Striped Frog

oh hello there

2012-01-20T10:08:00.002-05:00

I seem to have dropped off the face of the blogosphere - although I did not drop off the face of the planet! My world just got so crazy that I completely neglected my blog.

Right after my last entry, Sam and I went on a whirlwind vacation. We drove to Atlantic City with a friends, and from there, Sam and I went to Washington D.C. for one night. Then we went to the Shenandoah Valley to go hiking. It was amazing! We saw bears and snakes and all kinds of wildlife. And it was so beautiful! There was a tour guide, but since Sam and I were the only people who signed up for the tour, we got to go on the hike of our choice. The only downside was that I didn't remember to wear my knee brace, so by the end, I was in quite a lot of pain. But the pain went away after a few days (thankfully it wasn't tendinitis again!) and it was totally worth it.

Then there was fall semester. I liked all my classes a lot, but I didn't have time to come up for air because I was taking five classes (including a clinic) also doing an internship.

And then winter break. Sam and I celebrated our five year anniversary (how time flies!) and then a few days later...we got engaged!! So now I get to plan a wedding, and you can bet there will be lots of crafts involved. I want to knit my own chuppah and maybe bead some bracelets for myself and my bridesmaids. So this will be the era of the weddings, because my little sister is getting married this year, and I'm going to have the honor of making her bridesmaids bracelets too (including one for myself, of course!)

A few days later, I came down with a stomach bug. It was the first stomach bug I've had in my 27 years on this earth. And it was not pleasant. I started to feel better just in time for our New Years party...and then I got a terrible cold. Just in time for my school's intensive trial advocacy program. When they call the program intense, they're not kidding. But it was an amazing program with lawyers and judges from all over the country and I learned so many trial skills. I got to put on two "trials," which was really fun.

So the program ended on Tuesday, and then school started again on Wednesday. I can't believe it's my last semester of law school!

Summer Goals

2011-08-13T07:58:00.005-04:00

I should have posted my summer goals at the beginning of the summer. If you've been reading this blog for a while, you might know that, at least when I'm not immersed in the life of a law student, I'm usually working towards goals in four different arenas - knitting, beading, hiking, and running. So here is an update on how these different things are going for me.

Beading: Right on track! I completed an EBW Challenge piece that I'm really proud of. I listed two pieces that were on the back burner forever. I experimented with shapes, like I wanted to. I have two pieces that are almost ready to list and another piece that's about half finished right now. Now that I have a brand new camera, these pieces will be displayed here and on my Etsy site very soon. I also made a new piece for myself, and as a bonus, Sam found a piece I'd made for myself years ago under the radiator!

Knitting: I kind of told myself that I would finish one sweater this summer. Unfortunately, it looks like that is not going to happen. I've been working on my double v cardigan, but after I messed up and had to unknit for many rows. This was really boring and caused me to avoid the project for a while. So I'm still on the first piece - the back piece - though I'm almost done with it. I'd have to really struggle to finish by the end of the summer, and really, that's not a challenge I feel like undertaking right now. But I'll keep working on it, because it's true that I can't wait to wear it!

Oh, and also, my crocheting is on hold. That one stitch I was doing got very tedious. Hopefully I will get the patience to pick that blanket up again soon.

Hiking: This is a hobby that's never really materialized as much as I would have liked. I did some backpacking in high school, which I absolutely loved, but since then, I haven't hiked very much at all. Sam and I went a couple of times before I started law school, but especially since we live in the city, hiking is an all-day adventure for us, and I simply haven't had time to go on an organized trip. It's true that I had an internship this summer and had weekends off, but law school doesn't really end when the semester is over - there are still things law students need to be working on over the summer (like, you know, finding a job). BUT Sam and I are going hiking in Virginia for two days in about a week and a half! I'm super excited about it!

Running: This was a lost cause this summer. After years of knee pain, I found out a couple of years ago that I had tendinitis and cartilage damage. I can still run, but I have to build up my quads first. This past year and this summer, I was pretty bad about going to the gym. So for now, I have to work on my quads before I can even start running again.

My internship is over now (which is sad, because I really loved it) but I don't quite feel like I'm on vacation. I do have some things that need to get done ASAP. Still, I have two more weeks to work on my goals. But they're really only loose goals - I have enough stress in my life already and I'm not going to let my hobbies add to that stress!

Wednesday: An evening of lines. (Or queues, as we call them in Australia)

2011-08-12T16:48:00.006-04:00

I got a new camera! And it works!! After work on Wednesday, Sam and I went to B&H. That place is both insane and awesome. Once I decided what to get, I got a printout of the camera. Then we had to wait in three different lines before we actually received the thing. But for such a crowded place, it was so efficient! I was impressed.

Then, we went to a show on the lower east side. Sam's friend's band was playing for. They were having a BBQ on the roof, so we got tickets and waited. And waited. We were in that line for an hour, and we only saw the band's last two songs! Somehow, though, we made the most of it. Waiting there for our hamburgers and hot dogs was pretty comical. And I haven't been out on a weeknight in forever! Years, probably. This isn't something I can do all the time, especially now that I'm in law school, but mixing it up like that can be really fun every once in a while.

I still have to charge the batteries in my new camera, but pictures WILL be coming to this blog! I promise!

Ice Skating

2011-08-06T09:02:00.004-04:00

Things have been pretty hectic around here lately, and they're not going to get less hectic any time soon. There are so many things I have to do that are related to being a law student - even during the summer. So my crafting has slowed down a lot over the past couple of weeks.

Today, though, I'm putting everything on hold to go ice skating! You see, I was a little late jumping on the Groupon bandwagon. When I started paying attention to Groupon, I bought several Groupons all in a row - Groupons to things I've always wanted to do but never had the time, and Groupons to places I haven't been in a really long time. This Groupon to Chelsea Piers Ice Skating is going to expire, and this is the last weekend we can use it. It's kind of nice to have that as an excuse to do something different from my normal routine. I figure skated for a while when I was younger, and I always love to go ice skating - I just never seem to find the time. So now I am making the time!

A lifeline would have been nice...

2011-07-29T22:18:00.005-04:00

As was pointed out to me last night at my knitting group, a "lifeline" really could have saved me a huge headache. For those of you who don't live, eat, sleep, and breathe knitting, a "lifeline" is a piece of yarn threaded into live stitches of knitting (stitches that are currently on knitting needles) that can be easily removed. If you make a mistake and you've given yourself a lifeline, you can rip out the stitches up to the lifeline, and the lifeline will keep the stitches in place so you can just put the needles back, instead of painstakingly unknitting for hours, as I have been doing for the past few weeks. I always remember to use lifelines when it's too late. That's how most of my lace projects have ended or been indefinitely postponed. I'm determined not to let all this unknitting stand in the way of my current project, Double V Cardigan, but it sure is making the process a whole lot slower!

my life in the blogosphere

2011-07-28T09:12:00.003-04:00

As I think I may have made clear on this blog recently, during the summer, I have a lot more time for my "other" life. Don't get me wrong, I'm interning (at a place I LOVE) and doing other law-related things, but I do have some time to work on crafts and my blog.

So I've been really diligent about Entrecard recently. For those of you who don't know what Entrecard is, it's a site where people find other people's blogs, read them, and then drop an entrecard, which is the new-aged version of an old fashioned calling card (or a business card, perhaps), on the blog's entrecard widget. You get one entrecard credit ("ec") each time you drop on someone else's widget. Then, when you accumulate enough ec's, you can "purchase" an ad on a blog of your choice. The "price" of the ad depends on how popular the blog is with advertisers. So that pretty much sums up Entrecard, right?

I'm really loving "my" Entrecard blogs - I love that I'm keeping up with people all over the world in their various pursuits - art, life, politics, nature...the list goes on! It really is a community! A chapter of my college thesis was about online communities (online knitting communities, to be exact), and since then, I've always been fascinated with online communities.

Facebook is another matter. I may be fascinated with the anthropological aspects of online communities, but I'm still 27! I was in college when Facebook was invented, so it has definitely become a part of my everyday life. It's made me so lazy, because when I like a post on Facebook, I just click "like." But you can't really do that on people's blogs. Sometimes I just want to write "I like this," but then I don't have anything specific to say, other than a general affirmation of the post, so I don't say anything at all. I've got to work on that!

And speaking of blogs, Sam is going to start a new blog! It's going to be a movie review blog, but the movies are going to be movies that are hard to find. (I thought he should call it "Not on Netflix," but he has a different name for it - which now escapes me.) He formed this whole idea months ago. He made a list of movies that are not on Netflix and gave it to his whole family, including me. Then his mom found a movie rental place that is able to order in a lot of the movies on his list, so he took everything that the place carries off of the list for the family. All he wants for his birthday, etc. are movies from the list. So that's what I got him for his birthday on Tuesday! I selected movies from the O-R section of the list, and bought VHS tapes and DVDs from EBay. Now, Sam has watched so many of these movies, he only has to start the blog! (If he had actually started it, I would totally have linked to it, but for now, this post just has to be a teaser.)

the good news and the bad news

2011-07-22T20:11:00.009-04:00

I'll start with the bad news.

I called Olympus today. Their tech support has been very helpful (I've also emailed them a couple of times), and apparently, my brand new camera that I've never even used needs repairs and it will cost up to half as much as I paid for the camera to repair it. So I think this is a sunk cost. I have to buy a new camera - my shop can't exist without one.

The good news is that TWO Etsy purchases arrived today. (Maybe if I laid off the Etsy purchases, I could actually afford a new camera!) But these two were well worth it. They're BOTH more beautiful in person than in their photos, but unfortunately, I have no camera with which to take their pictures. But here are the pictures from their Etsy listings.

The first is this pair of earrings by TotusMel. These earrings are my perfect shape, size, and color! And they're so fun/funky and delicate looking at the same time!
The second is this amazing top by iheartfink. I can just tell, it's one of those articles of clothing I will wear every day and only take off (a) to wash, or (b) so that I don't look weird for wearing the same thing every single day - which I have been known to do (just ask my mom!)
Oh, and they look amazing together too!

My new bracelet

2011-07-21T18:42:00.007-04:00

Yes, MINE! I made it for me! Ok, well I didn't actually make it for me, but it turned out slightly unperfect, so I gave it to myself as a present. I'd like it to be a little longer, and I accidentally made the ends uneven. You can't tell about the ends, but I still couldn't sell something like that. Also, I have very narrow wrists, so the length is actually perfect for me, but since my bracelets are adjustable, I prefer to make my own wrists the smallest possible size for the bracelets that I sell so that they look good on people with normal sized wrists too.

BUT Sam is home from Chile, I have downloaded the program and I have the cord...and my computer isn't recognizing the cord! I think the store gave me the wrong one! This is the LAST time I buy a camera equipment somewhere other than online! To make matters worse, my old camera, which was already on the fritz, completely died while Sam was in Chile. So here are some really terrible photos that I took of a really beautiful bracelet on my computer's "photobooth."

A Bowl of Jewelry

2011-07-16T10:59:00.006-04:00

Whenever I get all wrapped up in the world of crafts (i.e. when I'm not insanely busy with law school), I tend to visit Etsy a lot more. I'm listing new items and looking for love (i.e. checking to see which pieces are getting "views" and "hearts.") And then I always end up heating (favoriting) and buying other things that are up there. Here is one of my latest finds:
I bought this awesome piece from Red Hot Pottery about a month ago and it really just screams Adina. It's one of my favorite colors (you see, green is my favorite color, and this is one of my favorite greens), the flowers are so pretty and fun, and it holds my jewelry! It makes me so happy when I look at it in the morning when I'm putting on or taking off my jewelry!

Camera Saga Continued (and other news)

2011-07-14T07:35:00.003-04:00

So I wrote to the camera company (Olympus), and they sent me a program to download. So now I will be able to take pictures AND upload them to my computer/blog/website. The problem? Sam accidentally took the cord that hooks the camera to the computer to Chile (along with the old camera). I have to wait a few more days to get it back.

I did finish another bracelet, but until I am able to get my camera back, I'll just have to leave this as a cliff hanger.

In other news, I seem to have been ignoring my knitting. The reason for this is that a few rows back, I made a couple of mistakes on the sweater I'm knitting. Because it is lace, I'm not going to chance frogging it - I'll have to unknit. That will probably take a couple of hours, and I'm not looking forward to it. So I'm kind of procrastinating.

And the Voting Begins!

2011-07-09T12:12:00.006-04:00

To vote for your favorite Entry for the July EBW challenge, Sizzling Sunshine and Soothing Water, click on the link on the right hand side of the EBW blog between July 9 and July 15.

Happy voting!

More Beady Things

2011-07-04T12:13:00.008-04:00

These two pieces had been on the back burner forever, but I finally finished and photographed them and listed them in my Etsy shop. It's so nice to have some new, sparkly, shiny things when I look at it :-)

Sizzling Sunshine and Soothing Water

2011-07-03T23:01:00.008-04:00

My Etsy Beadweavers July Challenge piece is done!

Most of my beadweaving incorporates the peyote stitch to some extent. But this was my first crack at designing a peyote pattern and I must say, I'm pretty proud of it. It was inspired by a picture that Sam took from a helicopter when we visited Australia in 2009.

The only thing disappointing is that I just can't get this new camera to work. First I had to buy a new battery, and now I can't get the software to upload to my computer. So I feel like the colors in these pics aren't quite as pretty as they are in real life.

Interim Report!

2011-06-23T16:29:00.007-04:00

In the past, I've gotten super excited about beading and then school has gotten in the way and my beading ambitions have fizzled out. Well, I can safely say that my July EBWC piece is still underway! I've also said in the past that I love these challenge pieces because they force me to stretch myself and use techniques I haven't used before, whilst staying true to myself and my own style. This remains true. This piece is taking a little longer than I thought it would, but I'm about two-thirds to three-quarters of the way through with it. It's really fun to work on, but I still can't wait to photograph it and show you pictures!

Shop Announcement

2011-06-14T17:36:00.003-04:00

From June through August, I will once again be routinely accepting custom orders in my Etsy shop! Woohoo!

Some Beady Things

2011-06-02T10:44:00.004-04:00

Now that the semester is over, I have some time to work on my Etsy shop. (I seem to recall having said something to that effect last year, but this year I'm really going to do it!)

When the semester ends, I get a little crazy experimenting. I usually want to knit and bead as much as possible before my free time tapers off again. This summer, I'm determined to experiment with color and shape. I've always experimented with different shapes of peyote stitch, and I have some new shapes in my mind that I'm working on. I've been making a bracelet with tapered ends. It's turned out to be thicker than any bracelet I've ever made, so it should be a great addition to my shop.

I'm also entering the July EBW Challenge: Sizzling Sunshine and Soothing Water. I like the way my entry is turning out, but it's going to take a while - I had almost forgotten just how long these pieces take to make! Since I'm starting my internship next week and I still have a couple of things to keep up with for school, I'm pretty sure I'll need the whole month.

Oh and also, I got a new camera!!! I'm super excited about it! I got it when I was in Canada, and after the salesperson had me set on the model that was perfect for me (good for photographing jewelry AND good for adventurous travel), she realized that the only one left was the display model! I was going to get that one, but it was missing parts! So my dad and I ran through the mall and down the street to get to the camera place's sister store before it closed. The only one that place had, too, was the model, but it appeared to have all the parts, so we bought it. WELL, as it turns out, the battery wasn't just dead, as they told us it was in the store - it was broken! (In hindsight, I really should have ordered a new one online, but hey, I got $20 off!) But then I ordered a new battery online and this one seems to be working!

I've definitely noticed that my pieces that sell are the ones with the better photographs. This makes sense because good photographs (a) show the pieces' true beauty, and (b) look more professional. So I can't wait to use my new camera! :-)

Two Awesome Weekends

2011-05-31T13:13:00.014-04:00

Two weekends ago, I visited my dad in Toronto. Actually, I was there for five days. I arrived on Thursday, and since the next Tuesday was Victoria Day, a public holiday in Canada, I left Tuesday. We had a great time seeing the city and even spent a day at Niagara Falls! In true "Dad and Adina style," it took us 4 hours to make the 1 1/2 hour trip because the freeway was closed (and other obstacles), but it wouldn't have been one of our adventures without those hurdles! And the Falls were beautiful! (My camera battery ran out so my dad bought me a disposable one and I still have to develop the photos - so there are more to come!)
Then, last weekend was my 5 year college reunion. I remember starting this blog a few months after I graduated, and I can't believe it's been five years!

Soooo....

2011-05-04T17:29:00.005-04:00

I had my last day of trusts and estates today. Got on the subway and it was having signal problems. At the next stop, I got out and walked to a different subway line, about 10-15 minutes away. Got on the train and of course, there was an announcement that it was running on a different line. There was an announcement that the next one was running on the correct line, and since with my shortcut that would be so much faster, I got off and waited. The next train was the wrong line, so I waited some more. And then there was the right train AGAIN running on the wrong line. By this time, class was starting in 10 minutes. There was no way I could get there on time. I jumped out of the subway, and started running around looking for a taxi. And of course, because it was raining, combined with the fact that I live in Queens, I couldn't find any. FINALLY, I found a taxi. A very nice taxi. But I was still half an hour late!
The worst part of all? I left my Ishbel shawlette in the taxi.

Krista Tee

2011-04-30T09:55:00.006-04:00

It's finals crunch time, but I did manage to take some exciting pictures of my completed Krista Tee. (And by "pictures," I mean "get Sam to take for me"):

Passover Break

2011-04-16T09:04:00.004-04:00

starts today! (Well, for me it started yesterday because I don't have class on Fridays.) My law school is at Yeshiva University, so we get Passover off. It's also kind of our spring break. Passover is really late this year, so I'm pretty focused on outlining for my exams.

Nevertheless, there is always some time for creativity! I'm finally finishing up my Krista tee from two years ago. I worked on it obsessively the last time I was home in Sydney, and it's been sitting there waiting for me to weave in the ends, block it, put it together, and crochet the edging for the past two years. So yesterday, during my study breaks, I wove in all of the ends and blocked three out of four pieces - quite a feat for me!

Treasury

2011-01-12T09:49:00.005-05:00

It's been quite some time since I've written about an Etsy treasury. But I'm just in love with this treasury curated by trinitydj, and it really is an honor for me to have one of my pieces featured amongst such beautiful things.

Crochet

2011-01-10T10:37:00.003-05:00

I haven't crocheted in a few years, but I'm getting excited about starting again. There are a couple of patterns I've been looking in that would make great gifts. I'm really excited about them but I don't want to say much more so that I can add an air of mystery to this blog so that people read it (and also so that gift recipients can be surprised). :-)

Winter Break

2011-01-05T21:36:00.004-05:00

I always feel so much more creative during winter break. Hot chocolate, pajamas, and beading or knitting make the perfect combination for me.

School breaks are always when I think more about my Etsy shop -- probably because that's when I actually have the time to think about it. It's about time I added more inventory! I've had so many ideas brewing for so long, I would love to just sit down and make the things!

This break, though, I have to finish the draft my note. A note is like an article for a law journal. Mine in about women's rights to refuse cesarean sections. It's a fascinating subject, I just wish I had more time to write my note AND to bead. (And to knit all of the patterns that have been accumulating on my Ravelry queue.) Hopefully I will finish my note draft early and then I will have time to bead and knit to my heart's content!

Crafting Woes and Silver Linings

2010-10-23T09:56:00.007-04:00

Even before I went to law school, I felt that there was never enough time in the day to make as many things as I wanted to. Before I got my Etsy shop up, I had a strict routine of designing and making as many jewelry pieces as possible so that I would have merchandise when I opened up shop. Then, there were always deadlines for the EBW challenges. I entered most of them (actually, all of them) during the months between opening my shop and the beginning of my law school application process. They were great because they really forced me to expand my craft and come into my own. My Etsy street teem requires entry in one challenge a year, and so far I've managed to comply with that rule, but I wish I had more time to design.

And I also wish I had more time to knit! There are so many adorable patterns on Ravelry, I just want to knit them all! Right now I'm making a hat with some yarn that I bought on Etsy. I love the yarn, and it's nice making a hat because it's nice and relaxing and uncomplicated, but I do wish I could make a dent in my Ravelry queue.

This summer, I did finish Butterfly Bush, and now that warm shawls are apparently "in," I have even more occasions to wear it than I thought I would! It's so versatile - I can wear it every day, but also to formal occasions - which I have done! I just wish I could make more of the things I want...instead of just dreaming about them! I've been meaning to make a beret for literally years, and there are some adorable sweaters that I've just been itching to make!

Feeling Crafty

2010-10-09T10:59:00.009-04:00

A requirement of my Etsy Team, Etsy Beadweavers, is to enter one monthly challenge a year. Since I started it's been difficult for me to enter these challenges, as I have been up to my eyeballs in work and other school activities. However, when I do enter the challenges, I always feel re-energized about beading and more creative. The challenges make me think about my craft in new and exciting ways, while still staying true to my own style.

This month's EBW Challenge was "Autumn Leaves." I chose to make a choker in autumn colors, which I call Falling Leaves. I actually came up with the color pattern as I went along, which was new for me, and as close to freeform as I've ever come.
To see all of this month's entries and vote for your favorite, please visit the EBW blog from today until October 15.

1L Year is Over!!

2010-05-18T12:59:00.004-04:00

My last final is over! I get my life back for a while! And my awesome internship is coming up! My shop is back open and I'm looking forward to designing some new pieces this summer. Plus, I'll actually have time to knit and see my non-law school friends! Which I am so looking forward to!

Is it April Already??

2010-04-24T09:44:00.003-04:00

There's not much new going on here, as far as crafting. Today was one of those days when I looked at some of the murchandise in my now closed-for-finals shop and thought, man, I wish I could make some more of that now. Instead, I'll be outlining all day.

The good news is that my last final is May 17. After that, well, I have the writing competition. But then after that, I'll be starting my summer internship at the DEC! I couldn't be more thrilled and excited! Can't wait to start!

As far as knitting, earlier this semester, I made my very first shawl - an Isbel shalette. It was sooo much fun. I might just go on a shawl binge this summer - we'll see.

Here is one of the only pictures I have of it. Will try to get another one up here eventually.

CELEBRATION SALE

2009-12-15T14:51:00.003-05:00

My finals are over and it feels so good to be free of them that I decided to celebrate by having a sale! 15% off of everything in my etsy shop until December 22! Wahoo!

If you pay with PayPal, either subtract 15% from you purchase, or else I will refund you 15%. If paying by check or money order, just subtract 15% from your purchase price.

Quick Entry

2009-12-13T08:24:00.006-05:00

I have my last exam tomorrow, which is why I've been MIA for a while. But before it's too late, I wanted to let you know about the December EBW Challenge, "Peace Piece." Here is my entry for the challenge, Peace, Love, and Beautiful Hair (Clip):

So the pictures of this hair clip aren't great because I wasn't able to take them in the daylight. (In real life, it looks much prettier!) You can see this and all of the other entries on the EBW blog. Vote for your favorite until December 15th!

Amazing

2009-11-07T15:28:00.009-05:00

Believe it or not, Sam and I are still setting up the apartment we moved into over a year ago. Don't get me wrong, it's been home and livable for a long time, but we're still making it even more like home. After all, it's the first place either of us has had where we plan on staying for more than a couple of years. And it's the first place where we've lived together as a couple.

I've finally had an excuse to buy artwork from some of my favorite Etsy artists. This painting is from Sagittarius Gallery. I've been admiring Aja's work for ages and I finally have a piece of my own! (Well, Sam and I do.) It's especially exciting that it's from her "Faces of the City" series. It looks just like (and probably is) my own adopted city, New York City.

The New Look of My Blog

2009-11-04T09:26:00.003-05:00

I figured it out! No more messing around with HTML! From now on it's point and click! (Can you tell I'm a little excited about this?)

And the best part of all is that now I have a "Follow Me" widget! So you can follow me!!

Blogging Woes

2009-10-30T15:50:00.004-04:00

Some time in the past three years, Blogger changed the way it sets up blogs. As I understand it, instead of changing the HTML, you can now just point and click to add new widgets. Which sounds pretty cool, except that every time I try to change over to the new format, I lose about half of my links, as well as all of my badges and widgets. But then when I go to the HTML to put everything back, even more things seem to be missing - I can't find any of my links. This is very frustrating. So I pose a question to all you Blogger bloggers out there: What do I doooooooo??

Law School

2009-10-25T10:12:00.004-04:00

Law School. The reason I can rarely go out with my boyfriend and friends. The reason I am at the library at 10 a.m. on a Sunday morning. The reason my nights are spent reading torts instead of watching Project Runway and Law and Order. The reason my Thursday nights are rarely spent knitting with my friends anymore. How do I feel about law school? I love it!

There's an amazing feeling when you find the perfect case for your legal memo, or when you create the perfect sentence. When you figure out WHY certain claims can only be brought in certain courts. I could go on, but I don't want you to leave, so I won't.

Last week, there were rumors of a new MTV reality show about my school. As it turns out, the administration and some student groups had met with some people from MTV to discuss the possibility of a reality show - and decided against it. Phew! My fellow students and I were pretty worried about that possibility - MTV isn't exactly known for bringing out the most savory elements of, well, anything. And that would surely be the case here. Can you imagine a show about what REALLY goes on in law school? The classes, the studying, the dorky legal conversations? Unless they figured out something from our personal lives (no doubt prohibiting us from ever finding jobs), that would have to be the most boring show EVER! To an outsider, law school has got to be incredibly boring. But I still love it.

Art Fire?

2009-10-15T23:18:00.004-04:00

Today was one of those days when my homework just wouldn't seem to get done. I was a little confused about one of the cases I read and needed time for my brain to process what was going on. It was especially annoying because I refused to let myself go knit with my friends until my homework was done (read: never) so that was another creative outlet I had to miss because I was procrastinating.

But during my very long break, I decided to set up an Art Fire shop! It just seems like another market I'd like to try for my beadwork. I set up the shop (you can probably guess the name I used) but I haven't added anything to it yet - mainly because I need more merchandise. I'm almost finished with a new bracelet, and I have another bracelet that's been waiting to be photographed forever, so those two might go to Art Fire instead of Etsy.

Off to bed! I still have to wake up early to finish my freakin' brief!

Sky Diving!

2009-10-12T09:41:00.007-04:00

On labor, Sam and I went skydiving with some of my friends and some or their friends. Here are some pictures of the fun:

The Most Well-Travelled Socks

2009-10-10T20:14:00.003-04:00

I started my first pair of socks here in Astoria. Then, in April, when I went to visit my family in Sydney, I finished the first sock (my first ever!) and started the second. When one of the family dogs mistook one of my needles for a stick and chewed it, I had to make do with the four needles I had until I got back home and could by another one (well, a whole new set.) The sock progressed slowly after I started law school, and a little more quickly during my trip to Costa Rica. Then, one day, months after I started my first pair of socks, I finished it! I messed up the kitchener stitch at the toe of the second sock, but the pair is entirely functional, very warm, and very pretty. Here is a picture Sam took of me knitting the second sock in Costa Rica:

Some Beady Things

2009-08-26T10:18:00.004-04:00

On Monday, Sam and I got back from a week in Costa Rica. By the way, it was AWESOME. The most amazing vacation ever. I'll write more about that as soon as Sam uploads the pictures we took.

School starts again on Monday, and until then, I'm trying to pack as must fun and productivity into my days as possible.

Last night, I finally jumped on the bandwagon and started a Facebook page for my little business. Feel free to become a fan! :-)

And I FINALLY put up something new on my Etsy site! A dreamy star bracelet in blue. I'm really proud of this line, and I'm going to try to expand it a little this week...fingers crossed!

2009-08-08T23:08:00.003-04:00

Usually, my brain turns off at 10. During the week before exams, it's a little more courteous and waits until 11 to shut down. And seeing as it's after 11, I don't have to feel guilty about blogging!

During the three years between college and law school, I kind of felt like I was on one long summer break. Yes, I was working, but I had worked full time every summer when I was in college, so that was nothing new. And now, when other students are getting ready to start school, I'm holed up in my apartment studying for finals! The weird thing is that it doesn't feel weird. Maybe that happened when I started being a grown up. The seasons just melted into one another.

Anyway, during my study breaks, I've been trying to participate a little more with the Etsy Beadweavers, and I've been thinking about my little business. My silver illusion pieces are by far my best selling items. I think that might be where my niche is, and I think that's the direction in which I am moving. (I still have a couple of pieces I've had finished forever but for camera or computer or lighting reasons, I still haven't gotten them up on my site.) Anyway, that's just some food for thought. I'm kind of thinking out loud.

From the Proud New Owner of a Signed Copy of Ysolda's Whimsical Little Knits (thanks to Kimberly and Anna!)

2009-07-08T18:07:00.002-04:00

Just thought I'd show off a little there.

In other news, I've actually been working on my Etsy shop! It all started when I made a...drumroll please...sale! Actually, a triple sale! All rings. Custom sizes. I'll be making them up on Thursday and Friday, after classes are over for the week.

It's weird, but now that I'm in law school, I'm happier than I've been in a long, long time. Probably since I lived in Minnesota 15 years ago. I'm still having nightmares, but in all waking hours I am happy! Even if they include hours of studying...which they do. I had two exams last week, and now I'm having four more hours of class a week...and I've just started crim law, which has A LOT of reading. Oh yeah, and I've been really distracted for the past couple of evenings. Which is why I am blogging instead of reading.

Gaining Knowledge and Losing Teeth

2009-06-18T15:13:00.003-04:00

I just typed "Dreams about" into Google, and the first search term that came up underneath it was "Dreams about teeth falling out." Which is exactly what I was looking for.

It has been an intense month, but I am loving law school so far. The further I get in academia, the more I am able to embrace my inner dork. And who would have ever imagined that I would have found contracts so interesting?! After my three years of soul searching, I am definitely very happy with my decision.

And with school, comes homework and studying. And with homework and studying comes procrastination (like, um, right now...I am blogging and should be outlining). But the weirdest thing is my sleep patterns! All through college, I had dreams of my teeth falling out and I also had sleep paralysis. For the three years that I was working, those two things went away completely. But now they are back! Last night I dreamed that I had handfuls of teeth just falling out of my mouth! I guess this means that I can be very happy and incredibly anxious and stressed out at the same time.

Meanwhile, my crafting gone by the wayside. I'm still on the cuff of that second sock that I started in Australia! I haven't even attempted to block my lace shirt yet! At least I'll have a two and a half week break before the fall semester. By that time, it'll be getting cold enough to actually wear the socks! Hopefully it won't be too late to wear the top, too. The weather has been so awful, it had better be nice well into the fall. (Yeah, I wish!)

I have been keeping up with the running. When I was a kid and I saw other kids with braces for their various appendages, I always thought that they looked so cool. But it's not nearly as cool when you have to wear two of them. With the metal bits on the sides, it kind of looks like I'm wearing a bionic suit for the knees. Plus, my knees still aren't strong enough to run on pavement, so I'm stuck on the treadmill, which can get really boring. Although, I guess with this weather, the treadmill is where I would have been anyway. I think it's been really good for my mind and body.

G'Day

2009-05-30T09:15:00.000-04:00

I'm in Sydney! I've been here for a month and I've spent most of my time knitting! I knit all of the pieces for Krista, a camisole from Knitting Lingerie Style, but I left my blocking stuff at home so I have to wait to block the pieces before I can sew them all together. And I also finished my first sock! It's the 8 stitches per inch sock from Ann Budd's Getting Started Knitting Socks (which is awesome, by the way) and it took FOREVER, but it's done! And now I'm working on its twin. I have about an inch done, so I'll undoubtedly be working on it when I get back to New York.

My two knitting buddies have been Misty, and labradoodle, and Diva, a cotton de tulear, aka the family dogs.

In other news, I'm not sure if I've blogged about this before, but about six months ago, I found out that the seasonal knee pain that I'd been having for three years was tendinitis (which is weird, because I had had tendinitis in my ankle two years earlier and it felt a lot different). Oh yeah, and I also found out that I have minor cartilage damage in my knee. (Fun, fun, I know.) So now I'm finally able to start running again! And I'm training for a half marathon! I'm really excited because although I've been running on and off since high school, this is the first time I've set a half marathon as my goal. And after a week and a half of jogging every two or three days, I can feel that my fitness has improved a lot and that I'm finding it easier and easier. I think that this will be a great way for me to ease stress while I'm in law school, and it's totally boosting my confidence.

My family took a quick trip to New Zealand, and it was the first time Dev and I had ever been there (and this only time I got to see my sis the whole time I've been here, since she's working in Canberra). It was really fun, and we all noticed that the people there were all so friendly!

I haven't really seen much of my friends, but everyone's been busy with work and exams and going to Thailand and weddings. And I've been really, really lazy (the calm before the storm that I'm sure will be law school). But when I was snooping through my mom's computer to find pictures of the dogs, I did find these:

That's me and four of my bestest friends in my parents' loft during winter break my senior year. Ah, memories!

On a roll

2009-03-07T11:50:00.009-05:00

It's a beautiful day outside, but I'm on a role and I can't seem to stop knitting. I'm finishing off my garter yoke cardigan. I'm really proud of it, but I'm getting a little tired of stockinette, so right now, I just want it to be done! I took a really shoddy picture of it with my phone because although I finally found my camera and charger, I still can't find the cord the connects the camera to the charger.

I just have to finish one sleeve, weave in the ends (from adding additional skeins of yarn, not from sewing, because this pattern is done completely in the round which makes it even more awesome)!

I was so busy knitting this morning that I didn't even get properly dressed until there was a knock at the door. It was my super, informing me that he had a package for me. It was my latest and greatest knitpicks package! Inside was the delicious yarn for something I'm going to try to make for my mom before I go home next month. I can't wait to start the project! Plus, I have to get a move on things if I'm going to finish before I leave!

Also inside was Knitting Lingerie Style by Joan McGowan-Michael, a book I am currently drooling over. Seriously, I want to make every single thing in that book. I think I'll start out with some of the spring outerwear and progress from there. I'd like to start one of the patterns when I'm at home in Sydney.

And then there's this month's EBW challenge. The theme is "Time Machine," and I'm a sucker for things like that. I haven't entered that last few challenges, but I'm psyched about this one. Any time, any place for inspiration? You just can't beat that. I'm thinking Japan.

And remember that Valentines gift? Well here it is:

It took a while to make this, mostly because I don't have a sewing machine so I had to sew the whole thing by hand. I designed the pattern myself and sewed on heart beads for eyes. I embroidered the heart on the shoulder and the mouth. It was my first ever attempt at embroidery, and I'm very happy with the results.

so much to make, such little time!

2009-02-08T13:24:00.003-05:00

I'm still working on my top down cardigan. I'm at a point where it's just a lot of stockinette. I can't wait for the arms...oooooh! Variety!

And then I have my non-knitting, non-crochet, non-beading Valentines day gift, which I have yet to start, although I have most of the materials. Everything else can be bought at the discount store across the street.

Then there are the "little" projects I've volunteered for. The feminist knitting swap; the afghans for Afghans item (most likely a child's hat, possibly two), the neutral colored wool squares that my Heifer International group on Ravelry is using to make an afghan. All extremely cool, fun, encouraging things, all at the same time.

And now, I'm off to finish the laundry. Wish me luck! :-)

It's been a while (again)

2009-02-03T18:50:00.007-05:00

I have so many blog posts in my head but I haven't blogged in so long! January was crazy - I had four Australian friends staying with me at different times (sometimes overlapping), and I finished 8 out of 9 law school applications. I also spent two days in DC to see Sam's dad receive the French Legion of Honor.

I've been knitting like crazy. Once I finished Sam's scarf (yes, I can finally announce that it's a scarf), I went on to finish my dad's scarf that had been in the works, like, forever. I finally knit myself a hat, and I'm a little over halfway done with my first cardigan. Unfortunately, I put my camera somewhere and am unable to locate it. Luckily, facebook exists. Here is a picture my friend Dave took of me knitting my lovely Thorpe hat (pattern downloaded from Ravelry).

Notice it was knit from the top down. Something about that was incredibly exciting and fun.

This next picture was taken at a bar in Park Slope (Brooklyn) after a hard day of football. It normally sits a little lower on my head, but it was kind of pulled up.

I've kind of been neglecting my beading, and I've felt bad about that, but I'm slowly getting back into promoting my Etsy store and supporting my Street Team. I've still been receiving hearts, and that's very encouraging.

I also have another little project up my sleeve that I hope comes into fruition. Here's a hint: what's exactly eleven days from now?

This and that...

2008-12-20T22:35:00.004-05:00

The thing I've been working on is finally finished! And just in time!! I'll try to put up a picture some time next week...if you get my drift ;-)

Lately, I've become quite obsessed with Ravelry. And knitting. Again. So now I'm obsessively looking at patterns and I picked up something else I had meant to finish a year ago. Very proud of myself. Kind of getting in the way of law school applications, but still proud of myself. Oh yeah, and there are like a thousand things I want to make right now!

And, through Ravelry, I met some awesome knitters in Astoria. And I drank some delicious tea. :-)

hello hello!

2008-11-14T18:17:00.005-05:00

It's been a while, and I apologize for that. A lot has been going on over here, and it's gotten in the way of my crafting (and, by extension, my blogging).

Sam and I moved to a new (for us at least) place in Astoria. I looooove this place. We're still getting settled in (e.g. we don't have a couch yet) but we're now at the point where I am able to work on my crafts. My Etsy store is still up and running, although I haven't been attending to it as much as I should, especially with the holidays coming up. Hopefully that will change soon!

I've also been knitting. I'm working on the same things I hoped to finish last December (this year, in retrospect, was not the year of the UFO). Hopefully I'll be able to finish them this December! Even so, I couldn't help but to order some sock yarn on KnitPicks for who knows when.

As for Hannah, she was found alive several months ago (and I should have posted this earlier, I know). You can read about it here.

Please Help Find Hannah Upp

2008-09-06T12:12:00.006-04:00

She has not been seen since last Friday, August 29. Her keys, wallet, phone, metro card, and metro card, and passport were all found in her room.

Hannah graduated from Bryn Mawr College in 2007, a year after I did. She is truly one of the sweetest, kindest people anyone could meet. Her friends started a facebook group called "We're Not Giving Upp (On Hannah), and over 1,500 people have joined and are getting media attention. Please, please, please, if anyone who reads this blog knows anything, or could help in any way, please contact the police, leave a message for the facebook group, or let me know and I will pass on the message to the appropriate people. You don't have to give your name or anything.

Here is the information posted on the facebook group, by Hannah's brother, Wally:

"Hannah Emily Upp, 23, has been missing since Friday, August 29, from her residence in the vicinity of Hamilton Terrace, Harlem.
Hannah is a New York City Public School teacher; she teaches middle school Spanish at Thurgood Marshall Academy for Learning and Social Change, at W. 135th and 7th Ave. A recent graduate of Bryn Mawr College, Class of 2007, majoring in Spanish and Comparative Literature, she is a New York City Teaching Fellow, working on her Master's degree at Pace University and teaching full time. She completed her first year of teaching 2007-08, and was about to start her second year of teaching when she went missing.

Anyone with any information is asked to contact Detective Perez, 30th Precinct Detective Squad, at 212-690-8842, or 212-690-8843."

Complimentary Contradictions

2008-08-31T18:39:00.008-04:00

That is the theme for the Etsy Beadweavers September Challenge. For once, I wasn't scrambling to finish at the eleventh hour, and I had so much fun with this one! My piece is called, "Black and White - A Story in Color." It's made up of six hexagons woven together. Three of them are made up of different colors, and two of them are black, white, and different shades of gray. It's finished off with a real silver chain and a red glass bead. I'm really pleased with the way it turned out. These colors were so fun to use, and I'm also really pleased with the final proportions. I have a feeling that this piece will be my inspiration for many pieces to come.

You can vote for your favorite September EBWC Entry on September 9th on the EBW blog, http://etsy-beadweavers.blogspot.com.

I've only been a member of the Etsy Beadweavers since May, but it's been such an awesome experience so far. And the three challenges in which I have participated have truly influenced the way I bead, for the better! Lately, I haven't had much time to bead, because I've been getting ready to move apartments, and I've also begun the law school application process. I have finished a gift and a custom order, and I finished two more bracelets a couple of weeks ago, but I haven't had a chance to photograph them and get the up on Etsy yet. But I will soon! All in good time...

Guilty Pleasures

2008-08-14T20:24:00.005-04:00

I've developed an addiction to reality TV shows on Bravo. In the past, I would never had admitted to this, but we're all friends here, right?

My all time favorite, of course, is Project Runway. I've also really gotten into Shear Genius. I love watching the challenges and the wonderful and awful things that these people come up with. I love choosing my favorites and least favorites and imagining myself wearing those outfits and haircuts. My favorite "character" is Stella, the wonderfully ridiculous designer of all things "leatha."

I rush home every Wednesday to watch these favorite shows of mine. If I can't be home to watch them, they'll always be on the next day. And the day after that. And pretty much every day until the next Wednesday, the next episode. But then, all the episodes are on that day too...

This all got me thinking. What if there was a Bravo TV show about the type of designing that I do? What if there was a show just about beadweaving. Or about knitting and crocheting. The camera focuses on me. I'm beadweaving, and you hear a voiceover. "I decided to do a peyote cuff. So I started with some beads. And then I put on another bead. And then I put on another bead. And then I put on another bead. And then I decide to change colors." Or "I did a row of knit. And a row of purl. Then I did an intricate lace. Yarn over..." Maybe it's just that I've been watching too much TV and frying my brain, but this concept makes me laugh! Just imagine how entertaining that would be to the outside world! (Not!)

But it also got me thinking about the people I design for. I always design with a little piece of myself in mind. After all, who could love something I make that I don't even love? In their own way, the Etsy Beadweaving challenges are kind of the same concept. The last challenge in particular got me out of my comfort zone, but I was determined to make something beautiful within the guidelines that was still true to my own sense of style, and I'm pretty sure I pulled it off.

And of course there are the people who wear my jewelry. I just love opening a package in which there is something wearable that I ordered from Etsy. (Lamp work jewelry is another guilty pleasure of mine.) And when I put it on, I feel amazing and beautiful. That is exactly how I want people to feel when they wear my jewelry. I want them to feel like the powerful women they are, or to feel like princesses. Whatever makes them feel best, that is how I want them to feel. Whether I give pieces I make away or people purchase them or even have me custom make them, I just want my pieces to be loved, and I want the people who wear them to feel just that little bit more amazing.

Art Deco

2008-08-04T21:11:00.008-04:00

Once again, I listed my EBW Challenge piece at the very last minute, but I listed it!

This piece was inspired by colors and geometric designs of the Art Deco period. It's an adjustable peyote cuff with rectangular windows ascending (or descending, depending on which way you look at it) across the bracelet. I'm very happy with the way it turned out.

When I started this piece, I had a vague idea that I wanted it to be red, with maybe some black and or white, and preferable with some sort of window. It evolved as I continued with it. As geometric as it is, this piece is the closest I have ever come to free form. Perhaps it is time for me to give real free form a try! :-)

Starting August 9, you can see all the beautiful entries on the EBW Blog, and vote for your favorite!

Checking In

2008-08-03T17:16:00.005-04:00

I've had various things going on for the past couple of weeks, and I've been kind of absent from the blogosphere. A few weeks ago, Sam and I had an amazing time visiting friends in Ithaca. And the Thursday and Friday before last, I had jury duty. (Yes, in New York, federal jury duty lasts two days!) I spent all of Thursday in a court room, but in the end, I didn't get picked. It was pretty interesting, though. I started my Art Deco challenge entry that night, and was able to work on it a lot on Friday in the "Jurors Lounge" and then at Starbucks as I waited for Sam to get out from work so we could head off to a Ween concert, which is one of his favorite bands.

The next day, Saturday, was Sam's birthday, and we walked from his apartment in Astoria to Peter Luger's in Brooklyn. It was lots of fun, but I wasn't wearing the right shoes. We finally took advantage of his back yard that night, during Sam's big birthday bash. When I excused myself to "nap" (i.e. go to sleep) at 2:00, the party was still going strong.

My big endeavor for this week was to finish my August EBW challenge, Art Deco. Sam and I had planned to go hiking upstate with a few friends yesterday, but a few hours into our drive, it started to thunder and pour. So we took a tour of an old mansion for an hour or two and then got ice cream before the long ride home. But today, at 1:00 p.m., I finally finished my piece! I took my pictures, but I haven't had a chance to list it yet, or even put up the pictures (a very late brunch in Sam's neighborhood took priority) so I'll get them up tomorrow before the midnight deadline. But...Woohoo! Done! Yay! :-)

Fives

2008-07-28T19:42:00.003-04:00

I got this one from Sarah, thebeadedlily. I love little surveys like this when they're about arts and crafts. (A lot of my answers actually overlap with Sarah's!) I've been kind quiet on the blogging front lately, and I will soon update you on my latest adventures. But for now, I leave you with fives!

What are your 5 favorite art works? Have you seen them in person? Do you have plans to?
And I mean art in a very broad sense here.

The Sydney Harbour Bridge - yes! I've seen it and crossed it hundreds, maybe thousands of times. I miss it!
Anything by Van Gogh (Same as Sarah!) - yes, I've seen many of them and I would love to see more of them and to see many of those I've already seen again!
Chanel Suits-- I saw an exhibit on them at the New York Met! (Don't know if I'd ever wear one, though)
Avenue Q-- Yes! It was my favorite play EVER!
Anything by Renoir -- yes, and I'd love to see more!

What are 5 crafts you couldn't live without? Have you done them? Any good?
Beadweaving-- yes and yes
Sewing-- yes. I was good at it for my age, but I haven't sat at a sewing machine since I was about 14
Woodwork-- only in shop class
Metalwork-- same as above (only in shop class)
Knitting-- yes and yes

What are 5 crafts you'd like to learn? Have you ever tried them? Will you?
Lampwork-- yes, I've had one lesson in a studio that used to be around the corner from my mom's house. I think I will try it some time again in the future
Metalwork-- only in shop class. But I plan to delve back into it!
Drawing-- I've tried some, but I would love to (and plan to) have more training
Filigree-- No. I plan to learn some day, because I love this craft!
Leatherwork-- No, probably not

What are 5 arts and crafts you've tried that weren't for you?
Calligraphy
I won't rule anything else out!

What are 5 things you aim for with your art/craft?
Individuality
Beauty
Wearability
Happiness-envoking
Love

It must be genetic

2008-07-16T20:30:00.007-04:00

At least it runs in the family. Or maybe it's just a family trait.

People in my family tend to buy gifts for birthdays and holidays early or on time, and then just never send them (instead, waiting to give them in person), or send them really late. It's not a negative thing, because we all do it and so we all expect it.

So that is why my Auntie Carol got her birthday necklace three weeks late! It was one of the things I was madly trying to finish in June, but I didn't exactly send it until the middle of July. At least the outcome was success -- she loved it! After all, it was her colors! :-)
This isn't the greatest picture of it. It was almost 100 degrees outside when I took it. (I was determined to take it in natural sunlight.) I had to run inside before I could take another one! But you get the idea...

And now, I'm off to watch the new season of Project Runway! Woohoo!!

Art Deco

2008-07-15T20:54:00.003-04:00

On my way home from the subway today, I was thinking so hard about the next EBW Challenge that I overshot my turn by a whole block. For the last challenge, I knew exactly what I wanted to make right away. But this one is taking a little more planning. There are so many facets of the art deco movement that I just can't seem to pinpoint what I want to make or even which part of the movement I want to use for my inspiration.

I am very drawn to the delicate jewelry of the period, and I've sort of designed a bracelet and a necklace in my head. I would really enjoy these things, but they would not exactly be my most complicated or time consuming creations.

From the little internet research I've done, the art and architecture of the period seem to be much bolder than the jewelry. I could also have a lot of fun exploring shapes, and I've also cooked up some ideas for a bracelet cuff that would do that. I've even been (half seriously) toying with the idea of creating a tiny mini-building out of beads.

And then there's the ever-present real life getting in the way. Today, I had leftovers from a chicked and eggplant dish that I made on Sunday night for dinner. I'm beginning to realize that I haven't cooked a meal in literally months. (Not including Lean Cuisine and Campbell's Soup! ;-) ) For a Manhattanite, that's very normal, but it isn't normal for me. I love eating my own cooking almost as much as I love eating my mom's cooking! If only there were more hours in the day!!

This and That

2008-07-12T11:29:00.009-04:00

This is my friend, Dave, his awesome girlfriend, Nicole, and me last night at a comedy show. Dave and I went to high school together in Sydney, and he's doing a PhD in theoretical particle physics at Cornell, and Nicole is a med student here in New York City. They're both on summer break now, so it was awesome getting to see these busy academics. (The show was cool too!)

This weekend, Sam is partying it up in California with his brother, Dan, so today is my lazy day. It was going to be my cleaning day, but I think it's going to be my lazy day with some cleaning on the side. This morning, I've been beading and watching Project Runway reruns. I'm finishing up a bracelet that I started last weekend. It's inspired by my EBWC Challenge piece. Here it is, not quite done. (There are still loose strings hanging off of it.) It's definitely a piece that needs to be photographed in natural light, but you get the idea:

The bracelet turned out a little bit smaller than expected, so who better to wear it than yours truly! I'm keeping this one for myself! :-)

Speaking of last weekend, I just have to include this photo of Sam's mom, Cheryl, who put this choker that I made with this adorable outfit, worn to dinner last weekend in Sag Harbor:

They're all so Dreamy!

2008-07-09T08:14:00.005-04:00

The entries for the Etsy Beadweavers Midsummer Nights Dream are up on the EBW blog! And they're all so dreamy and beautiful! Drool over them all and vote for your favorite! :-)

This Weekend

2008-07-05T02:17:00.004-04:00

So Sam and I didn't quite make the fireworks. We got cheese steaks and headed over to the pier just as the crackling of fireworks started. About five minutes before the end. We did, however, make the last five minutes. It was still fun, though. Even as we were walking there, masses of people streamed in front of us and behind us. Then we headed to a party in Brooklyn with some of Sam's really nice Oberlin friends. It was really fun!

We came back "early" because we're going to Sam's parents' house in the Hamptons tomorrow. So unless I go to the library, I will be without internet access for the next two days! *gasp*

I'm super excited because Sarah (thebeadedlily) is featuring an interview of me in her blog! Sarah is another EBW member (and moderator!) with an Etsy jewelry shop of her own, featuring many unique beadwoven pieces. Here is just one of the beautiful things in her shop:

Sarah's shop is an eclectic mix, so I really recommend checking it out! :-)

A Midsummer Nights Dream

2008-07-04T19:40:00.002-04:00

I'm meeting Sam in an hour to grab a quick dinner and then see the fireworks, but for now, I'm doing some of my essential chores...like writing in my blog!

The rest of my beads finally got here on Wednesday, and I spent Wednesday night, Thursday morning, and a lot of Thursday night (with a few hours dinner break with friends) furiously beading. And I finally finished!
Between scattered showers, I took some pictures of the necklace lying flat, and Sam took some of it on my neck, and voila!

Apart from the surprise factor, I've been a little mysterious about this choker partly because I didn't know how to explain how to describe the hearts. I also didn't want to take "in progress" pictures because at the time that I ran out of beads, I only had the three stars and a few of the strands connecting them.

Figuring out "numbers" for this piece was kind of difficult because each strand had to be a different length, and I had to keep this in mind while figuring out how to make the purple hearts. I also had to figure out how to make it look finished at the back. I went with brick stitch (which I had never used before, so I just taught it to myself out of the book Sam gave me for my birthday!)

I had originally wanted to add some embellishment to the bottom of this piece. I had a few different ideas going around my head. But when I finished the choker part, I realized that it was actually done! I don't think that any sort of embellishment would have done this piece justice. I'm actually very happy with the way it turned out! :-)

Thank you so much to everyone who left me kind words during the drama that surrounded this piece! ;-)

Some Happy Things

2008-06-29T18:37:00.007-04:00

Last night, I went to the 40th anniversary party of Sam's parents, Cheryl and Richard. I really had a lot of fun meeting their family and friends, and of course, hanging out with Sam and his brothers, both of whom live in Chicago and had flown to New York for the occasion. They finally presented them with the photo album that that they (mostly Sam) had been working on for over a month! It included anecdotes from their loved ones, as well as photos. It was a great success!

After the party, Sam, his brothers, and I went back to Cheryl and Richard's for a night cap. We looked through the album. At this point, they opened a few presents. That's when I presented them with this box:
You see, Sam's parents collect little boxes. I've had this pattern by Julia S. Pretl in my beading repertoire ever since it appeared in Bead and Button Magazine about 6 years ago. They take quite a while to make, but I love making them and giving to people who love them. Seeing Richard's and Cheryl's happy reactions to this was sooooooooooo cool! :-)

Another happy thing is that I am currently being featured on NightMaiden's blog, Going Handmade! I am so grateful to NightMaiden for featuring me! I know that when I answer interview questions (just like when I used to write essays, and before that, reports) I tend to write a lot! So I really commend NightMaiden for taking my looooooong answers and putting together such a wonderful article! I also commend her for taking so much time to promote Etsy artist. Her blog is very new, but she has featured a different Etsy artist every single day since its birth! If you check out her blog, be sure to check out some of the other Etsy artists she features! Her post on Maoiliosa prompted me to impulsively buy these gorgeous Japanese washi earrings.

Ever since they arrived at my apartment a few days ago, I haven't taken them off! (OK, maybe for sleeping and showering, but that's IT!) :-)

OH NO!!!

2008-06-28T10:57:00.003-04:00

So as you may recall, as soon as I heard the theme of this month's EBW challenge, A Midsummer Nights Dream, I immediately got sketching. I worked out a pattern and ordered the beads I needed. I wasn't quite sure which colors would work best, so I ordered a few different colors in small quantities.

I actually spent a large part of this month working on gifts (more on that another day!) so my challenge piece got pushed back a little bit. I figured I could finish it this weekend.

A little while after having started the challenge piece, I realized that the colors I was using just were not working out. There was not enough of a contrast between them, so I started over, using one of the colors I had used for one of my gifts.

I don't know why this did not occur to me at the time, but I did not have enough beads in that color! Last night, I realized this, and immediately spent a small fortune on two-day shipping. They should be there by Monday or Tuesday. Problem is, I'm supposed to stay at work late on both Monday and Tuesday (tutoring is canceled this week because of the 4th of July holiday). With my job, that could have me home anywhere between 7:00 and midnight! It's not so much the beading that I am concerned about as much as the trial and error. While part of my challenge piece is in my comfort zone, part of it is something I've never done before, and it takes a while to figure out how to make it work! And then there is the photography part of it. I want to take my pictures in natural light, so I'll just have to hope that July 3rd or 4th is a nice day (for more reasons than the obvious! ;-) ) Plus, it's the type of piece that really needs to be photographed on a person. So I'll have to make sure that I'm with a person who can photograph me wearing it during bright daylight hours. The July 4th holiday might complicate things, because I'm also going to have access to my computer - i.e. be at my apartment and not a barbecue or the like, for at least part of the day. AND if this piece does not end up working out, I won't have a challenge entry at all...

Earlier this morning, I ran out of the color I needed. At least this will force me to do the seemingly never ending house work I need to do... That's actually a good thing. :-)

Anyway, this will probably all work out. I did work on the piece a lot last night, so it's not as if I have the whole thing to make. (If I hadn't already done so much work, I would have just used another color!) But this is my progress report. I have made a lot of progress - I'm just impatient and I wish I could make some more progress now! :-)

An Almost Knitting Night...And Other Adventures

2008-06-25T21:37:00.005-04:00

For exactly a year now, I've tutored GED students every Tuesday after work. I used to only tutor math, but now I almost exclusively tutor reading. This is something I look forward to every week, and I always come home invigorated. Like many who volunteer, in many ways, I learn more from those whom I teach than they learn from me.

Everyone knows that on Tuesdays from 6:00 to 8:00, I am not free. So yesterday, when Amna and I decided to see the New York Philharmonic play a free concert in Central Park, Amna got there a couple of hours early to stake out a spot. The plan was to knit in the park while we listened to amazing music. But, in typical Adina fashion, I forgot to bring my knitting needles to work! Luckily, I live right near the site of the concert, and when I got to Central Park West around 8:30, I ran home to find them! But (sadly!) I haven't knit for months! I have three scarves on the needles right now - all were going to be gifts last December! - and I was determined to work on one of them! But I couldn't find the matching needle to ANY of them! I scarfed (seriously, no pun intended!) down a bowl of cereal (I am NOT a pretty sight when I am hungry!) and tore through my apartment, looking for any one of the three needle mates. Finally, I found one! But that scarf was a cable pattern, and I couldn't find my cable needle (of course)! Finally, I grabbed a crochet hook, figuring I could improvise and use it as a makeshift cable needle, and bolted out the door.

When I got to where the concert was, there were droves of people walking towards me, and I was sure the thing was over...but it's wasn't! It was just intermission! I found Amna with surprising ease and, armed with my quarter-finished cable scarf, sat down on her huge picnic blanket to knit. And then I realized that it was too dark to knit. (It was even too dark to take pictures!)

Well, at least it was great company and amazing entertainment. And I hadn't seen Amna in over a month and I missed her! So it was great seeing her again. And, well, the New York Philharmonic! Enough said! Even without our knitting, we had so much fun! And then we went to Pinch for pizza. Yuuuuuuuummy.

Then, tonight, I had a tutor appreciation dinner. Also so much fun. I think I surprised the other tutors because I'm usually so quiet when I see them. But then, I'm usually concentrating on tutoring when I see them! Get a glass of wine and some good food in me, and I can't stop talking! Like our students, the tutors themselves are all so diverse, and getting to know them better was a pleasure!

It's late...

2008-06-25T00:19:00.005-04:00

...and I have quite a few things I want to write about, but I will have to save most of them for later in the week. For now, though, I wanted to post another treasury here. It's another patriotic treasury, and this time, my red necklace is in it! (It's currently in two treasuries!!)

This treasury, red white and blue, which will be open for your viewing pleasure until 11:40 a.m. on Friday, was created by Jessica of bruizerbeans. There is no denying that Jessica is an amazing artist, but I am in complete awe of her beaded purses. Here are just a few of them:

Aren't they just stunning?!!

And with these beautiful treasures, I wish you a good night! :-)

Good Thing Come in TWOS

2008-06-23T19:59:00.006-04:00

or at least treasuries seem to...

I'm in two more treasuries!!

This one is called Shine On Your Crazy, and it was put together by the very talented Carol Dean of SandFibers. It's the second treasury to feature my three tier blue cylinder necklace, and I'm so happy about that because that one took soooo long to make and is one of my favorite designs! Also, sometimes when the picture is small, you can't tell that the cylinders are made out of seed beads, but when the picture is bigger I think it looks pretty cool.

Happy Independence Day, America!
You can see this one on Etsy until Thursday at 5:05 a.m.

My red hexagon necklace is in Symphony of Color, a treasury chosen by Ileana of enchantedbeads. I really love the concept behind this treasury. The different colored treasures are sitting together like sections in an orchestra! I think that to come up with something like that, you have to be very artistic, and and it is obvious just how creative Ileana is just from her own work!

You can view this one until Wednesday at 5:41 pm. I highly recommend taking a look at both of these treasuries, because (as you can see) all of the pieces in them are beautiful, and (as you can also see) most of them are beadwoven!

Challenge, Corporate Style

2008-06-21T15:45:00.003-04:00

The Corporate Challenge is a huge annual running race entered by employees of thousands of companies. It is held in different cities, and in New York, it is held on a 3.5 mile course in Central Park. I participated in this race on Thursday. It was my second Corporate Challenge.

At the end of the work day, I was getting changed in the bathroom when I realized that I had taken one of the wrong shoes with me to work! Somehow, my I had thrown one running shoe and one Chuck Taylor in my bag! I couldn't run like this! Not only would I look hilarious, but this would probably have been quite bad for my back, ankles, and feet. Wearing two different types of shoe at once tends to do that to you - plus, those Chucks are so old and worn out that I can't even wear them walking for long periods of time.

Luckily, I live near Central Park. So I dashed home to change, and walked back to where my company was stationed, waiting for the race to begin. Inevitably, I got lost finding it, but I made it just in time!

I really love running and I used to run several times a week. Lately, though, I've been lucky to fit in one weekly run. This, combined with the stress of the shoe fiasco and the fact that I'm only used to running in the morning, when I have little food and drink in my stomach, resulted in the worst side cramp I can ever remember having. I ran the first two miles while grabbing my aching side and, occasionally, walking. But by the third mile, I was pretty much OK. I'm really glad that I did it! I loved participating in such a huge event, and I LOVE the idea of bringing fitness to the sedentary corporate world.

Sam participated for the first time this year, for his company. It was awesome seeing him afterwards and stopping for sandwiches and frozen yogurt with him on the way home. We even trained together exactly once - last Saturday to be exact! Maybe for next year, we'll start training a little earlier. Like, perhaps, tomorrow! Then again, that's what we said last year, when I ran the race the first time and Sam decided to enter this year's race. So maybe I'm being a little optimistic. But whoever said optimism was a bad thing? :-)

I'm behind

2008-06-14T14:06:00.009-04:00

This week has been pretty hectic for me. Really good, but busy.

I woke up Monday morning to a request for a trade! It was something I'd never done before but was eager to try! I traded this little "charm" bracelet
for three sets of adorable stickers from beckynot! Now I have cute stickers I can use when I send things to my canine-obsessed relatives, and I can also adorn my packages that I send out to Etsy customers with them! (You wouldn't believe how hard it is to find cute stickers in New York City. I had given up. New York City children are apparently beyond stickers.)

I have apparently become an avid Etsy buyer, because I've made quite a few Etsy purchases since I joined. I'm usually pretty frugal, so this could get dangerous!

I came across Chopstix Waits' shop kind of randomly. I was looking at the blogs on a "blog roll" Etsy Forum, and when I read Mary Jane Frances' blog (which is, itself, very inspiring, and a great blog to read), I just knew that I had to visit that shop! Chopstix's sewing is impeccable, and is inspired by African textiles. No matter what I end up doing as a career, I will forever be the anthropology major I was in college. I'll be the girl who loves all crafts - especially those from other cultures, whose thesis structure was loosely based on an ethnography about Guatemalan textiles. Best of all, these clothes look like they were made for me! I impulsively bought a beautiful knit summer top, and a few hours after it arrived, I could not help but to buy another. And you know what? I couldn't be happier!

I also did something very uncharacteristic for me this week - I went out on both Thursday and Friday nights. (Gasp!) I had lots of fun, but was left kind of behind in my craft-related work.

So I fell behind in my EBW Team emails and posts. I was pleasantly surprised last night to read an Etsy conversation from Grandma Marilyn's that I was in this treasury along with 11 other EBW Team members:

(As you can see, some of the images in the treasury got cut off - I still have to figure out how to get better screen shots.) You will be able to view this until Monday at 2:19 a.m.

I was so far behind, that I actually MISSED a treasury that I was in. I just saw this screenshot of it on Carol Dean Sharpe's blog this morning! (She is, rightly so, the queen of Etsy treasuries.) It also had some other amazing EBW pieces in it.
Now I have to work on a gift whose owner should be getting it alarmingly soon. I might also finish a bracelet to sell, with which I am almost done. We shall see...

Here they are!

2008-06-07T16:01:00.004-04:00

(Thanks, Marylou!)

My beeeeeeaaaaauuuuutiful new beads.
I tried to find a background for the purple mix that I already had, but now I'm thinking maybe the blue mix. I think I'm going to have some silver in there too. So I got a LOT of potential background colors, but I got them in small quantities (I can always get more), knowing that I will find other uses for whatever I don't use for this particular endeavor. Now all I have to do is get beading!!

And now I will talk about the weather. (Seriously.)

It's been unusually cold here in New York. But all of a sudden there is a heat wave. I think my body is in shock. I went outside to take pictures of the finished necklace that I started last weekend, and after a couple of minutes, I had to rush into the doorway to relieve myself of the heat. I went back outside to finish the job, and quite frankly, I don't even care about the shadows right now. When I got back inside my apartment, I could barely see, even though the the lights were on. This is something that I'm not used to happening in New York. (Sydney, but not New York.) I got a couple of pictures of a gift that I just finished so that I could post them after the gift is received. But just barely. They're pretty bad pictures, but I couldn't stand the heat anymore! I'm supposed to go out tonight, but I'm not so sure if that's going to happen.

Here is the finished Etsy necklace:

2008-06-06T19:17:00.004-04:00

As soon as I finish the necklace and bracelet that I started last weekend, I'm going to have to put Etsy pieces on hold for a little while. I have some gifts that I have to start and finish working on. Why oh why do I always leave these things so long??!

I also need to start my entry for the Etsy Beadweavers' July Challenge, a Midsummer's Night Dream. I have something in mind, and the beads I ordered for it came yesterday. I'm so psyched!

Speaking of EBW team challenges, the entries for June challenge, Anything Goes, are now posted on the Etsy Beadweavers' blog. These are all stunning. I am not exaggerating. Seriously. LOOK AT THEM!! :-)

I didn't enter this one, but I am currently drooling over these pieces. It's amazing for me to see elements of the different designers in their work, and to see everyone's best. How one can decide which entry to vote for is anyone's guess, but voting begins June 7.

....yep, still drooling....

The Return of the Camera

2008-06-04T21:02:00.007-04:00

I am a woman of my word, and for that, I will bestow upon you pictures of Sam's reunion. (I can't believe it's already been a week and a half!)

Here is Sam during the gig (yes, that is a dorm in the background, but they pulled it off well!)

And here's one of the two of us in front of one of the houses he lived in in college. I must say, that is a very purple purple!
I've become kind of obsessed with different shapes of peyote stitch. Here's another one I made this weekend (I have yet to add the chain to it, which I guess is kind of crucial for any necklace if it is to stay on one's neck):(Blurry, but you get the idea...)

Another Reason I Can't Use My Camera

2008-05-29T07:53:00.007-04:00

This Memorial Day weekend, Sam and I went to his reunion in Oberlin. At Oberlin, they have reunions in clusters, so while Class of '03 was having their five year reunion, Class of '04 and Class of '02 (i.e. Sam) were there too. It was weird (but not a bad thing) staying in a dorm again. It brought back memories of college for me (it smelled like dorm!) and more, I am sure, for the people that actually went to Oberlin.

One of Sam's college bands played. They do punk renditions of Simon and Garfunkel, under a name not suitable to mention on a crafts blog. Here is a clip of a show they played in Boston last year:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=igMZq37ZOdU

We did a "car share" with two nice Oberlin people (and Andy - who of course is also nice!) on Monday and drove for hoooooooooooours. We got back to Sam's place in Astoria and crashed (as in, bed - not crashed the car!)

Needless to say, I was exhausted and running late on Tuesday morning, so I left all my stuff at Sam's place and have yet to pick it up. My camera was there. (So was my phone charger!) So I have no pictures from the trip (and can take none of my latest star necklace).

I promise I will put one or two of our trip up here...and to prove that I am good on my word, I will finally put up some pictures I've been promising for a while.

Here is the custom bracelet - my first sale in 7 years:
And here is that rowdy (but soft, I' m sure!) alpaca that we met in Australia:

It worked!

2008-05-19T21:43:00.003-04:00

My star experiment worked! I think it will look better in natural sunlight, but here it is! (Oh yeah, and a chain. That would help too...)

This weekend

2008-05-18T21:45:00.007-04:00

was very productive! Obsessive, yes, but productive.

I had applied to be part of the Etsy Beadweavers Street Team a few days earlier, and on Friday, I was invited to join the group! They add new members' names to the blog on the first of every month, so my name is not quite up there yet, but just wait...because it will be soon! :-) Now I just have to finish going through all my Etsy

My next big feat was making my banner! I still want to change the font, but I'm super excited about it:
I spent Saturday night (see, I told you it was intense!) making this star of David necklace. I had noticed that with a little tweaking, the hexagon necklaces that I made for Angela, Hilary, and myself would make cool stars of David. I also figured out how to make it lie flat.

Sam's parents may or may not want this one for a bat mitzvah to which they are going next weekend. Either way, I plan to make more of these - it's really fun to see the star shape appear as I make them. I am also going to try to make a five pointed star.

Today, Sam came over to use my printer. He and his brothers are planning a 40th wedding anniversary party for their parents, and he had to print addresses on envelopes. The ordeal took almost the whole day, but it was a success!Meanwhile, I spent a few hours cleaning up my apartment, which had recently turned into more of a disaster zone than it already was. When I sat down to take a break, it turned into a necklace.

YouTube

2008-05-16T22:32:00.005-04:00

My pieces were in a YouTube video! Courtesy of The Electric Diva. Isn't it awesome?! (If I do say so myself...) :-)

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=waMSpgoamLg

2008-05-09T22:22:00.002-04:00

I made my first Etsy sale today!! That totally made my whole morning. :-)

On Blogging

2008-05-07T17:57:00.005-04:00

I'm sitting here at work after hours, waiting for my evening plans to pull through. Most likely, it will be a movie with Sam and our friend, Adam, but we're not sure which borough yet. So for now, I am planted at my desk.

I've been spending a lot of time on my new business. I still needs some finishing touches (like, um, a banner!) but it has become more and more of an obsession. A very fun obsession.

So I've been thinking long and hard about whether to start a new blog solely about my business (as opposed to my all purpose craft blog). It's the word "knit" that does it. Don't get me wrong, I still love to knit, but I just don't knit as much as I used to. So I thought I about having two blogs - one about all of my crafting adventures, and one dedicated to my business.

But then I thought again. So what if "knit" is in the title?? It doesn't change the fact that this is the blog I have been writing in since 2006! Besides, the resurection of my beading obsession is documented here, and so is the evolution of my new business! So this knitstripedfrog is here to stay! It is my one and only.

And Now....

2008-05-04T02:06:00.005-04:00

More on my Etsy obsession....

I have 35 items up now....

Etsy
Buy Handmade
adinahalperndesigns

I spent the entire day today adding fifteen of them! I didn't realize that adding the entries to Etsy would be so much work! A huge part of the reason for this is probably the fact that my apartment is so small that I have to "change the scenery" for everything I photograph, and this often invloves moving furniture (at least my desk chair) out of the way! I'm also learning what looks good as far as the photographs, and what doesn't. Today, I started to master that skill.

I've read that no flash and direct sunlight are best, and that cameras that have some manual features work best for detail. Needless to say, I don't really have access to any of these things. Having not sold anything yet, I just can't afford to buy an expensive new camera. And living in Manhattan, I have no yard at all to use to photograph. I could go to Central Park, but that would be kind of hard, especially on days like today when I have a lot of things to photograph, especially since I would have to take some of my own backgrounds with me (foam boards). So I open the shades of my apartment and only photograph during daylight hours, but especially on cloudy days like today, the flash on my very automatic camera turns itself on automatically. But I've learned that white backgrounds, ironically, work best to not reflect flashes and therefore to show jewelry in intricate detail and true to what it really looks like (for example, its true color). I've learned how to take pictures of myself in anklets without making them too distorted. I've also learned how to take photographs that will still look good when Etsy crops them to make them square. I will probably learn a lot more over the next few weeks and months, but I know so much more now than I did when I started - and that feels great!

Etsy

2008-04-22T22:29:00.004-04:00

My etsy shop is up! I have four listings so far. (Picked randomly from a huuuuuge collection. I didn't realize how many pieces I had made to sell!) I also didn't realize how much work on-line selling would be! In order to get natural light, I have to photograph my pieces immediately before or after work (that is, when I'm not working overtime) or on the weekends. And since etsy crops the photos, I have to make sure everything will get in the actual picture (read: center, because I can't figure out how to crop them on my computer).

But to get those four images out there is such a rush! It really is a thrill!

Stay tuned, because I'm going to be adding a lot more images in the coming days and weeks!

And Sam wants me to tell you that he is cheering and bellowing me on in the background.

this and that

2008-04-11T00:04:00.005-04:00

I'm still a little afraid of my camera right now, but I did take some pictures. I have yet to upload them, though.

I just finished my first commissioned work in about seven years. My co-worker's daughter's birthday is next week, so I really wanted to get this one done in time. I'm making two bracelets and a pair of earrings, but I'm going to give her the first bracelet tomorrow.

I took some pictures of it, so when I get through downloading my vacation pictures and taking old ones off my camera if necessary, I'll put them right up here. It's becoming increasingly clear to me that I'm going to need a better camera. From some tips on indiepublic (which I just joined, and which has already been extremely helpful for networking and tips!) I am also beginning to realize that I'm going to need more natural light for my photos, which might prove difficult in my tiny NYC studio.

Jetlag

2008-04-08T06:27:00.005-04:00

Due to my jetlag, I've been awake since 5:15 this morning. Oh well, that's like a million times better than the night before last, when I could not fall asleep at all. Plus, today is my 8:30 day at work, so I would have had to be awake at 7 anyway.

My next big project is going to figuring out how to get the hundreds and hundreds photos from the trip onto my moody computer. But for now, the latest on my beading. (You didn't think I could go that long without writing about it, did you?)

I arrived home from Australia, equipped with the merchandise from my youth, to a package full of jewelry displays for necklaces, bracelets, rings, and earrings, so that's super exciting. Now I really do have to pin down a name. I'm still not hell bent on Funky Cold Adina, although I still like it a lot. But I was thinking, how about Adina Jessica? (Jessica is my middle name.) Or perhaps Adina Jessica Designs? Adina Halpern Designs, maybe. (Maybe not the most original naming idea, but it works...) Pleeeeeeeease comment here and let me know what you think! I need to get an etsy banner and business cards started. (Which will probably entail me paying someone on etsy to do it for me.)

I'm really surprising myself with this beading stuff. For example, I never pictured myself as a person who would use so much pink. And I can't believe how excited I am at the prospect of using bigger beads and crystals in my seed bead work. But enough of the revelations - I want to get some beading in before work!

G'Day from Sydney!

2008-03-30T17:50:00.004-04:00

I'm in Sydney now - the land of my youth! I've done a lot since I got to Australia (including spend a few days in Canberra and Melbourne) but I haven't had much time for crafts here! I did, however, find the bag of jewelry I made to sell. Now I just have to go through it and figure out what is sellable!

Although I've done very little knitting (except for a tiny bit on the plane on the way over), I have two quick things to recount:

1) Alpacas are OUTTA CONTROL! Or at least that's what Sam found when one tried to bite his hand on a farm outside Melbourne (I have photos which I will put up soon, but I don't have time to upload them just yet). They are also pretty cute! (And, um, their wool is really soft. Yeah.)

2) In Canberra, on the way to Sydney, they forced me to either check or chuck my plastic knitting needles, even though THE SAME AIRLINE LET ME BRING THEM ON THE WAY THERE! Needless to say, I chose the former. Needless to say, this made me MAD! Grr!

Ah well. That is all for now. Lata!

I must admit, I'm going a little blog crazy

2008-03-19T00:01:00.003-04:00

But I made this one (and it's twin!) for myself, so I couldn't resist the urge to put it up here.

The Case of the Missing Pictures

2008-03-17T22:46:00.007-04:00

I found them! It seems that I am running out of memory on my memory card and that when I erase pictures, new ones take their places, literally. I'm used to seeing them at the end of the rows of pictures that I upload onto my computer, but I found these sneaky ones throughout. I found that picture of the red, white, and black necklace, and this blue one which I must say I am really pleased with.

More on this Naming Business

2008-03-17T14:15:00.003-04:00

This has been on my mind so much that I am *gasp* blogging during my lunch break!

It occurred to me that I might someday want to have an internet domain. And suprise, suprise, adinadesigns.com already exists. All weekend I thought about this. Should I sign up with another name before it's too late? Before I *gasp* list something??

stripedfrog.com already exists, too. And Striped Frog Designs really sounds like it would be a website about striped frogs. (For some reason, way more than Striped Frog does.) I needed a new name. Something very me. Creative and a little bit funky.

Then it hit me! Last year for Valentines Day, Sam made me a mixed tape and called it "Funky Cold Adina." (A play on Funky Cold Medina). That is also the perfect name for my new business! Very funky and very me! :-)

What's in a Name

2008-03-15T08:59:00.004-04:00

I'm almost ready to start selling my stuff (it'll probably be a month or six weeks) and I've been toying with name ideas for my business for a while. The last time I sold anything I made, I was sixteen, and sold my jewelry at market in Australia under a hand beaded sign that read "Beaded Bijoux." Other then the fact that I wouldn't have to make another sign (ha!), I wanted to think of something else for this time around because (a) although I'm mostly selling beaded things, I have a couple of things I've knit specifically to sell. I already have a crafts blog with the word "knit" in it, where knitting isn't always the only or even the primary thing I write about, and I want to give myself room to grow/change (if this ever amounts to anything!) and (b) Apart from what would meet a college language requirement, I don't actually speak French. In a world where crafts are often sold on the internet, I don't want to be misleading.

That meant I had to come up with a brand new name. I definitely want to start an etsy site, and I might even some day (gasp!) have my own website! The obvious choice was stripedfrog. That name just started out as a hotmail account when I was fifteen (that I still use) because I liked frogs and all of the other frogs (spottedfrog, polkadottedfrog, etc.) were taken. For some reason, that name has always gotten a lot of attention. People always ask me about my email address at random times. I just wish there was a more meaningful story behind it!

And then I could go with the more narcissistic option - "Adina Designs." It sounds professional, which is kind of what I'm going for. Plus, being of Eastern European Jewish origin, it is unlikely that I will name a child after myself (that's considered bad luck) so this business might be my only chance. (I mean, maybe I could name a pet after myself, but I think that would get a little confusing. It would also be very weird. "This is my dog, Adina, Jr. And this is my cat, Adina the Third.") Then there is the alliteration of the D. It sounds kind of cool to me.

I was going to ask around and get some opinions on this matter. But last yesterday, I was surfing etsy.com (as I often do) and came across this awesome painting by Hillarie Tasche. After going back and forth to it all day, I finally caved in and ordered it. But in order to do that, I had to get an etsy account, and in order to do that, I had to have a name! And etsy warns to choose one's name carefully because it can never be changed. What ever was I to do??

I thought about it for about thirty seconds and went with the narcissism. Adina Designs it is! (Well, will be, anyway. Once I get it all up and running...)

some entertainment

2008-03-13T22:40:00.004-04:00

from ihasahotdog.com

2008-03-11T00:29:00.003-04:00

This one took a while to make - the cylinders always take longer than I think they will. I really like it, though.

My camera is doing weird things. It takes pictures fine, but it won't save new ones to my computer. (It will, however, save old ones. And it's not a memory thing, because I keep erasing different ones, but the same ones will save.) This picture from my phone will have to do.

Obsession

2008-03-01T12:04:00.020-05:00

I think my brain is wired to love beads. These last few weeks, I've been completely obsessed. I bought a lot of beads and supplies, and I can't say I regret it at all. My friend, Maria, at work suggested that I host a tupperware-like party at my apartment to sell things, which was extremely encouraging for me. I just have to wait until I go home to Australia in three weeks so I can get my old stuff from my mom's house! Seed beading really takes a long time, and I don't have enough of a collection for that right now...but I'm beading as fast as I can! Most of what I've been making is to sell (some time in the near future)...unless, that is, I get separation issues. Here are the objects of my life from the past few weeks (well, the ones I've actually finished anyway):
On Thursday night, I made two rings for myself:
I liked them a lot... so I made five more.
That lovely blue background to these photos is my futon. Photography is not my forte. I ain't no photographer. It's frusterating, because it's really hard for me to get the details, especially with the sparkly beads. If anyone has any tips on how to better photograph these pieces, I'm all ears!

2008-02-20T20:38:00.004-05:00

I've been knitting a little (as in, a few rows little) and beading a lot. I've been coming up with lots of ideas, which make me think of more ideas, which make me think of even more ideas...but I had forgotten how long these things take to make! I'm thinking way faster than I'm beading. Up until this past weekend, I finished every single thing I started to bead (unless I didn't finish it at all). But I've begun to leave my beaded works unfinished! (My knitting habit is spreading!!)

Wow. I am such a dork.

2008-02-15T21:58:00.006-05:00

The past two days have been awesome!

For Valentines Day, Sam gave me New Ideas for Crochet: Stylish Projects for the Home. He gave me a crochet book because he knew that I had so many knitting books, but only one on crochet. Knowing Sam, I am sure he looked through all of the crochet books and figured out which one had stuff that looked like things I would use or wear. However, I doubt that he could have known that I have been looking for a book with these types of patterns since long before I met him. (I think that the coolest thing ever would be to have a home furnished mostly with things I made!) Once I move out of this place and get furniture that is not third- and fourth-hand, I am totally going to make the cushions, afghans, and even place mats in this book and have the coolest apartment ever.

Today after work, I went out with my friend, Katie. We got exhausted very early, both having had long weeks. But when I got home, I found the bead stuff I had ordered from the internet earlier this week! Amongst this was a booklet on bead and chain jewelry. On the first page, under the heading, "Basics," are some techniques I have always wanted to know but, being self taught, have never learned in all my years of beading. So, about twenty minutes ago, I apparently learned the very basics of beading, which I can now add to my 15 years of experience. Wahoo! Tomorrow, Sam and I are going away for the long weekend, but before I go, I'm going to swing by Beads World and get some wire. I'm impatient and can't wait another day!! (Yes, I know, living in New York spoils me...)

2008-02-14T00:25:00.009-05:00

This weekend, I got a sales proposition based on my green necklace. Since then, I have been pretty over the moon about that. I still have a large collection of jewelry ready to go that has been waiting at my mom's house for the past six years, but I definitely want to add some new things. I've mentioned this before on my blog, but I want to add some things that reflect who I am right now. I want to use more chain in my work, and I've come across some great sources with just a little bit of effort. Those Japanese seed beads I mentioned last week? Apparently they are available through the internet for not too much money, with free shipping! I ordered a few and will probably order a lot more once I get myself a little more organized.

In the mean time, here is my next creation. The newest bracelet made for me me me.
I don't have the best lighting or, apparently, camera, to get great detail or color, so but this open envelope makes color and detail show up a little better.

And now, the "before" shot. My shoddy makeshift work station: a plastic glad container lid.

<3

2008-02-09T01:07:00.001-05:00

I love making things. It's like my comfort food. My chocolate cake. (OK, well maybe that's taking it a little too far, but you get my point.)

And that is why I spent my Friday night making myself a necklace. It's the same one that I made for Angela and Hilary, but in olive green. Back in the day when I used to sell jewelry, I always made quite a few pieces for myself. So while I have some new ideas up my sleeve, the first few things will probably be for yours truly. Besides, I use them as measuring devices. (Who needs rulers anyway?) It's just the same as using an old sweater to take measurements for a new one when knitting.

I used Japanese Delica beads that I got with my mom at an expo in Australia a few years ago. As a rule, Japanese seed beads are more uniform than Czech seed beads, and that is why I mostly bead with them these days. But these Delica beads, though freakin' expensive, are the most near-perfectly uniform beads I have ever used. I love love love them!

Olive green has always been a comforting color for me. I know that that is really silly, but it's true! When I was a little kid (like, three years old) my mom put me in a pottery class. The teacher's only complaint about me was that I refused to paint anything any color other than olive green. I can only imagine how strange it would have been to see me come home with a clay sculpture of a bowl of Cheerios, painted olive green. That I, at three, had chosen that color, is pretty bizarre.
Don't worry, I haven't forgotten my UFOs. I've been working on Sam's mystery item, but I think I don't have enough yarn, so I went back to the place where I got it last weekend to see if they could get that dye lot in, and I still haven't heard back from them. (So I should probably follow up on that.) If they can't get it in, I will probably have to incorporate stripes of some sort.

I swear, this is totally not cheating, but I am counting long overdue gifts that I haven't exactly started yet as UFOs. Hence my dad's fiftieth birthday sweater come-post-fiftieth birthday scarf. I am using Misti Alpaca, which is amazingly soft. I looooooooooove it. I using the pattern I mentioned before. It looks pretty cool and it's not as tedious as seed stitch. My only minor annoyance is that it isn't quite symmetrical. On both sides, it starts with garter then knit, and ends with purl then garter. Even though I am a very messy, cluttered person who loves olive green, asymmetry to this magnitude annoys me. But I'm not starting over. And I still love the scarf so far. I just hope my dad isn't allergic to alpaca!

Life After LSAT

2008-02-03T10:06:00.001-05:00

It's done done done!

After the test, Sam met me at a coffee shop, where he had some yummy Hungarian coffee waiting for me. On our way to lunch, I spotted Yarntopia, a yarn store I had never seen before or heard of, even though I spent the summer of 2005 at Columbia, where I spent my days going to class, wandering around Manhattan, and knitting obsessively. That summer, I walked to every knitting store I could find, and believe me, I would have remembered Yarntopia. I find that in New York, a lot of the stores have a lot of really beautiful yarn that is extremely expensive and for which I couldn't really find a project unless I were to buy a ton of it and go broke. Not so with this place. It's a New York LYS, so of course it isn't cheap, but I could see myself making something with just about everything in the store. Upon some internet research, I learned that the store just opened in December, so that's why I didn't already know about it. I assure you, it rocks. They even give paper bags instead of plastic, which is super cool.

As my post-test retail therapy, I decided to buy a book instead of yarn because I really need to finish my UFOs. But when I found Son of Stitch 'N Bitch I just had to buy it! I could finally have a choice of patterns that I could use for my dad's long-overdue sweater! And stuff I could make for Sam! I'm a little hesitant to make him a sweater because knitting a sweater for your boyfriend is said to curse relationships, but the book talks a lot about the curse, and I think that our relationship could withstand a sweater. Besides, he wants me to make a sweater for him. And I think he would like a lot of the sweaters in this book (though I would have to alter a lot of the color schemes). But now I'm getting ahead of myself. So many projects to finish first!

Speaking of Sam, the first review of Worst Case Ontario's first Album, Burning Politely, came out during my LSAT hibernation. It's on Frederick Foxtrott. Check it out!

Happy New Year!

2008-01-11T08:35:00.001-05:00

Resolutions:

(1) Study for and take LSAT (Feb 2!)
(2) Do not complete (3)-(6) until after (1)
(3) Apply to law schools
(4) FINISH UFOs
(5) Continue to design beadwork and expand the things I can do with beads!
(6) Do more with AMC (Appalachian Mountain Club)

...See you in February!...

Back to my Roots, or, Reclaiming my Mojo

2007-12-21T21:30:00.001-05:00

I learned to knit in December of 2005. I learned how to crochet in December of 2006. I learned how to needlepoint in 2000 or thereabouts, I think. But when did I learn how to bead? Some time in or around 1991. My mom taught me how to make daisy chains, and from there, there was no stopping me. At sixteen, I sold my jewelry at a little market (making next to nothing). I sewed beads onto paper, making a sign that read "Beaded Bijoux." That was probably when I found my place in the crafting community. My friends came to my house for "bead days." I was in bead heaven. In college, I taught my friends how to make beaded lizards. I have pictures of a lot of these things, which I will put up here some time. Some of them are at my mom's house in Australia, so that makes them slightly inaccessible, and others are *gasp* not on a digital camera, and I don't have a scanner at home.

For Christmas, I made the other paralegals I work with beaded necklaces. The center of the necklaces are little hexagons.

There is a story behind these hexagons. I adapted them from the base of a pattern for a beaded box. This pattern was published in Bead and Button Magazine in the late '90s, right around the time when Austin Powers, the Spy who Shagged Me, came out. My friends and I loved that movie, and my mother proclaimed that everything was "Very shaggadelic!" It was the Austin Powers movie where Austin Powers "lost his mojo," so I decided that I would make a box for my mojo - it was my mojo box!

I want to start making jewelry that is really fun, but still wearable for people who are not as eccentric as I am. The mojo hexagon was perfect! And their new owners said they love them, so it all paid off!

At Last

2007-12-20T23:46:00.001-05:00

I actually finished something on time.

A hint: Tomorrow is the last day of work before Christmas.

As promised

2007-12-10T09:38:00.001-05:00

This is Sam in his new hat.

In other news, my hand hurts from knitting too much. I've been knitting something for Sam in front of him. We had something of a Sopranos marathon yesterday (in just six months or so, we finished seven years worth of episodes) and watched a pay-per-view movie with his parents the night before last, so I just couldn't see wasting the perfect knitting opportunity. But he still doesn't quite know what it is (although I'm sure he could probably guess by now...)

But today is my day off work, and there will be no knitting for me (though there might be crafting...)

Dear Knitting Blog,

2007-12-05T19:23:00.001-05:00

Yesterday, my work friend and I went to the craft fair at Bryant Park during our lunch break. There are so many awesome things there for sale. Not only did it challenge my ability to resist the temptation to buy things, it made me itch to make things and it also made me itch to design things to sell. Many of the artists had used very bulky yarns, which would make knitting hats more cost effective (as far as production time). This would be especially for me, because I am a pretty slow knitter.

Last night, I finally gave Sam the hat I knit him for Hanukka. The thing took me forever, because I redid it when I was almost half way through, and then when I got to the top, I feared that it was too short. I kept trying it on myself, dpns sticking out of the top, over and over, until I finally decided to rip it out to where I started my decreases. The result was a hat that is a teeny tiny bit too wide and a teeny tiny bit too long, but that still works. In both cases, I really should have left what I had (for once!) But the hat works. It has ribbing, and I designed it myself. I made it out of alpaca, which I bought after Sam told me that he loved the alpaca that I bought for my dad's scarf. Overall, he's happy with it and so am I. I promise I will post a picture of Sam in his new hat, but he's not here for me to take a picture now, and I don't have the pictures that his parents took (of us on Hanukka) yet.

Speaking of my dad's scarf, the 12th as a finish date is looking bleak, considering the fact that I have yet to start the thing. But at least I thought of a pattern. It's actually the pattern from one of his cotton sweaters, and will use that. (My dad's wool allergy gives him such an interesting winter wardrobe!) It's a really easy pattern that actually works out in a really cool way! It's simply:

k(kkpkkkpk), repeating the bracketed section until desired width.

The pattern is the same for rs and ws. It's not ribbing or seed stitch, but sort of a hybrid of both. If all goes according to plan, this will turn out to look like stripes of knit, purl, and garter stitches.

Love,
Adina

2007-11-24T12:36:00.001-05:00

It's already been a while since since our holiday knitting night at Joanna's apartment. She made us pumpkin muffins and, not surprisingly, they were amazing.

We never ended up taking pictures, so I don't have any to show here. That's probably a good thing, though, because we were all making holiday presents. The thing I was knitting ended up being the wrong size! Luckily, between eating pumpkin muffins, talking, and watching a follow up on the Bachelor, I hadn't gotten that far anyway, so I was able to replace what I had ripped out over the next couple of days. I hope this one isn't the wrong size!

Thanksgiving, by the way, was awesome! My cousins from Arizona got here on Wednesday night, and I've been spending all the time I can with them.

the knitting season

2007-11-18T16:20:00.001-05:00

This month, I have assigned myself the following task:

Make your @!^%#** holiday presents.

Surprise, surprise, I don't think these will be done in time.

After realizing that the incredibly expensive non-returnable all cotton yarn I bought for my dad's sweater is the wrong weight, I've decided that the sweater will have to wait. Instead, I some alpaca wool to knit him a scarf for his fiftieth birthday. I am amazed to have learned that alpaca is not a kind of sheep (hence, hopefully, no allergy). Somewhere along the way, I missed that.

I've been promising to knit my aunt a scarf ever since I started knitting, so I bought some Be Sweet Magic Ball. It's made of wool, mohair, ribbon, and silver foil stuff. Although it is not purple, it is soooo my aunt in every other way. It's supposed to be able to knit up a whole scarf in one ball, but we'll see about that. It's made through a job creation program in South Africa, which in itself is awesome.

I'm going to buy presents for my parents and sister this year, and everyone else who I'm making things for reads this blog. So you'll just have to wait and see what I come up with. :)

CONGRATULATIONS KATHLEEN AND JUSTIN

2007-10-29T20:04:00.001-04:00

on your engagement!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

In other news, this UFO thing isn't working out too well. I'm onto the sewing stage of my sweater, but that's it. Perhaps the month that I got sick, went on vacation, and started studying for the LSATs like it's my job wasn't the best month to do this. I hate to give up on this so lightly, but I don't want to be a downer...soooooooo onto the next thing. Christmas! Hanukka! Dad's birthday! I don't think my dad reads this blog, but I'd like to think that some of my friends do! So a lot of the next few months will be revealed after the presents are given.

That is all. Off to do some reading comp. Wish me luck.

Best Vacation EVER!

2007-10-17T21:54:00.001-04:00

I had sooooooooooo much fun in New Orleans! I had never really been to the South before, and I went with some awesome people and amazing friends. We drove to the gulf shore in Alabama, saw a boat festival, partied it up on Bourbon Street, ate food that I had no idea would taste so good, explored the French Quarter, and celebrated Jen's birthday. It was the first vacation (other than weekend trips) that I have taken since I started my job, and by the end, I felt completely refreshed.

It's a good thing that Jen's house has so much water, because it took hours for every person in the house to shower. While waiting, we had a little bit of down time, when the knitters in the group could knit. I made some progress on my sleeve, although I didn't quite finish it. We also caught some k's (wow, I've just surpassed my own dorkiness) during our FOUR HOUR DELAY at Newark airport, a delay that killed our first night there (although it was cool when Duane the shuttle driver got out of the shuttle, moved the barricade to the street on Bourbon Street, got back in, drove the shuttle into the street, got out again, and blocked the street back off behind him). In these pictures, Joanna is starting a cabled gauntlet in Newark, and working on it as we wait for the plane to take us home.

Jen, Kathleen, Joanna, and I broke off from the rest of the group as they downed a couple of hand grenades (potent mixed drinks) to tour Jen's new lys, where she's already made friends. I saw a beautiful (to look at and feel) Coigu shawl, which I would love to make some day. This is us outside the yarn store, with Kathleen's new prized yarn.