ready for readymade?

i got my issue today with me on *ahem* page 84! please pick up a copy and just casually flip there and act surprised to see NFB in there, ok?

hospitals and hail

yesterday shawn and i spent most of the morning and afternoon at the children's hospital for a dental surgery for our littlest one. it went mostly as planned but things come up as they do so often with kids and we have a little ruthless-toothless on our hands here for a while! she looks like a big kid now, where most kids loose teeth at 5 or 6, here she is not even 3! we love her so much it was hard to see her hand all pricked because they couldn't find her vein or the bruise on her face where they clamped her mouth open. good things parents aren't allowed to actually be in the room with surgeries...i would probably be tripping out more! she will probably be signing up for daycare *sniffle* in the next few weeks for two days so i can have some time for myself and do appts and wholesaling and work around town. or at least that is the plan :)

today it hailed on us while we got ready to go on a family drive. we discovered a cool regional camp spot very near to us and it is nestled in the country going up to mt. hood. very very pretty up there. people have roadside stands of their fruit and wares almost at every house's driveway. we saw christmas tree farms and other nursery's with all kinds of stuff growing so gorgeous. it was nice to get out of town and clear up my head.

i had a mini-freakout earlier about the upcoming shows, and my ad coming out and just not being together in general but i got over it. singing in the car while driving usually does the trick :) i ought to remember that when things start going haywire as they usually do in their own way for me!

minor hamster emergency

cookie got out of her cage last night and had to face the kitten all by herself while we slept. i think the kitty got a hold of her because i found her scared shitless behind my fabric stash with a little wound to the back of her neck. i took her to triage (aka my kitchen) and patched her up the best i could but i hope she pulls though...i feel like a jerk but tomorrow we are ponying up $350 for lucy's dental surgery and i don't think i can justify taking from that to take cookie to the vet. i am just holding vigil over her to see what goes on. at least i found her after lyric went to school--she would heartbroken to see her and i don't want her to blame the kitten for doing it's kitty job. let's just hope and pray cookie lives another day to a ripe old age of 2 or 3 for a hamster!

on a completely different note i listed some new pendants i made last night which came out rather nicely. i am digging on the menswear patterns and also that crazy red doll body part fabric :) the purple bunny fabric has resurfaced from last year, when i made some pouches and buttons out of it. i love it a lot! jumping bunnies...you can't really go wrong there. :)

last blast of summer

it was a beautiful day today here in portland. while the big girl was in school, shawn and i took lucy and the dogs to a near by off leash dog park which was awesome. they do great together and their recall is superb, so i was happy to let them run around in the park even though it wasn't fenced in. they were so happy to get out of the house :) lucy ran about too giving the trees hugs and kisses. that was super cute. there was still bountiful blackberry bushes there and shawn and lucy pigged out and got all berried up!

the last picture is of some crochet sugar skull pins up now for sale :)

tonight is heroes and i will probably just crochet through it...i don't watch that one but lyric and shawn do.

r is for rico!

check out the dead-sexy pose my boston was busting for me. he is tooooo sexy for his shirt! and there is my border collie mix delia snoring and by her butt was simon-kitty who is going to be one of those MONGO cats. like a 35 pounder at least. his paws are ginormous!

also me and my lucy and a scarf i listed today. it has been a lazy sunday and i am going to make minestrone soup for dinner. it is just that kind of first-day of fall day, you know?

p is for patch

perhaps some lino-block patches for sale are on the horizon but not yet. here i used a vintage menswear shirt swatch to see how it would the ink i have would look on fabric. i need a better burnishing tool i see. i may have to get some fabric quality ink for this it looks awfully gray. and some color would be nice. hmmmmmm.

p is for pendants

just finished listing some new pendants after sending out the custom order. i have about 20 more on the line to be soldered tonight but i want to fiddle around with my lino-block a little this afternoon first.

other than that, the homemade potpourri i made this morning from orange peels, a cinnamon stick and some vanilla is really making me hungry! i think it is the vanilla. but i forgot how nice a simmering potpourri can be :) i urge you to make one now.

i am still FREEZING in here. seriously i talked about getting a half cord of wood and i am not joking. this old house just HOLDS the cold. if i was smart i would get some padding for the windows as unsightly as that is, but it is necessary. this window to the back yard i sit in front of now chills me out every year and i can see the breezy air come through the rickety frame. it is like that in every single window. brrrr. it is supposed to get to 70 but it is around 60 in this house or less. COLD! our next house will be energy efficient--as renters we are at the mercy of our situation. but hopefully if we move to a bigger house next we can make sure it has better insulation, both with windows and doors but also in the attic. *chatters teeth*. i need to go find some socks! :)

hello fall!

i have been cleaning up the kitchen (aka my workspace) this morning and decided to make some buttons with these new cabs i got. i like the menswear look of it. feels very fall to me. and speaking of fall--i am still freezing my ass off! if i had some wood i would burn it in wood-burning stove. the front part of the house is shaded which is great for the summer, but for the winter the room stays frigidly cold until i break down and put the heater on. i think we will get another 1/2 cord of wood delivered and have some cozy fall nights. the squirrels in the back yard are doing double duty gathering up stuff for their nests--and the dogs are driving me crazy at the glass door whining to get out at them. leave those poor little critters alone, dogs! they try to catch them but the squirrels win every time.

off to go clean up some more and play with the little one!

another cute treasury :)

with my little orange scarf at the bottom! :)

ack! it is the 18th already!

and i do mean ACK! i have so many things on the burners that need to be finished by the next few weeks so i don't get bogged down. i start to get that panicky feeling i hate so much if i let the projects just sit there staring at me for too long! i am waiting for some jewelry findings in the mail so hopefully those will come tonight so i can finish up all the pendants i have on the line, and also to take pictures. i have some cute new earrings ready to go, and i have some buttons that need finishing as well. not to mention the elephant patches. ACK! after this post i feel a self-imposed internet moratorium coming. i am going to revisit my shipping on my website tonight for sure, and until etsy does batch editing on the shipping profiles i am leaving those as they are. there is no way i am going through 50 listings to edit anything.

the weather here is COLD. it was damp and rainy for the past few days, but the temp was a shock to my system and i am just goose pimply inside the house which i hate. i also hate not being able to locate any of my warmer clothes in the clothes black hole in our room. basically i could use a good shopping session for some new basics. jeans, some sweaters and long-sleeved stuff comes to mind. and socks. i don't think i can find A sock much less a pair for both feet! yup, i need to go shopping before too long. if you blink it will be fall and all are saying this will be a cold, wetter winter than in the past and i thought last winter was cold and wet! i also heard more snow in the forecast. yay! as long as i am warm i love it...but i don't want to skip fall. i am actually looking forward to it coming. :)

etsy front page! woot!

ain't that nice i got a bunch of new hearts and some items favorited. i think i love the gal who added me in her treasury! she does some cute-assed crochet...:) if you squint you can see my polka dot earrings bottom left!

dinner smells so good

i can't believe they haven't made smell-o-vision computer style yet. shawn is making 'carrot-top' soup from a vegetarian cookbook by lindsey wagner. did you know the bionic woman was a veg? now you do.

i spent all morning making pendants, some for a custom order some for the site. i would like to make some stamped patches tomorrow of my little elephant and ginko on these fantastico vintage swatches of men's shirts, i think. lots of cotton pinstriping and dots. but with a decidedly men's ware feel. very cute. my mom found a treasure trove of stuff at an estate sale, including a couple pounds of vintage buttons. unbelievably cute vintage buttons! upon closer inspection the plastic flowers that are stackable are in a kit that is supposed to make swizzle sticks or buttoneers it said. i will have to take a picture of that box because it is retro-rific. i mean, swizzle sticks? hell yes!

thriftscore!

i found the little boy to match my little girl for my bathroom decor today at the thrift store and i feel strangely complete now :) you know how you pick up something that you think is missing it's mate but buy it anyway? that was with the little naked-butt girl. now i have her little naked-butt boyfriend to match. now my bathroom is stylin'!

i have got to do some crochet work tonight, i seriously have been slacking. i don't know if it is the sunny weather; feeling like it is the last blast for summer or what but i don't feel like sitting around crocheting much ha ha. or doing anything, actually! although tomorrow i have a date to sell at presents of mind. more hairpins...more and more. i will bring some pendants to see if they are interested now...i don't have the necklaces for them. they are on my to-do list for supplies. :)

other than that, not too much going on the NFB front. i will get word from the iheartrummage kind folks by friday if i get a spot for the sale. apparently they were overwhelmed with apps and had to cut some folks. i will letcha know, but i am crossing my fingers. i would really like to do that sale!

havin' a little sale :)

if you aren't local in portland and can't visit these lovely shops for never felt better swag...thank god for the internet! come visit the site and use the coupon code for a discount off your purchase. if you happen to be a loyal etsy-ite, convo me before paying and i will give you the same deal.

happy sunday!

featured in seattle picks!

ah good news to find on a friday for never felt better: i was featured in seattle's picks!

looks like i have gotten some good hits already and from the last time i was in the portland picks, i should expect some good things to come of it!

i have been silent for chatty-cathy me these last few days, but i am just trying to get organized and focused while balancing family stuff. it was my daughters first day back at the free school this last weds and we are just adjusting to that plus trying to keep the little one busy with activities here at home and out and about. so, with a routine in place and some small projects on the line (minus the one the dog got a hold of...darnit!) i am mildly busy and very busy at the same time if that is humanly possible! it comes in waves :)

more updates with to come....

oh just another sunday....

hanging out, doing chores...finding out marissa had her baby! WHAT? i just found out she had a happy baby girl! i was off my weight guess by 4 ounces but still 8.6 is nothing to sneeze at! you go girl. :)

and i have been a sale posting, flyer passing outer, new listing mutha if you know what i mean. taking new and hopefully more attractive pictures of the pendants, new scarves galore and also website updates up the ying for sure. let's hope some of this promotion pays and there is some action!