Recently in yarn Category

I only have one request from the people who purchase/win/abscond with any of my creatures: please send me pictures of you with them or them in the "wild". I love my little creations and want to see how they're doing in their new homes.  That and it's damn fun to see the kind of creative settings people come up with for their new companions. As I've said in a previous post, funnily enough, my Wee Dragons are rarely bought or gifted to children.  Oh, sure, the kids love them (as evidenced by the 6 year-old who grabbed a dragon during a "Holy, shit, we need to finish the projects!" gathering so she could show it to her mother in order to convince said mother that she Had To Have One.)  Still, most of them go to adults, and ya'll, there is much sqeeing and merriment in the wake of an adult bearing a Wee Dragon (TM). Please witness example number one: They are help creatures, my Wee Dragons.  Here is one surpervising the moving of a shelving unit.  You can bet it will be placed in just the right spot. Just look at that very boss-like stare.  Would you say no to that? Of course, there are always dangers along the way. These dangers aren't much of a problem for a Wee Dragon. But, it can be a draining situation. That could lead to trouble in certain environments... Oh, dear. A poor dragon can't even rest before the dreaded Beer Ninjas attack! Their only weak spot is the wine warrior who follows the Wee Dragon around. He's not very powerful, but he's pretentious enough to distract the Beer Ninjas by confusing him with his flowery, pretentious speech, buying some time to for our hero dragon to get away. And, just when you think things would calm down... Our hero dragon finds himself trapped in the Grip of Power! He's not sure why this is an issue or exactly how he got into this situation, but it does afford him an interesting view of the landscape. Happily enough, our dragon friend managed to escape the various perils and find his way home where there is good beer, better wine, and an amazing lack of adventures including spiders. (Good thing, he never liked spiders anyway.) Mucho thanks to Charlie for providing the pictures that will join my Creature Gallery.  You should totally be proud of how stinking fabulous they are.

The Mardi Gras mask is in its second stage of drying. February seriously got away from me, but I am determined to meet my deadline.  It's not an overly difficult mask, just in need of some purgurtory time in the oven. I have to pay some serious attention to my project list, which I wrote specifically to prevent this kind of project crunch. If anyone else has made such a thing work, please instruct me. Anyway, I thought I'd at least post a couple of pics as I have some ongoing background projects that get attention when things are drying, the hooks are resting, or I'm trying to prevent total project ADD. Right now, the main project that hovers in the background is a set of sweet bags that I'm trying to complete as an SCA project.  They're gifts for the royals from the embroidery guild.  Each king and queen will receive embroidery bags.  The queens get red roses; the kings get golden crowns. I only took on two of the bags, one for each, only because I'm slow as Christmas to embroider, and I have so many other projects going on.  (However, if there is a dropping of the ball with embroidery works in the guild like we did last Gulf Wars, there will be some serious reckoning.  I might not be the head of the guild, but I have had it up to my forehead with people in this society not communicating when they can't get something done.  It's a teeth-grinding pet peeve.) Anyway, right now, I'm working on the red rose. For some reason, I decided to learn some new stitches along the way, so it's sort of become a strange sampler. The green is all in split stitch.  The middle petals are in satin stitch.  The rest I'm working in chain stitch. Don't ask me why I decided to do that.  Insanity is the only excuse I have. Either way, I think it's coming out rather nicely nonetheless. The only other thing I have to post is the possible colors for the OWOH Wee Dragon. She requested a spiraled deep forest green and black. I currently have what I consider a deep forest green.  But, one person's deep forest green might be another person's "Oh my god, what were you thinking?!" So, I emailed her and asked. Still, this photo is the closest I could get to what the actual green looks like in person.  The rest seemed to washed out.  (I swear I'm a better photographer in the Great Outdoors.) I hope she likes it. Of course, there are other projects.  There are always others.  I like to pretend I have a grip on things. And, I do. Most of the time. I know I'm not alone here.  What do we of the Want To Spend Free Time Doing Projects fiber do?  We want to give up eating but there's that whole starving thing.  In this current economy, most of us can't give up our day jobs.  I feel like some half-crazed mad scientist cackling at the next crazy idea to make this work.  Oh, yes, just give me some paper mache, a few skeins of yarn, and some electricity, and by God, they'll never say I'm mad again... Sleep. We don't really need that, right? ____________________ Changing careers has been the most amazing boost to my creativity.  I'm not sure that's a good thing.  I'm thinking after so many years of sitting locked in a cage, my creativity has become this monster unleashed that has demanded I either scratch its ears to keep it happy or risk wondering why people are asking where the neighbors went. Creativity is a cruel master.

I haven't mentioned the CSPIA in a while. This wasn't because I wasn't still fighting the good fight. It was mostly because I needed my blog to be one of the places that didn't talk about it since most the places where I spent most of my time were all about the CSPIA. Sometimes, you just need a place to recharge.

Today, on National Bankruptcy Day, I feel the need to chat about it a bit.

There has been a stay put on the CSPIA which many people have pretty much determined is just a stay for the CPSC to not have to enforce the law despite their press release.

Mostly because of the fine print which pretty much says you still have to test and that the state attorney generals can still enforce it. Granted, the press release states:

The Commission trusts that State Attorneys General will respect the Commission's judgment that it is necessary to stay certain testing and certification requirements and will focus their own enforcement efforts on other provisions of the law, e.g. the sale of recalled products.

There isn't trust that the state attorney generals won't take the fine print and run with it.

And, well, there's that whole having to test or destroy children's books printed before 1985. (Boy, that bit was definitely written by someone with the intellectual savvy of mayonnaise.)

Well, recently, the CSPIA actually released a rather easy to read set of guidlines explaining the definition of children's products, who should test, why, and what they are and aren't worried about.

You can find the PDF file on their site, but here's a direct link: CPSIA Guide

Do note their little "out" on the bottom of the title page. Either way, it does explain things.

Too bad they waited until the very last damn minute to post it. For many businesses, it's too late. And, the book thing still hasn't been resolved. (Lead in books? Are they kidding?)

Now, according to their little guide, their FAQ page, and an agent spoken to by an Etsy seller as posted by Knot By Gran'ma if your items are labeled "not intended for children under 12" then you're good. They will take your word for it. Now, granted, their FAQ has this little tidbit:

Does the CPSIA envision stuffed animals falling within the scope of the CPSIA’s lead limits or phthalate limits?

Most stuffed animals would be considered to be children’s products and presumably toys. A manufacturer would need to determine whether the design of the stuffed animals is such that it is subject to the lead paint limits, the lead content limits or the phthalate limits.

Now, that doesn't mean they automatically consider all stuffed animals toys, just most. And, that bit bout "A manufacturer would need to determine whether the design of the stuffed animals blah, blah, blah..." Well, considering their guide has this handy-dandy little table:

Table B ‐ These materials or components can be used (separately or in combination) and sold (provided they have not been treated or altered or undergone any processing that could result in the addition of lead):

•Precious gemstones: diamond, ruby, sapphire or emeralds
•Semiprecious stones provided that the mineral or material is not based on lead and is not associated with any mineral based on lead
•Natural or cultured pearls
•Wood
•Other natural materials including coral, amber, feathers, fur, and untreated leather
•Surgical steel
•Gold, of at least 10 karats
•Silver, at least 925/1000 pure
•Platinum, palladium, rhodium, osmium, iridium, and ruthenium
•Yarn, dyed or undyed
•Dyed or undyed textiles (cotton, wool, hemp, nylon, etc.), including children’s fabric products, such as baby blankets, and non‐metallic thread and trim. This does not include products that have rhinestones or other ornaments that may contain lead or that have fasteners with possible lead content (such as buttons, metal snaps, zippers or grommets).
•Children’s books printed after 1985 that are conventionally printed and intended to be read, as opposed to used for play
•Certain educational materials, such as chemistry sets

So, if you use any of these items, you're still golden, as long as you're careful about buttons and such.

What it comes down to is they are finally getting the hint and figuring out that, yes, this rule has to have exceptions. I expect there will be tons of revisions of this guide and that there will be much arguing about this law.

Now, the reason I'm posting this is to shine a light down the tunnel and to also make sure that there is no question about my items. First of all, I have emailed all the manufacturers of the yarns, filler, etc. I use to make my crocheted creatures, and they have all certified lead-free. On top of that, the CPSC itself says that textiles are not counted.

Granted, even if they hadn't said that, I wasn't going to stop making my creatures. Nothing I use has lead in it, and everything is as safe as I can make it. Hell, as proof, when I'm sewing dragon bits together, I often have to wet the end of the yarn to get it through the eye of the tapestry needle, and how do most people moisten the end of thread or yarn before poking it through a needle? They stick it in their mouth! As much as I have to do that, I ought to be suffering pretty heavily from lead poisoning if there were lead in the yarn. But, THERE IS NO LEAD IN YARN. And, I'll be damned if they're going to tell me I can't make my creatures because they had a knee jerk reaction to the horrors imported from China. Products manufactured in this country are already bound by laws to keep lead and other dangers out of a child's toy box. The CSPIA is not only redundant but aimed at the wrong people. Oh, sure, I'm all for product safety, especially for kids, but um, let's try to aim the laws at the source of the problems, namely Asian manufacturers. My creatures have no loose parts. They do not contain lead.

Now, they are toys. I'll freely admit that. Although, funnily enough, I've not sold a single dragon for a child. Every one that I've sold has gone to an adult who had no intention of sharing with any kid. (Does that make them adult toys?) But, I can't deny, especially after seeing how many people want to give them to their kids if they win one for the OWOH, that they are toys. Did I ever intend them for kids under 12? Honestly? No. I intended them for fantasy convention geeks and SCA folks and really did just have adults in mind. Probably because I'm mostly an adult kid myself. But, I absolutely believed that some people will want them for their kids. Now, I could easily turn them into art dolls and say they aren't for children, but I can't control it if a parent decides to give it to their child. Besides, as previously stated, it doesn't matter anyway, yarn is not included in the lead testing and all of my stuff was already tested by the manufacturer anyway. They are about as safe as any other stuffed creature made with love, care, and the intention to give adults a chance to be kids and kids to have something that isn't cold, mass-produced, and void of any personality at all.

So, I leave it up to the populace to decide. I will make my Wee Dragons and my Balls of Bun and probably whatever else comes to mind. If parents aren't satisfied that they aren't going to abjectly murder children, they don't have to buy them. As stated, I mainly had adults in mind anyway. But, according to the CSPIA and several senators' aides and that guide book, I don't have to stop making them.

Besides, it's absolutely against my very fiber to let them bully me. My paternal grandmother taught me to crochet when I was six. She would be very proud to see how I've progressed from potholders, and I doubt very seriously she would let me stop just because some government yahoo who knows nothing about handmade products wrote some sweeping legislation just to give himself a pat on the back. She was Cajun. Cajuns don't take too kindly to being bullied.

For Grandma!



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And, hey, if they want to push the issue and decide that, yes, everything must be tested and, yes, we are all potential baby killers, then fine, let them. When the same people who support it can't find the handmade stuff they want to buy in order to avoid Chinese imports, when they go looking for some collectible doll from their childhood only to be told it is in a landfill, when all the books they grew up with are gone, when they realize it's not a Good Thing to let the government raise their kids, we'll see how fast the law changes. And, still I will make Wee Dragons. Because Wee Dragons don't take kindly to being bullied either.

Besides, being a Crafting Outlaw has an appeal to it...