Thursday, October 29, 2009

Lolamoth is still wiping tears. AlternaCrafts.com is in a deathless sleep as one of our Brave Trio has effectively halted the publication of alternaCrochet with naysaying. So much work, so little to show. More updates as they become available.

Friday, August 21, 2009

How Does It Work? Very Well Indeed.

Lolamoth has been consumed by her side project (hahaha), alternaCrafts. So go on over there and give us a shoutout, wouldja?

But before you go, chew on this. (Thank you, Minx.)

Tuesday, July 28, 2009

Day Wanes


Lolamoth is hard at work on multiple projects so I'll just share this view out my window. Until the storm broke it was a quiet Tuesday. The light! The silence!

Thursday, June 25, 2009

WWJHS 4-Evah!

My junior high years were spent doodling words in fat balloony letters and filling them in with pseudo-psychedelic patterns. Itching to be an artist-calligrapher-author, I was constantly perfecting my flowing-script hand and trying out Speedball’s über-Gothic letterforms with an ultra-broad pen nib. I was reminded of that recently when one of the little monkey-babies wrought my name in squared-off letters. I set her the task of coating them in color and pattern. Then we did some cut-and-paste, the old-fashioned way.

Monday, June 15, 2009

Goodbye To All That

Our simple e-book idea has been growing by leaps both surprising and terrifying. Really, the minute you say blog-website-app you’ve leapt (metaphorically) from sitting next to a sunny open window, lulled by the sweet mental image of a far-off digital project, to the very real prospect of being saddled with the nonstop content-feeding of the awful, ravenous maw that is the Internet. Gimme some source—I think.

To support our venture, we're working on website design, marketing plans, promotional workshops, iPhone app support, photo and video production, blogs, and CALs (that's Crochet-a-long). Then there's the POD angle, the mythically thorny issue of customer support, and the next two ebooks. Hey, I don't need source; I need an assistant.

Monday, June 1, 2009

Ain’t No Modern Sleek Enough


Gill Sans, Gill Sans Bold, Gill Sans Ultra Bold, GSUB Condensed. OMG, I’m gonna go nuts trying to find the perfect font. But in a good way.

Actually, by the time you read this post, the issue will have been solved. My new-media publishing venture has grown some flight wings in the last few weeks, and my head's spinning with the intricacies of setting up a business with two partners. Taxes and registration fees aside, there are the design and content and marketing aspects to be considered.

The best part: I'm hooked up with two super-savvy women who know everything in their respective fields. I'm like the duck that bobs on the water, feet paddling furiously underneath.

But I sure wish the web had more font choices.

Monday, May 25, 2009

The Marshmallow Experiment


The ability to delay gratification—even as early as the age of 4—is a scientifically proven, rock-solid predictor of success in later life. (Don’t ask me to define success, okay? Whatever popped into your head is probably fine.) And, they say that low scorers can be taught self-discipline. My question is, is there any hope for a former high-scorer who’s totally caved to the instant gratification of links and blogs and tweets? I’m just sayin’, is all.

Partner Ship

Hello, my little corner of the world. This is where I'll be sharing fragments about the land of new-media adventure, where I've been living for the last few months. In January my 9 years as an editor (and sometime-writer) of craft books came to an inglorious end. I had spent the aughts nurturing and fanning and praying over manuscripts that filled a mad cornucopia of how-to subjects: knitting, jewelry, paper and needle crafts, and ceramics. (I still chat with a few of those amazing ceramists. Hi, Andrew! Hi, Angelica!)

In the 90s I taught commercial photography and before that I studied the medium as a fine art. I'm so happy to get the chance to include some of my photos alongside these posts.

Ever since little-girlhood I've been a voracious reader. My FB page profile says it plain and simple: I'm "inveterately curious." So here is where I'll share what's on my mind and my plate.

For the last several months I've been working with two amazing women to start a digital publishing venture. We three are writers and tech geeks and creative persons looking to squeeze the most juice out of being freelance everythingers.

Being something of a style nanny, I’m having quiet little internal fits around establishing (perfect) consistency in all print references to our "baby’s" name. We're talking just a matter of capitalization here! I may be driving my partners nuts over it. Sometimes I can get a picture in my head of how great something can be, and it can be hard to live up to such internal pressure. It's a good thing there are three of us; thankfully, the success of this boat-float doesn't depend on me alone!

Anyway, if there's one perfect thing, it's peonies in May.