I am more than ready for spring to arrive. I have officially broken. I have reached my point with winter.

All autumn long I pep talked myself, mentally preparing myself for the hard times ahead.

The seasons began to rapidly change, and waxy frost appeared on still green plants every morning. My breath became a visible, tangible thing. Then, snow.

Light, not cold enough even for it to stick to the ground. But it was there.

Gradually, the number of leisurely bike rides began to diminish, then disappear altogether. Riding now was reserved only for all important tasks, like getting to work and home, and running errands that couldn't be put off, such as grocery shopping and banking.

The temperature continued on a decline. Before you know it, the ground outside is covered in a 3 foot deep strata of snow, ice, and greyish brown half frozen slop. All the trees and now brown dead plants look as though they have been coated in glass. A beautiful effect, but knowing that the entire world around you is in a deep freeze sends you into some kind of primitive survivalist mode. The wind is now powerful enough to send you careening into another lane of traffic or stop you dead in your tracks. Sometimes you have to knock snow clumps off of your wheels and cogs so you can move.

Then you snap.

You are now certain that you are going to die, and that they won't find your body till all the snow melts in June. You abandon riding a bicycle all together, and resort to fearfully toddling on slippery sidewalks. This too gives way to public transportation. The bank and the grocery store no longer seem that important, and your diet increasingly reflects this by consisting mostly of pastries from the bakery that employs you, beer, and junk food that the gas station across the street sells. You become a 45 year old bachelor, apparently. You are living the dream.

Today, the sun is out. It is shining brightly, and it gives me hope that this horrible, awful, cold, wet, and salty season will soon be a thing of the past. I am also shaking either the longest flu/cold coughing fever thing ever, or I am on round 2 of being sick. Normally, I am pretty healthy and solid. But a combination of winter air, viruses going around, and winter induced psychosis is obviously taking its toll on me this year.

I realize now that I am rather poorly built. As I jab at keyboard buttons, my dear boyfriend is riding his bicycle downtown, faithfully making deliveries all day. Every day. Ice storm nothin. Oh, and he has not even gotten a little sick. This is amazing to me, as I am feverish, sweaty, and have sticky yellow fluid just oozing from my head, and we share very close quarters.

At any rate, having so much locked-myself-in-my-apartment time is nice for crafty fun.

I am currently working on a Bunny friend, who will hopefully be in my etsy shop this week. I have also been enjoying some trial and error embroidery on paper. The embroidering itself is fun, but I am NOT an advanced straight line cutter, and this is sort of peeing in my tea cup. I purchased a paper cutter...but it was a discount one and the blade is CURVED. So, lesson here is not to buy discount paper cutters, I suppose.

And now the return to crocheting...

SingvogelHandwerk is on etsy!

Hooray! Rejoice! Yayyyy n stuff! Go on, click the link on your right and check out my shop, which currently only has a handful of items in it but will continue to grow.

If you don't have an Etsy account, what are you waiting for? It is completely free to join, you have the ability to buy the most freaking awesome handmade items (not referencing myself, more like this seller) and and AND you can even search by region to buy local. Local and Handmade? Yes, please! What a great way to stimulate your local economy. Of course, you are not required to buy anything, and perhaps your willpower is much greater than mine and you can enjoy perusing the thousands upon thousands of items that you cannot get anywhere else without ever pushing the "add to cart" button.

So go forth, join etsy, and favorite my shop because it makes me feel all good inside.

It's good times for 90's indie rock fans

I haven't updated in awhile. I am super SUPER stoked on the Archers of Loaf reunion. They are slated to play at Sasquatch! in May, and I would absolutely love to 1) not be completely poor (i may as well be a hobo) and 2) have the ability to take time off of work to go.

But alas, I can just be excited from afar.

In other news, I have been a busy crafter. I am thisclose to having my etsy shop up and running, albeit with only a few wares. I only have a few so far because I am dedicated to only putting those things which I am proud of in my shop, and those things tend to come with lots of practice as well as many many hours of work. So with time I will have more than a handful of things in my shop, but I only have a few things ready because I won't just put everything I completed up for sale. Not everything I complete is pretty.

Some things I complete are quite ugly, or comically phallic looking. Those things do not get posted for sale, rather they get collected into a sad little pile of reject toys on my bookshelf, and I feel a little sorry for them.

Like, what kind of monster am I to have created these hideous creatures, which now will live a life of dust collection out of the public eye...

So, with that, stay tuned for updates regarding the grand opening of my etsy shop, and go listen to some nineties indie rock and think about how freaking awesome it is that it's cool again.

Oh hai

Well, I have a blog now. I have finally advanced into the year 2006, which is probably pretty ahead of the times for a simpleton from Lakewood Ohio.

Oh, Lakewood is not the bad, and I love Cleveland. It is a lot nicer and more interesting than it gets credit for.

Actually, a little over a year ago, I "broke up" with Cleveland. I had one of those "screw you, Mom! You'll never get me!" things with it, and relocated to young, hot, and cool Austin TX. I quickly discovered that Austin was sexy, but empty and dumb. Austin is spoiled and rich, Austin has yet to overcome a hardship or encounter loss. Austin is fast and bright, but not whole. So, less than a year after moving, I began my 2000 mile bicycle trip back to Cleveland.

I had, much like Harry at the end of When Harry Met Sally, realized that the friend I had disposed of was the one for me. That Cleveland, though seemingly less glamorous and certainly less wealthy, was worth riding a bicycle halfway across the country for. Cleveland; honest, a little rough around the edges, artistic, and usually getting drunk. I truly love it here.

That said, I am proud to be a crafter here in Cleveland Ohio. I make things out of yarn, fabric, and thread. I will use this blog as a means to share my craft fails, my craft successes, and other craftyness. Also, as just a place to blab and such. Cheers