Not So Blue Monday #22: Scout's Honor!

So... today was a very productive Monday! ^.^

Outside of working from 3-7 at the studio, this was totally a WEDDING STUFF DAY!!!  ::happy dance:: Now, the reason I called this post "Scout's Honor" is because:

I promise not to let my blog become a wedding detail dumping ground. I will maintain (get back on the ball with) my regular posts.  I will not spam you with super long posts about what flowers we're thinking about or the shoes tried on.  Scout's Honor.

That being said, I don't think I'm going to have a consistent wedding post.  But maybe I will. *shrug*  It all depends on if I have cool things to talk about.

Today was super productive.  I set up try-on appointments at a couple shops for tomorrow and bought a couple magazines. Awesome. 

I mosied around David's Bridal after setting my appointment to look through the dresses and write down style numbers.  One of the consultants, looked at me and said, "I love a prepared bride!"  Woot! lol

I got home, showed Lamar my 'haul' and we spent a while flipping through the mags and inspecting the contents of the DB goodie bag.

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In regular Caleisha news today, like I mentioned earlier, I worked from 3pm to close at the studio.  I'm trying to master the product knowledge and sales part of the job.  They have totally been throwing me to the wolves over the last few shifts, but it's all good. It forces me to learn.  I'm just hoping they train me on the camera room soon. I'm itching to get back behind the camera ^.^  I can't wait to start seeing photos everywhere... good ol' photographer eye lol.

The work is tiring and my throat is tight by the end of a shift from all the talking.  Sometimes I realize that I'm holding my breath or breathing really shallowly.  But I'm really loving it.  Weird right?  All the stress responses that came with hating my old jobs are brushed aside when it's with a job I'm super in to.  ^.^   

Thanks Jesus... I needed this! 

Ok... it's super late now.  It's actually past 1am.  So this is yet another Not So Blue Monday on a Tuesday *shrug* who cares??  I need to rehash my theme posts.  What should I write about?  Let me know. Thanks!  Good night

Blog Design Update - In Progress!

As I'm sure you've already noticed, I did some revamping on my little blog here ^.^  I'm rather excited about it too.  I don't think that I'm finished with all the changes.  There's a story behind the color choices, but I'll go into that later ;-)  What do you think?  Is the font ok? What about the size of the sidebar graphics?

Please leave me feedback so I can make my blog more appealing! :-)

Have a great weekend!

Not So Blue Monday #21: Quick Life Update!

Hi!!

I just wanted to write up this quick life update. In a few hours, I'll be in training for my...

NEW JOB!

Huzzah!!!  Yep. ^.^ I got a job as a photographer at JC Penney.  So yeah, the pressure of being totally unemployed is no longer on my shoulders.  Praise God!

While I'm praising about this job, let me tell you about getting it.

The JC Penney portrait studio was one of the first places I went looking for work.  I spoke with the manager who told me that she was about to start hiring within the next few days.  So I filled out the application and returned the next day with my photography portfolio.  She was really impressed and had me sign up for the background check that same day.  I left with the expectation that I'd get the background check link emailed to me within a couple days and then a call when the studio received the check back.

I'd been checking my email every day looking for the message, but after a week of wondering where it was, I received an email saying, "We see that you haven't responded to our email.  If you're still interested in working for JC Penney, please call."  So I called and did the check.  

Maybe another week after that, I'm wondering why I haven't heard from the studio.  So I called.  No answer.  No answer at JC Penney.  The whole store!  When I finally got through I found out that the studio was closed for 2 days.  I waited and called again to check on the status but the manager wasn't there.  So I left a message for her to call me back.  The next Monday I went by the studio after not hearing back from them.  The manager had just left like 30 mins before I got there. ::rolls eyes::  I left another message.  After a few more days of not getting any call back I called again... and left another message.  

This got old, so I went up there again this past Friday and (blessings abound!) the manager was there!  Since she was in the middle of a session, I waited.  And waited. And waited for like an hour.  When she was free she came up to me and said, "Is you phone number blah blah blah?" Yeah... I said.  Then she says, "I've been calling you for a few weeks now, but I can never get through."  For real... srsly... -_-

Anyway, she hired me, had me fill out the new hire paperwork, and scheduled my training!  Boo-Yah!

Praise God for my new job!  Please pray for me as I start today (training from 3pm - 7pm).  Prayerfully, it'll be the job that I can really enjoy and feel right in.  I'm excited! ^.^

"For I know the plans I have for you," declares the Lord, "plans to prosper you and not to harm you, plans to give you hope and a future." -Jeremiah 29:11

What's On My Hook? #22: Double Crochets and Chains

Hey there!

I have been quite the busy crocheting bee lately ^.^  I currently have 2 blankets on my hooks. One is a tartan and the other is a granny ripple or chevron.  I'm working the base mesh of the tartan right now and I'm about 1/4 of the way through it. The stripe pattern on this one is more involved than the first one I did, so I'm hoping that the final plaid will be really amazing. 

From my Instagram: @nadiratani

I'm excited about the granny ripple/chevron blanket more though.  I guess because I've had the desire to do a chevron blanket for a LONG time, but all the patterns I'd see were done in single crochet.  Frankly, I don't have time for that. Plus I'm not a fan of single crochets unless they're in a tapestry crochet design.  Anywho! I only have one row of this blanket done as I started it last night.

From my Instagram: @nadiratani

A while ago, I wrote a post on about warm and cozy blankets I loved from Etsy (post >>here<<) and the first one was a yellow and white chevron. It has literally been chillin in the back of my mind since then! So as you can probably guess, my granny chevron is going to be yellow and white. 

There will most definitely be progress pictures of these as I go.  I'm hoping to be finished with these two within the next 2 weeks... hopefully.  I don't know how it's going to go with working them both at the same time.  But I have to get use to multitasking with my crochet if I want to be successful with a shop.

Speaking of this ever elusive shop, I need to really settle on a name.  At first, I wanted to call it Epiphaneia which is the Greek root of the word epiphany.  But honestly, as much as I love the word and how it feels on the tongue... it's really hard to spell. *shrug*  So back to the drawing board... or think tank.  The other day I thought Yarn Heart, but Lamar said that was "meh kinda boring."  Then I thought XXIV (roman numerals for 24- my birth day) or XII (roman numerals for 12- my favorite number)... I'm still brainstorming, but if you have any suggestions please leave a comment! I want to make this shop idea a reality.

Not So Blue Monday #20: God Moves

[It's a long one... but a good one]

Today presented itself as a series of unfortunate events that became illustrations of God's grace.

I woke up this morning with the plan of attending a job fair held by one of the area churches.  Since I've never been to a job fair and had no idea how many employers were going to be there I figured I needed to print more resumes. (This is the beginning of the unfortunate events.)  After getting dressed I pulled up my resume on Lamar's computer to print. But when the printing was done I saw that I hadn't pulled out the paper tray so all my prints were crunched up inside the printer.  :-/  So I took a breath and printed again.

Front pages successful... back page... not so much... Turned out I put the first set in the printer wrong so the text from the back printed on the front... *sigh* (double sided printing woes)...

Then the ink ran out.  Go figure.

Again, I started breathing deeply and praying "Ok, God. Please help me not panic."  I figured going to the library to make copies was the best option.  So I got all my stuff together for the job fair and went. When I got to the library, I went to put the car in park and nothing happened.  (The car's shifter cable is kinda broken and Lamar and I have been just pushing it back into place when need be.) So I got out and made the adjustment.

Library printing was a success. Huzzah!

Now I'm getting back in the car prepared to go smile my face off at this job fair.  My hair's still in place. I didn't get any smutz on my blouse from fiddling with the shifter cable.  My skirts still pressed.  Things are looking good.  Until...

The car won't shift out of park.

My immediate thought was "CRAP!!!! It's really broken now! What am I going to do!?" **deep breath deep breath deep breath** I'm in the car trying to breathe my tears away and praying desperately for help.  Then I looked up.

The library is right next to Advance Discount Auto Parts.  ^.^

So I go over and tell the guy what's going on and ask if he has something I can use to fix it.  He asks some car details and takes me on a walk around the store... I'm still praying silently for something I can use. I look down while he's telling me that they don't carry anything for Mazdas and my eyes fall on a packet of wire grommets...  Essentially, they are thick rubber rings.  I asked him if I could put this on the engine part and he said sure.

One fit perfectly!  

Off to the job fair :)  Resumes in hand, shifter cable fixed, clothes still clean, hair in place. I'm thanking God the whole way and thinking:

My God shall supply all your need according to his riches in glory by Christ Jesus.

The job fair was alright.  I'm suppose to get a call from the YMCA for a job in their summer program, so that's great.  But to me, the best part of the whole thing was meeting the recruiter for Sprint.  She was very encouraging while we spoke.  Her whole 'message' was be excellent at your level. Something I need to here these days.

So that was my day...

If that printer hadn't have run out of ink I wouldn't have had this testimony to share.  I think this is long enough.  I hope you got through the whole thing :)

The Gallivanting Files: Sip & Knit Yarn Shop

Before I left Huntsville, I was beginning to go to actual yarn shops for little specialty yarns and whatnot so of course I wanted to find one here in Orlando.  Anywho, the first shop I visited is called Sip & Knit and it's about 15-20 mins away.  Not too bad. 

The sheep invasion begins!

From the name, I thought there would be a cafe area or something, but alas, there was none. :-( No sipping.  And I was hungry too, they could've really gotten me on that one, haha!

Do not remove under penalty. LOL!

This statue made me laugh out loud when I got out of the car ^.^ Very welcoming! I want to yarn bomb it... Maybe that'll help me make some yarny friends... not sure. Meh.

While I was there, I decided to do a quick video walk around in the back of the shop.  The yarn was so pretty and colorful and soft! *.* I want it all. Yep. Definitely. All.

So... I didn't end that video at all, lol.  Hopefully you can hear me. I was whispering because I was the only person in the shop and it was really weird walking around filming. 

All in all, it was a nice shop. The owner was really friendly and gave me a tour of the store to make sure I understood their shelving and labeling.  There was also a shop dog! A little cairn terrier called Tucker.  He barked at me at first and then after deciding that I was ok, brought me his toy platypus.  I felt honored ^.^

I don't know how often I'll shop there, but they have knitting classes which I'm considering taking.  Maybe I'll go on one of their free knitting nights and meet some people.  I mean... that is on my list of things to do this year.

Peace ^.^

Granny Patchwork Blanket Reveal!

Sooo.... I was planning to write this post earlier today, but that was obviously a fail, lol. It's okay though.  I hope you had a nice Friday and have good/fun plans for the weekend.  I've been very productive, so that's always good.

Now, onward to the yarny goodness!  ^.^

Monday, I showed a few progress shots of my latest blanket design and promised to have the whole thing done by today.  I'm very proud of myself because I finished it yesterday! (color me crochet addict, lol) Hurrah!  So yeah, all that's left to do is to run it through the wash to soften the yarn up.  I do this because I use a lot of red heart super saver acrylic yarn and sometimes it's not the softest fiber out there. But after a trip through the washer, it's good to go.  So there's a little tip for anyone wanting to use acrylic but worrying about the feel.

Tuesday: All squares finished and laid out

In order to get the piece finished within my time limit, I crocheted in a bunch of places.  I wish I had a Books-a-Million close by cuz I'd totally post up in there, but alas... Anyway, since Lamar started playing in a teacher's basketball league, I've been lugging my bag-o-yarn to the gym to watch the games.  I've gotten some strange looks, but maybe those strange looks will turn into sales one day...

Wednesday: Joining squares at Lamar's game

Originally, I joined with whip stitches, but I didn't like how it looked.  So I frogged it and switched to single crochet in back loops only.  Doing this left a really nice finish on the front of the blanket.

This is the blanket all joined together.  (So stinkin proud of myself for getting all the blocks joined at the bball game!)  It came out really nicely.  And I'm really feeling the nonsensical mix of colors. :)

Later Wednesday night, I got down to the business of edging the whole thing while watching American Idol...

Let me take a moment to jump on my soap box and say Candice Glover singing Lovesong killed me! Gah! She got all up in that song and made her bed!  I got chills.

Okay, back to blanket edging, lol. I did go with my first inclination of 3 granny stripe rows and one scallop and here's a progress of the edging.

Wednesday/Thursday: This was totally 2am, lol

I finished the edging at some ungodly hour of the night.  And decided to forgo weaving in the ends for now.  I hate weaving in ends...

This is me after I finished all the edging... suh-lee-py

So here is the final blanket........ drumroll please.........

Thursday morning: TA-DA!!!

Ta-da!!! I haven't measured it with the edging, but before the edging the blanket is 4'x5'.  The edging is about 3 ish inches, so final measurements of this blanket are about 4.5' x 5.5' Not bad :)  Seeing the blanket finished really makes me feel like making money from my crochetwork isn't such a far fetched idea. :) Yay.  Well that's all for now.  The next blanket I work up is going to be a tartan design.  So keep your eyes peeled for that!

Peace!

Lamar and Caleisha at the Fair

Hey there :)

This past Tuesday, Lamar and I went to the Lake County Fair for dollar day.  It's been like 6 or 7 years since I've been to a fair and even longer for Lamar.  It was really nice to get out and do something with him ^.^

Anywho, we rode a couple rides and played one of those rigged fair games and had a genuinely good time together.

I couldn't help the hand holding picture... I'm sappy... I know :)

The first ride we rode was called the Orbiter or better yet Spin-Around-Til-You-Puke. I recorded video of us and Lamar was trying to look all cool, but then we just ended up laughing hysterically through the whole ride. Good times.

Yay! Fair lights!

Lamar said that the fair people were trying to give people seizures from all the flashing lights and whatnot. chuckle
 

My intention was to continue filming, but I accidentally took a picture.  I like it anyhow. Yay for accidental photos!!

Next, we rode the Ferris wheel. I must confess, I was holding on to the bar in our basket when it stopped us at the top. Heights are not my friend... and since I knew the little basket doors weren't that secure... it was mildly terrifying. Just saying.  Lamar loved it though :)  We took pictures from the top and as long as the thing was moving I was fine.

I think that lady under the tickets sign is smiling at my camera... weird...

Of course I dragged him onto the Gravitron... but it's really more fun when you're little.  Not as much gravity to pull against you and you can move around and whatnot... However when you're a grown person like us, you kinda just stick to the wall and have your face smooshed back.  It was Lamar's first time riding it too.

Lastly, we got on a ride called Speed.  It was aptly named because I'm pretty sure it took the workers longer to strap everyone in than it took to ride the ride... meh... It was fun though, another pendulum with a spinning base kinda deal.

After riding all these things, we still had one ticket each left so we went to the "house of mirrors"... Color me unimpressed... maybe my expectations of a house of mirrors were too high. *shrug* I did almost run into a wall though. So I guess they got me lol.

 

Oh yeah... on the way out, we saw they had a seal show.  You could take a picture in front of their pool and the seals would come and pose next to you. It was really cute. I bet they reek of fish...

Last but not least, here is the film of our trip.  I'm having more and more fun with Windows Live Movie Maker... who knows, maybe I'll actually make vlogs instead of dreaming about it, lol. Anywho, enjoy!

An Abundance of Blankets ^.^

Well... it's been nearly 2 whole weeks since I last wrote anything. (bad Caleisha!) I suppose I should do a little life update before I get into the craftiness.

• I am still looking for a job. Next Monday I'll be going to a job fair.  Hopefully, someone will hire me and hopefully I'll be happily employed.
• Last week I had a brief chat with God about my current joblessness and was promptly chastised with this statement, "You complained when you were working about not having time to make things to launch your shop, but now that all you have is time you complain about that.  Use this time to get designs and stock done."  So of course I shut up and have been doing a lot of brainstorming and designing.
• I've been getting more familiar with the local thrift stores. Most of them are small mom/pop shops, but they have a charm to them.  More on that another day ^.^
• The dogs are really enjoying being able to lounge outside in the sun.  We've developed a ritual of sitting outside after I get up.  I'll read blogs, watch youtube, and work on shop stock while they run around and sniff things.  It's very peaceful :)

OK. On to my recent craftings!  A couple weeks ago I started a granny hexagon blanket using thrifted yarn.  Obviously, the thrifted yarn ran out and I had to pull yarn from my stash to finish the blanket.  Well that was until the stash yarn ran out.  I though "Oh that's no biggie. I got it from Joann's!"  So I hopped in my car and drove the 20 mins into town to Joann's... There was none in the store.  So I called the other Joann's only to be on hold for like 15 mins.  Later on, I persuaded Lamar to take me the other way across town to Joann's #2 to get the yarn.  We got there and there was none there either! Turned out they don't sell it anymore. So I had to get yarn that was as close to the colors as possible... which wasn't even that close.  -_-  [enter crafter's lament here]  It was a sad day in Caleisha-land.  Anyway, I finished piecing the blanket and put a couple border rows around it. I'm still going to add maybe 3 more border rows to it, but I'm done working on it for now.

The whole blanket.

In this picture, you can clearly see the 2 shades of green and the 3 shades of blue in this blanket... Arg!

I redid the layout for my future hex blankets so that they're not such an awkward shape. As is, this blanket measures roughly 4'x6' ish... Not really a snuggle-under-me shape, at least not for adults, lol.  The modified version is much better.

Now this, is my current project. (Interestingly, when I started writing this I immediately thought it was Wednesday since this is a kind of what's on my hook thing... chuckle.)  Anywho, my current blanket project is a design based on the Babette Blanket.  I've done 3 different sizes, but this one will be the smallest measuring 4'x5'.

Granny square goodness!!!

There is no logical color scheme for this one, so I suppose you'd call it a stash buster blanket.  Ideally, the for sale blankets will have color schemes.  Or maybe they'll just be customizable by the customer.  *shrug*  I like how the blocks go together but not.  If that makes any sense.

Tools and layout

I'm really looking forward to finishing this blanket. So far I'm roughly a third of the way through and if I'work diligently, it can be finished and edged by the end of this week.  I think I'm going to do that.  So Friday, I will have this blanket done and ready to be shown on here.  (...so it is written, so it shall be done!)

That's it for now.  I'm going to pack up my stuff and go back inside as the sun is blazing down on me and my black computer is really hot... this probably isn't good for the wellbeing of my laptop huh... *shrug*

Oh yeah, I'm going to get back on my writing game... there is no reason for there to be 2 weeks of silence on this blog... I'll do better :)  Peace!