Fashioning My Cyber Microcosm: This Is Unexpected... and Things of That Nature.

It's that time again!

Where I, your creepy crafty hostess, have some time to update you guys on what's happening with life and other sundries...

My media outlets have been as quiet as this blog, for I have been up to my gills in things to do, things to plan, and things to ponder... and most importantly, attempt to carve out some time to breathe and maybe relax in between. But not really.

Let's move the big parts out of the way, shall we? Here we go: 

I'm 90 to 95 percent sure I'm moving to Washington state... Yup. It's quite a damn move. 

From Texas to Washington, we're looking at some serious changes here.

We have verbally accepted the offer (hence the 90 to 95%), but have not signed any official documents as of today (hence the 90 to 95%...). Though they tell us the papers are coming, we are fully aware of the fact that things can still go wrong... *flashbacks of Arizona what-might-have-beens*

There is a lot to be excited about for this move, the most overt aspect will be that it will land me very close to the Canadian border which means road trips home will be a definite and frequent thing! Woo hoo!

That said, there is also a lot to be concerned with... the cost of living increase is enough to spook this gal into an early grave. Not sure how we'll do as this job isn't a pay increase, just a lateral, and rent over there is nearly double of what it is here for what we have, which isn't to say it's enough to hold all our cherished belongings.

I have been finding it a little tough to get employed after the briefest stint at Hancock's Fabrics before it went under (RIP, one year now); on paper I am aggressively mediocre and I'm a terrible interviewee due to my awful social skills.

My work experience is a hodge podge of spurt and sparsity with large gaping time voids I try to fill with my unsubstantial volunteering fluff; whatever appeal I may have is completely diminished by my lack of education. GED holder and self-taught jack of all trades is not quite as competitive/marketable as it may sound... or look, no matter how technical and creative my language is: cue image of Bobby Boucher describing his position as the team's water distribution engineer.

So one thing I have turned to (again) is perhaps lay a little focus (again) on selling what I make (again...). I know what you're thinking: 'wow, many treats, much excite, such wait'

But those ugly little thoughts keep creeping all over my brain like annoying gooey tendrils that suffocate the flame of my excitement. Fret not, though, it's happening... it's just despairingly slow as I try to work through my anxieties and self depreciation...

I have been having major second thoughts about the name I have chosen for my shop; The Serpent and The Thimble, although cool and adorbs, does not covey the full scope of my handcraftables. I am so much more than my sewing and stitchery! I paint/draw, I sculpt, I knit and hell I even make bath and self care products! So the 'thimble' part of the name kind of shoves me into a corner, although admittedly the majority of my wares and excitement stem from sewing, I just don't want to be known strictly for my sewing-- I am a jack o' lantern of all trades, after all. It's what I pride myself... for the most part, hehe.

It is with all this in mind I have been back to brewing some suitable replacements.

On the blog front, Photobucket has pulled a sudden but inevitable betrayal. I was first aware of it from a posting by MindLess Indulgence, but I'm sure by now many people are fully conscious of the plight of years of photos becoming unavailable on their blogs. I haven't as of yet gone back to replace those photos, and I'm thinking for the most part I will just cull my posts as opposed to bother with trying to replace every dang photo. It's a lot of work, and I really don't like the thought of tackling that gargantuan rehab.

I could wipe the slate clean... that is an option, I guess. Bah, curse you Photobucket.

Creatively, I have been sewing but what I am most excited about is going back to exploring watercolors and gouache. I have been revisiting an idea I started a few years back (unfortunately, Photobucket swallowed that post whole so no throwback links for now) of a series of artworks I now dub the "Spooky Sewing Room" inspired by my love of Halloween and sewing. I have only teased one of the pieces on IG which I will now display here in all its watermarked glory (sorry about that, but it's necessary):

Will go back and tweak this to add my signature batty emery attachment.

I've been looking into getting some quality prints done to make them available to my shop, but my google-fu is as weak as my job landing skills. It's not looking so economical, and I'm not particularly known enough to garner the interest in the series needed to balance the cost.

We'll see how this endeavor pans out. For now, it's a source of personal happiness... much like everything else I do, heheh.

And so for now, I leave you all with spooky salutations-- till next time, my fiends.

Spook ya later!