While you were sleeping...

Knit, Very Old One...

...Knit like the wind!

I am burning through the projects on my to-knit list (see below). I may have to realign things a bit to put some smaller projects higher on the list. Why, you ask? Because my LYS, Knitting Arts, has chosen this weekend to start their anniversary sale! (You'd think they'd be kind enough to put it off a month or two. Geez. At least until I could get my stash down to a manageable level!)

As a result, in order to stick to my pact, I must complete six more projects before Saturday. The sale goes on until 9/9. but everyone knows the good stuff will be gone the first morning!

I'm knitting as fast as I can!

In other areas of my life (are there other areas????), I have been listening to "On the Road" by Jack Kerouac. Can someone please explain this book to me? I've heard that it is a metaphor for the taoist way of life. Ummm...okay. I guess I will need to take my Borders 30 percent off coupon and go buy a copy of the CliffsNotes (which, I hate to say, I cannot find online).

Anyone? Anyone?

PS In keeping with the destash theme, tell me where I took the title quote from (and butchered it, I know), OR give me a good explanation of OTR, and DESTASH WILL BE YOURS!

I think it's time....

FOR A NEW CONTEST!

Back to school just puts me in the best mood (most of the time). I love fall, and it's my favorite time of year in Northern California. So in celebration of my kids getting out of the house and in celebration of my attempts at de-stashing, let's do a contest!

Hmmm... how about everyone leave me a comment or send me an email telling me one "first day of school" memory. I'll do a random drawing and some lucky someone will get some de-stash from me! Could be a magazine, yarn, a pattern, scrapping stuff, a book... who knows???

I'll start. Here's a picture of me on my first day of kindergarten in 1974.

Please note the saddle oxfords. My mother wouldn't let me get normal tennis shoes. I had to get ugly blue deck shoes. "Shoes with stripes are for boys!" she told me on more than one occasion. Revenge is sweet -- her first granddaughter, Kinsey, can often be seen sporting her brother's hand-me-downs, including shoes and underwear. :)

Tell me about you!

Good Thing my Hubby Doesn't Read This UPDATED!

Isn't it funny that some of the people closest to me don't read my blog? And in this case, that's a good thing.

He discovered the hidden yarn stash. I am banned from buying more yarn for the time being.

Wanna hear something funny? "How many balls of yarn do you think you have?" he asked me today. "Oh Bear (I call him "Bear"), I don't know," I replied. "I'm guessing you're going on 100," he said.

I almost fell out of bed laughing.

100?

If he only knew...!

Okay, so here's the deal -- no more yarn until I complete 10 projects. The projects thus far scheduled are (with the estimated # of balls after):

1. Sally's Favorite Summer Sweater DONE!

2. Washrag for my Mason-Dixon swap DONE!

3. Washrag for me using the same pattern. DONE!

4. Pair of socks #1 for the Sock-A-Month contest (2)

5. Pair of socks #2 (Ditto) (2)

6. Washrag for Kinsey! DONE!

7.  Shrug for Kinsey DONE!

8. Chim-Chim hat for Ford DONE!

9. Washrag for Ben (1) DONE!

10. Bee Sweet Magic Ball Scarf DONE!

Reviewing this list, I see that the projects aren't going to make a huge dent in my stash problem. But at least I'll be feeling a little less guilty! And as far as "Bear" is concerned, I will have used up over 1/4 of my stash. ;)

Quote Unquote

Two for today:

Clutter is anything unfinished, unused, unresolved, tolerated, or disorganized. When we clear our clutter we get into our power and create a space for new things to come into our lives. You will have more energy and creativity to design your life to reflect your authentic self. (Vicky White)

Besides the noble art of getting things done, there is the noble art of leaving things undone. The wisdom of life consists of the elimination of nonessentials. (Lin Yutang)

I was looking for quotes about letting go and clearing out. If you could see my office and my craft room (closet!) right now, you would know how important it is that I learn some of these lessons!

I like to think about getting power from letting go, about making room for something new to come. I also like to think about the elimination of nonessentials. If something isn't essential to my family, to my relationship with God, to my growth as a person -- why am I holding on? I can let go IN LOVE. I can say goodbye AS A BLESSING. I can act from a place of heart and faith, not from a place of anger and bitterness. Ahhh... just thinking about it makes me feel good!

My life is changing -- I know that. This has been a year of transitions for me. New beginnings. Starting over. And all that means letting go. It's hard. But it's okay. It's more than okay -- it's necessary, and good.

I took a big (BIG!) bag of books to the library to donate yesterday. I'd been holding on to it hoping to take it to the second hand bookstore so I could exchange them for -- you guessed it! -- more books. But instead, I just let them go. And it was okay. I just lost 30 lbs. Don't I look good??? ;)

What are you letting go of? What helps you say goodbye?

Overwhelm.

I don't know if it's the autumn feel to the air or simply returning to the office after a week away, but I am OVERWHELMED! My son started third grade today (where does the time go???) and my older daughter starts first next week... Amazing. I know all you parents out there feel the same, so I won't go into details about my angst over that. Instead, I'll focus on my angst about all the STUFF that is cluttering my life!

Why is it that even when I know I need to let go of something, I still have trouble sending it on its way? Whether it's a friendship or social obligation that's run its course, or a craft item that I know I will never use again... I **know** it's for my own good, but I still think of a thousand reasons to keep it! I don't want to donate those books -- I'll take them to the used bookstore instead. I don't want to toss out that cardstock -- I'll keep it for a class I'm teaching to kids who don't care if it's "last" season's. I want to respectfully bow out of a group -- but what if I hurt someone's feelings??? On and on it goes, until I am literally (and figuratively) fighting to keep my head above water.

I know I am not the only one who suffers from this disorder. What do you all think? How do you let go when it's time??

The Scoop

Most of the photos are uploaded, most of the laundry is done, and I'm mostly caught up on my email! Of course, a zillion work projects to do now that I'm back, and school starts this week... but who's counting?? ;)

Here's a long update on my day-by-day classes for Art Unraveled. Please feel free to skip right to the photo album. I won't be offended!

Tuesday: Claudine's class during the day. We created 3-d cigar-box shadow boxes, using a variety of background textures and painting techniques. My favorite part was learning how to do "crackle paint" with Elmer's Glue-All, and creating a lumpy background using masking tape. So cool! Click here and here for my projects.

Tuesday night: Bev's class on The Full Page Layout. Crazy! Slapping paint on the page, lumping it up, cutting and pasting... Here's my work in progress and here is the end result. Jen and Bev; Bev and me.

Wednesday: Juliana Coles' Visual Journal class. We dove deep into our inner selves to create some funky pages. We were trying to combine our words and images to answer questions about our lives. Hard to explain in a few sentences, but it was INTENSE. Not for the weak of heart!

Wednesday night: Kelly Kilmer's Mixed Media Postcards. I don't have photos yet so you'll just have to be patient. I made it into a book instead of cutting it into postcards. Can't wait to start playing with it again!

Thursday: Vintage Funk with Karyn Gartel. Very light! Funky, colorful, and fun. I made the most adorable little picture for John for our 11th anniversary (yesterday!) but he must have taken it to the office (or thrown it in the back of the closet -- ahhah!) because I can't find it to take a picture! But you can see this and this.

Thursday night: Gail Russakov's Bold Bag Books. I've made albums from paper bags before, but this was way artsy-er. Did YOU know what "punchinellos" were??? Start here and keep on clicking.

I've got a bunch of other pics in the album, so click on through. You can see me with Kim, a pic of me in my glasses, me with Kathy, and MORE. So don't miss them. :)

I'll have more info and updates for you as the week progresses, but I wanted to lay all this on ya to give you an idea of how I'm spending my money. ;)

Over and done

Hola from the southwest!

What a week -- I MADE ART! :) So fun... loved just about every minute. Even the 100-plus heat! It actually didn't bother me that much -- even on my twice-daily treks to Starbucks. Didn't get into the pool, which I'm bummed about, but I did do so much that I can't have too many regrets.

Highlights-

*Spending the week with Jennifer. I cannot tell you how much it means to me to be friends with her. Our friendship has been a blessing in so many ways. We've known each other for about five years, and she knows some of the ickiest stuff about me, and she still loves me! And even beyond that, she's one of my biggest fans!!! LOVE HER.

*Meeting my teachers -- I listed them in another post, and you'll see some new names appearing on the "Good Things" list, so check them out if you get a chance. Each one was inspiring in a different way. Kelly, Karyn, Gail, Bev, Juliana, Claudine -- AWESOME artists and so generous with their knowledge.

*Meeting some great crafters! I was definitely on the younger end of the age spectrum, but it didn't matter -- I think the women there got a kick out of my sassiness. I know I loved getting them giggling and laughing!

*Meeting Kim Kwan. What an amazing, exciting woman! I tell you, the fun and energy just crackles around her. WOW! And to share dinner with her and her two beautiful daughters -- a trip highlight, for sure!

Okay, I'm at the airport and don't have much battery power so I'm going to close now. I'll post some photos this weekend. Lots of fun stuff -- some better than others, but all made with HEART.

Hot and Dirty

Okay, let me just tell you HOW AWESOME this conference is! I've got paint on my face, paint on my shirt, paint under my fingernails - and I LOVE IT. LOVE the dirty hands. LOVE LOVE LOVE it.

I'll post pics of my projects when I get back. I've got some cute shadow boxes from Claudine's class. A great beginning to an art journal from Bev Brazelton's class. An incredible visual journal from Juliana Coles. And tonight I'm taking Mixed Media Postcards. More tomorrow and tomorrow night, too! Each class has been so different. Each class has been amazing in its own way. Each teacher is unique and inspirational. SOO fun.

It is tiring, too.

Observations:

-Phoenix is hot. Darned hot. VERY hot. And surprisingly humid

-The Michaels here is MUCH better than the Michaels by us (all three of them)

-The strip mall should be made illegal. It's making every community look like every other community all over the nation. I might as well be in Nebraska or San Ramon or Orlando.

-Some workshop attendees are a bit... grumpy. I don't get it -- this is so fun!

-When you find someone who you like as much in person as you did online and on the phone, GIVE HER A BIG HUG! Jennifer is just awesome. LOVE her.

Okay, that's all for now.

Stars in my eyes...

The day started out so ordinary, with the usual round of chores and issues (flat tire, no cash, I need an iced tea and I need it NOW!). How was I to know that amazing things would happen in the next few hours?

Amazing star sighting #1: I got to the airport, made it through security (after they swabbed each and every one of my Pro-Max Protein Bars). I was hanging out at Southwest gate 5 and whom should I see but Superbowl QB Jim Plunkett! And what's more, he was on my flight!!! I even could have sat next to him but he and another large man had the aisle and window seats, and I did not want to be squished for the whole flight to Phoenix, so I had to satisfy myself with making a mental note so I could tell y'all all about it!

Amazing star sighting #2: I got off the plane, grabbed my bags, took the shuttle to the hotel, and as I stepped off the bus I heard a very distinctive voice... none other than Ms. Claudine Hellmuth! I approached her and said, "I knew I recognized your voice!" She was very nice but obviously thought I was completely nuts as we've never met before. So she smiled, we exchanged comments about migraines, and then I tried to slink off without being too obnoxious. I will be in her class all day tomorrow, so I can convince her that I am really as crazy as I seem at first glance.

Amazing star sighting #3: As if that weren't enough... I got changed and went downstairs to catch the shuttle back to Michael's as I was short one small bottle of gesso and an 11x14 inch piece of plexiglass. I'm sitting there on the bench waiting when what to my wondering eyes should appear but the lovely Kathy Cano Murillo, the Crafty Chica herself! And the best part -- SHE recognized ME!!! She gave me a big hug and we exchanged complaints about straightening our hair only to have it look like rain... Ah, hobnobbing with the bigwigs! We are going to have lunch tomorrow -- how cool is that???

Anyway, I'm sitting here at Borders trying to capture everything for my loyal readers... And then when I get back to my room it won't be long before...

....Yes, you guessed it!

Amazing star sighting #4! I am sharing a room with none other than the Comfort Queen, Jennifer Louden. I love this woman. We have only met in person once, but I feel like we've been friends for a very long time (actually, it has been a few years...). She is just awesome, and I am so looking forward to spending time with her.

Okay, that's enough for now. But I'll tell you if I run into anyone else noteworthy. ;)

On the Road Again

Hello all you party people!

I'm off for the airport in just a few minutes. Have to get there like two hours early so I can make it through security -- they need to make sure I'm not carrying any explosive lip gloss or mascara. ;) Better leave my Lip Venom at home! All that spiciness may make me suspicious.

I am so excited... tonight I am meeting Carlene, and tomorrow not only do I get to take a class with Claudine Hellmuth; I also get to hang with Kathy, the Crafty Chica herself! Cannot wait. She and I have corresponded via e-mail, and now I get to meet her in person... so cool!

I will try to post when I am gone. I'll take tons of pics!

Happy Monday, all!