Chat Thread

[#1]

Here you go. Private and all.

[hooknsaw]

Susan, the furniture polish would make for some hazardous stairs! That stuff is terrible to break down and clean up.

Rebecca, you have some beautiful items in your shop and I am sure you will stay busy without the Disney items.

Debra, enjoy your luncheon / baby shower! Our sales were much slower this past week, but views and faves are still up from last year. Will have to wait to see how the rest of the month does.

Sarah, your son sounds like a very sweet young man! Have fun with the dyeing and can't wait to see the new colors!

Joanne, congrats on the glove sales! I love the variegated colors you use for them, they are gorgeous.

I'm having a quiet day at home today. No word from the mechanic yet on my Dads car or the raccoon. My Dad has been putting canned cat food outside for his stray cats (next to his carport). I'm just happy that he hasn't attracted any skunks into the yard with the cat food. Actually I should be planning for that scenario, just in case.

Have a great day, everyone!

[HowCuteAreYou]

The wedding shower was a lot of fun. We got a food demonstration for all 6 courses of food that was served. It ended with Creme Brûlée, my absolute favorite.

Sarah~ I love that your son is willing to compromise on his collection. I need my daughter to come over and clean out her closet which is overflowing with junk. I am able to just squeeze in my shipping boxes in a tiny space.

Joanne~ Your gloves are gorgeous and should continue to sell and be a big hit.

Lisa ~ Very occasionally I get the whiff of a skunk but have never seen one walking around. Can't even imagine formulating a plan to get rid of them or their stinky smell. My sister-in-laws house in the mountains has a wall that was sprayed by a skunk. OMG, it took professionals to come and get rid of the smell which still lingered months later. That spray must be atomic!

Stomach is killing me from so much food today, I never eat fried food and there were two fried courses, empanadas and tempura green beans.

Will just be resting tonight!

[Former_Member]

Debra, your shower sounds like it was a blast. I'd love the cooking demos.

I could see furniture polish on the bannister but not on the stairs. That would make for some wicked sliding.

I hate not being able to sleep at night. Didn't sleep well last night but napped on and off all day. I feel like its the 'morning after the night before' and I didn't have the night before!

Tickle in the throat, ache all over, hurts just to breathe. I've taken some extra meds and will curl up again and hopefully get some sleep.

Tomorrow will be another slow day for me for sure.

[HowCuteAreYou]

Crochetgal~ The party was a lot of fun, good company and fantastic sangria.
Got home and had stomach explosion! But it was fun while it lasted.

Sorry to hear you aren't feeling well. Hope it's just from being tired and not a bug. Take it easy, that's what Sunday is for.

I had another banner attack this morning and changed up to have both my lips and booties (sounds pornographic) on the banner. Looks good and I think I can shut the banner panic off now.

Let me know what you all think.

[Former_Member]

Debra, I really love this banner- so bright and colorful, really happy looking.

Crochetgal, sorry you aren't feeling well! summer viruses can be really miserable-

Lisa- I wonder if raccoons and skunks coexist? Maybe the raccoons will keep the skunks away. There is a bar/dance club down the street, and some knucklehead keeps bringing his pet bobcat- I suppose to impress girls. He ties it to a tree outside and stands by the tree, smoking. The thing is huge and all the dogs slink by very low to the ground, not making eye contact with anyone.

This year's baby squirrels are teenagers now and running madly about the place, and my little dog is trying to catch every one. I've shut off the ac and opened the back door to the porch so he can dash out there and make a racket. He seems very happy. He is having a love affair with the UPS man. They adore each other and now the UPS guy is bringing milk bones when he comes.

Joanne, you are lucky with the organized husband- I have to force myself to label and put things in boxes- usually when I can't make it to the bathroom in the middle of the night without tripping- I so love things to be clean and organized--I don't know why I don't like to do it? In the middle of cleaning I'll pick up a book or my spindle and start spinning a bit of yarn, or trying a new crochet stitch. I love your new gloves- really special. I hope they do well.

I've got a drying rack full of the gorgeous shibori dyed yarn- it's really something, but a lot of work. I'm going to have to raise the price of this over the usual for the base yarn just a bit. And it works up so beautifully! Really subtle and quiet- very Wa- or Japanese aesthetic- I just learned what that word meant, reading up on the history of shibori.

I think I'm going to have to move, though I hate the idea of losing access to the river and the UPS guy--drug dealing up the street.

[HowCuteAreYou]

Thanks Sarah for the compliment on the banner. I think it combines the old and the new so people will know they are still coming to my shop. Though in the new format there is no banner. I hope whatever Etsy decides that our banner will still be on the page.

I just looked up shibori and I love that technique. I love Asian inspired things since the design elements are very simple and clean.

That's a shame that you might have to move because of drugs in the neighborhood. Nothing police can do?

A pet bobcat? Doesn't seem right and then to tie it to a tree to impress the ladies, jerk.

I wish I could let Jimmy run around the backyard but ours isn't fenced and with the water I get concerned. Occasionally I go out there with treats in hand and throw a ball. But once the treats are gone it's right back in the house.

Today Neal wants to do my least favorite thing....a Costco run. Whenever we go there I feel like a little kid shopping with my mom. I just want to whine, "Can we go yet?".

But Crochetgal said that a walk around the store is healthy so for Neal's sake I will do it. He has all kinds of cardio appts. next week so hopefully it's just his weight that is an issue.

Costco does have good prices on orchids so may be I will treat myself.

Have a good day.

[Former_Member]

Crochetgal - Sorry to hear you are not well. I hope you get your very needed rest today.

Debra - I like the old and new banner combo you have going on. I really like the way you have your shop name up and centre and the booties smaller under that. Good job! I want to go to Costco today. They usually have back to school backpacks and lunch boxes. I want to get some before they run out! Too bad Neil and I can't go together - lol

Sarah - Thanks for the compliments on the gloves. I spun up some new colour combinations last night. IT is taking forever to dry though. I want to get crocheting them!

Drugs seem to be everywhere. We live in a ritzy little suburb - lots of Million dollar houses (NOT OURS!!!!!) Many of the houses are rented out by foreign owners that don't live here. They are often used for grow ops, etc... My friends a few cul-de-sacs over are both RCP officers and they have shut down their own neighbours 2x. Just keeps coming back. There is more going on out there then we all know of. eeek

[hooknsaw]

Crochetgal, I hope you are feeling better today!

Debra, I don't know how I turned a wedding shower into a baby shower?! It sounds like it was a lot of fun and I hope your stomach feels better! Love your newest banner! I hope Neal's tests come back good.

Sarah, a bobcat? The guy sounds like an idiot, waiting for a lawsuit to happen. I love your new yarn the shibori is gorgeous! Maybe cops will bust the drug dealers? Although, I think drugs can be found in practically any neighborhood.

Useless skunk trivia, the little stinkers will stamp their feet as a warning when they are agitated and before spraying. A very distinct sound and backing away slowly is the best course of action.

Have a great day ladies!

[HowCuteAreYou]

Thanks Joanne! I am liking the new banner since it has something old and something new.

Sarah~ Love the new yarn. That would be nice as a shawl to wear with jeans.

Lisa~ Love your anchor scarf, very cool. You probably thought baby shower because I sell baby stuff. I actually have a baby shower this weekend. I am making some booties for the diaper cake.

I love your useless skunk info which really isn't useless at all. Who knows when you might happen upon a skunk. Didn't know they gave a warning, kind of nice of them!

Thanks for the good wishes for Neal. The test begin shortly.

Sarah~ We had a grow house busted in my neighborhood last year. I live in a gate community, not ritzy but nice. And, there are a lot of neighbors looking out who want to keep the neighborhood nice. Too much traffic to one house would be suspicious.

We did our Cosco run. Took way too long and now I am cranky. I hate buying from there because seriously, how many cans of tuna do you really need. I think we have enough toilet paper now to last through the holidays!

I am working on a new way to present the message in my boxes. I am going to print them up on card stock paper and then put them in little envelopes in the box. Just ordered the envelopes so I can't wait.

[Former_Member]

Crochetgal-hope you are feeling a bit better, I think I caught my son's summer cold, sore throat and headache tonight not feeling so hot!

We are fairly lucky on the drug front though we are 15 minutes from Philly and 10 minutes from Chester both of which are big with drug problems. Thankfully in my happy little suburb its not bad.

I have my full load back starting tomorrow and I have 2 kids I am covering for (last day is tomorrow) so I have 7 littles tomorrow so no working on orders for me!! I will be lucky to have time to pee!

Took my daughter to see The 100 foot Journey tonight, very cute movie. We both enjoyed it. I am off to bed now hoping to wake feeling better! Fingers crossed! Have a good night ladies!

[Former_Member]

I really don't think you can find a neighbourhood any more without some drugs. In most neighbourhoods, whether you know it or not its there. I can see plants in the next door neighbour's garden from my office window and the next neighbour over is a State Trooper.

Rebecca, sounds like you will have your hands full with little ones and then some.

Sarah, I can't imagine someone actually keeping a bobcat for a pet. But then it takes all types.

Lisa, I know you've spent quite a bit of you life in the country but how do you know all of this animal trivia? I knew skunks gave off some sort of warning before they sprayed but I've never stuck around long enough to pay any attention to what it was. Usually I just turned and walked in the opposite direction.

Debra, I hope that Neal enjoyed his 'workout' at Costco even if you didn't. That's one place that I'm really thankful that I have the scooter. For most items I can't justify purchasing such a huge quantity especially when there are only the two of us. Since my partner has taken up baking bread, every time we go he wants to get a 'bag of flour' while we are there. So last time we did the math - 4lb bag of flour makes about 4 loaves of bread, so the 100lb bag at Costco would make enough bread to last us about a year. Not to mention the storage problem once its opened!!

I'm the one in the family that has to be organized. I think part of it comes from my parents as both insisted that "everything has a place and everything in its place". Honestly if I'm wanting something passed from the pantry I can tell my partner exactly where (how far back and over) and on which shelf to look for it. My partner isn't too bad for being organized except for his cane. He can never seem to keep track of it. But when it comes to filing he's terrible. Everything is filed under M for misc.

Time to head back to bed and see if I can shake this bug or whatever it is. I'd like to get to therapy tomorrow but I have to feel much better than I do now.

[craftykittycrochet]

Hey everyone! Happy Monday! Hope everyone had a great weekend!

Wow, looks like I missed a lot - banners, animals, drugs, etc.!!!! Lol!!

Rebecca and Crochetgal - hope you both start to feel better soon! Deb - good luck to Neal with the tests!

Deb - love the new banner! And how cute that you're making booties for the top of the baby shower cake!!

Lisa - glad to hear your dad is feeling better....not so glad to hear about the raccoon incident!! Yikes lol!!

I'm really loving everyone's new items! It's fun to look through the Activity page and just fave everyone's stuff! :) Keep up the great work guys!

Hope everyone's week is off to a great start!

[Former_Member]

the dealer has set up behind the group of shops in a complex up the street. He usually has a big dog with him, a pit bull or German Shepherd. I wandered back there by accident walking my little dog. What bothers me, I guess, is the steady stream of foot traffic I see now heading in his direction that I didn't notice before. The office/shop complex has many empty offices now, and there are a lot of people using drugs who live near me- I bet if I was paying attention earlier, I would have noticed- but even if the cops send him on his way, I am still living in close quarters with people using drugs regularly. Which makes me think crime and general boneheadedness are also going to get worse. I don't like to think of living here when I'm seventy- by that time things may have deteriorated further- or maybe not! Who can tell? If it was up to me, I'd be off in the woods somewhere, but my son has no mountain man ambitions.

Skunks stomp their feet! I just got an image of a skunk stomping and doing an Al Pacino voice--"say hello to my little friend!"

[HowCuteAreYou]

Good Afternoon!

Rebecca ~ Good luck with all the kids. Just thinking about it tires me out. My daughter works at a preschool and she comes home exhausted.

Crochetgal~ Hope you are feeling better, get some rest and plenty of liquids.
Something is going around.

Costco ~ Was so crowded yesterday that you would think it was already the holiday season. My head was popping from the commotion.

Kitty~ Thanks for the compliment on the banner. I wish I could get the Etsy banner to look like my Facebook banner but once I start cropping it just distorts the whole photo.

Sarah~Foot traffic for drugs and druggies in the neighborhood would frighten me also. Good luck with any decisions you make on moving or staying.

It was a quiet weekend in my shop and then last night had a brief flurry. Super quiet again today. Revenue and sales are up over what it was at last year at this time so that's good, especially since I am not selling my more expensive blanket and hat sets.

If it stays quiet today I will work on some holiday stockings and a baby gift I need for a shower. This time it is a baby shower.

Have a good day

[hooknsaw]

Sarah, we have a lot of foot traffic in our area, but our property is all fenced and our big dog is always on guard duty. There are a lot of drugs and bored teens in our area, but I've never worried too much about it. We have never had any problems. When I lived in the valley I lived in one of the nicest areas and we were broken into 3 times, go figure.

Rebecca, good luck with all of the little ones. I hope you are feeling better!

Crochetgal, I hope you are feeling better, but please don't over exert yourself if you don't feel well! Lol, I can't imagine trying to store 100 lbs of flour! Actually I can imagine and I would probably end up with flour dust all over everything! Both times I had close calls with skunks I was outside at night (irrigating) and heard the stamping and then the flashlight revealed what I almost ran into! My favorite was finding one of my cows with porcupine quills stuck in her face. At that time I didn't realize there were porcupines in the valley too!

Kitty, thank you for all of the hearts!

Debra, I won't go shopping on weekends at all! I used to shop at sams club when I had all of the kids and it was awful! I'd buy a truckload of stuff then have to unload, put it away and then repeat the whole process 2 weeks later! It's nice just shopping for Don and I. Our shop was slow all weekend, but 2 sales today and views are very high.

Hope everyone is having a great day!

[Former_Member]

LIsa - I don't like to shop on weekends either. During the school year, I have Wednesdays off to do all my errands. Why deal with all the crowds, right? Congrats on the sales! I've had 5 days of straight sales - gloves, gloves, and more gloves. I'd love to keep the streak going - send some sales dust - you got the goods!

Views are very high today as well. I think a lot of States started school today. The moms must be pre-Christmas browsing.

I wish we could all live in a perfect community, but..... too many silly people out there. I would love to move somewhere more affordable. Vancouver and surrounding areas are way too pricey. You need 2 working parents to afford a simple basic house here - crazy.

[mzbellz]

Hi everyone. I just wrote a whole 2 or more paragraphs and hit the wrong key and it all disappeared.
Lately I have no patience for anything.
Crochetgal: Hope you're doing well.
Lisa: That was great info on the Skunk. I did not know that. But if I ever run into a skunk I will definitely listen and then run.
Debra: Have fun at the baby shower. I'm sure you're booties will go over big.
Sarah: Still try to decide what to make with the yarn I bought from you. When I do I will be sure to take pics.
Joanne: Glad you finally received my friends request. My daughter helped me. I'm not computer savvy in any way shape or form. I wish I were.
My grandson starts back to school on Sept. 4. Where has the summer gone? It seems like it was just June.
Thank God the weather here has been good. It's like early spring. No humidity, sunny and only in the low 80's. I hope are winter isn't like last year.
Melissa: When do you plan on moving to Albany?
I just finished making another shawl like the red and white one. I really love the colors. Brown, orange, and aran fleck. I will be posting the pic shortly.
Well, just wanted to let you know I'm alive and well, as is my partner Tony.
So, before I hit another wrong key and this gets erased or disappears into the unknown. I will close here. Have a great day ladies.

[Former_Member]

Hope everyone is feeling better-

I just heard on the radio that a popular snack at the county fair this year is a "lobster corndog". Aak! My mind has boggled.

Am trying to search boxes so I can offer a box of coordinating yarn but I can't find one of the right size. Something like the old square donut boxes that were deeper? I might have to smuggle a ball of yarn into the grocery store and test them out.

I think I'm going to let my Costco card expire at the end of next month. I hardly ever go over there- I think only two times in the last six months- though my son does love Marie Callender's pot pies and I can get them by the case. But the last time I let him loose to pick out some food we ate teriyaki meatballs until I was ready to scream!

The new batch of Art-O-Mat blocks are packaged and ready to mail- I put a pick on the about page here https://www.etsy.com/shop/SarahsSpindle/about

Have a good week, everyone-

[HowCuteAreYou]

Sarah~ For boxes try Uline.com or Papermart.com. I get my boxes from either one depending on the size and the price. Papermart might have a style that you are looking for.

Love the art blocks and the yarn that matches your jeans!

[Former_Member]

Sarah--also C&H has boxes, haven't looked for awhile so not sure what the prices are. I am going to have to get some also. their address is CHDIST.com
Do you all send a little free gift with your orders?
I have my 3 year old grandson this week. I took him to work with me today. The oldest little girl I take care of is 6 weeks younger than Josh. They have known each other since day 1. They get along like sister and brother. We had a fun day and will have another tomorrow!

[HowCuteAreYou]

Susan~ Sounds like fun getting to be with your grandson while working. Do your children live in your town?

I spent the evening making slippers for myself using Crochetgal's pattern, I love her pattern, and yarn that Sarah hand dyed. I only have one slipper done and can't wait to make the next one. I had made a pair for my daughter and loved them so much that I couldn't wait to make myself a pair.

Shop is quiet so I got to make something for myself, YEA!

I also made a pair of booties for my shop with Sarah's yarn. Adorable!!

Off to bed, after midnight on the east coast.

[Former_Member]

Mary Alice, your shawls always turn out beautifully. I can't wait to see this one! Glad to hear that both you and Tony are doing well.

Sarah, Somehow the thought of a lobster corn dog is totally unappealing. But when it comes to fair food, just about anything goes.

For boxes you may want to try uline.com And if you are looking for someone who makes beautiful handmade boxes you may want to try Etsy seller Boxes Squared https://www.etsy.com/shop/BoxesSquared . Mickey makes some of the most gorgeous boxes I've ever seen!

Susan, I don't generally send a gift with an order but I do have a few regular customers where I'll slip a little something extra in their package every now and then. You are so lucky to be able to spend a full week with your grandson and that he has some playmates his own age as well.

Debra, I'm glad you are enjoying the pattern. I'd love to see the slippers you made for yourself with Sarah's yarns.

100lbs of flour would mean that there would be at least 75lb strewn around the kitchen. My partner is of the 'Julia Child' ilk where flour is to truly be tossed onto the board as the bread is being made. Sometimes it looks like there's been a snowstorm in the kitchen!

Lisa, I'm trying to behave but as you well know it can be difficult at times. But over the past three days I've practiced some extremely serious restraint (especially for me). Although I wanted to do what seemed like a thousand things today, I limited it to just going for the MRI and to physio. After that I came home and parked my butt (as my partner so eloquently puts it). Partner made dinner for us and it was just yummy. And he made enough so that we can have it again later on in the week.

And from the looks of things I'll be having yet another fairly quiet day on Tuesday as well. We've finally got a week with nothing scheduled other than physio and I don't feel up to taking advantage of it. Maybe by the end of the week...

[craftykittycrochet]

Hey everyone!! Happy Tuesday!

Mary Alice - glad to have you back!! Glad you and Tony are doing well! Thanks for the faves!! We are planning our move for next spring/summer. Our lease on our rental house is up June 1 so we'll probably make the move the week before that! :D

Sarah - foot traffic like that would scare the crap out of me!!! It's tough when you start to see that stuff in your neighborhood - feels very invading. We live in a neighborhood full of high school kids, so I'm not sure whether or not it goes on here. But when you live in Houston you don't really walk many places, so I guess it's more likely that we would drive by anything like that and not notice. I love your jeans yarn!!! OMG! I seriously wanna buy some of your yarn!! What a great idea to do denim colors, since denim is so popular with everyone. Your shop looks great!

Susan - have fun with the kids! Hope you're having a great week!

Deb - the slippers sound great!! You'll have to FB a pic when you're all done! ^_^ I know what you mean about sales - I had a tiny surge last week and now it's totally dead. Guess they haven't hit that first cold night up north yet! >.<

Lisa - thanks for the faves!! And you're welcome for the faves - I love browsing your shop!!! :D

Crochetgal - you and your partner sound like you know so much about cooking and food prep!! Lol about the flour! Good luck trying to take it easy - it must be hard for a hardworking person like yourself, but it's worth it not to overexert yourself!!

Have a great day ladies - I'm off to scramble and catch up on my con stocking! It's a week from Friday, can you believe it?!

[HowCuteAreYou]

Looks like I missed a whole page of posts, oops!

Mary Alice~ Looking forward to seeing the shawl. Your work is beautiful.
Glad the weather has been nice this summer. When were up in NYC in July it was absolutely perfect.

Lisa~ Shopping for just the two of us is such a change over 3 kids. My boys would eat us out of house and home and I was shopping every few days. While Neal was away for 10 days I think I went to the grocery store once. I just don't like the putting away process.

Sarah~ Lobster corn dog, hmmm, I assuming it is fried and I would probably be in a lot of pain from that one. Love lobster though. I love fried dough at the fairs but it don't love me.

Crochetgal~ I hope you are getting the rest you need, good to practice restraint.
Neal doesn't cook but what he does make is toast and a huge mess. I don't know how he doesn't see the crumbs all around the toaster and the table.

I will post the slippers on Facebook as soon as they are done. That pattern is just so fun to make. Something about the triple and double crochet decrease that I just love!

Kitty ~ Good luck making all your con stuff! My shop was so busy at the beginning of the month and then this weekend it was a trickle. Maybe it will pick up again this week. Who knows!!

I think Labor Day usually starts the fall clothing season. People start getting excited for new clothes around that time.

Have a good day Ladies!

[Former_Member]

Susan - I used to send gifts here and there with my items. If I had any extra buttons around, I would throw 1 or 2 in with a crochet hook order.
Have fun with your grandson. My kids have friends that are within weeks of their birth too. They actually thought they were cousins!! Boy were they disappointed when they found out they were not even related.

Kitty - good luck getting ready for your con. I have a very small community craft fair on Saturday. I'm also doing a spinning demo for them, so my table is FREE!!!

Debra & Sarah - The booties Debra made out of Sarah's yarn looks so good! It is the cashmere one's I just faved, right?

Well, I didn't get my sale yesterday to continue my 5 day sales streak, but I did sell something this morning... LIsa - you were a day late in your sales dust!

I just listed my 100th listing (well, 104). I NEVER thought I'd be able to list 100 things. I have a brand new product up - wooden pendants. Check them out and let me know what you think about them and the pricing.

Have a great day ladies.