Ahoy!

My mom is the crafty sort and I’ve been promising her to take pictures of the stuff she’s made for me for too long now. I’m a slacker. I did take the pictures forever ago, just didn’t get around to posting them. So here is one.

This is the most famous of her presents. My pirate bag has gotten tons of attention and she’s had to make several more for family.

Isn’t he a swarthy fellow? And check out the pirate booty button.

Now, the back was supposed to say “Ye! Intruders beware!” Instead, she used an online translator to put it into french. Now it says “Intruders of Ye Beware!” Those evil Intruders of Ye!

Plus? Skull lining!

It’s even cooler because I have a mini-duffle bag that matches.

Keep in mind, these pictures were taken after about two years of heavy use. I used it as a book bag for a long time, so it’s a bit fuzzy. Still, it’s one of my favorite bags. What do you think?

T-Shirt Quilt

I’ve been talking about making a t-shirt quilt for years. Mostly, it might have been an unconscious way of letting myself off the hook for never throwing anything out. Within the last year or so, I actually got serious about it, laying out little plans for what I should do. You’ll all be proud to know that a month or two ago, I actually started.

I tackled a mound of t-shirts, made the cutout and sew templates, and carefully cut them all. I have enough now for a small blanket. This got rid of a “never started” project pile and turned it into a “to-do” project pile. The best side effect of this was that this new pile is smaller and will pack better, because I doubt I’ll finish it before I move. We’ll see.

Of course, it might not have taken as long if a certain cat hadn’t thrown up on them and then I had to wash them and now I have to IRON them so they don’t curl and no I’m totally not kidding. I hate my cats.

But! I do have a whole new stack of shirts I had no idea I “owned”. My mom’s apparently been hiding t-shirt all the way back from elementary school. And now I’ll cut them into tiny pieces. Soon.

New Meat

Two New Projects

Can you really believe I’m that dumb? It’s true! I’ve added two more projects for Xmas presents. Alright. In all fairness, one was already on the list but now I’ve gotten the stuff together to do it. The other… well I think it’s a great idea. At least, I think it’s a great idea right now. No telling how I’ll feel about that near the holidays.

Challenge Update: So far, so good. I’ve gotten a ton of stuff already out the door, about to be out the door, and forming a queue by the door. A whole bin of that stuff is fabric. I’m think of either selling the vintage stuff or doing a give-away/raffle. What do you guys think? I’d love to give it to someone who’d use it as opposed to just Goodwill or someplace. Let me know.

Anyways, this was a quickie because I’ve got a to-do list to get to and some serious, well-deserved relaxation time. Until tomorrow!

Super Secret Project Errata

Now, the first time I ran through this project, I knew I made mistakes. So many in fact that it was necessary to frog. On this second run through, I fixed the most glaring mistake. Great. However, there are those rows where my stitch count is off. I’ve assumed this to be my fault because it’s so easy to do that with so many yarn overs.

That is until I did the math. I was quite sure that I had done one row right. I had studiously counted and recounted and used pretty much every stitch marker I owned but it still wasn’t adding up. The pattern is wrong. I know, shock! terror! But really, we come to trust patterns. They’re our friends. But if this one line was wrong, what about all those other rows? Was it me? Was it the designer? How will this affect the overall pattern? Wah!

I think, because I’m sort of obsessive, after I finish the project, I’ll point out any wrong rows. I don’t know enough to fix them, but they’ll be there in case anyone is smart enough. In the meantime, watch this (especially you, mom).

Craft Supplies I Will Not Craft With

Yes. It’s sad but true: I’m recycling. Okay, that’s not the sad part. What is, however, is that there are certain supplies I’ve been saving since I moved here to do something special with. Of course, seeing how I haven’t yet, I talked myself into the recycling route. It’s good for the environment, good for clearing out junk, and I can get them again when I move.

Like these 6-pack holder things. As I gently laid them in the recycling box, I finally figured out what I wanted to do with them. Purses. And what to do it with. Clear vinyl. So simple.

Goodbye, my loves. Goodbye.

The paper box was next to the 2 bottle boxes. I decorated with some, including my pretty blue bottle set that looked lovely with morning sunshine glowing through them. *sigh* Others were meant for a curtain valance project I never got around to (don’t ask). But they’re going to a better place. Well, anywhere out of my place is better at this point.

I’m even, shock! horror!, recycling these cut up magazines. They’ve been gutted for the pages I wanted to keep, then stacked in this box to be dealt with. I wanted to make a small trash can cover with them, a la this. Don’t have the time, but ONE DAY!

Please be proud of me because this hurts my tiny crafting soul.

Also, thank me for not putting up an Achy, Breaky Heart video. You’re welcome.

Halloween Costume

Or, Princess Fifi Says Hi.

Look at ME!

This should totally be my everyday look. I was going for a pin-up girl thing, but think I ended up more just rockabilly. Or an extra from Grease. Either way it was fun and I got a lot of compliments on it. Of course now I wish I’d gotten a close up of my makeup, preferably in daylight, because then the real genius of Fifi could have been admired. Oh, and the hair. I had the height going on top, plus curls in the back and the flower. Yes.  Seriously, I did grey smokey eyes AND fake lashes. Really.

Sorry. I just had to show off a bit. And show my mom. Laters.

November Challenge

October’s gone? *fretfretfret* Well, my October challenge went well: do something every day to get towards your goal. Yay. Luckily, I spent most of October setting things in motion. I’ve got my career search on the way with the help of the career services department. I’ve got several projects and tests with built in study groups ready to go. Now the biggest thing holding me back is the apartment (and the not having a job). My lease is up in two months and it looks like I’m running a warehouse for a small country.

Therefore, November’s challenge is to do NaBloPoMo!

You’re probably wondering what the hell that has to do with my apartment. Really? Nothing. But being forced to post or at least feeling forced is a good motivator for me. Plus, I can bore you with pictures of my real November Challenge: get rid of one thing every day. Give it away, sell it, trash it, re-gift it, I don’t care. I can even set it aside for the weekend to do away with at one time, but it’s got to go.

I’ve already started actually. In October, I freecycled like a bitch. I also have a huge bin ready to donate, several boxes to recycle, trash bags full of junk, and more ready to get me some money. Yay for no stuff!

But if you know of any entry level management analysis positions around… that might help more.

Super Secret Xmas Present

Nearly two years in the making! Is this an FO post? Of course not. Do you think I’m actually done with this? No. But I am working on it again. And everyone knows about.

“Remember that Christmas present thing I told you about? Started working on it again. But I can’t tell you about it.”

Can I tease you just a bit?

From Whence It Came

Oh.

 

Oh yeah.

 

Yes!

 

OMG a UFO!

Give me more!

Sorry.

On paper, I’m so close to 2/3 done. In reality…. it’s a bit less than that. Increasing stitch counts and all. But this is the year! It was meant for last Christmas. Now it’s meant for this Christmas. Help me. Help me!

October Challenge and Freak Out

As you can probably guess from the last post, my September challenge was a smashing success. Princess Fifi has decided to move into my spare room and badger me at will. We’re very happy together. However, I’m still freaking out with the end of the semester drawing to a close. Especially now that I’m having so many problems with a particular class that I’m worried about actually being able to graduate now.

So in honor of this, my monthly challenge is to do something to move myself forward every day. Vague? Hell yes. I have so many areas that need work that I’m hoping this will help instead of just confuse and annoy me. Right now, it’s going pretty well and I’m hoping it will improve.

Another thing I’m freaking out about is Chrismas. I’ve started rewriting my gift list. Again. Yeah. I have two “large” projects and a handful of smaller ones. The large ones are knit as well. Of course, one is that secret big project that I’ve been working on for nearly two years now. This year is the year. Stop laughing.

Now go watch this video.

Huh?

Where did September go? Seriously! One minute I’m getting all swamped with homework and work work and fretting over the perfect mascara and now it’s almost done. Crap crap crap.

This is bad, yo. I mean, it’s not like Godzilla stomped on the city bad, but still. I’m one month closer to graduation with only one job lead, and the time I should be spending on job searching will be spent on getting through classes. Okay, yeah, and learning to properly straighten my hair. I’m not a saint.

Really, everything is about to get stressful if I don’t get off my slowly-becoming-toned butt. I have three months. What to do, what to do… I have to get through school. I have to make money at the job to eat. I have to find a real job for when I really have to eat. I have to get ready to move. Right. So any suggestions? Next months challenge needs to be something productive-like.

Until I figure that out, please disregard my freak tantrums and watch this. It’s Michael McIntyre, my new favorite comedian.