Ethnography of a Lost Land Line

Today my husband cancelled vonage. This was in order to save $30 / month. After he emailed me to let me know he cancelled it, I panicked. I am panicking now. What will this mean? And reinstating the land line isn’t going to resolve my panick. Why not? I also loved my telephone number: 330-0660. When are you given a number as good and memorable as that?

So I thought it might be helpful to record my thoughts, emotions, and experiences as we adapt for the first time to a completely mobile telecommunication.

In addition to the loss of the number, I was originally anxious about what the switch to individual mobile numbers might do to the relationship with our in-laws. Would my in-laws and I stop speaking, as they naturally deferred to my husband’s cell number? My 5-year old son has just learned to answer the telephone himself. Will he answer our cell phones now? I just called my 85 year old grandmother to get her to update her address book with our cell numbers only. What will happen the first time she gets that terrible, harassing noise that says our former number is out of order?

My nerves are already shot. Will I be able to adapt? Or will the $30/month not be worth the hbp?

Dude, WTF?!

The farmer's market in Trumansburg is every Wednesday from 4-7pm, mid-June until Halloween. Although I've sold a few belts (9), more often than not I sell NOTHING. Goose egg. The taxman will never believe this is a business, and I can forget about writing off my $600 Bernina "sewing computer". But a surplus of inventory is not always a bad thing. I have loads of things that I think someday my new daughter will like, and that in the mean time I can give as shower gifts. If you'd like a little pin for the child in your life, let me know. I'm selling them for $1 to go on the leftover belt that hangs from your loop after it's already been threaded through your jeans. For adults, there is a WTF pin, for $2.

Farmer's Market Opening Day

Trumansburg Farmer's Market opened last Wednesday! 28 vendors, including Wiley Cricket, a collective of Blue Hair Knits, Roundabout, and Wonders, all etsy sellers. At the market, I have postcards, notecards with envelopes, children's belts, and burp throws.

Ravelry - I'm in!

I received my Ravelry invite last week. I am Bluehairknits there too. As of today, 51,283 knitters have signed up to be a aprt of the Ravelry community (about 13,000 are still waiting for their registration to become active). A very telling show of the size and power of women with sticks. The Yarn Harlot has received over 1,300 comments to a single post. What blogs have you read that receive 1,300 comments????

Preparing my Ravelry "notebook" (all the projects finished and on the needles, with images, links to pattern, links to yarn used, etc) made me realize that I've done a poor job of taking pictures of my projects. It took about 8 months to knit Marta McCall's Weekend Getaway Satchel, and all all there is to post is the picture of Marta's own bag. I'll bring my camera to my sister in laws this weekend and take a snap.

Vintage Barbie Clothes

Blue Hair Knits herself put together these creations for Barbie and I think my Marie Osmond doll, who still wears the outfits very well. In addition to accessories and dresses and skirts with trimmings, my grandma made *pockets* for the coats and a couple of the dresses.

Place your orders here

I am now a little distracted by the idea of making up our house debt (a.k.a. red dawn) by selling crafts. Please go to my etsy shop and assess my shipping rates. Am I charging too much for multiple purhcases? Should I add shipping to Europe, Africa or Mexico? I only have to sell a little over 700 warshrags to cover the cost of last fall's excavation. A few hundred more and we can buy sod to fill in the mud left behind. SOooooo here's my next project, at what will be around $2.00 a pop, or a set of 12 for $15.00 + shipping -- invitations for kids by kids.These are your standard "Come to My (3, 4, 5, 6, 7-year old) Party" birthday invitations. I'll let you know how much it costs to make them. As it stands, I've spent close to $70 to make my vintage wallpaper postcards. I only have to sell 23 to break even, and then it'll be like Demi Moore and Woody Harelson, on that bed, rolling in all that cash...

Blue Hair Knits ON SALE

It's official. Blue Hair Knits has its own ETSY.com shop. I have knitted dishrags for sale that my Grandma (a.k.a. Blue Hair) and I have been working on since last summer. I'll be adding bibs and vintage stationary. Go to www.etsy.com and search for my username: jayteedoubleyou (get it?).