Pointedly Scary Thoughts

My son has decided he will be John Lennon, from the famed 1960s Beatles group, and my daughter decided she will be the American Girl doll, Nikki, for Halloween tonight. Jennifer had asked what I'll be and I replied I was going as me. However, I'm rethinking my answer.

I was trolling around on YouTube for some crochet videos when I somehow got switched over to the pointy stick videos when I discovered this one:

What a cool concept! If I had the Flip Knit books I wouldn't need to drag poor Priscilla out of her house each time I twisted a stitch! I searched for crochet versions but couldn't find any. I wonder why. I'm sure there'd be a market for it!

Anyway, while I'm taking the kids out Trick or Treating tonight, I decided I'll be dressed up too. As a knitter. Scary thought, huh? :)

Crochet News to Me ...

I took a little break from the site move and ventured over to Ravelry. I checked into the "Knit and Crochet Show" group and discovered something interesting ...

They were talking about being unable to watch the emmy nominated PBS show because, like mine, their local PBS station doesn't carry the show. Drat, right?

Well, I discovered tonight that the entire season 2 is available on DVD!

So I ran over to my local library's website and placed a request for it! Don't want to wait for your local library to offer it? Then you can order it right from the Knit and Crochet Show website!

Back to work ... must hurry before the AOL ghouls are let loose.

Losing My Mind?

Just when I thought I was nearing a clearing in the woods, someone went and stuck another forest in front of me! Here I was, thinking that once I'm done with the blog/website move I'd be able to pick up my hook and happily crochet ... only not so. AOL has decided I don't have enough to deal with. They announced they will no longer host images/pictures. Should I start re-screaming now? I know a bunch of pictures did not transfer over from my AOL Journal to my blog here (such as those from the CGOA Conferences) ... so now along with moving the images to a new host, I also have to think about if I want to invest the time to go back and edit those postings. Arg!

Looking forward to a little relief from looking at a computer screen all day, this afternoon I brought my bag of crochet to the children's after school band practice. I'm the band's "Mom," so it's my job to keep the kids in line while they await their lessons. One of the children, we'll call her Sunshine, (she has a sweet, bright personality), asked me last week if I would teach her how to crochet. I said sure. Bring a skein of yarn and a hook and I'd be happy to. I reached into my bag to discover I left all my crochet hooks at home. More Arg!

So there I was, hook-less when Sunshine walked up to me this afternoon with a big smile on her face. Sunshine was ready for her lesson! She reached into her bag and pulled out her yarn and her ... knitting needles. Knitting needles? Gulp. This would be interesting.

I apologized. I explained my position: I'm a crocheter not a knitter. But if she were willing, we could test my memory together. She was game. I taught her how to cast on using Margaret's technique (I like to use it for Tunisian crochet), and then I showed her how to remove the loops from one needle to the other. Hey, I'm thinking, I not so bad at this, you know, teaching knitting stuff. This knitting was feeling good -- real good. I was playing with yarn! Ah, bliss!

Then my daughter came over and looked at what we were doing. "Uh, Mom, that's not right," she declared. I apologized to Sunshine again, restated my positon, and turned her over to the Pro, my daughter who quickly set her straight. (I was teaching the "twisted stitch" method. I am sure Priscilla is shaking her head at me as she reads this.)

What was I thinking; teaching knitting!? Clearly I must be losing my mind ...

... or maybe, based on the enjoyment I got from it, it's a hint I should give knit another go?

Crunch Time

Less than 5 days remain until AOL shuts down all of the web sites and journals it hosts. Less than 5 days. What does this mean? It means a lot more work needs to be done! For me, I have just a few more webpages to move/recreate/tweak. For you? If you have a website or blog that links to AOL'ers such as myself, you'll want to change the links to reflect the new sites, or if you don't know where that person has moved their material to (IF they moved their material), you'll want to delete the link. I still can't believe AOL is doing this; I don't consider it a good business move.

If you wish to link to me here, use the url: www.CrochetingWithDee.com
If you wish to link to my website, use the url: www.CrochetWithDee.com
This way, if I need to move again in the future, you won't need to change the links on your site(s).

On the bright side, I have received word from my MAC user readers that the RSS feed is now working! Yea!! It took reading a zillion pages on RSS feeds, tweaking html code, signing up for this and that, endless cups of coffee -- and, whew!, I'm delighted it works! How about you PC users? Is the RSS feed working for you?

On top of that, I have updated the ICheerforCrochet ring:

Powered By Ringsurf

If you're not a member of the I Cheer for Crochet squad yet, we're always looking for new Crochet Cheerleaders. All you need is a blog or website that is at least 80% crochet, and presents it in a clean & positive way so that all ages/tastes can be inspired to give crochet a try.
I'd love to update the button for it and think it would be awesome if one of our cheer leaders designed a new one for us. In fact, I will reward the designer with a "Top 10" position in the ring. Let the designing begin! :)

RSS Feed Issues ...

Having used AOL for the first four + years of blogging, I've been unknowingly spoiled hampered. They did everything for me: columns, comment notifications, color/style choice, and RSS feeds.

Now that I am on my own I've found this to be a huge learning experience -- and opportunity to get creative. Why, just this week I learned how to make my column to the right a little bit transparrent ...

But something is wrong. The RSS function is not working. I went over to the feedburner site to get my new blog validated and it came up with a lot of code violations. ((Kinda sounds like I'm a bad landlord, right? lol))

• style attribute contains potentially dangerous content


• two entries with the same value for atom


• content should not contain woohoonamesaved attribute


• content should not contain object tag

Are you scratching your head too, saying, "Whaaat??"

I'm not sure how to correct the violations as my self-taught html coding skills are quite rusty. I think the violations occurred during the migration from AOL to here. But rest assured, I am looking into it. If I can fix it, I will. If I can't, well, I do appreciate you visiting with me and I hear my coffee is pretty tasty. I'll keep a pot on just in case you want to visit me here rather than through an RSS feed. ... And if any of you know some simple fixes I could try, I'm all ears.

News to Me

I love learning new things about crochet, and this week was filled with various bits of information new to me.

First, to my jubilee, after waiting years (how many, I don't recall exactly, but it's been enough time to say years) it has been confirmed that Patricia Arquette is a crocheter! Ha! I'm so exited to learn this! I suspected she was when I watched one of her appearances on The Tonight Show with Jay Leno. They were talking about Halloween, Trick or Treating and such when she reached behind her seat and pulled out an adult sized costume of a Sock Monkey. Based upon the quick close-up shot, and Patricia talking about how long it took to create it, I guessed it was crocheted. But she never said! And so I waited, and now I couldn't be happier about being right about her!

So, there I was, over at the Knit One, Save One website when I noticed they have a Celebrity Caps Game we can play. Not only was I able to correctly guess Patricia's hat right off the bat, but I also learned that Rebecca Romijn is also a crocheter! So that's two new "Famous Crocheters" to add to the growing list! Yes!! :)

Then second, earlier this evening, as I flipped through today's mail to discover the Nov/Dec issue of PieceWork arrived, I discovered the article: "Zigzagging Rags into Shirred Rugs." You guessed it -- it's an article on a crochet technique that was fashionable in the mid 1850's! So it has been added to my growing list of types & techniques of crochet! (Have I mentioned that PieceWork is one of my favorite magazines?!)

More Progress!

The sun is shining, I have a stick (really a branch), several pages completed on the new site, and a full cup of coffee. Yes, this means things are coming along -- and more importantly, I am happy with the results! True, not much of actual crocheting, but it is progress, right?

I have about a handful of pages left to overhaul/move, and then to do "snap shots" of the old pages to archive. And then it's just a matter of tweaking, which I can do any time, right?

One of the pages I successfully revamped was my "Crochet Fun & Games" page. Since I couldn't move my word search (it wouldn't fit), I made a new one. I also made a Fallen Word Puzzle, but in going back and looking at it, it's missing! It's a big red X. Drat. I will have to investigate that later and see if I can get it restored. Also, along the lines of fun & games I have a new jigsaw puzzle you can solve right online. I hope to move the Crochet Bingo game over perhaps later tonight. Check it out and let me know what you think! :)

Oh, and about that branch? ... the electric company sent a crew to take down our "Charlie Brown" tree today (yes, the tree really did eat kites!). I asked them to save me a branch ... I'm thinking it needs to have some "Charlie Brown" type of crochet hooks made out of it. {VBG}

Brown Bag Luncheon: Knit One, Save One

In the weekday afternoons I can be found crocheting while parked at my children's school. I get there early so I can get a good parking spot -- and sneak in some stitches. This is how I was able to crochet 20 Tulip Preemie Caps in seemingly no time at all.

Yesterday, along with the 18 caps we collected at last month's "Coffee, Crochet & Chat" gathering, I delivered them to the Save the Children world headquarters located in Westport, Connecticut. Linda, who also had caps, Grace and Elaine, fellow HHCC'ers, also joined me. We were there for a special "Brown Bag Luncheon" to teach their staff members how to crochet for their "Knit One, Save One," campaign.

About 15 of their staff members participated, bringing their lunches to the conference room. Each was given a bag of yarn, a hook & a pattern to get started. There were lots of giggles, lots of stitching, and several caps taking shape towards the end of the luncheon.

We learned that they already have caps arriving, filling Dan's cubical at the moment. (Dan was one of the participants.) It was a great way to spend the afternoon, passing on our love of crochet for a good cause. :)

Rhinebeck: NY Sheep & Wool Festival

I was to have joined some fellow HHCC'ers on Saturday for a day of fun at the New York Sheep & Wool Festival, only it wasn't in my cards. I awoke with one of the biggest migranes of the year. It was horrible. And I missed seeing my friends. I was bummed.

On Sunday I received a call from Nancy, checking in on how I was doing. She was heading back to the festival and wanted to know if I'd like to join her. Since I was feeling better I was game.

Upon arrival we went immediately to the Author's Booksigning Event. Our goal was to say "Hi" to the wonderful Doris Chan. She was the only crochet author there and there were many Chan-Fans stopping by to buy her books and get her autograph. It was really great getting to see her.

Nancy and I then met Chris from Australia. The three of us wondered around, visiting and petting many delicious fibers ... many, many indeed! The weather was beautiful -- sunny and slightly crisp as one would expect for an autumn day (nothing like the sub-zero degree weather reported from the day prior). We met up with members from the New York City Crochet Guild, ate, shopped some more, and listened to some live music. It was a lot of fun!

Truckin' along ...

I feel really bad about yesterday's post. I've been under a lot of stress with this move and to find someone lifting my material really pushed my buttons yesterday. Seriously, I'm more of a happy-go-lucky kinda gal, so I'm going to put that behind me and move forward today.

First, I want to address the vehicle situation. No, I still don't have my wheels back, and yes, I REALLY am driving around town in a huge six-wheelin', extended cab truck I borrowed from my father. It's so big that the kids nicknamed it "the tank." It's a trip driving that thing, and my daughter, Casey, is doing everything in her power to tempt me to see just how much yarn the "tank" can haul. I'm going to guess a lot. I don't know what it is about driving it, but when the kids are not riding with me, I find that I'm turning the radio station over to some hard rock and nodding my head to other big truckers as we pass on the road. Weird. It brings back memories of being on the Harley, giving the secret hand signal to other bikers that share the same passion ...

So this got me to wondering. Is there a cool signal for crocheters and I'm just not aware of it? If there isn't, we should create one. This way we can acknowledge each other as we pass each other in the store aisles ...


Second, you may notice that I'm tinkering with the blog settings here. The advice columnists advise not to change too much all at once, so I'm trying things out slowly. Please let me know if there is something you'd like added.

Third, AC Moore has teamed up with NaturallyCaron.com for a "Naturally Baby Contest." The contest starts today and runs until December 1, 2008. You can find out more about this contest by going here. The only catch is that you need to purchase the yarn from AC Moore, and there isn't one in my area. Should Casey get her wish to see how much yarn the "tank" can haul? Do I dare?

I Can See You ...

There has been an increase of activity of, shall we say, the borrowing of articles, descriptions, and such from various web sites from some individuals wanting to "gather" all the "important" information to create their own crochet site, regardless if they are knowledgeable about the information they are lifting. And without asking the owners permission.

I want to let this individual know that I can see her. I can see her climbing all over my site, the specific page she's concentrating on, and I assure you, it's not for good reasons. And I want to let her know that it is NOT OK to take someone else's work and pass it off as your own. It's called COPYRIGHT infringement and/or PLAGIARISM: the act of passing someone else's work off as their own. AND it's AGAINST the LAW!! You know who you are AND I know who you are. Continue and I will go public!

Just because I am in the process of moving my material does not mean I do not still own the copyright to my work. If you want to build a "comprehensive" web site then DO YOUR OWN HOMEWORK!!

My sincerest apologies to my regular readers; this is out of character for me. However, I do not appreciate being robbed of many years worth of work and wanted to ensure this individual knows we are on to her.

Plugging Along ...

I lost my brakes for the 3rd time in just as many weeks. Turns out one of the hoses for my ABS needs to be replaced. It will be days, and an untold fortune, until I get my wheels back. Normally I wouldn't report about such a thing, but in this case I know it will impact my spending at the upcoming Sheep & Wool Festival in Rhinebeck, NY, next weekend. First, the repair bill will force me to spend less on yummy treats, and second, if I don't have my wheels back in time, I won't have space to haul all my goodies home .... sooooooooooo, yeah. It's a bummer. But on the bright side, at least I'll have brakes and this will allow me to (later on) stop to go shopping at my LYS instead of just driving by, unable to brake. Right!? So there's my silver lining. Tell me there's another silver lining to this -- that you'll be attending the S&W too; maybe we could meet? I have it on my calendar for Saturday.

The other silver lining is that on Monday I'll be in Westport with some of my fellow HHCC'ers, helping the Save the Children foundation with their "Knit One, Save One" campaign. I have 16 preemie caps finished thus far; my goal is to have 25 finished so I can deliver them on Monday. I'm working on them mostly in the afternoons while waiting to pick my children up from school. Most of the caps I have crocheted thus far have been with my Tulip Preemie Cap pattern which I am tweaking to include the stem. If you would like to be a pattern tester for me, go here to give it a whirl. Please let me know if you have any difficulties with it.

Time for more coffee and more work ...

Please Pardon the Dust ...

... and the moving boxes ...
... and the lack of crocheting (on my part) ...

The important thing here is that the crochet hooks & yarn are safe, and that you, my readers are finding me here! {{YES!}}

I know the blog design is seriously lacking (no, seriously! Isn't it drab to you too? Where does one go for a splashy blog design? I never had that option over at AOL!).

The amount of work involved in moving the CrochetWithDee site is huge. I should have hired a moving van. Just for the yarn alone! heh heh heh

Over at the new developing site I have opened a "Web Store" ... listing items from my personal library & stash. Feel free to begin shopping ... because in about a year from now, I'll be moving FORreal! Right down the block. And I'm learning, the less I have to move, the more time I'll have to crochet. :)

Phase III almost complete

I have given up on moving my children's "Cornnecticut.com" journal over to blogspot ... it was just too much for my brain to deal with this week.

Instead I decided to make it into a website using freewebs.com.  Using their blog option, I moved over one month's worth of journal entries and will give it a few days to see how it "feels."

Anyone interested in checking it out can go to: http://freewebs.com/cornnecticut/ or just use the original url:   http://www.Cornnecticut.com

Once the move is completed, this will leave me with moving my Crochet(ing)WithDee sites.  I really am dreading this.  Finding the right home for them is important to me.

Question:  I know all the images I have in my FTP space will be wiped out when AOL makes this blunder of closing down all sites it's hosted for it's members, including it's PAYING members, such as myself.  What will happen to all the images hosted in our journals/blogs?  Hosted in our AOL photo albums?  Does anyone know?

Phase I and II Complete

When AOL made it's announcement to close Journals and Hometown I totally freaked.  I have much more than my Journal to find new homes for.

The first step was to take the way outdated site for my CGOA Chapter and move it some place where updates can be made fairly quickly and easily.  I decided the website was a dinosaur.  What our group needed was a blog -- so the material would always be fresh!  You may keep tabs on the Happily Hooked on Crocheting Club by visiting  http://thehhcc.blogspot.com/   ... or you may reach the new blog by visiting the old url: www.thehhcc.org.

The second step was to find a home for my daughter's website, Casey's Crochet.  It had been awhile since her site was updated and so with AOL deciding to close, perhaps this was a good thing.  Not only did I find a new home for her site, but it also came with blogging options, so who knows, maybe she'll become an official blogger too!  :)    ... you may reach her new site by going to http://www.freewebs.com/caseyscrochet ... or you may reach it by visiting the old url:  www.caseyscrochet.com

As far as Cornnecticut.com, CrochetingWithDee.com, and CrochetWithDee.com goes, I'm still working on that.  Cornnecticut should be fairly easy, but the two CWD's will be a challenge due to their sheer size.  I'll keep the coffee on, for sure.

Thank you, everyone for all the recommendations, please do keep them coming!  :)