Wednesday, June 22, 2011

Spring Coat

Earlier this year, I began to notice that my cat Shrekkie was losing his long coat. I got a little concerned, but soon after his visit to the Vet to have him altered, I noticed the fur was growing back, so it appears he was shedding his old coat in order to grow a new one! Who knew that cats go through 'molting' season?! Anyway, here he is with his new Spring coat coming in:

His tail is still a little scraggly looking, but I'm sure it will fill in as time passes. I can't believe it was just about a year ago I started to befriend him! He was such a sad little guy, underfed and homeless. I am so glad I decided to take him in... he's a real sweetie!

Wednesday, June 15, 2011

Branching out!


If you've been following my blogs for any length of time, you might have formed the impression that I'm just a little hyper... no kidding!  Been that way for as long as I can remember!  As my hubby puts it, I have 2 speeds:  full speed ahead or dead stop.  And I never seem to run out of ideas for new projects and adventures.  So it might come as no surprise that I have found yet another direction to try:  writing books!  Actually, I have two book ideas in mind, and have started creating outlines for both.  The ideas came to me one right after another, and I will be working on both simultaneously.  The first idea I came up with is a dyer's 'how-to' book, focusing mostly on tie-dye, but branching out to cover some of the shibori-like patterns I have been using for the past several years, and touching on some alternative fabric techniques that I have been using on my clothing items.  I intend to take this book slowly and methodically to fruition, to be sure that the instructions are clear and easy to understand.  I might even consider adding a DVD to demo the process... haven't made up my mind on that yet.
The other book is one I will be collaborating on with a friend who has a successful craft business.  Our working title on this one is Biz Book for Crafters & Artisans.  Yes, it is another 'How To' book, but I think it is one we can produce that will be up to date and full of information that we have both tested ourselves, along with some information from other successful crafters we know that will be of benefit to anyone who is interested in selling their hand made products to a wide market, both retail and wholesale.  
Neither of us has published anything to date, but we are both pretty literate and will find a way to do this, whether through a publishing house, e-publishing or self-publishing hard copies.  So keep checking back!  Don't know yet when we will have this baby ready to show the world, as we are both very busy in our individual businesses, but we are also two peas in a pod... the more projects we have going, the happier we are!