Crocheting Frenzy

I bemoaned several times last week that I didn't get a picture of my crochet projects before Ed was asleep. It happened again tonight but I decided to go ahead and take one picture. Ed was sleeping behind me with his back to me so I closed the lid of my netbook and set things up. I was going to crop the one picture into several so I could talk about them like individual pictures but that would take me another hour of work with the photo ap. So I'm going clockwise around the picture starting with center front

• the four crochet balls sitting on my closed netbook and the three in a pyramid above them are from the package I received from my sister Monday. The eighth I gave to Ed because it's black and duplicates something I already have and watching me of late has tempted him to try his hand again. His grandmother taught him when he was in grade school.
  
• on the left edge are five mini-scarf pattern bookmarks. two have had their 14 tails tucked but all still need their 22 end tassels
• up, just above the pyramid in the drawer behind my desk are the two still on the hook. one a turquoise and pastel variegated the other red and white. they need their 14 tails tucked before I can crochet the border on with one of the two colors used which is why I don't detach them from their balls
• just above them can be seen the plastic box (it was once the packaging for a salad I believe) containing the tucked and blocked bookmarks awaiting their wardrobes
• below and to the right is a tall, slender plastic case sticking straight up containing about 20 tucked but not yet blocked all from one of the newer patterns so also needing their single large tassels made
• directly under that on my desk on the mouse pad under the watchful eye of Blue Mews are ten from the original granny aka shell stitch which all need to be tucked, blocked and dressed.
  

I have a tiny reprieve from due dates as nothing MUST be back now before Monday. So I am now free to pick up the crochet hook again tonight if I choose. It's been over 72 hours now since I set it aside to finish a book and watch several DVD due between Tuesday and Thursday. And I must say it was hard to resist when on Monday I received a box in the mail from my sister with eight partial balls of crochet thread she picked up at a thrift store. I managed to get one bookmark crocheted from one of the 'new' threads on Monday evening before setting aside the hook.

In the 10 days ending on Monday I had crocheted approximately 50 bookmarks. My goal was to be sure to have at least a 100 bookmarks by May 15th when I may be having a sale table in front of the library during the city wide yardsale. I was just guessing that I had around 70 some between the naked and the dressed. Because I thought there were 40 some in the plastic box in which I stored those awaiting their appointment with wardrobe for the donning of ribbons, beads, buttons and tassels. They don't go into that box until they've had their tails tucked and been blocked. And I knew there had been at least 30 dressed ones in the display at the library in March.

But I've just counted all of the naked ones and there are 142 counting the tucked and blocked and those still needing one or both. And, because I can't get the dressed ones out while Ed is sleeping, I counted the ones in the picture I took of the display at the library and there were at least 40. But some of those have been given away since and a few belong to me or Ed. So 30 available for the yardsale is about right.

So I suppose I could relax a bit on the crocheting. Ha ha.

But I really should start dressing some. Tho I do plan to leave a largish selection of the original pattern naked for customers to choose their ribbon. Its hard to find the time blocks of a size I need for getting set up the dressing station for that though. It has to be when I am free to spread out a mess of stuff on the bed. Which I can't do when Ed is sleeping of course. And for a couple weeks now I've been sleeping days and waking up in mid afternoon with only a few hours before dinner is called. It would take me at least one hour just to get it all spread out. I suppose another option would be to schlep it all out to the living room after my inlaws go to bed. But I would have to get it all prepped for moving before Ed was asleep which has been around 8 of late--about an hour after I'm back from doing dishes which is the time we count on for visiting or watching DVD together.

I'm hoping the dirt track has time to dry out before Saturday so the races don't get canceled again like last week. Then I could count on being home alone for 8 or 9 hours and even though I need to do laundry, I would still have plenty of time to spread out and work with the ribbons, beads, buttons and etc. But I'm not holding my breath on that one. We've had a whole week of cold and wet days.

It would help if I could get my hours back to where I like them--waking up between 10 and noon. Which means I should be asleep by 3am. But my hours have been unstable ever since the read-a-thon nearly a month ago. I don't blame the read-a-thon though--it is those pesky library due dates and all the times I use every minute I have before Ed has to leave with them to get them in the drop box--7 or 9 or 11am. The items we have been in queue for for 3 to 6 months started arriving at the rate of several per week in late March. Both DVD and books. So it seems there has been one urgent due date after another for over a month now. Things we can't get back again for weeks or months. I'm caught up with the ones due this week but there are several more coming in tomorrow and several more next week. And there are several coming due next week as well.