I honestly never knew what a 'stash' was until a few years ago. I also never admitted or recognized I had a problem so here is the confession....I probably should NEVER buy yarn again.
I have some leftover, never used yarn that qualifies for the term vintage, if not antique. I also have a load that is under ten years old. A good sale is hard to resist and couple that with over-buying or never completed projects and you have a stash problem!
For the past 3 years I made a New Year's resolution to work from the stash and not buy. One year I made it all the way to February...not good.
I have yarn I know I will never use and have sold some collections to those who need more in their stash but still the bins multiply.
But I think I have the solution to this ever increasing issue with yarn.....create something that doesn't use yarn.
Sound weird? Yes, but hear me out. I have been making unique tape measures and as mentioned in another post, they have been a hit and will be in Knit Simple magazine in the fall. Consequently I haven't been in the stores searching out the next yarn buy. Oh, I'm still knitting and crocheting but have been ferociously attacking the stash. In the past month I completed 3 scarves and 3 sets of hand warmers from my bins.
So that's good, right?
Uh, that would be a no....the tape measures call for fabric. Ask me how that stash has grown!!!! Any suggestions?
I am not the most profient computer user. The more I learn, the more I realize how much I don't know. But, I do know a fair amount and don't understand something that has nothing to do with computer skills. It's manners, plain and simple.
I am talking about business e-mails. In 2012, how can you expect to have a viable, if not profitable business without responding to e-mails?
Why does a business advertise an e-mail address or a 'contact us' link if they aren't going to answer?
I am not talking about huge corporations or even large ones. I am talking about small local businesses and online shops. I am referring to businesses who are NOT so overwhelmed that they cannot devote a bit of time each day for correspondence.
Whether an inquiry is about a possible purchase or just a general question, how are these letters ignored? Who knows what positive event may occur?
And as long as I'm on my soap box....watch your spelling and sign your e-mails when you send or when you respond.
I just received a 3 sentence (questionable sentences!)
response that was 12 words long, 3 typos/spelling mistakes, missing punctuation and no signature. Think I'll do business with you? That would be no!
Rant over! Off to get more coffee...
For those of you who don't know, my son is a coach for a traveling baseball team on which his son, my grandson, is a player. I love baseball and have thoroughly enjoyed going to the games, watching the boys grow, develop and play. There are 11 boys on the team at each game along with their parents and siblings. At intermittant games are the visiting grandparents. There may be an aunt or uncle except for two couples...myself and DH and the grandparents of another player, also in-laws of the assistant coach.
We have gotten moderately friendly over the past few months as the resident "older folk"!
This weekend there was an out of state tournament and we decided to go. Two hours into the trip, we stopped at a rest area and who is walking out? The other "old folks"! We both traveled on another hour to our destination and over the course of the weekend and four games we chatted many times.
The last game ended at 7:15PM Sunday night so needless to say, we had a long ride ahead of us on winding, mountain roads. We all made it safe and sound.
About 1PM Monday my son e-mailed me that last night, Billy passed away in his sleep..........what? how? why?
We are all very upset about this, needless to say. I cannot not think about him and his wife, who was about to retire so they could 'play' together.
My heart is breaking for Nancy, their daughter, son-in-law and grandsons.
Although I was a new friend, we all connected like old souls. I do believe that 'going' as he did is so peaceful although shocking.
There will be an empty seat in the stands.
The photo is his oldest grandson after a great hit during one game.
On April 28 the designated letter for the day was "Y"...not an easy one...yeast, yellow, yearn, yarn, you!!!
As I started writing I realized after 8-10 words that I hadn't used any words with a "Y" at the start or the end or in the center.
So....the 'trick' in that post is that I did NOT use the letter "Y".
Why not? or Y? Not!
Such an obvious choice! And so easy to write about but since I've done it before I won't go on and on. Aside from a few tiny issues that need tweaking, Zibbet, in my opinion is the best online, handmade venue out there today. Yes, Etsy started the ball rolling but has lost some of its mojo. After being there and on and off 5-6 other sites, I know a good site when I see it. In June it will be 3 years on Zibbet and every minute has been a treasure. I was the featured seller this week which actually is the 2nd time. I think the first time was when there were less than 50 members and the post wasn't archived so they posted me again. So if you want to know more about me, read it!
It is fitting that this last challenge post is a Z as Zibbet is the last site I will put any effort towards. If you're thinking about a move or starting to sell online, it is THE place to be.
Credit for the above photo goes to Portable Graffiti , a great Zibbet source for buttons, vintage and graphics...visit!
Regarding Saturday's Y post....hmmm...no one guessed why it was a Y post. Go back and read it and guess. I'll tell you later!
We're nearing the end of this A to Z April Challenge and I am so glad I participated. It was a push for me and sometimes a down right struggle but I made it.
The question... will I continue to blog at a greater pace than I did before this? That remains to be seen.
As I write this I know what the last post is so that's a good feeling.
I loved reading all the comments and exploring new blogs & I believe I gathered some new friends along the path.
Pushing for the 26 posts brought up memories, stoked my creative writing and even made me laugh sometimes...all good.
Now....who knows how this is a post for the next to the last letter????
Hmmmm...
One of the highlights of the school year for third graders was learning to write in cursive. They felt so grown up and important. The 3rd grade teachers were very possessive about keeping this part of the curriculum at their level. It was a relaxing, fun part of a day that was all too often filled with tension and anxiety experienced while learning and trying to understand other difficult concepts.
Side note: Today I understand cursive is barely taught. With the advent of the computer, some say "Who needs it?"...that's another post!
I was a relaxed cursive teacher. No strict formation for me. I believed readability was important. Can a complete stranger pick up your writing and decipher every word?
Yes?
You pass! My way of teaching it was additionally fun. I grouped together letters of similar stroke and shape like lower case e,l,i, u and t, followed by m,n and h. Immediately loads of words can be formed and the children really felt so proud. Not just shape routines but real words.
One of the last letters was X and x. Based on usage, it's a rarity.
This list of letters show frequency of usage:
ETAON RISHD LFCMU GYPWB VKXJQ Z
As you can see it's #23! And it's hard! Look at the keyboard photo below...lowly X isn't even a factor in the most often used letters typed. The English combination of words starting with ex is plentiful and soundwise, it confused the kids. Then there's advertising and the dropping of the 'e' so kids think 'xtra' is a word and spelled correctly.
Well, I won't go off on grammar and spelling issues further but today being "X-Day" brought to mind the fun days of teaching cursive.
How's your handwriting?!
