheat and use IMDB search functions!

1. "I brought another horse, in case we found the lady... Hello, lady!" from THE PRINCESS BRIDE as guessed by

2. "I swallowed a bug." from SERENITY as guessed by

3. "I am the one who can't smell it!"

4. "FRESH FISH! We catch 'em, you buy 'em!" from ALLADIN as guessed by

5. "It's a teenage girl walking along the side of the highway. I mean, they, they, they make scary movies that start out like that."
"Hey, but, but they make porno movies that start out like that too, man."

6. "I'm not even supposed to be here today!" from CLERKS as guessed by

7. "I was born a poor southern black child..." from THE JERK as guessed by

8. "Jimi Hendrix deceased, drugs. Janis Joplin deceased, alcohol. Mama Cass deceased, ham sandwich."

9. "Would any of you boys happen to be a smithy? Or otherwise skilled in the metallurgical arts?"

10. "I feel all exposed and NASTY!" from SHREK THE THIRD as guessed by

11. "See? I'm as anatomically impaired as a Ken doll." from DOGMA as guessed by

12. "*Your* sons flew that enchanted car of yours to Surrey and back last night."
"Did you really? How did it go? ... I mean, that was very wrong indeed, boys. Very wrong of you." from HARRY POTTER AND THE CHAMBER OF SECRETS as guessed by

13. "Cute and cuddly, boys... cute and cuddly." from MADAGASCAR as guessed by

14. "I'm not *that* kind of angel." from MICHAEL as guessed by

15. "Are you alright?"
"Yeh, um, I just bit into a pepper."
"Is that... are you... are you watching Oprah?" from OCEAN'S THIRTEEN as guessed by

I leave on vacation this Saturday! Get in your crochet commission requests now if you really want something done in time for Christmas!

-----
Proud Member of:
http://ArielManx.deviantart.com/journal/21412992/ Sun, 09 Nov 2008 21:52:14 PST
And at long last, I can browse fanart without worrying about having anything else spoiled for me! Though I'd actually had just as much spoiled for me from quotes in people's signatures and such as I had from fanart. Don't get me wrong, I'm not upset with anyone about things like that - I am well aware that I was late to the Hogwarts party. It's just nice to not have to worry about it anymore! In case you haven't figured it out, I hate having books and movies spoiled for me. If it's an accident - and especially if the book or movie has been out a long time already - I'm disappointed but I don't get upset at all. I've had bad experiences though with people who just can't contain themselves and purposefully spill the big secret or the twist at the end - a former co-worker's wife saw me reading "The Da Vinci Code" and proceeded to tell me the big secret! Gah! Why do people do that?!

To anyone who hasn't read the Harry Potter books - please do! They're not just for kids (they're a far better read than a lot of books written for adults out there!) and even if you think you don't like magic and fantasy, I feel that the books are more about friendship and love than anything else. Wonderful, wonderful books. What a gift J.K. Rowling gave the world when she put this story down on paper! (I know that sounds fan-girly, but it's how I feel, dammit!)

In completely unrelated news, one of our local craft stores is closing. I am bummed, because I really liked shopping there (it's literally a 5 minute walk from our house), but a little Ben Franklin can't compete with Michael's and JoAnn's and Wal-Mart. I also can't help but think that the fact that they're closed on Sundays has hurt them. The other craft stores are always busy on Sundays, so I bet the Ben Franklin would have been too. Alas. Too bad I'm still unemployed, I can't even get in on the liquidation sales...

It's less than two weeks before and I leave to see family and friends for the holidays. If you would like to place a crochet commission order, it would be best to do so before November 21. If I have your order by then, I can at least get it started before we leave, and possibly take it with me to work on in hotel rooms in the evenings. Orders that come in after we hit the road won't see my hook until at least December 15, and by then we're cutting it awfully close to Christmas! I will take commissions at any time, but I'm only human and if someone notes me on December 15 wanting 5 Hogwarts scarves by Christmas... well, that's probably not going to happen.

I am currently working on some stock items (Hogwarts-themed stuff at the moment) to put up for sale here and/or on Etsy. Doesn't hurt to try!

-----
Proud Member of:


Crochet Commission Queue Always Open! See this journal [link] for prices and note me for details! Contact me soon for holiday gifts!
Afghans, Scarves, Dice Bags, and more! ]]> =ArielManx http://ArielManx.deviantart.com/journal/21255298/ http://ArielManx.deviantart.com/journal/21255298/ Fri, 31 Oct 2008 20:19:39 PDT No adorable little ghosts or goblins or superheroes came to our door seeking candy. NONE! There have been years in the past that we have only had a handful of kiddies show up, but never before have we been completely shut out. And it's such a beautiful night, too...

I am seriously bummed. At least I have a cauldron full of mini candy bars to console myself with...

-----
Proud Member of:


Crochet Commission Queue Always Open! See this journal [link] for prices and note me for details! Contact me soon for holiday gifts!
Afghans, Scarves, Dice Bags, and more! ]]> =ArielManx