Domestic Geek

While I was on vacation this last summer (both times we went to the Dakotas), I kept being drawn to beaded necklaces. I don't know why. The first time we went, I couldn't afford the one I wanted. The second time, I couldn't find one I liked. That got me to thinking that I could just make myself one exactly as I picture it.

Since then, I've been looking at all the bead sections and seeking out bead stores. Add to that that wonderful crochet bead bracelet I wrote about a few days ago and now I seem to be fixated on beads. I'm doing my darnedest not to go on a crazy, out-of-control bead buying spree. There are just such wonderful beads out there. I keep wondering if there is any way I can make money from this craft.

I've written before about how craft crazes are cyclical. Everybody and their cousin is beading right now. Eventually, beading stores will go the way of scrapbooking stores and be few and far between. Do I want to venture down this road or am I already too late? So far I'm keeping my head and not going off the deep end. I have to keep reminding myself of all of the craft supplies I have and my promise to myself not to buy more until I finish up a few things.

I wish my crafting passion wasn't so darned fickle.

I'm just a couple of inches away from being done with the Navy Alpaca Mistake Rib Scarf that I started back in Feb '08. It's been the project that I keep in my car to keep me occupied when I have time to kill (picking up Marcus for lunch, getting a tire fixed, etc.). I almost declared it complete a couple of months ago, but then I decided I wanted it just a little longer, so I purchased another skein of yarn and continued on.

I pulled it out last night to finish it up because I'd really like to be able to use it when the weather turns cold. Unfortunately, I got an unwelcome surprise. The yarn cake had come unwound and I have a huge tangle of yarn.

I worked on sorting out the mess a little this afternoon, but this particular yarn I'm using loves to tangle up. I cut it free from the scarf and am untangling from both ends. It's going to take a lot of patience to get this wound back up.

So much for having a FO to show today like I had planned.

For my Font Freak Friends:

Marcus sent me a link to a quiz: So you think you can tell Arial from Helvetica?

I got 19/20. The one I missed was obvious after the fact. D'oh! How well did you do?

I also just found an awesome shirt: I'll Use Arial When Helvetica Freezes Over.

I keep seeing these neat beaded bracelets on Etsy. At $40 or so, I couldn't justify getting one. I was sure they were time intensive and worth every penny the sellers were asking, I just can't spend that much on a bracelet for myself. I've got a plan brewing that I hope I can share soon, but at the moment, I need to save every penny I can. I saw on someone's blog yesterday (can't remember where, I surfed a lot yesterday) that she had been shown how to make one of these bracelets. Now I was determined to learn to make my own. I came across this tutorial (posted below) yesterday. As soon as I dig out my beads, I'm going to give it a shot.

AnnBenson Bead Crochet Primer

ETA some additional links to help me:

http://www.designstolove.com/thread/1058/bead_crochet.aspx
http://www.beadseast.com/primers.html
http://www.beadpatterncentral.com/tubecrochetprimer.pdf
PDF chart to graph designs: http://www.beadpatterncentral.com/graphtubecrochetPDF.pdf

I've joined Swagbucks a while ago, after hearing about it on Facebook, I think. I just started recently using it a bunch. I'm trying to get iTunes and Amazon gift certificates. Won't you consider signing up under me and help me out?

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