FAQ: Selling Items Made with LB Patterns | Lion Brand Notebook

I find it very helpful when a Vendor promotes their product by saying, "YES you CAN!", especially when everyone is concerned about stepping on toes, copyright infringement, and the like.

Here's what Lion Brand has to say about making and selling, using their patterns:

FAQ: Selling Items Made with LB Patterns | Lion Brand Notebook

It is also a good idea to ask the Vendor, before you start on a new creative venture. In most instances, you will get the go-ahead, with blessings on top. Most Business's LOVE it when you promote them by way of links or mention.
The more exposure they receive, the more great ideas they can pass along to others. It has a ripple effect; someone promotes you, you reciprocate, and the word gets around and around.

We've been asked if we would allow Sellers to manufacture craft projects using our products and some ideas we put out there. Here is what we tell them: You can copyright an original idea, product or (in Celebrity World, phrase), but you cannot copyright an idea that is already born. You can always reproduce an idea, using your own interpretation and creativity, to make it 'UNIQUELY YOU".

 Take for example, our Interchangeable Hair Stick Clip-Ons.

 

When you see the ™ , that means, simply put, Trade Mark, and is exclusive of design. You can buy it, you can make one of your own, using different ideas, beads, etc, but you cannot use the name to profit from it. Make up a new name, insert your unique identity into it, and it can be yours!

It is said, it is a form of flattery to copy another person's ideas, work, or image. By "image", I mean how they appear, how they talk, act, sound, function. It is not flattering to blatantly copy someone, and then lay claim to the end result.

We hope this helps some of you who wonder if selling is a hard thing to get into or not. We are here to help, not hinder. Without you, our customers, we would not be here today, and that is the best gift we can receive, in return for all you who have shopped with us.

Ok, I'm getting all teary-eyed now, so I'll stop and get back to packing your orders.

Many Blessings to you and we hope to see you all real soon!

Oyeah, and HAPPY SPRING!

Mike and Sandra
Many Horses Jewerly Supply

How to knit a GIGANTO-BLANKET

ROFL!!!! What a stitch!

...duct tape, a wonderful invention heheee

...did she appear to get a little winded by the end of the second row???? hmmmm...

It's going on 7:30 pm and still barely light outside...the days are definitely getting longer. It snowed for a one brief moment, the flakes were tiny and light as a feather, not even sticking. By the time it got done, there was no evidence it had even spit rain/snow. HURRAY! Those tender buds just emerging are on high alert now as we approach spring; those still-cold mornings can be a disaster to flowers trying to poke their heads above ground.

What Does Home Mean To You?

 Home can come in many different forms. It can be a place you hold dear, it can be a refuge from troubled times, a state of mind, or it can be a stopover along the way to someplace else.

Watermelons make a great place to call home, if you're a Wren or a Chickadee.

If you've spent any time in the military, you will know, it's tough to settle down in one place for any length of time. Moving constantly from one post to another, you learn to travel light. 

Baltimore Oreole and a clever "Suet House"

I've moved numerous times in my life, at least 5 times that I can recall. I've been over the Big Pond at least twice, calling Germany home for 18 months, even started my first year of school there. When dad's tour overseas was over, we moved back to the US, where we stayed with Dad's family in NJ for a while, before finally moving back to Mom's home turf, and finally settling in California. 

No, I didn't live in my car, but I did spend a lot of time in it, cleaning and shining it up. There was pride of place, even in the driver's seat, and I was Queen of my tiny world.

(My home of my youth, seen in the background; I've revisited it in my dreams, many times) Recently, I found the old Homestead on Google Maps; it's not as warm as I remember it, cold and neglected-looking, in a sad way. This picture reminds me of happier times.

We moved to where we are now, a little over 11 years ago. We have the perfect campsite, always available, without having to make reservations a year in advance, and without the temporary camping neighbors. I can make my own cooking smells too!

I moved to where I am now, a little over 11 years ago. Although there are places I still would like to see, I think I've found where I will stay the remainders of my days.

Home is where the heart is, and no matter where you lay your head at night, if you can find a little peace and solace, then you can call that Home.

Silent Writers Collective : A Story of Love

 Inspiration by:
Writing Prompts « Writer’s Workshop « Mama's Losin' It!

I need to educate DH on the concept of #SilentWriters weekly meetings. I've been doing this for only a few weeks, but he still doesn't get it; I'm meeting with other bloggers/writers who take one hour out of every Tuesday evening, to post a blog entry based on a prompt from one of many fellow writers.

Simply put, when I'm blogging during #SilentWriters hour, 

 ZIP IT!

Tonight, I'm inspired to write collectively about all 5 prompts listed in Mama's Losing It! blog:

1.) A story of love.
2.) 10 Things my mother taught me.
3.) I often daydream about…
4.) You have an hour to kill on the telephone…who do you call and why?
5.) I’m inspired by… (A photo journal entry)

1.) This is A story of love.

2.) It is about 10 Things my mother taught me.

Throughout this post, I will refer to my mom by her given name, Laurena, because she was a girl, before she was my mom.  I will refer to her by her nickname, when it became hers.

Laurena came from a strong French/Welsh home, managed by her father Christopher, who single-handedly raised 4 kids on a pre- pre-WW11 north-central California ranch.

mother, Louisa Laurena, oldest son Edward, and father, Christopher

 After the  mother died from complications of diabetes, obesity and heart trouble, every child was required to pitch in and help run the farm. The two boys ran the farm, while the two girls took over the house chores. That didn't stop Laurena from having a pet pig to occupy her days.

 When she wasn't fighting with her sister over a Christmas present, a beloved doll with hair that Laurena loved to sit and comb for hours, which sported more beautiful hair than her sister's doll; that one suffered a hideous hair cut, much to Laurena's anquish. 

When she had no other children to play with, she was playing with her pet pig. After the days' work was done, she could be found riding about the countryside in her dad's jalopy, driven by her older brother, while sitting in the rumble seat, hair blowing in the wind. She was free-spirited, young, and full of vinegar

3.) I often daydream about the tales she told me of her childhood, when she still had her memories. She recalled one particular time when she was about 5 or 6, and as a pass-time would go to the local general store for her weekly allotted treat of one piece of penny candy. 

As she strolled around the store, looking for all the world like an angelic cherub, she spied the candy jar that sat on the counter, and in an instant, took a dare and absconded with a piece of candy, right behind a cop's back! She recalled laughing hysterically as she ran from the shop, her price clutched tightly in her little fist, as the cop shouted behind her to STOP! and come back here, or suffer the consequences.

4.) If I had an hour to kill, I'd call my mom and ask her, "Is that where you got the nickname, "Penny" from? Or was it for the penny loafers that were the fashion trend of every care-free teen, at the time?

I'd also ask her, was I named after her first "baby", a Cocker Spaniel she called, "Sandy". 

Sandy and Penny, March 1951

Dad and Sandy, March 1951

5.) I’m inspired by…

...the many pictures my parents kept, and I find many parallels in their lives and mine. We all loved our trucks and cars, we all loved horses, and I guess when I think back on the name I loved to hate, was one that eventually stuck with me: Sandy.

KNIT PATTERN REVIEWS : Maddy Laine Flatter Me Vest

Looking for an easy pullover vest, with smooth drape? This may be your answer!

maddy laine leaflet 164 - Flatter Me Vest

The clean lines of this simple vest are not only easy to knit but also comfortably stylish. Decorative loop decreases on the raglan shoulder add a smart finishing touch to this subtly shaped garment. In sizes S, M, L, XL, and XXL (finished bust 35.5, 39.25, 43.25, 47, 51"; finished length 24.75, 25.25, 25.5, 25.75, 26"), it uses 765, 800, 900, 950, 1025 yards of chunky weight (20 st/4") yarn. The designer notes that her sample was knit using elann.com Peruvian Highland Chunky - works out to just 11, 11, 12, 13, 14 balls of Highland Chunky. At $2.48 a ball, plus $4.35 for the leaflet, (plus S & H)  that's around $40 for this project.

I'm noticing I'm trending raglan garments, (current WIP's include the Agatha Cardigan). Practice makes perfect!

Mixer Recipes : How to make Tequila Rose | eHow.com

How to make Tequila Rose | eHow.com
Mixed with Hot Chocolate, with mini-marshmallows on top! Cheers!

Weekly Photo Challenge: Shadow or The Dark Side of My Bloggings

Weekly Photo Challenge: Shadow | The Daily Post at WordPress.com

This one was so similar to the original post, I had to share!



My photo entries are entitled, "House of Long Shadows". We have some of the most spectacular sunsets; we try not to miss a single one. Our office downstairs faces west, while our dining room upstairs offers a great show over dinner, so we're always in the moment when a show-stopper occurs.

Long Shadows

"House of Long Shadows"

Another shot I am particularly fond of is "Mid-Winter Dusk". I feel as though I'm in the shadows, peering out into the woods, trying to find what, or who, lies hidden in the shadows...

"Mid-Winter Dusk"

FREE KNIT PATTERN : Fleece lace shawl: Knitty Winter 2011

WOW! Lovely Lace Shawl

Step out confidently into the frozen wastes of winter with this protective outer layer. The two shifting colorways of Zauberball’s lustrous felted yarn mirror nature’s random shadings, and the yarn itself provides a cosy, substantial warmth.

If you’ve tried some lace knitting and want to move on to something a bit more challenging, let this pattern introduce you to a 3 to 15 stitch increase and a quadruple decrease -- which act together to create the dramatic zig-zag markings.
Fleece is knit in one piece, and works up quite quickly on US 8/5mm needles.

The colors change randomly in the yarn - you can let the color shifts determine your transitions between two charts - one plain and one fancy.

It’s easy to make a wider stole or narrower scarf by adding or subtracting repeats.

 Fleece lace shawl: Knitty Winter 2011

This one is a must-try!

Silent Writers Collective Pick : Daddy’s Home!

This picture, worth a thousand words, opened wide the many memories I've held safe and sound in my Secret Place.
 As I look into the face of the little girl holding her daddy, it takes me back to another time when I was a little girl just like her. Mom was waiting at the airport terminal for Dad to return from (?). I remember her holding me in her arms, as we were both surrounded by Servicemen, arriving from their collective flights. I had my most endearing smile at ready for anyone who even remotely resembled my daddy. One small problem was,  I thought everyone there was my daddy! As each soldier disembarked on Terra Firma, my squeals of  delight,  "Daddy!!" with arms outstretched, got quite a few smiles from the soldiers as they passed by us. I later heard of Mom's retelling the story to her friends, of my welcome cries, much to her embarrassment; apparently it didn't matter what race, color or ethnicity he was, I called each solder who smiled at me,  Daddy! I poured on the charm, big-time; it was my Pièce de Résistance~

Now, many years later, I see myself again, and I smile as I recognize her joy. I wonder how she will remember this day, in the years to come. Will she blog her memoirs? What will she tell her children about her recollections of Army life? How will this day shape her future? Will she be pro-active, will she be able to perpetuate the dream that her daddy worked hard to build for us, when he put his life on the line for us all,  for a brighter future with no wars, no killing, no fear.

There is a glimmer of  fear and uncertainty in the young girl's eyes, even at her tender age. She's too young to have fear of the things we adults have to deal with on a daily basis. But she too will learn the harsh reality of a world torn apart by turmoil, struggling to stay afloat in an economy going up in a raging inferno, like a tortured Zeppelin.

I was talking with a HS friend earlier, and she was reliving her school days while visiting her old homestead. She said she wished she could go back in time and relive her high school days. I told her, I go back at least once a day, to a date I remember with fondness. It isn't any one day in particular, just a memory that brings a smile to my day. It's a sort of exercise in keeping my parents, now departed, close by. I will probably never truly let go of them, for I don't think that is a bad thing. It's good to be reminded of where you come from, and what path life has taken you down, over the years.

I know I ramble on sometimes, about things that no one else probably cares about. We all have our memories we keep safely hidden away from the outside world. Only by an act of absolute trust, can we feel safe to expose our deepest thoughts.

I find solace in my personal blogging, for it allows me time to think in solitude, without fear of being judged by anyone but myself. I am thankful each day for my memories, as they bring me comfort in my quiet retreats.

I don't have any pictures of me with my dad, in his Army uniform, but I do have my parents' wedding photograph, taken in 1948.

O headache, begone! 2 minutes to Mini-Tini in a shot glass, 2 pimento olives please...