Wednesday, November 18, 2009

Some more sad news

My husband and I are divorcing. Having a very hard time with it and turning to crochet to help me get through this. Not sure what to do about my shop name, since I won't be a Bowen anymore...

On a happier note, my sales have been up a little bit, which is really nice. I have a lot of things to post but haven't been up to photographing them. Still having trouble finding a nice area. Maybe today I'll buy a white sheet and a lamp at Goodwill. That will give me something to do to take my mind off my sorrow for a little while.

Friday, October 23, 2009

My latest creation


Now I'm experimenting with embroidery on felted bowls. Eventually I'd like to learn needle felting. Some of the needle felted projects I've seen have been so lovely, and it seems like a great way to embellish felted bowls.




Still having trouble taking pictures due to lack of light in the home. Any ideas how to overcome that?




Oh, and some good news! After being separated for five months, I'm moving back in with my husband. I'm so excited about it. Tomorrow is the big day! It's so much fun packing everything up, because I know soon I'll be back with my beloved. Can't wait!

Friday, September 18, 2009

My best work yet!


This trio of felted bowls is definitely the best I've made yet. It was so much fun making this set!

Tuesday, September 15, 2009

Emily


Sad news: my beloved Boston terrier Emily passed away suddenly of natural causes on Saturday afternoon. She was a beautiful soul, a puppy mill rescue who had been badly abused when I adopted her in June 2005. Despite her rough beginnings and her already advanced age, she became a friendly, outgoing dog who loved playing with her doggy friends and cuddling with her people. She is missed.


Do not stand at my grave and weep;
I am not there. I do not sleep.
I am a thousand winds that blow.
I am the diamond glints on snow.
I am the sunlight on ripened grain.
I am the gentle autumn rain.
When you awaken in the morning's hush
I am the swift uplifting rush
Of quiet birds in circled flight.
I am the soft stars that shine at night.
Do not stand at my grave and cry;
I am not there. I did not die.

--Mary Elizabeth Frye

Wednesday, September 2, 2009

Sales!

I had a few sales last week, and it was SO exciting! I guess that's how Etsy works--nothing for a few weeks, then a few sales all at once. Then nothing again.

Working out it going well, and after only 12 days, I can already see a difference! My legs are getting more defined and there's a little more room in my jeans. It's so cool. Apparently there was a study released recently that said it's harder for women to lose weight than men through exercise. How many of you out there have experienced that? I sure have! The only thing that's giving me an extra boost in the weight-loss department right now is probably the Weight Watchers frozen dinners I've been eating.

Well, I'd better get back to watching the whipper snapper. Work has been dead the last few weeks, but I might work three days this week, and it's so exciting. Even more exciting than an Etsy sale!

Thursday, August 27, 2009

At the gym

Today is once more my cardio day. I've been going every single day to the gym, and OMG am I sore! But at least that means the workouts are really challenging my oh-so-weak muscles. My legs are already looking better, and it's only been a few days. Soon my arms will follow, and I'll look like a spider--strong arms and legs with a big old baby-fat gut! LOL

Sales


I had a couple sales yesterday, which is cool. They were low-dollar items, and with the free shipping, my profit will be about a quarter each, but that's okay. Feeling the love again in my etsy shop!

Tuesday, August 25, 2009

Another day at the gym

This time, I did a little cardio on the treadmill and lifted weights. My first thought this morning (besides, "Oh, God, do I have to get up already???") was how sore I was! It's a great sign, though, that my muscles are growing stronger. Can't wait to get back to the gym this afternoon.

So far my free shipping offer hasn't garnered any sales in my shop, but I'm hoping today will be the day. The large bowls I've been making are gorgeous, if I do say so myself. Surely someone will appreciate them as much as I do!

If you're interested in taking a look, just click on my shop link to the right. My shop is full of all sorts of goodies, from catnip toys to grocery bag holders. I like it!

Sunday, August 23, 2009

FREE SHIPPING!

After a four-year hiatus, I've returned to the gym! Woo hoo! To celebrate, I decided to get rid of all shipping costs on items in my etsy shop. That's FREE SHIPPING, folks!

FOUR YEARS. Can you believe it? When I got pregnant with my youngest, I stopped going and never lost the poundage. Trust me, it's a lot harder when you're over 30 to lose baby weight. Especially when you're not really trying. I tried Weight Watchers, and lost seven pounds in three weeks, but the meetings are SO expensive to attend. It doesn't work for me without the meetings, so yours truly is now a brand-new member of Planet Fitness, which is less than half the monthly cost that Weight Watchers was. It was pretty awful the first day (i.e., today). The treadmill darned near killed me!

Now it's time to get ready for karaoke. 8) One of my favorite pasttimes (besides blogging and crocheting, that is).

Friday, August 21, 2009

Camping

This past weekend, my family and I did one of my favorite activities: camping! We went down to Glenwood, NM, which is at the edge of the Gila National Forest (which contains the most remote place in New Mexico). Two days of hiking were just what the doctor ordered.

What the doctor did NOT order was fire ants all over the campsite and a "friendly" skunk who shared his love all over my dogs face two nights out of three. You'd think after one skunk encounter, Misha would think, "Ah, yes, skunks BAD." But nosirree, she had to try to make friends with the resident stinker. Thank God I actually enjoy the smell of skunk. Can't say the same for the family, though.

Anyway, here is a picture of my youngest son going down one of the many rockslides on the trail to Cooney ghost town, and another of me and the boys in front of Cooney's tomb.



Bowls


I had a theory that the bowls I was making are too small, so from now on it's going to be BIG bowls all over the place! My one sale this month was a dinky little one (of course I'm still grateful and pleased someone bought a catnip toy), so I need to get things going a little bit. Maybe bowls like this will do the trick!




I'm going to try to start embellishing them, too. It will be a fun foray into something I've never tried before!

Tuesday, August 11, 2009

A new item!


I've been thinking about making one of these for a while but never got around to it. Too many other projects going on! They really are great and useful. If you don't have one, let me explain how they work: Hang on the wall in a handy place. Stuff used grocery bags in the top hole. When you need a grocery bag (for kitty litter, dog poop, lining waste baskets, etc.), simply pull one out the bottom. They last forever and give you an attractive place to store plastic bags. 8)


Friday, August 7, 2009

Aliens


Aliens are so much fun to make! A few months ago I made an alien head toy for my Chihuahua, and she loves it. I just made an alien head catnip toy, too. Thinking of starting a line of aliens for the shop, although it doesn't really go with my ad line: "Hand-Crocheted Items for Your Home."

Little Kitty looks awfully confused by the toy, doesn't he? I woke him up by putting it there, and he had no idea what it was. He's an old cat, and although he loves catnip, he's not really into playing with toys so much anymore. Maybe I should have used a different cat...

Monday, August 3, 2009

Baby alien!


I made the cutest alien doll yesterday:

Friday, July 31, 2009

Sales are down

I can't figure it out! For weeks I had GREAT sales, and now nothing. It's so bizarre...

Sunday, July 19, 2009

New stuff

Well, after a couple hectic weeks, things are slowing down again in the Bowenism shop. The dolls I made were definitely what got things going, but after making about eight of them, I'm a little burnt out and intend to take a bit of a break.

My latest creations are bowls and washcloths. The washcloths are super soft, and have been pretty popular! One customer liked hers so much that she requested a special order of two sets (one for her and one for her sister). Thanks, kellycm!

Today is going to be a car day instead of a crocheting day. The used car I bought a couple weeks ago needs some TLC, and the plan is to meet at my husband's best friend's house to do some work on a motor mount. Betcha didn't know I could work on cars, too, did you? LOL Actually, my husband and his best friend are teaching me a little of what they know. So far I can change brakes, change oil, and install a brake line.

It looks like it's going to be a scorcher today in Albuquerque, and the A/C is broken (%$&#!!!!), so I'm glad to be going to someone else's house!

Friday, June 26, 2009

Taking off!

Well, that doll was the magic item that suddenly got my shop hopping. Within an hour of posting him, he was sold and I had orders for THREE more. Plus, a wonderful woman bought one of my bowls and another bought a catnip toy. It's just so exciting! I hope I can get the dolls finished quickly. While they're pretty easy to make, it's tough when my three-year-old son is running around. As soon as the crochet hook comes out, he suddenly has an owie, is hungry, and lost his favorite toy.



Tomorrow I head to my new job as a dog groomer. I used to own my own grooming shop, but the economy forced me to close it down last year. My panic disorder is easing up enough that I'm trying to go back to work. Unfortunately, the social anxiety component is so severe that I can't really deal with PEOPLE. Luckily I have a friend who owns a grooming shop (officially, the best in Albuquerque--Bath, Brush, and Beyond). She's willing to let me work there one day a week to ease back into the work world.



One thing's for sure, though, I'll never go back to accounting again!

Wednesday, June 24, 2009

My first human doll!


Just finished this little guy last night. He was really easy to make, but I didn't want to use buttons for his eyes, so I had to wait a week until I got to a craft store to buy felt. Isn't he adorable? My youngest son (three) insists that I made the little fellow for him, so I guess I'll have to make another one. It'll be hard to part with this one. He's been sitting on the couch without eyes for over a week, just hanging out with us while we watch TV. I'll miss him when he's gone!


Right now I'm working on another afghan for the shop, and next will be another teddy bear, since my only teddy bear was purchased a few days ago.


I love crocheting. It keeps me sane!

Wednesday, June 17, 2009

Washcloths


They're so addictive to make! I mean, they're easy to crochet, make up pretty fast, are beautiful (all those gorgeous cotton colors!), and are really highly functional. What's not to love? I have a new set going up today as soon as I get pictures of it. Yesterday's post was also of washcloths.

I also make mini washcloths. Some Etsy folk call them scrubbies, but I haven't necessarily jumped on that bandwagon. They're basically the same thing you see at right, but only a few inches square. You use them the same way you'd use cotton facial squares: to remove makeup. A lot of people like to use them because they're reusable. You don't just toss them in the garbage where they'll end up in a landfill.

Great idea, huh?

http://bowenism.etsy.com/

Saturday, June 13, 2009

Saudi Arabia

I just added my first blog to follow, "Is My English Strange?" and it reminded me of home. I grew up, an expatriate American, in a large American compound, in Dhahran, Saudi Arabia. My family was there almost constantly from 1980 to 1995. Dhahran is home to me, although it's been 13 years since I smelled the oily dustiness of its hot air. I'll probably never be able to go back (the cost of a plane ticket is prohibitive), but my memories are something I work hard to keep alive.

I'm what you call a Third Culture Kid, someone raised in a foreign culture who has combined elements of their two "home" cultures. So I totally admire this blogger for learning another language and learning more about Western culture. My language in high school (a fancy-schmancy New England boarding school that I hated, thank you very much) was Russian. No, I've never been there, and, no, I never really intended to. It was just a beautiful language. You knew what they say, though, about losing it if you don't use it. So most of it is gone, despite the five years of painstaking study. Sadly, I recall very little Arabic as well.

Maybe it's all the drugs I did in high school....

It's done!


Well, I FINALLY finished the green afghan at about 8:30 this morning. I woke up very early (around 6:30), before my youngest son could get up and absorb all my attention. The yarn was calling my name very softly from the living room. I tiptoed out, trying not to disturn anyone, but of course the dogs heard me and insisted on being included.


My big dilemma was whether to keep or sell the blanket, but after five week (off and on, granted) spent swathed in its dark green folds, I've decided I just can't part with it.


I did manage to post a new item today, though, a Bowenism Bowl in deep gloaming. I called the color that because it's made from two different colors of yarn: royal purple and dark teal. Not sure the pictures do it justice. It's so hard to take pictures of small, inanimate objects when you're used to photographing children and dogs!


My favorite bowl picture is of the bowl in royal purple. Something about the contrast between the soft, felted purple wool, and the hard roundness of the colorful buttons....

Friday, June 12, 2009

Green afghan

Today I'm going to work on finishing my forest green afghan. Those long projects are rough--I can't seem to keep focused on them for long enough to get them done very quickly. I finished another felted bowl the other day that I need to post as well. Those bowls are so much fun to make, because the finished project is so radically different after it comes out of the washing machine! Can't wait to make more.

I spend so much time making things for other people and my Etsy shop that I don't make things for myself. That green afghan might just end up being my very own "security" blanket. Hehehehe.....

Wednesday, June 10, 2009

Who are we?


Jim, my husband, is an IT systems specialist and part-time woodworker. So far he hasn't posted any of his creations for sale, but I'm optomistic that he will soon. He has a great idea for dog stairs. We have a little Chihuahua who can't get on the bed by herself, and he thought it would be great to build her a little set of stairs. He'd like to build a few extra sets for those of you out there who have small and/or elderly dogs with the same problem. He's got great ideas and often inspires me to try a new crochet project.


Angela (that's me!) is a stay-at-home-mom. Several months ago I developed a severe panic disorder that prevents me from working, so I do what I can from our home. It's great spending so much time with my kids (together, we have six kids and one grandkid, so they keep us pretty busy). I picked up my crochet hook back in December '08 just for something to do, and it turned out to be very therapeutic. Now I crochet every chance I get. Don't tell Jim, but I'm usually rushing around the house an hour before he comes home, trying to complete chores shirked in favor of crocheting!


We are big believers in community involvement. Jim has two children with disabilities, so we donate fun items to UNM Children's Hospital for the kids there to make their stays less scary. We recently participated in the Ride for Kids, an annual nationwide bike run the benefit the Pediatric Brain Tumor Foundation. It was great!


Anyway, here's a picture of us from the run. 8) Have a good day!

Hello!

This is the first blog entry for Bowenism's Odds and Ends. Bowenism's Odds and Ends is the Etsy shop of Angela (me) and Jim (my wonderful husband).

Bowenism's Odds and Ends offers crocheted items for the home, plus a few other things, like photographs of the beautiful state of New Mexico, where we live.

Stay tuned for entries on projects we're working on!