Eight Legs and a Crochet Hook?

If you know me at all, you know I'm terrified of spiders.  I mean seriously afraid.  If I see one, I must leave the room.  I won't go in a pet store if they have one of those eight-legged horrors in a cage.  So, the fact that I am really into crochet patterns by someone who uses the name Spider Mambo is just plain odd.  But so am I.

I was lucky to "meet" Laurie Kahn on Facebook recently.  I lured her into MY web and asked some questions.  BUT I didn't ask WHY she uses the name Spider Mambo.  I prefer that some things in life remain a mystery.  Like why I... uh, never mind.

When she was about 8, Laurie's mother taught her to crochet.  Laurie thinks old Mom may have regretted that idea when stuffing began to go missing from a mattress.  Our spider lady was busily crocheting little toys and stuffing the heck out of them.

From tiny toys, Laurie graduated to reading sewing patterns.  I asked her how she KNEW she could design apparel.  She says being able to read patterns helped her to create an open work sweater when she was about 15.  From there, things snowballed.  Her crochet patterns feature many different designs but there has been some emphasis on skulls.  Skulls?  Yep.  Skulls.

Now you know we have to know the why of that.  Here you are making a cute sweater and suddenly you're into dead stuff.  I asked Laurie about this.  She said she noticed skulls were popular.  She's right.  They are very popular and there are tons of skull things showing up on Facebook daily.  Laurie dabbled in fused glass skull pendants and various other media.  She then decided to turn those creepy heads into some crochet amazement.  

Her patterns are featured on many well-known craft sites.  Her prices are AMAZEBALLS and reasonable.  I wondered why.  I loved her answer.  She's appealing to the "impulse buyer".  We all know how that goes.  You're cruising along on Ravelry and see a pattern.  You immediately check the price.  Whoa, baby, a buck???  Click Add To Cart NOW.  I have worked up some of Laurie's patterns and was honored to be included in her testing group on Facebook.  Her stuff is great.  If you haven't "found" her yet, visit her on Facebook.  Laurie hopes her future includes being discovered and turning to making custom items for boutiques.  I have no doubt this will happen!

Like all of us who crochet, Laurie loves yarn, especially the tie-dyed versions.  I asked if she saw a skull Christmas tree skirt in her future.  She seemed intrigued.  LOL, gotta love that!  Her inspirations for design come from her own twisted head but I just couldn't help but add a little weird thought for her to ponder.

I hope I've put a few of your spider fears to rest.  I know I have for myself.  Spider in bathtub - bad juju.  Spider doing crochet - good stuffs.

Visit Laurie on on Ravelry and on Craftsy and  on Etsy.  You'll be glad you stepped into her web of delights.

And you can visit MY Pinterest board here devoted to all things Spider Mambo.

Finding the GOOD

As I type this, I am watching a press conference about events taking place in Ferguson, Missouri.  Ferguson is a suburb and part of St. Louis County.  I live in that county.  I am a proud citizen of St. Louis.  The current events are making me sad.  I won't discuss them and debate the issues.  But this sadness has spilled over to so many places.  Including the online community.  So, to fight the negative, I decided to search for good things today.  Things that made me smile.  Or made me happy.  Or things that brought a smile to someone else.

Please take a moment and click on one of the links.  You could end up pleasantly surprised.  I don't get paid for these delightful blogs and don't necessarily have any real connection to any of the people or things mentioned here today.  Just wanted to share.

Let's start with this print by St. Louis artist, Mary Engelbreit.  
You can find her online in a variety of places... 

including her website, eBay, Pinterest and Facebook.  Her art is super cute, inspiring, fun and sure to bring a smile to your life.

The things I found today are totally random - like me!  If I saw and liked, you're gonna see it here.  Work with me, people.  This Pool Girl has a rain day and can't swim and must entertain herself.  You are just lucky to be along for the ride!

We all have jeans that no longer fit or have seen better days.  Let's re-purpose them!  Details at Denim Patch Organizer

I love rubber stamps.  And I love crochet.  I'm a bit on the fence about granny squares though.  BUT if you turn one into a stamp, count me in!!! See this on Facebook here: Hoffee and a Nuffin

And a little more crochet.  I was looking around on Pinterest and saw a pin from Spider Mambo.  I hadn't seen this great pattern before today.  Whooo hooo!  It's free too!  Go like the Facebook page or head to Ravelry and take a look at some amazing stuff.  See the pattern on Pinterest

I'm hungry.  Do I want salty?  Or sweet?

I'll do both with these Caramel Salty Pretzel Superbars

And more yarny stuffs.  This is from Bev's Country Cottage Shop:

"After many months of surveying, typing, printing and adjusting, I created this purse sized booklet of patterns from my website, BevsCountryCottage.com, for our humanitarian booth at the Clark Cty NV Fair as a handout for those who can attend.. 

This handy, 12 page booklet contains 20 reader favorite patterns (knitting, crocheting and loom knitting) along with photos of each project; Bev's size charts for making hats, and blankets, needle/hook conversion chart, and several charities to help are also included."

Visit Craftsy to purchase this e-booklet.

Yes, today was a yuck day.  The weather was ugly, the posters on Facebook all seemed to have forgotten their happy pills and the news brought a crapfest.  Yet, I was able to find things that were fun, interesting and worth learning about.  Do yourself a favor.  Lighten up!  Even on the dark days, we can find some spots of sunshine.

I Owe it All to a Crazy Ninja Hooker

I belong to a great crochet group on Facebook. Tons of members, lots of fun. Occasionally though, someone must tread down the path of dramadom. Okay, it happens A LOT in there. And honestly, I enjoy a bit of drama when it's not based on my life. I pop some corn, sit back and watch the fireworks. Admit it. You do it too. You know you do. I know you do. You know I know you know I do. And you know I know....ah, forget it.  (rinse and repeat) 

There are days though, when the drama is too much.  Or when someone just has to comment on something you've posted and you are NOT in the mood.  Not saying that you don't have a right to comment or a right to your opinion, even if you are 100% stupid and wrong.

I have had some rough days lately with personal dramas.  Way too much sadness, illness, loss and just a crapfest of annoyances.  And I, like most people, enjoy venting.  But there's always that one asshat who simple MUST comment and give some annoying platitude or suggestion.  You know, the one where you just want to tell them to kindly eff off.  But mama raised you better than that.  I tell them to Get Off My Lawn.

This phrase comes to us from Jacqualyn Walker, owner of The Crafty Geekette.  She is ten shades of awesome with a dash of the ability to be a bitchy, yet articulate, voice of reason.  She created "The Ninja Hooker" for us.  We post it in the group when someone is going all drama-tastic.  When she added the "Get Off My Lawn" phrase to the little ninja, I thought I died and went to heaven. 

I loved the phrase so much, I bought a tee shirt Jacqualyn designed.  I also post several Get Off My Lawn memes on a regular basis on my Facebook wall.  There are just days, kids.  Nothing else will do.  Or I should say nothing else is socially acceptable to utter on my wall.

You can find Jacqualyn's stuff here:  Crafty Geekette Stuffs

And, and, AND she also designed a crochet pattern to make your own adorable ninja.  Her Ravelry Patterns

NOTE 9/3/14 - Keep your eyes on The Crafty Geekette.  This girl is going big places.  I am so pleased for her and know she will do the craft/crochet world proud.  Jacqualyn, you rock!!

There are days we all need to let off steam.  I figure saying this phrase is fairly innocuous and people get the point.

I have noticed, however, when I wear the tee shirt, I get some strange looks.  Or perhaps I get them anyway!!  But when I'm wearing my cute pink shirt with my funny little ninja, all is right in MY world and I give off the perfect air of bitchyness without even opening my mouth.

So, do you have people who make your day just a little bit  better just because you know them and they touch your life even from a virtual angle?  Tell me about them!  

If you do all that fun Pinterest stuff, you can find me on there, pinning the pins that must be pinned.  Click my little button in the margin and you can follow me.  I mean follow on Pinterest.  Not in real life.  That would be weird.  And all stalkeryish.  And then I would have to tell you to 

#TheCraftyGeekette #crochet #laurapoolgirlblog #GetOffMyLawn

Google Plus, Google Minus....It's All Fuzzy Math to Me!

So, yes, I entered the arena of Google+.  And no, I have no clue at all what I'm doing there.  But with so many changes with Facebook, many of us with businesses are trying new avenues to reach our customers.  And to annoy our friends.  

I've learned that you can hang out on G+.  But not literally.  I tried.  My laptop will never be the same.  Is it just me, or should things mean what they say and say what they mean?  Hmm, I just channeled Dr. Seuss.  But really, the whole hangout thing is baffling.  Am I supposed to BYOB or a dish to share? Do I have to get dressed?  I even found a section where you can do some freaky online phone call thing.  Imagine my horror when I clicked that and realized that the world (okay, only those people in my circles) could see me.  Even I don't wanna see me most days!  Sheesh.

Oh, and the circles.  I'm in your circle.  Are you in mine?  Have we started some Hokey Pokey game?  Again, this poor blonde girl is so confused.  Yeah, yeah.  I could actually sit and read and learn more about G+ but I prefer whining and bitching and wandering the Googledom lost.  No worries, I'm tossing down virtual breadcrumbs so I can find my way back home.  Yum, bread.  I like bread.

I attempted to explain G+ to some guy.  I told him I share my stuff there just like I do on Facebook.  I extrapolated on the virtues of circles and hangouts and posting and plusssssing and the whole GLand vibe.  He left the convo more confused than a blind man in a maze.  I figure I did my job just right there.  Who needs him on G+ anyway?  He made lousy scones.  Yes, I said scones!  Wanna make something of it?  He also sold insurance.  Who the hell needs that pesky stuff?  (All in jest.  He's a very nice man.  And the scones were good.  I even shared with the sister person.)

In short, you can find me on Google+ if you wanna.  Or not.  Some days, I can't find myself.  Of course, I forget to look sometimes.



Now, how about a photo of my dog because he's cuter than anything on this earth?  K??

 

He's convinced that with the right fertilizer he'll grow to a full-grown St. Bernard.  And like I treat all my men, I shall keep him in the dark on this and merely indulge his fantasies.  Oh...speaking of fantasies.... I attended a Passion Party Bachelorette thing the other night.  Anyone want to read a blog on THAT?? Stay tuned.