In college I majored in painting. All of my work was hard-edged and Pop influence. I still love Pop, Andy Warhol is one of my heros. He really knew how to play the game, which in my opinion is half the battle in “fine art.” Not that I was ever an “art scene” player, but when I realized that I could do crafts instead, I was happy and relieved. I find much of contemporary art condescending and contemptuous towards its viewers. Ordinary people aren’t supposed to “get” the work. Defecting to the craft side of life has lifted the onus of sarcasm and condescension. After years away, I am finding a drawn 2D work again. This time around, I think I prefer to call my pictures illustrations instead. I am also feeling the real need to loosen up. People used to get right up close to my paintings, their noses almost touching the canvas, and look for the brush strokes that weren’t there. I just don’t have the energy or motivation to do that any more. The rewards don’t balance with the work involved. Besides, I think, for me, working so tightly was about fear and control. I am ready to move away from that now. Not that it will be easy. I have to find a way to be more free and still fulfill my desire for detail and precision. Here’s a sketch I did last night. I had tons of fun drawing it. Note the crazy lines in the back ground. I am very proud of them 
In other news…We must have been cosmically in tune. I started working on my mermaid pattern before any of you suggested it. It will be a bit slow going, so be patient with me. I need a crochet break, so this weekend I’m going to work on my drawings.
Hi Everyone! I just want say ” thanks “ again to everyone who has been so very supportive.
I sent out a newsletter yesterday announcing… get ready for it…the snail pattern is now available in my etsy shop.
If you are interested in receiving ‘gurumi updates please sign up for my mailing list. (Sorry to sound like an ad man )
I am working on a list of new patterns to develop for the shop. I would love to here your suggestions.
Well that’s about it for now. I have a ton of PDFs to send out.
An update to the saga of Cleo’s outfit. Her sweater is very loosely based on this pattern . It needed to be bigger to fit Cleo, so I cast on more stitches. I wanted slightly lacy look, so I increased using yo’s instead of make 1, it is shorter than the pattern and also a cardigan. Like I said, loosely based The math involved is really simple, but I need my calculator none the less. I don’t trust my arithmetic skills. I did a little single crochet edging on the two halves of the sweater front. I made a chain space towards the top of the right side for a button hole. I should have made the hole larger than I did, though. It is sort of hard to poke the button through to the other side, oh well.
I used malibrigo sock yarn. I was a bit surprised by fact that the color came off a bit on my fingers with I was knitting with it. But it really is lovely stuff, it feels like silk. And it blocked very nicely to. I steamed pressed the sweater and now it has wonderful drape. I really didn’t want the sweater to look stiff so I am happy with how it blocked.
So here is a pic of Cleo in her outfit so far. Now that the sweater is done, I think I like her outfit more without it! You can see the tunic better, which is my favorite part. But it is sort of cool that she has a sweater anyway. It is a terrible photo, I know. I was being lazy and didn’t feel like pulling out the doll stand and messing with balancing her on it. (That is always a frustration. It doesn’t help that I can’t find an alternative to the cheap wire ones which really don’t fit my dolls well. I may have to have my brother build one in his workshop.)
Oh and can I make a final, not craft related comment? The teacup in the top pic was filled with English breakfast tea from Todd and Holland.
I have been just mad for this tea lately. It is amazing stuff. So crisp and clean tasting. A true luxury. It is pretty expensive. I felt a bit guilty after buying it. But after the first cup all that faded away.
And yet another non related comment. I got myself a subscription to Audible. My therapist (yes I admit it, I tend to my mental and emotional health weekly) said that my brain would rot if I didn’t read. OK, so those weren’t her exact words, but that was the gist. My argument to her was that I can’t read and craft at the same time, and we all know which I chose to do. Anyway I came to what I think is a brilliant compromise. I have been downloading and listening to tons of books. I especially love Hercule Poirot mysteries by Agatha Christie. I started out with the basic one credit membership, but next month after my intro rate is over I am definitly going up to two credits. It is so fun being read to.
I am both overwhelmed and touched by everyone’s encouraging comments. They are so helpful and mean so much, thank you! When I was laying in bed last night I thought, “You know, Beth, you haven’t been fair to all the wonderful people who have so enthusiastically supported your work.” And I am proven right. The postive experiences far out weight the negative ones. Even though it may be difficult, it is important to keep this in mind.
Thanks also for all of the great suggestions. For example, I hadn’t even thought about writing an away message for emails I am not able to respond to immediately. I guess this shows how tech-savvy I am I don’t even know how to take full advantage of my email provider!
As far as my health goes, it is so much better lately. I haven’t had a seizure since the end of last May. My headaches are still fairly frequent, but milder. These improvements are what have allowed me to get back to my studio. It is slow going, but steady. It is tough to get used to a full work day after having been away from my studio for almost a year. But being back is fantastic. I look forward to showing everyone frequent glimpses of my work.
So maybe this will all sound like lame excuses and complaining, but I need to get a few things off my chest….
Over the last year I have struggled with many frustrations. In April after a lovely weekend stay at the hospital I was diagnosed with epilpesy. After that I had a few seizures before getting on the right meds. Because of this I couldn’t drive until November. Additionally, I was getting daily migraines that could not be treated with drugs like imamtrex. So I would take a vicodin, maybe a beer and let it ride . I have recently encountered complaints about me not answering emails. Sometimes I think that we don’t imagine the people we meet online as “real,” as having the same problems and complications we have in our own lives. I am sorry to those if you who did not recieve answers to emails you sent me. This was nothing personal. I spent a bunch of time last year at doctors’ offices and didn’t have time for much else. This year I aim to get better at answering emails. I know I won’t be perfect, somtimes emails get caught in the vortex of the crammed inbox. But I will do my best.
On to point number 2…Stealing. It is amazing that people think they can get away with selling dolls made from my patterns. But they try. This goes for using my images as well. I actually found a girl taking commissions and using my photos as examples of her work! I Once or twice people have responded to my emails regarding these thefts. They said they were offended that I considered what they were doing as stealing. Well, I am sorry, but that’s what it is. I will make no excuse for defending my rights to my own work.
And finally, I have heard people complaining about my prices. One person wrote in her blog that I must have a very big ego to ask so much. I realize that these are difficult times and I do not expect to sell many of my higher priced items. I know they are expensive. But I work dozens of hours on each amigurumi I create. It is always hard to know what to charge for handmade things. Every artist struggles with this. Things get even more difficult when you know that you have spent so much time on your work that you will be taking a loss no matter what you are able to sell your work for.
Holy cow, I just finished creating and listing the first ever pattern for my etsy shop. Man, was that a lot of pain in the butt work! Even though formatting and listing the pattern was really tedious, I enjoyed writing and editing it. I never thought I would say that. Ever since my book I have been dreading selling patterns in my shop. But I had lots of fun explaining things, making sure the numbers added up and taking pictures to illustrate the techniques. My new pattern is a double set called “Electronic Disco Robot and Rock the Hula, Baby!”
Here’s a preview:
Plastic Canvas!? I know, plastic canvas is generally reviled even more than crochet. But for some reason I am drawn to it lately. It must be because I have seen a few really neat things made with it lately. Check out this girl’s stuff:
http://www.flickr.com/people/66187156@N00/ -sorry it’s not a link. i am having some trouble figuring out how to make my links work 
And know this has been around for awhile, but it is still great:
http://blog.craftzine.com/archive/2007/01/needlepoint_nintendo_ds_case_m.html
I see a lot of potential here. It would be great fun to make props and accessories for my ‘gurumis.
Oh man, is it frigid here in Chicago! Right now my computer is telling me that it is -13 Fahrenheit. To be honest, I love this weather. It gives me an excuse to hole up inside the house and get all cozy. You know, hot chocolate and cookies weather. Staying in works out well. Besides the cocoa, I get lots of studio time this way. Most of this week has been spent writing and proof reading a couple of patterns that I will be selling in my shop. (More on that soon) And since I was responsible and finished a bunch of “business” stuff I took some time to work on Cleo’s outfit.
I am slowly gaining confidence in my sewing skills. Her pants weren’t as difficult as I expected them to be. I only had to draw the pattern twice before it was right. Of course there were adjustments to be made before they were totally finished. I decided that I would use a snap in the back to fasten the pants instead of my original plan, which was an elastic drawstring. The snap looks much nicer and I was able to make the pants fit better that way. I didn’t want them to be very baggy at the top so I brought them in a bit as well. This worked out nicely. In order to make the pants a bit slimmer on top I tucked in some fabric as if making a pleat but curved the fold and stitched it down to look like front pockets.
Now she just needs shoes…and socks…and a sweater 
Pain sucks. Well, I guess that is obvious. Crafting, believe it or not, can be a very physical activity. Sore, tight muscles that can put you out of commission for days, and sometimes longer, can creep up on you if you are not careful. I should know, last year I had to take a long break from crafting because I got such a bad repetitive stress injury in my shoulder. I here I am a year later not doing my stretches and as a consequence my neck and shoulders are killing me. I will have to be a good girl and rest my muscles over the weekend. Please, oh please take care of your body at all times, and especially when pursuing you favorite hobbies! Our pastimes can’t be the wonderful stress relievers they should be if we hurt ourselves doing them.
So, in light of all this, I searched the web for stretches to share with you, so we can all craft safely and happily. I found a few fantastic videos on the Mayo Clinic’s site. Here they are. Enjoy!
http://www.mayoclinic.com/health/shoulder-stretches/MM00710
http://www.mayoclinic.com/health/neck-stretches/MM00708
Happy new year, all! I hope everyone had good holidays. I know the website has been quiet for the last 2 weeks, but fret not, I have not been slacking. I promise, just taking a nice holiday break. We had a quiet family Christmas and an even quieter New Year’s Eve. My husband my sister, her fiance and I stayed in on the 31st and watched a bunch of super hero movies, my favorite genre of all time 
I just love Batman. When we were kids my sister and I used to watch the cheesy 60’s TV and we loved it. My favorite villain by far was Catwoman; she was just so sexy!
But that is all beside the point. I am back at work this week and ready to go. A spanking new all-in-one printer has been added to my craft arsenal (as my husband like to call it). A photo-jet with great resolution. I am so excited. I am going to sell prints in my shop soon as well as more paper goods that are in the planning stages right now. As promised I am also hard at work writing tips and technique pages for the website that will all go live over the next few weeks, so check back for those soon.
