Phoenix Crochet

Spring a ding ding-I WROTE A BOOK

2009-03-18T09:09:00.000-07:00

Ah, the weather is perfect this week.

Actually, i hate nice weather. Give me cold or rainy any day. But fine, everybody else like's perfect sunny days, so that's cool. I'll get mine again come fall.

Spring...renewal...

did I mention I wrote a book?

Okay I suck at transitions today, but it's true! I wrote the first draft of a novel. It blows, but I'm told that all first drafts blow. I'm going to at least give it a couple of passes at editing before giving it up.

Oh, what's it about I hear you ask? (Okay, i hear crickets chirping but that's almost like asking)-

Here's the pitch: a young-adult aimed novel that's hoping for older readers who prefer a sweeter story than counts for "adult" fiction, my book is about a typical teenage girl. Who just happens to wake up one day with a tail, large pointed ears and a wicked craving for milk. And that's when life gets a little complicated...

Why it happened, or how, or what she is a mystery that she hopes to survive long enough to find out. But before that happens she'll realize the world is a stranger place than she'd ever known.

Interested? Leave me a comment!

Annoyed by blogger vanity...

2009-03-13T11:00:00.000-07:00

Okay, this is bothering me-

If someone has a blog, it's their rules. I get that. Some of the "comedy" blogs are so bone-headedly wrong that I occasionally point out things out, and they block the comment. I get that- they don't want naysayers, they don't want people to realize what cruel and unfair fun is being had. (Ex: whatnottocrochet likes to take pictures of art student projects and hold them up to ridicule in the context of "why would you make this?"- um, it's an art piece, you aren't supposed to. But they don't tell the readers where they got it.)

It sucks that you can't point these things out to other readers, but I get it. Their blogs, their rules. And does it matter to their readers what I say? Of course not, I just like to complain.

I also get not allowing nasty comments on your personal blog. We get enough nasty comments in life anyway, and you really hav no reason to flame a persons just because you don't like them.

Here's what bother me- there's a blog I like to read. Won't name it. The blogger is fairly known in certain circles, but by no means a celebrity. The blog is a personal one, documenting the blogger's adventures. Often it contains a poetic lament upon things gone wrong.

The part that bothers me is that any time I try to post a comment that is not up to the shining "oh girlfriend you're so perfect" standard, it gets blocked. To the point of: the post under comment was about keeping one's hands busy making things for family to get through stress. I commented that that was good, but it's even better to make for charity sometimes- it really is a stress reliever and a way to help someone else too.

Comment blocked.

This often happens, to the point where I don't try anymore. The tone of my comment was inoffensive. No foul language. I didn't even use the dreaded "you SHOULD" phraseology. Just an honest suggestion that I thought the blogger could use- maybe think about donating some creations to help your peace of mind.

Blocked. Why?

Because every other post was along the "everything you make is so gorgeous oh my god I could never do that you are so talented I'm sure everything will be sunshine and bunnies for you" lines.

Ugh. This isn't the first blog I've read to have that problem, and I'm sure not the last. But it bothers me that these bloggers will talk about the "support" they get from their commenters, and the community and sisterhood and blah blah blah...but god forbid anyone see that anyone commented and WASN'T firmly smooching their behind with rainbows and kittens.

Basically, to block a comment is to reprimand the poster, in my philosophy. And I don't think it's good form to reprimand someone for not being over-the-top and praising you enough. If you only want that, don't allow comments at all, because all you're doing is creating a fictional world where only the shiniest of compliments exist for others to see and remark at how praised you are.

Sigh. Rant over.

Hmm...etsy scareth me

2009-03-12T09:01:00.000-07:00

Okay, so I got my etsy store all started. Signed up for paypal, gave etsy my credit card number for billing, yada yada yada. Took about 1-2 hours, not to hard.

Then 2 days later Visa calls. My credit card has been ripped off and used to buy a LOT of gas in Connecticut.

Um, is this just coincidence? Because I don't even USE that card anymore...except for setting up Etsy and PayPal.

Okay, I might just be paranoid, but it's left a bad taste in my mouth. I had to shut down my card, spend hours on the phone dealing with VISA, and of course take everything out of my store because I no longer have a valid credit card with Etsy. Now, I'll get a new card, and after watching my bill like a hawk for a few months I think everything will work out okay with ViSA.

But- I'm not sure I want to test those waters again. Should I hand over my new card? Nobody else seems to be having this problem, but my oh my what a coincidence. I don't buy anything online, so my risk exposure is lower than most.

Eh. Who knows. But safe to say for now, etsy life is on hold until I get a card and decide to risk it or not.

Etsy, Etsy, read all about it!

2009-02-27T10:36:00.000-08:00

Okay, I'm actually gonna keep this blog up to to date now to chronicle my latest adventure. Finally decided to open my etsy store.

My first offerings are the videogame purses featured below, but more is sitting waiting to be photographed and uploaded.

You can check my store at craftphoenix.etsy.com

So far? Easy to setup, if you don't mind wading through a lot of screens. The biggest hurdle for me was setting up PayPal as I was the last human being on the planet not to have an account. It is kind of depressing if you look around etsy while loading your own stuff though... my niche of weird and video game stuff is full of lots of better crafts than I can make.

Ah well, it's an experiment. We'll see how it goes- and if the merchandise goes!

My first attempts at cross-stitch video game sprites

2008-07-12T19:39:00.000-07:00

Okay, so I tend to try out lots of different crafts, mostly trying to figure out what technique works best for what effect.

I'm also a lot more into gamer culture than I used to be.

This inevitably led me to wanting to cross-stitch game sprites, since it's perfectly adapted to that. However, my eyes are bad and Aida cloth is hard for me to see. BUT I finally found a solution- I found on super clearance these needlepoint purse kits. Basically, purses with flaps sewn on that were an open needlepoint mesh.

Mesh is easier to see and count on. So...I took the opportunity to try some sprite stitching.

Here's the most basic, the mario one:

I do like the red shrooms playing off the red fabric of the purse.

Also did a Metroid one:

And finally, Kirby:

That one is my fav. The background is just made up, but based on the background you see during that little launching platform bonus stage in the first NES game. The reason I really like this one though is that I got some wooden beads and painted them up as little Kirby's and incorporated them into the handles (see 'em in the picture?)

I like details.

Oh, and that handle is not ribbon, it's actually holographic plastic lacing that I crocheted really loosely. Looks weird, but feels really cool, kinda like those gelly sandles we wore in the 80's. Remember those?

Dr. Who Scarf!

2008-07-09T07:41:00.000-07:00

Yes, it is at long last finished.

Several years ago, I started a Dr. Who scarf. This was when I was first tip-toeing into knitting. I could cast on, and ...knit. Thazzit.

I got 8 feet into this scarf before I realized I'd made a mistake and made it far, far too wide. As dense as it was it couldn't be folded in half, and it was about 1.5 feet wide. Not good for a scarf.

So, I had to take that one off the needles and try again. After 8 feet of scarf. On size 6 needles. *sob*

But I gave it another go, casting on with size 8 needles for a looser drape. And eventually...it was completed. Here it is on Ed, the lucky recipient. And no, it wasn't a surprise...like I could hide working on a project this big in an apartment.

Now, this is sort of a looser interpretation. Partly because I was working off instructions from the BBC which called for DK wool...and I wanted to use worsted weight acrylic. Hey, this much yarn, I'm going with the cheap stuff. So I had to fudge the numbers. This meant I ended up with fewer, wider stripes. But ya know? It still looks like a Dr. Who scarf.

It also looks different because you can't find such funky colors anymore as the original was in. I mean, that color of yellow/orange whatever hasn't been made since the 70s. The scarf was for Ed, who picked out the colors, so at least he's happy with it. We also swiped out the gray section for a dark blue just because it seemed to go better with the whole thing.

So...yeah, it ain't a exact replica. But...it still looks like a Dr. Who scarf. And it's 15 feet long. I ended it short to allow for some stretch (you KNOW a knit scarf that long is gonna grow longer with time) but...still. That's a lot of knitting.

Pretty epic for my first knitting adventure, eh?

Oh, and I've done other stuff along the way, like learn to purl, increase and decrease. But this was still my first project.

Pac-Man scarf!

2008-06-30T07:20:00.000-07:00

Okay, I'm kinda proud of this one...

I'm not a huge Pac-man fan, mostly because I suck at it. BUT it is fun to watch other folks play it. But even more importantly, it's colorful and has ghosts and is graphically fun to play with.

So I had an idea for a scarf based on Pac-man...perhaps the first scarf that actually plays with TIME ITSELF.

Ahem. Over-dramatic much?

Anyhoo, here's the scarf:

Notice that one side has the pac running AWAY from ghosts towards a large pill...and the other side has him running TOWARDS the ghosts who have now turned the slightly ill looking blue and white scheme.

It ain't perfect- I would have liked it better if whack-man hadn't suddenly shifted way to the right, but for structural reasons it worked better to sew the little guy onto both sides of the scarf at the same time.

The scarf is double crocheted in black worsted weight, the white dots, ghosts and pacman himself are crocheted in sportweight yarn and sewn on separately.

This is by no means the first pac-man scarf online. Still, I think this might be the first scarf with a plot.

Non-project update

2008-06-13T11:33:00.000-07:00

Well, you might have noticed there was a good two year gap in my posting there...okay, nobody reads this so nobody noticed but I still feel inclined to explain it.

The past few years got CRAZY. The past year went extra-crazy-supersized, substitute a big batch of crazy for the fries, with a cold medium glass of crazy CRAZY.

Yeah...

So, um...the highlights then.

1) I quit my job. This was a good thing. It literally was so stressful that it was giving me heart problems, at 24. Yikes

2) got married. See "need insurance through hubby's good job since I just quit mine." Oh, and love and all that.

3) broke off all ties with my parents (long story- trust me this is a good thing)

4) hubby finished making a movie (see: free time suddenly appears)

5) I decided to start writing a novel (yep, I'm crazy)

6) got new job (just recently) yay!

So yeah...a lot going on. Things are pretty good now- I got a new job, and have gotten rid of two huge stressors in my life- my parents and my old job. So smooth sailing.

Of course, I'm now trying to work my job, take care of the apartment and the still super busy media dude that I'm hitched to, and have decided to add "writing a novel" n top of that.

Still, things are better- see the list of goodness?

1) married
2) figured out knitting somewhat
3) slightly better at cooking
4) I love working on my book, even though it's hard and hard to make time for and I know it stinks

Not bad, eh?

Further details later.

Even More Tapestry Pieces!

2008-06-05T17:33:00.000-07:00

Okay, clearly I love Tapestry Crochet. Or, more clearly, I love the sorta kinda tapestry crochet thingy that I do...true Tapestry crochet goes in one direction only, creating a slant. I turn around and go back and forth on each row, resulting in 1) no slant 2) slightly messy edges for the color changes.

It works for what I do.

Anyhoo, here's some more logo pieces I worked up for fun...

The Superman logo (as if ya didn't know)

The TV logo from one of the best TV series ever, Home Movies

I worked the text in rough cross-stitching on the tv background because I realized that bright orange yarn doesn't carry well behind white. It works okay like this I think.

Aaaaaand the logo from yet another of the best TV series ever (the folks who later did Home Movies)- Dr. Katz!

I don't think there's craft fan art for Home Movies or Dr. Katz out there, so this was fun.

Not at all sure what to do with these now...or any of the other tapestry pieces I've done. They're literally sitting in a pile under the bed. Originally I was going to sew them together into a blanket, but with the gauges being so uneven and the Home Movies piece having all the stitches exposed on the back...I'm not sure if it would work. Any ideas?

Even more stashbusting!

2008-05-20T15:41:00.000-07:00

More stashbusting photos from the past year!

Lots of cotton became lots of knit washcloths...

Some Caron Simply Soft became this demure scarf

While some Simply Soft Brites became this floral scarf- it's based on a scarf from the first SnB book, but I did it in more floral colors and added the leaves for fun and to make the scarf more stable.

And some cotton/nylon blend in nifty nifty colors became a set of six coasters...because I wanted to use it and only had a small ball. And who doesn't like fiesta colored coasters?

I actually bought that yarn in Wisconsin while visiting friends awhile ago and have been waiting for it to tell me what it wants to be ever since.

Scarf-stravaganza

2008-05-20T15:35:00.000-07:00

Well, I've been not exactly flush with cash lately, which means a lot of stashbusting instead of stash enhancing. Luckily about a year ago a crocheting friend of mine (who had to move) left me boxes of her old yarn. So I've had quite a stash of yarn that's new to me.

Here's some of the products of the past year of stashbusting:

A ton of snazzy scarves

The three on the left are actually very soft and fluffy- that isn't fun fur!

I also made this funky thing, making up pattern stitches as I went

You can't see the patterns too well, but they're there :)

Some more odds and ends became this polka dot scarf...

And the bits and pieces I still had became this stack of hats!

More stashbusting pictures soon, as well as some other more interesting bits.

Metroid Tapestry Piece

2008-05-12T22:06:00.000-07:00

I love me some tapestry crochet. Here's another little guy I did, a black and white version of a Metroid from the great game of the same name. It's my hub's fav game, and I've grown quite fond of the creepy little guys who look like a cross between ticks and jellyfish.

It's a little fuzzy looking, but still there!

Batman Baby Blanket

2008-05-09T13:25:00.000-07:00

Some friends of ours spawned, and as the father is our bud and a Batman nut, I figured this was a good gift to make for his little girl:

Thanks to the Dark Lilac cross stitch pattern generator for spitting out the chart for this based on the Batman logo- I then chose baby yarn in what I think are appropriate baby colors. Tapestry crochet finished this off- it's about 4 foot by 3 feet. A weird size, but good for wrapping around the little tyke...and that's how the math worked out.

I realize this is now in classic Batgirl colors, which also seems appropriate.

I'm not a girly girl, not really into babies, but if a friend spawns and you're a craft geek, ya gotta do something appropriate, right?

Okay, I'm back

2008-05-09T13:16:00.000-07:00

Yeah, long time no blog right? Well, I'm back and I should be updating regularly again. No pics yet, but there is some crafting news...

I (supposedly) being published! I sold about 19 patterns to Leisure Arts a year or so ago, to be printed in a leaflet. Things got delayed, but supposedly it will still happen. It's all crazy stuff, of course.

I finished the Dr. Who scarf! Woot! It's 15 feet long. I stopped short to allow stretch room, since it's already long enough to go around the neck once and hit the calf, and I don't want it to stretch to the ground!

After a year or so of getting blown off by video game craft blogs, Sprite Stitch posted my Mortal Kombat square! Hooray! Extra fun, at least one Mortal Kombat fan spotted it and gave it a nod on another site.

Also, I am finally actually learning to knit- I've finally figured out increasing, which always threw me off. So now that I can knit, purl, increase and decrease, I'm officially a newbie knitter! Although that doesn't mean abandoning crochet.

Right now I'm broke and in stash-busting mode, but I hope to share some pics of the stacks of stashbusting goodies I've made, as well as the complete Dr. Who scarf.

Happy Crafting!

Happy Holidays Update!

2006-12-25T11:38:00.000-08:00

Pretty relaxed x-mas. I could get used to this 4 person holiday thang (me and bf went to mom and dad's house...and that's it). Very different from usual chaos.

Here's my holiday story: there is a toy/misc drive at work every year to get items for the local battered women's shelter and the kids there with their mom's. This year, with all of our jobs in peril, there was much less stuff in those boxes than there was last year. Well, one morning there was even less- someone on the cleaning crew stole some items out of the boxes. Remote control cars and baby blankets, it turns out.

Now, they knew it was someone on the cleaning staff b/c they tried to move teh security camera before they stole the items...but didn't realize that it was a wide angle lense and they were on film anyway.

I got really upset about this, ranted about it on the 'ville and to an online/in town friend who's on the 'ville as well. She offered to donate some items she'd made, and to pick up a few new toys at Wal-mart. I also dragged/invited my bf to a walmart toy run in the official capacity of chaffeur, but he ended up buying half teh presents (go bf!)

Well, my 'ville buddy didn't just donate a few things. We're talking a huge bag of toys, as well as a huge pile of hand crocheted items...baby blankets, lapghans, onesies, cuddly little dolls...just tons of stuff.

My friends generosity turned a few stolen items into a larger pile of goodies than everybody together had donated thus far.

There's a holiday miracle there for ya, regardless of what you are or are not celebrating today.

Take car of each other, y'all. :)

Tapestry Pieces

2006-12-22T20:44:00.000-08:00

Been trying out tapestry crochet lately, so I did a MST3K piece b/c I loved the show and it is a two color design:

The world needs more MST3K crafts, especially MST3K. Are ya with me, folks?

I then wanted to try a 3 color piece, so I did this small patch of a Red Shroom from super mario bros:

And b/c I run with a gaming crowd and my bf loves Mortal Kombat, for a bigger (but still only 2 color) piece I did the Mortal Kombat logo:

This one is special because not only is it an awesome logo, not only do all my friends love MK, but...I met the dudes themselves! Daniel and Carlos Pesina agreed to guest star in Press Start, and as the unofficial makeup person (read: girl) and prop diva, I got to meet them and smear greasy makeup aaaaaall over 'em. They didn't kill me. Daniel was Johnny Cage and Scorpion/Subzero/other palette swaps, and Carlos was Raiden.

Yes, I put makeup on Johnny Cage for a movie.

Ah, it's a fun world :)

My favorite picture ever

2006-12-09T09:17:00.000-08:00

I went to ireland about two years ago, and at one point while looking over a cliff a guy came up with a 3 week old lamb (so he said). I had to hold it. I needed a picture.

Ahem...here is me holding a lamb...in IRELAND!!

Yay!

"Can I have some wool when you grow up?"

Crochetville ROCKS

2006-12-09T08:51:00.000-08:00

I recently posted a rant on Crochetville and got so many kind words back...:) If you haven't been there, you gotta check it out- the warmest fuzziest place on the planet. If you are from the 'ville- I love you guys!

In other hooker news...I've been stashbusting like mad and will probably be slowing down quite a bit. Made two scarves for my mom, a bunch of snowflakes, the snow princess purse (below), a bunch of other purses, dress scarves, a hat, a bunch of crochet washclothes, 2 knitted waschclothes (including one with a knit/purl design of a bunny) 11 comforghan squares (for three different causes) and have mailed out some of the stash I didn't want to other folks on Crochetville. I don't have a lot of pictures, and the ones I do have will have to wait- the camera isn't mine, you see :(

I have actually picked the Dr. Who scarf again, too! Go me.

I will now probably put it down for awhile in order to make 8-bit video game character sprites out of perler beads. I've made some, they've gone over great with the cast...so I might make more as a x-mas (or end-of-movie-going-to-magfest) surprise. Happens about the same time anyway.

I'll try to get pictures of those up too...sigh...so many pictures

Snow Princess Purse

2006-12-06T18:38:00.000-08:00

Hey, betcha forgot this was a crochet blog, all you people not reading it! But ho! I do see a crochet project below!

I had a couple of spools of mason line laying around that I bought super cheap, and had been turning them into snowflakes. Got bored of that, and figured this super shiny white nylon cord might make a nice purse. And that purse needed a snowflake.

It looks quite shiny and frosty in real life. It has no handles...because I couldn't think of any that looked good. But hey, not bad for a couple of lunch hours, using about $2 worth of clearance sale supplies, eh?

An open response to Crochetme's "Freaky" afghan

2006-12-06T18:25:00.000-08:00

Dear Internet,

If you've seen the latest issue of Crochetme, you've seen the Freaky afghan. You've probably also noted it's somewhat controversial nature. My problem isn't with the afghan- I think it's a dumb joke, that's all. I have no problem with people cursing around me casually- but I'll save that diatribe (although being cussed out is different).

However, someone didn't like the afghan and left a comment. The designer sounded off a rapt rejoinder that I felt someone needed to respond to. The designer basically tried to make themselves out as a person persecuted by "judgmental people", tried to make people dissaproving of swear words equal to religious persecution, and then invoked the bill of rights specifically as the document making all good citizens responsible for fighting for the rights of people to say exactly what we disagree with. I have a problem with people invoking the bill of rights and freedom of speech while acting offended that someone disagreed with them on something that was intended to create controvery.

She also mentioned that she would not attack the poster, but the poster wasn't afraid to call her names. Except...the poster did not call her names. In any case, such a response was very aggressive and unprofesional and very obvious about it.

The following was a comment I left on the site in response to the designer's comeback to someone's dissapproval of the afghan. The comment was deleted according to Crochetme's policy, so I'm putting it up here.

"Maria- you are right, humour is subjective. And controvery happens. And yes, the Bill of Rights is the best thing we have in this country. It's what makes me proud of Americans- that they will fight for it. And I have no problem with swear words in my own life, just so we're clear.

But from what I can tell, the post above didn't call you any names, and was just telling you of their feelings. Strongly, yes, but no blatant name-calling.

Like you said, the bill of rights is about fighting for the right of people to disagree with everything you hold dear. That's what this person was doing- disagreeing with your humour and questioning its validity. They didn't deserve being termed a "judgmental" person just because they were offended. Your pentacle example was a bit alarming in the reactions you got...but this person who posted is not everyone who ever criticized you. It's not the same issue. Could it be that you really aren't open to people disagreeing with you?"

I don't think anyone will read this, ever, but I wanted it up somewhere. And Crochetme is completely within their rights to delete comments according to their policy- their site, their rules. I also do not have a personal problem with the designer. I don't think it was an offensive afghan. I just don't like how a rather sophmoric and shortsighted response to a poster can be left up as a reprimand for everyone to see without anyone being allowed to challenge it. Oh, and I love a good argument.

Respectfully yours,

Phoenix

I was beat up by Ninjas!!

2006-12-04T17:04:00.000-08:00

Okay, so I have a tendency to go for dramatic titles. But, in a way, it is true. One benefit of a crazy life is you get to have funky blog titles.

Last weekend the bf asked me if I could be a minion/goon for shooting Sunday. Basically, there were supposed to be extras but there weren’t. So actor #1’s girlfriend volunteered to be a goon and I did too, knowing that it was crunch time. Little did I realize at the time this meant putting on a large vinyl mask with black mesh over the eyeholes and running and jumping and fighting in a dark warehouse. Oh, and I’m practically nightblind…and I was “fighting” a blackbelt…and I had plastic weapons and he had metal. It is fun to live my life.

Not that we were in a real fight (I’d be dead) but it was kind of funny to try and do impromptu fight choreography with card carrying ninjas when neither of us “goons” had any natural ability in fighting whatsoever. We managed to do pretty well, considering we couldn’t see our opponents and had no idea what the heck we were doing. And we didn’t get majorly hurt considering we were blocking metal axes with plastic shields (that can bruise, my friend, that can bruise. As can fake dying on cement floors over and over and over.)

So I’m bruised, but proud. I fought ninjas. And I am very much not a ninja. But I am willing to wear goofy outfits and hop around and grunt and yell and wave my arms and walk like a gorilla and attack someone with a plastic sword (knowing that they are armed and are themselves a registered weapon) and then flop onto the ground and die over and over.

Oh, I do so love the low-budget movie making.

It doesn’t matter if you’re good (at least for the goons) It matters if you are willing to hang in there and make a big giant fool of yourself. Because when you feel like an idiot is when it’s starting to look right on camera. Funny how it works.

Plus I got treated to free Steak n’ Shake afterwards, and they have a new dark chocolate fudge shake for Christmas and it is nifty-licious.

I take pride in my willingness to do what no sane woman would do. And I didn’t do it just for my bf’s sake (although that was a big part of it). I did it because it was a BLAST!! I was tired, bruised, hungry, cold and one heck of a crank the next day (4 hrs sleep or so before a regular 8-5 workin’ day), but I am so glad I got to be part of it. It was great, and I will forever take pride in how hard I tried. I am a crazy yarn-totin’ ninja-fightin’ woman.

Knitting be my nemesis

2006-11-29T08:33:00.000-08:00

FIrst off- I rarely have more than one WIP at a time. Been crocheting for 6 years, and I always worked on one project (albeit obsessively) until it was done. Then, I decided to learn to knit.

Oh, for the good old days...

Now I decided to pick up knitting specifically because I knew that there was one yarn item in the entire world that both me and my bf could agree is awesome. And cannot be bought in stores at all. The one item I could make him that I know he would proudly show anyone with interest. What is it, I hear you ask?

Okay, so no one's asking, but I'm still gonna tell ya. Muwahahaha.

That item is a Dr. Who scarf.

http://www.doctorwhoscarf.com/

Now I know people have crocheted them. But I'm not such a die-hard crocheter that I couldn't recognize that to do this right, it needed to be knitted. It needs to have that lovely ribby look only knitting can give. There's something so...I don't know...english about it. Can't explain it.

So I learned to knit- to make this one project! It wasn't the first thing I put needles to. I did a few practice scarves to try and even up my tension. It ain't bad now (not great, but who can tell in something this huge? It'll stretch anyway.) I drug (invited) boyfriend with me to Hobby Lobby and we spent an hour picking out the yarn colors. I had printouts and patterns from the BBC and fans, but I knew I would not be making an exact copy of the original. For starters...those 70's tastic colors just aren't around anymore. Besides, I don't want it to be hideous, just wacky. Plus I was limited to cheap acrylic yarn. C'mon, this many colors at 2-3 skeins each? Can't afford more than that.

Started it and got 7 feet along in a month or two. 10 feet or so to go. Wanted it for winter. Have I worked on it in the past month? NO

I, the one WIP wonder, put it aside. Decided to go through my three-box-big stash and use up some stuff making charity items for the holiday season. Temporarily, of course. Got surprised at the fun stuff in there, starting whipping out crochet goodies for friends and strangers. Got re-aquainted with the almost instant gratification of the small crocheted FO. And now I can't stop. I can't go back from quick and easy /stashbusting /gift making /crochet-is-so-much-damn-faster-than-knit joy and go back to the Dr. Who scarf. I only have one other WIP at a time...but that scarf is languishing there.

Why did I put it down and stop feverishly trying ot make progress with my slow knitting self? Because I calculated that at my slow pace (10 rows an hour), if I worked on it 1 hr a day (all I can squeeze in without rushing my life too much) it would take me over a year to finish it.

Let that be your lesson. Never, ever figure out how long something will take to finish. Or it will never get finished.

I will pick up those needles again, I know. And I warned bf that this scarf would not be ready in anyone's forseeable future. In fact I picked it up to try and teach myself patience- to work at something in only the time I can easily spare and not put aside things to get a project done at any cost.

Yet I miss those days of proudly declaring "I have no UFOs in my life."

Sigh. Knitting, you are my nemesis.

But I solemnly swear by the powers of Lion, Caron, Patons and all the others, that I WILL defeat you. And by that I mean finish this scarf.

And maybe figure out this increase-decrease thing for later :)

Oh, is that so? Take THAT!!

2006-11-27T18:10:00.000-08:00

The situation: I do thanksgiving with my boyfriend's wonderful family, and Christmas with my folks. My parents drove back to our hometown for thanksgiving, came back, nothing big was shakin'. Then I got a call Sunday (actually, a series of calls) saying that they were not going to drive back to the hometown for Christmas after all this year, and we should start our own tradition in town now. (My folks and I ended up living in the same town -not our home town- by accident. Long story)

Anyhoo, they didn't tell me at first why we weren't going back for X-mas, but I knew it was big. Then they let me in on it. You know why? Because it turns out we were voted out of Christmas.

Has survivor taken over the whole freakin' world?

What actually happened was this: for years we did a gift exchange. Everyone met at Grandma's, the siblings picked a name of one person to buy for, the grandkids all picked a name amongst themselves, so everyone got and gave one gift. Then we got the bright idea that instead of one $25 dollar gift, we could all buy everyone a $5 gift. Works the same: there are 5 grandkids and 5 siblings.

Then financial trouble hit, and some of the siblings complained that they couldn't afford to buy and didn't want to receive if they couldn't buy. So they leaned on grandma, and it was decreed that NO ONE could bring presents. To christmas. Ooookay. Fine then.

Fast forward to thanksgiving. The moment my parents leave for the 4 hr drive home, the rest of the entire family decided that it wouldn't be fun to do no presents, so they'd just have the grandkids exchange. Except for me. They decided to leave me out. I admit, I am the oldest, but only by 2 years. They came up with rules that excluded me but left in the next youngest cousin (if you were still in college the age limit "didn't apply")

My mom, and thus me, have always been the black sheep of the family. When grandma bought presents "for all the grandkids" she always "forgot" mine. Even though I was the only one who lived in the same town.

Now, this isn't about gifts...it's the principle. Isn't it slightly screwed up when there are 5 kids to decide to exclude ONE of them from the gift giving? And do it when she isn't there, and after waiting for her parents to leave before voting? How many families out there exclude anyone of any age from the holiday?

I'm ...mad. Let's leave it at that.

So I'm not going. But the "Take THAT!" part of this post is that I'm dealing with my frustration at this by putting all of my energy behind doing RAOK for the folks at Crochetville. I went through all the wish lists and am going to meet as many as I can. If my family doesn't want me and my crafty giftness, I'll spend that energy on strangers that can appreciate it. I don't really celebrate Christmas, but I like the spirit of it, and that's how I'm going to keep that spirit alive.

The silver lining? It prompted from my bf the funniest yet sweetest condolences ever. Such as "I'm sorry my family is jewish, because otherwise we'd love to have you to ourselves and have the best Christmas you've ever had." And my all-time favorite "hey, my folks love you. They told me that if we split up, they'd have to think long and hard about which of us they were going to keep."

Oh, another thing...

2006-11-24T09:52:00.000-08:00

Two posts in one day! Good for me :)

Just wanted to mention that Press Start, the video game comedy movie I help with/live with/work on, for which the fake commercial below was made (after I obsessively crocheted dolls for it...yeah, I'm sick I know) also has other nifty side things. Such as what, I hear you shout?

Such as an animated series! Yes, it's true! The writer and the editor get a scripts, find guest actors, record edit and animate a 3 minute cartoon every month. The new episode premiers the final friday of every month, which means the new one is up today. As an extra bonus, in this one my voice is added to the cacophony...I play the annoying little yellow guy (Zippy) who flies around incoherently.

Hope I don't get typecast...

If you're into videogames, go check it out at www.pressstarmovie.com/bonuslevels

Black Friday

2006-11-24T09:43:00.000-08:00

Well, against all odds me and the bf got up at 4 am this morning, got ready, and headed to Best Buy. We decided that we would be there at 5 am for the opening of the doors, but we were not going to wait outside in a line for hours beforehand. There's only so much early morning insanity we can take.

Since the line wrapped around the front, side, and back of the store with an extra little loop at the end, bf lost much hope. But I tend to rally when spirits are lowest so we hung in there, got in the store and grabbed what we came for- cheap mp3 players and jump drives for ourselves and family presents.

Here's my thought for the day. Wouldn't it be awesome if craft store, both chain and LYS did black friday sales? Think about it- waking up extra early, before the sun and the sane people are up, lining up with other crazy people and storming the store looking for great deals...but all craftylicious deals! Instead of being in lines for electronic stores or discount stores with all kinds of people looking for all kinds of things, we could be in a line of people who all share a love of craft-niftyness! Imagine ball winders, OTT-Lites, work tables as door-buster specials with decent deals on yarn and hooks and notions sprinkled thru the store?

Oh, that would be such fun. And the stores would make a killing- because we all know that while we were there to pick up a book or a winder of anything on a $10 discount, we would pick up $30 of yarn or more because we were there already, we needed it for a project, gas is too expensive to drive back, etc.

It'd be brilliant. Who's with me?