Habits of a Knitter and other last minute New Years things

Are you a knitter?  If you are, there's got to be some habits you know about, either you do this or you don't.  I'm one.  Here's some habits for what to do with your cable needles!!  Where do you put them when you know you are going to need them soon and you don't want to be hunting it down?

Sometimes, they fall to the floor and you've got to get up and dig for them or sift.  Some things I like to do with mine are either hang it off a knitting basket on my end table, stick it into my sweater as a lapel pin sort of.  Or I like to wear the knitted skirts I've made and I stick the needle into my skirt.

Or my afghans are good to do that too.  Plus, for me, when my cats jump up on me, their claws don't hurt so much if I've got my afghan on.  I've got two, one my Nana made once and another one I got at a yard sale.  For a while, I had to figure out which one was from my Nana and which wasn't.  I figured out hers is tighter and washed more, so that's how I can tell them apart.

There's always the mouth for putting the cable needle for a split second, but I prefer not to do that too often.  Ah, the life of a seamstress, huh?  Pins in the mouth while fixing a hem.  Or, they probably prefer having one of those wrist pin cushions.

Still want to try that Martha Stewart framed pincushion sometime.  I've got my frame, just haven't found the time to gather my velvet.  And I think she uses a certain supply for inside that will sharpen your needles.  I will have to dig it up later to see what it was.

The other habit for the cable needles is either my ear, like the pens and pencils in my ear.  I get that habit from my Dad.  We've got old pictures of him with his pen in his ear.

Today, I stuck it into the side of my hair like a barrette.  What we do so we have those by our side for the row that calls for the cable needle.

Well, there's still some hours left to this year and I'm working on trying to stay up to midnight.  I finished one headband this morning that will be ready for Etsy later on.  I've been pleasantly surprised to see a quicker sign of favoriting my items on the shop.  I'm going to make myself a regular to the community and hope my shop picks up in 2014!  I've got a little over 30 items there now and should concentrate on keeping it stocked.

I got my first art print for sale in there yesterday and someone already favorited it.  Tiger Girl!  That drawing I did a few months ago is available as an 8 X 10 print.

I decided I am ready to draw tonight before the year is out and to do some more editing to The Glorious Money Tree.  I felt good getting all the way through once and then I've gone back to the fifteenth chapter to do some more detailed editing.  I'm going to work my way through to the later chapters over the next few days and get my most recent chapters in.

But, I've been thinking of doing that drawing I wanted to finish before the year is out.  I got half a dish cloth done earlier, and an orange cabled headband for my sister for sometime.  I can finish those within the next few days probably.

My grammy's pattern:  Knitted Dishcloth

Cast on 4 stitches

on size 6 needles

Knit 2, yarn over, knit to end.

Continue in this pattern until you get to 45 sts.

Then, knit 1, k2tog, yarn over, k2tog, then knit across row.

Continue this row until you get to 4 sts left.  Bind off.

I've memorized this pattern.  I'm sure many knitters who love dishcloths probably have this pattern as it is a really basic one.

I happened to discover I had more cotton yarn than I remembered having and am going to whip up a few more of these.

Cleaned up my black marker collection and my girls are going to get a few.  I had to throw out a bunch as after a long time, the ink dries up.  My favorites are the Bic markers, fine point from the grocery store.  I think they are just as nice as the art store brands.

Well, I'm going to scoot as I've got some things I want to accomplish before the year is out!  And if I can make it to midnight without getting sleepy!!!

Coffee, coffee, coffee.  Draw, draw and draw some more.

That's another new year's resolution for me is to draw more often.  I forgot how fun it is.

Happy New Year!!

Jennifer Jo Fay

Copyrighted December 31, 2013

The half knitted dishcloth and that yellow cabled headband to the right is mine.  The basket from my youngest that the cable needle hangs from sometimes.  My J.Low cup I sometimes like to use.  The Prada headband pattern, that I've got to write on a new index card sometime.  It's getting kind of torn.  While waiting for my laundry to be done, I got the start to the dishcloth.  I love making them sometimes as they are so quick and easy.

The orange start of a cabled headband for my sister and her blonde hair.  Loving that cabled pattern and it seems to whip up quickly.  This one I am using some smaller needles for.  Size 4mm I think or one size lower.

The black fine tip marker stash.  I had to throw out some of them.  Felt good to clean things up and my tools are ready to draw shortly after this post.  I want to actually say I finished that Emily Parker drawing.  I got thinking after I do that one, I should look for some nice ones to do of the other angels from Sandy Hook.

Here's the cabled headband I finished this morning.  I was using a bulky acrylic yarn that I had gotten at a yard sale, unraveled to re use the yarn.  It's a thicker one and within the next few days I will try to have it listed on Etsy.

http://jfaypaperdolls.etsy.com/

Oh, To Be Well Educated

One thing is so true in life is that we should always strive to be well educated.  As a young child we are told that we should read, read, read, learn, learn, learn and then some more.  It seems we can often go on into later life without realizing that we will never stop this process.

This way of life.  It becomes automatic that we know each new day is going to bring a new learning experience of some sort.  Like yesterday, I learned I was mispronouncing Pharaoh.  My oldest was quick to tell me the correct pronunciation.

Sometimes we all get in ruts where we don't think we maybe need to learn something, but then we later on decide that hey it was a good thing to learn something new and take it into our daily routines.

Like the cleaning out of our clutter, in the fact we strive to find new ways to deal with our surroundings to make things less complicated.

What about branching out into the unknown?  Things you perhaps never knew about!  My son just got accepted to the college of his choice and is going to study Archaeology.  I've decided to take a keen interest in it as well so I can have more to talk about with him on the subject.

As I've been thinking of all that and mythology, I'm foreseeing that any of it could possibly crop up in some new novel of mine.  My son will branch off in his own direction and I will mine.  So, I've been just doing a little research into any aspect of Archaeology and it just seems like there are so many outlets for it.

I may take an interest in the Anasazi for which was a part of my Mother's interests.  She loved the Indians.  She went to New Mexico once, came back and said she had looked into a real Indian's eyes and she became fascinated with Indians.  She bought some postcards and a poster of an Indian painting.  And one year, I had framed a Georgia O'Keeffe poster of The Pueblos.

As writers, I believe we are inclined to be constantly researching ideas for our novels.  They can come from anywhere.  Even Ebay, I decided to research old antique bibles for some reason.  Oh, number one!  I've never read the bible all the way through!  So, a few nights ago, I pulled out my CHILDREN'S LIVING BIBLE.

To which, I bet it's very tame.  I'm not sure if I will read it all the way through, but anyway I started looking at antique bibles and sent a few into my Evernote just for research.  I'm sort of thinking maybe I could have a character that is going to collect them perchance.  Who knows.

Just saying, sometimes we just need to research any aspect of something.  Maybe you need to know about a certain place before you start creating your setting for your book.  You can't write a book based in Africa or Argentina if you do not know anything about it.

It's diving into the unknown that stirs us into pushing our boundaries as writers or artists and to become more educated is great.

The reason we need to get our constructive thinking by reading all the time.  I'm slowly gaining my book collection back with books I would like to read at some point.

I passed on Martha Stewart at Goodwill as I got Egyptians and another book instead, but she will be on my list.  I opened up to her Nancy Drew chapter and I would like to at some point read about her life starting out.

And Patsy Cline.  My goal next year would be to begin reading a few biographies on some famous people.  I find it fascinating to know more about how the got to where they are or to know more about what their lives were like.

Who do you think you would be most like as a person, if you were to compare yourself to famous people.  My favorite has always been Katharine Hepburn, but when I learned she was a little careless at the world, that's where I would differ.

I've grown to try to be a really cautious driver.  Which is why I do not like texting while driving or talking on the phone very much.  Do not like to text at that point, have done it occasionally but don't like to.  I'm remembering a FB picture someone posted where the cops said they found his phone in the front seat and his head was in the back.

DO NOT TEXT AND DRIVE!!!

Finally got my knitted pile of things I want to sell photographed so that will be my next feat to list them on my Etsy shop.  jfaypaperdolls.etsy  

Things to do, things to do.  Besides educating ourselves.  To keep ourselves educated makes us more aware of open doors, learning anything new that is going to help us evolve as a person.

Oh, and I had to learn something new last night, how to look up how much memory is in my phone.  I called my phone company as I had two very important phone texts, one to two people and somehow these two messages got deleted out of my phone.  Not by me at all.  So the girl walks me through how to check my memory and turns out that I have plenty of memory, so it's a mystery how those very important messages disappeared on me.

I resent it to the two people and then I documented what happened on paper as well, to make sure it got documented in a few places.  I'm sure they deleted it on their end, but I didn't like it got deleted out of my phone when I wanted them saved.

Oh, well.  Learned another important thing about how my phone works.

I'm going to try and be a night owl tonight and see how much I can get done!  Was doing those cabled headbands and a pink one has to end up being for my niece as I goofed and I feel I don't want to sell one where the cable pattern went awry.

That's why after you see this pile of knitting to sell, I immediately put it into a bag so my cats can't get to it and do some wreckage.

Oh, how many more days to the new year?  I'm gonna say three as I don't have a calendar handy.  I should hang one right above my laptop!  Perchance a Twilight one!  Me being the Twilight fan!  Yeaha!!!!

I can hardly wait for 2014!!!!!!  I should see if I can stay up for the ball to drop!!!!!

Jennifer Jo Fay

Copyrighted December 28, 2013

 One of the most recent headbands from the cable pattern I am using.  And there's the cookies below that didn't hold their shape of course.  We didn't chill them long like you are supposed to do.

Here's the headband where I goofed on the pattern so my niece is gonna get lucky later this year.  My coconut and kiwi lotion my daughter gave me for Christmas, the torn up Prada pattern and a favorite pen.  It's cool to have some favorite pens you always want to reach for,  Oh, and the little basket that the rest of the bath products came in.  Makes a neat little container for the small knitting projects.  I'm foreseeing a lot of cabled headbands as I've got TONS OF YARN!!!

I'm not buying any more yarn unless I see some at Goodwill or Yardsales.  Work with what I've got!  I could go fifty years on what I've got most likely but as the old knitting motto goes, THERE IS ALWAYS ROOM FOR MORE YARN!!!

The pile.

My hutch is littered with tea cups and stuff.  That's a high school picture of me light years ago!!!

Ah......  THE NUTCRACKERS!!!!  Ha ha ha ha!!!!!!  They all are packed away as of yesterday.  My ex's girlfriend has packed all the Christmas stuff away and so have I with my small amount of Christmas decorations.  My seven inch tree and a Christmas bread loaf pan.  The little gift size ones.

The Elf on the Shelf.  I had a silent laugh knowing my ex's girlfriend probably told him I put popcorn, rice, salt and some cereal nut clusters in with his present as I think he conveniently opened his present over the trash can in the kitchen.  He knew it had a little something extra in it!!!  Ha ha ha!!!!!!  Darn it!!!  I wanted to watch him open it and see it all fall on the floor!!!  Damn!!!

Below is a bunch of the things I've got to begin listing on Etsy.  As you can see I will be busy with this in a little while and hopefully can get it all listed within today and tomorrow.  And then to knit some more and to edit some more.

I did get started on the very first chapter of Lolita Lob it Off.  I didn't want to wait and I just got handwriting the chapter.  It's not the one I should focus on at the moment, but I just decided to get a beginning established.

When we go to write, we just let it pour out.

Counting down the days to Happy 2014!!!!!

Just a few days away and we will be counting down the hours, minutes and sheer seconds to the ball dropping.  Happy New Year!!!  2014.

Talking on the phone with my older daughter, she started to say tick tock, tick tock.  Not quite thinking at the moment why she was saying it, I then began to sing Sing a Song of Sixpence.  I've had that song in my head since Christmas morning.  I think I remembered most of it but got a little loss of memory on the part about the maid.  Was remembering the queen was in the parlor eating bread and honey.

At first I got thinking it better not mean time is up.  We don't want our tick tock hearts to say time is up.  Thinking though, hey, New Years is almost here and the clock is going to go tick tock!!!

Anyway, the new year!!!  I think I got preparing for it today by starting to figure out the bills.  Wish we could have a new year huh where we could just toss all those out the door!!  AS IF!!!!  Anyway, it felt good to just get everything ready to go.

Even going through paperwork and cleaning up was a good thing.  Just ripping up the things we don't need in our lives is great.  That paper pile just adds up and we save it for a rainy day.

Ella, my siamese tortie point was requesting lap time.  She likes to curl up like a baby as I hold her and rock in my rocking chair.  I love my cats.  I told my girls I got Skype so we can video chat on some days I'm not there visiting them.  They always get a phone call, but that would be fun to Skype each other.

Laying off the FB for a little while and I'm just going to be blogging here and working on the novels, recipe books and the other stuff.  Drawings etc...

FB has been my venting and it's private friends and family.  Nobody should threaten me to make it public as it is NOT!  I'm done venting there, but I want them to do me justice someday should I ever find any uninvited man in my apt.  I just pray to god it never happens.  NO RIGHT!!

I do not want my FB friends to ever shove me under the carpet.

I found myself doing my To Do List also today.  Just pondering some things I want to tackle at some point from now and into the beginning of the new YEAR!!!!  And the dishes got done!!!

I've slowly been going into the novel and began to edit.  I've got to work more on that and then get a few of my new chapters in.  I know it's going to take time and yesterday, I just felt like finishing up a cabled headband and started a new one.  It's smaller projects that get done quicker, as I still need time for the knitting.

It's a Prada cabled headband I found a few years back on someone's blog.  I hadn't made it in a long time and wanted to do some more of them.  I'm wearing a yellow one right now for me and will probably try to sell a few of the other ones on Etsy.

To which is the other thing on my to do list to take pictures of some of the knitted items I want to sell on Etsy.  I tackled the Ebay pile and next is the Etsy pile.  Got thinking last week, I should start offering some 8 X 10's of some of my drawings and maybe that would be productive as well.  I'm thinking $12 to $15 is a good price for one on good photo paper.  Just thinking at this point, but that could be cool to sell some copies of my drawings.

Makes me think of the photo greeting cards I used to do too.  Food for thought.  If only I had extra hands which would be quite creepy!!!  My sister thought six hands on a person would be creepy.  Yes!!!  But just saying, we all wish we had extra hands to do everything we want to get done.

Time just seems to evaporate!!!  What do you wish to do in the NEW YEAR?  I think it always is a really fun thing to look forward to.  Good things hopefully.  I'm totally done with having BAD THINGS!!!!  I just want peace, love and happiness.

Oh, I want no Ghost Writer ever for my novels.  I don't want any greedy person ever cashing in on me and have me Ended in the process.  That's not RIGHT!!!  The only people to ever make money off me should be my kids and they will have to wait until I'm old and gray.  Or much older.  It would be kind of fun to see my paper doll business take off and my girls could help me with it if they want.

I remember once in a local Art League I belonged to that we had a speaker come visit who had a family business.  One of the other women in the group said I have something unique and she could see a family business out of it.  The thing that becomes the hardest thing is to get it off the ground and established.  That is the hardest part for anyone starting out as an entreprenuer.

I'm not a huge fan of to do lists anymore but sometimes it is just fun to write one out in case you forget something you need or want to do.

Oh, I never sign anything over to anyone, EVER.  Except my kids a long time from now.  Right now, it would put their dad in charge and I don't want that EVER!!!

But, if I work very hard at my pipe dream or at least a decent dream, I would definitely be able to help my children.  "How much you need, dear?  Five grand?  Don't break Mommy's bank!!"  Just kidding.  As a struggling writer, who knows right?  We don't really know what will happen to our books once we are done writing and are ready to publish.

We trust in the faith we have written something we feel proud of and if the audience we write for loves it, that's a special bonus!  I feel I write from the heart and if I can touch upon another's soul, that's wonderful.

Oh, a Battered Woman never makes anything up.  Just saying.  I don't want to touch much on that as I've written other posts more on this, but I want to stress this.  It's continuing and I've told someone to make it stop!  I'm not married anymore.

I just don't want my tick tock time up.  Nobody should ever threaten me that my time is almost up.  Not funny.

I will not have that happen ever, because I am a VERY STRONG WOMAN!!!!  As with any other woman would agree, if ever there is an intruder in your home, you have the right to attack and defend with anything that is in your apt.  I pray it never happens.

I just don't want to get my whole trilogy done and have someone make me sign it all over to them.  Not cool in my book.  I sign nothing for nobody, EVER.

Anyway, we have a few days left of this year to finish off and enjoy.  I'm going to take this time to enjoy my kids, do some editing, editing and editing, knitting, and some other things.  Including that thought on my cover art.

We can never do it all at once, that's for sure.  I wish we could.  I should read my books on formatting at some point too.  I'm going to end up dropping off my Katharine Hepburn library book too.  I'm going to just have to end up buying the book so I can read it at my leisure.

Anyway, have a HAPPY NEW YEAR as I  AM GOING TO HAVE A HAPPY NEW YEAR!!!!

My goal for the new year is to be much more productive in the WRITING DEPARTMENT!!!!!  And maybe next November, I should see if I can write a novel in a month.  Hmmm...  maybe that is when Lolita Lob it Off gets done?????

Or even a new un-thought of book gets thought up.

I'm going to work on another goal of just trying to NOT WORRY AS MUCH.  I can't control what I cannot control, but I CAN ALWAYS CONTROL ME!!!

Trying hard to not let get others get the best of me is a constant struggle, but it's what we all should try to not let others do it to us.

And my most important goal besides my four children is to KEEP MEAN PEOPLE AT BAY!!!

It seems like every year holds a little bit of the bad or just conflicts.  I don't think any of us can escape that completely.  If it's not one thing, it's something else that crops up.

Jennifer Jo Fay

Copyrighted December 26, 2013

This is a picture of my kids little friend's dog, Lola.  It was taken last year, when my kids had a new sister in the family for a little while.  A very pretty dog.  I thought it was a really nice gesture of the little girl's mother to let my girls keep their cat, Daisy.

Maybe, next I will take some pictures of Daisy to put on here.  Doesn't Lola just look like she wants peace.  Peace, love and happiness is always a pet's way of putting extra love into our lives.

I love my cats and I think if one ever got old and gray, I would have to get a new one.  Still sort of thinking of someday maybe having a pug dog, but it won't be where I'm living now.  Who knows.

I'm just thinking of what they could chew on.  After seeing my sister's golden retriever puppy, Ripley take off with my niece's knitting, I'm thinking hmmm....  do I want a dog?  Love cats.

The Essex Junction Deaths and Why We must all make a Stand to End all Violence in this world we call ours!

Oh, what a sad grim thing to have happened.  It was only yesterday, I was with my children and my ex came in and said there was a death incident in the Essex Junction area.  I couldn't wait till eleven to listen to the news report, got involved in something else way more fun and knew at some point I had to go see what it was about being so close to home.

As I was talking to my oldest, I learned that the father had killed his son and then he committed suicide.  My son didn't know the teen but he does know the daughter.  It just hit me with an overwhelming grief for a family who now is in mourning over the deaths, I'm sure greatly saddened by the death of her son.

I can't begin to tell you how this just made me feel about an act of violence and then he took the coward's way out over what he did.  How a man can commit murder is a truly terrible thing.  I don't care if he's done it himself, or whether any man can have someone else do it for him, whatever the situation may be.  How can a man end his son's young life?????

Why do people feel they need to kill another human being?  Why do people feel they have to threaten another person is beyond me.  Our world is filled with the meanest people on earth.  I've met a bunch of them and I hope to never EVER be their next news story in any violent death.  I HATE MEAN PEOPLE!!!!!!!

And why do people feel it is their DIVINE RIGHT TO HACK ANOTHER PERSON"S PRIVATE LIFE??????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????  It's NEVER EVER THEIR RIGHT!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

Why DO MEN BATTER??????  NO ABUSE IS GOOD ABUSE!!!!!!!!  I don't care if it's physical or emotional, neglect, verbal or any other type of abuse.  STOP DOING WHAT YOU DO!!!  Someday all these men who feel they can batter their women in any way, shape or form will someday if they will never fess up to what they did, will have to spend some time in PURGATORY someday for what they have done before any angel is going to let them into HEAVEN!!!!  I don't care if they never admit what they did or say sorry now, any man who has battered is going to have to someday face the fact that what they have done is WRONG!!!

It not only hurts the woman, it hurts the children and everyone who knows the one who has been abused and wronged.

I don't care what the man's reason for behind what he does, it's NEVER OKAY!!!!!!

That poor mother has got to know that everyone will be by her side and her daughter's in this awful crime that took her son's life.  I do not know you, but I am by your side, thinking of you in this time of loss and I pray that you can find it in your heart to get passed the anger someday that he took your son away from you.
Oh, I would just hate for that to ever happen to my kids and as a mother, I feel your pain.  The grief of losing a child is unbearable.  The thought of it just makes me so upset at all the violence in our world.

It's Christmas time and what the world needs is for LOVE, PEACE, HARMONY, HOPE AND HAPPINESS!!!  Helping Hands!!!  My mother once was in a commercial for Vaseline, Helping Hands.  ALL THOSE GOOD PEOPLE IN OUR WORLD AND ALL GOODNESS, KINDNESS, SIMPLE ACTS that help others should be made universal.

LIKE I'VE SAID SO MANY TIMES, AND I WILL BE AN ADVOCATE FOR THIS FOREVER UNTIL I'M OLD AND GRAY, LET US END ALL SUICIDE IN THE WORLD AS WELL!!!  WE SHOULD ALL JUST DIE NATURALLY, AND HOPEFULLY LIVE A FULL LIFE.  THAT IS IF WE CAN STOP CANCER AND OTHER DISEASE!

KILLING OTHERS IS WRONG!!!!!!!!   WHY ARE THERE DRUGS, DRUG RINGS, SEX CRIMES, PORN, DRUG TRAFFICING, BATTERERS, COLD BLOODED KILLERS, THREATENERS, HARASSERS, HACKERS OF ANY KIND, MEAN PEOPLE, PEOPLE WHO JUST AS SOON END SOMEONE'S LIFE IF BELIEVED THE GOOD PERSON IS A PROBLEM, OR ANY OTHER TERRIBLE REASON TO END ANYONE'S LIFE!!!!!!!!

THREATS ARE THREATS AND ARE NOT TAKEN LIGHTLY!!!!!!!!

GO TO PLUTO!!!!!!  I WISH BAD PEOPLE WOULD BE BURIED ON PLUTO!!!!!!  THE POOR SANDY HOOK ANGELS!!!  THE BATMAN MURDERS!!!!

Or when a family man just thinks he can take a life.  DOMESTIC VIOLENCE OF ALL KINDS NEEDS TO BE STOPPED BEFORE A DEATH HAPPENS.

It's not always easy to recognize the signs of domestic violence though.  Sometimes it stays hidden forever.  A man can scare a woman into worrying for herself and her children.  All it sometimes takes is even the mention of a gun and that can just make a woman see a red flag.  The mention of anything.  I don't care how a man does it, it's wrong.

We just don't know what any BATTERER IS TRULY THINKING.  We as women just know we don't like it and PLEASE STOP!!!

Like Lenore L. Walker stated in her book, A woman is the best judge as to whether or not she has been BATTERED.  SHE DOES NOT LIE!!!!!!!


We are put on this world for a reason, we do not know when our time is truly up, and our path has already been chosen for us even though we do not understand it all until someday when our lives have been fullfilled and we understand the true meaning of our paths of existence.

Good always wins out over this terrible EVIL that invades our Earth every day.  We see it in all walks of life how Corrupt our society is and we are just trying to make it all stop.

Some of it is just beyond our control and sometimes we cannot do a thing about it, but what we can control is OURSELVES!!!  We should all try to not let other's take away our self esteem, all that is good and strong in us, find ways to make our communities a better place to live in.

Just hearing today that all those students are seeking solace within their classmates, teachers, counselors and others who wish GOODWILL ON EARTH makes me feel better that they can express their feelings with each other and try to move past a horrible event that just doesn't make sense.

And for people to try to understand why the father did what he did?  And to try to find a way to someday forgive him.  It will ultimately set everyone free.  It's a very hard thing to do, but as one of my uncles once said, "FORGIVENESS IS A GIFT OF HIGH VALUE. BUT IT COSTS VERY LITTLE TO GIVE."  Thank-you to my uncle as that is one of the greatest gifts he has EVER given me and I will never forget it.

And what doesn't kill you will always make you stronger.  There of so many strong people in the world silently holding hands with another human being, praying with them, just simply being there in their time of need.

All it takes is another person to reach out to another and simply listen.  Nobody is ever truly alone.  Even if you are physically alone.  All happiness begins with yourself and you can either let anything get the best of you or you can choose to rise about anything and continue with what you need to do in your life.

No path is right or wrong, but it's OUR CHOICES IN LIFE AND OURS ALONE that is going to make it better for you and your family or what's right for me and mine.

I'm a good listener and I take all good advice and even the bad advice because we can learn from anything and take it into our happy existence called MY LIFE!!!!

And even when people do the absolute meanest things to another person, it becomes your resource to FORGE AHEAD.  AND IT AS WELL BECOMES THE WRITERS RESOURCE.  SORRY MEAN PEOPLE, IT IS WHAT IT IS AND WE HAVE EVERY RIGHT TO USE IT IN OUR FICTION, VENTING JOURNALS OR OTHER WRITING.  YOU HAVE NO RIGHT TO TAKE THAT AWAY FROM US!!!

TO MY MEAN PEOPLE, YOUR NAMELESS but ITS MY RIGHT TO USE SNIPPETS IN MY FICTION.

And if a horrible thing has happened to anyone, they all have the right to express it with others as the victims, every single right to vent in a private journal and it's ours alone.  No mean person has the right to go and erase someone's private journals or anything else.

How dare you threaten a VICTIM of any sort not to vent!!!!!  THAT'S absolutely horrible of you.

STOP ALL EVIL.  You are bad.  And if you just will not stop even if someone tells you over and over to STOP IT, how dare you even continue.  Obviously no kind bone in your bodies.

And a cold blooded killer is just EVIL.  We want to stop hearing about all crime in the world.  Yet, we are forced all the time to hear about another bad thing someone has just done.

PURE EVIL AND PURE ASS!!!!


Jennifer Jo Fay

Copyrighted December 19, 2013

Sometimes everything has a use

It seems like there's always some new article about clutter.  2014 is almost upon us and the cleaning feeling is going to get us in the mood to get rid of things.  Every time I go to look at a magazine there's new tips about how to solve the clutter dilemma.  I enjoy looking at them as you never know what you are going to see that will help you with a good tip for a problem solver on your space issues.

I love looking at the Martha Stewart magazines and when I'm done with them, I bring them back for new ones at the library swaps.  Two of her craft ideas I want to try later on is the pussy willow branches for holding your Easter Eggs (may have to do some of those Ukrainian eggs again.  It's been years.

And a simple one is making a pincushion from a frame.  Sounds cool.

I usually think before I throw things out and decide if there's a use for it.  There's a Goodwill pile usually that can also go back to Goodwill.  Except for the candle holder I broke for my project.  I've rinsed a gravy jar and the empty coffee container, thinking what could I put in them?  Or if all else fails, I've cleaned it and it's ready to go into the trash or recycle.

Seeing as I've got the scrapbook and decoupage bug, I'm looking at my mail or other things that get thrown out and can I do something with it before it's on it's way out.  Out comes the paper punches.  My little heart one is a fun one to just gather some hearts for something.

It was a sad thing to see when I went to post onto Triond and it kind of just made me want to exit fast.  7 cents would make anyone leave real fast.  Makes me rather just write here even though Google Adsense disabled me.  This is my blog.  I stopped writing at my extra ones.

It is sometimes better to just work at one really well and maintain it.

Same goes for the internet, spending all day just surfing the net can also tire one out.  Lately, I just like to go to my favorite sites and skim.  Cleaning up the clutter on the emails is a good thing to do too, which means I should get back and do that within the next day or so as to not get bogged down with all those extra emails again.

Do not wait for months on end!  I'll remember that one and not do that again.

Springtime is coming in a while and there will once again be the time to weed out more and have a yard sale.  Or as I like to say, I'd rather have fun going to them!  And my Dad has requested if I see any boxing books!
I've got to be careful not to rescue too much more from the kids house unless it's something really important that they should keep when they are older.

I used to be the girl who would just throw things in the trash and then, ha ha, later I would fish it out before it went into the garbage.  Can be a good thing once in a while, but I try not to do that now if I can help it.  I would think, I don't want it and then I would change my mind and dig it out.

Yup, there's Mom again digging something out of the trash and there's a couple holes in the top of the bag.

Oh, and a note, there is bound to be some of me that is going to crop up in any one of the novels, and I think that's going to be a given.  It could come from any number of the posts and it will be hard not to interject some of me into them.

I think that's a thing every writer knows that there's going to be a little bit of us or anyone we may know interjected into any type of novel.  We usually go with what we know firsthand and then we add the what we do not know, but we have researched our subject material enough that we believe we can write about it and make it real.

Meaning, my main character will probably never be a rocket scientist or an astronaut.  Or a surgeon.  I'll just watch Al Yankovich and I will be good.  Ah, the 80's!  But, keep bringing back the flower power please.  Every day should be filled with flowers.

Okay, I will now see if I can find some cool photos for you and then, I'm close to being ready to at least read my first book of the Trilogy (Series?)  I'm trying to decide what my next move is going to be.  I've got the beginnings of an illustration for something.

Drawing time may be fun.  I also thought I might start putting some prints for sale of that Tiger Girl drawing I did a few months ago.  Like an 8 X 10 size and have it for sale on Etsy.

It's good to occasionally work on the clutter so that we are free to work on other things.  There is always something that we just don't need anymore.  But it is good to think if you will ever use it first.

Jennifer Jo Fay

Copyrighted December 19, 2013

This Process of Writing and Art Go Hand in Hand

What do you think about when you constantly hear or read about what we writers and artists go through to get to an end result?  I guess one thing would be the fact it's a drawn out process.  A novelist or any writer goes through a long process of coming to the conclusion a piece of accumulated finished satisfaction the words are finally where you want them to be placed.

An artist can usually come to a quicker end result I think than the writer, but there are the artists that do take forever on perfecting his or her masterpiece.  I will admit, I've had a few oil paintings years ago that took me several months to finish.  One of my largest pieces is hanging in my aunt's house as I gave it to her one Christmas as a present to them.  Another beautiful one that was almost as large and a lovely doll painting, I sold to a girl I used to work with in Maine.  I only wish I had taken more pictures of it.  I think I have just one picture of it hanging on my old living room wall after I was finished with college.

It had my mother's old hats in it, and my first tea cup play set, a bridal veil on a smaller doll.  It was a really interesting piece.

Look at Rembrandt who took a tremendous amount of time on his pieces and they are a true masterpiece to marvel.  I didn't come to understand a whole lot about Rembrandt but what stuck with me is that one of my Painting teachers taught us to observe the whole when creating our work and he always would refer to Rembrandt.  I can't quite remember but I'm thinking it may have been one of his paintings my uncle bought at one of the school art auctions one year.

Right now I'm drinking my coffee in a mug I painted last night and I'm hoping I don't start to see red or gold rub off on my lips!  I've got to add another coat of the sealer to keep that covered.

Onward and thoughts about our process, is really quite amazing how we come to work through what is on our minds.  I remember in one conversation talking about J.K. Rowling with someone, the person thought that he would be more interested in reading about J.K. Rowling than the books.  I'm sure he loves the books as well but he meant that he would be inclined to know more about her life and how she got to her fame, and more in-depth information about her thought process.

I think it would be nice if every established writer at some point in their life actually sit down and write a book about their writing life and their thoughts about the process.

Anyway, seeing as I'm writer/artist/photographer/illustrator, I think the process becomes a little different for me.  Not when I'm actually just writing, but when I'm combining both as I've done in the past.  My mannequins I drew on for instance or even some of the decoupage stuff I've experimented with.  It suddenly becomes this involved idea where you are happily seeing all these things you can do with a piece that you wouldn't have thought of before.

Those last mannequins I drew I suddenly went into story line when I was drawing on them.  Happened to be in Halloween mode in sequence.  I got thinking of that humorous novel waiting in the wings!  Lolita Lob it Off!!!!!  Enough said, huh???  It's developing in my mind and I've been jotting down some notes for it, laughing all the way!!!!  Balls on Bobtails ring, making badmen cry!!!!  ha ha ha.  There's just a teaser!

I don't want to spoil the whole thing and a writer has to be careful how much one puts on the blog about the novels or our actual thoughts for where we want our creativity to go.  It's best to have it all in a finished published book and then everyone can see or read the end result.

Last night, I got home from visiting my kids and another trip to Goodwill.  Ah, a cheapy CD player that works!  I got one a few months ago and the radio works fine, not the player.  A Mary Kate and Ashley CD player got my lovely Twilight music going for me when I got home.

Mind you, I'm humming and singing to the music while I'm pondering what I'm going to do with a little wooden recipe box.  Out comes the scrap booking stuff, then I'm spreading out my dropcloth, other fabric, my container of the paints, brushes, the sealer and all kinds of other stuff.

And I'm sitting on the floor as I begin to figure out what I'm doing with the things I am creating with.  Props with words, ideas for Lolita Lob it Off.  I'm beginning to start to think of making her things for the book.

I start to think of the words I want to use in the creations, which brushes to use, what colors would work best with the inexpensive Goodwill finds.  The Twilight Music keeps playing while I wait patiently for that I will love you for a Thousand years song and when it finally comes up, I begin to think of my four children and how I will love them for a thousand years and an eternity.

And then I begin to think of something my daughter asked me yesterday.  I was looking at my notes for Lolita and I started to tell the girls her full name and the name of her daughter.  Neither of my girls said anything about the daughter's name, but my oldest thought Lolita's last name was kind of dumb.  Well, to a young girl, she probably thought that's a strange or weird name.

But the funniest thing was afterwards, she looked at me and asked me if I was a vampire!!!  What a kid!!!!  I had to laugh and said of course not. I've got some private thoughts about my vampire angel character, but I will save it for the book.  It will probably most likely start off not very funny at all, but then she is going to be hilarious!!!!

To which, it's going to bring out my private humor that I laugh myself to sleep on some nights on occasion of thinking of that book.  I know I've got to finish The Glorious Money Tree Trilogy (or series) first, but I'm chomping at the nuts on this one!!!!

Darn it!!!  I've got to wait till Friday to take a picture of all those Nut Cracker men my ex's new girlfriend has lined up on the windowsill.  There's got to be ten or more of them!!!  I promise, Friday or Saturday, I will get that one in and maybe a post to go with it on why are we so inspired by those little men that crack those nuts for us.  Forget the old silver nut cracker that used to be in every kitchen!!!

Or still is!  Lest no man get near one when a woman is using it!!!  Wait until she is out of the kitchen, men!

Last night was one of those nights, where I could not control my laughter about some props for the novel.  I'd get a lull and then I would think of something else that would hit the funny bone.  Let's just say, I've got a little work cut out for me for some of the props.  I've got to think about who she is and what kinds of things she will be inspired by and what will amuse her to no end!

Finally, the props last night got done, but I wasn't finished!  Out comes the camera and the set up gets moved around, I play with the ideas of the composition.  I search around the apt for the things I want to use in it.  And yes, the black roses come out!  And a red one, a cracked prop.

On a whim, the hammer comes out to purposely break something that was going to go to Goodwill.  I took a picture of it first and then I smashed.  Try it sometimes, it kind of feels good to do that once in a while.  I've never thrown a dish against a wall.  Well, almost never.  I did break a few things on purpose because I didn't want to be reminded of some things. I bet there's not too many divorced women who haven't done that at least once to something.

Looking back, I probably wished I had saved them, but hey, it was fun.  Actually, I think I smashed it into the trashcan and not the wall!

Last night's process ended with the clean-up.  Hey, you have a little fun, you've got to put things back too.  I almost thought of putting a tiny drop of red paint on top of this morning's cup of coffee, but opted for some strawberry extract which did the trick!  I'm thinking of one of those Stephanie Powers movies where the male artist eats his paints.  It's got to not be good.

Ah, no red or gold on my lips so that's a good sign!!

I am just dying to share a few of those pictures I took last night.  Maybe I will try to find one I won't use for the novel and share it.  I had fun!!!  And will have some more shenanigans!

I believe the process of writing or art or as I say it goes hand in hand sometimes, is different every time we come to the table to work more on our long involved projects.  Just keep swimming, just keep swimming, says Dory the fish!

I found an old picture I had once taken of my ex-boyfriend's cat and she found her way into one of the props.  I'm thinking, Lolita's daughter is going to have her own kitty cat, which I decided is going to be named Dorrie.

See, when working on props, I think I am beginning a little skeleton for the novel.  But, first things first, The Glorious Money Tree.

Jennifer Jo Fay

Copyrighted December 19, 2013

Errands to do, you know, the holidays!  I need margarine for cookies for my kids!!  And I've got to dig out that red crackle cookie recipe I found on another girl's blog last Christmas!  Those were awesome.  If I find it, I will type it up with a link to her blog.

Trying to sell this one on Ebay.  I'd rather have a picture.

Christmas is all about the kids!!!  And the reminder that the day is truly celebrated for Christ!  Born in a manger.  That's the true message of Christmas!

Yet we get carried away with everything else.  Now that's simplicity at it's best.

Out comes my Charlie Brown Tree!!

Okay, I finally pulled out my Charlie Brown white seven inch this afternoon and put the ornaments on it.  Not that all the little white branches fell (Not) but the top of the tree looks crushed together!  Oh well, I will say it's better than nothing.

I had one of those little tiny Christmas bread bakers as my only other Christmas decoration.  It's currently holding my son's Senior photo for his yearbook until I can find a nice 5 X 7 frame for it.

Maybe that's me dreaming about my pipe dream!!!  She's praying!!!  Ha ha ha.  My son and I were talking about travelling and maybe Mom could someday travel anywhere she wants.  My son is looking at the Pacific coast for his college and told me his friend's family are maybe thinking of moving out there to be near my son's friend.

But anyway, I drove away thinking if I could travel anytime I ever wanted, I would be visiting my son and he would say, "Mom, you were just here last week."  I got laughing to myself thinking about that one!

For now, I will settle for some trips to my Maine stomping grounds next year and my family roots.

Here is my old doll ornament I got one year for Christmas growing up.  Still have her.  Thinking of old Christmas ornaments, we had some fabric horses with the candy canes attached.  I believe I had the twenty year old candy cane.  I think one year I finally tried to eat it and let's say it was the chewiest thing and I'm sure the brunt of it got thrown right out.  It had to be stale as well.

I tried an i cord ornament probably last year.  Was intended for a bracelet and it ended up too small for that, so be it an ornament.

My daughter pulled a clock ornament off their tree to show me and I remembered it from my growing up years.  A few years ago, I decided to let my kids have most of my old ornaments for their tree.

It looks nice.  My ex's girlfriend has decked out the rooms with some very nice Christmas decorations.  The pretty white and red garlands wrapped above the curtains looks nice.  I had to laugh though, seeing a row of Nutcrackers on the living room windowsill.  The last few times, I've had fun going to the house and I joked to my girls and just went up to the Nutcrackers and went boom, boom boom across the row of Nutcrackers pretending to hit something (OH NUTS!!!)  ha ha ha.  I'm sure it went over the girls heads and they didn't get it!!!  Ha ha ha!!!!

My Dad has the one Nutcracker on the hutch in his living room.  My Mom had one of those decorations.  And who can forget the ceramic tree with all the little lights that you can yank out!  We used to play with that thing all the time.

My Dad had out the old windmill Christmas decoration with the two people at the bottom.  It used those skinny little candles to make the windmill go.  I always used to worry it would catch the house on fire.  Thinking of this, I used to be blocked in on the other side of the kitchen table when my Mom would have a candle going on our table.  As a kid, I used to also worry the tablecloth would catch on fire.

My pumpkin pie is gone and now I'm thinking that I should at some point make some cookies to bring to my kids.  Which means there should be some gluten free ones too, as my Downs child can't eat the wheat products.  Or he may just like a big pack of Reeses peanut butter cups!!!

I've been on an Ebay kick in the last three days getting that pile listed and now I'm playing the waiting game as to what is going to sell and what is not which will be earmarked for Goodwill.  And I did a stupid thing, trying to figure out why my Internet couldn't suddenly connect!!!  Oh, after twenty minutes, I realized it's because I unplugged the cord to the router!!!  Duh!!!

Thinking of Goodwill, I went there two times yesterday.  Once for this cool writing lap desk :(wooden:  I foresee another redo project in the works) and I passed on this pretty box.  Visited my kids and then later on I decided to go back and see if it was still there.  One of those type of photo boxes with the rounded top lid and on it is a pretty fashion picture of a woman and it says Saturday Evening Post!  It was still there and my Dad is going to get lucky with a sports book I found for him.

Just call me the Goodwill Girl!  I love Goodwill as it's like going to a yard sale in the winter time when all the yard sales are done for the season.  And you usually know it's not going to break your bank.

I've got to next start to think about other things I need to do on the Internet.  Oh, sometime soon, I should be getting some of the knitting on my Etsy shop.  I was excited to see that recently someone featured my shop.  That was cool.  I've got to start making myself more a part of that community.

And there's the thing, I've got to next buckle down and finish that first book of the trilogy (or the longer series).  And working on a drawing of Emily Parker and then maybe some thoughts on my book cover.

My mind has been wandering back again to designing scrapbooks and other cool designs.  I've got to just make myself do it.

Yes, I should write for Triond some, but maybe I should focus more on the novels as that may end up bringing me more money results. Both, but I've got to start today or tomorrow by refreshing myself of the first book of The Glorious Money Tree and to finish it.

Jennifer Jo Fay

Copyrighted December 17, 2013

How to be your Own Rachael Ray

How to be Your Own Rachael Ray

Everyone loves, craves, desires food.  It's our basic necessity in life to be able to eat an abundance of good food.  All over the world millions of people are inspired all the time by our food celebrities.  We've got Emiril, Martha Stewart, Paula Deen, Rachael Ray and so many other great cooks out there who inspire us to come up with theirs or deviate to one of ours.

  

Not to mention the old classics many of us have the cookbooks in our kitchen.  Joy of Cooking is a must have stand-by book to have on hand.  There's Julia Child, Fanny Farmer, Marge Standish, and so many other great books to have in your kitchen library.

But, what if you want to venture out into your own recipes and keep going with it?  I've read some of Rachael Ray's magazines in this past year on my Nook and it has loads of interesting tips on food and recipes.  But the thing I found quite interesting is that she keeps a daily notebook where she is constantly coming up with new recipes to add to her magazines, show and her cookbooks.

Now, here's the thing.  Why can't you do it too?  If she can and so many others are doing it, why can't you?  So, let's get started. 

First, think about how you want to record your findings on what may be a good recipe.  You need to start somewhere.  What would be an inspiring way to have your recipes on file?  

Maybe you want to be the old fashioned recipe keeper and first record them onto recipe index cards.  There's all kinds of places where you can get what you need for that.  Either shop in a cool store of choice for one that will suit your style, or I'm sure you can find them online and print them out.  Etsy would probably be a cool place to purchase a download of printable recipe cards.  I know they have downloads for tags, and they must have it for recipes too.

  

Anything imaginable is the internet world today.

Or you could choose to have it all compiled in a file, whether it be in your word software, other software or saved online like in Ever note or somewhere else.  Maybe you just want to open up a private blog on Blogger or somewhere else just for your notes.  It's free at many sites.  I say Evernote, as I'm on an Ever Note kick today.

Would you rather have it hand written in a journal of your choice?  Some people like that idea too.  Or the classic plain index cards are always fun.  I love index cards for practically anything.  There's the old fashioned recipe boxes that everyone's mother, sister, aunt and grandmother had in their kitchens.  My Mom had about three or four of them.

She used to have the laminated sleeves for one box of her favorite recipes, another box of the old typed up ones she did from her old electric typewriter and then she had a few boxes filled with recipes she clipped from newspapers, magazines or anywhere else she found a good recipe to try out.

Be a Rachael Ray and set out some time each day and just come up with your own concoctions.  Read recipe books as they can be helpful in aiding you into a new one of your own.  I've skimmed through multitudes of library recipe books and remembered some of it. 

I'm sure many recipes got lost in translation.  Some I copied down to try theirs and if I may pursue my own that's deviated okay.

I guess when you are jotting down thoughts for recipes, you can remember ones you know and like, have tried and go from there as to how to come up with a new and interesting idea for a recipe.

Make sure you try it out as if it's a wash and it ends up not being very good, you are not going to want to put it in your book.  For me, that would be that flavored salt recipe I tried recently.  The one with the sugar added, the lime juice, etc...  I was hoping it would dry up nicely to put in a spice container.  So far, I've got hardened clumps.  It may be I just need to food process it again to get it to the fine salt texture.  It may still be okay, but it's not going to find it's way into my recipe book most likely.

Maybe you want a cool binder type folder where you can contain your recipe cards, paper clips for other ideas, or other things.  You could paper punch some pretty envelopes for adding things to it.  

Come up with several different styles for getting your thoughts all into collections.  I think it's good to have more than one resource as you never know when you would rather do it the old fashioned way or go to something different.

Maybe you would like to get really creative and create your own designs.  Food for thought, huh?

Anyway, have fun on your food adventures and you could most definitely be your own Rachael Ray!!

Jennifer Jo Fay

Copyrighted December 16, 2013

  

I'm already forgetting what recipe this is.  I think what I've got to learn is when I take the pictures for my food is how to name the title of the recipe with the jpeg right in the then and there.  Seeing that I couldn't upload my pics from the memory cards for so many months, I've got scattered pictures of my recipes and I'm going to have to try to figure out which ones they were.  

Ah, a matching game!!!  Which written recipe goes with what picture!!  Name that picture!!!

I'll figure it out!!  

Why Evernote is Cool

Why Ever Note is Cool

Okay, as you can tell by my title, this is where I've been passing some time today.  First off, I'm seeing I am going to have to get online with my HTC tablet later today at my kids house.  It was maddening not to see those get to Evernote.  It's on Evernote on the tablet but not when I actually sign into my Evernote on the laptop.  Reason being is because I was offline on the tablet when I sent them over.  I can see them in my tablet Evernote, but not there yet.  

Yet another thing to do.  So, today I've been just checking out things about Evernote.  I decided to go premium and see what extras I can do with it.  Number one thing that will be good for me with this is the extra MB space you can get.  Meaning, I will be able to send all the countless Ravelry downloads to it no problem.

There's a bunch of different apps you can get for Ever note as well.  I took some time with this trying to download some of them and finally successfully added a few of them.

There's the Web Clipper to which I remembered having with the old laptop that fried.  I successfully got it added to Google Chrome and I see there is extra things you can do with it now.  You can mark-up the web pages and save them to Ever note.  This seems like a new thing to me as far as I know.  You can draw on it, maybe cut and clip the part you need and do other cool things with it.  Of course share and save so you can later read it offline.

It's great if you want to read the articles or refer back to something later on when you know you are going to have more time to review what was interesting.  Let's face it, we only have so much time and if you really need to get information for something it is a great tool to have.  

You can get Ever note app for all your devices so if you choose to use a certain one, it's always at your fingertips.

To go premium, it is only $5 a month which doesn't seem that bad.  It can come in handy if you really think you will use it a lot.

There's also Pocket app for it that could be handy as well.  I'm thinking it is kind of like Web Clipper where you can clip and save things.  I saw Hop it too, not too sure what that one is all about.  Thought it might be kind of like a cutting tool, but not sure.  Seems like there is so many apps to choose from.  I don't want to have too many but just the ones I think I may use.

There's Skitch app where you can jot down quicker notes, draw and maybe do quick annotations and other things to save to Ever note.

There's Ever note Food which allows you to record all the things you love about food, the restaurants, your recipes, etc...

It just seems like there is a good amount of cool things about it.  There's an Ever note study.  Not that I need that one, but if you are a student, that app could come in handy.

Ever note allows you to create new notebooks and then you can compile all your stuff into one note if need be.  The ones you are done with and delete go into a trash folder.  Which means you still have them at your fingertips until you choose to just delete it out of your Ever note.

Ever note is private unless you want to share online.  Mine is private.  I don't want anyone reading my notes and my venting. 

It could be good for kids too if they want to just play around with their own stories.  I can see kids really liking Skitch for the drawing aspect.

Try it out, as you may just find that Ever note is going to be your new best friend to record all the things you need in your life.

Jennifer Jo Fay

Copyrighted December 16, 2013

Okay, picture doesn't go along with Ever note except that hey, I could send this picture into Ever note and write about it or whatnot.  I was partly thinking of selling these on Ebay, but I think I will end up not parting with my Nana's decks of cards.  Hmmm.....  maybe of some use in a future idea for something.  

I spent a good part of my time yesterday getting the Ebay pile listed.  Or most of the pile.  

This is an article for Triond too, Ever Note.

Organizing your Knitting Life

Organizing your Knitting life

I bet you the knitter probably doesn't always think that we have to organize our knitting that much, but you would be surprised that even organizing a little will help maintain your weekly schedules and keep you on task of what needs to be done.

Number one:  Make sure you save a certain block out of time of each day to devote to your knitting.  Now that I'm going to be writing more on the laptop, I'm deciding that I will spend a few hours each morning to my knitting and drinking my coffee.  Plus I've got my two cats who need their laptime with me.

I've got that knitting project of mine that needs to get done too.  I can't stop knitting because I like it, but it's going to be my goal to get onto focus with writing more here, working on the blog and my novels to be finished.  Which is going to put the knitting at the back burner for a change.  In a few hours time, you would be surprised at how much knitting can be done.

Say an inch or two a day is a good progress.  If you can do it longer, great.

Number two:  How you organize your yarn stash, needles and your patterns is very important to some of us.  I'm not big time organized as far as my yarn stash.  I tend to keep mine in large bags, tote bins, and other cool containers.  However, I'm not organized to the hilt as to what type of yarns are kept together.  I guess that should be a goal too to make sure all the skeins of certain brands are kept together. 

That way, you know how much of a color you have and are not later surprised that you had another skein hiding somewhere else.  That one has happened to me.  Darn it, means I could have possibly made something larger.  Organize your stash so you don't find you've done that.

And your needles are good to organize once in a while (whoops, I should do this one too). Mine are in different locations.  I've got one large tote bag that holds most of them and then my double points I like to keep in a smaller case.  The wooden ones.

Recently, I hunted down my really small size needles into one cool makeup case.  I had a smaller case like this and then the needles were a snug fit so I got a bigger size.  Some knitters love to put their needles into a binder or another type of file folder where you can see your needles in a clear zipped up container.  It would be especially good for the circular needles that can get into a disarray if not displayed right.

I've got mine in one of those cosmetic bags and it seems to work fine for now.

Okay, the patterns.  That can be a larger project to contain them all.  I think I've got to work on this too.  I was writing my own patterns for some projects I was going to include in my knitting e-book and it was a while before I could get the new laptop to work on getting them in.  Now looking at it, the patterns are un-organized and I can't tell what the patterns were.  I may have to actually do some of those patterns again to see which ones they were.  Thus, I'm going to rewrite what I can salvage into a notebook.

Notebooks and journals are a good place to write your patterns too or your stitch patterns.  When I first started going to a knitting group years ago, I started one little notebook for the class.  Over the years, I have used more notebooks so my patterns are in different places.

Another big one was putting my smaller patterns or stitch patterns onto index cards.  And many of those stitch patterns are ones I've copied out of library books etc..  which is a good way of gathering a reference for the ones you like to use.

Then there's all the downloaded patterns etc that are on your laptop.  Maybe you might want to consolidate them.  I might do a few different things with mine.  Evernote for one where I've sent a bunch from the tablet today.  I may decide to organize all my doll patterns in one place at some point.

I also have a binder which is good for the ones printed out or boughten.  If you have them displayed into those clear vinyl pages works really well.

I think within the next few months I will be thinking of printer ink so I can print some of the patterns I may want to make next.

It's also a good thing to weed out your downloads.  If you are a Ravelry addict like me, it's very easy to suddenly have so many patterns even though they are mostly free, it can really clutter up your device.  It's very easy to suddenly see that you've got say fifty patterns of gloves, mittens or scarves.  

That's exaggerating, but you get the picture.

If you are on an agenda where you've got to maintain what you are going to do next, maybe you want to spend a small amount of time looking for the ones you want to use and have them ready for when that other project is done.

Of course, it's fun to be thinking of new patterns while you are making one.  I'm finishing up a combination of a shrug, snood or hood or a cowl.  It could have those three functions.  Already, I'm coming up with ideas for how I want to finish it in a unique way for my own pattern.  And I'm constantly thinking of patterns of how I could make something really original and cool.

Do you ever just learn a new stitch combination and your mind wanders to how you could really come up with a very different pattern?

I've been thinking of a headband pattern where I'm going to utilize a cable stitch in a very different way.  Not sure how it's going to go yet.

Also, if you are the adventurous knitter, you may want to have a separate notebook where you just design your own combos.  A graph paper notebook is a good thing to have too if you are thinking up color work.  I've yet to really be able to follow or design my own charts, but I may try my hand at it.  I'm thinking that I may want the software to be able to put a chart into a typed up pattern.

Some knitters really excel at that.  I'm not a chart person, but I should try.  Actually, if I thought of it, I could read a chart and write down the pattern so I could read it in a different way.

Anyway, it's good to become a better organized knitter.  It can help make your life easier as we plug along with all the things we want to do.  Life does get in the way.  We need to eat, sleep and those dishes for me had to get done last night.

No fun looking at dirty dishes!

Oh, another thing I've thought of.  If you have your own knitting shop, either locally or online somewhere, or you are a regular at the craft shows, etc...  you need to organize all your finished knitting so it's ready to sell.  Meaning the tags and all the neccessities that go along with trying to get your things sold.  I recently did this and it felt good to weed out a few things I just wouldn't sell or put into my book.  

And I made way too many of those cool bangle bracelets!!!

Jennifer Jo Fay

Copyrighted December 15, 2013

Okay, this is a Triond post too.  I'm on a roll today.

This is the project I've been working on and when my last skein is done it's finished.  This is a simple ribbing pattern and I ran out of the baby blue that I double stranded with this and am making a tri-color with a multi-bluish purple added to the other blue.  I'm thinking of making it even more original when I finish the rest with a bobble bind off of some sort.

Sometimes I think of what I could do with that bobble stitch.  What if you turned the pattern and added an eyelet stitch before you turn it back and slip your stitches.  There's probably so many more ideas we could come up with for brand new stitches.

I've even thought of what would happen if you grabbed a few stitches from the row before or even one under that.  Hmmm....   new terms to knitting. Just things I think about as I'm knitting.  What if????