Goo?

This week has been spent implementing a lot of the ideas that I learned at the conference. I had dinner with my mentor (did I tell you about her?), attended an all day Professional Development Day, and took a class called "Turning Pro" (in that order) and there were several concepts that seemed to be consistently presented. You know, stuff like: be organized, present your work professionally, answer as many questions in your proposals as possible before they are even asked, etc. So my to-do list is now electronic and I have a few more spreadsheets that will help me track proposals, ideas, invoices, etc. It may seem obvious on an intellectual level, but on a practical level sometimes it's nice to have real pros tell you that it's a big part of their own success stories. I think I'm going to start renovating my studio soon. I need more storage and I have a pretty good idea now what types of work stations I need, and I definitely need a skylight!!

Swatch Watching

I spent the morning swatching some yarn that I was given in PA last week. As soon as I saw it I had a few ideas of what it could become and hey, I might as well get some swatches into the editors' hands while they still remember me, right? (Something about striking while the fire is hot, but that just sounds so violent, kind of like "The Crochet Dude San Andreas".) Which reminds me, I have to go to the office supply store this afternoon. I attended a session called "100 ways to drive an editor crazy" and, well, I need to make some corrections to how I go about presenting my ideas, there were a few things on that list that I have done. What can I say? I'm a puppy with big paws; sometimes I knock things over.... it's just part of the learning curve.

ChiaoGoo

Doesn't that sound like something you have to clean off the bottom of your shoe? It's actually a really cool hook that I got and I'm quickly falling in love with. I've been wanting a size L/11(8.00 mm) hook for a while and I got this one from Diva Knitting. It's very smooth and has a place for my thumb (a requirement for this dude if he wants to crochet quickly).



It's made from Chinese Moso bamboo, one of the largest and strongest babmoo species in the world and the hook is handcrafted. They also make knitting needles. Sweet. Phat. Crazy wicked stupid. (I'm getting so street it's starting to scare me.) The best part is that now I have a size "L" hook in my collection! Woo hoo!