Zendala Dare #25

This one was interesting for me. I had a hard time with the symmetry. It turned out great though!

Booties!

I thought that I was an experienced crocheter, but I am beginning to wonder! This is the hardest pattern to read and understand! I have pulled this first bootie out enough times to have made 3 pair! I have to keep asking the author questions, because I don't understand how she has written these instructions. I almost have the first one finished, and I feel that once I do this one, the second one will be a breeze! I am looking forward to the dare and the challenge this week, since I haven't been drawing as much. Hope you all have a wonderful weekend! Happy Friday!

Too Much Stuff Going On!

It has been a crazy few days. I did not get the dare or the challenge done this week and I still haven't done the challenge from last week. I think I am going to start fresh next week and try to keep up. My life, and Randy's, has taken such a different turn since my Mom came to live with us. It is taking a lot more adjustment than I thought it would. She is really good physically, but not mentally, and she requires more attention than I ever dreamed that she would. Working full time and taking her to daycare every day takes planning and discipline. Meal planning, chores, laundry, errands, and I can go on, have all changed drastically. Coming home and eating popcorn for dinner and doing nothing, just doesn't fly anymore. In addition, she seems to cling to us when we are home and needs alot of attention. There are so many things that she either can't do, or I am afraid for her to do, so I do them for her. It is not a bad situation, just different. I have not learned how to get everything done yet, and how to adjust myself to her schedule, but I am working on it. Til next time~~~

Zendala Dare #23

Finally, it is done!

It was fun!

The Zendala Dare and The Diva's Weekly Challenge

I am a little behind with my entries, but it has been a crazy couple of weeks and I am running around like I am in a whirlwind! My Dare is almost done and I hope to have it posted tonight. Haven't started the challenge, but hope to do that tonight. I have so many projects going on, and now I have stumbled onto tea bag folding. It is taking all I have not to give that a whirl, but I am trying to wait until I have a little more time. In addition, a girl at my work is pregnant with her second child, another girl and she has asked me to crochet a pair of booties that she saw and loves. I just bought the pattern on Ravelry and need to search my stash for yarn. Not sure that I have any that will work, so I may have to make a run to the knit shop tomorrow. My Mom tells me all the time that I try to do too much and she is probably right, but hey, life is short and mine is getting measurably shorter, so I have to pack in all that I can. My small group at church meets on Tuesday night and last night we discussed a service project that we are doing in 2 weeks. I have to do some preparation for that in the next few days, so I have a pretty full plate. Is everyone else just like me???? Probably!

The Diva's Weekly Challenge #86

This week's challenge was so fun! I love this kind of tangling! Erin said that she wanted us to break free of our border and so we did! Here is my entry!

I have got to get a new printer/scanner. This pic is not very good, but I am on my way out the door to a meeting. I will try and get a better one later.

Organizing My Tangles

We all know that I am OCD, and I have been driving myself crazy trying to find a way to organize my tangles. I have tried notebooks, putting them on my Nook, drawing them in a sketchbook, and on and on. I think I might have hit upon an idea that will work for me. I also have a "Carry everything with you" mentality, so I always want to have the things that I think I might need with me at all times. Can you imagine what kind of purse that takes?? (Speaking of purses, I have been trying for years to find the perfect one, and have failed miserably). So, I could never find a good solution to having my tangles, sketchbook, pens, pencil, etc., at my reach at any given time. But, I had this idea to make the tangles small enough to carry, but large enough that I could actually draw them. I saw a blog post on Tanglebucket, Sandy Hunter's blog that really caught my interest. Click the link to take a look at her post. Sandy does hers on 2.5 in cards that she punches out with a paper punch and then stores them in a notebook. She uses coin collecting plastic sleeves. I think that her whole system is simply genius. I wanted to do something similar, but still be able to carry it around with me in my bag. So here is my system. I use index cards also, but I cut them in half and each one of them holds one tangle with the name of tangle and the author. I have started with only the tangles that I have learned to do. My plan is to add a tangle as I learn to draw them. The cards are the perfect size for me. I keep them in alphabetical order by Tangle name. I have this small bag that I bought for my knitting supplies. It is small enough to fit in my bag, but has tons of space and pockets and velcro to keep it all together. It is the greatest little bag and I have all my small knitting tools, stitch markers, post it notes, etc., in it. I bought another one, but never needed it in my knitting. So, this is where I am keeping my tangles. They fit perfectly in one of the mesh zipper pockets. This bag also holds my pens and pencils. My sketchbook fits in my purse alone. I love this system! I keep extra cards in one pocket so that if I get a chance to draw a new tangle for my collection, it is already in my bag. My tangles are with me and I can draw wherever I am and whatever I am doing.

Exciting News!

I had my first tangle published on tanglepatterns.com today! I am so excited and happy. The tangle is called Cool Beans and here are the instructions!

Hope you enjoy it!

Dare #22 Monodala

I loved doing this dare! It was fun! I am still hesitant to try color in my tangles because I just don't feel confident using them. I wanted to add some color to this one, but decided to leave it black and white. The tangle I used is Chard. It is one of my favorites.

Thank you for all the wonderful comments last week! I really love and appreciate them!

The Diva's Weekly Challenge #85

I really like Copada, even though I have a little trouble drawing it. I need more practice to make all the points the same. Here is my tile:

The Zendala Dare #21

I had a hard time with this one. Trying to decide how to draw it. I like it. It is a bit unusual, though.

Thanks Erin! Good one!

Long Weekends

I love weekends! Especially long weekends. I have all these ideas of things I want to do, but I rarely do any of them. It seems that since my Mom came to live with us,I am overwhelmed most of the time. My house looks like a hurricane hit it, and I have to do so many things in regard to her health, medical bills, day care, etc., etc., etc. But, all I want to do is draw and paint and look at tangles. I am so ashamed of how lazy and selfish I have become in my old age. I think that part of the problem is that since I discovered Zentangle, I have just realized that I might have just a smidgen of art talent. Isn't it odd that I have lived all these years and never even imagined that I could do any kind of art? My boys are all great artists, drawing, painting, but I could never do anything. Or so I thought. I still can't draw and don't think I will ever be able to, but I can do alot that I never realized that I could. That makes me so HAPPY!. So, hopefully, I will be able to get some drawing done this weekend. I try and practice my lettering everyday in some form, but it never looks as good to me as all of the wonderful journalers I see on the web. I am a very simple person and love simple things, so any amount of art that I can accomplish is so great to me. There are several things that I would love to figure out. So, to all my friends in blogland, suggestions would be so appreciated! Here is my list of "How can I make this work?" I want to find a way to have all the tangle patterns organized in one place so that I can carry them with me all the time. I want to be able to draw anytime, anywhere. I need a way to be sure that I have the right pen and paper in my purse, should I get a chance to draw (especially at Doctor visits). What is the best way to organize my tangles, the ones I have drawn? I have tiles, ATC's, large prints, small prints, all kinds of sizes. How can I store them? A notebook? I saw a video on YouTube about how to make a "Couch Box". I made it and I like the idea, but I would like to be better organized, since my art time is so precious. I don't want to waste it looking for stuff. Does everyone have numerous journals going on all at the same time? I do. I have a practice journal, a prayer journal, 2 smash books, an art journal, a lettering journal, and several that are not designated, but I still draw in them. Are you all doing that too? Ok, I think I have rattled on enough for one Saturday morning. Til next time!