Aw crap....

Having a bit of a rough holiday season, not exactly sure why: but much of it is medical crap... still unresolved from the wreck.

but now, I'm starting installment payments on a tooth that broke on Thanksgiving. It's got a temporary fix, but eventually I've got to come up with $500 for the crown that is needed.

Any ideas for fund raising would be appreciated... and I've still got zibbet and zazzle shops open...

Also happy thoughts and healing vibes are VERY much appreciated.
gonna hug a cat now...

1 year and 4 months later

One year and 4 months ago TOMORROW...
I still have chronic pain from this... hit by a drunk driver ON PROBATION fleeing law enforcement, still have limited motion, fatigue (lack of sleep), my fibromyalgia is flaring in the worst flare ever... I have migraines 1 or 2 times a week, that sometimes take up to 3 days to really recover from:

I've lost a large % of what productivity I had left.
I've had to cut back on the social activity that keeps me sane because i either hurt too much or I'm just too tired.

so far it's 1 year and 4month and still the settlement hasn't happened... eventually it'll be the insurance company and the people who owned the car he hit us with who will end up paying... He's had 6 months in jail and will have a few years on probation....

something is wrong with this picture... very very wrong.
the two of us who were in the car when he hit us could have been killed. We stopped JUST SHORT of slamming into a house.

and my medical bills keep piling up.

I've been inspired...

Not sure I can pull this off, but I'd like to make a sizeable donation to Heifer International this year...

and I keep neglecting my Zazzle shop... However:
http://www.zazzle.com/handsome_seimei_card-137405702552640286



the proceeds from every purchase of this card (or other item) from my Zazzle shop between now and Christmas will go to Heifer International.

have a great holiday everyone...

Wee Free Daleks

Color drawing for the 300th issue of Drink Tank

Bob the Amigurumi Sugar Skull

Bob, the Amigurumi Sugar Skull.
(the name will be familiar to readers of the Harry Dresden books by Jim Butcher)
already claimed by my daughter... but I'll probably make a few more.
At least one will probably be going to NecronomiCon in Florida later this month.

:D

Littlefee, Yo Sd, dress with watermelons

Made a couple of new Littlefee items...
http://www.zibbet.com/trinlayk/artwork?artworkId=620429

busy busy!

apparently Con*Stellation went pretty well, waiting to hear back from the art director, but people at the con were commenting on Facebook that things were selling.

AND that a fan-editor had grabbed one of my cards to give me some ad space in his zine, I don't know which fan-ed or which fanzine, but hopefully I'll get a copy!

I've got another Hello Kthulhu to make, another regular Cthulhu and a Nac Mac Feegle/ Pictsie, and I think the pile of plush for NecronomiCon will be ready.

con*stellation - Alabama

today I'm sending off a box of 19 items to a nice sci fi convention in Alabama!

so I'm keeping busy, some new items will be posted to Zibbet soon, however it's headed into a busy convention season, so I'm going to be also making lots of monsters, aliens and winged critters to go to the conventions.

Almost done with my sister's birthday present too!

Kissmetrics Updated News

it's worse than I thought:

http:www.dslreports.com/forum/r26210282-Worse-than-Reported-Undeleteable...

wiping your computer and replacing the hard drive apparently will not delete the kissmetrics tag

lifecs.likai.org/2011/07/kissmetrics-and-life-of-etag.html

Oh for the Love of WTF! re: Kissmetrics

Yeah yeah again with the kissmetrics....


http://ashkansoltani.org/docs/respawn_redux.html

anyone out there with the technical skills to get the ETSY and other net users an effective tool to remove the unwanted tracking tag?

Oh dear ghod! hackers we need you!!!

Mr Pooh returns!

Amigurumi Pooh inspired by Ophelia's "Mr. Pooh" and crafted with her blessings:
Ophelia's Mr. Pooh Series

I've made some of these before, and each one is different... they've mostly been adopted out to Japan and California, but otherwise, I can't figure out any specific demographic. :D

Mr. Pooh is made from a super soft bamboo merino yarn, blue safety eyes, polyfill and LOVE. He's full of LOVE and humor...

from butt to crown aprx. 5 in tall

http://www.zibbet.com/trinlayk

Oh crap ETSY, what have you DONE!

If you have ever used ETSY at all, you need to be awarethat they've been using the Kissmetrics software to spy on you: http://www.wired.com/epicenter​/2011/07/undeletable-cookie/


This thread on ETSY has vital though insufficient information: re: shielding yourself somewhat from their use of Kissmetrics--- it has bhttp://www.blogger.com/img/blank.gifeen closed by admin who added WRONG information, private browsing will not keep this software from tracking your, or remove the malware it planted on your computer. http://www.etsy.com/teams/7718​/site-help/discuss/8802429/pag​e/1

UPDATE: except for ONE thread on ONE team (where admin never bothers to go) all the threads about the Kissmetrics concerns have been DELETED from the forums.

this information is VITAL for ETSY, Hulu, Spotify (and other sites) users to know.
please help disseminate it: http://www.etsy.com/teams/7718/site-help/discuss/8816812/page/1/?post_id=96457559

What we really need is a Kissmetrics specific removal tool.... Please help disseminate this information, and help find a removal tool for the Kissmetric malware so we can share the information.

Keep in mind, this is how we are answered after about a YEAR of concerns about mysterious software apparently being used by ETSY, and concerns about ETSY's handling of our personal security & data (privacy) during their push for more and more data on us as individuals. These are not exactly spechttp://www.blogger.com/img/blank.gifific removal tools for the kissmetric "zombie cookies" but it's a start until someone like McAffe, Malwarebytes, or Symantec (Norton) come up with a specific tool for all of us to use.
http://www.blogger.com/img/blank.gif
this may remove the kissmetric tag from your LSO's I just installed and ran it now...
(but I had to remove ALL my LSOs and don't know enough yet to know if the "self replicating" nature of the kissmetrics will keep it hidden on my machine.

better privacy
http://addons.mozilla.org/en-US/firefox/addon/betterprivacy/

Adblock
http://addons.mozilla.org/en-US/firefox/searchttp://www.blogger.com/img/blank.gifh/?q=ad+block&cat=all&x=17&y=10

Ghostery (will tell you what trackers are used on a site, and will give you links to see what that cookie or tracker actually DOES and who it is from)

http://addons.mozilla.org/en-US/firefox/seahttp://www.blogger.com/img/blank.gifrch/?q=ghostery&cat=all&x=25&y=18

CCleaner

http://www.piriform.com/CCLEANER

I have not yet found anything that is specifically a Kissmetric removal tool.
Please pass this information along.

CCleaner's download page has options for a variety of OS,
the others can often be found that serve browsers besides firefox.
However, Internet Explorer, since it's the software that comes with the computer, is usually the target of hacks/worms/malware/viruses... just having a less common browser (one that isn't "newbie default") will help.

after downloading, you will need to reboot your browser (and for the CCleaner it may require to reboot your system I don't remember if I needed to or not)

when your brower is reopened, you'll go under the drop down tool menu and set up your preferences for each of the new bits of protective ware.

It may take an hour or so, I went with "delete all LSOs" and as time goes by I'll keep an eye on the BetterPrivacy listing and decide when there's a short list, what to block and what to allow.

Please, everyone, be as safe as you can out there.

thank you.

Featured on a blog...

Ok so it's not a feature of my ITEMS, but we share some concerns

Mystic silks

recovering from having fun

last weekend I went to a doll meet in Madison, had a great time, but really tired myself out. (I'm STILL tired a week later, but I spent part of that weekend running on caffeine, i expected to be mostly recovered by Wednesday...)

well anyhoo, I had a great time, sold some stuff, bought some stuff....
Including Souji's hoodie from Sims, it's Toothless from _How to Train Your Dragon_ and she ALSO helped me fix the stringing in Souji's legs. He now stands up much steadier and no longer has "loose cording scoliosis" (she is now Officially : Auntie Sims)

A little boy doll got a Cthulhu plushie his human purchased, and a group of girls got a Hello Kthulhu. I was a little surprised by how popular Cthulhu and monsters are with the doll people... I always realized there was a big overlap of anime fandom, costumer fandom, and scifi fandom....but why didn't I think to bring the cthulhus sooner?

coming soon: beach dalek, and a review of Dreaming Tree eyes!

just finished commisson

Just finished a bespoke set of 4 items (pants, hoodie, tshirt, hat) for pukipuki, customer loves the photos...

yay!

making more dolly stuff

making more dolly dresses. (the middle sized one just sold... I love LOVE love this fabric)

Sent off a packet of Critters for the Art Show at CONvergence.


had sort of a rough week though.
Monday I was shopping and dropped a large can of cat food on my toe, so it's all bruised up... then Friday as I was headed to my car after the chiropractor, and I FELL and banged up my knee.

Though also on monday, one of my friends was mugged. she's recovering and doing ok, but OMG! My injuries from the week are very very minor in comparison.

Cashmere Feline

making lots of doll stuff lately, but I'm still making plushies...
just finished this bright pink and baby blue cat in cashmere.

5 in tall.

I keep thinking up names: "Boots"? nope , "Socks?" Nope...

very soft with a sweet expression, this little one is full of love and ready to share.

Dress of fate SUCCESS

Dress of fate SUCCESS, a photo by trinlayk on Flickr.

Yay!
the pattern reduced to 80% works perfectly...

I'm going to make a few more things for Ume... I've picked up some really cool lace and some organza and...

... and then I have to get back to work on the monsters!

Success!

Ume's lacy dress 2, a photo by trinlayk on Flickr.

a quicky test dress, reduced to 90% of the original pattern (see prior "dress of fate")...

It turned out lovely, and I think I'll do more with lace soon.

it fits almost perfectly, I'll do one or two more out of scraps, and then try to do one in the blue fabric with the roses again.

yay. \

I've got enough of the blue fabric to make another dress in this size. but I don't know if I have enough of the fabric, to scale up the pattern to fit the Littlefee and make a matching dress.

Update: measure twice cut once

Update: doll dress of Fate

This was SUPPOSED to be a Pukifee dress, I made an error printing out the pattern... so it was HUGE on her.


here it is on my Littlefee (my next larger size up doll) and it's too small on this one.



However, it will most likely fit the slim Yo size or the Planetdoll minis... so I'm taking the now finished dress to the meet in a month or so. It'll fit someone who will want it, right?

It must have been fated for THAT someone. (I'm going to try again, I have enough fabric so that won't be an issue.)

the collar and petticoat (with the lace) are separate items. so this outfit is fun for mixing an matching... can't wait till I have a version for Ume...finally.

Measure twice, cut once

Measure twice, cut once.

I printed out this pattern .25 in too big:
so it's huge on my PKF who it was intended for, and too small for my LTF...
I'm going to try it again, with PAPER TOWEL as a muslin and then use what I have left of this fabric.

I am going to finish this one, since it WILL fit Planetdoll minis, and the slim style Yo dolls (the Yo height but more adult/teen proportions) there's a lace detachable collar finished and I'm going to do a petticoat with lace edging (that will show beneath the hem) sometime in the next few days...so it will be completed according to plan, Just not in the planned size.

This dress was simply fated for someone else. :D

Susan, Swimmy of Dooooom!

In honor of the Swimmies of Doom and their support for the artistians of the net...

their tumblr is here: http://swimmiesofdoom.tumblr.com/

Spring comes to Wisconsin-- sorta

Souji's tulips 2, a photo by trinlayk on Flickr.

We had a beautiful couple of days so I managed some photos outside with Souji.

then rain, and gloom and chill for 3 days, coinciding with 3 days of OMFG level of a migraine. I remind myself that these things pass and they do... I just have to wait them out and do my pain management routines...

However, this afternoon I am doing OK ish again, and working on Cthulhus to send to Marcon... pondering maybe sending them some origami dragons too.

There's a purple Cthulhu more than halfway done, and a good start of one in seafoam. Photos soon, hopefully.

Ume's New Spring Dress

Ume A1, a photo by trinlayk on Flickr.

I finished this the other day for Ume, and just now have the photos up....

such a cutie... she's a Pukifee (and I want a Littlefee Luna too!)

more photos over on my flickr, and some new dolly stuff up in my shop.

Jartsy-CrapInAJar-Creative Breakroom entry

Jartsy Entry B, a photo by trinlayk on Flickr.

Entry for the Creative Breakroom, Crap in a Jar, Jartsy competition.

Challenge theme:
"What's the stupidest thing you can put in a mason jar and actually sell?"


Challenge rules:
1. Find a mason jar
2. Put something stupid in it
3. Take some GREAT artsy fartsy photos of it
4. List it on Etsy with a creative description
5. We make a treasury of these fabulous handmade creations

6. ????

7. PROFIT!

note: If you no longer have an Etsy shop, you are probably too smart for such shenanigans, but you can still participate on Flickr or your blog or whatnot.

***also featured on SwimmiesOfDoom's tumblr! Thank you SwimmiesOfDoom!

and listed here http://www.etsy.com/listing/72949580/faery-in-a-jar?ref=pr_shop
thank you Blueditty for hosting my entry.

This little guy is teeny, 3in tall and just the right size to dwell in a dollhouse.
(He's photographed on a dollhouse couch!)
He's made from a hand dyed speckled yarn full of lovely spring colors.
He reminds me of a garden in an Impressionist painting.
(Merino, with a silk tail, safety eyes, and a heart fulla perkiness)

This evening's project is tagging, paperwork, and preparing for shipping, a batch of monsters for Gaslight Gathering, a Steampunk convention out west. (Their art director INVITED me to enter their Art Gallery! whoot!)

Happy Earthday!

Ok so Earthday is TOMORROW,
but it'll also be my birthday.

I've got a couple doll dresses done (Littlefee size)almost done with another one, planning a couple Pukifee and pukipuki sized ones too. Stripy yarns are FUN, but I'm not too sure they'll scale well for the smaller dolls.

Got a bunny plush to photograph to.

I'm having a bit of a rough time with the weather, but I'm hoping to be able to
start planting some cool stuff in the garden.

I've got a Dwarf Japanese Maple for a shrubbery too... can't wait!

waiting for the check from Oddcon, sold 6 items!
(and wondering if anything made it to the shouting auction)

Paperwork should be in email for Gaslight Gathering sometime tomorrow or the next day, and then it's getting that ready and shipping out stuff for the con!

I gotta be getting ready for Marcon next... and I'm contemplating but hesitant with Duckon... a few years ago they were a real mess.

Any cons in July? August?

cats & photos

friends 1, a photo by trinlayk on Flickr.

I was getting ready to do some product photos (the outfit the doll is wearing) and Seimei decided to help with the photo session.

I suppose this happens in any studio with cats living there. :D (though in this case the "studio" is my home too)

the doll is not for sale, and I didn't make him (yes, I've cross dressed the poor lil' guy)... he's a Littlefee Elf El and is made by Fairyland in Korea.

I made the tunic and the socks.

Fibromyalgia Sucks- respecting new limitations

Cool Old Tree, a photo by trinlayk on Flickr.

It's been a rough day... been rough for awhile now with this flare up.

Only got 1.5 plushies done yesterday, and today is a "stiff neck of doom".
I'm trying to get 4 or 5 finished, so I'll have a good assortment to send to Gaslight Gathering's Art show.

This "stiff-neck-of-doom" is one of the recurring events with my fibromyalgia. The day starts out OK, but maybe an hour or two in the usual level of stiff and sore, increases, and increases, till there is horrible stiffness and pain from the base of my skull, down my neck, into shoulders and upper back.

So I take my "when you really need them" meds and go back to bed. Sometimes I'm a bit better the next day, sometimes better takes a few days of focusing on pain management.

I know I'm not alone in this... I was doing really well with managing it, hot baths with lavender salts, avoiding certain foods, planning chores and errands so I'm not cramming too much into one day... being watchful of the weather....

but since the August Event I've been struggling again. I hope the flare up will gradually die down again. In the mean time I'll keep trying to not distance myself from people with "I'm sorry I can't help you with X today" or "No, I'm not up to meeting for lunch." It will get better again, I hope really soon. In the mean time, it's back to discovering the limits, and respecting them.

busy again... yay!

photo: matzo ball soup, Benjamin's Deli, Milwaukee Wisconsin
Photo by trinlayk

making cthulhus for Gaslight Gathering...
retagging my items for the new web shop location (Zibbet & Artfire)

but also about 1/2 way done with a purple & lavender with flashes of pink, merino wool, Littlefee tunic/dress... I'll probably also spend a day or so to make matching socks... and then with what's left of the skein, make a pukipuki outfit...

and then...

well I gotta get back to work, the monsters don't crochet themselves.

Today was surprisingly productive, not only knitting, but a trip to the chiropractor and to the grocery store. I'm in charge of feeding a mob of people tomorrow, and I'm making Matzoball soup to go with some roast chicken and spinach salad. Sure glad J & Nick have volunteered to clean up, and Kelly and Neal will help with the cooking.

wow, rain, snow and HAIL

April 3 weather rain, snow and hail...
so I'm flaring and hurting like heck.

I've got a full on flare (it's not quite as bad as the worst flare for me ever, but I'm also able to sleep whenever I need to now...)

pain meds, muscle relaxants, and I'm headed to bed soon (after sleeping till noon)
still seeing the chiropractor for palliative care. So the medical expenses (deductibles) are continuing... sigh...

I'm pretty worn out and struggling with the pain lately... but tomorrow IS another day.

finished the sweater for Souji yesterday, this one is for him rather than for sale.

why the hiatus?

As some of you may notice, that until a couple weeks ago, there was a big gap of several months between blog posts.

I was in a pretty bad car accident in August, can't say much about it until everything settles out. I will probably never be back to normal, even my normal of when my fibromyalgia is in remission (which sometimes gives me a few months of being Almost Normal). I've been flaring pretty badly, everything takes me 2x longer to get it done, and have NEW chronic pain issues.

Last week I finished Physical Therapy, which gave me flexibility, some strength back, and the use of my right knee again. I'm still going to the chiropractor, but at this point it's all "palliative care" ("all we can do now is try to help manage the chronic pain")... today was the regular doc, who is keeping me on the pain meds and muscle relaxant even though I hate how they make me tired all the time. I'm trying to stay decaf too, but um... I've cheated on that a LOT lately.

ALSO, regarding things happening here in Wisconsin... I hate what our new Governor is doing to our lovely state, and the people of our state. However, I am SO PROUD of the working people and the peaceful, tidy (no litter, they clean up after themselves!) of the protesters. ON Wisconsin!

On the UP side creatively, I am showing my work at more Scifi conventions, coming up soon Oddcon, and Gaslight Gathering, and others as the season picks up.

I haven't heard from Wiscon yet, even though I applied through their jury process back in December. Even a "No" would have been nice.

I've also been knitting and crocheting outfits for Ball Jointed Dolls as seen in my pre wreck posts, the range of doll sizes I'm working in has expanded a little bit over time too. Sometime this week I'll have a sparkly white 1920s style outfit for Littlefee/YoSD sized dolls done. Yay!

Getting busy again

... now that I'm working on getting my Mojo back...
(everything takes sooo much longer since that car wreck last summer)

Getting ready for Oddcon, Gaslight Gathering, and several other upcoming artshows.
I just finished a cthulhu, and a Mac Nac Feegle/ Pictsie (Imagine a tiny blue angry scotsman)... and well "crivens!"

got more stuff posted in the new shops. Just transferring items is taking a while,
and I'm still making some new stuff.

Dear ETSY or Why Opt IN rules

ETSY people telling each other how great twitter was, got a lot of ETSY people headed over to twitter to OMG! talk to each other.

so yeah the Opt In (which SHOULD have been the default) DOES work, It just means waiting for it to spread by "organic means".

Etsy would have done better to buy advertising...

Real names out in front on a venue where the majority of users are female... Not a good idea. This should have been completely clear at registration (not information in tiny gray type on a white background) and clearly OPT IN.

Not only would my name being exposed re-expose me to being harassed by my former stalker, it would have opened up my CUSTOMERS to being harassed.

IT'S NOT ABOUT THE FEEDBACK, it's about having real names, and buyer only accounts searchable as the DEFAULT.

There is NO POSSIBLE WAY that that is alright.

We were telling ETSY this since the "treasury glitch" several months ago... we were telling them this since every step toward this new function... we were telling them this from the VERY MINUTE we had a feedback thread on the People Search...

It's taken 7 days, and the problem hasn't really be addressed except to BREAK another function on ETSY.

ETSY, PLEASE NOTE, other companies have made the same errors, and paid out substantial damages. YOU SHOULD HAVE BEEN PAYING ATTENTION AND NOT REPEATING THE VERY PUBLIC ERRORS OF OTHERS.

Just because all the other kids are doing it, is not a valid excuse. Your MOTHER would never have accepted it from you, your customers won't either.

We are your CUSTOMERS, not your EMPLOYEES.

Dear Rob Kalin

"The first rule in privacy management is every such setting must be made an explicit opt-in, not the default."

I did NOT use my real name in my profile (since I signed up years ago when things were more clear and I did so very intentionally)

My SISTER, who also got no email about this, was only just NOW aware that her real name was public... and since Wednesday SEARCHABLE.
She bought one innocent item from a friend of a friend (If she want's something of mine she says "for my birthday I want an ______") and her field is such that no one is likely to be harassing her about her purchase since co workers are every bit as geeky as she is... no creeps, no stalkers.

but yeah, a different situation and she could be dealing with a stranger who calls and says "I see you shop on ETSY..."

feedback being visible is NOT a problem (though maybe give a CHOICE with each purchase whether or not the link back and photo of the item will be visible in the feedback)

but real names re: a shopping site should NEVER be out in front OR searchable, with the exception of sellers who are just fine with their real name out there.

I have a pretty much one of a kind name (I did stumble upon ONE person with my same "real name" who is not in my area at all... ) I use the same screen name EVERYWHERE so in many ways my screen name is a different kind of "real name".


Yeah... more and more the responses to this are like "oh we didn't expect to get caught and we'll never admit we might POSSIBLY have made an error." You get more respect with an "I'm sorry honey, I messed up, let me fix it... I'll never do anything so stupid again." (even though, being human we always DO, but hopefully it will be a brand new FLAVOR of stupid the next time.)

when there were a FLOOD of concerns from the moment the People Search went up on WEDNESDAY. (and the 1 concern that was responded to was the LEAST important of the concerns)

Sorry, it was a "shit storm" from the minute it was released... that's a sign that it may seriously BE an issue.

The lack of a serious THOUGHT OUT and considered response from admin is DISRESPECTFUL to the customers.

we're all human, we DO make mistakes...
papering over the holes in the wall isn't a good way to deal with the issues.

each mistake should be a learning experience...after the Treasury glitch and the response to THAT, installing the "People Search" should have been postponed indefinitely... and the push to get people to put up their "real names" should have been stopped right there.

Re: Etsy & Safe harbor violations, call Damon Greer on 202-482-5023 & he'll help you

Etsy publishes the identities of sex-toy purchasers

Etsy publishes the identities of sex-toy purchasers....

well, Ok, maybe not JUST that... if you have an account on ETSY, even BUYER ONLY, you may be searchable by not only your screen name, but your REAL NAME as well.

Unless you've set Purchases and Favorites to PRIVATE (and go check that NOW) they can not only be seen by anyone who searches for you on ETSY, but they will also show up on GOOGLE searches for you. (either by screen name or REAL name if that's on your ETSY account.)

see also:
http://forums.penny-arcade.com/showthread.php?t=138661

Time to move from ETSY!

It's complicated, but involves security and privacy concerns, as well as some other insanity...

I will be gradually moving my shop to:
http://www.zibbet.com/trinlayk

please come cheer me on there.

Sorry to have to do this: ETSY has been making lots of changes, if you have purchased or set up an account on ETSY, even if neglected/closed, at any time in the past, go log in:

go to Your Account, Settings and also Privacy and Notifications. I would at this point, making your purchases private, and to OPT OUT of "findability" and to put circle notification email to NO.

Your favorites being private is up to you, ...but be aware that anyone who puts you in their circle will see any time and anything you favorite.

Since Feb 4th the search has changed and we can't get further clarification from admin about anything. People are being spammed by sellers abusing the "circle function" which is otherwise really pointless, AND the forums have all been shoved into separate team areas... If you have a question about something you can't just put it out there, you have to hunt down the team and hope that someone with an answer or a good guess will respond.

If you have been spammed via ETSY circles or the friend finder PLEASE log in and convo administrator "egoodman85" or email him at egoodman (at) etsy.com be sure to state your complaint/concern calmly and clearly.

I love you all!