Four Hundred

I just realized that this is my 400th post. So I guess it's a magical post - and Giveaway Time!

I'm giving away three Workbasket magazines. I've chosen them for their good tatting patterns. The issues are May 1954, October 1963 and January 1969.

As you can see, one has a lovely tatted doily on the cover. and there are other tatted items within each. Plus - you can make this cool sweater for your guy! Looks straight from Star Trek! The magazine from 1963 shows you how to make a swell earring holder using a bedspring coil, which I'm sure you'll all be clamoring for.

But wait - there's more! You'll receive recipes ("Line six muffin tins with bacon pieces..."), a pattern for knitted hooded scarf that will make you look like an elf, and a Holiday Glass Muff pattern!

Can you stand it? Do you feel the LOVE?

There will be some other items included, probably beads and thread. I'm not sure yet. Editor's discretion. No refunds, no take-backs.

I'll pick a winner after August 31 using a random number generator.

Here are the rules: comment on this post. That's it. No blogging about it is necessary (though you certainly can if you want to). No begging, no offering of treats will sway me. However, I can be influenced by anyone wishing to permanently remove a 23 year old nerd from my basement.

Speaking of Larry, here's his latest tableau. I think it's pretty funny.

Vader doesn't care about Larry's toys. Here he is napping with DH.

So comment! Because you could be cooking Creole Weiners soon!

Some catch up

Thanks for all the support and warm thoughts about our situation with Curly.  We'll get through this.  Stuff like this doesn't last forever.  It can't.

DH has now set up a tent in the back yard for Curly to live in until he can get it together.  It's no longer so frigid, so he should be fine.  He can't live in our house though...

In other news, I'm really excited about something I found online.  I've wanted an Ottlite for some time, and JoAnn's is having some on sale.  I've ordered this one.

I know, it's not a classic crafter light, but it's a floor lamp with a 25W OttLite bulb, and you won't believe the price.  It's $49.95 - marked down $100! Plus, I got free shipping - how cool is that?  Find it here...

A couple of  folks are having great blog giveaways right now.  My buddy Tatting Chic is giving away a Learn To Tat book along with a shuttle and some thread.  A great thing for someone who wants to learn or who has a frind who wants to learn to tat  You are a generous gal, Chickie baby. 

And my lovely sewing friend Julia is giving away some lovely things including antigue linens and some buttons.  Go check her out - boy howdy, can she sew!  A super creative person.  I'm amazed at all she does.

I've had nice complements lately on my pictures.  I really can't take much credit for them - I see the pretty and I point my camera towards it.  (Most of the time, I'm pointing my cell phone camera towards it.  And sometimes I'm pointing the cell phone camera while talking on the phone AND driving.)  God provides the pretty, I'm just acknowledging it.

See?  Even with the traffic, so pretty.

Drum Roll Please....

The winner of my Workbasket giveaway is....

Kimberly!!!!

Kimberly said:
Love your blog...congrats to 100 posts. Hope you continue on! Would love to win the WB magazines.

~Kim
 
I'll be contacting Kimberly and sending off her lovely selection of Workbasket Magazines shortly.
 

And because I had so many entries, there is a second prize going to:

'RainbowRose' Connie Faulconer

Connie said:
Oh I do hope I'm not too late in entering this! Please do enter me if not too late!

Connie - contact me (my email is on my sidebar) with your snail mail addy so I can get you your prize.

In other news.....

I am missing Glee, but loving Archer.  Archer makes me snort.  It's a fake spy cartoon and SO not politically correct.  Archer is brainlessly super macho.  Here is Archer showing off where he keeps a gun.  Really.

I am torturing the Stooges by threatening them with The Toe.  The Toe (which is now sans toenail - gross, but doesn't hurt) scares them.  ("Want to touch my toe?" "Get that toe away from me!")  Hee.

toodles - and congrats to the winners!

Celebrating one hundred posts with - a giveaway!

I started bloggin this past summer, and this is my post number one hundred.  So, how about a giveway?

I thought you'd like it! Wanna see what it is?

Here's the prize - five Workbasket magazines from the 1950's!  The dates are June 1950, November and December 1951, March 1954, and December 1959.

All of these magazines have tatting, crochet, and knitting patterns in them, plus embroidery, recipes and other craft ideas.  I saw one item made with hairpin lace.

This children's sweater looks darling.  I know someone who would love this.

Some of these have a feature called "Aunt Ellen's Club Notes" - things for women's clubs to do.  There are lots of program and game suggestions.  These just slay me.  For example, the hostess could create a Thanksgiving centerpiece by melting chocolate and molding it into a log as it cools, roll it in coconut, then stack many of these into a chocolate log cabin, with purchased pilgrim figures on the side!

Aunt Ellen makes Martha Stewart look positively retarded.  So simple....

And there are recipes in each magazine.  Mmmm, nummers.  You're going to make this, aren't you?

Beause I know you're dying to make this swell beanie, here are the rules for the giveaway:

1. You must post a comment on this blog post. 
2. If you blog about this giveaway, put (2) in your comments and you get another entry.
3. I will chose a winner on Saturday, February 6, 2010.  I'll need some way to contact the winner.
4. If I have more than 30 entries, I'll add more Workbaskets and have more winners.  And I have a ton of Workbaskets!

Easy, peasie. 

And you could be the winner who can make these lovely Christmas puppets.  (Hat pattern not included - darn!)

Good luck!

In which I am random

Now I digress.  Because the cold is going to my head.

I need some of these stickers.  They would help me.  And this too.

This is really me.  For real.  And I really believe this.

Recognize me?  This could  be what the Stooges see in the morning if they drive me too crazy....

Hmmm.  This has potential.  Love her expression.  Love the sweater too.

BTW - I found a REALLY hilarious blog yesterday.  This one is what a guy says while he's talking in his sleep.  Really - his wife tapes it.  Be warned that as he is sleep talking, he is not inhibited about his language.  But OH MY it is funny.  Here's a quote: "I can't control the kittens. Too many whiskers! Too many whiskers!" Or "I love the fact you're a moose. Yes. So soft, so soft."

And for more (and potential) fun, go see LadyShuttleMaker.  She's having another Mondo Monday Giveaway.  This time, it's WorkBasket magazines, which have those nifty patterns in them. Maybe a sweater pattern like that Cruel one above. Trit trot over there and enter!

Quick update

It's been pretty busy here at chez Crazy Mom.  Here's a quick rundown on activities.

DH is coming home today after being out of town all week. He left me to ride herd on the Stooges solo.  And I'll do it again next week.  Ugh.

Curly had a big chorus concert on Tuesday night.  It was really quite good.  The kids sang and danced in a lot of numbers.  Some of the performers were really good - one gal gave me chills when she was belting "When You Believe".  Curly had a big solo in the last number, singing Jouney's "Don't Stop Believin'" using the same arrangement used in the pilot episode of Glee.  He did a good job and got a lot of accolades.  Yea, Curly!

The happy times with Curly didn't last.  Wednesday night we had a big row about his chores, which he had disdained for several nights in favor of practicing for the concert.  Seems that now Curly realized that not doing homework (and he's hardly done any homework all term) might make him fail his British Literature class, which he has to have to graduate in May.  I had told him Wednesday morning that I expected to have these chores done by the time I got home that night, and I laid into him when they weren't done.  Curly informed me that doing his homework (in crisis mode) was the most important thing right now, and I was "borderline retarded" for expecting him to do chores at this point.  You know, with his self-made homework crisis and everything.  And when he flat out refused to do the chores, I turned off his cell phone.  Much screaming and yelling ensued.  Good times.

Yesterday I got a happy phone call from the vice principal of the middle school about Moe.  Moe has been horsing around a lot lately.  He likes to get people, including teachers, to high-five him in the halls.  When a teacher didn't high-five him, Moe punched the teacher in the arm.  He didn't hit him hard, but that's not something a kid should do.  The vice principal was really nice about this and described Moe as "not having a mean bone in his body" (and that's true), but she still had to suspend him for one day.  He's home cleaning the house.

*sigh*

We did have an UP moment this week.  Larry took his EMT-I exam last Friday. He took it once before, and didn't pass.  (An EMT-I is one of the guys in the ambulance, one certification below paramedic.) Larry got word yesterday that he passed the written exam!  This exam has a high fail rate, 60-70% failing.  He's got to go a take the hands-on portion, which somehow they didn't have a record of him taking before (which he did - and passed) but that's not a problem to take again.  So, soon Larry can go get a real job, one that pays enough to actually support himself.  The big hospital in Atlanta, Grady, is hiring at this level.  I hope he gets a job soon.  I'm excited for him.  Go Larry!

Work is yuck, but I've had a productive week.  My boss has not had time to deal with my problem employee, but I hope to have that resolved soon.  I've been humping it on the job, churning out tons of documentation and reports and solving a lot of problems.  Believe me, they get their pound of flesh.

Found out this week I could be laid off in July.  There's a real possibility that 25-30% of my company will be cut then, due to the economy and funding issues.  I can't think about that right now.  Can't go there.

I'm tatting Christmas ornaments and another necklace.  This one's a Christmas present for a sister, done in navy thread with two kinds of silver beads.  Pictures coming...

Oh - don't forget about LadyShuttleMaker's latest giveaway.  She's giving away a beautiful watercolor that she painted!  Check it out!

Tomorrow - taking Curly to his psychiatrist, always a favorite.  Woo-hoo!

Yet another giveaway

This time it's a birthday giveaway.  Heather, of The Tarnished Tatter, is having a birthday celebration of her 33rd birthday.  Gosh. you're just a spring chick, Miss Heather.

She's giving away some cool stuff.  Three prizes - two shuttles and a goodie bag.  I'll bet the goodie bag has some of her pretty HDT in it - and I'm an HDT addict.  Gots to have it!!

Do you want to win?  Head over to Heather's place right now and enter!

On another note - I saw this gummie bear that you can purchase. 

Something about it is very disturbing.  Creepy.  Makes me go ewww.

A giveaway!

And boy do I want this prize! 

Elizabeth of Elizabeth's Tatted Lace is having a giveaway of some of her lovely earrings.  Elizabeth is celebrating her 100th sale in her Etsy shop. She does truly gorgeous stuff.  I've admired her work for a long time.

Aren't these pretty? I'd be happy to have these for my little lobes.

Hop on over to Elizabeth's place - maybe you'll win!

Or maybe I will...

Happy happy, Joy joy

I'm a happy camper!


And why?


It's not because of Curly and his fun.  I took Curly to see Dr. W and got Curly's medicine changed.  Hopefully things will be better for Curly.  But no Valium for me.  Damn.


It's not because of Moe and his fun.  Moe is working hard to remain in 7th grade forever.  I can't get him to write anything to save my neck.  He refuses to do homework.  I finally found something to motivate him - the threat of withholding birthday party and presents.  His birthday is this weekend - what can I use after that?


It's not because of work.  Like any of that is fun.  (My brother in law's theory of work is - if it wasn't shit, they wouldn't pay you.  And it's true.) (If it was fun, it wouldn't be called WORK.) I finally moved into the other building and unpacked my boxes today.  I did get a bonus when I moved - they gave me a flat screen monitor, instead of that humongous boat anchor I've been staring at.  Here's where I live at work:

Not great, but not awful.  Some folks are sharing. I supervise a group, so I rate a better space, no sharing for me.  And I found a place to hang a certification or two.  Added bonus - I can stand up and see a window.  Woo-hoo!  (You just don't know.  I've been in the interior of a converted factory for over 3 years.  This is a step up)

Unfortunately, my user community is quickly discovering where I live in the building.  Damn.  They hunt me down like a dog.  Can't a girl have a peaceful day?

I'm not happy because of watching Mad Men either, though it was mighty good last night.  And I went out to turn myself into a Mad Men character online - see how cute I am?  I'm sure you'll recognize me when we meet.

Mmm, that's a good cupa joe.

No, I'm happy because the mailman came and left me a package!  For little ol' me.  A special prize - that I won on LadyShuttleMaker's last Mondo Monday Giveaway.  I won this:

Yup, it's one of her precious and wonderful handmade ceramic shuttles!!!  Isn't it gorgeous?

Hmm, what should I tat with it?  I've shown you some of LadyShuttleMaker's lovely Marina HDT (purchsed earlier on etsy.com).  Maybe I'll use that.  I've come up with a cool idea for tatting something nifty for presents and I'll share it with you on another post.  The possibilites are endless.

Cisco and I have finished my latest version of Mary Konior's large cross.  I'll post it later.  Now I'm working on tatting up another cross of my own design.  I hope to have that pattern for you very soon!

Hey - you can be a winner like me!  Hop on over to LadyShutlemaker's blog and enter to win this week's prize - a great bead spinner.  Ooooo I wonder if it would be too greedy of me to enter?

And so - a little Happy happy, joy joy - with Ren and Stimpy! Enjoy!

Happy, happy, joy, joy

| MySpace Video

I'm a winner!!!!

I never win anything.  I've bought lotto tickets galore - I never even win a free ticket.


But not today.  Today I'm a winner!


Here's what I won

Yup, I'm this week's winner of LadyShuttleMaker's Mondo Monday Giveaway.  How great is that?  I've positively drooled over her shuttles.  And now this pretty one will be mine.

Thank you, thank you, thank you, Miss LadyShuttleMaker.  You made my day.  You are so very generous with your talents.

And Internets, YOU can be a winner too.  Just hop on over to LadyShuttleMaker's place and enter.  It's easy as pie!  And who knows? Maybe you'll win this Monday's prize!

I kinda needed a pick-me-up.  DH is out of town all week, so I'm manning the fort against the heathens.  After I drove home from Charleston on Sunday with grumpy Curly in the car ("Don't TOUCH me!" "Don't TALK to me!" "Why won't you let me DRIVE?!"), I came home to find two disasters.  One was immediately apparent - none of the cats were in the house.  Cisco and Sophie were quickly located, but Larry's cat, Sylvia, has not been seen.  We found some of her under-fur in the front yard and we have coyotes here, so I fear the worst.  Larry didn't go with us - he had to work, but otherwise was home, so he should have paid attention.  And she's his cat.  I can't think about it, though.

The other disaster only became apparent after I went grocery shopping and we went to put groceries in the large chest freezer.  That's when we found it was completely defrosted.  It was plugged into a special power strip and the strip had gotten tripped, probably on Thursday or Friday.  I was able to rescue a ham and about $20 worth of meats and vegies, but that's it.  After I finished pitching stuff, there was a soup of melted ice, popsicles, and ice cream in the bottom that had to be cleaned out right then.  Ugh.  What a mess.  The freezer had been mostly full, and I'll bet I lost $400 worth of food.  After that, watching Mad Men wasn't much solace.  Monday I got to work and was told I have to move my personal office to a cube in another building on Thursday - get your own boxes to pack your stuff.  It's great working for a semi-governmental agency.

*Sigh*

Last night Curly threw another one of his fits and sorta lost his little mind.  He smashed his acoustic guitar on the sidewalk and talked about suicide.  The triggers were A) not getting a solo in chorus and B) me turning off his cell phone when he flat out refused to do his chores. I finally got him calmed down and into bed, but I thought for a while I might be spending another night doing intake at a local adolescent psychatric institute, something I've had to do before.  The suicide talk I take seriously, but he assured me that his thoughts on this were not current, he was talking of old thoughts.  I checked to make sure he was asleep before I could go to bed.

Being Curly's mom is hard. 

DH isn't very helpful with when Curly gets like this, he mostly yells.  As parents, we all do what we know, and DH had some pretty bad parenting examples.  His stepfather didn't have clue how to deal with teens. He just screamed at them. DH means well, he's just clueless.  So it's up to me.

Curly's a bit better today.  He taped his guitar back together and is now composing a new song. (He's very creative and really writes terrific lyrics - and I've told him so.)  And he has an appointment with his psychiatrist Saturday.  We will be making some medication changes.

I'm fairly stressed, but will be ok.  It's nothing I haven't dealt with before.  And this is one reason I can't tat (or do some other things) as often as I'd like.

Tomorrow - packing my office.  And as Scarlet O'Hara said, "Tomorrow is another day."

Anyhow, thanks, LadyShuttleMaker, for making my day BETTER!

Doing the happy dance!

I'm doing the happy dance now.  I'll tell you why in a minute.

But first - you MUST go to LadyShuttleMaker's blog and check out her Mondo Monday Giveaway!  I want that shuttle - so pretty.  You'll want it too.

Had an uneventful weekend, thank heavens.  DH and I went to see a movie, the hilarious Zombieland.  It was filmed around Atlanta, so we kept trying to figure out exactly where they shot each scene.  Not a movie for all (I'm not a horror movie person), but I found this funny.  And if you liked Shaun of the Dead, you might laugh at Zombieland too.

Curly has been doing more of same.  On Sunday, he burst into my bedroom as I was changing out of my dress -  no knock, just busting in.  He was coming to take something of mine because he felt he NEEDED it.  And this morning I found my camera had been removed from the back of my desk drawer and had magically appeared on Curly's computer desk in his room.  So somehow, Curly's cell phone magically dematerialized from his room into DH's possession about that time.  Curly told me that I'm not behaving like an adult when I took his cell phone.  DH really laid into him about this remark - Curly's got a lot of nerve.

So, why am I doing the Happy Dance? Because I'm finished tatting the Wedding Hanky!!!  I have to wash and block it, but the tatting is done.  Here's what it looks like pre-blocking:

I have to admit, I'm very pleased at how pretty this turned out.  I tatted the first round directly to the entredeux on the purchased handkerchief, then tatted 2 rounds of mignonette.  The last round is a variation on a Mary Konior edging.

And this was finished in the nick of time - the wedding is Saturday.  So I've got to hop to and get this blocked.

Larry will not be able to attend the wedding, as he has gotten a new job and can't get the time off.  I'm really sorry that he can't come.  But the new job is full time and pays a lot more.  And he may be able to move out around the first of the year.  If that happens, I'll be doing a lot more than the happy dance.  It'll be the Happy Ballet!

Toodles!

Giveaways and micro knitting

Don't forget LadyShuttlemaker's Mondo Monday giveaway!

Also - go to Edward and Lilly for a chance to win one of these cool broaches!

I don't knit and crochet well. I can knit scarves and hats and I have a crocheted afghan in progress. But I really admire those who do it well, and artfully. This site is amazing.

Althea Crome makes the tiniest, most beautiful knitted items I've ever seen. She calls her knitting 'micro-knitting'. I'm stunned.

These are socks. And yes, those are her fingers behind them. She makes gloves too.

And just when you can't believe she can knit any smaller, she does. She makes clothes that the dolly's dolls would use. See? These are in Gallery 8 on her site.

Here's a bit on how she does it.

Makes tatting look positively humongous.

Giveaway

Don't forget about LadyShuttleMaker's Mondo Monday Giveway! She's giving away her tatting book, Royal Diadem!

Me, me, pick me!