It's that nutty time of year

One of Shane's nicknames for me is "Squirrel." It seems appropriate now that pecan season is here.

Usually I don't bother trying to gather so many. In years past I would fill up the occasional plastic sack, or my pockets if I'm out for a walk and happen to see a lot of pecans laying around. But this year the temptation was too great. It seems the pecan trees have produced a bumper crop.

Here's another photo of my nutty trove, with the roll of paper towels in front to give you an idea of the depth of these bags. 

You're looking at about 7 solid hours of pecan picking. I have the sore back to prove it.

Every year I tell myself I need to get one of those nifty nut pickers so I won't have to bend over and break my back. And it's not just my back. A very dry summer followed by some nice fall rains caused the grass to spring up. It's thick and lush and the pecans get lost in the grass, so there has been a fair amount of crawling around on hands and knees sorting through the verge. As a result, my shins are sporting some nut-sized bruises.

I know some people probably think I'm crazy for devoting so much time to gathering pecans. I've tried to get my husband to help, but it's torture for him. Maybe it's the peace and quiet, or the looking, or the fact that technology is not involved, but he just won't do it. 

Of course, I'm not the only two-legged squirrel out foraging, and there are some ethics to pecan picking, like not straying too close into someone else's "territory." Some folks won't care if you sidle right up to them while searching, but others tense up if they feel someone is encroaching on their territory, even if you're on public land. The other day when I was picking I had one lady come right over fairly close to me and start filling up a bucket. Her boldness surprised me at first, but we got to chatting and I noticed it was nice to have someone to talk to. Another guy actually invited me over to the tree he was working under because the pecans were so plentiful, and because he was a really nice man. Later, one gentleman apologized for coming over to where I was picking, saying he just wanted to talk. We talked pecans for a bit - the best trees, how he feeds them to his neighbor's ducks (what!??) - and then he wandered off. Another guy drove right over to me, in his car, to offer me the few pecans he had gathered. It was a nice gesture, but all I could think about was how he was driving on top of pecans.

My pecan (and that's pronounced puh-con, not pee-can, here in the Midwest) picking endeavors began young. I can still remember the first time I went. I was eight and we had just moved to a small farm in Udall, Kan., that summer. It was now fall and my dad had us all go out to the edge of a field where a big pecan tree was growing. We gathered pecans as a family - I don't remember us ever doing it again, from then on I went out on my own. But I really didn't know anything about pecans at that point, so this was definitely educational. We had lived on Broadway St. in Wichita before that, right in the middle of a busy town (and hooker highway), so I'd never seen nut-bearing trees that I can remember, anyway. My dad told me native pecans are the best tasting, and I think he was right about that.

One summer my dad brought home a Potter nutcracker. 

I think he said he paid $50 for this cast iron miracle worker that cracks the shells while keeping the nut meats intact. That was probably around 1980. Now they cost well over $150 new, but you can find used ones on ebay. I paid around $50 for a used one. Unfortunately, it doesn't have the nice cover that keeps shells from flying all over, but I'm sure it will work ok. I need to get it mounted to a board and then I'll be good to go. These crackers are the best around and excellent for black walnuts - one of the hardest nuts to crack. Which reminds me...I need to pick up some walnuts, too!

I'm a little daunted by the amount of pecans I have gathered. I know I should stop, but the hunter/gatherer in me just can't quit. It's like an addiction once you get started, like you're gleaning treasure or something. I can't say I like the shelling as much. It's hard on your hands and slow-going. But there is a rhythm to it and, like gathering, a way to get your mind off of things. 

I'm also looking forward to making pecan pie this year. I use my mom's old Karo syrup recipe and it is really the best pie ever. When I was little I remember whenever Mom needed pecans for cookies or banana bread or pecan pie it was my job to crack a cup of pecans for her. It was fun. 

My Etsy store...not exactly original

I guess it's not all that surprising that one more person - yours truly - has opened up an Etsy store. 

It seems like the thing to do for people who make and create. I had considered it off and on over the past few years. I had a hard time with the idea of making things for an online storefront. Mostly it was an issue of not really having pride in what I can create. It's easy to belittle oneself when comparing. And there are some amazingly talented folks on Etsy. 

It's also hard to know what to charge, especially when you have so much time involved in creating something. We in the Western world have become accustomed to buying things that have been made very cheaply with slave labor in foreign countries. When someone wants to charge for the time they actually put into making an object, adding in cost for supplies, people balk like a horse spotting a venomous snake by its hoof. On a long online discussion about the costs of doing business as a artist/crafter and whether or not one should charge for one's time - in this instance a comparison was made between an artistic crocheted cap an artist was selling for $150 and a comparable store bought cap for $25 - one person said everybody knows Etsy is the place everyone goes...to get ideas. But not to buy. Depressing thought for those wanting to sell on Etsy, isn't it?

With that in mind here's a photo of a very inexpensive crocheted zill pouch I made. Very functional and cute...and only $6. If this sells I will make less than $2 an hour for my time - and any investment in supplies or time spent photographing and listing the item on Etsy don't count.

The copy cat issues lead me to another reason I stayed away from Etsy for a while. I didn't necessarily want my items to be copied. I'd already felt the sting of someone posting a photo of one of my hand made paisleys on their own site, as if they'd created the item themselves. This happened on a crafters site I belong to. And the person who pinched my photo and put it on their own page was from somewhere in India. I wouldn't be surprised if my design is now being worn on saris and skirts throughout that country. 

Here's my paisley photo that was pilfered. Pretty, isn't it? Those are fresh-water pearls around the edge and all the stitching is made by hand. Each paisley takes me 8-10 hours of detailed work. The end product can be used on crazy quilts, costumes or hair accessories. Now, how much should I charge for it?

I'm not the only one sensitive about copying. A friend who used to post really wonderful photos of nature on her Facebook page told me she no longer wants to because several people told her they "stole" her photo to put on their phone, or their desktop, or to share on Facebook. She had originally wanted to share beauty with the world, the way she saw it, but that feedback made her feel she had to protect her own creativity. Maybe she's busier these days, but I haven't seen her post photos like she used to.

Now here's an example of something I made that's not an original. This lovely little tatted heart is a free pattern I found online. I did, however, credit the source on my listing.

The truth is, it does hurt when someone copies your work and calls it their own, whether they create an exact facsimile or give it their own spin. We also feel a stab when someone takes something we've put thought, effort and time into and uses it for their own purposes, like my friend and her photos or my paisley. But if you really take a look at how we learn and how we create then we have to be honest that we are always taking ideas from everyone and everywhere, that with some things there just isn't a whole lot of originality. I'm not the first person to bead a paisley. I'm not the first person to make rings and chains, either, and neither are the other tatters out there. And many of us peruse vintage magazines for ideas. Many of us look at other's work and get ideas for our own designs. The originality comes in the unique twist you give an item.

I saw an interesting quote on Facebook today. It basically said once you find what you're good at it's your destiny to share it with the world. Since you can't share by withdrawing your talents, the only option is to put what you do out there if you are so willing.

I think it was The Artist's Way by Julia Cameron that said being original simply means going back to the origin. Maybe it's all about going back to the origin of what you do, who you are and how you see the world.

I remember watching Madonna morph into many different looks from the 80s when she got her start and throughout the height of her career. One thing you have to say about Madonna is she was constantly changing her look, constantly recreating herself. Of course, there were a lot of us wearing bedazzled and bejeweled faded jean jackets, gigantic bows in our hair and raggedy short skirts, but the thing about Madonna is she was always doing something new. When you are constantly recreating yourself and your art I think it's harder for people to keep up with you and, eventually, a lot of the copy cats fall by the wayside.

Maybe it's the same with an Etsy store. 

The silk sari crocheted purse

The silk sari crocheted purse

I had not intended to write a blog about this silk sari purse I finished last month, but every time I am out I seem to get compliments on it, so here goes.

I purchased five or six skeins of this beautiful yarn several years ago. My understanding is the yarn is a recycled product, made by taking scraps of the beautiful long dresses worn by women in India - called saris - separating the silk fibers into threads and spinning the threads into yarn. This is a cottage industry with the work being performed by women in Nepal. The results are stunning, and many color pallets are available. The silk sari yarn I purchased has many different colors - purple, hot pink, sage green, turquoise and red - but the overall hue is the gorgeous magenta you see here.

The yarn I used might actually be living its third incarnation, now as a purse, because at first I made a couple scarves out of the yarn. I unwound one scarf, which was really a wide shawl, and later stitched up this purse. I only know how to single and double crochet - any thing I have with scalloped edges was made after watching tutorials - but that's all you need to make a simple purse like this one.

To make the purse body I crocheted a rectangle, keeping the ends where I turned to go the other direction as square and even as I could. The dimensions of the rectangle were 9" x 18". When folded in half the purse becomes a 9"x9" square.

I crocheted a strap long enough so I can wear the purse across my body, with the strap resting on my left shoulder so the purse hangs on my right side.

For the flowers, I chose embroidery floss colors - perle cotton size 8 - which would compliment the colors in the bag. Using buttons for the base and the smallest crochet hook out there, I made the flowers. I know I have a link somewhere for the tutorial that shows you how to make these flowers, but I can't seem to find it. Anyway, they are very easy to make and if you fiddle around with a button, crochet hook and some thread you can probably figure out how to do it. I also beaded the centers with complimentary seed beads, which makes the flowers stand out a little better. The only thing I don't like about the flowers is the petals tend to curl up. I need to go back and stitch them down so they look bigger and not so rumpled.

And that's as far as I got with this purse for well over a year. It sat in my UFO (UnFinished Object) box for ages. As I have been trying to weed out my UFOs this year, I suddenly felt inspired to finish it.

To finish I simply machine stitched the sides together. I know, that's kind of cheating. A purist would probably have scavenged some yarn to do up the sides, but machine stitching was much faster and less of a hassle. In the end, it's probably more secure. I'm not exactly easy on my purses and bags. The strap is also machine stitched to the sides, very securely. I wasn't taking any chances of losing a strap.

If you're going to make a purse you may as well do it right by adding a lining fabric. And with something woven like this that has fairly large holes between the threads you just about have to. I found a scrap of purple Bemberg lining (very nice stuff with a silky feel to it), stitched it up to size including a finished double seam at the top and inserted it into the purse where it was machine stitched in place. I actually made the lining a bit larger than the purse. If I hadn't then the purse would have no give and not be able to expand if I placed something bulky in it. That may be good or bad depending on one's intentions for a crocheted purse. Crochet is forgiving and I kind of like it more flexible, so that's what I did. 

I stitched the largest  snap I could find in the center - which is really a medium/large size snap - and found the turquoise flower bead to cover the snap. Voila! I was done. The finish work - which I usually dread - wasn't hard at all. Thanks to the machine stitching it went by very fast and I am happy to scratch another UFO off my to-do list.

Just for grins I'll leave you with a pic of the Scottish tam and scarf I made using the same yarn.

The Tatted Mask

Well, here's a new experience for me. I haven't been able to keep a blog going in the past despite many attempts at it. I came to the conclusion I was trying too hard, trying to be something I am not by mimicking what others with fabulous blogs are doing. So, I've revamped things on my old blog and am giving this another shot.

One of the problems I have had in starting and maintaining a blog is feeling I had to limit myself to a particular subject matter. For someone who has interests all over the place - from tatting and belly dance costuming to 2012 and spirituality - limiting oneself to a particular topic is more than a challenge, it's downright impossible. And at the moment I can think of about five different things I'd like to discuss right off the bat.

But, to keep things straightforward and simple I'm going to do my best to limit myself to one topic per blog. If I have multiple things to discuss, I'll create multiple blogs. Or not. Best not to have too many rules, right?

One fun thing I wanted to talk about is the new mask I am tatting for Halloween.

I was inspired to make the mask by TotusMel who is a fantastic needle tatter. Check out her Etsy store by clicking the link.

Other than the basic idea for the mask, the addition of metallic thread on the outer portion of the black, and the design of the purple trim, the mask is my own creation. Sort of. I still have to give props to TotusMel for inspiring me to make this and acknowledge that I am pilfering her ideas. (She has a tatted mask tutorial on her blog if you want to make your own using her pattern and instructions.)

Anyway, for the main stitching I used a clover pattern I taught myself while trying to recreate a piece of antique tatted lace I purchased a couple years ago. It took me ages to figure out how to do it, but at last I succeeded. The clover pattern worked fairly well around the wire eye openings with the addition of two rings at the corners. To extend the bottom of the mask I added a few more chains and rings.

The purple edging is made of long chains, small rings and a bead at the end of each ring. It looks curly in the photo because I have not yet ironed it down. I need to do that soon, though, because I'm not sure metallic thread will hold up to heat very well and I want to iron it before I finish adding the thread detail in case it proves to be delicate. I will also add beading similar to TotusMel's Such a Sad Love mask.

If you look closely you will see that the center ring where I connected the two wire eye openings was not a success. If I make another mask in the future I will use a tatted flower to join the two, rather than creating a mere ring that goes wonky the way this one did. 

I hope I get to wear the mask. Almost every year my husband and I go trick-or-treating with his niece and nephew and it's always a lot of fun. A lot of walking, but a lot of fun. And we almost always dress up. I usually end up wearing a belly dance outfit and I'm guessing this year I'll do the same, as I've got loads of costumes this mask would compliment. Once I get it finished I'll post another photo.