The Buffalo Herd Theory

Dali is weird.

2011-12-14T22:49:00.001-04:00

Another direct quote from Mr. Munchkin.

One of the very few days that there was rain (and it stayed mostly on the Plain, while we were in Spain - sorry, couldn't resist), we decided to go to Figueres and visit the Theatre-Museum Dali.

It was the theatre in Dali's hometown. He and his wife bought it after it had been turned into ruins during the Spanish Civil War, and they turned it into a museum to house some of Dali's works. And Dali, too ... eventually. His tomb is in the basement, surrounded by incredible jewels of Dali's design.

The outside of the building is covered in what looks like little golden nuggets. But it turns out that they are supposed to be the local meat pies. Yeah. It gets weirder.

The place is covered in HUGE murals, filled with installations specifically made for the museum, and the sounds of Dali's clanking, unfolding, mechanical pieces fill the air.

While I thoroughly enjoyed myself (and spent more than a few euros just to see the coin operated mechanical pieces unfold) ... I think that it was eventually too much sensory overload for everyone. Eventually, we escaped back into the rain, and ran away from the headless dolls and tortured sculptures that lurched over the balconies of the Museum.

The town of Figueres is charmingly decrepit...but even that wasn't enough to erase some of the nightmare images conjured up by Dali.

In the end, I watched the storm clouds roll away at the end of the day, while perched on the balcony. Perfect antidote to the too much-i-ness of Dali.

Sand between my toes...

2011-12-10T14:07:00.000-04:00

On the Costa Brava of Spain.

We spent a month of total decadence in Spain. It was ... heavenly. Most of the days blended together in a haze of good food, cheap Cava and lots of swimming in the pool. Our daily routine mostly went something like this: homeschooling Mr. Munchkin in the morning, followed by escapades in the afternoon. I'll be showing you some of the highlights in the next few posts.

One of the first adventures was trekking down to some local Roman era ruins in Empuries. (Geeky factoid - the Spanish highway that we travelled on was the II. It still retains part of its Roman name - the II Augusta - as it was one of the primary roads to Ancient Rome.)

The town started as a Greek/Eutruscan trading port, and then the Romans took over and really built the city into a major stop on the Roman highway. It was fascinating seeing the construction techniques that the Greeks used initially. As you continue walking further through the site, you get to see how the Romans later dramatically improved on the Greek techniques.

There's only about 1/5th of the city that's been uncovered. And since the site isn't swarming with tourists, many of the original mosaics have simply been left where they were found. And you can walk right up to most of them.

There were three domus (houses) that were fully uncovered in the Roman town. Here's my favourite. The mosaic floor on the left is a HUGE banquet room. Since the site was only minimally cordoned off, we were able to walk around the house (except on the mosaics), and were left alone to dream a little.

Apart from a forum, arena and the requisite baths, there was also a small museum housing some of the finds from the digsite.

The top picture is of a very detailed mosaic showing the sacrifice of Iphigenia. I found the bronze bust of the woman to be particularly interesting, as its eyes follow you as you walk around. I didn't get a picture of the magnificent marble statue of Aesculapius, but here's a link. He was the patron god of the town, and there's a replica statute standing in the remains of his temple in the city.

And the best part of the day?

Moonrise on the beach afterwards.

LEGO!!!!

2011-12-08T17:15:00.001-04:00

Or to be more precise, Legoland.

This part of the trip was notable for two reasons.

One, we car camped. And it was AWESOME. I may have to "acquire" a VW camper just for this purpose. Never done it before, will definitely do it again.

Two, it's FREAKIN' LEGOLAND.

First roller coaster ever for Mr. Munchkin. And his very own Driver's License.

Lego pony ride for Miss E. (See this ride? I took her on it 23 times in a row. And there were squawking German marionettes everywhere. Never say that I don't love my kids.)

Two days was not enough, I could have stayed for a week. But the siren call of Spain's Costa Brava was whispering in my ear...

Yadda yadda yadda...

2011-11-27T18:53:00.000-04:00

Ok, last little bit of Iceland. Glacier fields are fun, as long as you keep the toddler away from the mile deep crevasses.

and reconstructed longboats are even better.

And that's about it. (Yes, even I'm getting bored with all the stunning scenery. Time to move on.)

Germany was much the same old, same old.

Castles.

This one's haunted! And for good measure, had a display of chastity belts

weaponry and seige engines.

Hokey but fun.

Here's Mr. Munchin's journal entry for the day: (Direct quote, I swear.)

August 25

I woke up and ate breakfast. Then we went to a castle called Burg Berwatstein. The knights became robbers. We went around the castle. For lunch I had scrambled eggs.

The fact that we drove from Germany to France to have lunch was totally lost on him.

The Alsace region may just be my favourite part of France. Ever. Especially because they're the ones who invented flammkuchen. Yum.

Oh, we also went to a few medieval/Celtic festivals. Guess you're wondering how the Viking costumes turned out?

and

No pictures of me, as I refused to wear mine out of fear of death of heatstroke. I kid you not. UN retrospect, I should have used matching coloured thread in my serger. I had no idea that the seams would show up as often as they did. But I'll know better for next time.

Landmannalagur.

2011-11-20T20:43:00.001-04:00

Try saying that three times fast. Landmannalagur is a vast hiking area in the middle of Iceland. You NEED a 4x4 to get to it - there are several rivers/streams to ford before you even get to the hiking trails. Even before you arrive at the campsite, you will see:

A lake in a volcanic crater

and deserts of volcanic sand whipped into weird formations by the wind (please tell me that I'm not the only one who sees the figure of a man carved into the hillside).

Base camp is very picturesque, and fairly crowded by eager campers.

From here, there are many hiking trails to try, but we decided on something low-key, seeing as there was no way in hell that we were taking Miss E's stroller along. So, headlong we plunged into the lava fields.

The mountains in this area are the strangest colours.

It's just a very very odd place. Filled with obsidian boulders, sulphuric vents

and very NON-TODDLER-FRIENDLY terrain. Seriously, we were lucky that we made it out of there with only three scraped knees, one sprained ankle and some tears.

Yeah.

But other than that, I'd go there again in a heartbeat.

Longhouse!

2011-11-16T15:16:00.001-04:00

As I was saying.We also went to see more waterfalls...

This one is called Háifoss (High Waterfall), and it plunges into this massive crevasse. The walk down is a little treacherous, especially because of the very strong winds that threaten to throw you over the edge of the cliff. I know it doesn't look like much, but when you're crawling on your belly just to peek over the edge, the sheer drop becomes much more apparent.On the way back to the cottage from Haifoss, we stopped at the reconstructed longhouse at Þjóðveldisbær.

Inside is surprisingly warm and cozy, and the platforms on each side were inviting if lacking in privacy. I can see how Vikings gained their notoriously liberal sexual reputations, as there's just no where else to go when the birds and bees start knocking boots. I mean, there's a dairy/pantry(where the HUGE buckets of skyr were kept),

the women's room (for weaving, spinning and gossip), and the toilet. That's it. The only people who get their own private room are the owner and his wife. They get a closet to sleep in.

Needless to say, this is going to impact the sex scenes in my book. Not that I'm complaining about having to revisit that part, but...y'know. I'm lazy.

The only other building on the grounds was a tiny little church.

After that, back to the cottage for more soaking. And ice cream.

Get this - the ice cream truck drives right up to your front door. Not at the end of the driveway. Right to the front door. So, you buy ice cream and then go and then go and sit in the hot pot while you eat said ice cream. In addition, it may be just the most perfect, fresh and delicious (remarkably free of preservatives or additives) ice cream you'll ever eat in your life.

God, I love Iceland.

Offroading.

2011-11-07T22:42:00.000-04:00

The next few days were spent "offroading" on what were technically roads...but were definitely only for 4x4s. One of my regrets from our last trip to Iceland was the fact that we didn't make it to Stong. But we did this time! And we went round the long way.In order to get here, you have to drive through a desert-like stretch of landscape. Affording one the opportunity to take self-portraits.

But as you progress through the valley, the land starts to turn lush and green.

This is one of my favourite pictures from the entire trip. He was looking at a river, trying to figure out if we'd be able to ford it in our 4x4. He had no idea that I was even taking the shot. I'm sure that I could photoshop it to make it even more dramatic, but ... I like it the way that it is. In a lot of ways, this is how I see my lovely husband. Strong, wise, brave and larger than life. Even after ten years of marriage, he still makes my heart skip a beat when he enters a room. Admittedly, sometimes he sneaks up behind me just to see me jump (I'm ... easily startled) but you know what I mean.

Anyway.

We made it to Stong, and it was a little overwhelming to be standing inside the ruins of the longhouse. Even more than the reconstructed longhouse (which you'll see next time), it was very easy to imagine what it was like in a Viking era home.

Doesn't look like much, I know. But it was ... tangible. Hard to explain, you'll just have to go here yourself.The view of the valley from the front door is quite magnificent, as well. But we turned our backs on the valley and instead went in search of a place that I've been dreaming about for years. The valley Gjáin.

This valley is tucked away in a large crevasse. It's possible to just drive right past it if you're not looking for the (miniscule) signposts pointing the way. When you get to the parking area, you have to climb down a huge set of rough-hewn stairs to the valley floor. But it's so worth it.

Looking out of the valley, towards Stong.

Crazy lava formations, with moss and waterfalls all mixed up.

See what I mean?

And at the other end of the valley, there's a series of boards to walk across...

and they take you to one of my favourite waterfalls in the whole world.

As we were climbing the stairs to leave, I turned around and blew a kiss to the valley. I have a feeling I'll be back.

Fun in the Fjords...

2011-11-04T23:43:00.000-03:00

The thing about West Iceland is that it has fjords. Gorgeous, lovely, stomach curdling winding roads curve in and around said fjords. Offering photo opportunities like this one:

Nice, huh?Tucked into one end of Hvalfjörður, we stumbled across this remnant of a Icelandic home.

Your own personal waterfall next to the fjord...a nice place to live, eh?And of course, sheep.

Everywhere you go, there are sheep.

We only spent two days in West Iceland, and we spent the second day exploring the area around Borgarnes. There is a really well done museum documenting the Viking era there called the Settlement Center. The top half of the building is dedicated to the history of the settlement of Iceland. It's superbly done, and educational without being dry. The kids particularly liked the room with the simulated ride on a Viking ship. Me, my stomach and my easily triggered motion sickness did...not. On the second level of the building, there's a wonderful telling of Egil's Saga, using sculpture, paintings, dioramas, and sound effects. Sounds like it belongs in a carnival, but it was also very good. Creepy as hell, but good.

The day was ended with more beikon and a dip in the hot pot. (If you keep reading these blog entries, you'll see that this holiday was mostly spent eating. And there's a reason that I and my ever exanding waistline stay behind the camera most of the time.) :P

The next day, we drove across the country to the next cottage. It's the same one that we stayed in last time, in the Þjórsárdalur valley. Since we were driving over the main highway, we decided to retrace part of the "Golden Circle" on our way there. Geyser, Gullfoss and Thingvellir - all of the greatest hits of Iceland tourism. See last years photos...they're pretty much the same as the ones from this year.

However. One difference.

We had to drive along the way to Kjosarskard in order to get to Thingvellir...and it's probably the most astonishing topography that we saw during our entire time in Iceland. Soaring mountains with almost sheer cliffsides, waterfalls roaring into crevasses, moss covered rocks jutting out everywhere. I think that for sheer drama, this was one of my favourite drives through the country. The awful thing is...I was too busy gaping at all of the amazing scenery to take many photos.

Fail.

*sigh*

Going to have to go back and take photos. In a few years, though. Need time to figure out how I can smuggle an Icelandic sheep home in my luggage first.

Well, Hello There...

2011-11-02T16:33:00.002-03:00

Not Dead Yet!

(Referring to myself and this blog as well.)

Just been traveling. A lot. Really. Iceland, Germany and Spain.

We had less than two weeks of summer in our own home and we just got home less than two weeks ago.

Phew. Shall we recap?

We flew to Iceland in the beginning of August. Yes, Iceland. Again. Can't get enough of this place. If it wasn't for the elves, trolls and having to learn Icelandic, I'd move there in a heartbeat.

This time, we started on the west coast of the country, a little north of Reykjavik. On Lake Medalfellsvatn, we rented a cottage.

Here's the view from the balcony. Lovely, rustic and very comfy. And it comes with its own rainbow. This was homebase for a few days while we explored West Iceland. Best part about the cottage? It was close to this sooper sekret hot pot on the shore of the nearby fjord.

See the steam rising from the ground? Someone smart noticed that there was a natural hot spring here, and was intrepid enough to build this rock bathtub. There's a rubber hose that is buried in the ground. To heat the water, you simply put the hose into the tub and sit back and relax while the geothermally heated water pours in. It's such a natural tub that anytime you move around in the water, gobs of algae get dislodged and start floating around. Incentive for the kids to stay still and enjoy soaking? Yes please.

The first day, all that we did was get groceries, sit in this hot pot or the jacuzzi at the cottage and sleep. Not a bad start, eh? Especially since it was at Bonus (Icelandic grocery chain) that we found these.

BEIKON!!! CHIPS!!! They're Bacon flavoured potato chips...but what makes them epic is the stoned pig on the packaging. That pig is the chain's mascot/icon, but to then put said pig on bacon flavoured chips makes the nauseating taste sensation almost worth the purchase.

More to tell, but gotta go and get back into the rhythm of real life now. Soon! Promise.

Roadtrippin'...

2011-07-17T15:48:00.003-03:00

Do you know what the easiest way is to lose several of your brain cells at any given time?

Combine 40 hours (total) driving across the country + two small children + sunburned/grumpy husband.

Oh yeah. All I know is that I knit two pairs of socks. One on the drive down and the other on the drive home.

One set for my FIL. It's my standard man's sock recipe. Hence the name of the socks...Man Socks v1.6. Here the socks are hanging out chez in-law cottage. Loughborough Lake is really beautiful and quite warm. Especially when you jump into it in a desperate bid to escape the mosquitoes that are the size of a QUARTER. A flippin' quarter, people.

And one set for me. This one was finished just as we pulled into Halifax. As you can tell, I ran out of yarn on the second sock. Grabbed the extra ball of yarn (doesn't everyone carry an extra ball of yarn with them when traveling?) and finished them off.

Actually, it's been a crazy crafty month.

Socks for Miss E.

And the package for the movie swap.

plus

My partner's favourite movie is A Clockwork Orange. I couldn't bring myself to watch it. (There's a few scenes in there that I *know* would deeply upset me.) So I went with more iconic images in lieu of actual familiarity. Really enjoyed embroidering the project bag, it's been ages since I did anything like that. And the amigurumi Droog is my first amigurumi ever. I'm not sure that I'm very good at it...so it may be my last one too. Heh.

And finally...I had to repackage the majority of my stash. All of the space saver bags that I was using decided to collectively commit seppuku at the same time. So the stash went into rubbermaid boxes instead.

When I look at this...the only thing that I can bring myself to think is:

"Gotta start knitting faster."

Humpbacks.

2011-06-28T14:29:00.003-03:00

Not the whales. Or a particularly unfiltered google search result. Nah, nothing that exciting or racy, people. Although it does sound like an awesome title for an upcoming album from FOTC.

Just a pair of thrummed mittens that immediately elicited the following response from my lovely spouse.

"OOoooooeeeeiiiiiiiiiiiii.....miiiiiiiiittttteeeeeeeeennnnnnnnsssss...wwwwwiiiiiiiiitttthh....baaaaaaaaaaaaaaaarnnnnnaaaaaclessssss?"

Yeah.

I live with weirdos. Needless to say, I spent the rest of the night with the mittens on and making silly whale noises while we watched something goofy. Resident Evil movies, I think. These are the mittens that I started in May...not to get a head start on the upcoming winter. But because I was just. that. cold.

Other stuff:

I've been working on a package for a Favourite Movie swap. My partner's chosen movie was Clockwork Orange, which I refuse to watch. But it's iconic enough that some select Interwebz searching gave me some good ideas. Will post pics once the package is sent out.

And finally, a little bitty pair of socks for Miss E. In preparation for much chilly hiking during an upcoming holiday. Can you guess where we're headed?

Peek-a-boo!

2011-06-19T19:19:00.005-03:00

As promised, the tutorial on how to make a sneaky surprise project bag. In honour of Jai-chan...I decided to make this one with a hidden zombie surprise.

Braaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaains...

Here's what you'll need to cut:

1 outer fabric into a rectangle (mine measured 13 inches x 18 inches)
1 inner fabric, also into a rectangle (13 x 18 inches)

1 circle of outer fabric (I used a ribbon box that was 3 inches in diameter)
1 circle of inner fabric, same size
2 circles of fusible interfacing, same size as the fabric circles

I can't emphasize enough how important it is to press your fabrics before cutting. I had to shave almost an inch off after pressing the outer fabric 'cause I was too lazy to press it before cutting...and it didn't match the dimension of the inner fabric after I pressed it. *sigh*

Also, keep that iron handy - you'll need to iron the interfacing to the circles.

Comme ca. Trim the circles so that all the interfacing is even with the fabric. Your circles might shrink a little, but it'll be ok.

Next step, grab one of the rectangles. I worked on the outer first, but it's not important which one gets done first. I finished the edges on both of the long sides of the rectangle, but since the raw edges will be eventually hidden, you don't have to. I'm just weird that way. Sew the short sides of the rectangle together, right sides together. And you'll end up with a tube.

Time to gather! Since it's not a big bag, I do this by hand. Just do a running stitch along the top, and gently pull on it to tighten the stitches together. You'll end up with something that looks like this.

Grab the interfaced circle, and pin it on top of the right side of the gathered fabric. The more pins, the better.

Now, you're going to be wrestling with the fabric for a bit. Just remember that sewing and alcohol are not a good mix. Sewing and swearing? Tends to go much better.

Sew a very short and wide zigzag stitch. I set my machine to 5 mm wide and .5 mm long. You're going to be appliqueing the circle to the bag.

And after the pinprick punctuated swearing session?

Voila. Now for the inner bag. If I'd been thinking things through before starting, I should have cut the inner fabric circle out of the cream coloured fabric. Oh well. I just sewed on a smaller circle for the zombie's head. If you were doing a ninja, you'd cut a small rectangle with rounded edges and sew it on.

You're going to put in the safety eye now.

Since the post of the safety eye is a little long, I like to trim it down a bit so that it doesn't poke through the bag. Some creative embroidery later...

*snicker* Just so you know, french knots make excellent blood splatter.

Repeat the process of making the rectangle, gathering, pinning and applying the circle for the inner fabric.

Action shot.

And both bags.

Next, we'll be making the casing. Fold down the top edge of each bag about 1/2 an inch. Press into place. Don't forget to give the seams of the bags a quick press while you're at it. It really does make the finished bag look a million times better.

Flip the inner bag inside out and place it inside the outer bag, wrong sides together.

Pin the edges of the two bags together, seams matching. Get ready for some topstitching!

As you can see, I'm sewing *really* close to the edge. Maybe 2 mm away from the top.

Sew the bags together, leaving a small gap of about 1/2 inch between the beginning of the seam and the end of the seam. This gap will be where you thread the cord into the casing.

Not the best picture, but I hope it gives you an idea. Next, sew another seam around the entire bag, a little less than 1/2 inch away from the top. (Within the 1/2 inch that you had folded and ironed down earlier.) This is the bottom of your casing.

Thread a ribbon or cord through the casing and you're done! Enjoy your very own peekaboo bag!

NINJAS!!!

2011-06-13T15:01:00.002-03:00

Oh yes. I do love me some ninja action. They are easily my favourite character to play in Deadliest Warrior. Fast, quiet, nimble and handy with a garrote...my kinda assassin. Anyway. Onto the ninja goodies!

From my partner:

Filled with win, yes? Best part?

Ninja octopus stitchmarkers. Seriously. I love them beyond all reason.

And from me to my partner:

More October Leaves mitts. LOVE LOVE LOVE this pattern and think that I need a pair for myself. Handspun, a Cthulhu dice bag, ninja stitch markers, nibbles, a nifty case for her interchangeable needle set, and a project bag with a hidden secret.

Dere's a ninja in dat bag!!!

Now. I bet you want to make your own ninja-tastic bag, yeah? Ok, then. Tutorial on it in my next post (it's one of the easiest bags to make, ever). But if you want a shopping list, here goes:

1 quarter yard of outer fabric (red brocade in this case)
1 quarter yard of inner fabric (black linen in this case)
a bit of fusible interfacing (I used two scraps that were about 3 x 3 inches each)
Ribbon or cord
Thread, sewing machine, scissors, etc.

Ninja version will also require:
A scrap of off white (for the face) fabric
Two safety eyes.

See you then!

Almost there...

2011-05-31T11:29:00.002-03:00

Oh wow.

It's sunny. And WARM. I can't help but hope that summer is actually here. Oh course, it's perfect weather to finish up something massive and wooly.

A thank you gift for Mr. Munchkin's teacher. She's been beyond phenomenal, and this Gap-tastic cowl is just part of the homemade gifts that we'll be giving her. Excuse my crappy hair styling, I'm not really sure what to do with it these days.

Since the weather's been so rotten, I've been hiding in my sewing room. Lots of project bags (gifts for my fellow Odd Duck mods!).

Simple linen drawstring bags, filled with some wonderful stuff. That will have to stay a surprise for a bit longer, as I'm not mailing anything until the Canada Post strike is over. *sigh*

Also. The Viking Project is almost complete. For Mr. Munchkin - I just need to hem his pants. For Ms. E - her dress is done! And for Mr. Ninja - Tunic and pants are complete. As for myself...well. Things are not going swimmingly.

So, I finished my dress. And decided that I didn't like the beige. Purple was mentioned at the dinner table as a nice option. I pulled out my Procion dyes and set to work. What I didn't anticipate was how trashed the dress would get in the washing machine.

GAH.

...

At least it looks lived in, eh?

Luckily, I needed to shorten the sleeves anyway, so I should be ok. However, if you hear wailing and gnashing of teeth coming from Dartmouth way...it's probably me. Send chocolate, please.

The Viking Project - Day 2

2011-05-17T10:58:00.002-03:00

Well, technically...it's been a whole lotta days. But for consistency's sake, let's just stick with the format.

So, on the second day, I wanted to finish off Mr. Munchkin's pants. Hoping to be authentic, I worked from a fairly well researched SCA handout on men's clothing. All that I had to work with was a sketch of a pair of pants found in a Danish peat bog in Thorsbjerg.

I must say, I do like things from Denmark.

Lego.

Bang and Olufsen sound systems.

Viggo Mortensen.

Anyway, back to the sewing. Winging it, I cut out what I thought would approximate the pieces.

And proceeded with one hell of a jigsaw puzzle.

The resulting pants are ... serviceable. Not ideal, but they'll work. With copious amounts of elastic and a very strong drawstring.

Next, a little dress for a little maiden.

As I've been working away on these projects, I'm finding myself far more willing to toss period accuracy out the window. (The pants might have had something to do with that.) So for Miss E's dress, I made a T-shape dress, but with square gores. As you can see, the pieces to the left of the body show what the finished sleeve and gore look like, and the pieces to the right show what they look like when initially cut out.

Like the tunic and pants for Mr. Munchkin, it's all sewn up and awaiting trim application and hemming. I'll post pics of the kids in their outfits once they're all completed and ready for the big reveal.

Next, my outfit.

To be honest, what I had been imagining just did NOT work out. As Mr. Ninja said, "It looks like you had your bodice ripped." So. You're not getting pics of the original concept. But the good thing is that I managed to salvage a cute summer dress out of it.

Using this tutorial, and lengthening it to a good size for a dress, I cut into the most wonderful heavy linen I've ever worked with.

The resulting dress looked rather like a paper bag. So, I sewed a casing onto the waistline and ran a ribbon through, providing some minimal shaping. And since I kept losing the ends of the ribbon in the casing, I tied on some cloisonne beads. Snagging a detail from a dress pattern that I helped Ms. Happy with this weekend, I ran a thicker ribbon through the casings at the top of the dress, tying it together in a sweet little bow.

Here's hoping that the next attempt at my outfit is a little more successful.

The Viking Project - Day 1

2011-05-04T11:35:00.002-03:00

Much thought and pontification has gone into this project already.

The sheer amount of research has been a wonderful time suck, as I have learned copious amounts about what, where and how Vikings dressed themselves. While part of this research stemmed from sheer curiousity, I figure that some of it will come into play when I'm writing. So. Multi-tasking FTW!

Here's a little background into men's clothing of the Viking Era for you, as that's what I'm going to start sewing first.

What we know about Viking clothing mostly comes from images carved into runestones, jewellery, and descriptions in the Sagas. Occasionally, tiny scraps of material are found in burials - typically preserved underneath metal such as brooches or buckles. From these scraps, archeologists are able to see what kind of weave patterns were used, and sometimes even what kind of materials the clothes were made of.

Men wore an undertunic, typically made from coarse linen. Wealthier men had ones made out of silk, but these were quite rare. Over the tunic went a woolen overtunic, typically dyed and spun by the women of the household. Pants were also made from homespun wool.

Now, for my purposes - wool is right out of the question. First of all, it's bloody hot during the season that we'll be sporting the outfits. Also, wool is bulky. I have no desire to tote around big bulky wooly garments for the one or two days that they'll be useful.

So, I'm not being entirely accurate and am using very heavy, roughspun linen for the outfits. I'm making simple T tunics with gussets for the underarms and to provide some fullness at the bottom of the tunic. Pants will also be simple - drawstrings and possibly modern cut, as opposed to historically accurate gusseted pants. (What can I say, I'm both lazy and practical.)

First up is Mr. Munchkin's tunic top.

Here you can see the pieces all cut out. There is a long rectangle that is double the measurement from his shoulder to the bottom of the tunic, and the width from one shoulder to the other. In his case, the rectangle is approximately 50 inches long and 20 inches wide.

The four triangles are for the underarm gussets, and also the gussets that flare from the waist out to the bottom of the tunic, providing some fullness.

So let's get sewing!

I pinned the first triangle to one edge of the sleeve, right sides together. Sewed them together, then pinned the other side of the triangle to the other side of the sleeve and repeated.

But this time, I continued sewing the sleeve together all the way down. Oh, I nearly forgot - the gusset provides room for the arm to move, but the sleeve is meant to fit tightly around the wrist. So, the rectangle that makes up the main body of the sleeve measures the length of Mr. Munchkin's arm (from shoulder to wrist), and is the width of his fist (measured around to ensure that he can get his hand through.

Repeat for the other sleeve.

Next comes the insetting of the sleeve. Being the lazy slapdash crafter that I am, I decided to insert the gussets for the bottom of the tunic at the same time.

Flipped the sleeve so that it matched to the right side of the tunic, then smushed it inside the top of the folded-over rectangle. Pinned with lots and lots of pointy objects. Made sure that the sleeve is centred so that it's aligned with the top of the tunic body.

Pinned and moved onto inserting the lower gussets. It's not hard, it's done exactly the same way as the gussets for the sleeves. Only difference is that both sides are pinned into place before anything gets sewed down.

Sewed all of the pinned seams, then turned the entire thing right side out. Repeated for the other side of the tunic. Next came the neckhole. Since I'm still on the hunt for the right trim to edge the tunics with, this part is a little rougher than usual.

I eyeballed it, honestly. Measured in about 4 inches from each shoulder seam and cut. Of course, it was too large. Ugh. So, a small pleat in the back helped rectify that problem. A quick stay stitch and the collar is now prepped for the application of the trim.

The tunic still needs to be hemmed and the sleeves adjusted, but that can wait a little bit, just in case Mr. Munchkin decides to go on a growth spurt between now and the summer.

Pants are next on the menu, but those are a quick job once they're cut out. Y'know, I just might actually pull this off. (Yes, I'm feeling a bit cocky. I think I've earned it, people.)

Blister In The Sun...

2011-04-30T16:24:00.002-03:00

is how my finger feels. (Getchermind outta the gutter.) After a marathon session of snap setting, I am done with one gigantic set of diapers.

Eight pockets, fourteen fitteds, and six covers. All cut out by the magnificent blogless Cate and sewn by yours truly. Phew. Lesley, you can have your boys now. Their rear ends are covered.

Given the amount of flak I've been getting about me making diapers, even though no one in the family needs them anymore...I'll probably have to take a small hiatus from diaper making and work on the Viking outfits for awhile, as I need to earn some husbandly goodwill. It should be interesting, as it's the first time that I've ever made a costume for an adult. Wish me luck!

Travelling Woman...

2011-04-25T19:07:00.003-03:00

is the name of a shawl pattern. Observe.

It's not the best of photos. But it's a lovely knit FO. Madtosh in Clematis, and I cannot get the colour of this yarn to show up properly in photos. It's almost black-blue but then you get flashes of purple everywhere...love it. It's for me (SOMETHING for me, damnit!) to keep me warm on my own travels. (Of which I suspect that my knitting friends are sick of hearing me worry about...so I won't talk of it here too.)

Along with this shawl, I was able to knock part of the ninja swap package off the To Do list last week.

Behold, the Dice Bag of DOOM! (No really, that's what the pattern's called.) I haven't figured out what to fill it with before sending it...need something appropriately ninja-tastic.

Also made progress on the diapers, but no photos today. Still waiting for the sun to come back. *sigh*

Dye Another Day.

2011-04-15T14:18:00.002-03:00

Ok, let's recap.

To Do List as stated at the beginning of the month:

~~Jedi robe~~ - done!
4 viking costumes
24 20 cloth diapers in small, 48 in medium and 48 in large
~~1 pair of man sized socks~~ - done!
~~3 summer dresses for the girl~~ - done!
~~2 pairs of shorts for the boy~~ - done!
1 Travelling Woman shawl for me
1 Goodale sweater for me
2 summer dresses - one maxi and one knee length - for me

+

my package for the Ninja Swap that I'm currently modding.

---

So, I've ordered the pattern for Crepe, and am eagerly awaiting its arrival in my mailbox next week. That'll take care of the knee-length dress for myself.

The diapers are on hold for a bit, as I'm waiting for my Partner in Crime, Cate, to cut the pieces for me to sew.

Fabric's arrived for the Viking outfits, and it's in the process of being washed. I think that I'm doing to do a series of posts just for that project, as I'm betting that it'll be a fairly involved process.

Travelling Woman shawl is coming along nicely. What a nice and brainless project. Exactly what I need right about now. Terrific yarn (Madtosh Sock), easy pattern to follow = awesome shawl.

Which brings us to the ninja swap package. I spent all of yesterday experimenting with the dye pot. I was searching for the perfect colours. I wanted one skein to be soft orange and glowing yellows.

Eureka.

However, the red was not nearly as successful. After the inital bath, it was too pink. So into the bath again.

Too dark.

Boo. And that was the last of the merino/silk blend, so I restarted with some merino superwash.

Replicated the yellow/orange.

I'm going to call this colourway "Midas Touch". Love the result. And as for the red...

Bingo. I'm calling this one "Perfect Red". It's a mixture of several different reds, and it was just a matter of proportions when making the slurry.

And these are going to be made into a Skinny Skid. After Travelling Woman's cast off, of course. The timing was fortuitious...a packet of naked Skinny Bugga arrived yesterday, and I can't wait to dye some of it in Perfect Red.

Bandananananananas.

2011-04-11T09:54:00.005-03:00

Bandanna clothing, why do I love thee so?

Is it because you're fast to make?

Is it because you're cheap? ($2 a bandanna at the Dollarama!!!)

Is it because you're super cute?

No, none of these things.

It's because you let me knock off half of my crafting to-do list in one afternoon.

I think that this is the last year that I'll be able to make Mr. Munchkin bandanna pants, as he'll likely be too big for them next year. I can't even express how glum this makes me. I love seeing him in them - he gets compliments on his style everywhere he wears them.

The pink dress took about 10 minutes to make from start to finish. Used this tutorial and it turned out super cute. (On a side note, I need to find myself a better hanger for photos. The cheap ass white plastic just ain't cutting it anymore.)

The blue dress was a bit more of a mash-up. Used the bodice pattern from the Tiered Patchwork Twirler - which, if you have a little girl to sew for ... is one of the best girly dress patterns ever. I just wish I had more time to make another one for Miss E. The skirt is just two bandannas sewn together and then gathered to fit the bodice. The straps are attached to the front of the dress and then pass through buttonholes in the back. Cute maxi dress, eh?

Next time I'll hopefully have some knitting to show you.

Oh, and about the rant in the last post - I know that I posted something VERY similar last year around this time of year, but it seems that the Spring brings out the claws in all of the kittens.

Possibly I'm just feeling more and more depressed about the people that I have to interact with on a daily basis in this community. A few weeks ago, some kids at Mr. Munchkin's school were calling him "German boy". Which is a racial epithet, no matter how you slice it. It's really no different than calling someone "Chinaman" and in the end, it's harassment based on your ethnicity.

I called up the various parents of the kids and let them know what their little angels were doing on the schoolyard. Reactions ranged from horror to frankly nonchalance, which showed me where the kids were learning their behavior from. Also talked to Mr. Munchkin's teacher about it all - and found out that she's also got German heritage. So fortunately, she was even more indignant than I was...and she "talked" to the little miscreants about their behaviour.

I can't help but feel that I have to get the hell out of here for the sake of my kids. And possibly because I feel like unloading a can of whup-ass. And since you're not allowed to knit in prison, that's just not a good idea for anyone. Grrrr.

Return of the snubbles.

2011-04-08T10:10:00.005-03:00

Did I tell you guys about the genius of this particular word? Y'know when little kids have a cold and then they sneeze...and it comes out in a bubble? (Yes, gross. I know.) Anyway, DH came up with the term "snubble" to help lessen the grossness by cutifying it.

Miss E has them. Oh yes, she has snubbles once again. Which means that I am crafting like a madwoman in an effort to keep my sanity. And to reduce my (self-imposed) workload. To that end, I present:

One Jedi robe. For a very lucky boy who will be receiving this at his birthday party this weekend. Improvised pattern. I sense that there will be another one of these in my future, so perhaps a tutorial is in the making there.

FIL socks. Totally fraternal, and I don't give a flying crap. Trekking XXL and the usual top down, short row heel recipe.

Another wee dress. Please excuse the clashing purple shirt, as it's still darn cold here. This dress started life as a possible maxi dress for me. But I forgot that when shirring fabric for a dress, one needs to make sure that there is PLENTY of excess fabric. Otherwise the shirring stretches tight and looks awful. Ahem. Also, note to self - your boobs are big. Deal with it.

So, I cropped the bodice short and added a wee skirt and a tieback. Voila, one small girl dress off the list.

I'm going to cheat a little and for the next wee dress, I'll be using three bandanas and Martha Stewart's halter dress tutorial. For the boy, I'm hoping to be able to make more Bandana pants - a perpetual favourite of the boy in summer weather.

The thing about crafting is that it puts my brain on auto-pilot. Which is good. It means that I actually have a chance to mentally roam once in awhile. And what I was thinking about yesterday while sewing was this article about Carole Middleton and how she's being criticized for not dressing her age.

As I was sewing a summery, lightweight and frankly, fun dress intended for myself...I paused and looked down at it.

I'm not as young as I used to be, of course. And I could stand to lose weight. But really? I like dressing in a feminine and stylish way. Doesn't mean that I don't have days that I slob around in yoga pants and t-shirts. But as of late, my favourite thing to wear has been a mid thigh length tunic, dark leggings and awesome calf-high biker boots with big buckles. (I call them my Resident Evil boots. In the event of a world wide apocalypse, not only do they look good, but they can also hold two daggers strapped to either boot.) This kind of outfit has earned me more than a few disapproving glances. And I can only imagine what the reaction will be once I start wearing funky dresses once the weather warms up.

What I'm trying to get at is ... what the hell does "dressing your age" mean? Just because I am in my mid-thirties, does that mean that I'm condemned to wear mom jeans and unflattering blouses? I sure as hell don't shop at Sears, but it seems that I'm supposed to be buying my "middle-aged doyenne" uniform there. Judging from the fashion magazines that I glance at while at the check-out, women my age need to have massive amounts of plastic surgery (what the hell is a mommy makeover?!!?), pile on the make-up, and either sport a mumu or squeeze into mini skirts/tube tops.

I think that Carole Middleton looks lovely. Honestly. This world baffles me.

In the end, I'm going to stick with the immortal words of Bender and the world can just bite my shiny metal ass. I'll wear what I want, and the haters gonna hate, yeah? Apologies for the rambling...I think I need another coffee.

You'd think that I've learned by now...

2011-04-04T11:00:00.003-03:00

That if a month goes by without me posting, that I should just give up this blog.

But I don't think that'll ever happen. I'm not on twitter, and unless I have a need to be (i.e. develop myself as a brand), I won't be. But that's a whole 'nother post. The main reason that I'm keeping this blog alive is that it's handy for me to be able to look back over time and to see what I've really accomplished.

As a gamer, it's ALL too easy for me to play indefinitely and to forget to do anything else. (Don't worry, I only play video games when the kids are in bed, during my "me" time.) After I stopped playing WoW, I reviewed my blog. After looking at all the posts, I came to the realization that I while I did spend a lot of time in-game, I also made some awesome stuff. And now that I'm not playing any MMORPGS, I'm finding that I'm starting to overcommit myself in terms of crafting. Same goes for reading - I'll binge on five books at a time and then not touch any of the ones lingering on my shelf for months. Guess my unconscious motto is Go Hardcore or Go Home. Regardless of what I'm into at the time. It's a recipe for disaster, sometimes.

For example, in the next three months - I have committed myself to making one Jedi robe, four Viking outfits, and a bunch of diapers for a lovely and blogless friend's nephew and another friend's soon to debut twins. And somewhere in there I’d like to make myself a dress or two. I want a few summery dresses, and have been thinking of making this or this. Since I'm definitely top heavy as of late, I'm having a hell of a time finding dresses that fit correctly. I think I need to make myself a duct tape mannequin. Anyone want to volunteer to help? We could have an afternoon of cloning. (That sounds so wrong.)

And a little knitting. I was asked for a pair of socks - and since they’re for my FIL and it’s one of those BIG birthdays, they’re what gets done first. Then comes a Travelling Woman shawl for myself and hopefully a sweater as well.

Phew. Most of all of that is pipe dreams, as there are still the mundane tasks of day-to-day life to do...laundry, dishes, etc. But I'll do my best. And will document all the gory details of my nervous breakdown here.

So what have I made in the last month?

A Jayne Hat for the Mister.

(Isn't Mr. Munchkin a wonderful knitwear model?)

Some fingerless mitts for myself.

Modded from the Susie's Reading Mitts pattern, as I ran out of yarn. Knit from my own handdyed yarn.

And part of an emergency swap package.

Like the bag? It's another Keykalou pattern, this time the Sweetheart Shopper Bag. LOVE her patterns, I invariably end up learning a new technique every time I make one of her bags.

OH! And I made some new stitchmarkers!

The marble magnets are easy peasy. Not Martha's got a good tute for them. The stitch markers are even easier. Take some heavy wire, wind it around a dowel, snip off the resulting circles, stick on a bead, clamp the ring closed and then stick in some crazy glue in the hole. Done. Tremendous, yeah?

Oh, and diapers.

For a shower last weekend. My lovely blogless friend Cate cut out all of the pieces (THANK YOU), and I sewed them together in one frantic day.

Two diapers,

two covers,

matching appliqued onesies,

and three more t-shirts for the other kids. So when they go out on a family trip...they'll have a complete raiding party.

Yes, I insist on infecting everyone I know with geekiness.

P.S. I LOATHE flickr's new "share" methods. And I miss the days of raw HTML. Just sayin'.

Spring fever is upon us.

2011-03-02T12:46:00.003-04:00

In the kids, it manifests in earlier and earlier awakenings. (6 fracking thirty in the morning is just cruel, CRUEL, CRUUUUEL.) In the husband, it manifests in increasing grumpiness and distracted preoccupation with something in the distance. In myself, it manifests as the urge to Organize. And it's not planned cleaning, oh no.

For example. I was finishing up another kit for Konbit Sante.

And when I was done with that, I happened to glance under my sewing area.

Yuck.

One fast trip to the store, one movie for the kids, and a few hours resulted in all of this OCD glory.

Yes, that's all of my scraps colour co-ordinated. And those are just the quilter's cottons. The fleece, and diaper making fabrics (velour, birdseye, etc.) are in separate bags.

Oh yes, Spring is just around the corner. And what's REALLY making me happy today is that my package for the Mod Ducks Odd Ducks swap arrived!!!

First of all, I'm pretty sure that my spoiler is psychic. Otherwise, how would she have known that I've been looking for a good bag pattern?

I LOVE IT! Made from linen, so it's durable. And it's so well made!!! But what delights lie inside?

Seriously, I was spoiled. SO spoiled. SOSOSOSOSOSOSO spoiled. A pretty green needle case, a lovely notebook to journal in, the COOLEST thistle buttons, Mount DOOM roving, Ghiradelli caramel chocolates (MINE), handmade soap, cuticle cream, the Nordic Knits book I've been hankering over(squeee!), beautiful handspun (so very soft), and

Poems Sock yarn. Finally...something that's been on my wish list for Eons.

A yarn bowl.

And sunshine and blue skies to take my photos in. Sigh. Life is good. If anyone needs me, I think I'm going to be making a quilt. With scraps.

Feelin' like a groundhog...

2011-02-28T09:24:00.002-04:00

I've figured something out. I can tell you when spring is just around the corner...'cause I start sewing little dresses like a crazy woman. For your delectation:

This started out as a long skirt of mine. But then it tore something awful right across the whole skirt. So, I chopped off the bottom and made two straps out of the remnants. Gotta love upcycling.

Yes, it's eye searingly bright. And I LURVE it. This was lurking in the UFO pile for a very long time, and I finally got around to finishing it in the sewing frenzy that was yesterday. (Look, I've been dealing with a sick toddler, an on-holiday boy and a "ohmygodI'msickanddyyyyyyying" husband for the past two weeks. It was either hide in the sewing room for awhile or turn up on the evening news.)

The original pattern calls for an apron on the front, but I didn't feel like digging through my fabric stash to find something that went with the existing fabrics. Plastered on some ribbon and called it a day.

I call this one the Ice Cream on the Beach dress. I had this offcut (from one of Fabricworm's bundles, I think) in the stash, and it was just crying out to be a summer dress. Shirring and shirring and shirring the bodice took ... awhile. The hem comes from the Oliver + S Lazy Days Skirt pattern. Love it. I'm considering doing a tutorial on how to make it, as I'm definitely going to be making more of these. Let me know if there's any interest and I'll post it.

And finally, a skirt.

Modded from the Made Market Skirt tutorial. The button was a find in the button basket (who knows where it came from).

Of course, I had to finish a pair of thick, wooly socks too. 'Cause it's not Spring quite yet.

Damnit.

Snow paralysis.

2011-02-08T09:11:00.002-04:00

Honestly, I've been here.

Drinking buckets of tea.

Reading books. (Go read the Hunger Games trilogy. You'll thank me later. And then go and read A Brush of Darkness. Again, you will thank me later.)

Writing. Editing, to be more accurate.

Watching endless repeats of Wall-E at the small girl's request. Ungh.

Baking.

Sullivan Street Bakery's recipe. AMAZING result. Lovely crackly crust, and a good chewy crumb. I used a cast-iron Ikea pot, similar to a Le Creuset for this loaf. Worked really well, and I'm hoping to try the recipe again, but with rye flour. Anyone know where I can get some?

Knitting, of course. I'm feeling a little bit Groundhog Day-ish. I've been knitting and knitting...but have nothing finished to show you. But I can show you the swap package that I sent for the Mod Swap now.

You see the bag in the back? That's the Keyka Lou Bucket Bag pattern. Made from canvas and quilter's cotton, it's a very fun pattern to make up. Other stuff includes: silk brocade project bag, the Damson shawl from the last post, Uberwench fibre and handspun, Malabrigo chunky, a needle case, the Luxury One Skein Wonders book, and candies. As always, there's a few things missing from the pic. *sigh* Tea, some Kidsilk Haze, and a super secret bonus project. Will post pics of that later.

In the meantime, I'mma go and shovel more snow. Again.

Procrastination Station.

2011-01-22T12:53:00.002-04:00

I've been slacking. I can't remember the last time that my house was really cleaned. My novel is ... stuck on a nasty plot point. And instead of working on it, I've been crafting.

Craft Hope's new project is making safe birthing kits for Haiti - Konbit Sante distributes these to trained birth attendants in an effort to stem Haiti's awful maternal and infant mortality rates.

The kits aren't complex - basic hygiene (soap, antibacterial gel, alcohol wipes, clean string, latex gloves and plastic sheeting) is addressed, and the handmade components are a tote bag, toy and a receiving blanket.

The receiving blanket is just a 45 inch square of cotton flannel, serged with a rolled edge. The toy was based on this tutorial (love her site), and the tote was pretty much improvised. It's made from a canvas dropcloth and lined with quilter's cotton. It's a nice, sturdy little bag. I think that I may make a few more of these, but larger, for grocery bags.

I'm also finishing up all of my items for the Moderator's Swap over at the Odd Ducks. The large component of this package is a Damson shawl.

The colour's truer in this pic.

I'll post a pic of the full package after my partner's received it. Wouldn't want to ruin the surprise.

Spun up two skeins of Uberwench fibre as well.

FUN crazy batt = yarn that looks like unicorn farts. Love it.

Finished up a pair of socks for myself. Nothing like self-striping yarn in a 3x1 rib to make one feel tremendously clever.

And finally, there are going out to a very special friend.

October Leaves Fingerless Gloves knit in Sweet Georgia sock yarn.

Phew.

And now? I think I'll knit myself some more socks.

I need a house elf.

2011-01-12T17:06:00.002-04:00

So, last week, Mr. Munchkin comes over and excitedly waves an envelope in my face.

"Mom! It's a birthday invitation! Sunday!"

"Oh, sounds like fun."

"Yup! It's a Harry Potter party ... and I'm in Hufflepuff house (last part said rather dejectedly)."

"Aww, don't worry, I'm sure it'll be fun anyway."

"AND! It's a costume party!"

"Wait, whaaaa?"

And that is how I ended up sewing and glue gunning my little heart out for two days solid. But in the end, I think it was worth it.

I used this tutorial for the wand, and modded this one for the robe.

Note: if you want the "hood" on the back, you can use the excess fabric that you use away from the sleeves. Works like a charm. (Ha!) When cutting the front, cut a very shallow half-circle around the neck area, and you can attach the hood there. The tie is just fabric with lines drawn on with a sharpie.

Needless to say, this was wicked fun to present to him on the morning of the party. Knitting content to come eventually. I'm working on a swap package atm, so I'll have to wait until the package is sent to reveal all of the loveliness within.

Whomp.

2011-01-01T15:25:00.002-04:00

That would be the sound of my head hitting the table. I'm exhausted, and sadly not even that hung over. But it was a busy month. Blissfully free from company, our little family really enjoyed the holiday season this year. There was much pyjama wearing, and many many days filled with just lazing around the house. But I guess that you're here to see the Christmas handmades, right?

This year, I sent around an email to my nearest and dearest family asking them if they would prefer to receive either a book or a handmade item. The responses to this email heartened me muchly - there were only two people who asked for a book instead of a handmade item. (And thanks for calling me cheap, Dad. Yeah. Thanks a lot.) Everyone else was very enthused about the prospect of a handmade item. The requests came in, and the result were:

Fingerless mittens and a plastic bag holder (like this one) for my SIL. She also received a slouchy Tuva hat in silky Malabrigo.

My MIL received a camera, kitted out with a handmade case.

My FIL received a black touque, sadly missed in the spree of photo taking.

My Dad received the Thorpe posted a few posts back. Accompanied by the autobiography of Robert Herjavec, one of the VCs on Dragon's Den. (Love that show.)

My Mum was the lucky recipient of the Odessa, also from the same previous post. And a handmade bag, also forgotten picture-wise. But I used this Keyka Lou pattern - it turned out to be totally adorable.

I gave my one brother a pair of socks, as requested.

I'm thinking that I may have to knit him another pair, as these are a little wild for him to wear. (He's a banker, whaddya gonna do.)

My other brother asked for handmade handkerchiefs, as he was bored with stuffing his breast pocket with plain white ones.

I hope they're not too colourful for Wall Street.

Both of my brothers also received signed books by David Sedaris. I was lucky enough to go to his signing here in Dartmouth, driven by the express purpose of getting him to sign books for both of my brothers. Enduring the sheer amount of hipsterism contained in that store ALONE makes me a candidate for best sister of the year, if I do say so myself. Yeesh.

My lovely SIL asked for a chunky cowl.

Knit in Malabrigo Rasta (which is the most delicious super bulky yarn EVER), I am pleased to report that she was delighted with it. And highest praise for a knitter, she put it on right after opening the present and didn't take it off until she got home.

Lastly, Mr. Munchkin's teacher has done an outstanding job so far. And so she made it onto the knit-worthy list with a pair of mittens.

More Malabrigo, of course. Accompanied by a box of chocolates.

As for my kids - they asked for and received much plastic frippery. DH was given a few framed pictures of our trip to Iceland, amongst other things. And as for myself, I was given the gift of peace, happiness and joy on earth. Oh, and a wicked cool slow cooker. Couldn't ask for anything more. Hope you all had a wonderful holiday season too.

Handwork...

2010-12-05T16:00:00.002-04:00

So, what I found while doing NaNo is that I need to make things. NEED. Otherwise I go a bit barmy. (More than the usual amount of barminess, that is.) So here's the latest:

A baby hat, part of a shower gift. Julie's Cabled Baby Hats is the pattern, I think.

Another Odessa, made in silk that I dyed black.

A Thorpe, but sans earflaps as requested.

The Winter Sanity Swap package that I sent to my partner. The cupcake tree ornament was particularly fun to make.

Tragically, the package that I sent out originally for the Zombie Swap was lost by Canada Post. So I have been making up a replacement package. I made a Thermis cowl with Sculpey brain buttons and a set of fingerless gloves, one meant to look like bloody decomposing flesh.

Nice, hey? I still have to send out the package, as I'm waiting on something I ordered to arrive. Epic fail, Canada Post... EPIC.

I have other FOs, but they'll be posted after the holidays. <3

Holy crap.

2010-11-28T16:56:00.002-04:00

I did it. I wrote 50K worth of words in one month. Seriously, I'm just as shocked as you all are. So, things that I learned this NaNoWriMo session:

1) It's not possible to do this without taking days off and then writing like mad to catch up. Well, maybe it is. But not if you're married (and want to stay married) and have kids.

2) Most of what I wrote is utter pap. But there are some really very good bits in there that I'm proud of.

3) I'm not even half-way through the story. Sad as that is, it's good in another way - it means that I get to get to the good parts now.

4) It's REALLY fun to write about Vikings beheading each other. (Heh.)

5) I'm astonished that I managed to write this much. I'm stupefied that some of it is really good. I'm delighted, 'cause now I get to edit the hell out it. And maybe I'll even start thinking about getting it published. As a book. A really real book. Only thing is...I have no idea where to even start with the whole publishing gambit. Maybe I'll just finish the book first.

Anyway, even though I am acutely aware of the rampant plagiarism that plagues the InterWebz, I'm going to post the first few paragraphs of the book here, all of which are TOTALLY UNEDITED and written under the shadow of some serious sleep deprivation. Enjoy. Feel free to leave comments and criticism. I'm a big girl, and can take it. Not to mention that no matter how much someone ladles out the nasty...no one's going to take away the fact that I am a bad ass writing mo-fo. Word to ya mama, indeed.

***

She knelt in front of the large river stone, and poured her bounty onto its smooth surface. To her dismay, a few of the hazelnuts slipped off the slick surface and bounced down the slope until they plopped into the rushing waters of the river Fane.
Displeased with herself, she frowned, set her jaw in determination and carefully set the rest of her treasures to the side of the stone, settling them in a small depression in the muddy earth. Next, she cast around until she found a small, heart-sized rock. Clutching her tool in one hand, she delicately placed a single hazelnut on the smooth river stone and smashed it with her newly prized weapon of choice.

Her deft fingers picked apart the hazelnut from the remains of the shell, and she greedily scooped the nut meat into her mouth. The summer had been cold, and there had been much hunger in her village that season. As she cheerfully chewed on the savoury treat, the remains of the shell were gently placed to her side with great care. They were soon joined by the shattered shells of other hazelnuts, and the pile grew high in short order.

The soft sunbeams of the afternoon struggled to break through the clouds that had covered the land for days. She lifted her head to their occasional warmth, grateful for the sensation that flooded the sky. She did not realize that she had been shivering, but then again, youth often forgets to feel pain. It is only the old who remember the aches of the flesh and who sigh with the weight of their burdens. The young carry all of their woes lightly, and do so without the benefit of a long memory.

The light shimmered and reflected off of the girl’s glorious hair, and the colours mirrored the shades of the dead leaves surrounding her feet. As hungry as she was, she made sure not to gorge herself on the nuts immediately. She set aside a small pile of the nuts and set herself to the task of building her mighty armada.

The next step in building her grand navy was to find twigs and leaves of the perfect size. Fortunately, the forest floor was covered with the detritus of the changing seasons. She quickly collected a small bundle of twigs and carried them in her cloak, taking care not to snag her brat on any stray points of wood. Leaves were everywhere to be found, but she wanted very specific colours for the sails of her fleet. Only the brilliant red-orange leaves that looked like flames would do for her sails, anything less would be unworthy of her efforts.

As she stepped through the dim woods, she occasionally dropped to one knee and selected a leaf. It was examined with a studied scrutiny, and was either discarded summarily or was carefully placed in the makeshift pouch she had made from a corner of her cloak. As she knelt, the chilled mud soaked into the hem of her leine, but she was wholly unaware of either the filth or the cold. The falling of the leaves into a lush blanket of skeletal feathers hardly seemed to make a difference to the earth beneath her feet. It remained as clammy as it had remained all summer.

Finally satisfied that she had collected an adequate number of masts and sails, she made her way back to her shattered shells. She sat on the turf edging the river, making sure that she tucked her feet in and that her woollen dress was wound tightly around her. It would not do to return to her home with soaking wet shoes – she had been beaten before for lesser offenses. She winced slightly at the memory, and then reapplied herself to the task set before her.

Carefully, she took one of the largest shards of hazelnut shell, and gently fixed a small twig to it using the mud of the riverbank as glue. Then, one of the flaming leaves was gently pierced twice by the twig. And with the tiniest of motions, her flagship was ready. She continued building boats, carefully selecting only the largest pieces of shell and the proudest of leafy sails.

When she had built seven boats, she gathered them in her cloak and carefully brought them down to the edge of the river. She crouched down and set her fleet gently into the water, one by one. The breeze caught the sails of the first few, and they bobbed down the river with ever increasingly unsteady gaits. At last, the largest of her boats, her flagship, her pride and joy, set sail and headed down the river. It sailed true, and to her delight, went straight to the middle of the broad river and swiftly raced along the current.

Her attention was all for the little boats cascading down the river. So much so that she did not notice the large boat that was moving upstream until its shadow enveloped her tiny fleet. When she looked up at the warship in wonder, her gaze was returned by those of thirty heavily armoured men. Most of them stared at her impassively, and continued to row. One of them, however, lifted his hand to his mouth. He pursed his lips, and raised one finger to them, indicating that she should be quiet. Her terror was such that she could not have moved from the river’s edge, even if the thought had crossed her mind.

The boat continued on its way and she watched them silently sail upriver. It was only after they had disappeared around the bend of the river that she found her feet and fled into the forest. On the boat, one of the men had notched an arrow to his bow, and was tracking the fleeing girl’s back. But the man who had warned the girl to be silent, shook his head. The arrow was lowered, and Aideen continued to run through the forest, panicked and thinking only of the need to return home.

I was this close...

2010-11-03T10:56:00.002-03:00

I had the last hat cast on, and somehow didn't quite get around to finishing it before November hit like a Mack truck. But I'm consoling myself with the idea that I'll have something to work on during any downtime I get from NaNoWriMo.

Speaking of which, it's going really well. After a bumpy start (and some serious miscommunication between the Mister and myself about exactly how involved I was going to be with this), I'm starting to settle into a routine. The kids are in bed and asleep by 9, generally. So, once I get myself ready (teapot full, iPod plugged in, Halloween chocolate at hand and fingerless mitts on), it's about 9:30. If I write solidly until midnight, I seem to be able to crank out about 2K worth of words in a night.

So, life continues as usual, except that instead of knitting/gaming/web surfing, I'm writing at night. To be perfectly honest, this process has been much more exhilarating than I could have imagined it to be. I'm not a dirty drafter by nature, but forcing myself to just. get. it. out. has been liberating. I certainly wouldn't say that the story is writing itself. I'm gaining characters at a breakneck speed, and am only FINALLY getting around to the original arc of the story that I intended to write. Everything so far has just been a plot device to get the characters I wanted to write about to the place where I wanted them to be. Mind you, it's a very wordy and bloody plot device...

Seriously, I don't know if I'm repressing something weird but this is easily one of the most violent stories that I've ever written. And I'm not even into the second chapter. I even have sections that aren't completed yet, as I'm having difficulty visualizing them. All it says is "BATTLE SCENE". I'm more of a linear writer - the story unfolds as it wants, so this skipping around from here to there is all new to me. Not sure that I like it, but it sure as hell is easier than scrubbing my way through a difficult section just to get it over and done with.

Wish me luck, I seem to be doing ok. Word count as of last night = 5356.

Every year, it's the same thing...

2010-10-28T21:34:00.002-03:00

I promise myself that I'm just going to *buy* Christmas presents. And then the requests start rolling in. After seeing Mister Munchkin's battle bonnet, Miss E started asking for a "bluuooo hat" for herself. How could I resist? So I took her into the stash room (shuddup), and let her pick out a yarn. Voila, here's the resulting hat.

Apparently, she does know the difference between blue and pink...but insists that this is a bluuuooo hat. I dunno. The inner workings of a toddler's brain are a mystery at the best of times. The pattern is the Iceland Earflap Hat, and it's knit in Pupillo, a bulky yarn from the discount area of WEBS. Why yes, I am a sucker for a bargain. Just don't ask how many balls of this stuff I have now - it's a touch embarrassing.

I've been working on another Odessa in silk for me Mum, and it's tearing up my hands something awful. *sad panda moment* Hopefully, I'll be able to finish it SOON, 'cause I still have a hat to knit for my Dad before November. Yikes. And one final hat request from the Mister...he wants a Jayne hat. So, what's that bring my hat total up to for the holidays? Eight? I think? Time to bust out the gift certificates, methinks...

And then there were four.

2010-10-24T09:28:00.002-03:00

The orange and brown hat. Iz complete.

Brown, orange and grey Mal in the Snowflake Hat pattern. In retrospect, I probably should have knit the brown section a little more before starting the decreases. It barely fits me, let alone someone with a larger noggin. Oh well, we'll see if the magic of blocking does the trick. But my hopes are not high...I suck at intarsia.

And now what to do with the better part of an orange skein? Anyone?

Also, it looks as if the knitlist has swelled slightly. I'm now aiming for six hats and one (more) scarf. 'Tis the season for Christmas requests...

Ok, I got a little distracted...

2010-10-22T12:15:00.002-03:00

I was supposed to be working on my four and final hat, yeah? Uhm. That didn't quite happen. But I have my reasons!

1. Maladies galore. Everyone here's been sick. First the kids, now me and the Mr. I have a sinking feeling that I'm going to have to see the doctor again to make sure that I don't have pneumonia again.

2. The fourth hat was requested in orange and brown. Oy. So, not only did I have to find a pattern that wouldn't make me nauseous to work on in the given colours, (I think I'm going to go with the Snowflake Hat), but I had to dye the yarn, as I just don't have any orange kicking around the stash. Here's the result.

Pretty, eh?

3. Since I had to wait for the yarn to dry, I got bored and started a very quick knit of a Super-Fast, Ultra-Cozy Scarf. One night, one marathon session of Firefly, and poof, one scarf later.

I'm working on a matching hat now, will let you know when it's done (I've frogged it already three times, having a devil of time with this one).

4. Also working on another swap - in this one, I send a kit out to my partner including pattern, yarn, project bag and anything else deemed necessary to finish the project. I'm not posting the final package until later, but I did make the project bag yesterday. (Yes, the orange yarn was dry at this point...but I was on a roll.)

Also for the swap, I tried spinning some merino/bamboo into a bulky yarn. This one is three ply, and it's REALLY heavy and dense. I'm not entirely pleased with it, but it does the trick.

5. I finished a big quilt. This is huge for me - it's a total mess, but I love it. However, I think I need to take a quilting class before I attempt another one.

My machine died half-way through the quilting, so I took it in to be serviced...and once I got my machine back (great service at Marlene's Sewing Bee, fyi), I didn't feel like doing anything than free-motion quilting. So I finished it all up, screwed up the binding, and declared it done 'cause I was sick wrestling with bunches of fabric.

So.

I guess it's on to the orange and brown. But right after I finish this other thing up...

snicker

2010-10-17T18:31:00.002-03:00

See, this is why I've been giggling and knitting for the past little bit...

...

Bwahahahahahaha!

As you can see, he's well pleased with it. Guess what he's going as for Hallowe'en? Pattern is the Dwarven Battle Bonnet. Knit in leftover grey Malabrigo, and the hair/beard is knit from Malabrigo that I tossed into the dye pot with some chestnut dye. Just one more hat to go!

Mother Maiden Crone...

2010-10-15T18:19:00.002-03:00

Y'know, I could get used to knitting with bulky yarn. Since I posted last, I've had time to make two out of the four hats that I was aiming for. (Please excuse the blurry mirror pic...)

Simple Slouchy Hat pattern, bulky merino/cashmere yarn. Gorgeous stuff, ordered from WEBS. (Otherwise known as Mecca.)

Gnomey Childs Hat, in the same merino/cashmere...but since I didn't have it in the requested colour, I dyed it purple. And tossed in some skeins of Malabrigo silky merino while I had the dyepot out.

The middle skein is the original colour of the bulky (how on earth could I resist cashmere/merino for $3 a ball, I ask you) and the skeins in the foreground are the silky merino.

At the moment, I'm plugging away on Mr. Munchkin's Hallowe'en costume. Will post pics when I can, but it's taking awhile 'cause I keep laughing myself stupid while working on it. Also, I finished off some handspun - I took it to KOL, and just got into a groove. Is pretty, yes?

It's spun from the lovely roving that I was given in the Gods/Goddesses swap - named Mother Maiden Crone. I lurves it. Muchly.

Life isn't exciting enough...

2010-10-09T11:27:00.003-03:00

so I decided to commit myself to something out of my ordinary. I'm going to be participating in NaNoWriMo for the first time! I have a story, characters and location all ready. Now I'm just waiting for November to roll around so that I can get started. Needless to say, you probably won't hear too much from me during that time...and Christmas knitting is going to progress at a glacial pace. I'm going to be making a minimum of four hats, and hoping to get seven done in time for gifting.

So, I'm preparing. Tea and chocolate stocked, check. Fingerless mittens to keep my hands warm late into the night, check. Writing buddies, check. (But I would always love to have more - my page is here. Feel free to add me!) I'm rushing to finish up many of the projects that I have on the needles NOW so that I'll have time to get everything I have planned done. One of those projects was an Elliot sweater.

(Yes, I need to find a new background for my photos.) Seriously modded. I was weak and couldn't face doing all the necessary stockinette. So I started a spiraling YO, K2tog pattern. And the sleeves are short...because that's all the yarn I had left after finishing the body. The sweater took two skeins of 100purewool worsted.

Oh!

I nearly forgot! I received my packages from the Zombie/Apocalypse Swap! Check it out:

I LOVE this bag.

And the mittens? To DIE for. (Ha, get it? Zombie swap? Die? Meh, I need to get out more...)

Why I will never block with an iron again...

2010-10-02T08:22:00.002-03:00

See this?

It's a Saroyan - gorgeous pattern, quick knit. I made it extra long so that I could use it as a scarf when Winter hits. Knit out of the same Malabrigo as the Treads mittens and the Star Crossed Beret...I was *this* close to having a real, grown-up matching set of accessories.

Then I pulled a dumb-ass move.

I don't have blocking wires of my own yet, so I thought (always a bad idea) to myself: "Hey! I can just steam iron this sucker flat!"

...

And here you see the consequences of my dumb-assery. I BURNED THE WOOL.

*sob*

So, now...I'm thinking of colours to dye the scarf, hat and mittens, so that the scorch marks are hidden. Black? Maybe?

*sigh*

I'm going to go and order a set of blocking wires from Knitpicks now...anyone else want in on the order?

Happy International Talk Like a Pirate Day!

2010-09-19T13:27:00.003-03:00

To you! And You and You and YOU!

The kids wanted to get dressed up today in pirate gear, so I improvised a piratical costume out of stuff around the house. Mock if you will, but I must say - the sabre is pretty awesome.

Something so small...

2010-09-17T16:12:00.004-03:00

can really be a pain. No, for once, I'm not talking about the kids. I was in the ER last Tuesday with doctors hovering above me and debating the merits of emergency surgery. One ultrasound later, they decided on a referral and sent me home at midnight. Sheesh. What the specialist concluded after much prodding and pushing was that I likely have a gallstone roaming around my innards. Going for more testing next week, and we'll see what happens next. For the time being, I'm going to try and eat SUPER healthy. Should get the little bastard out in no time flat.

Needless to say, I have had a lot of knitting time in the last week, waiting for one doctor or another. Lookit what I made!

It's a mod to a Toddler Hat pattern. Made to match the scarf I finished earlier last week.

Unfortunately, Miss E hates them both with the hatred of a thousand suns. Sad panda moment. So, I now have to figure out what to do with the (unused!!!!) set.

Now then...before I fell ill with my mystery malady, I made some homemade blueberry pies last week. I dearly wish that I'd picked up more (MORE MORE MORE) at William Sonoma when we were in SF. I could happily live in that store. Namely, the handheld pie makers and the madeline pans. But one thing that I was happy to purchase was the Star Wars sandwich cutters. I tried making some Millenium Falcon pies, and they turned out alright. Wouldn't do it again, but at least Miss E enjoyed helping me bake them up.

That skirt she's wearing? The tutorial's here. Cute lil' skirt, VERY fast to make. And perfect for International Talk Like a Pirate Day.

This is still a crafting blog, right?

2010-09-11T11:21:00.003-03:00

Just checking.

My crafting time has mostly been taken up with swap packages as of late - I had two on the go, themed around Grimm's Fairy Tales and Apocalypse/Zombies. Even though I've not sent out both, I'll show them to you. I'm quite proud of them, they're amongst the best packages that I've ever put together.

Grimm's Fairy Tales

Here, you can see a Star-Crossed Slouchy Hat, lots of fat quarters and remnants from the Cinderella project bag (tutorial here), A Make Your Own Slippers Kit (with pattern, Malabrigo, buttons and needles), a skein of KnitPicks Stroll in Enchanted Forest, and miscellaneous yummies. This is probably the most international package I've put together, as the books and glass boot shotglass are from Germany, the chocolate is from San Francisco, and the buttons are from my inherited button collection, likely originating in South Africa. I loved the hat so much that I made myself one too.

Apocalypse/Zombie Swap

I made my partner a Zombie survival kit.

There's a pair of Evangeline gauntlets, a Crazy Zauberball, Sari and Angelina fiber for spinning (my partner likes to make art yarn), seriously gross band-aids, gummy brains, a handmade brain soap, the coolest needle gauge ever (the bloody hand), and the bag, made to look somewhat post-apocalyptic.

I added some Shaun of the Dead buttons to the outside of the bag, but forgot to get pics of them.

Chuck Norris approved FTW.

Other projects that were finished up:

Twinkleberry socks! Not sure I like the cuff on these - they tend to roll. But very pretty nonetheless.

A simple pair of fingerless gloves for myself, for when the weather starts to get nippy. Silky Malabrigo, dyed by me in the Sedna colourway.

And would you like to see what the beach looks like the day before a hurricane hits?

Pretty damn sweet. And yes, that is a X-wing fighter that Mr. Munchkin is surfing the waves on.

A lil' more Cali...

2010-09-05T20:51:00.002-03:00

So, the Exploratorium was ... mind-blowing. Imagine an entire aircraft hangar filled to the rafters with the best, coolest, most exciting science-y stuff. (Yes, they even had a Tesla coil.)

Honestly, I just want to post picture after picture of the exhibits that they had on display. But instead, I'll just direct you to their website, 'cause there's no way that I can morally explode your bandwidth like that. And as for *that* bridge? Meh. It's a bridge. A big, orange bridge. I don't like heights. Therefore, I'm not terribly fond of bridges by default.

The day after the bridge/Exploratium, we drove down to Carmel by the Sea, which is the closest town to where the wedding was. It's an entire city filled with little cottages that look like a village that the Grimm Brothers dreamed up while drinking absinthe.

We were fortunate enough to stay in a cottage B&B that was not only close to the beach, but had its own working fireplace. Every single night after the wedding events, we headed back to the cottage and started a fire, often falling asleep to the pops and crackles of the flames.

Now then - about the wedding. My little brother and his beautiful bride are a gorgeous couple...but I'm not about to post pics of the wedding for the Internet's general consumption. What I *will* show you is the beautiful setting for the wedding.

California really is stunning.

The day after the wedding was my birthday! Yay! I'm old! Seriously, I'm about due for a good old fashioned mid-life crisis. I chose to celebrate the day with a trip through the Carmel LYS (Knitting By the Sea)

and treated myself to some gifts in the form of plush, lovely sock yarn.

Then, off to the Monterey Bay Aquarium. LOVED this place. It was absolutely packed with fellow tourists, but we managed to see the Seahorse exhibit

and some Sea Turtles.

We had ... an incident ... at dinner that I won't punish you with, but suffice to say that I didn't get any birthday cake. Boo.

The next day was our final one in California. We took the scenic route back, along the coast. Once again, the GPS was the source of a wonderful unplanned surprise - we decided to take a side road and found ourselves in a massive forest of Redwoods. (We took the 84 from San Gregorio, if you're wondering.) I think that if there was ever a part of California that I would like to live in, it would be this particular slice of shady heaven.

Finally, since we needed to kill some time before our flight, we went back to the Lego store in San Mateo. Best. Idea. Ever.

I really enjoyed my time in San Francisco...don't know if I left my heart there, but it sure was fun while it lasted.

Lots of fish, carousels and lousy photos...

2010-08-26T22:01:00.002-03:00

That's mostly what I saw/did in California. Not a lot of pics to be shared this time, as most of my photos were incredibly blurry. I blame the shakiness on jet lag. Yeah. That's it. Jet lag.

Anyway.

We flew into San Francisco and explored the town for a few days before driving down the coast to Carmel by the Sea, where my brother was getting married. SF is a great town, with an astonishing number of carousels. But it's DAMN cold there. Seriously, Iceland was warmer.

The first day we arrived, we checked into the hotel and wandered down to Pier 39. Holy cheezball tourist trap. But still, lots of fun.

The Aquarium of the Bay was our first stop, and it was SO much fun to go through the tunnels and gape at the sharks swimming over our heads.

As you can see, the kids enjoyed themselves too. Perhaps in different ways...but there were still many giggles. After that, we wandered up and down the pier, watched the sea lion sunning themselves (stinky!),

ate our way through the wharf, watched a pirate magic show, and the kids had their first ride on a carousel. After that, we crashed at the hotel. We were staying on Fisherman's Wharf, and the view was stunning.

Though, just looking at Alcatraz gave me the willies, day or night.

There's some seriously bad vibes coming out of that place.

The next day we visited Golden Gate Park, and the California Academy of Sciences.

I think that this was my favourite of the aquarium/museums that we visited. It was AMAZING. Highly recommend it if you're in SF, above all other options.

Honestly, we could have stayed there all day and night.

Here are some of the denizens of the Academy:

and after we left the Academy, guess what we found? An awesome playground, complete with carousel.

Next post, the Exploratorium and *that* bridge.

Interlude...

2010-08-18T10:32:00.002-03:00

That's what it felt like, the brief two week period between trips last month. During that time, we threw Mr. Munchkin an awesome birthday party at the Halifax Citadel. The fella in charge of the party dressed all the boys up in kilts, handed them wooden muskets and marched them around the parade grounds. AND encouraged them to swarm random tourists wandering through the park. Best part was that the tourists either giggled, roared back enthusiastically at the boys or took pictures of them.

I mean, really...isn't it every boy's dream to be encouraged to run rampage through a fort with cannons? We were lucky enough to be at the fort during Canada's Parks Day, so there was the added bonus of an artillery display. Lots and lots of cannons going off at all times. And men in kilts.

While the birthday was pretty simple to put together, I couldn't help myself and needed to craft a little something...just to take the edge off.

There were two toddler girls at the party - Doodle and Miss E. And they needed loot bags too, right? Since I knew that Alison would be the kind of gal to appreciate something handmade, I whipped up these two crayon/notepad pouches for the wee girls. Made from scraps from the linen napkins, they came together rather quickly. I've since absconded with the one that held Miss E's stuff. It's the perfect size for a catch-all in my purse. She hasn't noticed yet. Shhhhh.

The other crafting that I did during the sweet sweet downtime was to make something for the flight to California. I don't know about you, but I'm willing to do anything it takes to amuse two kids on a cross-continent trip...to spare my sanity and that of my fellow travellers. From this cute tutorial, I made Miss E a travelling dollhouse.

I think that my seam allowances were off, but otherwise...this was a very gratifying crafty experience. If I were to make another one, I think that I'd use less obnoxious hair elastics for the fasteners. But otherwise, GREAT tutorial.

Lots of applique (yes, I know the thread on the door is loose - these pics were taken AFTER the trip, so the house has gone through a lot of lovin' already...)

She loved it. And I loved the peace and quiet on the plane. I even got some knitting done! Miracles of miracles. Next up, California!

Knights! Who sometimes say Ni.

2010-08-12T15:18:00.004-03:00

Which is to say that most of our time in Germany was spent with my in-laws, packing, sorting and pitching stuff out the door of Mr. Ninja's childhood home. But, there was one day...

We went to a medieval faire! In a castle! In Germany!!!

Yeah.

Ok, now that I've got that out of my system, here are some pics.

We drove to the medieval market with friends of ours who are really into the whole scene - they have costumes, a tent, etc. Since we were only driving up for the day, they didn't bother with most of that, but they did go in costume, which was awesome. Especially considering the heat which was hovering somewhere around 36 degrees Celsius, not including humidity.

The market was held in a castle ruin somewhere in the Pfalz (the name of the town escapes me).

The booths all lined the path, and there were the most amazing food, trinkets, and weapon/armor vendors.

We saw trees

musicians

small duels

large duels

and encampments.

The last encampment even had a working trebuchet that they were using to fling water balloons at a bunch of giggling kids.

As fun as the market was, the best part of the day (for me!) was still to come. We accompanied our friends to a BBQ at their friend's home - an old farm. And when I say old, I think that it dated back to something like 1627.

But guess what they were raising on the farm?

ALPACAS! Who were getting sheared. What a perfect day, eh?

It just doesn't stop, does it...

2010-08-04T16:49:00.002-03:00

Sorry about the delay in the Iceland travelogue, but I was away last week in California. I tell you, the jet lag is messing me up something fierce. I hope to wake up sometime before noon before the month is over. Anyway...on our last day in Iceland, we packed up and sadly left the cottage. Headed to Keflavik and the world famous Blue Lagoon. But on the way, we saw a turn off, and spontaneously decided to investigate.

We were rewarded with a lava tube to explore!

It had collapsed at one end, so it wasn't really viable to explore. But it was very fun to clamber around on the rocks.

After this, we drove a little further west and checked into our hotel, which was right next to the Blue Lagoon.

The buildings with the red roofs are the hotel complex and you can see the geothermal heating plant that is the source of the Blue Lagoon's heat just behind the hotel. Btw, I highly recommend the Northern Light Inn - it's a great place, family-run operation, and the food is super nummy.

Needless to say, we spent the rest of the day in the Blue Lagoon. In all honestly, I wasn't overly impressed with the place. After seeing the fantastic swimming pools in the rest of Iceland, the BL struck me as a real tourist trap. Additionally, the fact that NO ONE (especially the beer swilling pack of Russian men who hogged the entire counter at the swim-up bar) ever got out of the lagoon to go to the bathroom...was seriously icky. And you know that there aren't any chemicals in the water...so... ewwwwww.

The next day, we flew to Germany. But we'll definitely be going back to Iceland someday!

Headed Down the South Coast...

2010-07-18T23:11:00.002-03:00

WARNING: VERY photo heavy post ahead...

The next day, we drove along the southern coast road. As you might be able to see from the photos, it was rainy. And misty. And foggy. Not the best of days to take photos, but a really good day to see waterfalls!

This particular one was glacier fed, and was cascading off the side of Eyjafjallajökull. COoooOOOoooold. Very very very cold. Apparently, as cold as a million ice cubes, according to Mr. Munchkin.

So, when we climbed behind the waterfall, we only stayed long enough to pick up a rock for Mr. Ninja's ever-growing collection. Of course, it was muddy and grotty...so the boys rinsed it in the little stream flowing from the waterfall, screaming the entire time about how cold the water was. Yeesh.

We continued on our merry way, and while driving along, the rainclouds began to rise. This treated us to quite the view.

The notorious volcano.

And the valley beside it, still covered in ash.

The difference between the field that had been cleaned and those left fallow was remarkable.

At one point, I made Mr. Ninja stop the car so that I could hop out and grab a bag of volcanic ash. I don't really know why I wanted some, it was just an impulse. It's got the most peculiar texture to it...almost granular. The bag is happily living in an Icelandic cheese box. Don't ask. It's got vikings on it, 'nuff said.

Kept on driving, and we passed this abandoned house that was built into the volcano.

I tell you, whoever built this place either had cahones the size of boulders, or was really really dumb. But dude. Respect. (Said in an Ali G voice.) It's almost like the builder was taunting the volcano, telling it that it smelt like elderberries...

We arrived at Skogar next - home to another gorgeous waterfall, and one of the best folk museums I've even been in. Why, you ask, is this one so special?

You can see that there's a video documenting this moment. If you watch the movie, my jaw drops wiiiide open, and my pupils dilate. But you knitters understand...right? It was called the knitting and spinning room, and it was incredibly hard for the rest of the crew to drag me out of there. I vaguely remember some kicking and screaming and clinging to the door jam...might have been me. Dunno. Things got a little hazy once I saw the looms.

The museum also had some preserved buildings that had been moved onto the grounds - most of them were of the traditional turf house type. You might think that they would be damp, dark and rather unpleasant, eh?

But this particular one was almost hobbitish - a very sweet place to call home, I imagine.

Back on the road, on our way to Vik, I saw this farm and rather liked the look of it. Looks like a nice place to watch the grass grow, and to count your sheep.

A short drive later, we were on the beach. The very very cold beach.

Look! Black sand!

The three stone columns in the surf are supposedly trolls that turned into stone when daylight struck them. The kids kept themselves busy, stomping up and down the beach to stay warm.

We stayed for quite awhile, but the novelty wore off (we do live in Nova Scotia, after all - where there are WARM beaches) and we headed back to the cottage.

After all, when you have this to come back to...it's almost a shame to leave the hot pot in the first place.

Golden Circle Time...

2010-07-16T20:04:00.002-03:00

So, the Golden Circle tour is the one thing that all tourists seem to do in Iceland. Makes sense - it's only a day trip, but it takes you to very beautiful and iconic places. First up, Gullfoss.

I do like waterfalls, and this one is pretty cool. However. The midges were enough to drive you off the cliff and right into the water. They weren't biting insects, but they certainly liked to swarm. I had one even get between my camera lens and the lens cap, at one point. Yuck. As you can see, someone else was also highly unimpressed by the maddening bugs.

But he cheered up once we told him that we were going to see superheated explosions next.

Geysir (yup, it's the one that all the others in the world are named after) is a short drive down the road from Gullfoss, and we saw quite a few cyclists while making the trip between the two. Apparently, it's quite a big thing to cycle through Iceland. Personally, I felt bad for the cyclists...it looked like no one told them that the rain in Iceland is pretty much constant, and they were very soaked. But I bet they dried off pretty quickly once they reached the steamy grounds of Geysir.

Nifty, eh? This is actually Strokkur, another geyser close to Geysir. Geysir's been blocked up by rocks thrown by tourists in the 50's...so it doesn't go off that regularly. But Strokkur's pretty reliable - every five minutes or so, it goes off with a biiiiig whoosh.

After some time oogling the pillars of water and steam, we hopped back in the Jimny and made our way over to Þingvellir. We did make one side stop, though.

This is a cave that's been in use since Viking times. (The yellow and blue smudges are Mr. Ninja and Mr. Munchkin, respectively.) Used as a temporary shelter for shepherds and travelers, it was used as permanent housing by a few families at different times during the 1900s. But the neat thing about this place is that it's also inhabited by elves. Yeah, hokey, I know. But I think that if there's any place that there would be elves, trolls, dwarves, and so on...it would be Iceland. After exploring the cave (which was filled with the poop of half-wild sheep), we continued onto Þingvellir, home of the Althing.

I should mention that it was on this "highway" that I apologized to my husband for being skeptical about the need for a 4x4. We would pass rental cars that were driving the other way, and you could see the white knuckles of the drivers through their windshields. The road was closest to being a rough gravel road, and when driving on a sharply inclining road that is barely hugging the side of a mountain...let's just say that I was glad that I packed Gravol in my bag that day. In the end, it was worth it.

We wandered around the park for a good three hours or so, then made ourselves a picnic at the top of the mountain. Since everyone was pretty much wiped out at this point, we headed home for more hot pot soaking. Oh, but I have to show you this:

There were beautiful purple lupins EVERYWHERE in Iceland.

And sheep.

Fluffy, tasty sheep. Baaah.

The Beauty of Þjórsárdalur...

2010-07-14T14:49:00.004-03:00

Next day, we escaped the city and drove to our cottage in the Þjórsárdalur valley.

I can't even begin to describe the peace and quiet of this place - despite being close to the main road, there were maybe five cars an hour that would drive by. Once we arrived, we decided to climb the rock formation directly behind the cottage. I made it up half-way before Miss E wanted to go back down, but the boys went all the way to the top. And were rewarded for their efforts by Eyjafjallajökull itself.

See? Just a friendly little puff from the volcano in greeting. Relax, it didn't do anything else the entire time we were in Iceland. There were three volcanoes to see from the cottage - Eyjafjallajökull, Hekla and Katla.

After a loooong soak in the hotpot, we drove down the valley towards Stong, an excavated viking longhouse. Unfortunately, due to some toddler temper tantrums, we weren't able to make it to the actual site. (Excuse for another trip to Iceland? Yes, please!) But on the way there, we stopped at a very pretty waterfall called Hjalparfoss.

Check out those wild rock formations! If you're at all interested in geology, Iceland is a very cool place to visit. And on the way back, we had to ford a river. Twice. (Yes, we got slightly lost despite having the GPS with us. But apparently the GPS didn't like being in the middle of nowhere...) Needless to say, Mr. Ninja was delighted and exhilarated. The rest of us ranged from slightly traumatized to very relieved that we didn't need to push the 4x4 out of the middle of a raging river.

Back to the cottage, more soaking in the hotpot and dinner. That's Hekla in the background.

The best part of the day came at the very end. The sun was finally setting at midnight, and the kids were still loopy from jet lag and the constant light.

So, we all went back into the hotpot. While we were in there, a rainbow appeared.

Since the valley is so huge and free from obstruction, I saw both ends of the rainbow, for the first time in my life.

The Norse believed that a rainbow was the bridge to Valhalla. And after seeing the rainbow in the hushed midnight air of the valley...I'm inclined to believe that we sampled a little bit of heaven. (Yes, cheezy, I know. But you have no idea how close this cottage is to my personal incarnation of paradise.)

Vikings!

2010-07-10T19:42:00.002-03:00

The next day was filled with Vikings, both real and make-believe. We started the day by visiting the National Museum. Located across from the university, it's a very pretty building. It's not a big museum, but it's filled with all sorts of interesting things.

Like ancient spindles.

Sock blockers! And the mittens are really cool too - they have thumbs on both sides so that they're reversible, thus wearable on both hands. Myself, I think I prefer a side gusset...but it's kinda nifty to see the evolution of the humble mitten.

There were the most beautiful weapons, the Eyarland statue, and carved drinking horns galore.

But as fascinating as the artifacts were, the kids (and husband) liked the Hands-on room the best. They were given the opportunity to dress up like a Viking, reconstruct a burial site, or figure out which rune to use to make a maiden fall in love.

The entire trip through the museum took about three hours, and we really took our time in there. So, finding ourselves at a loss, we decided to take a trip down to Hafnarfjordur. Found the local swimming pool, luxuriated there for a few hours, and then went to the Viking Festival at the Viking Hotel.

This place was an absolutely delicious tourist-trap. And the festival was essentially an alleyway lined with stalls, and crawling with people in full Viking regalia. I didn't take many pictures of people (I don't really like to - it seems a bit rude to take photos without permission), but I did get one of the blacksmith.

I wish I had taken a pic of the seven whole lambs roasting over a fire. (As part of the admission fee, you got as much lamb and beer you could drink.) The whole thing was pretty damn cool, and we did a little bit of souvenir shopping while there. Mr. Ninja picked up a silver pendant of Thor's Hammer, Mr. Munchkin chose a sword and shield (which you'll undoubtedly see in later pics), Miss E got a cute bird toy that whistles, and me? My souvenir came in the form of yarn.

Yup, I finally succumbed to the siren call of the Lopi. I have no idea what the label says, but I think it's about a DK weight, and there's a LOT of it in one skein. No idea what I'm going to do with it yet. Oh, and I also picked up my first shawl pins. Pics next time though, as I'm going to have to find them first.

I'm home!

2010-07-05T14:36:00.002-03:00

Boy, what an adventure that was.

I can see why such a high percentage of Icelanders believe in elves - the terrain and light there is absolutely wild and completely haunting. And the fact that there are sheep EVERYWHERE doesn't hurt its ranking in my personal favorites, either. Photo-heavy travelogue coming up - Reykjavik first. Then the Southern route after that. And finally, Germany.

------

We landed in Keflavik at an ungodly hour, after a rather odd flight. The idea was that the kids would sleep through it all, as it was an overnight trip. That SO did not happen. As I have said before (and clearly forgot), toddlers do not get jet lag. They simply keep going. And going. Picked up the rental car (Suzuki Jimny 4x4) after some complications, and drove into Reykjavik.

I LOVE Reykjavik. If it wasn't for the fact that the Icelandic language is completely nutter, Reykjavik would have my vote for a future sabbatical location. The houses in the downtown are very interesting, architecturally speaking. Apart from the shantytowns of South Africa, I've not seen anywhere that uses so much corrugated aluminum for siding and roofing materials. And the Icelanders use it so well - the houses were sweet and tidy.

We stayed in a rental apartment in the downtown core, which I would highly recommend. Waking up each morning, walking across the street to a lovely bakery and eating fantastic pastries on the balcony is a great way to start any day, imo.

The first day, we did the usual touristy stuff. Ate legendary hot dogs, walked around the downtown core (it's a very compact city, we crossed the entire downtown in about an hour of strolling), visited the cool church in town, went up to the top of the church tower and took photos of the city (and managed to get there just in time to have the bells ring on top of our heads), and went to a swimming pool.

Oh man, the swimming pools.

Geothermally heated, very modern amenities, and a fantastic way of life. There are some major differences between most North American pools and Icelandic pools which you should know about. There is minimal chlorine in the Iceland pools, so you're required to strip naked and shower BEFORE entering the pool and also after using the pool. That means there's a lot of nudity in the changerooms, but it's cool - since everyone else is naked too, it's hard to be uptight about your own naked arse. The other thing is that the pools are mostly outdoors. But since the water is so warm, it's very comfortable even when it's 14 degrees Celsius outside. I'm going back to Iceland again someday, just for the pools. Here's a pic of the pool that we went to (Árbæjarlaug), but it's a bit different from what I remember, as darkness never really came during the entire time that we were in Iceland.

Of course, it does take a bit of time to adjust to the eggy smell of the water - all of the water in Iceland has a bit of a sulphuric taste to it, even the Coke has that taint. But you stop noticing it pretty quick. In my case, I may have been distracted by the half-naked Viking descendents lounging around. I realize that I have a bit of a Viking fetish, but the men in Iceland are ridiculously good looking.

Ahem.

Getting back to crafty things, the other reason that I'm going back to Iceland is the wool. I stopped in the Handknitting Association of Iceland's retail store on Laugavegur (the main shopping street), and was greeted by this:

Uh huh. I managed to get out with minimal damage to my wallet, amazingly. I think that I'm actually not a huge fan of the Lopi...it's too itchy for me. But when it's felted, it's amazing stuff. I picked up a pair of fingerless mitts with "mystic runes" needlefelted onto them.

I think the runes are a little hokey, sort of like people tattooing asian characters on their shoulders and then finding they've written something like "I screw dragons" on their epidermis. But who cares, my mittens are very comfy, and the blue is my favourite shade. I also picked up this,

this nifty hooded scarf in natural lopi(which is super itchy and will have to be lined with microfleece),

and this little guy.

No lopi yarn yet, but there will be some in the next post, I promise!

Well, I don't really have any valid excuse this time.

2010-06-13T20:55:00.002-03:00

I haven't posted in awhile...and the likeliest reason is 'cause we're about to travel. And my brain always seems to evaporate the minute that the plane tickets are purchased 'cause I get obsessed with preparing. Can't tell you how thrilled I am about going away, as it's been awhile since we went anywhere on a plane. And this time, I'm REALLY excited about it - we're travelling somewhere I haven't been before.

Iceland!

And then off to Germany to spend some time with the in-laws. Logically, the best thing to do to prep for an epic journey is to ... craft. That being said, I did my part.

New dresses

(There's also a pink one that I made using this tutorial, but I can't find it to take pics atm...maybe later if I remember.)

Sleeping Masks for the family - will post pics of these depending on how irritated I get with them on the trip. The sun only sets at 11 pm and rises at 3 am these days in Iceland, so they're a necessity. But if they're bugging us, we just may use them to slingshot rocks into the volcano.

Travel pouch for mah bling. The one on the left is for me, and the one on the right is for my Mum. 'Cause she's awesome.

Aren't they cute?

A sweater - of which I have no pictures. Will post one as soon as it's been taken. Just imagine soft grey yarn, and mother of pearl buttons. It's really pretty and I'm enthralled by it.

Mittens for me!

How ridiculous is it that I have no mittens for myself? I searched through every single tub of winter clothing and came up with one blue and one purple mitten that sorta fit me. Out of desperation, this was knit of out of the leftover skein from the above mentioned sweater. Treads pattern (rav link), modded to full mittens.

And finally, a square for a charity afghan. This one is for an online friend that lost her baby in an emergency c-section at 8 months along. Handdyed, handspun, handknit.

There's more, but seriously...I am about to lose my mind and cannot remember where everything is. I don't know what the wi-fi situation will be like where we're going, but I'll try to post pics as we go along. Let's just hope that all the Lopi I'm about to buy fits into the luggage, eh?

Where'd my month go?

2010-05-09T11:28:00.005-03:00

Sheesh.

First off, Happy Mother's Day to all of you Mums, Mommies, or MAAAAAAAs.

So, what's been going on lately?

My parents visited, and finalized the sale of their condo here in Halifax. (They simply weren't using it enough to justify owning it.) So, there was that lovely little slice of madness. Additionally, they decided to not take much of the stuff that was in the apartment, and instead left it in my foyer. So I've been going mad trying to figure out where to put everything. It's not fun trying to assimilate the detritus of another household. But it was a good reason to go through my own house and seriously purge it of accumulated crap. Let's just say that there were several trips to Goodwill and a call or two to the good fellows at 1-800-got-junk.

We also cleaned out the garage. Reason? We bought a new car. Mr. Ninja's 15 year old beater of a Golf died horribly outside the liquor store. And he decided to get a practical family sedan. Guess what came home with him?

Yeah.

Hey, at least it fits both booster seats in the back. And driving it is like being in a spaceship cockpit, people. It drives like you are sitting on top of a massive bottle rocket, and even when you're not driving at top speed, it still feels like you're in the Indy 500. The car has been christened Starbug (10 geek points if you get that reference), and will soon be adorned with a chrome Autobot decal. 'Cause, y'know. The RX-8 is Jazz. Who was one of my favourite Transformers EVAH.

And those lovely flowers in the box? They're my Mother's Day gifts from the kids. I think that the family has figured out that if they give me plants that live outside, then the plants at least have a fighting chance at survival. Indoor plants are doomed in my hands, alas.

Crafting-wise, I'm still plugging away on my Estelle. I am SO not a fan of how the pattern says to increase (for example) 25 across a row. This blows my mind - is is a product of laziness on the part of the designer? Or are they just assuming that the knitter is ok with sloppy math? How on earth am I supposed to increase evenly across a row if the number to increase doesn't divide evenly into the existing stitches? Gah!

I was distracted from my sweater by a request from the Mr. He puts up with the encroaching stash, so any request from him takes priority. Y'see, we recently got a new GPS, in light of our impending travel. I love the man, but there's no way that I'm wrestling with a map that has town names like Hafnarfjordur and Stykkisholmur. Even for him. Anyhoo, the GPS has many different voice options. British, Australian, Texan, etc. And my beloved has chosen...Yeti. So, I now have a Yeti yelling directions at me when I'm driving around. And when I arrive at a chosen destination, the Yeti gives off a blood-curdling yodel.

My sweetie has decided that we needed a traveling companion, a la the gnome from Amelie, and requested that I make him a Yeti.

Voila.

Improvised pattern, and knit from demonic acrylic yarn. The feet were a last minute addition, demanded by the Mister. There is aquarium gravel (left over from the beanbags) in the Yeti's feet, so that he can stand up on his own. I'm pleased with how he turned out - the arms aren't as wonky as they appear in the photo - especially as he's my first toy.

Other crafting includes:

I volunteered to make an "angel" package for one of the Odd Duck swaps - the Alice in Wonderland one, to be precise. I missed the deadline to get in on this swap, so I was more than happy to make up a package for someone who got screwed by a flaky partner. I don't actually have a picture of the entire shebang, but here are the owl flip-top mittens I made.

Cute, eh? They're a mod of the Under the Tree pattern.

Finally, it's almost summer. Which means that it's time to make itty bitty dresses! I'm using this tutorial, and it's working out nicely. Will post pics when they're completed.

Now, I'm off to play video games and zone out in chocolate-fuelled-blissed-out silence. Thank goodness for Mother's Day, eh?

Just a little hit...

2010-04-17T11:31:00.002-03:00

I had the urge to make something last night. Could be that I was prompted by the looming deadline of Mother's Day. Anyhoo. I had a few dollar store placemats still hanging around from when I made these bags. I decided to see what a bag made with two long sides and one short side would look like, and I came up with this.

I figure that it'll be perfect for those times when I go to the farmer's market for just a baguette and a few sundries. Usually, I have issues with my baguette escaping, but I think that won't be a problem now. As you can see, it's easily portable with just the one strap on the back, but when it needs to be opened to carry tall skinny stuff, the other strap (which is tucked inside until needed) comes into play.

The closure also comes courtesy of the dollar store - a hair elastic and a button from a big bag of random buttons. The little OMGWTF patch was an afterthought - the zigzag stitching that I used to attach the hair elastic was ugly, and I happened to have this patch lurking in the label drawer. Yes, I have a label drawer in my craft room. This particular patch comes from the early days of Etsy, and I dearly wish that I had more of them, but this was the last one I had.

Guess I'll have to take this baby on a test run...market bound, I am!

Worthwhile crafting...

2010-04-14T14:41:00.002-03:00

not that most of my crafting isn't worthwhile, but this latest FO is for a very good cause. Craft Hope is currently collecting beanbag sets for orphans in Liberia. I signed up to do a set of shapes.

Used the remnants of the two charm packs that I used to make for a patchwork skirt earlier. Mr. Munchkin helped me make the labels for the shapes, using twill tape and rubber stamps from the dollar store. If I'd been smart about it, I should have attached the labels first, but instead I pulled a dumbass move and had to handsew each of the labels on. They're filled with aquarium gravel. I think that I'll be making another set for the kids, as they were quite taken with this set. And speaking of the kids...I wanted to show you something that I made last summer. I totally forgot to blog about it until now.

This is Mr. Munchkin's pirate coat. What a labour of love this FO was. Seriously, I don't think that I'd ever make something like this for anyone that I didn't give birth to. Those aren't fake pocket flaps, eh? I learned to make welt pockets just for this coat. So, my little pirate captain can shove gold doubloons into his little coat until it bursts. Which is how a pirate's life should be, no?

In a listy mood today...

2010-04-07T14:03:00.003-03:00

#32 of things not to say to your small child

Child: Daddy, I'm scared of the monsters in the closet!

Husband: Don't worry. I chased all the monsters out. So the pirates would have room.

Child: ...

Pirates?

Husband: G'Night!

*door closes*

Me: Get your ass back in there and make this better. Now.

More proof that God has a sense of humour:

Me (last night at KOL): Happy Zombie Jesus Day, Steph!

*large man who appears to be wearing a black coat stands up and frowns disapprovingly at me as he leaves the cafe*

Steph: Uh...I think that was a monk. The big swingy cross around his neck kinda gave it away.

Me: D'OH.

*cut to this morning*

Me: Owwww.

Husband: What's wrong?

Me: Well...last night, when I was tossing and turning...I somehow managed to whack myself in the forehead with the corner of the night stand. Hard. Seriously, there's a massive purpley goose egg with a corner shaped dent there now.

Husband: Huh. Looks like the monk was praying all night for someone to knock some sense into you.

Trying something new...

2010-04-04T18:32:00.002-03:00

I just want to say thank you for the love. Honestly, I was a bit whiny in the last post - I do apologize for that - as I'm currently suffering from a dire monthly need for chocolate. (Apparently, this is how most women refer to PMS, according to Steph. I always called it PMS, as in "Poor Mister Season".)

As for the something new, I'm knitting myself a sweater! I've finished off all of my current projects, excepting a pair of socks for Mr. Ninja but since one sock's done, I'm giving myself a mulligan on that one. I finished all of the projects for my LOTR swap, and I'll post pics of the entire package after it's arrived. But I can't resist showing you the part that I'm really proud of.

I call these "Gauntlets of the Witch King". They're adapted from the Pyroclastic sock pattern from knitty. Knit in Dream in Color Starry (Purple Rain colourway). Don't they look like something one of the Nazgul would wear under all those flowy robes?

Anyhoo, I've never knit myself a sweater. I've knit sweaters for the man, the boy and the girl. But nothing for me. I was looking for a cardigan that would knit up quickly and was a little feminine (nothing too fru-fru). Estelle is what I've chosen, let's hope it works out! Knitting it in smoky grey Malabrigo, on 4.5 needles. I'm not a fan of how the pattern is written, but so far, so good. About to start the lace section. I'll let you know how it goes.

Happiness can come in the mail...

2010-04-01T10:30:00.004-03:00

As I have found out this week. Of course, it doesn't hurt that I've been indulging in some retail therapy. (I really have to stop being such an angry person - it's hell on the pocketbook.)

More Fleuvogs.

I love these shoes even more in black. I was weak and succumbed to my intense love for their red sisters, and ordered another pair that I *could* wear until the day they bury me in them. I think I've started down the slippery shoe hoar slide.

A new knitting book!

I've had this on pre-order for awhile. Showed it to Mr. Ninja and he was enthused about it. Although afterwards he said two things: I have to knit a sweater for myself first, and that you should never spring "clothes talk" on a man...apparently, you have to ease them into it.

Finally, proof that I have friends who love me.

My, what a big package! Guess what it is?

That's right. I have friends who send me alpaca fleeces. Out of the blue. Thank you Chiara! I am the luckiest girl in the world, and I'm very grateful for the love.

Now then...I'm definitely going to need a drum carder - I've been toying with the idea of getting one lately. My hand cards just won't cut it for this job. It'll either be an Ashford Wild or a Fancy Kitty. Any opinions out there?

Time better spent...

2010-03-20T18:42:00.002-03:00

than doing something...ANYTHING...than what I did this month. Seriously, I have just about nothing crafty to show for an entire month of existence.

A pair of new shoes (which I LOVE - and deeply thank Meegiemoo for, as she was the one responsible for showing me the Fleuvogian light). I'm being good - these are for my brother's wedding, and I'm not wearing them until July. (Yes, it's killing me a little...) I'm not really a "shoe" girl, but these may just convert me. It's amazing how comfortable they are, for high heels.

Copious amounts of travel planning. Yay!

A nasty bout of pink eye for the whole family. Yuck.

Lots of patterns traced out and transferred to paper. Yay!

Plenty of washed fabric to iron, cut and sew together. Boo.

Finished my first set of linen napkins. Yay! (No pics yet, as they're all in the wash. Imagine the same print on the outside, and various coloured polka-dots on the inside.)

Attempted to knit a shawl and had my ass kicked by the pattern. Boo.

A renewed sense of must-get-out-and-stop-being-such-a-misanthrope. Yay!

A renewed sense of crap-it's-hard-to-be-social. Boo.

Finally caved and bought a blu-ray of Mamma Mia. Yay! (Yes, I am a closet ABBA fan.)

Quite delighted with how my current knit swaps are going - I'm in a LOTR swap atm, and have just signed up for a video game swap. (Odd Ducks on Ravelry, of course.) And I was very happy as I was asked to be a moderator for the Odd Ducks, and I'm currently modding a Chinese Zodiac swap. And some of the planned swaps for the rest of the year include Pirates, Zombies/Apocalypse, Dr. Horrible's Sing-Along-Blog, Grimm's Fairy Tales, and the Rocky Horror Picture Show. Ahhh, it's good to be amongst my tribe.

Escapism...

2010-02-26T12:47:00.002-04:00

I don't know if this is something that you do too, but when I'm trying to escape from something (situation, person, etc.), I craft. As of late, I think that I've been trying to get away from the weather. So, I've been hiding in my craft room (read: basement), and making stuff. Probably doesn't hurt that I have a new toy - my sewing machine died a rather loud and smoky death awhile ago, and I was lucky enough to find a Janome MC3000 very cheaply on Kijiji. I freakin' LOVE this thing, and am delighted enough to ignore much of my knitting UFOs for it. Besides, I need to get a head start on Miss E's summer wardrobe, yeah?

A spring skirt. I am desperate for colour these days, so I grabbed a charm pack (I think it's the Riviera line from Connected Threads) from the stash and improvised this. Hope that she'll actually concede and wear it...there may not be enough pink in it. *eyeroll*

More fun with the dye pot. Mostly gunmetal silver with a hit of blue. I think I'll call this one Katana. Same merino base as usual.

A knotted tulle tutu for the princess. I used this super easy tutorial, and if I have to make another one in the future, I'll definitely be using shorter sections of tulle. She was tripping on this one.

Ahhh, baby gifts. This one has still to make its way to the intended recipient...'cause I'm a lazy ass. But how awesome is Pirate Bootie? *snort* My first intarsia, and definitely a learning experience.

I've been trying to get away from using paper napkins at home, and here's part of that movement. Made from Japanese linen that's woven to show different patterns on each side of the fabric. Very cool. I've got a metric asston of different fat quarters of this kind of fabric, so you'll be seeing different sets eventually. I'm considering making some for the etsy shop, but really? I'm going to need to find my motivation first. I think I may have left it under the couch.

After a rather alarming incident at the library last week where I was caught without the stuff for a diaper change, I decided that I needed to make myself a diaper clutch to toss into whatever bag I'm carrying. I'm pretty sure that there's an easier way to make this kind of bag, but I was winging this. Very pleased with the end result, as it's just enough colour to keep me happy. Pretty sure that it'll be absconded with once Miss E's older.

And finally, Happy Birthday to Miss E. Yeah, I'm still in shock that she's as old as she is...it's all going by way too quickly. My sweet baby is two!!! Holy CRAP!!! Here she is, ready to dig into her cake. Plates? We don't need no steenkin' plates...

Dreamers...

2010-02-12T21:25:00.002-04:00

I've been trying to figure out why this article in the NYTimes bothered me so much when I read it this morning. I think I have it - it's the part where the girl's agent states that “There’s no such thing as originality anyway, just authenticity,”.

Seriously?

It's not so much the fact that the author essentially lifted entire pages from another book. Hell, even Shakespeare was accused of plagiarising large portions of his plays from Italian plays of the time. I think what is bothering me is that this attitude seems to be representative of the cultural shift towards a society where people lack any semblance of a grand vision. There's a mass settling for incremental innovation, and people seem to have lost the ability to develop really big dreams to build towards. There was a really good article in the Economist about the general lack of faith in humanity's ability to progress a few months ago - basically, people seem to think that we've come as far as we can...and that we're just treading water at this point.

This really worries me.

Hey, I'm all for mash-ups. Taking bits and pieces of culture and smooshing them back together in a new format is fun. Girl Talk amuses me to no end - picking out the few notes of an obscure musical reference is a great parlor game. And arguably, it is a creative act, but please people...the Mona Lisa, it ain't. So, I have to ask - how did we get here? Why are we so bereft of dreamers? Even those who are touted as artists seem to be content with simply reheating pop culture. I mean, it's been going on for awhile (Andy Warhol anyone?), but why are we so pessimistic about our future now, of all times?

It's a tiny understatement to say that we live in an era of change. I watched a great video on cloud computing the other day, and I honestly felt staggered. It's absolutely mind blowing to contemplate the social shift that we're about to go through. Here, you should watch it too.

What gets me the most is...why the hell are the majority of people willing to accept that we're stuck with what we have - and proceed to rehash it to bits - when major change is happening RIGHT NOW? Where have all the visionaries gone?

Can't ... stop ... writing ...

2010-01-31T23:13:00.002-04:00

By crikey, when the muse hits...she lays smackdowns like a mack truck.

I've been trying to squeeze out the Pompeii story, but it's been tough. This is clearly a tale that needs to be coaxed out. I'm just having trouble getting into the vibe of the story. But lately, I've been distracting myself and doing some research on a possible travel destination. (I NEED to get out. Somewhere. Anywhere but here.) And while reading about it, I found out that one of the towns apparently boasts that it has the highest concentration of "hidden people" anywhere. Elves. Faery. Dwarves, Trolls, Pixies! Now, that's on my list of *must-see* destinations, even if it is as touristy and cheesy as I think it will end up being.

Mix that knowledge with an hour of rocking Miss E to sleep in a quiet, dark room...and you have the makings of a new story. It's not that I'm not trying to work on Pompeii - it's more like writing this new tale is a total compulsion. I've been sitting here writing for two hours and I already have a little over a thousand words. I know that's not a lot for some writers, but for me - that's a metric assload of writing.

I'm a little reluctant to share what I have so far, 'cause it doesn't do a very good job of showing what the story is all about (and it's DAMN cool - at least the version in my head is), but I daresay that it's a nice introduction. I suppose the new story fits under the category of fantasy or magic realism. Definitely in the vein of Charles De Lint. Cheesy and overpopulated as a category, but it makes me happy to write. And that's important, yes? I'll post some of it later, once I start getting into the good bits.

Thanks guys...

2010-01-29T12:06:00.003-04:00

Seriously, after reading the comments on the last post, I am very grateful that I have friends that like me just the loud, obnoxious way that I am. You guys made a grown woman even leak a few tears. The previous post wasn't meant to be a rant - it was more of a dear-god-someone-please-explain-what-the-aliens-are-doing-now kind of post. But I deeply DEEPLY appreciate the support and love that you sent my way. Thank you again. FYI, I have been sending responses to your comments, but I have a feeling that they're not making their way through the ether. Please let me know if you're getting the messages. Oh and about the pastiness...don't take it the wrong way, my friends. I live in Nova Scotia and it's January. Hell, *I* am pasty in January, in NS. I've gone from being a golden beige to a pale lemon meringue. Blegh.

For all you who found this blog through Facebook ...

...

...

uhm

...

Hai!

It was with more than a bit of alarm and stomach-curdling fear that I saw that my blogging was now synchronized with my FB status updates. Couldn't figure out why for the life of me why it was happening...until I remembered that I had allowed an application to nab my blog data, as I wanted to use it to follow another blogger. So much for web anonymity, eh?

I just wanted to talk about a game that I've been playing lately - Borderlands. It's stupid, FPS fun on the PS3. But the best part is that you can play two players, split screen. Sweet. So the Mr. and I have been playing co-op, and it's been going well. Reminiscent of the days of Diablo. And that's a veeeery good thing.

Oh course, you can't frag and knit at the same time, so my knitting has been neglected as of late. Still working away on a headband for myself, as the yarn did NOT want to be a touque. Or a beret. Or even a flouncy elf hat. Surprisingly, the yarn (Debbie Bliss Cashmerino Aran) has held up well to the repeated froggings.

Instead of knitting, I've been having fun with my dye pots. Meet Sedna and Crushed Roses.

The first one is a skein of Silky Malabrigo that I practiced overdyeing on. First, splotches of blue and purple, steamed in my crockpot. Then, it went into a bath of green. Very labour intensive, but worth it. And the second was simply kettle dyed Henry's Attic sock yarn base in vermillion with a touch of violet. So far I just have the solo skeins in each colour, but I'm thinking that I need to make more of the Crushed Roses - I am down to just three pairs of handknit socks for my own feet. Shameful, I know.

And writing? Yes, I'm still writing. I am setting myself some homework - 500 words a night. And whether it's on the Pompeii story, or on a dalliance with a different world...it still counts.

Too much estrogen...

2010-01-27T16:30:00.002-04:00

I'm a stay at home mom. Yup, a gen-u-ine homemaker. I bake, clean, mix drinks and I even do it in a handmade apron, on occasion. You don't see many women opting to ignore years (and years and fucking years) of schooling and general social pressure to keep up to a certain material standard much these days. And I think that it's a personal decision - what works for me definitely wouldn't work for some terrific moms that I know. Most days, I'm pretty good with the choice that we made to get to the point where I am. But I'll tell you the one really big thing bothers me about this situation...

The women.

Frankly, I suck at being a girl. I have no idea how to navigate the intricacies of female social networks, and the concept of bonding over backstabbing is totally foreign to me. Subsuming your true nature just to fit in...I can't do it. Growing up, I always hung out with guys. I was the guy with boobs and long hair. I simply understand and appreciate the male code of behaviour better than the female one. And the thing is...the only people that I seem to come into contact with in the stay-at-home parent world are women.

Last year was Mr. Munchkin's first year in school and I tried something new. I dressed in Mom jeans, bought a pair of big bugeye sunglasses and generally acted like a 9th grader feeling out the situation and trying on new personalities every week. I hated every minute of it. It felt like I was living in someone else's life, and wearing their clothes to boot. But the good news is that as of late, I've grown bolder.

I realise that I've got a fairly outsized personality. (Translates to: I'm loud and usually obnoxious in public.) Not to mention that I am awful with names and faces. Lots of people will be turned off by that, and I'm good with that. I've grown used to being socially straightened over the years. Moving around every few years will do that to you. But what I can't stand is a group of women whispering and pointedly staring at me (without ever having spoken to me) based on what I'm wearing. Look, I can't help that I'm the only ethnic person within a 5 km radius. (Seriously, there are days that I feel like high fiving any other person with a dark skin colour...just because they happen to walk past me on the sidewalk. It's lonely out here in the land of the pasty white.) But I don't think that it's my race that bothers them, as much as it is the fact that I am just not even trying to fit in anymore.

For example, today - my hair was done up in two little buns and I had on my white fleece motorcycle jacket. I realise that this "look" is young and that I am not the svelte nymph that I once was. But really? I don't think that it merited the looks of disdain that I earned. Then again, maybe it was the knitting and walking at the same time.

Oh well. I think that I'm going to relish my future status as *that* mom.

Second thoughts...

2010-01-22T10:30:00.004-04:00

After writing for a few hours last night, I started rereading what I'd written. The most uncomfortable feeling started creeping over me, and I realised that the story is much gentler than I initially thought it would be. And...I'm not so good with the sweet stuff. My forte tends to be writing stories about glossy and mindless violence. Take this introduction to the Cyberpunk game that I was talking about before:

...

Night City is the kind of place where Hope wears mirrorshades, a permanent sneer and a large bandolier of bullets. In the right parts of the city, the shimmering opalescent office towers are a whore's paean to money and power. The corporations rule here - and they don't bother with the velvet glove. It's all about the iron fist...enforcing their control though the use of horrifically efficient heavy weapons teams and good old doses of pain. But the city is glossy...all brilliantly neon, so no one ever notices the occasional blood splatter on the wall. It's just considered to be part of the exotic appeal of Night City.

But in the ugly parts of town...well, that's another story. Boostergangs run wild, terrorizing those who are either too poor to be Mallplexers or too stubborn to move to a better part of town. Since human compassion doesn't earn any Eurobucks - the corporations don't really give a flying fuck about anyone down here. The dinged up but earnest police force struggles to keep the peace here and they try hard, too. But these days, there are just too many powers fighting for control of the badlands. So, it's vigilante heaven. Kill or be killed, babe. Not to say that no one gives a damn. There are heroes, oh yes. But why do any of them do what they do? It ain't for the money. It's all about the Glory, chombatta. That, and the chance to piss off the corps every once in awhile.

The lives of a couple of cyberpunks are about to intersect...and brother, are they *ever* going to take the piss out of the corps tonight.

...

Now, THAT was fun to write. (Ignore the slang, it's indigenous to the gameworld.) And while the Pompeii story is haunting me, I just hope that I can do it justice in the end.

On to the knitwear!

A last minute baby gift for Mr. Ninja's cousin who is having a baby girl next month. Bunny Beanie pattern. And now for one of my favourite FOs ever.

Veyla. But modded to make it into flip-top mittens. With mother of pearl buttons, and in BFL sock yarn. I love love love love these, but unfortunately am not keeping them. They're for the Gods/Goddesses/Mythology Swap that the Odd Ducks are doing. But I will definitely be making the pattern again for myself. I have all the buttons for it, after all.

Okay, here goes.

2010-01-21T21:51:00.003-04:00

Once upon a time, I had one of my stories read out loud by a prof, while in class...quite possibly one of the most agonizing experiences of my life. And I fully understood the phrase "wanted to sink into the floor" after that day. But it wasn't so much that the story was being read out loud. Rather, it was one of the few times that I wasn't honest and didn't use my own voice to tell a tale, and instead wrote something for an audience of one, and hopefully for a grade of A. I'm not proud of what I did, but I did get into grad school based on that particular prof's recommendation letter. But whoring never feels good, regardless of what body part is involved.

That being said, I've learned my lesson and can offer this snippet to you with a clean conscience. Please keep in mind that this hasn't really been edited at all, and is still mostly raw material being poked and prodded into shape. So be kind, ok? This part is taken from the chapter where one of the protagonists is entering Pompeii for the first time.

...

The heat was stifling. Caeso dutifully walked beside the wagon, hurriedly ducking a gaggle of matronly women as they crowded the entire sidewalk. The women managed to simultaneously berate him for not getting out of their way, squawk about his awful manners and loudly giggle amongst themselves about his stained tunic. They did so without breaking their pace and speaking at each other as loudly as possible. Making a mental note to visit the biggest, most luxurious bath in town as soon as possible, he carefully inched his way past the group of women, unwilling to let them push him off the raised sidewalk and into the filth that the road barely contained.

As he finally managed to get around them, he looked around for the wagon and found that it was now a full block away from him. With a groan and a tiny slumping of his shoulders, he quickened his pace and casually cursed under his breath. The ill-begotten daughters of goat fuckers had caused him to slow down, and undoubtedly his father would have a few choice words for him. Probably something about the wagon, his lack of attention to said wagon, and how could he ever hope to become a successful merchant if he lost his goods in the middle of a city filled with thieves, murderers and villains? Caeso was not in the mood to listen to his father’s usual lecture and broke into a sprint, hoping to catch up to the wagon.

...

Yeah, it's rough. But I'm delighted with myself for finding a Roman male name that I absolutely love. He's starting to take shape, as is his female counterpart. More next time, if desired. Speak up in the comments if you're interested in seeing more of the story, please. Otherwise, I'm happy to keep my lunacy to myself and will go back to posting crafty stuff exclusively. Not a bad thing, either. Actually, I have a delicious FO that I *will* post about next time - I'm very happy with how it turned out.

Existential mittens, more like...

2010-01-16T16:11:00.002-04:00

These.

Are evil mittens. They look innocent, yes? (Pattern is Instant Mittens - Rav link) But the pattern calls for an embroidered design after the knitting is complete. The originals have a very pretty heart on them...but that's not really my style. And after trying to figure out exactly what design I *did* want to show to the world...I collapsed into a major identity crisis. Who the hell am I anymore? And what do I want the world to see when they look at me? Gamer? Mommy? Village idiot? It's a nasty spiral of self-doubt and exploration. Two weeks after completing these, I still don't have any answers and the mittens still don't have a design. I have a feeling they may stay that way for a bit while I sort my head out.

Another quick knit - French Press Felted Slippers.

If you know me, you know that I don't much like wearing socks unless it's below zero. But I've been feeling the cold in my extremities more often these days - something to do with getting old - and this pattern is too cute to resist. FAST knit. Very warm slippers. And I only wiped out three times before figuring out that I needed to make the bottoms more grippy. Clearly, I am not a fast learner. Well, that...or I'm in denial about my balancing skills.

Speaking of balance, I've been playing my Wii Fit every two days or so since the New Year. I haven't shed a single damn pound. Buuuuuut. My back doesn't hurt as much, and I'm developed the ability to bend and twist like nobody's business. Something that my dusting skills have always needed, apparently.

In another twist to the identity crisis, I was recently asked if I'm still writing stories. I realized with not a little bit of horror that the last thing that I wrote was over two years ago. To be honest, I don't really have an excuse - the stories are there (and occasionally wake me up in the middle of the night), I just haven't written them down.

I suppose in a way, I'm still hung up on the story that I was developing for the Cyberpunk game that I was GMing a few years ago. But I'm trying to put that aside now, and have been working on a new story set in Pompeii. But note to self - do NOT let husband review writing, as his comments are total buzz killers. For example, "It's really...wordy." He tends to like his fiction to have exploding wizards in it, just so you know what I'm working with here. Next post, I'll show you a snippet of the new story. But that's next time. At the moment, I'm needed to mediate a war between dinosaurs and the evil teapot. Gotta use that diplomatic training for something useful. *sigh*

Brain Slug Baby Hat pattern...

2009-12-30T16:24:00.001-04:00

is here.

I was bored. Wanted to mess around with writing up this pattern. Finally got up and off my arse and did so. (I think the DDR helped with that part.) Here you go!

Brain Slug Baby Hat!

Barely breathing...

2009-12-29T14:27:00.002-04:00

but I made it, people. The holidays came and went (as did my in-laws), and I'm hoping that Santa was as good to you as he was to us. It appears that my brain went ka-blam-mo due to too much 'nog, and I have no pictures of Christmas knitting to show you. It seems that I forgot to take pictures of ANY of the things that I crafted. Final tally was: 1 scarf, 2 pairs of fingerless mitts, 1 Thermis, 1 hat, and 1 pair of penis mittens.

I was fortunate enough to receive lots of books. (Some crafting ones, some fiction.) Lots of yarn. Some lovely jewelery. A handbag. Lots of peace, love and joy. And. The. Awesomest. Thing. Ever.

DDR!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

Yeah, yeah. Go ahead and sling some ethnic stereotypes my way now. All I know is that I am one freakin' happy camper. And if things go the way I intend, I am going to learn how to play the game without feeling like I have penguin feet. (The dance mat takes a little getting used to.) I love Russell Peter's take on Asians and DDR. Here, watch. (NSFW due to language...)

That's a little better...

2009-12-14T14:16:00.002-04:00

This is the second mitten, and I learned quite a lot from it's completion.

One: When improvising a pattern, fer Pete's sake...look at other similar patterns so that you don't end up with Penishands.

Second: If improvising patterns, do not do so during a marathon session of Red Dwarf. The ensuing giggles will definitely distract you from the task at hand.

Third: Getting heavily into the Holiday Spirit(s) may also impair your ability to improvise said pattern. Regarding that last point...don't judge me too harshly, as my in-laws are coming for Christmas again this year. *sigh* The first mitten was ripped back and knit to match the second, and they've both been sent to my Mum, hopefully in time for the holidays. Canada Post is being a serious booger this season.

My swap package for the Shakespeare Swap has arrived! It was lovely, and there was clearly a lot of care put into this baby:

See that bag? Handmade, people. And it is the PERFECT size for my current FO, Thermis. And the scarf/shawl? Stunning. I am utterly charmed by this package and my faith in the Interwebs has been renewed. The holidays really are the most wonderful time of the year.

Sometimes, a mitten is just a mitten.

2009-12-08T14:18:00.002-04:00

Heeeeey, that's one good lookin' FO.

Nice view from the back too...

Uhm.

For those of you who don't have the mind of a 12 year old boy...would I be a total dickhead to give these mittens in the condition that they're in right now? I believe that this is what the Brits call a cock-up. Maybe make the flip top schlonger? Or should I just rip it back and start from the middle again? After all, there are hours of entertainment to be had making random penis jokes when staring at these mittens, and that's gotta be worth something. Yikes. Any suggestions?

Whaaaa?

2009-12-06T11:07:00.003-04:00

*Where* did November go?
Oh yeah, that's right.

Housewide H1N1 will do that to you. We were hit hard here, no need for the vaccination - we were immunized au naturelle. And of course, we managed to get sick the week before we left on holiday. Wonderful. But it was a great trip, as we were all healthy by the time we got on the plane. There were many bonfires in backyards, shopping, boardgames, shopping, and one unexpected FO.

While in TO, I was asked to knit a baby hat. So I made a little trip to the LYS from my parents place (Creative Yarns, great store!) and picked up a ball of Rowan Cashmerino for an Aviatrix hat.

It turned out nicely, and the only bad thing about it was that I was a dumbass and packed it in my luggage. So the hat is here with me and waiting to be matched with another hat for the recipient's older's sister before it's mailed off. I'm thinking Fish Hat.

I'm behind on Christmas knitting...as a pair of glittens were requested by my Mum. And seeing as how she gave birth to me and all that...she kinda takes priority here. I've now frogged three different mittens already in the search for the right one - Ysolda's Snapdragon mittens were too bulky and heavy. The Roman Holiday ones were too small. And the modified Cabobble mittens were too big. I am just having no luck with this project. Here's hoping that the Emerald Mitts will work.

And I appear to have lost a whole bunch of photos, including the ones I took of the swap packages that I sent out. So, I'm going to have to borrow some pics from the lovely recipients.

From the Odd Ducks group on Rav - for the Shakespeare Swap! A pair of socks knit in the Watchful Chaos pattern, a spindle bag sewn from silk brocade and lined with a crazy wild cotton print, various fibers including milk fiber, and an orifice hook made by me from sea glass I picked up on a walk at Lawrencetown.

Again, from the Odd Ducks group - for the Winter Sanity Swap. The idea was to prep a kit for your recipient to save them from the insanity of the holiday season. A pattern, and all the necessary accouterments needed to complete the project. As you can see, I had a fun time throwing in things into this package to help my spoilee get through the season.

Here's hoping that the packages I receive for these two swaps will also help me get though the season.

We decorated the tree and the house yesterday in anticipation of a winter storm blowing though the province. While it looks like it was decorated like a 6 year old high as a kite on a sugar rush was in charge...I love our tree this year. 'Cause if you're going to go geek, you'd better own it.

May the Force Be With You.

Ska in the most unexpected places...

2009-11-18T14:56:00.001-04:00

I know that babies shouldn't watch too much TV. But Miss E LOVES Yo Gabba Gabba...and as discussed last night with Calins, here's the ska segment that we were talking about. Here's to AWESOME kids tv, even if it is populated by freaky green monsters and orange talking dildos.

This is going to be quick...

2009-11-05T13:51:00.002-04:00

'cause I have a weather migraine coming on. Yuck. Even though it's bright and sunny (and freakin' COLD!), I'm unfortunately not enjoying it right now.

It's November, right? Which means that if we check down an entry or two, I had a whole list of stuff I wanted to get done. Aaaaaaaaaand? Did I get it done?

...

You bet your sweet ass I did. Observe.

Craft Hope blankie #1.

Craft Hope blankie #2.

I still can't quilt for shite...but at least I know now that I can't. And possibly, just might take a class on machine quilting in the near future.

Still haven't blocked the scarf. But am ALL DONE with my swap packages. (Yes, there are several.) I'll post pics once the packages are out in the big wide world. I loathe going to the post office with munchkins in tow, so I'll probably mail out things on the weekend.

And now? What's on the list for this month? A little travelling, (Yay for visiting hometowns!), a lot of reading (reviews to come soon), and holiday crafting. I can't believe I got suckered into it, but there you go. So here's the preliminary list:

Mittens for both of Mr. Munchkin's teachers. Possibly hats too. Seriously, if I had a pot of gold, at least half of it would be going to them - they're amazing and have really helped my little man by leaps and bounds. To say that I'm grateful has to be the understatement of the century.
Socks for me. (I did mention that it's friggin' cold all of a sudden, right?)
Socks for others.
Mittens for little hands.
A quilt for Mr. BHT's cousin who is expecting a girl in the depths of winter. Well, Texas winter. Does that even count as winter?

Yeah. The needles will be flying. Just like the snowflakes!

...

Ugh.

Progress report!

2009-10-26T11:55:00.002-03:00

So I said screw it with the sock design. I went through the entire Ravelry database of sock designs... all 8784 of them. Took 4 hours. And I found a winner!

Watchful Chaos pattern. The yarn is the "Life Aquatic" colourway in some very precious Sweet Georgia superwash sock. One is done, and the other is getting there. I had to rip the first one back after some seriously erratic cabling. As for the origin of the socks - my swap partner seems to be open to creative interpretation...so I looked at this picture of Miranda from the Tempest, and went from there.

Isn't it lovely? Living near the sea, we often go out to watch the waves after a storm. As someone who isn't accustomed to the sound and fury of the ocean (having not grown up here)... I think that Waterhouse did a wonderful job of capturing the terrifying effects of a powerful storm.

I chose to invoke the dichotomy of Caliban and Ariel in this bag instead of in the sock design.

The outside is silk brocade covered in butterflies, and the inside has a crazy cotton print. Air and the Corporeal, in the most broad of interpretations.

The Susan scarf is done. Just needs blocking. And I have a confession to make. I've never blocked lace before. So, I'm at a bit of a loss as to how to go ahead with this one. I suppose I'll just get some pins, a bucket of water and hope for the best.

And finally, the Craft Hope quilt.

As you might be able to see, it's not finished. I still have to do the binding - a pretty orange polka dot material has been selected, but not attached. I have to say, making this quilt (it's a crib quilt) has been a humbling experience. Before this, there wasn't a craft that I didn't immediately "get". But machine quilting this beast has been...a learning experience. Quite frankly, I suck at it. I actually have two crib quilts to finish - the other one is just pinned together layers at the moment - but they'll have to wait.

They'll have to wait because I have had my annual disaster - I sprained my ankle. Same one as always, the right one. And this time it wasn't entirely my fault. Y'see, Mr. Munchkin was in the bathroom, and decided that he wanted to help clean the floor. But he forgot to dry it up. So, I went in the bathroom (his "assistance" unbeknownst to me), promptly slipped on the massive puddle of water, slid across the tiles and slammed into the radiator on the far wall. At some point during my balletic glide across the floor, I hyperextended my foot and sprained the ankle.

So.

I'm sitting here quietly, knitting away and watching the girl happily having a tea party with her stuffies. It's not all bad.

Blue Bonnet

2009-10-15T10:58:00.007-03:00

It's done! Here's the hat for the beginner KAL over at DSD. And the pattern is as follows:

Blue Bonnet
Yarn: Malabrigo Chunky (bulky weight)

Needles: 6.5 mm (10 1/2 US)

Gauge: 16 sts = 4 inches, 23 rows = 4 inches

Size: This fits a child who wears a size 2.

Techniques used: knit, purl, 3 needle bind off

CO 54 sts.
K 2 rows
*(RS) Knit.
(WS) Knit 3 sts, purl until 3 sts remain, knit 3 sts.**
Repeat from * to ** until work measures 9.5 inches. End on a RS row.
(WS) Bind off, using 3 needle bind off method. The bonnet should be inside out while you are binding off.
Attach ties - measure a 2 feet long length of yarn, cut, and repeat 5 more times. Insert three of the pieces of yarn into each side of the bonnet (bottom corners) and braid them together. Repeat for the other side.

The little crochet flower is from this pattern. My crochet skills are cruddy after years of neglect, but these flowers are very easy. Attach the flower to the bonnet and you're done!

Maybe, Just Possibly...

2009-10-13T16:14:00.002-03:00

Overcommitted.

I've started knitting one of the three big projects for the swaps. It's for the Shakespeare swap, and I'm designing a pair of socks. (Wearable by human feet, with any luck.) Based on The Tempest, one of the socks will represent Ariel and the other will be Caliban. I'm still thinking of ways to depict the two of them, and I've gotten as far as a wing for Ariel, but am having a tougher time thinking of an icon for Caliban. Having a great time with this package - going to take the kids to the beach this weekend to look for sea glass to make into some cool jewelery.

I'm still knitting away on the Susan scarf, and have just agreed to run a beginner knitter knit-along on one of the boards that I frequent. And of course, being the weirdo perfectionist that I am...also agreed to design a pattern for the KAL. It will be a simple child's bonnet, knit in bulky weight. I'll post the pattern here and on the KAL simultaneously, once it's finished.

Also, if you haven't heard of Craft Hope yet, click on over. I've participated before on project 3, and project 5 has just been announced! This time around, it'll be very simple quilts for homeless children in the Michigan region. I've had a quilting itch for awhile, and I think that I'm going to try and satisfy it with this project. My machines are back from the spa and working better than ever. So, I'm ready to go.

So, final tally of stuff that has to be completed before November strikes:

Susan Scarf
Craft Hope quilt
Shakespeare Swap package - including sock design
Beginner KAL - including pattern design

Totally doable.

...

Right?

Hell, if I can get these done in a day, then anything crafty is possible.

Leafy Mitts. Love this pattern. Done in Malabrigo Bulky, which I think has been discontinued.

ARGH!

2009-10-07T13:33:00.003-03:00

I just noticed that all the emails that I wrote responding to comments on previous posts weren't sent! So I apologize if you were kind enough to write me a comment, and thought that I didn't respond. I did, I swear! *grumble* Somedays, I swear that technology isn't as helpful as I think it is.

Best Way To Start The Day...

2009-10-07T12:28:00.002-03:00

Because who doesn't love Gene Kelly? And the Beatles?

The knit mojo...

2009-10-05T10:59:00.004-03:00

it is back. Not as much sewing going on here. Last week Ms. Happy and the Mogrunt came on over and we made prefold diapers out of old t-shirts and flannel. (It's so cute - they're sock buddies! Check it out.)

Mega cute, right?

Unfortunately for me, the little miss decided that Mommy's sewing machine was absolutely fascinating. (It was in the dining room - but it's usually hidden away in my basement sewing corner.) Somehow she messed up the tension and timing BIG time. S'ok, both machines needed a tune up anyway and no one lost an eye. (I may have gained a white hair or two, but that's to be expected.) Now, the serger and sewing machine are both at the spa for a week. And they deserved it, as I was sewing a lot recently. I finished the project bag prototype:

I like it.

Not sure about the bottom yet, but I'm thinking of options. I also finished the McCartney socks for mah man.

I cast these on during the Paul McCartney concert here in Halifax and just never got around to finishing them until now. My handspun in merino/tencel from Funky Carolina. There are lots of mistakes in the first one, as I was knitting in the dark and was quite distracted by my rum and coke and the thrill of listening to "Back in the USSR" while sitting on my deck.

Last weekend, the family went to Moncton. Very cute town, it reminds me a bit of Kingston back in Ontario. Of course, we went to London-Wul. Nice shop, but a bit disappointing as there were no angora bunnies or sheep anywhere to be seen. Had to do a bit of yarn tourism, of course.

The pink one is merino/angora. The blue one is alpaca/merino/cashmere. And the fiber is camel/tussah silk. And pom-pom makers! I love these things.

The best part of travelling? Lots of knitting time during the drive.

Susan Scarf (ravelry link) in HA's Rapunzel (2ply worsted silk) for a very special lady. I knit quite a bit of this last night catching up on episodes of Flash Forward. I'm liking this show so far. I just hope it doesn't degenerate into WTF land like Lost did.

Swap Happy.

2009-09-27T13:42:00.003-03:00

So, over at Ravelry...I may joined a swap. Or two. Possibly three. Needless to say, this may be a case of me biting off more than I can chew, especially once you add Christmas shopping into the mix. (PSA: 12 weeks until gifts are due, people. Yikes.) But I'm slowly getting things done.

Christmas gifts for the ladies in my family this year are all coming from various etsy silversmiths. And as for the men? Well, I'm still wracking my brain on that account. This year, though...I refuse to knit gifts this year for anyone over the age of 10. The ratio of appreciation to work just isn't high enough to justify me wearing my fingers down to the bones.

And as for my swaps? I'm particularly excited about one of them - it's a swap based on Shakespeare! Partners haven't been handed out yet, but I'm already bursting with ideas. See, we have to include one big item (i.e. a hat/mitts/etc), a medium item (i.e. a skein) and two small items (i.e. chocolate, soap, tea, etc.). For the big item, I'm envisioning something really fun that involves beads and yarn. I'll keep you posted, as I may actually write this one up as a pdf pattern. Medium item will likely be a skein of handspun. I'll know what colour when I find out what my partner's preferences are.

For all three swaps, I will be sending stitch markers as part of the packages. So last night, I sat down and made up a bunch of prettiness.

See? Nice, eh? They're going to be hard to part with. I've also been sewing for the swaps, but I think that I'll save those pics until after the swaps are done. Y'know. Just in case. Wouldn't want to disappoint any one stalking me...

Righty-o, book reports!

2009-09-24T14:33:00.005-03:00

I've been delayed on this post - zip.ca has really stepped their game as of late, and we've actually been getting DVDs that we want to watch. Mind boggling, I know. And on we go...

The Other Boleyn Girl
Now, while I love me some historical fiction...this book was utter pap. I mean, sure there was a sprinkling of politicking and rollicking sex. But really? The characterisations of the real historical figures involved made me want to grind my teeth. I'm sure that it makes a good read, if you're mildly interested in Tudor era England. But for anyone not looking for a mindlessly diverting book for the beach, do stay away.

The Tenth Gift
This was a very ... odd book. Very cool, as it taught me that Barbary Corsairs raided the coast of England for slaves and to further their jihad. (Pirates! Who doesn't find those bastards fascinating?) The depictions of Morocco (both old and new) were intoxicating. Not to mention the fact that the use of embroidery as a constant motif throughout the book made me want to pull out my needles and threads. But all of this wonderfulness may be the reason why I felt so betrayed at the end of the book. Amazing beginning and middle...and a slap in the face at the end of the book. It's as if the writer realized that she didn't really know how to wrap up the story, and slapped a "conclusion" on the back of the manuscript. Finishing this book gave me a vaguely unsatisfied feeling by the end. Sort of like eating three eclairs and realizing that you really wanted a good steak.

The Zombie Survival Guide
Ok. I admit that I may be a little paranoid. But DUDE. If the zombie war comes...I am so going to have my titanium crowbar ready for action. This book written in a totally serious tone, which makes it even funnier. Every element of a zombie outbreak has been carefully considered, from the use of swords (take note: blades never run out of ammo) to the use of boats (don't do it - zombies apparently survive underwater). Very light reading, and awesome for feeding those late night "what if..." conversations.

The Alphabet Versus the Goddess
Written by a neurosurgeon (!), this book makes me happy because it's all about language and how it is at the root of cultural shifts. After years of having my English degree mocked (especially when I've just been trounced at Scrabble), it is *so* nice to read about how someone thinks that semiotics can change humanity. The notion that the shift from the visual to the abstract ways of processing information (i.e. pictograms to alphabet) has fundamentally changed the way that the brain processes information is awesome stuff for a geek like me.

The Sandman series
The first time that I read these comics/graphic novels was waaay back in high school. My then boyfriend introduced me to Neil Gaiman and the Incarnations, and it was probably the main reason that I think of him in a fondly manner. (No, not fondle-ly manner.) If you haven't read these yet, please do. They will seriously mess with your mind, in a good way. Last month, I was in Quantum Frontier looking at board games with the family (the current craze here is for Memoir 44) and the store had the whole Sandman series on the shelf. Total impromptu move, I pulled them off and bought the whole lot. Food for the soul.

I have more to write, but need to go and feed small people before they start to go feral. Oh wait. Judging from the condition of my bathrooms, that may have happened already. Ok then, off to retame the Wild Things before they start eyeing the cat in an unsavoury manner.

I Haz A Serious Happee...

2009-09-16T19:21:00.003-03:00

No book reviews today, and sorry about the LOLCat talk...but I am having a major consumer geekasm today. First up - boots.

Yes, they're synthetic leather. I. Don't. Care. OMG, I *so* don't care 'cause I love these boots so much. They make my little inner steampunk skip for joy. They're boots and spats all in one! I figure that I'm going Neo-Victorian what with the long gloves and all, so why not go all out? They're from Spring, fyi. I'm thinking that some corsetry action is in order after this acquisition.

Next up, the best ice cubes ever.

I found these at Alberto Lorenzo, a new store in Dartmouth Crossing. They also have iceberg/Titanic ice cube trays. I'm thinking that one might make really awful, nasty days much more palatable. "Take that, Leonardo! Under you go, Kate! Into the sea of Bailey's with you two!"

Yeah.

I'm a bad person.

Screw You Mother Nature...

2009-09-15T13:32:00.004-03:00

For I have finally figured out how to dress for the shite NS weather that you have been tossing my way lately.

It's too cold to just go around in a short sleeve shirt. Yet it's too hot to pop a sweater on top of said shirt. And halfway through the day, it'll change from cool to warm, so wearing a long sleeve shirt isn't going to work either. So, what's my genius solution? Gauntlets. Too cold? Pop 'em on and over the forearms. Too warm? Take them off!

And the best part? I get to wear my dragonscale gauntlets. (Red and orangey silk.)

Love love love these. But just never really found a reason to wear them out of the house. I originally knit them to keep my hands warm while playing WoW, but since I'm not playing anymore, they've been hidden in my desk drawer. A total shame, yes?

And I've discovered a personal truth...I am definitely a seasonal crafter. Sewing in the summer, and knitting anytime else. At some point, the sewing became a mild obsession. In particular, I've been sewing bags. Here, look.

My first box bag! Currently in use as a sock project bag, I used the tutorial from Three Bears. I think for the next box bag (oh yes, there will be more), I'll definitely interface it. Not sure if I'll line it, though. I forsee much fiddling in my future.

Placemat bags! Best dollar store upcycle ever. Thanks to the tutorial from Obsessively Stitching, a new obsession has been born. I mean, it all started so innocently...I just needed a book bag for my son, as he wanted a special bag for his trips to the summer book club at the local library. And then his best friend saw it and wanted one too. And then I realised over the course of the summer that the totes were a brilliant size for knitting bags. And market bags! And beach totes! And so on and so on.

These were made entirely from stuff from the Dollarama - 2 placemats for the sides, denim patches for the internal library card pocket, and a dismantled dog leash for the handles. The webbing from the dog leash is perfect, as it's not too stiff and it is certainly tough enough to handle anything a 6 year old can dish out. You should see the looks that I get at the checkout line when I buy several leashes at a time.

The red bag in the middle is my favourite - and the best part is that the pattern is available in red, blue, green, and orange! So yesterday I went to the store and picked up two placemats in each colour.

...

It's a sickness, I tell you. I have no idea what I'm going to do with these bags. But I *want* one in each colour.

Oh well, at least I'll be happy in my padded cell.

Next post, I'll be reviewing my summer reading list. I found some books that I'll definitely have on my re-read list, as well as some too-awful-to-toss-into-a-bonfire books.

Wax on, wax off.

2009-08-27T02:02:00.003-03:00

*stretches out*

Ahhhh.

It's nice to move into a new space. Give me some time to get settled in, and then we'll start the demolition.