I sometimes get asked by readers who find this blog why I don’t write more here about jewelry making, my first serious crafting crush, versus all this fiber stuff you see all the time here. I would guess, even, that if someone came here and didn’t know me previously, he/she might not enough know I make jewelry and even have 8 jewelry books published (and not by vanity presses BTW). So, to those inquisitive minds or those who just don’t know, yes, I actually do still make jewelry. Lately, I have been making Valentine’s Day jewelry.

Not only do I make jewelry regularly, but I write and publish jewelry tutorials, jewelry book reviews, jewelry designer interviews, and other jewelry related articles every week on the About.com Jewelry Making site. It’s my part-time job, and I publish a minimum of 8 articles a month on that site. If you sign up for my free newsletter over there, you will get a weekly notice of any new articles published.

As a result of being paid to write about jewelry over there and being contractually obligated to write a certain number of articles and other required activities to maintain the site, I sort of horde my jewelry text for that site instead of writing it here, which I don’t get paid for doing. Here I play. And, jewelry for me is not really play time like it is with fiber or other crafts. I mean. Maybe it is like playing, but it’s playing with more of a purpose. If I make a bracelet, for example, I have to take photos of each step of the process. If the design doesn’t work out the first time, then I have to rework it, and again, take photos and make notes as I go. I have to document my steps because I need them later for tutorials. I still enjoy the work, which is why I am still doing it after 15 years; however, it’s part of my living versus a hobby.

I wish I could devote more time to all of it, but I also work a demanding full-time job as well. So that’s the reason why you see different crafts here and not so much jewelry.

The Indian River Review is currently soliciting submissions for its second issue slated for publication in late spring/summer 2013. The theme for this issue is “Memory.” The deadline for submissions is December 15, 2012. Genres include short fiction, poetry, creative non-fiction, critical essays, black and white photography, and book reviews. See formatting and submission instructions below.

Submission and Formatting Guidelines

All work is peer reviewed. The journal accepts only electronic submission, no hard copies. Do not send simultaneous submissions. Please follow the requirements listed below for all submissions:

Text files must be sent as .doc, .docx, or .rtf email attachments.
Photography files must be sent as .tiff or .jpg email attachments.
Send short fiction attachments to hraulers@irsc.edu.
Send poetry attachments to ariddles@irsc.edu.
Send creative non-fiction and photography attachments to tpowley@irsc.edu.
Send critical essays and book review attachments to smallone@irsc.edu.
Text-based submissions must use 12 point font and correct MLA format.
Short fiction, creative non-fiction, and critical essays are limited to 4,000 words.
Book reviews are limited to 1,000 words.
In your email, make sure to include your full name, phone number, address, institutional affiliation (if you have one), and the title(s) of the work you submit.
In your email, include a 50 to 100 word author biographical paragraph.
Send no more than 5 submissions for poetry.
Send no more than 10 submissions for photographic pieces.

Please make sure to spend time proofing and editing your text submissions before sending them. Authors may even want to consider asking a friend to read the work first to help make sure an error free submission is sent. Submissions with incorrect grammar or misspellings may be automatically excluded from the review process. Those submissions that are accepted must be open to receiving minor editorial corrections. Also see the journal’s Agreement between Publisher, Editor, and Contributor.

Payment upon publication will include one copy of The Indian River Review.

See the journal’s weblog for more information: http://theindianriverreview.wordpress.com/2012/07/10/2012-2013-submission-guidelines/

My first week of summer vacation has been great! I’ve gotten a good chunk of writing work done, and I’m having a blast with my hairy crew.

We are hunting for lizards.

Here...lizard, lizard. I want to be your friend.

We are taking lots of trips out to the backyard, especially in the morning before it gets too hot.

Rocky likes to take a walk in between naps.

We are doing lots of relaxing and snuggling.

Two Calicos can fit in one paper box lid.

Lola looks great with my beads in the background.

This is one cozy spot!

Coco likes to keep an eye one me while I'm writing on my computer.

Jasper smiles for the camera.

Tomorrow I go to commencement, and after that, I’m off for summer 1 semester! While I will be on vacation for a good chunk of time, of course, I have a pretty good size list I hope to accomplish during my break:

• As far as yarn works in progress, I have a shawl, a pair of fingerless gloves, and a scarf I plan to finish.
• For projects that I haven’t actually started yet, there are two necklaces I plan to make, which I pretty much have the supplies for, just need to nail down the actual design.
• Another project not started yet is an afghan for one of my nephews. I got some of the super soft baby blanket yarn that I like so much in a colorway called summer days. He’s not a baby any more, but he loves to snuggle with a soft blanket and play on the computer.
• Then finally on the yarn list are some toys I plan to make for a donation drive I hope to participate in this summer. I have a fair amount of green yarn in my stash and can use that to make some amigurumi frogs. I also think I can whip up a few little princess crowns.
• As far as writing, I have a fiction piece I’ve been working on that I am about 3/4 of the way through the first full draft. I want to at least finish the draft, and then it will be time roll up my sleeves and do lots of rewriting on it.
• My other writing project includes a book proposal on a topic that I have been researching. Until I have something more solid, like a book contract, I don’t want to say too much other than it is not craft related but a little on the academic side.
• Sprinkle reading and getting lots of exercise in between all of the above.

Summer vacation….here I come!

A few summers ago, I pulled out my sewing machine and reawakened my love of stitching. I also started to become a lot more active with crafting for charity, and as a result, I ended up creating a book proposal that sort of married the two ideas together. Actually, it was not just sewing as part of the book, but that was an element of it.

After working up the proposal, I sent it to an editor, and the reaction was kind of luke warm. She asked me to rework the proposal and send her three sample projects from it, which I did. Then she told me she would “get back to me,” which she didn’t. I tried contacting her a number of times and eventually just gave up because, well, who would want to work on a book with someone like that as your editor? Not me!

So I shelved the proposal, and I never sent it to another publisher. Today, as I was surfing around the net, I learned of a new charity crafting book coming out, and actually, this is just one of a number of them that I have seen lately. It kind of bakes my noodle for a few different reasons. First of all, the editor was very unprofessional and really wasted my time. Secondly, I allowed her to waste my time! And thirdly, I should have listened to my inner voice that knew I had a good idea, and I should have sent that darn proposal off to another publisher, but I didn’t.

School is working me over big time right now, so between that and other freelance obligations, I could not write a book right now even if I wanted to. Sending it to another publisher tomorrow is not really something I can do, at least not for a few more months. Even then, I will probably need to revisit it since it is two years old. Obviously, the idea is good, but now it may be too late since there are already so many books out related to the topic. ARgh!

This is the view from my balcony. Yes, the Crafty Princess managed to escape her comfortable domesticity and headed for the big city of Melbourne, Florida for a few days. I attended the 2011 Florida College English Association Conference and stayed overnight at the Crowne Plaza, located right on the beach.

I don’t get out much, and admittedly, I am okay with that. In fact, I really do not like to travel. There, I said it. I’m sure some readers will shake their heads in disbelief, but I love to stay at home, spend time with my husband, play on my computer, read on my Kindle, chill with my cats, and make fun stuff. What’s not to like?

However, I will say that the very few times I venture away from home, I am usually (not always mind you) glad that I did, and this was one of those times. The conference only lasted a few days, and it was very close to home, so I got up super early on the first day and made it there a little after 8am. The first panel started at 9, so I was there in plenty of time. I stayed at the hotel (where the conference was being held), and after listening to some great readings and breaking for lunch, I stopped by the brief mixer and rubbed some elbows, had dinner with my fellow faculty peeps (many of whom I never get to see), and then ended the night with a little crochet and a few stupid TV shows before going to bed. The conference ended the next day with more panels, a speaker, a lunch, and then I was headed back home by about 2:00 that afternoon.

I have attended this particular conference a few times, and it is always refreshing to spend time with fellow English professors. While there are a few of the “celebrity” types who always act like they have never seen me before in their lives, 99% of the attendees are just super nice people, and I always become energizes when I listen to their presentations. I learn about authors I either never heard of before or knew little about. I mull over unique teaching methods some of the presenter share. And, of course, I usually try to present a paper as well. This time, I presented a sort of silly paper about Flannery O’Connor’s South and whether or not we Floridians belong there or not. Luckily, my audience laughed with me and not at me. I was even stopped while walking down the hall by someone who had heard my presentation and commented on how much she liked it, wowie!

While I am not a traveler at heart, I do wish I could do something like this a little more often, including academic as well as craft-related functions (I’m reminded of the Bead Expo I went to years ago in Miami). It is amazing how much I learn from others who are knowledgeable about a topic that is so important to me.

I tend to spend most of my time writing about crafting, especially jewelry making, so I don’t have a lot of time to write on other topics. Usually, I try to assign myself a non-craft writing project to work on during my summers off from school. That seems to be the only way I can squeeze it in.

Just like any form of publishing, academic publishing takes a really long time. Actually, it can take about 10 times longer than when I write a book. Sometimes, I feel like I am sending my work into a big black hole, ala the Big Bang Theory, only I get zippo for my bang.

So I am very happy to announce that one of my academic articles made it through the universe and landed in a real, true to life book. It is a piece I presented in 2010 at the Florida College English Association Conference. After the conference, I submitted it to be considered as part of the published proceedings, and hot-diggity, it was accepted and just recently published this month! The article is a kind of mix of narrative and analysis entitled “NASA Becomes Nostalgia: Retrospection and Prospects for Florida’s Space Coast.” I just ordered my copy of it this past weekend, using my author’s discount. I hope to get it in my hands very soon!

Last week, I went away for a few days to a conference for English teachers. I rarely travel, and while I was only away for a few days, it felt like I’d been away forever, as if I’d gone to another planet almost. Some of that is probably due to my lack of travel abilities. I’m just not that keen on it generally. However, some of this “other worldly feeling” was because I was literally in a world of English teachers, people of like mind who enjoy and appreciate word crafting. We were all together on a college campus, attending lectures, listening to panels, and networking with one another.

You wouldn’t think this is that big of a deal, but a teacher’s life tends to be surprisingly solitary when it comes to contact with other teachers. We go to class where there’s a room full of students, go back to our office and do our office hours, grade papers, create and prepare our curriculum, grade more papers, and that’s pretty much how the work day goes. If I happen to see another teacher, it is either a quick “hello” in a hallway or maybe (if I’m lucky) a 15 minute chat in one of our offices or we are at some boring meeting that doesn’t really allow us to chit-chat. We each have our own schedules to keep to, and so it’s pretty rare for all of us to “be” together even though we do work together.

At the conference, though, I actually got to hang out with six colleagues I work with as well as meet many others. I tend to prefer the “fly on the wall” routine when it comes to social mixes, so that part of the conference, admittedly, was the usual awkwardness for me, but even given that, I came away with an improved appreciation for my professional work.

A major highlight of the trip was an hour-long reading from the poet Billy Collins. I teach a few of his poems during the poetry section of my ENC1102 class. In fact, I start with his “Introduction to Poetry,” which students always enjoy. They “get” him, and this makes them feel less intimidated by poetry and more open to it during this section of the class.

One poem he read that evening was a particular favorite of mine. It is entitled “Schoolsville”, and if you know an English teacher, you should send him or her the link! He was exactly as I thought he would be too: funny, laid back, and (totally) charming!

Poets are very much like crafters in that they construct pleasant things. Instead of glitter, beads, or yarn, they craft with words. They play and create prototypes with these intangible items and then offer them up for us the enjoy.

The trip has not really changed my thoughts on traveling, but it did remind me of how rejuvenating it can be to spend real time (as in not virtual Internet time!) with 3-D people who enjoy what I enjoy and think similarly to the way I think.

In a month or so, I’ll be off to a conference for English teachers, and of course, this meant I had to think up something to present. As a result, I am about knee-deep into another writing project, though this one has nothing to do with arts and crafts. This is not necessarily a bad thing though.

If you don’t count writing up assignment instructions, power point presentations, or handouts for my classes, then just about all I seem to write about any more is related to crafting. As I was pounding away on the keyboard a few days ago, popping back and forth from my sources I had researched and thinking about my approach to this un-crafty type topic, I realized how much I really enjoyed writing, period.

I particularly enjoy the process when I’m invested emotionally in a topic. This article I’m writing now is sort of a second chapter or continuation of one I wrote a little over a year for a book on Florida culture (Florida in the Popular Imagination: Essays on the Cultural Landscape of the Sunshine State). Because the topic is fairly timely - the Space industry on Florida’s Space Coast - a year later the paradigm has shifted, which means I have more to talk about

After I write and present this, it may not amount to anything else. The conference does publish a small selection of articles, but I am not counting on mine being picked. In fact, I know I will be presenting to a mainly liberal audience who knows little (and probably cares even less) about the space industry and who thinks our president walks on water, so I may have to dodge a few piece of rotten fruit during my presentation.

Anyway, this has really made me start thinking lately about writing in general. Don’t get me wrong. While right now it is nice to not be working on another jewelry book, I do expect to write others at some point of time, even if it means self-publishing. But, I think I need to really start thinking about other writing projects, if for no other reason than to do it for myself.

I haven’t been blogging here much lately because other than the jewelry book landing back on my doorstep, I have been working on school stuff for the fall. That includes making lots of blogs for my classes. So I have been blogging, just not here!

I have been using blogs for awhile as on-going class assignments for a few reasons. First, it is a way to allow my students a chance to express their opinions. A great deal of the writing I teach is analysis, so while technically they do give their opinions, most feel like they aren’t since they can’t use first or second person (I and you) in their work. So on the blogs, they can let it rip, as long as it as least half-way grammatically together.

Another reason to use the blogs is it gives them tiny writing assignments on a regular basis, just 4 to 6 sentences. Added up over the semester, I think it makes a difference in their thinking. They are limited in the length of their responses, so they have to be selective with their words. They have to actually write complete sentences, so they can’t just slap up any old pile of bologna too. It has to be grammatically correct bologna at any rate.

Finally, it helps them connect to each other a little since it creates a virtual conversation. I don’t treat it like a message board, so they aren’t required to respond to each other, but often they do after they start relaxing and get into it a little.

So far, weblogs have worked well with my full on-line and my blended (a mix of web and traditional) classes. I did try it last year with one traditional class, but I just could sell it that well. Students were too used the idea of walking out of class and away from the subject. To ask them to get on-line and write their thoughts was too much for most of them.

This year, out of 6 classes I have only one totally traditional class. This means 5 blogs, folks! Some of it I can recycle, but some of it I had to add to and tweak a little. I have found some great on-line resources too, especially for my technical communications class. In particular, I have used TED.com and embedded some pretty cool videos over there that relate to what we are studying. Students are more visual than every these days, so being able to add a video to my blog posts and then connecting that to reading material has been a big winner for me, especially when some of the videos include celebrities like Jamie Oliver or Mike Rowe.

If there are any teachers out there who would like some TED URLs, feel free to email me and I’ll send them to you or maybe even post them here, though I have a pretty long list!