I know it's been a while.....

I'm having a very hard time in my life right now. The stress is starting to get at me.

But I'm still doing crochet.
Crochet makes me happy.
Crochet, and the smile on my little boy's face. Even when he's being a butt.

I'm trying to bust out this afghan I promised my mother-in-law for Christmas. As it is, I have about 18 hours into it, and about five or six left to go.

It's a pretty simple ripple afghan, but I'm doing blocks of color instead of stripes. The ends have 4 rows of cream, 4 rows of white, then it switches to the main color, which is a nice grey tweed.

The pattern is pretty simple. I got it online, and if you google "Ripple afghan" it should be the first link. The author of the pattern doesn't allow mass sharing, though, so I can't link it.

The blanket is working up very nicely too. My mother-in-law has seen it in progress, and she thinks it's beautiful.

I really hope to have it done this week or next, but I'm really not sure of a time frame. I started the blanket in late spring, then our air conditioner broke and the summer was so very hot it was uncomfortable to work with. So I just picked it up again last week..... after my husband reminded me that it was November already, and almost December at that.

I hope to be able to share pictures soon.

Duct tape wallet/pouch

I found myself in need of a new wallet pouch thingy the other day. I was just putting too much into the card holder pouch that came with my wallet.

So, I decided to grab some Halloween motif duct tape on the cheap (around $1.50 for the whole roll), take some measurements, and get to it.

This tutorial is my own design. Any similarities to any other pattern is purely coincidence.

This is the end result:

Made with paper fill ^                            ^ Made with only duct tape

Made with paper fill ^                            ^ Made with only duct tape

Duct tape only pouch wallet with goodies

On the one with the paper fill, I made the tab a little wider. I was just trying different things, and that's how it ended up.

Here are instructions on how to make your own.

You will need:



A roll of duct tape
An exacto or razor blade
(Paper or cardstock is optional, it makes a stiffer wallet.)

If you are using paper:

1. Cut a piece of paper about 3in x 6in. You will end up folding it in half, but for now, you will work with it flat.
2. Cut a piece of duct tape about 6in long and wrap it around the paper short ways keeping the edge of the tape even with the edge of the paper. 
3. Repeat step 2 keeping the edges of the duct tape even with each other until the entire piece of paper is covered in tape. There will be a little excess, that's ok. Do not trim the excess. This will be your fold over.If there is little to no excess, go ahead and add another piece of tape to the end. 
4. Fold your wallet in half leaving your excess out, and using the same method as in step two, wrap the wallet in another layer of tape. This seals the edges. Leave the end open with the excess from before out.
5. Figure out how long you want the fold-over to be, Without the tab, mine is about an inch long. I just used the excess from when I was wrapping the paper. 
6. Cut another piece of tape about 6in long, and lay it sticky side upon your work surface.
7. Cut a smaller piece of tape, about 1/2 the width or so of the tape, and line it up with a long edge of the tape. Stick it evenly along the edge. This makes the pocket for the tab.
   
       This piece is a little smaller for demonstration purposes
       You can make the "pocket" portion as shallow as this, or as deep as half the strip of tape. Just make sure you make your tab length to match.
   
8. Keeping the "pocket" about center, wrap the tape around the wallet just below where your fold over ends, making sure you are on the correct side so the tab you will make on the fold over can be inserted in the pocket.
9. Cut another piece of tape about 3in long. Tape it to the top of the fold over so that just less than half of the new strip hangs over. 
10. Snip the new strip of tape about an inch on each side right next to the edge of the fold over. This leaves about an inch for the width of the tab. Fold your snipped edges sticky side to sticky side with the center portion to make the tab.
11. Slide the tab into the pocket , and you have a finished wallet, you can now fill it with goodies.

If you are not using paper:

1. Cut a piece of duct tape about 8in long. Lay it sticky side up on your work surface. 
2. Cut a second piece of tape the same length and place it sticky side down length wise covering only half of the other piece of tape
3. Cut a third piece and repeat on the other side of the first piece.
4. Fold the sticky edges in on themselves to make a solid, non sticky strip
5. Trim the very ends of the strip so they are even
6. Fold wallet in half, leaving about an inch and a half to two inches for the fold over.
7. Wrap the wallet in another layer of tape keeping the edges of the new layer even with the bottom of the wallet and with each other. This seals the edges of the wallet. Leave the end with the fold over open.
8. Cut another piece of tape about 6in long, and lay it sticky side upon your work surface.
9. Cut a smaller piece of tape, about 1/2 the width or so of the tape, and line it up with a long edge of the tape. Stick it evenly along the edge. This makes the pocket for the tab.
   
       This piece is a little smaller for demonstration purposes
       You can make the "pocket" portion as shallow as this, or as deep as half the strip of tape. Just make sure you make your tab length to match.
   
10. Keeping the "pocket" about center, wrap the tape around the wallet just below where your fold over ends, making sure you are on the correct side so the tab you will make on the fold over can be inserted in the pocket.
11. Cut another piece of tape about 3in long. Tape it to the top of the fold over so that just less than half of the new strip hangs over. 
12. Snip the new strip of tape about an inch on each side right next to the edge of the fold over. This leaves about an inch for the width of the tab. Fold your snipped edges sticky side to sticky side with the center portion to make the tab.
13. Slide the tab into the pocket , and you have a finished wallet, you can now fill it with goodies.

Poppy Bobby Pin - Veteran's Day

I decided to look up a crochet poppy pattern since it's Veteran's Day.

I found this one (Poppy Brooch). Although it doesn't have a clear cut pattern for the center, I was able to fudge one by making five puff stitches in a circle.

Make 2.
Ch 6. Slip stitch into first stitch to form a ring.
24 single crochet into ring.
Single crochet into each single crochet, increasing every other stitch to get 36 stitches.
1 ch [1 single crochet, 1 double crochet, 7 treble, 1 double crochet 1 slip stitch] 3 times with last slip stitch into 1st ch.
Fasten off.
Join the two pieces.

So the pattern I used for the center: chain 6, then sl st tog to make a circle. then 5 puff stitches into the circle. Fasten off.

And when I sewed it all together, and added my bobby pin, this is what it looks like:

(crappy cell phone pic)

So happy Veteran's Day. And if you are a veteran, please accept my sincerest thanks for serving your country and helping to maintain my freedom. 

Hectic Life

Wow, this last week has been hectic... I've gotten nearly none of my craft stuff done that I want to get done, I'm stressing out over some personal stuff, and I just feel like I don't have time for anything fun...

On the plus side, I have a friend who has me recolor texture files for his MMO private server, and I've finally gotten all the files I need to do that now. So I've done a fair amount of that over the last few days. It's time consuming but I really enjoy it.

Also, I was gifted a copy of Daz3d studio, and I downloaded another extension for it that allows me to create my own stuff in 3d. So I've messed with that a little too. I've only rendered a couple things, but I'm having a lot of fun with those programs.

© Rae Clark - Eidoslice

I'm still working on making a pattern for the toddler earflap hat that I did for my son last year, and it's coming along nicely. It's just a matter of being able to sit long enough to crochet right now, and I don't have the time. But this time as I'm working up the hat I am writing things down so I can share the pattern with you.

Love & Light,

Sometimes, I write...

I was going through an old notebook and found this story fragment. I may expand upon it and rewrite sections at some point. Anyways, I thought it was interesting and worthy of a share. Mind you, it's pretty much a draft and has no title or real ending. 

I hope you enjoy it.

Every once in a great while, someone will have a life-altering experience. This is a story of one such time.
Allow me to elaborate.
My name is... or was... or perhaps shall be... Cassandra Evelyn Demas. I was a secretary in a law firm in Nevada. The other staff and I got along very well and often did favors for each other. We were a closely knit unit. That is, until something happened.
I was on my way to the bagel shop across town for lunch when the sun suddenly went dark and I felt a strange sensation. I seemed to be in two distinctly different places and two different bodies at once. I was, of course, Cassandra getting lunch, but I was also some sort of animal in a forest. I could feel my feet on the undergrowth, all four of my feet, and smell the wood teeming with life all around me. Then it was gone and I was left dazed. I sat for a moment to collect my senses before continuing on.
Once I got back to the office and entered my unit, I was greeted by a scene witch I will not soon forget. Every last person down to the mail carrier had been murdered, their blood smeared upon the walls and tables.
Several thoughts ran through my head at once, but above all was the mind bending urge to run. Run, or they may suspect me of this atrocity.
The next thing I fully recalled was a highway in the middle of the night. My car had run out of gas and I was forced to pull over to wait out the night. I did not sleep well, for the dreams I had were unusual and terrifying. Sometimes, I would be back at the office when the killers came and be killed myself. Other dreams were of that odd wood and my other form.
Dawn had come and gone when I awoke to a police officer tapping my window. He offered to take me to the nearest gas station some five or six miles down the road to fill my spare container. I thanked him and kindly accepted. Once I was mobile again we went our seperate ways.
I drove most of the day before coming to a town I felt comfortable staying the night in. It was smaller than the town I had left, but larger than some I had passed. I got a room at one of the hotels and, after settling in, I returned to the lobby to inquire as to where I may find a nearby clothing store.
The clerk, seeing my state of dress which was once sharp but now shabby, directed me to what he called a "high end dress shop" just a few blocks away. After thanking him, I decided to walk the short distance rather than drive.
It was a beautiful evening as I stepped out of the hotel. The air was just changing tones from balmy summer to crisp autumn. I inhaled deeply as I caught the scent of the last blooms of the season and began my short sojourn.
As I walked, I almost forgot the events of yesterday, which now seemed so long ago, and I began to daydream. In the midst of my musings I found that I was once again in that other place and form yet still myself. I stopped, closing my eyes to fully experience that strange duality. When the feeling passed I found that I was standing before an enormous wrought iron gate and fence surrounding a seemingly eldritch mansion.
I watched the overgrowth sway in the breeze that sprang up, and heard the tinkling of an old windchime. Then I saw it. A bright, almost neaon, yellow streak darted across the ground. I leaned in for a better look, curiosity getting the better of caution, and in doing so pushed the gate open. I was surprised that it was not locked, and doubly so that it swung open without a noise.
Before I knew what I was doing, I stepped onto the grounds of the mansion and made my way to the place I had seen the color. Out of the corner of my eye I saw it again, that same unnatural yellow, but this time, it was headed toward the front door. I altered my course, hoping beyond hope that I would not have to enter that gaping aperture.

Photography

I'm a hobby photographer. Which is to say that I do not consider myself to be professional in spite of the fancy camera. I have a Canon EOS Rebel XS and I love playing with it whenever I can. I'm learning the camera almost exclusively in manual mode, though I do use auto focus a fair amount.

This morning, I decided to take my camera out and get some pictures because it was damp and autumney outside. So I did. It was fun. You can see the larger images on my Flickr if you have a mind to, but I thought I would share some here as well. I am overall rather pleased with the set.

However, I've noticed that I tend to get more pictures of fall and winter, not many of spring and summer. I think I shall have to rectify that this coming year as the seasons change again. In any case, enjoy these photos.

The Potty Chart

My four year old son is not potty trained.

Before you judge me, consider this: He was nearly pooping in the potty when he was about two and a half. The house we were living in was foreclosed and we had to pack everything, find a new place, and move within thirty days. We did this, and were getting settled into the new place. My son was just starting to get interested in the potty again, and THAT house was foreclosed on.

Due to a change in laws in the interim, we were allowed ninety days to find a place, pack, and move. Which we did. We are now in an apartment complex and have been for about a year. My son is starting to show interest in the potty again.

Even while he was not interested, we would encourage him to sit on the potty and ask him to pee in the potty. He's getting better. He's asking to sit on the potty sometimes and he's especially interested in daddy going potty, which is awesome.

At first, we were doing this incentive program my mother outlined, which did work originally. I would give my son a sticker for peeing on the potty. So many stickers accumulated would earn him a toy car. If he pooped on the potty he immediately got a toy car, but no stickers. This worked perfectly until my son found the stash of toy cars and opened them all.

Like I said, we continued to encourage interest in the potty and in going to the bathroom. However, it was slow going until I figured out a new way to do it.

Enter..... The Potty Chart!!

I have a rather small bathroom, but I figured that was the best place for the potty chart and to track my son's progress. 

I bought the chart in the "teacher" section of my local Dollar Tree store. I also got a package of over 400 foil star stickers. I had a sharpie on hand (I think most people do). My son and I picked out the space themed chart because my son likes rocket ships. Total cost for this project, $2.12 after tax.

I counted up the segments of the chart, decided how many points I want to award, and sectioned off and titled the chart and the points. 

There are 12 little squares, I have three points, or grades, I want to award for arranged in what I perceive to be the level of difficulty. 

The first four segments are "Sitting on the potty" meaning just sitting there, not going potty at all, just kinda warming up. He would not get a sticker in this section right now if he pees or poops, only for sitting there without going. This might change once he starts peeing or pooping regularly in the potty.

The next four segments are "Peeing in the potty". He would get a sticker here if he pees in the potty even a little bit. 

The final four segments are "Pooping in the potty". He would get a sticker here if he poops in the potty. I'm also thinking of picking up some pencils or something small to award also if he poops. 

After I put the chart up, I grabbed my son and had him look at it while I explained it to him. I think he understands, but we shall see when it comes time. All I can say for sure is that he likes the chart.

I'll post back after a while to let you know how it's going. I'm hoping this is just the incentive my little man needs to get out of the diapers and into big boy pants!