I have been busy making gifts for birthdays and for Christmas. I sent my sister-in-law her gift and she loved it so I can finally post pictures here.

The fingerless gloves and hat are my very first venture into Fair Isle.  I think it turned out pretty good and I need to start working on more complicated Fair Isle patterns.  I'll have to wait until after the holidays though.

I've been thinking a lot about my childhood and my friends from school lately. For the most part I really liked them and enjoyed being their friends but a lot of my memories tend to be tainted with something that is a little uncomfortable or off. Of course in middle school, we all liked the same band, but had to like different members of the band so as not to encroach on the other girls' territory. The guy I "liked" I didn't really like because my friends would be mad if I let my true feelings be known. My whole life seemed to be about pleasing my friends and changing myself so I would be liked. When I look back, I realize that I might have been the group joke. I was never as smart or as pretty or as well off as the rest of the group and was constantly putting myself down and making myself into a joke to ingratiate myself with the other girls. I took everything I wished I was and turned it around into a joke. I was a horrible singer, the world's worst ballet dancer, and a lover of the guy in our favorite band that no one else liked.

In seventh grade, my friends all dumped me for no good reason that I could see. No one spoke with me or interacted with me for a whole year. It hurt me so bad. There I was, trying to be everything to those people to no avail. During that time, I lost who I was and wondered if I would ever figure out who I was supposed to be. Unfortunately, I still have no idea who I am or what I am supposed to do with my life. I honestly believe that those years of my life formed a lot of who I believe myself to be today. A lot of the struggles I have had with myself really stemmed from those experiences.

I don't have a lot of self-confidence or belief in myself. If I had more, I wouldn't have believed the Sergeant in the Army that told me that nobody liked me because I thought I was better than everyone else (when the opposite was true). She made me believe I was worthless and deserved to be treated like dirt.

I'm so scared of rejection, I don't want to put myself into a position where I could succeed. I'm scared of trying to sell my jewelry outside of my Etsy shop, scared to try to share my creativity with the wider world. It's easier to sit at home with 20 pieces of new jewelry that hasn't been photographed or put online and say it's because I'm lazy. The truth is I am terrified that the things I create and are so very personal to me will be rejected by the outside world and it will feel like a rejection of me.

Sorry to be such a downer in this post, but I really want to use this blog to track my progress in both the craft world and my life. Right now the two are very closely intertwined and my success in the craft world is dependent on success in myself and belief in myself.

Moving is no longer a certainty.  The way Patrick's job has been going, he will only be in Bangor a week or so a month.  So far this month, he has been there two days.  He was in Atlanta last week, he is in Dodge City, Kansas this week and will be back in Atlanta next week.  I miss him a lot.  This weekend we are planning on going to see the Art Nouveau jewelry exhibit at the Museum of Fine Art in Boston.  Anything we can do to make our limited time together "quality" time.  

Yesterday, I took Saffron to the Howl-o-ween Party at Petsmart.  She had a great time.  She was the smallest dog there, but was not shy in meeting the other dogs at all.  Some of the big dogs were actually scared of her.  It was kind of funny.  She wore her pumpkin shirt.  There were a lot of other pumpkin dogs so she didn't win the costume contest.  The dog that won was a Chinese Crested dressed as a biker.  He was actually wearing leather chaps and doggles.  I think he totally deserved the win.  Saffy passed out asleep when we got home.  All of the meeting and greeting wore her out.  Next week, Saffy and I are starting beginner obedience class.  

Been working on trying to get the house straightened up.  It is so messy.  All of the flat surfaces are covered in papers and junk and I have to go through everything.  I'm also working hard on Christmas gifts.

This past weekend was absolutely beautiful.  Patrick and I were naughty and took a break from working around the house and went to the Milford Pumpkin Festival.  I decided that Saffy should get out of the house after her traumatic spaying experience.  She was healed enough and no longer wearing her cone so she was very happy to be out on the town.  Because it was the Pumpkin Festival, I decided that Saffy needed an appropriate outfit for the occasion, so I whipped up a little pumpkin shirt with some polar fleece, felt, and velcro.  She didn't seem to mind it at all and was a huge hit at the festival.  

Here's a picture of Saffy in her new shirt meeting a new friend: Rebecca the Irish Wolfhound.

Lots of craftiness going on lately.  The major projects being the kitchen and the bathroom.  All the full-sized tiles in the rooms are laid and lot of the cut tiles are also down.  I have grouted about half of the kitchen.  I am pretty tired out from all this work.  I need to paint the upstairs bathrooms and the hallway once I am done downstairs.  

Here's a before and during of the kitchen.  The before was taken after Patrick cut some of the backerboard in the house.  It raised a lot of dust.  

I'm amazed how much brighter and cleaner the kitchen looks with the paint and the new appliances.  We do have an over the stove microwave/hood combo to install.  I'm very pleased with how everything is turning out.  

In actual craft news, I finished Patrick's socks as well as the Monkey socks I was working on.  

I have also started work on my many many Christmas projects.   None of which will be posted here until after the holiday of course.  

Since this economy has been really fun lately and I have no idea if we are moving to Maine or staying here. . .  I will be signing up with a temp agency soon to try to make a little extra money.  I will be living in NH for the time being, but may need to put the house on the market in the near future.  Right now, my deepest wish is for there to be a little certainty in my life.  Oh well.

Since I need to start getting things cleared out of the house before putting it on the market, I have been making lots of piles of things to donate and to sell. I have about six big bags of clothes going to the Salvation Army tomorrow and I have posted some cake pans and cake decorating supplies on craigslist. Check it out and let me know if you are interested. If you need things to be shipped I can work something out.

Here are the pictures of what I am offering. I didn't post them in the ad since the server wasn't letting me. . .

Update: The round and oval pans have been bought.  Thanks!

Snuggles

Snuggles
Originally uploaded by coveykeating

Here is my personal Cute Overload. Saffy and Gus were best buds the whole time we were in Sheboygan. . . or should I say Saffy loved Gus and Gus tolerated Saffy. She loved snuggling him and using him as a step stool to jump onto the couch. They also enjoyed stealing each others toys.

Well, it has been quite awhile since I last posted.  I got home from Wisconsin on Tuesday night and am starting to get back in the swing of things around here.  It has been difficult to get all the wedding stuff off my mind but it is happening slowly.  Andrea and Paul's wedding was beautiful.  I am very happy that I was able to be a part of such a wonderful event and had a hand in making it great.  I really enjoyed spending a whole month in Sheboygan with my family.  It was like being a kid again.

Now that I am back we are getting the house ready to either rent or put on the market so the three of us can make the big move to Bangor, Maine.  All of our new appliances are just about finished being installed.  We just have to put some cut tile under the stove so we can grout and push it all the way back.  The kitchen looks about a billion times better than it did with those old yellow ugly appliances.  I almost don't hate it anymore!  The other thing that I have been busy doing is playing with the best birthday present ever, my new Wii!  I just kicked some major butt at boxing and was sweating and hot at the end.  I also have Super Smash Bros. Brawl and Rock Band which Patrick and I are planning on busting out tonight.

I'm taking a break from all my work and car shopping and cleaning up paper towel shreds from the puppy.  I found this meme on a random blog and thought I would do it.  Enjoy!

1.  What was I doing 10 years ago?  

It was a week before I met my future husband.  I was in the Army and I went on a trip to Vegas with my parents.

2.  What are 5 things on my To-Do list for today?

Make four necklaces and four pairs of earrings

Finish sister's wedding gift

Finish sister's bachelorette party gift

Play with puppy

Laundry

3.  Snacks I enjoy:

Nacho Cheese Doritos, Take 5 candy bars, movie popcorn, Diet Coke, B&J's Oatmeal Cookie Chunk ice cream

4.  Things I would do if I were a billionaire:

Set up trust funds for everyone in my family and my husband's family so they are all taken care of for the rest of their lives.  Get more Chihuahua puppies, set up a full jewelry/metalsmithing workshop, take a really nice vacation, get pampered at a spa.

5.  Places I have lived:

Sheboygan, WI

Lynchburg, VA

Reading, England

Ft. Lewis, WA

DuPont, WA

Lynnwood, WA

Milford, NH

6. Jobs I have had: 

Waitress at lunch counter

Kitchen staff at GS Camp

Camp Counselor

Accounts Payable/Data Entry

Receptionist

Supply Specialist in Army

Temp

Administrative assistant/events coordinator

Stock Broker

Unpaid artist ;-)

(Wow!  I have had a lot of jobs!)

Holy crap.  The calm is definitely over and I am smack dab in the middle of the storm!  Last week Friday we headed down to Maryland for our new nephew's christening.  Patrick is the Godfather.  We also brought six cases of left over flooring with us to give to the in-laws.  Saffy was a great traveler!  She adapted well to every place we brought her and stole everyone's heart.  We need to get puppy lo-jack because she is so lovable everyone wants to keep her.  

Anyway, the real "excitement" started when we got to Frostburg on Monday to deliver the flooring.  The car was acting up and it turned out that we had a leak in the transmission.  Our intention was to head home on Tuesday morning but, we ended up taking the car to the local Ford dealer and they tightened up everything.  We left on Tuesday afternoon around 3:30pm.  About three hours into the drive I started smelling something like burning rubber.  When we pulled over to get gas, it turned out that the transmission was leaking again.  So, while I took Saffy to go potty, Patrick dumped two bottles of transmission fluid into the car.  All was good.  Two hours later, the same thing.  By 11:30 we had emptied six bottles into the car and was smoking like the car was on fire and literally had a trail of fluid marking our trip from Maryland to Hartford, CT.  We stopped for the night with the intention of having the car towed the last 12o miles home until we found out it would cost us $800.  We decided to chance it.  We had to stop three times during the last two hours to add fluid and did a lot of praying and willing the car up hills.  The closer we got to home, the more the car struggled and smoked.  About halfway up the final hill, it just wouldn't go any farther.  Patrick hopped out and pushed the car the last 30 feet to the house.  I still can't believe we made it.  Right now, we have one working vehicle. . . Patrick's motorcycle.  The good news is I get a new car for my trip to Wisconsin next week.  Yay!

On Tuesday, Patrick found out that he got a new job with Fairpoint Communications in Bangor, Maine.  He hasn't received his offer letter yet, so we don't know when he will start, but the plan is that he will get an apartment up there while I finish getting the house ready for sale.  We hope to put the house on the market in the new year.  Hopefully the market will be a little better by then.  

The final countdown to my trip to Wisconsin is on.  I have one crochet project, one knitting project, two paper projects and jewelry to make before Wednesday.  I also have to take Saffron to the vet, pick up my bridesmaid dress from the tailor and get a new car.  Nothing to get to worried about.  Actually, why am I typing this and not working?

Ah, the calm before the storm.  Patrick and I had a very quiet 4th.  We went to Lowe's to buy grout.  That's about it.  I finished laying all the full-sized tile yesterday so all we need to do is get the tiles cut down for the edges of the room and then grout.  Right now all of the appliances are in the middle of the kitchen so I can't wait to get them moved into place.  I am getting tired of eating either sandwiches or eating out all the time.  

This week it is going to start getting crazy.  Tomorrow I am going to Boston for the day to hang out with Kate, Tuesday I have knitting, Wednesday Patrick has to go to Portland, ME and Thursday we are leaving to go to MD for the weekend.  When we get back, it'll be a week before I leave for Wisconsin for a month.  I am still working on all the wedding projects as well as the house.  It is kind of difficult because Saffy is always VERY interested in helping me with any knitting or crocheting I am working on.  

I know my posts are boring lately.  Not a whole lot of new or exciting things going on.  Just the same old, same old.  

I love stress so much.  Especially the way it affects my body.  I have TMJ and lately my jaw has been killing me.  The last couple of days I haven't been able to eat without being in quite a lot of pain.  

I have been busy and I have a ton of things to do.  We are still working on the house.  The tiling is about half done and we are waiting for new appliances to be delivered.  I have about three large projects to work on for my sister's wedding that I would like to get done before I head to Wisconsin at the end of July.  All these things are contributing to my stress.  I'm trying to break it down and do little bits at a time.

Saffron has been with us for about a week and a half now.  She's a very good girl.  She is pretty well potty trained.  We have a crate lined with newspaper that she uses.  We can tell she is getting much more comfortable with us as she is crazy!  She runs around like a nut for about two hours at a time and then passes out.  Right now she is sleeping on the top of the back of the couch behind me.  She likes to sit back there and chew on my hair.  

I don't really have a whole lot else to say, just thought I would post a quick update.

Lots of news lately.  The bracelet that was featured in New Hampshire Magazine sold on Friday so that was good.  On Saturday morning, we were awoken by a phone call from the breeder I've been in touch with.  She called to ask us if we would like to visit a puppy.  Of course we did!  We are now the proud parents of a baby girl we named Saffron.  She gets to come home with us on June 16.  Because of her impending arrival, we are in overdrive working on getting the tiling done downstairs.  The last thing we need is a traumatized little doggie on our hands.  Jesus totally freaked when we put in the hardwoods, so Saffron is a great excuse to do the tile.  

Here she is with her daddy:

Patrick and I got home from Austin on Sunday.  It was a really good trip.  We ate lots of good food, did some shopping, checked out the National Wildflower Center (beautiful) and did a lot of walking!  I also got to indulge in the most decadent 3-hour spa treatment in the world.  I was basically a big pile of mush when it was over.  It consisted of a deep-tissue massage, facial, hand and foot massage, mud wrap, scalp massage and a vichy shower.  I highly recommend all of these things to everyone.  I did finish my first sock from my flat feet yarn while I was in Austin.  I used the Hedera pattern from Knitty.  I am about a quarter of the way through the second sock now.  It was great for the plane and for the hotel room.  

Now that I am back in NH I have been taking a break from knitting and have been crocheting.  I am part of a crochet-a-long on Ravelry which involves making a new 12-inch granny square every month.  I had only done the first two, so I have been catching up and am finishing up the May square right now.  I am using up scraps from all the baby items I made earlier this year.  I also have 6-inch squares (either knit or crochet) to make for a charity project I am working on through Ewe'll Love It!  I got the Vogue Knitting Stitchionary Vol. 1 to learn new stitch patterns to make the squares.  The book is very beautifully done and if anyone is looking for a gift for me, there are three more volumes.  (hint hint)

I got a surprise yesterday.  My pink Fat Bottom Bag was featured on the Crochet Liberation Front's blog and labeled as "Hookalicious."  Looking at all the other projects that were featured on the blog, I am very honored to be in such amazing company!

Happy May Day!  New Hampshire Magazine has updated their site with the May issue so if you want to check out the article on Etsy along with a photo of my bracelet: look here.

Life is slowly tipping the scales from the bad over to the good.  My big news is that my Mah Jong Tile Bracelet was featured in an article on Etsy in the May issue of New Hampshire Magazine.  It's not on the newstand yet and the website is still showing the April issue, but I will be sure to post an update here.  I could scan my copy, but I have been too lazy.

The Souhegan Valley Chorus Spring concert is this Saturday.  The theme is "Broadway" and it should be a great concert.  If you are local and want to go, it is at Souhegan High School in Amherst, NH at 7:30pm.  Tickets are $15 for adults and $10 for children and senior citizens.

I really like singing in the choir, particular getting out of the house and meeting new people.  Lately, however, I have been having a conflict with another member of the group which is making it not so much fun anymore.  I really don't want to go into details here, but if things don't turn around with her, I might quit.  I'm at a point in my life where I know it is better for me to just get rid of the negative people in my life, particularly when they make me miserable and feel bad about myself.  

The other big news is that I finally finished my sweater!  It still ended up being a little big on me, but it is warm and cozy and that's the important part.

I have started working on my sister's wedding gift, which will not be posted on here any time soon.  Too bad so sad.  I am also working on my first pair of socks.  There was a special sock kit available at Ewe'll Love It! to benefit the Breast Cancer 3 Day Walk.  The yarn is beautiful: pink, brown and gray varigated.  Beverly, the owner of the shop designed the pattern.  The original pattern has two ribbons on the side, but I only did one repeat to keep the sock a little shorter.  I am almost done with the first one.  It is very exciting!

I also bought some really cool sock yarn called "Flat Feet" to bring along as a project when I go to Austin with Patrick in two weeks.  The yarn is machine knit into a flat and then handpainted.  You work directly from the flat which removes the need to wind the yarn into a ball and minimizes tangling.  I got these gorgeous Autumn-y colors that will match my sweater.

Time to go grocery shopping.  We have practically no food in our house.  Unless you count Jell-o and pretzels. . . 

I have returned home from my last minute trip to Wisconsin.  I got home on Tuesday and pretty much went straight to choir rehearsal.  The concert is in less than three weeks so there is a lot of work to be done!

The visit with my family was very nice, it is always unfortunate to get together with family at a funeral, but it was good to see everyone and I really needed their love and support.  I was able to be with my brother to celebrate his 30th birthday and I got to meet my brand-new niece, Autumn.  She's a beautiful and very sweet little girl.  She is also very strong!

My good news is that I am almost finished with the second sleeve of my sweater.  Once the sleeves are done, all I need to do is the neck and block the sleeves and then sew them on.  I might actually get to wear it before the weather gets too warm.  

It's been very windy lately.  Last night it felt like the wind would blow our house down.  Today I wished that the wind would blow me away.  I've been very sick with the flu for the past week and woke up to the news that my grandfather had passed away this morning.  I'll be heading to Wisconsin tomorrow armed with dramamine and hoping the stress of trying to get healthy and dealing with yet another loss in my life won't get me sick again. 

 

Patrick says we are due a cosmic dose of good karma any day now.  I'm waiting. . .

In other news, my sister-in-law had her baby boy on Saturday night and loved the blanket I made her.  Here's an in-process picture:

The pattern is called "The Curve of Pursuit" and is also the mathematical name of this design.  It represents four dogs chasing each other's tails around a field starting from the four corners.  If the dogs were to keep going, they would eventually crash in the middle.  I figured a mathematical pattern would be good for the geeky-ness that are my in-laws.  I found the pattern and the info about the mathematical concept on Woolly Thoughts.

Welcome to this edition of Craftastic Cribs!  Today we are going to take a look at the room in which I create many of my crafts.  
Here we have a general overview of my craft room.  This room is actually intended to be a formal sitting room in my house, but who the heck uses a formal sitting room.  The bookshelves were purchased at the unfinished wood store and were painstakingly stained and varnished by me and my friend Erica.  The shelves are home to our books, my yarn stash, gem stones, papercrafting supplies, photo albums, and many other random items of crafty significance.  My craft table was found in the clearance room of Ethan Allen for $199.  It is very heavy duty and was in perfect condition.  I still can't believe what a deal that was!  The table is very messy because it seems to be the place in the house where we throw random stuff and I haven't gotten around to cleaning it up.  Anyway, who has a clean craft room?  Also, check out the wicked awesome hardwood floor that I installed all by myself.  
Here we have my jewelry corner.  Here is where I keep all of my beads, wires, and other findings.  I have found the tool boxes to be the best place to keep all my beads and I have even labeled some of the drawers!  The white bike basket was given to me by Patrick to go on the front of my Harley.  Unfortunately, we had to remove it to pass inspection so it now is employed as an earring holder.
The next stop is where I keep the majority of my completed jewelry.  Basically I took a piece of plywood, covered it with several layers of quilt batting and some canvas fabric from an old tablecloth and embellished with some ribbon and voila a jewelry-hanging thingy!  I use T-pins to hold the jewelry in place.  I am working on a larger solution now that my inventory is growing and hope to have it up soon.
Our last stop on this craftastic tour is my kick-ass rubber stamp shelf.  Patrick and I built this for all my rubber stamps.  I have all my jewelry hanging below it.  Once I move my jewelry, I will be building another shelf to house the stamps that do not yet have a home.  

I hope you enjoyed this tour of my craft room.  Now everyone get out so I can get back to work!

Copper Bowl--Complete!

Copper Bowl--Complete!
Originally uploaded by coveykeating

Just as I promised. The copper bowl in all its glory. Patrick cut the base in half for me. Thanks sweetie! I spent almost two hours shaping it and getting it ready to solder to the bowl. My instructor and I soldered the whole thing in one shot which was awesome. I cleaned it up and waxed it to protect the patina and it now lives on one of our shelves. Yay!