Oh hai!

I haven't been hiding... Well, I have. It's not that I haven't been creating anything, I just haven't felt like blogging about it. We just moved into our NEW house, so I actually get my craft room back and it gets to have a serious makeover! You could almost call it my studio!

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I’ve picked up a few more hobbies, like painting with oils and acrylics. Thanks to my friends, Learn & Pug, who have inspired me to pick up a paintbrush. That lead to going to going to my first Painting With A Twist with Robyn, where we painted ‘Japanese Princess’.

Then I painted two paintings that I call “Pug’s Pugs”, because that is what they are!

Which lead to me signing up for an oil painting class at the City of Hurst. Pictures of that painting and its evolution will be posted next week, after the last class of the session.

Last week, I took Robyn to another Painting With A Twist for her birthday. This time, we painted “Ballerina” which was a lot of fun! My Aunt Peggy was in town and she joined us for a bottle of wine and some painting, too!

I even have some paintings in the works to decorate the kitchen in our new house! All three are Japanese food themed.

And finally, the last of the painting update… I created two 4x4 Fatbook Pages for two Swap-Bot swaps, from Painting With A Twist inspirations, but cropped and a much smaller scale. These were sent to the same swap partner and made me think of Gossip Girl, one of her favorite American dramas.

• 4x4 Fatbook Page #3
• 4x4 Fatbook Page #4

Swaps for pages #5 to #12 are still accepting sign-ups!

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I’ve also been sewing A LOT and I realized I <3 my Singer 15-91 and the way it sews so much more than my other two machines!!! It make the prettiest stitches, even if the are only straight. I finally my GMIL’s old Singer (not the 15-91) repaired and I am still having trouble with the tension. :pout: I really don’t want to take it back to the jerks at Richland Sewing Center and have them fix it again. All they do is try to up-sell me on a new machine. No, thank you. I prefer my vintage machines.

On the left is my Cherry Shirt, which just might be one of my new favorite patterns. I will note which pattern it is when I get home. On the right are some Fat Quarter Napkins from Weekend Sewing. So fun and so easy! I really need to just break down and buy this book instead of borrowing it from the library.

I’ve even been sewing some really cute dog dresses for my aunt and also my ArtFire shop!

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Knitting has been happening a little. I think I only have one FO, besides some kitchen clothes. My old bestie, Al-Breath, and I decided to do a KAL where we swapped sweaters at the end! I finished hers about a month ago and sent it!

PATTERN: Pinwheel Sweater from Elann.com (rav link)
YARN: Lion Brand Wool Ease

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That’s all I know for now! I really hope to start blogging my projects again… even if the posts are from my iPhone. I love being able to share what I’ve created and maybe my recent desire to begin art journaling will make me post my stuffs more often!

inspiration and other things

It's been a while since I have posted. Between San Fransisco (pics are here), AnimeFest (pics are here) and other general life, I haven't been too inspired to knit or sew... or create, for that matter. Until this afternoon... sort of...

While catching up on some blogs, I came across this post on Craft Critique about "Wreck This Journal". What a fun little book... er... journal! After more Amazon searching, there are also other books journals by Keri Smith that are now on my DO WANT list... Living Out Loud, How to Be an Explorer of the World: Portable Life Museum, This Is Not a Book, and The Non-Planner Datebook. Even her website has some great creativity-inspiring activities! Don't you think that one or more of these would make for a great blog-jumpstart? again.... DO WANT!!

Oh! Monday, I did try my hand at making Miso Ramen... It was a COMPLETE SUCCESS! I used this recipe on About.com, omitting the pork and using regular noodles from the cheapie instant ramen. I am going to try an alternative version, again omitting the pork but also swapping veggie bouillon instead of using chicken. It was soooooooooooooo frakkin' good!! I could eat it every day!

I am looking for this book….

A Stitch in Time: v. 1: Vintage Knitting & Crochet Patterns 1920-1949

Unfortunately, I can only find it on the Amazon UK site. While listening to the Cast-On interview, in episode 79 “Stitches in Time”, I fell in love with the idea and the designs that I was knitting in my head on the way to work.

I love the idea of Make-Do-Mend and I wish that I did more of each. By purchasing a new sewing machine and freecycling my broken one, I hope to start making and mending more. (BTW – this machine sews WAY better than my White machine ever did!)

Singer Portable Sewing Machine

Another design that I keep working in my head is a Naruto sweater, which I am toying with calling my Ninja Sweater. It would be a basic cardigan or pullover, worked in the colors of Naruto’s jacket. The collar is what will make this sweater and what keeps making me want to design it.

…. bulky 2x2 ribbed collar …. raglan shaping in blue …. button or zipper band ….

AND!!!  I have been working on some embroidery project ideas. Simple items that might be posted in my ArtFire shop! Stay tuned!

Twilight

twilight book cover
Originally uploaded by Маy

Yes, I've been sucked in! I picked up Twilight fairly cheap before Christmas from Amazon. Ever since, I have been resisting the urge to just read it from cover to cover, in one sitting, like so many of my friends have done.

I was panicking this weekend because (a) I really wanted to read this book while driving to Colorado next week, and (b) I didn't want to finish it in the middle of the drive and not have the next one to read! I was mentioning this to my friend, Martina, and she was going to let me borrow her copy of New Moon. YAYZ! Then she mentioned that Walmart had the paperback for $7. I'm a hardcover-whore, so I went to Target first this morning, hoping they had the hardcover, and they did! In fact, New Moon was the only one they had left in hardcover, and for only $13!!

Wow... I'm gushing about a book. LoLz!

Well, if your a chick and you haven't read this yet, give the first book a try. I find that it reads quickly and keeps you wanting to turn the page, just to see what is going to happen next! I haven't read one like that in a while!

Friday Nite Fiber & Weekend Sacrifices

Friday Nite Fiber
Originally uploaded by BigPikaChica

An evening of beer, fiber (crochet, really), and Texas country music. Erik and I went to see Brian Houser at Shady Oaks BBQ on Friday. While I crocheted and responsibly only had two beers, Erik never went without two at a time. That's why I get to drive. All I need is some kind of yarny-project and a place to sit and I am happy! Yarn + Beer + BBQ + Texas Country Music... I think Vicki Howell would be proud!

It was another weekend at the lake house. By Saturday breakfast, I had used up all of my solid pink yarn and I was 8 rows short of finishing the bottom ribbing. A serious fiber-disaster. I had not planned ahead enough to bring another project or buy enough yarn to sustain me through the weekend. So, I made a special trip into town for more yarn. I had planned to drive 45 minutes one way, just so I wouldn't have to go without. Talk about addiction! Luckily, I found a brand new Hobby Lobby only 20 minutes out. WHEW!

As soon as I got back to the lake, the boys broke a pipe under the house that they were trying to fix. SIGH! So, we turned the water off to the rest of the house and roughed it. We still had one water hose that was on a separate circuit as everything else, so we could still keep things flushed. We also stockpile bottled water, so the only sacrifice we made was washing our hair outside with the hose and bathing with wash rags and stove heated water.

Oh!! I did crochet on the boat, which is WAY HARDER to do than knitting on the boat. I almost finished the first 16in of the cover-up and then I noticed two big mistakes that caused me to rip all by 2 rows out. The ribbing was safe, don't worry.

Last night, while watching Tivo'd Gossip Girl, I made up for half of what was ripped out. I didn't watch that show when it was new, but I am seriously liking it! I have the first book, that the tv series is based on, coming via BookMooch.Com.

Gotta run and do a little work!!! xoxo (hehehe)

Filler and Fluff

Sony Reader Cover - Repainted with Krylon Fusion
Originally uploaded by BigPikaChica

Sony Reader Cover - Repainted with Krylon Fusion

I'm been knitting a little. I finally finished the second sleeve of Erik's Not-So-Cursed Sweater. It will be completely finished this weekend.

Otherwise, I have been completely lazy.

What i did this weekend...

What i did this weekend...
Originally uploaded by BigPikaChica

Hey! Where have you been? Me? I've been right here! Nothing really happened last week, knitting or otherwise! I did work stuff and that was about it. Not really blog worthy.

As for the weekend... I was trying to get sick. I'm at that in-between stage right now, am I going to go down or not. We shall see. Saturday, I didn't get out of my PJs. After working on sleeve #1 on Erik's Not-So-Cursed Sweater, I took a really long nap. BORING!!! hahaha

Yesterday, Robyn and I sent the boys to watch Rambo while we went to see 27 Dresses with my mother. It was really cute!! I have a closet like that, except it is with Halloween costumes and ren fest garb!

Oh! You noticed me new toy! I got a Sony Reader!! It is freakin' awesome!! I've actually scanned in a couple of knitting patterns, which you will see when I am done with Erik's sweater. I said in a previous post that I was wanting to read/reread some of the classics that I may have missed i school.

Well, most (if not all) of those classics are public domain and available for free at Project Gutengerg. I have the first 14 Wizard of Oz books already and I have many other books that I want to read! PLUS, when you register your Reader, Sony gives you 100 classics of your choice for free, that are specifically formated to your Reader. Listen to me! I sound like an advertisement!! SORRY!!!!!

I did finish the Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy series. The first three were great and you could just read those and be fine. In fact, if you shoe to read this series, JUST READ THE FIRST THREE!! The fourth one, So Long and Thanks For All the Fish, was my favorite, eventhough it sort of went with the story, but not really. The last, Mostly Harmless, was not really to my liking. It was a chore to get through. Erik told me just to put it down, but I couldn't leave things unfinished. Maybe I should have.

Just in case I forgot to mention, I finished the first sleeve on Erik's sweater. He just might have a new something for our trip to Colorado!

I'm off!! I have to get a little work done before I get sent home for being almost sick.