Valerean

How lucky have I been with my thrifts lately? These Women's Sketchers D'Lites Fresh Start sneakers are wide fit, my size, in white (the color I most like for sneakers) and almost brand new; from the faint soiling on the soles they must have been worn once and returned to the store. They retail for $75.00; I paid $8.99. This miniature kit was an open box, but happily included all the parts to make it. The kit retails for $21.79; I thrifted it for $12.99. My small lot of yarn included multiples of I love this yarn in white, gold and chestnut, which alone retail for $4.99 a skein. Altogether the lot totals $61.15 retail; I got it for $8.99. Bottom line: when you can get $157.94 worth of goods for just $30.97 it's always great luck. :)

I'm mostly posting about my thrifts over on the crochet blog, but since I've been having a lot of good luck with thrifting at the online auction lately I thought I'd do a post here. My old walking Sketchers are starting to wear thin at the soles, so I found this pair of Women's Sketchers D'Lites Fresh Start. This small lot of yarn included multiples in three colors, which I'm always on the lookout for these days. Aside from the variegated skein, the color palette of this lot is perfect for a bucket list crochet project I'm hoping to make this year. I regularly search for miniature kits as gifts for a family member who loves them, and this one was an open box but contained everything needed to make the little house. Stop by tomorrow to see what everything is worth, and how much I saved by thrifting them.

I was looking through my photo archives for quilting projects I did last year, and one of my favorites is the one I made from a vintage embroidered napkin and a doallar-fifty bag of thrifted fabric scraps. I didn't plan it and the way it came together was almost magical (it also helped that it was small.) The quilt I made for Halloween also made me quite happy. It's probably one of the last of my hand-quilted pieces, but I'm glad I made it. Halloween really boosted my spirits last year, especially with all the fun projects I made. My mini-quilt calendar project of 2025 at times grew difficult, especially during the nights when my arthritis was giving me a fit, but I managed to finish it and I'm very happy with the results, mixed as they are. To be honest, I am struggling with this year's calendar project, making one quilted tote per month, and looking back on what I managed last year helps quite a bit. It's reassuring in a way nothing else can b...

I started watching the first season of the medical romance k-drama Hospital Playlist but stopped when it triggered some bad memories of my own experiences; although I like romance it's hard for me to watch any medical-centered drama for those reasons. I did like the cast and the story, however, so I eventually I got over myself, went back and watched both seasons on Netflix. The series follows and the professional and personal lives of five very young-looking physicians in their forties; four men and one woman, all of whom work at the same hospital. They're all brilliant doctors, of course, but they also have fairly significant issues in their personal lives (one is divorced with a child, one is divorced with a domineering snooty mother, two are romantic disasters for different reasons and one is actually thinking about becoming a priest.) The thing that makes this series different is that the doctors have been friends since college, and have the kind of group relationsh...

I've often heard creative people talk about "the well" as being the source of their creativity. The well overflowing, the well running dry, refilling the well, etc. I went along with this because I had never met another professional writer until after I got into the industry. I thought they knew more than me, and creativity does strike me as flowing like water. Yet all this time the well analogy has never really suited my own creativity. I'm not someone who hides their creativity; I've made it part of my daily life. I write every day, and when I'm not writing, I'm usually thinking about writing. That happens even when I'm quilting, crocheting, doing housework or even riding in the car. It's the only part of my life that never bores, hurts or disappoints me. I've always had a fascination with fountains, and only recently have I realized why: for me creativity is more like them. What I do is a flow that comes from inside me, ...

Last week while thrifting in Lady Lake I was able to pick up this brand new roll of knit fabric for $3.18. That's $1.59 per yard, which is quite a bargain. I'm going to use it to clone a tunic I love that is sadly falling to pieces. I removed all the cobbled patchwork from my February tote, and tried one more time to accomplish what I envisioned with blind stitching. That worked a little better, but I still didn't care for how it looked with my less than impressive stitching, so I tore out that attempt, too. It happens, even to a non-perfectionist like me. My third attempt using the classic crazy quilting stitch and flip method worked so much better than the first two I'm sticking with that. I also found some striped floral pieces in the scraps, which are probably pieces from some vintage napkins or a tablecloth. If I can cobble these together and use them for the lining I think I will.

I've been slowly stitching on my February tote, which is not turning out like I envisioned. The idea I had was to make use of these shabby vintage fabric scraps and do some raw-edged crazy patchwork, ala Japanese boro. My version just looks messy, probably because I'm using all patches and no solid fabric underneath. I'm also having a lot of trouble hand stitching the fabric down. Anyway, I'm going to think about it today and maybe start over tonight.

Happy Valentine's Day from Valerean. Image credit: Jess Bailey from Pixabay

Everyone lately (including my nephew) has been telling me and my guy how young we are for our ages. We're committed to staying active, eating healthy and going on little adventures and having fun whenever possible, but being 76 and 64 we're obviously not young anymore. We've seen friends and family pass away at ages younger than we are because they gave up, became sedentary and refused to accept the realiy of ageing. That's not us. At 64 I still have a full-time job, and although he's retired he works as a handyman around our neighborhood. He loves to talk to people every day. Although it's more difficult for me to communicate because of my hearing impairment, I am still active on social media with my blogs and over on Mastodon, and through them I can talk to people all over the world. We don't really think of ourselves as seniors, either. In most aspects age really is a state of mind. Here's an amazing video by a 100 year-old woman who t...

After destroying the big canvas tote I'd originally selected for the February installment of my calendar project, I went with a small off white canvas tote, which was actually better since this is a short month. As usual I deconstructed the tote, ironed it and basted some scrap batting to the front of it. I don't know if this will work out like I see it in my head, but I'm stitching layers of vintage reclaimed fabric to the tote. I'm also leaving raw edges because I want a shabby look. Once I have everything stitched down I will embroider on top of the layers, and (if I have time) perhaps bead it a little.

I like to think that I don't fall in love easily, but when it comes to crochet and quilting actually I do. Sometimes despite my best intentions it happens at first sight. That's why I'm careful not to get on Pinterest or Instagram and start envy-scrolling through all the crochet and quilt pics. I do love seeing what others make, but I also can and will fall in love with something and then become obsessed with making my own version. It's the same way I can get distracted by story ideas, and why I have to jot down the bones and file them away. If I didn't I'd never get anything done. For some reason pattern books are safe for me. I can see a gorgeous project like this crochet moorish mosaic throw and love it without having to go and pull yarn and start working on one right away. Maybe it's because I own the pattern and I know I can get to it any time. There are still some quilts I would like to make that I fell in love with at first sight, like ...

Here's something you might not know about my novel series tricks: I get photographs made of body models (people that I think look like my main characters) and keep them in my series notebook to look at while describing them. These are also good memory jogs when I'm writing as to what that particular character looks like. Before my arthritis got severe I used to sketch and paint them. I don't know any other writer who does this. The Iris throw is coming along nicely, but I'm also doing a mini side project. I do not like boucle yarns, as they're fuzzy and crinkly and the stitch definition when I crochet them is absolute crap. So of course as the most contrary person on the face of the planet I'm currently experimenting with three boucle yarns (two in colors I really dislike) to get over myself and see if I can make them into something useful and attractive. Last night I deconstructed an ivory canvas bag for my Feburary tote, and now I'm lining...

To get started on the February tote for my calendar project I pulled the vintage scraps I've been collecting along with a bigger tote bag than I usually use for these type projects to serve as the foundation. I don't recall where I got it (probably in a lot of thrifted fabric), but I'm not going to do a lot of embroidery or any beading on this one, so I figured I'd have time to do a bigger tote. One of the handles was stained, so I decided to wash it first. It's canvas, so no problem, right? Yes, well. The stain unfortunately did not come out in the wash. The tote, however, ripped itself apart. I can salvage some of it to use for scrap, but otherwise it's a total loss. That will teach me to assume canvas doesn't need to be hand washed. I'm starting over with a smaller but clean and hopefully sturdier canvas tote. Wish me luck. :)

The other night I noticed I made a pretty large mistake in the throw I was crocheting. I made it two hours before I noticed it, in fact, which meant if I wanted to correct it I would have to rip out two and a half very long rows. My other choice was to keep going and hope it wouldn't be noticeable. I'm not lazy. I ripped out two hours of work to fix the mistake. I didn't curse myself for making it. Back at the end of November I completely wrecked myself and the holiday projects I'd planned by spraining a finger while taking a shower. At the time I was working on, of all things, a silly little dollar store crochet kit. Honestly, it was a bit of a relief not to have to work on holiday projects so much. I splinted up my finger and did the best I could for the rest of the holidays. I didn't kick myself for the accident. I made this crochet bear from baby blanket yarn, and misread the pattern, so it turned out like I'd given it thalidomide. My fi...

Watching the Chinese racing romantic drama Speed and Love took a while for me, frankly, because aside from the length (29 episodes) the storyline had an abrupt disjointed remaking of itself about two-thirds of the way through which almost ruined it for me. I came away thinking someone majorly messed with the script at that point to make the series something else, and it suffered a lot because of it. The premise is the story of two non-blood-related siblings Jiang Mu (Esther Yu) a pampered little girl, and Jin Zhao (He Yu), an abandoned boy who becomes her older brother. Mu's parents get divorced, and her dad and Jin Zhao move to Thailand. As soon as she grows up, Mu heads to Thailand to find her brother, who is now a really handsome thug who races cars and fights in underground boxing matches. The attraction between them abruptly shifts from siblings to lovers, and then Mu learns that Zhao is risking his life in dangerous races for very noble reasons. Up to the point wh...

I started watching a video on YouTube by a woman warning other women over 50 about what not to wear. Sometimes these fashion no-nos are funny, but this time it really annoyed me so much I shut it down after only a couple minutes. Why do women always try to establish rules to make other women feel bad when they're doling out advice? I'm a be comfortable, live-and-let-live non-fashionista. My wardrobe is basically jeans, sweat pants, leggings and oversize t-shirts, all of which I thrift now. I do have a few dusters and dresses I can wear for formal occasions, but I don't have to deal with many of those any more. I could care less about what other people, especially other women, think of what I wear. That said, I also have some opinions. I think a lot of women of a certain age (why can't we just say older women?) try to cling to their long-lost youth with how they dress. I know someone in RL (who shall remain nameless) who is my age but dresses like she's ...

Last night I finished the embroidery on my January tote, which due to my diminished dexterity took a couple weeks. I think I'll have to be a little less ambitious with embroidering in the future. It's actually a little easier to see the stitching from the back. :) I'm quite happy with it, although I have only three days left for the beading. Hopefully I can wrap it up before February 1st, but if I go over a few days it's okay. I don't think the calendar project police will throw me in jail. :) Added on February 1st: Going right down to the wire, I finished beading, lining and assembling the tote at 11pm on January 31st. I am very happy I completed such am ambitious design, especially considering how messed up my hands have been with all the winter arthritis flares. I'll probably try something a bit simpler for February's tote. :)

I finally watched all 36 episodes of the Chinese office romance drama series Shine on Me , which really did teach me more than I ever wanted to know about the photovoltaics industry. It also does qualify as one of the slowest of slow-burn romances with one major misunderstanding, a bunch of minors, and a very odd secondary romantic plotline that still seems a bit enigmatic, and that is something the Chinese are definitely not known for at all, so there you go. Song Wei Long did a fantastic job as Lin Yu Sen, a former neurosurgeon and member of a high-powered family, who is haunted by the accident that ended his career. He blames Nie Xi Guang (Zhao Jin Mai), the beautiful daughter of another high-powered family, for the accident, as he was going to meet her when the crash happened. This is the major misunderstanding, btw, and it's kind-sorta plausible, although it casts Nie Xi Guang in an unfavorable light for rather too long. Meanwhile, Xi Guang has this whole other un...

Anyone who embroiders and loves history like me has heard of the Bayeux Tapestry. An embroidered length of linen that is 20 inches wide and nearly 230 feet long, the tapestry dates back to the 11th century, within a few years of when William, Duke of Normandy, invaded England and became king. Technically it's not a tapestry, but an embroidered cloth, but everyone just calls it that, so okay. Tubi has a free to watch documentary about the conservation and research being done on this marvelous and mysterious artifact, so of course I jumped right on that. The documentary is absolutely fascinating. I had no idea the French and other researchers were actively researching the tapestry, or what they've been able to accompish. Seeing the tapestry in its original colors was stunning. So was the fact that these folks have managed to save a cloth that is basically a thousand years old, and one of the oldest embroidered works still in existence and intact. The only down side for...