Top Shop: Fear Rules

Sun of All Fears by Egolikeness

Don't moms have the best advise? I am not saying that with even the slightest hint of sarcasm. Yes, sometimes I feel like my mother should keep her opinions to herself, but this time she was spot on.

I have been struggling with some of the exercises in my Blacksburg Belle Blogging Rockstar program. I was telling my mother about how the questions just took me out of my comfort zone and I was feeling immobilized by it. Her response, "Just make something up." BRILLIANT!

Now she was not telling me to lie or tell stories, she was simply saying that sometimes if you start writing something, anything, it will get your brain working. Plus, very often the first thing that pops into your head is the answer you were looking for. Don't be afraid of the page, make a copy of your form and fill in the final version after you have worked it out on the scrap.

Mommies are the best, and I can say that because I am one :)

Writing a new pattern; day 3

Started the whole project over by downgrading to some cheap sock yarn, some size 6 DPN's and size 6 circulars. I cast on 8 stitches and started with *YO, K1* to end every 3rd row. When there became too many stitches for the DPN's I switched over to the circulars.

So far it is looking pretty good. The shawl is increasing at a good rate. It is not web-like, but I can see how I can change the pattern to make it more open and airy.

I am definitely finishing the shawl, maybe sew it into a bolero for my little girl. When it is complete I am thinking I now have the tools to design the finished version.

Geekly Weekly: Sticky and Sweet

Can you believe it is national bubblegum week? There are soooo many of these crazy celebrations in this country: frozen food month, optimism month, safe toys and gifts month... and as a geek it is your job to have all of these ridiculous pieces of unimportant information at your disposal. You can see them on this site so that you can be sure and mark your calendars for national mole day.

Writing a new pattern; day 2

Party Favor Tags by Bellezaeluce

Missed day 1? check it out here.

This was WAY more ambitious then I anticipated. That may be because i have chosen non-american patterns to use as reference, it may also be because I have no clue what I am doing. I have frogged 4 times since yesterday and downloaded some new patterns (from American authors this time) to see if that will make a difference.

The yarn I have chosen is sticky, which means i dont lose stitches when I drop them, but when I frogged I often had to literally rip it appart! I may have to try knitting someone else's pattern from beginning to end in order to understand technique before I can start another version.

PS: Once this thing is complete, there may be a giveaway because I am pretty sure I will never want to see it again.

Writing a new pattern; the odyssey

I have yet to decide whether I have lost my mind or I am just way too confident. simultaneously, I am attempting to knit my first project in a lace stitch AND write a pattern of it. Let me explain...

You may have seen some of my work depicting super heroes like superman and iron man. I wanted to knit something other then another golf club cover. I decided that a lace shawl based on Spiderman's webs would be a great idea. The only thing standing in my way was that I had only knit a shawl once before and it was TERRIBLE looking. Fortunately, it was not my pattern :). This time I will do it right and it will be fabulous.

So now I have my size 2 DPN's in hand and Schoppel Wolle Zauberball yarn, a few patterns just so I can see how other people have done it, and a stitchtionary. I will keep you updated as I progress

Fashion IS Art

Oh how I love outrageous fashion. Lady Gaga is my hero. Halloween has always been my favorite holiday.

Now look at the picture of this woman on the right. Would you look at her and say, "that is a woman who loves crazy fashion"? Probably not. My personal style leans more towards Donna Karan then Betsy Johnson. I shop more at Target then Barney's. I RARELY wear jewelry or a belt, it just feels like too much. Lip gloss is generally my version of makeup.

Now the big reveal: I ADORE Alexander McQueen. For years I have looked at his fashions with lust. I dreamed of owning one of his works of art. A few years ago McQueen did a line for Target. I tried on every piece hoping to fulfill my fantasy at a price I could afford. No dice. There was no way I would ever wear any of those clothes, even at a reduced price tag. Sigh.

When he died, I felt a loss. A true artist, creating wearable pieces that transended their purpose. Maybe I should have bought one of those dresses at Target and just hung it in a frame.

If you are a lover of fashion or art, you will want to check out the costume institute at The Met for their Savage Beauty exhibit, opening May 2011. McQueen in his glory, all 19 years of his career. His most interesting and original pieces on display for 3 months.

epilogue: Target announced that they will be re-releasing some of their most popular dresses from the GO collection over the last 5 years. Sale starts March 13th, be sure to check it out.

Top Shop: Be Original

Artist by NatashaVonBraun

New ideas are hard to come by, so when you have one protect it like a mother grizzly. That doesn't mean you have to "go rogue", but it does help to know your rights. Trademark and Copyright laws are complex and hard for the average person to understand so SmallerBox.net has broken it down into easy to understand tidbits. Whether you are the artist creating original work or the handmade shop getting inspiration from pop-culture icons, learn what is protected and what is infringement.

Beware The Brand Bully

Patents, Copyrights and Trademarks

Legally Protecting Your Original Designs

What the Heck is "Trade Dress"

Parody and Derivative Works