Why do people like politics?

Just thinking outloud here. Why do people like politics and political discussions? Why do folks like to argue in the first place? It seems so unpleasant.

I am so adverse to arguments.. I feel myself tremble and shake inside when arguments start. I do not like them, Sam I am. I really don't.. and I've even participated in a few, still don't like them.

In many ways, I'd just prefer to lie down and rollover(.. rub my belly please) than have an argument. This probably costs me a lot, and I've gotten better over time in standing up for myself, but I'm still very conflict aversion oriented.

I wonder if this aversion came from my strict upbringing where we weren't allowed to cry. Well we did cry, but I can remember being told "Stop crying or I'll give you something to cry about" and trying so hard to swallow the tears and it hurt my throat so bad.

I don't know. I do know I've tried to never use that phrase with my kids. I probably failed and did use it a time or two, but not as much as it was used on me.

All this is to say that I have views about things that I won't express because I don't want the arguments. And people who enjoy politics and arguments perplex me.

Just because I'm silent, doesn't mean I agree with you.

CPSIA

My first letter to the CPSC.

I am writing to ask what in the world the CPSC was thinking when proposing and working on passing this "improved safety act"? The CPSIA, while well meant, is not thought through very well and needs ammendment.

I am a crafter, I do not sell my products, but I DO donate to charities and after reading the provisions of this act, my understanding is that I will no longer be able to make baby blankets, booties, baby sweaters, afghans or ANY other item made of acrylic yarn and donate it. Or even the Charity may be risking prosecution by accepting such items.

Yes, please protect children from lead and phthalates, but how much lead or phthalates are in a blanket? In booties?

I am also concerned that other handcrafters who do sell their work will be put out of business by this draconian act. Our country is already in a recession, if not heading into a depression and the CPSIA is only going to make things so much worse when so many home businesses are forced to close or face huge fines.

With this act, I'm seeing the real life illustration of the saying "The road to hell is paved with good intentions". The CPSIA was created with good intentions. It's sending hand-crafters to hell.

Fake Flakes

The real stuff is melted, so we must do with the faux.

Got some more crocheted flakes finished.

These are from various sources, nothing that is available online except the first one. I tried using some sparkly thread for it and quite like the effect. It is pretty large.. about 4 or 5 inches. I may try this one again with smaller thread.





This one is called a Texas Star and you can meet the designer and see her pattern here:

http://www.crochetville.org/forum/showthread.php?t=86827


The remainder of the flakes I right off hand don't recall where I got the patterns. They're not something I made up though. Many times I'll see a 8 point mini doily or the center of a doily that looks "flaky" ::grin:: and will work on adapting it to a 6 pointed creation.

Most of the time it works well. Sometimes I have to frog a lot. Occasionally I have to give up on it and move on to the next. It's all an adventure and quite fun.





I've discovered that for me, 3ch picots are difficult to pin and then get the pin out after the flake dries. So, I'm adjusting most of my picots up to 4 or 5 chain versions. If the pattern calls for a combo of 3 and 5 chain picots.. then I might make them 5 and 7 chain instead. Depends on how things look when I get a few done.

I'm also not using a pinning or blocking guide. I know I should.. but I don't have a laser printer and I'm worried about the moisture from the "stiffy" I use seeping through the pin holes in the plastic and the ink ruining the flake. I haven't been able to think of a work around for that yet. I'm sure there is one, just my "very little brain" hasn't come up with it.

Therefore, I'm working on the premises of:

• the incident of repetition in snowflakes is low. (they used to say that no two snowflakes were ever alike, but I seem to remember that science disproved that a year or two ago)

• I shouldn't worry about whether my snowflakes are perfect, because only The Lord God is perfect.

These are some paperwhites or narcissus, a type of daffodills that have been growing in my yard. I picked a few to enjoy inside.. they smell soooo sweet. These are supposed to bloom in the spring, but I get the treat in November. This year they decided to bloom in Dec.



And this beautiful arrangement is from my sis in law. She always sends us the most beautiful flower arrangements for Christmas. I could've taken a better picture, but then I'd have had to clean off my dining table. And that would mean fewer snowflakes.

Ok.. back to my hooks.

P.S. They may have found the remains of Caylee Marie Anthony today. Or might not have. No matter if it's CMA or not.. someone's child's remains were found today in a plastic bag. That is so sad and I feel horrible for all those touched by such tragedy. I pray that whoever the child is.. that they did not suffer very long.

The real thing!!

After all that blogging about snowflakes... we got the real thing last night..but it's gone now.

However, I preserved some for memory:










Best pictures I could make while holding a flashlight under my chin at 3AM.

Enjoy.

Snowflakes

Some of what I've been doing recently. I'll add some descriptions and explanations later. Right now I'm feeling chilly.. lol.. wonder why?

I'd say 99% of these were made from free patterns found somewhere on the web. The other 1% were either made up by me or from a Harmony guide or some other resource. If the pattern is one I can link to (and IF I can remember where I found it.. I'll post it.) One more bit of info, except for one flake and one ornament, all of the below were made with DMC Baroque thread size 10. Not as high a grade as cebelia or opera, but I quite liked it for the snowflakes.

Now on to the snowflake pictures and descriptions.

These first two aren't exactly "authentic" snowflakes as they have 8 points instead of 6 or 12. I was going to frog and redo them, but as I got to looking at them I decided I was being too rigid and these were too pretty.

Whoever I chose to gift with these will surely enjoy them?

http://www.bhg.com/holidays/christmas/ornaments/make-a-crocheted-snowflake-ornament/



The above I think was the beginning of a doily. I just stopped when the loops got to be 12 in number and then put a picot in every other loop.



Below:
Experimenting with glitter. I don't think I'll try that again. Don't care for the effect.

#8 at http://www.sarahanns.com/crochetworks/snowflakes.html

#8 got the glitterati treatment because I missed a stitch when making it and didn't realize until I was weaving the ends in. So I thought a little glitter might help it's hurt feelings and perhaps hide the defect. Couldn't hurt now, could it?








The above simple beauty is #3 at http://www.sarahanns.com/crochetworks/snowflakes.html



Now that this one is photographed, I see one of the "arms' got a bit twisted. Back to the pinning board with you!!





http://www.bhg.com/holidays/christmas/cards/crochet-a-snowflake-gift-topper/


I call the next 4 (below) the Aussie "Gang of Four" Flakes.

The patterns are written in UK or British terms, so where it says DC, the stitch needed is really a SC and so forth. I made the first one not realizing the difference in terminology and had to completely frog it and start over. It was sad and very misshapen.

Also, they are quite large made with size 10 thread. Would've been better to use size 20 or 30, but I haven't gotten brave enough to try that yet. I still think they're pretty, just kinda on the gigantical side. :)

The pillow they're sitting on is probably about 12" square..so you can see how big they turned out. The pattern is here: http://aww.ninemsn.com.au/article.aspx?id=27469




Aussie#1
I really like this flake. I need to get some size 20 thread (maybe I have some in my stash? hope, hope) and try this one again.



Aussie #2
My second favorite of the gang.



Aussie #3

(taking the gazillion pins out of it made it get a little floppy. It looks more like a fern or a starfish than a snowflake. I also revised the pattern just a bit to make it easier. I joined each picot to it's corresponding opposite as I worked back down the "arm" of the flake instead of leaving them loose. I don't think it changed the look all that much and made it MUCH easier to deal with.)

I plan to restarch this one.. maybe pin it out first and then spray or paint the starch over it?



Aussie #4




The next one is made from Aunt Lydia's Bamboo thread. Lovely stuff, very soft to handle. Doesn't split UNLESS you have to frog it back more than about twice.. then it can be a problem.

That tendency to split under stress makes me wonder if it would be a good idea to avoid using this thread where it would get a huge amount of use. Something to ponder.



The above is also a pattern I'm working on. I don't think I've seen it elsewhere, but I'm sure I haven't seen every snowflake pattern ever written. When I get it tweaked to my satisfaction, I'll post it.

Some of the above flakes laid out on my dining table after Thanksgiving.



Pinned out on styrofoam board covered with plastic. Using mainly quilting pins. I'm using some old stiffy I found in my craft cabinet. It was left over from making string easter baskets back when my kids were in elementary school. Those kids are now in college and the stiffy is still good. Amazing. One of the bottles that had been partially used and the stiffy had seperated, but it recombined with a little stirring and is working great.



From a booklet titled Victorian Christmas Ornaments. It's supposed to have a ball and tassel hanging from the bottom. Those are made, but I haven't attached them yet.

Crocheted in an unknown ecru thread.

That's all for now. As I said before, I'll give links as I find them again.

I have a few more made with the Bamboo to get photographed and blogged.

Part 2... I'm just gonna tack onto this post cause I've already given the link out and don't want to overwhelm or confuse by giving out another link to another post about another group of snowflakes. whew.

All of these next are made with Aunt Lydia's Bamboo. I've decided to abbreviate it ALB. :)





I really like this one. It's inspired by an 8 sided motif I saw the other day . I will write this one up when I get it perfected. I think I'm going to call it Trinity snowflake for the 3 picot clusters.







I thought this was adapted from a Harmony Guide motif. WRONG. It's adapted from this pattern at Drops. (Hint: It uses british or UK crochet terms. Adjust for American) http://www.garnstudio.com/lang/en/visoppskrift.php?d_nr=99&d_id=30&lang=en

First time I've ever worked with a drops pattern. It is worded a little differently and maybe a step left out once or twice, but for free, I can't complain. I added the picots as usual.

Now that I've done one Drops pattern, I shall be on the look out for more that have potential for flakiness ::grin::



This one looks very familiar. I shall have to go hunt it down.



One of these two is the center from the snowflake afghan at www.artoftangle.com. I'm almost positive it's the one on the right. I added the picots to the pattern. I'm kinda disappointed that it turned out so small, but wouldn't be hard to do extra rounds.



Ice Crystal pattern from Harmony Guide with extended picots added.




From Coats and Clark website, but adjusted to have only 6 arms instead of 8.
http://www.coatsandclark.com/Crafts/Crochet/Projects/Seasonal/WC1795+Crochet+Lacy+Snowflakes.htm


And last but not least.. a comparison shot.




These are basically the same flake, I just added some arms to the one on the left.

What's different about them is the one on the left is made with Bamboo and the one on the right with Baroque. I don't know if ya'll can tell in the photo, but the Bamboo isn't as "bright" a white as the Baroque. In most cases, it wouldn't be a problem, but something to keep in mind if things are going to be right next to each other.

Ok.. I MUST get off the computer so I can have some semblance of a normal life. Talk to ya'll laterz.

Celtwich Vintage Crochet Patterns

Another crochet website is gone.

Celtwich's Vintage Crochet has decided to remove themselves from the internet due to theft of their patterns (people were stealing them by selling on ebay what she offered for free).

I can certainly understand her frustration, but it's sad that it has to happen.

However most of the patterns and many of the pictures are still available here.

There are other things I'd like to say, but due to censorship and the possibility of being banned, I will keep those thoughts to myself.

Hope everyone has had a great holiday. I've been busy crocheting up a storm but can't post pictures until gifts are in the mail.

Washing machine is calling me.