Don't forget to Craft, folks!

I have been less than pleasant this last month. I know. Who would have guessed? :D

Seriously, though, I've been down, worn out, cranky, and generally feeling the blues, seasonal or not. I mean, school started, and for a homeschooling mom that means work started. I have novels coming out others coming back in with big, lovely rejection letters attached, I have a release coming, a preschool co-op to work into my regular school day, holidays coming, a birthday party to plan, costumes to make for Halloween, etc.

And I've been feeling the stress. Not just a leetle.

But in the midst of all that, I decided to sign up for another Ravel Trek tour. I just had way too much fun this summer to miss out on the next round. Anyway, today they assigned ships and announced a "mini-mission" and I was off. I'd been waiting for this, and here it was. Time to crochet!

I made a soap sack. Just a wee project. It took me less than half an hour.

AND I FEEL SO MUCH BETTER!

How is it that one little selfish indulgence can off-gas all that stress? I don't understand the physics of it, but dang. I need to remember that little trick. Play. Dear heavens yes. PLAY.
Don't forget to craft folks, it might just save your life.

:)
Ensign Neffis of the USS Noro (as of today)

The Most Fictional Fun I've Ever Had

I started this blog for a silly reason. You see, my best friend talked me into signing up for Ravelry and I needed a way to get photos into posts easily, and I couldn't figure out the tech angle. The only thing I worked out is that if they had a url already (like from a blog post) that I could easily get them where I wanted them. Hence, I started a blog specifically for fiber arts and to host photos of stuff I wanted to share there.

Have you played on Ravelry yet? Man, get on over there and dive in.

Anyway, I obviously got hooked. No pun intended. I filled up my queue with projects, loaded up on favorite patterns and added every fiber book I own (and some I want to own) into my Ravelry library.
I joined groups. I crocheted like a fiend for a month or two. I chatted about Once Upon A Time, Harry Potter, Literature, Amigurami, and Star Trek....

you know, all the cool stuff. :)

This last summer I even participated in the Ravelympics and earned a sweet medal in Shawl Sailing.
Check it out:

But by far the most fun I've discovered has been in something called: Ravel Trek

yeah, if you know me, you can hear the squeeing already.

They play Star Trek on Ravelry, and it. is. beyond. cool.
I joined Starfleet. I was a cadet at the academy, I got assigned to a ship, went on a deep space tour of duty and completed a few missions (including one disastrous away mission) all from the comfort of my laptop and with my thread and hook in hand.

I even printed out the Official Ravel Trek Star Fleet Fiber Corps New Recruit Guide.
In short, I geeked out.
Here is where you can play too:

And I have to show off my little badge for completing a mission: