Can I Take That Back?

It was a farmers market Sunday. I sat behind this table (above) and watched the world go by. (My table to the side is below.)

As happens, kids would walk by. And some clearly had an interest in something or other. I could see it in their eyes. They'd stare a bit before walking on.

So, I called out to one. "You can come over and touch..."

At which point I realized how that sounded. Sometimes I should not be allowed to talk.

(I encourage kids to touch my wares. Most are washable, and all are unbreakable, so it's not like the kids are going to bother anything.)

What I Did on Sunday

I made another trip to the farmers market. I rather liked this setup. (Just please ignore the needs-to-be-ironed tablecloth...)

The flip-flop keychains were out. I'll get better pictures for you next week.

And it's time to make more jellyfish. The yellow guy is now all by his lonesome. The orange guy went to a new home.

Market Day

Last Sunday I set up my booth at the local farmers market...

I even posted my tables to Instagram. (They're very quick videos. Much better at giving you a look than a still image.)

A post shared by Liz A. (@zizirho) on Apr 9, 2017 at 8:43am PDT

A post shared by Liz A. (@zizirho) on Apr 9, 2017 at 8:41am PDT

Do you go to your local farmers market? What did you do last Sunday?

Today's A to Z Challenge post brought to you by the letter...

A Tablet Buddy in Progress

A project in progress via tweets. Because it's been that kind of a week.

I started your tablet pillow, @jeoishere. It doesn't look like much yet. pic.twitter.com/OCOniQPDws

— Elizabeth Arundel (@ZiziRho) December 8, 2016

Making progress @jeoishere. Base is done... #knittersofinstagram pic.twitter.com/BJafOe99GR

— Elizabeth Arundel (@ZiziRho) December 9, 2016

Day 3 on @jeoishere's tablet buddy/pyramid pillow/prop thingy. It's getting there. pic.twitter.com/yKaIAVIShI

— Elizabeth Arundel (@ZiziRho) December 10, 2016

The colors for each are a little off because I used various Instagram filters on them (whichever one struck my fancy the moment I was posting the picture). In the first picture, you can see the snack I had while working on that bit. And my TV remote is in the third. Things are kind of a mess while I sit and knit.

It's not finished because on Sunday...

A photo posted by Liz A. (@zizirho) on Dec 11, 2016 at 8:51am PST

A photo posted by Liz A. (@zizirho) on Dec 11, 2016 at 8:52am PST

But it's a new week. I'll post my progress on Twitter. And Instagram.

What's on your agenda for this week? Accomplish anything last week?

Scenes from the Farmers' Market

Yesterday at the farmers' market...

Left Side of Booth

Right Side of Booth

Close Up

Recognize what all those earrings and Christmas ornaments are hanging on? (Hint: look at the wallpaper surrounding this post.) 

Still tweaking my setup. I like how this turned out. Now I just need to find a better way to create some shade for me (so I'm not in direct sunlight all day). Ah, the trials of the fair skinned... 

Also, I'm in the process of getting my Christmas ornaments listed... 

If you're interested in purchasing, let me know.

How was your weekend?

Crochet Updates

Normally, I would have told of my farmers market day on Monday,

but Monday was a holiday, and I decided to take the day off.

I managed to finish two more jellyfish,

and if you follow my shop on Facebook or you follow me on Instagram or Twitter, you've already seen these guys. One of my fellow vendors bought the little blue guy, and that left two hanging around my booth.

And finally, I connected with the requester of

so, I have a better picture

but her picture turned out better.

I am in the process of making one more orange jellyfish, and then I think I'll be out of the jellyfish business. Unless any of you would like to order one...

And that puts me between projects. Again. Sigh.

More Requests

Last week I mentioned my internet woes. It looks like the problem might be solved, so I can write the post I intended to write last week. Hooray!

(If I have not gotten around to your blog yet, I should soon. I have a couple days to catch up on after the fiasco that was last week.)

I finally finished the requested gloves:

I have not delivered them yet (scheduling issues), but once I do, I should get a good shot of them modeled.

And more donuts:

They were originally ordered from another seller at the farmers market. Connecting with her has also been a challenge.

Seems like I'm getting all these requests from other farmers market vendors. Which again happened on Sunday the 12th...

One of the vendors brought her son. He found my booth, and he got to talking. He saw my EOS lip balm holders...

...and told me I should make one like the Yo-Kai Watch. Which I'd never heard of. I looked it up... (I'm not going to post a picture due to copyright issues, so check out the link if you have no idea what I'm talking about.)

Then later, Pam, who manages the non-food vendors, had something to show me. Amigurumi jellyfish. (Again, copyright, so please check out the link.) Which apparently is now a thing on Pinterest. It's so much of a thing that when I mentioned what I was making when I went to buy eyes, the ladies knew exactly what I was talking about.

I had hoped to have one finished to post today, but alas, not quite. Those tentacles take a while. But next week for sure. (I'm close to finishing one.)

Also, this is my week over at Unicorn Bell. Where I'm whining talking about how I've been writing chapter 20 for a very long time...

Golden Ticket

I was at the farmers market again yesterday...

I had this whole long post planned with pictures of the finished gloves, some new donuts, and a couple projects that may or may not be in my future. But I'm having internet issues. And if I try to upload another picture, I fear I may throw my computer through a wall in frustration.

So, instead, I'll leave you with a story.

Towards the end of the market, they hold a raffle for the customers. Every vendor is asked to provide some small item. (This day, I offered one of my crocheted donuts.) They combine the items into five prizes.

Oh, and raffle tickets are free.

You'd think it would be easy to give away raffle tickets. If they don't win, they didn't lose anything. But if they win...

So, it was getting towards raffle time, and the tickets they had given me to give to customers were still sitting in my booth. I offered them to every passing customer. No takers.

Then they started announcing numbers. The first number--666. I looked at my tickets. Sure enough, I had #666.

To the next passing customer, I waved the ticket. "This is the number he just called." She didn't quite believe me, but she took the ticket, and she got the prize.

She returned a short time after. She had a question about the donut. Because, naturally, the donut was in the box she won.

I just think about all the other passing customers that passed on those tickets. Sigh.

A Request

At the last farmers market I attended (on Mother's Day)...

I received a request. One of the other vendors had seen something on Pinterest that she just had to have.

So, after some searching, I found the pattern on Etsy. (I wouldn't recommend this pattern, by the way.) I just finished the first one on Saturday...

And I let her try it on on Sunday...

I need to make a couple modifications, and then it'll be done. (So, I'll be making two more in addition to the one I made just to try out the pattern.)

I never would have even looked twice at this if she hadn't requested it. It was kind of fun once I got the hang of it.

The Backdrop in Context

Last week I promised a "finished" picture of the thing I've been working on since January. Here it is...

And with a little more context...

Aaaannnnnddddd...It's not quite done yet. Or, I should say it's the first part of a multi-part project.

I thought it might be nice to knit a sunshield for my farmers market setup. Since I hadn't set up since I started the backdrop, I needed to see the thing up to see how much more I have to do. I thought I would need three panels. But this panel is narrower than I realized. I may need to knit four or five.

Or, I may knit a second panel to balance this one for the other side, and knit something different for the middle. I haven't decided yet.

(The reason the panel isn't wider has to do with how long the needles I used are. Long story that will only make sense to another knitter.)

It's a work-in-progress. Of course, I may scrap the whole idea and just buy a tarp or something.

In other news, remember my clock that likes to go into Daylight Saving Time on a whim? Sunday began Daylight Saving Time. My clock should have been thrilled. Nope. Decided Sunday was the perfect time to remain in Standard Time. Deep sigh.

Other Uses

When I knit (or crochet) something, I have a purpose in mind. I have an idea of how I think the item will be used. But, that doesn't mean that everyone will see these things the same way I do.

Remember my gift card holders?

Originally they were intended as a solution for those who want to give something handmade and/or unique to those people (such as the teens in your life) who only want gift cards as gifts. These illustrated my A to Z posts this year. I also sell them in my Etsy shop, Zizi Rho Designs. I have put these little knitted pouches out at my farmers market appearances.

And they get the occasional look. At the last one, one lady saw them and saw a different use. They were the perfect size to fit her car's key fob.

But, she wondered if I could add a drawstring. Well, yeah, I can do that...

Because why not? Something I hadn't considered.

And finally, I'm going to go back on my no more spiders promise. My uncle thought the little guy needed to be animated...

Blowing in the Wind, Part 2

It was another Sunday at the farmers market. It wasn't going to be too hot. It wasn't going to be too cold. Mid-sixties with the sun shining.

It wasn't terribly busy, but we had a bit of traffic. Not quite the Christmas rush yet. And it was a very nice morning.

Afternoon hit, and so did the winds.

I've previously mentioned my run in with winds. So, I thought I was fine. Until the first gusts started...

My entire canopy inched over (and it is staked down in the back), knocking over that white side table. And dumping everything on the ground. But I got off lucky.

A jewelry vendor's canopy went flying, knocking down her table and destroying all her displays. The Scentsy vendor lost a $50 warmer. And everyone else was busy trying to keep their stuff from going everywhere.

I had to start holding my canopy because the gusts were that strong. (The winds in between the gusts were things my displays could handle.)

The singer (there's a live musician who performs every week) started singing "Blowing in the Wind". Very apropos.

Well, it didn't take long for everyone to realize that the canopies were dangerous at this point...

And everyone pretty much packed up.

Of course, by the time the market was pretty much done due to winds, the gusts died down. Naturally. Ah well...

Missing Credit Card Reader

I was having a good morning at the farmers market. I managed to get my canopy set up all by myself. I got my table set up, and I was ready to settle in for the day. 

And that's when I found it, or rather, I didn't find it. My credit card reader. 

It wasn't in its little case. So, I tore my boxes apart. I went through my bag. Twice. I went out to my car and searched it. I even touched each of my items that the thing could have perhaps fallen into and hidden. 

No luck.  

It was about this time that I remembered the last thought I had before falling asleep the night before. Something about checking for my credit card reader. But I dismissed the thought, thinking that it was safely in my stuff which had already been packed in my car. I wasn't about to get up, go out to my car, and verify that the reader was where it should have been.

Sigh. 

I even asked if anyone had found it after the last market I had been to. Nope.  

There was nothing to be done about it. I beat myself up a bit, because I don't lose things. And I do have a backup reader, so it wasn't like I couldn't take a credit card.  

Not that it came to that, actually. No one has asked to use a credit card. I've offered a couple times, but everyone pays cash. 

It was a hot day. But somehow, I managed not to get sunburned. Which was a minor miracle. I was careful to put sunscreen on all the spots that I missed on previous occasions, including the back of my neck. 

I got home. Then on a hunch I went and checked that place where things get stacked until I can deal with them later. And what popped out, but my credit card reader!  

Then the memory flooded back. I hadn't put the reader back in its case in the midst of packing up from the last market. I meant to do it after arriving home, but I was so tired... 

I blame #IdiotSummer. At least I didn't have to try and acquire a new credit card reader.  

Blowing in the Wind

I've got another farmers' market story, and it doesn't include a sunburn. Hooray!

Last Sunday I was back at the farmers' market. It had rained on Saturday. (Hooray! We can really use the rain.) It rained Sunday evening. (Hooray! After the market was over.)

Sunday was nice and sunny. And warm. And humid.

After I unpacked my car, I discovered what I had forgotten. My chair. Yep, I packed everything (even remembering my forgotten bags) except for the thing to sit on all day. (They were kind enough to lend me a chair for the day.)

About the time I discovered this, I realized the other thing I had forgotten. A towel. (Ford Prefect would be so disappointed.) Because it didn't take long before I was drenched in sweat.

But I got set up, and everything went fine. Until the wind started blowing.

The last time I had done the market, I didn't have that much trouble with the blowing wind. But this time my display started inching forward.

I'd get up and move it back. Then it would inch forward again. I fought with this all day (well, half the day as the wind didn't pick up until later).

Then, about the last half hour of the market, I realized something. I had bungee cords...

That held the display perfectly. *smacks head*

Burned Again

Last week I mentioned that I was going to be at the Green Acres Marketplace on Thursday.

It was a lovely day. Blue skies...

Well, blue skies after the marine layer burned off. And now that I have a canopy, I can hang water bottle carriers from it...

It wasn't too warm, with a nice breeze gusting through. (Next time I'll be more careful about making sure everything is weighed down.) And I made sure to wear sunscreen.

On my arms.  

In my defense, my legs rarely get much sun. I stayed under the canopy. I followed the shadows. 

But I got a nasty surprise on my return home. A red, warm surprise on the bottom half of the outside of my right leg. (My left leg, not so bad. And I had been wearing capris, so everything above my knee was protected with fabric.)  

Really, you'd think I'd know better. Apparently not.

(I'll be back at the farmer's market this coming Sunday. If you're in the area, feel free to stop by and remind me to apply sunscreen to my legs.)