THROWBACK THURSDAY: Keep The Faith

Faith Evans

Keep The Faith

This CD has been an inspiration and has reminded me of what's really important in life.
As I was driving into work yesterday, I was struck by the message laid out in "Life Will Pass You By".

[Chorus]

What I'm thinking of
Life's not that important if you don't have love
Striving for perfection every day
I must make it better than it was the day before

Never will I be a fool and take my blessings for granted
I know God's been by my side
And everything's gonna be all right

Gotta move on, gotta be strong
Can't let no one get me down, oh no
Problems they come, problems they go
Can't let no one get me down, oh no

[Chorus]

Even though you may have to cry
(Dry your eyes)
It will be all right
(Just put your faith)
Put your faith in the one who makes you strong
The one who makes you strong

[Chorus]

Life will pass you by in the twinkling of an eye
If you didn't, now you know
You can't keep wasting time
We're getting older every day
There's more to life than just today
Our future's not that far away
You can't keep wasting time

[Repeat above until fade]

Faith's words resonated in my mind and once again I began to reflect on my own life and where I want to be...what I REALLY want to be and just where in the heck am I going?

Especially these words,
"Life will pass you by in the twinkling of an eye
If you didn't, now you know
You can't keep wasting time
We're getting older every day
There's more to life than just today"

How many of us get so caught up in our day to day routine and minutia that we forget...we forget to call, write, laugh, cry, TRY.

TRY? That's a big deal to a lot of people isn't it? Try something new, try something different, try a new way, try doing it all over again, try something on for size, try. What's so scary about trying anyway? :: shrug! ::

On to the review.

"It was rumored that when he first heard Evans sing, he described her voice as feeling "like rain." It's funny, but I was thinking the same thing as I got off the elevator yesterday listening to "Life Will Pass You By". Faith's voice has a very soothing effect like that of a waterfall's steady downpour or a cool mist. A lilting comfort.

Some of my most favorite titles on this sophomore album are:

2. Love Like This
4. Sunny Days
6. My First Love - another story of my life songs.
9. Life Will Pass You By

HAPPY BIRFDAY, BABY BROTHER!

Number One Little Brother - Adrian, originally uploaded by dulcedosa.

This is my little brother's 31st birthday. Ain't he cute! :D

Amigurumi! Super Happy Crochet Cute

by Elisabeth A. Doherty

I LOVE THIS BOOK!

It is pure genius for anyone interested in learning to crochet Amigurumi.
My first foreray into the world of Amigurumi came when I bumbled across Elisabeth Doherty's, now defunct, Etsy shop. Never fear, you can still visit her "Gourmet Amigurumi" website and read her "Gourmet Amigurumi" blog.

I am amazed at the high level of detail and elegant nature of her techniques. I am most enamored of her human and humanoid dolls. Notice the texture of the hair, the tiny embroidering and felted bits used for the face expression. Her dolls have thumbs and toes, knee dimples, some even have polished toe nails, shoes, beads, etc.

As soon as I laid eyes on them, I wanted so desperately to learn her method of doing Amigurumi. Finally, after a couple years, Elisabeth bestowed upon us her crochet wisdom in her first book titled "Amigurumi! Super Happy Crochet Cute".

The first section of the book details very clearly the necessary supplies and techniques used to create her kind of Amigurumi. Having crocheted since I was in the 4th grade, I have to agree with all her recommendations, most especially using high quality crochet hooks like the Clover Soft Touch Hooks and using soft acrylic like Caron Simply Soft. She even includes a hand stretching section in the back of the book.

The book is entirely in color with clear, concise illustrations and very clever tips and tricks nestled throughout. In this book, she gives us patterns on how to make everything from scrumptious crocheted food, cute barnyard and woodland creatures and her signature human and humanoid dolls.

This, to me, is the bible of all things Amigurumi.

THUNDERSTRUCK!

:: puzzled look ::

Uh?

:: pregnant pause ::

I'm still reeling from all the love and attention I've gotten over the past 24 hours over at Ravelry.

:: sniffle ::

WOW! That came out of nowhere as a very pleasant surprise. A much needed pleasant surprise.

You see, I've been bee bopping around Ravelry these past couple weeks trying to liven the place up a bit. Things had gotten quite rank and dreary for a while. There seemed to be a myriad of drama laden, mean spirited threads popping up in the main arena and the tone of the site, it seemed, had taken a turn for the worse. I could tell the rancor was taking a huge toll on the creators of the site and I took it upon myself, as did others, to just do fun, goofy stuff to lighten the mood and maybe steer things in a more positive direction. Well, wouldn't you know it, it freakin' worked! YAY! We started fun threads and groups for those of us who like cute, happy things and before you knew it people were happy again and spreading good will, cheer and love all over the place.

So, I logon to Ravelry last night and my inbox was full of "Are your ears buring? You've been magic linked" messages and click...there's this thead titled "Dulcedosa" and I'm like "WUH?".

I couldn't believe how much of an impact I had had on people with just my goofy ole cheesy ole Ravatar and some crazy silly posts. Some people may think that I'm an attention whore, but I'm really not. HONEST! Most of the time, I'm just kinda doing my own thing and trying to stay out of the limelight. Notice, I said "trying". I just kinda bee bop and do my thing and people, for whatever reasons, take notice. I, honestly, can't help myself from commenting and participating in the forums on Ravelry. I'm a chatterbox. Yep, I'm the same way in real life as what you read on my blog and in my posts. No fakery here....just cakery. LOL! :: ehem! :: I love cake, ok.

My stomach is a little in knots over having my own thread. I'm kinda freaked out about it, actually, but reading the nice things people have to say about me and the impact I've had on them is amazing and humbling and makes me glad to be alive. Hard to believe that some years ago, I had prepared a suicide email and was really ready to just die. That's not something I talk about ever, but I want to put into perspective how much that one little thread means to me. You never know when that one kind word or smile will tip the scale in someone's favor and they decide to stick around a little longer. My close friends and family know I have a lot on my plate these days. My mom is dying (congestive heart failure), they just announced yet another round of layoffs AGAIN, even though I make a very nice salary, I'm to the point now that I can pay my mortgage, utilities, basic living expenses and the rest goes to my mom who can't work now, so credit card bills are on the back burner and I'm faced with some hard decisions. Anywho, despite all that, I still put a smile on my face and bumble about. I don't believe in throwing a pity party. I'm the type that will suck it up and keep moving. Besides, no one really wants to hear sad news because we all have sad stories, but once again, I'm laying it all out there for you today. One of those rare occasions when I feel safe enough to be vulnerable and share the fleshy parts of myself.

But, I do do (hehehe! Yep, I said DoDo) little things to cheer myself up like taking my Mandarin Chinese courses, knitting, hoarding yarn, rambling on Ravelry. Sometimes, its all I can do to get out of bed, but I do it because I have to...Miss Kitty won't let me sleep in past 8 AM anyway. Heifa likes to have her kibble in her bowl promptly. But, being a part of Ravelry is a bright spot in my life. It truly makes me happy to be a part of the Ravelry community and I cherish every moment I spend there.

I know I've said it time and time again, but many heartfelt thanks to everyone at Ravelry, most especially Casey, Jess, Mary-Heather, Bob, Thom and the whole Freckle family.

God Bless You All.

Anywho, much love to all of you who, for some reason, care enough to keep up with me.
God Bless You.

GP Headquarters Under Construction!

GP Headquarters is undergoing a facelift.
I'm FINALLY getting the flooring installed in my attic workspace after 2 years of procrastination!

Well, mainly because I had a hell of a time finding decent carpentry help and broke down and reached out to an old friend/fix-it guy to help me. So, he'll be starting on the floor this Thursday! YAY!





Therefore, crafting activities will be on hold for a couple days/weeks while I get my new workspace completed and organized, then I'll be ready to crank out many beautiful creations for my loyal customers to enjoy.

Attic Remodel Flickr Set

THROWBACK THURSDAY: Surrender

Surrender

"Kut Klose was a R&B trio that formed in Atlanta, Georgia. The three female singers that made up the group were Athena Cage, Lavonn Battle and Tabitha Duncan. The girls were discovered by Keith Sweat who heavily produced their debut album. He also sang a duet with the group on "Get Up On It."

In 1995, the girls released their first and only album, Surrender. Despite releasing three singles, "Surrender," "Lovely Thang," and "I Like" the only one to make a significant impact was "I Like." "I Like" managed to reach #8 on the Hot R&B/Hip-Hop Singles & Tracks Chart." -

"Kut Klose members LaVonn Battle, Athena Cage, and Tabitha Duncan have attractive voices, but they haven't come up with a distinctive group sound; they simply fill in around the lead vocals in the most predictable ways. It doesn't help matters that the album's 11 songs, largely written by Keith Sweat and his sidekicks, are undernourished melodically, giving the three women little to do but repeat the same sing-song rhythms over and over. If Surrender were simply boring, it could be easily dismissed. It's more insidious than that, however, for Sweat and his male cronies have used the three women of Kut Klose as vehicles for their own sexual fantasies. There's something smarmy about powerful industry figures who sign up young women desperate for stardom and who then direct those women to moan and croon about how they want a "Lovely Thang" who will "Lay My Body Down" and "Do Me" the way "I Like." Kut Klose's new album is nothing more than the Penthouse--Geoffrey Him"

I concur with the Amazon reviewer's opinion above. These girls don't have spectacular voices like Beyonce' or Mariah and the lyrics are rather male oriented, BUT I do like this CD for some reason. Its kinda pop and catchy and I like to listen to them while I'm tooling around town. This group is definitely indicative of the R&B girl groups of the early 90s.

Some of their more popular tracks from Surrender:

3. Get Up On It
6. Surrender
7. I Like

Maryland Sheep and Wool Festival 2008 - Featured Vendors

Featured Vendors

I stumbled across a couple new AWESOME vendors this year.

Autumn House Farm





Of course, you can NEVER EVER go wrong with
Brooks Farm Yarn





Pucker Brush Farm



My Maryland Sheep & Wool Festival 2008 Flickr Slideshow

Maryland Sheep and Wool Festival 2008 - Logistics and Lessons Learned

Logistics and Lessons Learned

• Freeze a few bottled waters.
• Pack a lunch or at least some snacks! Never know when your blood sugar will get wonky. Ain't gonna find any food vendor with a short line.
• If you have bad allergies and/or asthma, take your medicine and bring extra. Rest assured, you're going to have some kind of attack while you are out in the dirt and weeds.
• The nearest convenience store is down that busy one lane highway and even then they probably won't have what you need, so pack your necessities ahead of time and just plan on dragging some stuff with you AND going back to your car a time or two for supplies. DO NOT think "Ah. We'll just pick it up on our way to the festival..." because SERIOUSLY there's no where to shop nearby. You'd have to drive into Columbia or Ellicott and that's a schlep from the festival grounds.
  
• Bring hand sanitizer and wet wipes! You will need them. Water faucets are few and far between and you will be touching all manner of muck and grime. You'll be going in and out of real barns with real livestock, people. Plus, you may have to use a porta-potty or they may run out of toilet tissue in the regular restrooms. Don't be afraid to use the men's room either, especially since there are more women than men at these events. Just holler first to make sure the coast is clear.
  
• Bring lots of cash. Not too many vendors accept checks or credit cards.
• Bring a large expandable tote bag. Preferably, one of those crocheted or knit string bags that will stretch out pretty well for your yarn purchases.
• Backpacks are largely frowned upon, but after a while I wished I had one because my shoulders were starting to get sore from the weight of my shoulder tote bags.
• Wear pants with pockets so you have easy access to your money.
• Don't forget your sunscreen AND a baseball cap or floppy hat! I noticed quite a few folks turning beet red in the afternoon sun. I brought my SPF 70 Helioplex, but left it in the car that morning since it was overcast and wasn't about to schlep to the car again to fetch it, so I got a wee bit tan. I liked showing folks the tan line from my watch as I was standing in the sun waiting in the bathroom line. LOL! Yes, "little girl" Black folks do tan...and quite rapidly. It's amazing, I'll show you one day.
• If you haven't done so already, go to Vistaprint and get you some of those free business cards so you can exchange contact information with your friends at the event. You can even put your Ravelry avatar on them and, of course, your Ravelry screenname, email address, etc.
• Wear broken in shoes with gel inserts. I wore my leather clogs with Dr. Schol's Gel Sole Inserts for maximum comfort.
• I saw some ladies trying to be cute in their heels and sandals. That's a good way to break your ankle because you will be walking on rocks, dirt, grass, falling into gopher holes, the whole lot, so be sensible and bring a nice pair of broken in CLOSED TOED shoes.
  
• Don't make the mistake of wearing brand new shoes like I did. My brand new tennis shoes were rubbing the back of my heels and started forming a blister. Luckily, I brought my leather clogs w/ gel inserts, so I went back to the car to swap out shoes.
• Bring a rain poncho and rain boots for good luck! I heard from some veterans that whenever they brought rain gear, it doesn't rain and it seems to have worked again this year.
• Get one of those rain poncho that can double as a tarp because there aren't a whole lot of places to sit down and you might end up sitting on the grass. If you do plan on sitting in the grass, bring a bug bomb and/or bug spray because there are all kinds of chiggers, gnats, flies, ticks, etc. that I'm sure you don't want to bring home with you. I hate bug bites.
• Make sure you have your mobile phone charged (dont' forget your car charger) and have your vital phone numbers in there already, i.e friends, family that are going to be with you at the festival because it's easy to get separated.
• Wear easily recognizable clothing to help you find each other in the crowd. Something memorable that people will have remembered seeing, for instance, I just happened to wear my hot pink skull & crown t-shirt and that helped my friend Gwen be able to find me in a crowd. :) Then, if we had gotten separated she would have been able to ask folks in they saw a Black woman wearing a hot pink skull & crown shirt and they would be like, "YEAH! I just saw her a few minutes ago over by the ...."
• Invest in a Global Positioning System (GPS). Rent a car with one, get it on your mobile phone, buy one and put it in your car, but don't leave home without it. Maneuvering around the DC, VA, MD area is painful at the very least. The street signs are teeny and driving directions from MapQuest and Google maps vary wildly sometimes.
• It was a bit chilly in the AM, but by noon it was warm and a little muggy. I'm glad I didn't bring a jacket because that was one more thing I would have had to schlep.
• If you're not a people person and/or don't like huge hoards of people, take your anxiety medicine and/or come on Sunday when there might be less people milling about.
  

The Nashua Surplice Lace Top

Details

Pattern: Surplice Lace Top, Gayle Bunn, Nashua Handknits Designer Col. No. 4

Yarn: Nashua Handknits June Colorway: White

Needles: US 6 Knit Picks Options 60" cable

Modifications: Flat to In The Round
I cast on again using 284 stitches. I remembered to subtract the 2 selvage stitches from the flat pattern (total of 4 sts). The stitch repeat is 20 sts. so that would leave me with an extra 4 stitches that I would have to divide so that I had 2 Stockinette sts. on either side that define the front and back of the top...I think these will, also, be used for waist shaping later on.

Started: Thursday, May 31, 2007

Finished:

---

Tuesday, May 6, 2008

Still plugging away on this one. I'm on my 10th lace repeat and then I'll be ready to start the front and back of the top section.
Gwenie Gwen hipped me to The Knitting Fiend's "How To Decrease Evenly Across a Row" tool to help me figure out how to decrease down from 284 to the required number of stitches for the bodice.

---

Saturday, June 30, 2007


Finishing up the 5th repeat of 10. I'm able to try it on as I go using the 60" cable.
I'm glad I converted it to in the round, so that I'll be done that much sooner and won't have to seam anything. I've got the lace pattern memorized so that makes it much easier to just work on it whenever I get a free moment.

---

Thursday, May 31, 2007
I've heard my friends gripe about not knowing what to knit next and now it's my turn. I stayed up until the wee hours of the morning gloaming over knitting books and magazine in search of the PERFECT summer top to sport during Stitches Midwest this year. Nothing piqued my desire, so I'm back to the Nashua Surplice Lace Top again.

I cast on for it, AGAIN, a couple days ago and have been rather tepid about it. Last month, during the yarn crawl Gwenie Gwen, as usual, had the most wonderful idea! Nashua Handknits June for the Surplice! BRILLIANT! One problem...they didn't have enough in the color that she wanted, so we went in together and ordered a crapload of it over at WEBS. She got the rose color and I got the white. I wanted us to be twins and both get rose, but N O! She hates to be twins. *pout*

Anywho, I converted the pattern for in the round knitting. Why? I can't stand purling for some reason. It only recently occurred to me that I don't like to purl. As a matter of fact, I'd rather knit backwards than purl! Converting the pattern was a bit of a feat for me. The first time I cast on for this top in the round, I totally jacked up the stitch repeat and had this weird pattern repeat going and I was trying to compensate by increasing. Finally, I said "F*(K IT!" and ended up just frogging the whole mess. Right now, I am halfway through the first lace repeat. *yawn* One thing I realized about myself is that I'm totally a lace girl. Love me some lace. Why? It keeps me from being B O R E D!

So, the Nashua June is kinda splitty. *pout* Another annoying factor is that I have to keep my hands sparkling clean so as not to make the yarn dingy from any dirt, makeup or oil on my hands. *grumble* DAGNABIT! I need to find a new muse! A new lace love affair. Otherwise, I'll just plug along on the Nashua Surplice. Maybe after awhile she'll grow on me and I'll be excited about knitting her? *shrug* I hope the adrenaline kicks in soon...mama needs a new tank to floss at Stitches Midwest.

THROWBACK THURSDAY: Miss Thang

Monica Arnold

"Monica Denise Arnold (born October 24, 1980), professionally known as Monica, is an American R&B singer, songwriter, and occasional actress. She debuted in 1995 under the guidance of Rowdy Records head Dallas Austin and became the youngest recording act to ever have two consecutive chart-topping hits on the U.S..."

Can you believe that she was only 13 years old when she recorded this smash debut album.
Like the lyrics of the songs on this album, Monica's voice was so strong and developed...far more mature than her young age.

I remember being mesmerized by this album....I love every song on this album.

Here's some of the better videos I managed to dig up on YouTube:

Miss Thang

2. Don't Take It Personal (Just One Of Dem Days)
3. Like This And Like That
11. Before You Walk Out Of My Life
13. Why I Love You So Much