one crafty chick

Real, Compared To What...?

nobody@vox.com(craftydiva) — Fri, 15 Jun 2007 01:14:50 -0700

"Once you do it, your whole standard of beauty will change."

"Girl, go for it... if you hate it, it will grow back."

"What are you scared of? When it's done you'll wonder why you waited so long."

"It" is my hair. "It" is cutting my hair. "It" is letting go of the past. "It" is accepting myself exactly as I am. "It" is reclaiming and redefining myself. But more than anything, "it" is growth.

After years of wearing braids, and weaves, and twists, and such, I took out my braids, decided to wear my natural hair, let go of the fakeness, and found the real me. Still... it had been years since I've not had any fake hair in my head, so taking out the braids was a little traumatic. I needed some validation that I made the right choice. So I went to see the two people I knew I could depend on to give me a completely honest opinion. My awesome and brutally honest parental units.

I was more than a little apprehensive as I walked in the front door. But my dad put me at ease immediately when he said... "Hey, I remember you. Haven't seen you for a long time. How's it feel to see yourself again after so long." He followed that with a big smile and these three words... "I like it!" My mom got out the digital camera and immediately took a photo. "You look so pretty," she said and got a little misty-eyed. They gave me the confidence I needed to face the world.

Two weeks and another haircut later, I'm rockin' a TWA (teenie weenie afro) and really liking it. And my friend - the one who said my whole standard of beauty would change... she was right. It did. Natural is beautiful. Men are smiling at me again - that hasn't happened for a while. And the compliments... wow. It's all a little overwhelming in a really good way. What WAS I waiting for?

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You worked in that business, what do you mean you're not an expert?

nobody@vox.com(craftydiva) — Mon, 29 Jan 2007 21:21:43 -0800

In college, I worked in collections. I hated it, but it was a good living for a college kid and the evening hours were perfect for my school schedule. But the flip side... for YEARS I was the "go-to-girl" for any and all questions about collections and collections law.

After the collections gig, I worked in customer service for a cable company. And again, anyone I knew who had questions about cable called me before they called the cable company. In fact, I still get a few calls even though it's been more than a few years since I've even had cable.

Now, because I worked as a marketing chick for an internet company in a previous chapter of my professional life, I get every question imaginable about the internet - from optimizing searches to building websites to online publicity... You name it, guaranteed, I've been asked. In fact, just today, I was asked to find some information that I didn't even know you could get online (I know, I know, absolutely everything is available online - what was I thinking) and because I was asked by a family member I love very much, I searched until I found the info.

I'm not a credit expert or a cable expert or an internet search goddess, but damn if my friends and family don't think I am. So my question is this... How long do you have to not do something before your friends and family stop thinking of you as an "expert"? Or does it ever stop? It has to stop eventually, doesn't it?

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Why I own a yarn shop...

nobody@vox.com(craftydiva) — Thu, 28 Dec 2006 21:06:23 -0800

I was one of the original knitblog webring members way back when there were less than 10 of us and you could visit the entire ring in under 30 minutes. Nearly 4 years and thousands of blogs later, it takes hours to travel the entire ring - but really who has that kind of time? And honestly, the thrill - while not exactly gone - has definitely diminished a bit. Additionally, I recently became co-owner of a L.A. yarn shop, so I barely have time to blink, much less post to my old blog these days. I try, but I think the time has come to move on.

Feeling nostalgic, I looked through my old posts recently. They were fun, silly, and filled with the kind of wonder you have when you discover something new and fall in love with it. Seriously, just discovering a odd ball of label-less yarn I'd never seen before made me giddy. It still does, I guess that's why it makes sense that I finally have my own shop. It was something I've secretly wanted since I learned to knit. I just wish my grandmother had lived to see me live my dream, but without her passing I'd never have been in the position to do it. Ironic. She'd love the shop though. It would have been one of her favorite places. I can just see her holding court at the commuinity table. In fact, my grandmother is the reason I craft at all. She sewed, painted, knit, crocheted... a true rennaisance woman. And she passed her love of creativity on to me. Through my shop, I honor her memory every single day and try to pass the love of creativity on to new generations of crafty little divas. I think Granny would be proud.

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She's Crafty...

nobody@vox.com(craftydiva) — Sun, 16 Jul 2006 00:17:29 -0700

So... another new place to post what's happening in my "so called" life. Cool. Glad to be a part of the Vox community. Happy to be asked to be here.

And so... I suppose a little bit about me is in order...

I'm the co-owner of a yarn shop in Los Angeles, the proud step mom to an awesome kid (who really isn't a kid anymore, but will always be MY kid), a music industry refugee and frustrated rock star, a free-thinking, free-spirited, liberal-minded chick who writes, reads everything I can get my hands on, and obsessively looks for and listens to as much music as my brain will process, has had a bunch of hip-hop related liner notes and patterns in several knitting books published, loves life and peace, thinks a great martini, glass of wine, or top shelf bourbon on the rocks is a beautiful thing, prefers intelligence to ignorance, sushi to soul food (but will make an exception for Bertha's smothered chicken), loves my family, misses my granny, and loves to learn.

My goal here? No real goal, per se - I just want to be honest.

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