Fiber Monday - Sunny Beret

 

In Which I Finished That Scratchy Hat!

So last week or so, I started working on a hat! This hat was actually a beret, and I was making it out of a particularly scratchy, weird yellow wool I'd bought ages ago and had no idea what to use it for.

Well...

That hat is done!

Yes, I had my boy Dedbert model the beret for you. Yes it's too big for him.

Blurry semi-action shot!

The beret actually feels pretty decent, though it's a tad big for me (which is weird, because I used the Small/Medium pattern, but my family tend to have small skulls, so there's that...), and you don't notice the scratchiness of that wool when it's on top of your hair. I really like the yellow color, and I kind of wish I had enough yarn to make another one for me, because that? That hat's going in the Sell Box for when I A) get my Etsy shop set up all the way, or B) Covid chills the heck out so I can maybe go to a craft fair!

I still have some of the yellow yarn left, but I think I might turn that into a handbag or a small yellow stuffed animal? Whatever I do with it, I think I have come to terms with its scratchiness against my fingers, and I'll be able to work it up much more quickly!

The reason this blog is up so late, by the way, is because somebody decided today was a writing day and wrote two pages towards the middle of their novel. Somebody is me. I wrote two pages of my novel. I'm in the thick of it now, and I'm super excited!

That'll about do it for me today, guys. Expect some extra writing tomorrow (particularly about my writing!).

Go Enjoy Something!

FC

Thursday Art Walk - Fall(ish)

 

It's A Very Fallish Day!

Today, it's a lovely cool day, though the clouds are quite threatening, to be honest. There's a steady breeze, the cat is... in a mood, but that's normal, and I'm finally comfortable. We just came off a week of temperatures in the upper 70s to low 80s (23.8℃-28℃), but today it's a cool, comfortable 67℉ (19.4℃) and I couldn't be happier with it. I'm actually wearing pants. It's awesome.

Because I'm in a comfortable mood today, I decided to go outside my comfort zone a bit and draw something I could actually see instead of making things up:

"Above the Sink"; graphite on sketchpad, 2020

This is a very closeup view of what's sitting above my sink, though I turned the candle into a coffee mug lol. The tiny pot of orchids sits next to a little soapstone bear that my mother got a long time ago, and he sits next to a plain white candle (in case my mother's feeling a little... pyrophillic while she does the dishes). There are other things up there, a small statuette of two birds on a log that can be lit from the inside with tealights is a little way away from the orchids, and on the other side of the candle are a corked bottle of sea glass and a cat grass planter with a tiny egg-shaped piece of sea-tumbled granite in between.

It's what I see every day during my coffee time. It's very, very familiar to me.

I plan on scanning the image onto my computer later, maybe playing around with my tablet and coloring it in? The orchids are such a bright fuchsia and the pot has a lavender top, but the rest are all... gray or white, to be honest. It's not a very dynamic color pallet lol.

Speaking of dynamic color pallets...

Portrait of an Artist Round the Bend

I just couldn't resist sharing this family portrait of myself in my cozy new flannel shirt, my boy Dedbert, and our crocheted pumpkin, Lenny (I just made that up, the pumpkin doesn't actually have a name). I know most of the people who read this blog are friends or family in my real day-to-day life, but just in case, I'm... not ready for a face reveal on the blog. Another time, perhaps lol!

So that's today - a cool, calm day of coffee and art. And trying to give my cat her allergy pill (which I failed at and now I feel guilty for stressing her out and also failing to get her allergy meds into her...) but that's not really germane to this blog lol!

Also, you may have notice that I've missed a couple of Tuesdays lately? That's because I'm usually quite busy on Tuesdays, now. I think I'll start writing my Talk-About-Tuesdays on Monday night and just publishing them when I get up - that way I'm not just posting two blogs a week!

Anyway, that'll about do it for me. My coffee is empty, and I feel like snuggling into my sheets for either a nap or just a nice snuggle session with Dedbert and a copy of Dashiell Hammett's novels.

Go Enjoy Something!

FC

Fiber Monday - Using Up The Scratchy Yarn

In Which I Worked On Something Different

Back when Over the Rainbow Yarn was open, I would pick up anything I could, especially on sale. Sometimes, that meant a sweet bunch of lime green or cerulean Uptown Worsted, and sometimes it was the lovely merino lace I'm using for the DA Lady Sibyl shrug... but sometimes it was on sale for a good reason. Take this bright yellow wool yarn, for instance...

Well, it's really more... mac & cheese/goldenrod colored in real life

It's... scratchy. Extremely scratchy. Unpleasantly so. So what do you make out of something that's a color most people would cringe at and a texture that only a crocodile could love?

Uh...

I decided to try making a beret. Specifically this one.

Do I know if it'll work? No. Do I know if it'll feel fine when worn? Nope. Do I worry that it'll be worthless and I've wasted hours of my life on an unusable hat? Kinda, but not really. Why? Because I can always frog it out if I fail.

Btw, I recently learned that "Frog" is a verb in knitting & crochet meaning "to break down a project back into its yarn". I've had to do that with this yarn several times. The good news is that every time I frog the project, the yarn gets a little softer, which gives me hope that with time (and probably a good washing or three) it'll be more comfortable.

I had to frog and restart because I forgot to read the instructions lol

So that'll probably do it from me, today. I'm a little tired, I need to pee, my partner is trying to sing a song about me to the tune of Marc Mero's theme (which is a little alarming because I do not at all look like Little Richard...). Now I'm off to see what I can snack on before I continue making this beret :)

Go Enjoy Something!

FC

Thursday Art Walk - A Case of The Mondrians

 

In which I am workin hard on everything I've got!

I am not usually much of an abstract artist. I don't really have any kind of connection or reaction to the more famous pieces, but boy do I love me some Mondrian (and some Pushing Up Roses)!

So to that end, I worked on this today:

"Mondrianish Study In Plaid"; digital; 2020

I'm not 100% sure about it, tbh. I think I should remake it and try a few more ways to get the color on. Preferably ones that don't take 5 hours without breaks. I really have to pee and I'm super hungry.

But yeah, if you think the name Mondrian sounds familiar, you've probably seen his work before. He's the guy who did the Yellow/Blue/White squares!

Since I tend towards a more subdued pallet in my daily life, that's what I went for here - desaturated colors, strong black lines. Except I forgot to turn Antialising off. So it's blurry. Ah well. For a first try, it's not bad!

I am going to go catch up on the world news. I hear someone was arrested by postal service agents on a yacht.

Life is strange.

Go Enjoy Something!

FC

Fiber Monday - Rockin the Progress

 

I Actually Got Some Work Done!!!

It's been a while since I worked on the Downton Abbey Lady Sibyl shrug, but I've been working on it today and yesterday, so here's a scrunched up progress shot for you!

It's not too much, but it's progress!

As you can see, it's still a bright shade of salmon, it's still lacy, and it's still not done, but never fear. With the power of video game music and moderate exercise, I am going to finish this!

This morning, I rediscovered my love of the Secret of Mana soundtrack - not the HD "Remaster" that blanded-up the music, either, the OG Soundtrack with it's completely insane boss battle theme.

Specifically "The Oracle", the theme for the Lich King.

This song absolutely slaps as the kids say.

And I may have been playing it for everything I do. Want to crochet for a full 15 minute block? Play the song. Want to get a good workout in? Play the song and move to it (stand like you're hip-firing a pair of chainguns and move to the music, it'll give you a good workout, I promise). Want to wake ALL THE WAY UP?! Play the song at top volume. You will not fall back asleep.

In a lot of ways, "The Oracle" is like MSG. It's like music on crack. It makes everything better. You have baby? Have baby listen to "The Oracle" it become better baby.

But seriously, that's been my day.

That and obsessively checking in on Baby Joey...

So how has your day been going? Get any work done on your own fiber projects? Get any writing or reading done? Seen any adorable animals, funny comedians, or cool games lately? Listen to any good music?

If not, then...

Go Enjoy Something!
FC

Thursday Art Walk: Getting Chunky With It

Yes, It Took 3 Days To Recover

So... I ate a lot of sushi, and then I followed it up with some of the spiciest noodles I've had in a while! If you get those (I recommend giving your business to a local Asian market if possible!) then I hope you're able to digest milk proteins because A) it contains powdered mozzarella (?!) and 2) you need more cheese. I hate drinking milk, but they were so hot that I had to just do it. Not that I could taste the milk with how hot the noodz were...

Anyway, so I've been a bit... stuffed recently.

Hence today's artwork: 

"Oinker" Digital art; 2020

Is it the most complex art I've ever done? No. Did I whip it out in about 20 minutes using a touchpad because I didn't want to run upstairs for my awesome tablet and I'm working on a more complex sketch for hopefully next week? Yes.

It also describes perfectly how I feel. Full, porky, and very, very pleased with myself.

So if you've maybe overdone it this week, don't worry - you're not alone, and sometimes a little overindulgence is what you need to jumpstart your ability to take care of yourself properly. For instance, today I did situps in the air conditioned room across the hall to offset the feasting this week lol!

The point of living is in and of itself - living. You cannot live without joy, and if the best joy you can find right now are stir-fried instant noodles and videos about snakes, then that is what you should do! If it's books and mochi, do that. If it's dance, then dance, and if it's laying on the floor and watching the ceiling fan spin while your cat kneads your stomach then do that. You can't be productive if you're miserable, so definitely:

Go Enjoy Something!

FC

So Full of Sushi!

 

"Too Full of Sushi" MS Paint 2020

Oh man... I'm not gonna try to tell you some tale of being too busy to crochet - the tiny picture says it all.

I gorged myself on spicy tuna, fried chicken, and beef bulgogi today.

I promise you, I did crochet this week...

I'm just so full, and so, so sleepy lol!

So I wanted to let you guys know why Fiber Monday didn't really happen - I was stuffing myself and shopping for Asian Noodles (while practicing social distancing, increased hygiene, and wearing a mask at all non-face-stuffing times. In short - I'm feeling fat tonight, so no crochet :P

I'll probably blather some more tomorrow :)

Go Enjoy Something!

FC

Thursday Art Walk - Feline Escape Artists

In Which I Have Sketched A Kitty!

Oh man, guys, I love my cat. She's adorable, she's been super snuggly lately, and her tongue-bleps are adorbs. She's just so cute! Love the kitties.

Except for one small problem.

Evie loves to try to escape.

I ordered a pizza today and had to go toss her in my mom's room or she'd have bolted when I opened the front door! She was... not happy with me when I let her back out (don't worry, it was literally 3 minutes, I timed it). So I gave her a little bacon as an apology.

Her desperation to escape is fairly ridiculous, since 1) we have large predators around here who could eat her in two bites, 2) she is literally afraid of the wind and we're having 20mph (21kph) gusts right now, and 3) she cannot climb down from trees when she goes up them. This is why she is not permitted outside unchaperoned. Poor baby.

But her eagerness to experience the summer firsthand inspired me! So have a picture of Captain Killstreak, the talking cat from my coffee-shop-wizard-story, trying to sneak outside:

"Escape Attempt" pen & graphite sketch; 2020

Captain Killstreak is a lilac point Scottish Fold/Himalayan mix. He's floofy, stumpy, grumpy, and cute. In Tim-the-magical-barista's defense, he simply adopted a tiny stray he found in the alley behind the coffee-shop he used to work at - he wasn't looking for some kind of designer kitty! Still, the little guy is a terror, murderizing any bugs who get in the apartment and constantly trying to get outside. Once Tim starts understanding Cap, he feels a pang of guilt over getting him snipped and chipped, but thankfully it was early enough that Cap doesn't really remember, and he doesn't miss his bits (he's noticed that Toms tend to have a hard time thinking clearly, after all...).

But enough about a story that's months away from my workstation!

How has your guys' week been going? Have you had any artistic bursts?

If you haven't yet, go try to doodle something! It's fun!

Go Enjoy Something!

FC

Talk About Tuesday - Insomnia, Sunburns, and Happiness

In Which Today Was Long But Also Nice

I've been up since... well... yesterday really - not a whole lot of sleep the last few nights. It's a struggle to make myself sleep most of the time, but I can feel it breaking tonight. I'm pleasantly sleepy without being exhausted.

As for the sunburn... I went to the beach a couple days ago (there weren't too many people, we were all 10' or more apart), and despite the sunscreen I wore, my chest, shoulders, and back got roasted. I am very pink today, and everything is itchy and sore. Still, I got to find a bunch of hermit crabs and there was a small fish that kept nibbling on my toes, so that was a good time :)

I got to eat so much good food today, though, guys. So much good food. I had some spicy tuna rolls from the local grocery store (nowhere near as good as at Suzuki's, but I had neither money nor time to pick up amazing fresh sushi today, and I needed some spicy tuna in my life). I had some chocolate pocky. I had some awesome peanut noodles from Taste of Thai with some Big Katsu tonkatsu jerky cut up in it (and boy was that awesome!). I had chocolate covered espresso beans. I had roast chicken with mashed potatoes and string beans.

In short, I'm pleasantly full after a very tasty day.

I played Breath of the Wild, I watched my partner play (I think) No Mercy on the N64. I watched YouTube vids. I wrote and helped my partner write.

Today was a good day!

Except for the weather.

Now don't get me wrong - the temperature today was perfect. It was warm but not hot, humid but not sticky. The problems really only started tonight - high winds, intermittent downpours, mist, fog, steam... it is messy out there. The local power company is bot-calling people to warn them ahead of time about the possible outages

Usually a storm like this seems to reset the weather to a more comfortable state, but not this one. No, sir. This one will squall all night, and then the rest of the week should be pretty gross.

So I am not looking forward to overheating and sweltering after such a messy night as this.

But...

I'm feeling pretty dang content right now.

I may have died less than halfway through the Middle Trials of the Sword, but I got writing done, I did some crochet, and I cuddled my cat.

I spent time with someone I love.

Today was a good day.

I'm not gonna go full Ice Cube on you (I'm no where near as cool as him...), so I leave you with this:

• Tomorrow I will sleep in.
• Thursday I will draw.
• Who knows about this weekend.
• Monday I will crochet.
• Next Tuesday I will blather.

That'll about do it for me tonight.

Good night!

Go Enjoy Something!

FC

Fiber Monday - Heat Induced Mania

In Which I Am Bananas

Let's face it. I'm not built for heat and humidity.

And yet, that's just the way things have been this past month. Today it's 89℉ (~32℃), though apparently only 39% humidity? I... have my doubts.

I also have a sunburn because I went to the beach yesterday and waded around in shorts and a tanktop. I didn't have enough sunscreen, so despite the cloud cover, I came home radiating heat and cherry-toned lol. Mostly, it just itches, thankfully, so that's good.

The bruise on my thigh continues to clear very slowly, but that's to be expected. It feels smoother after its soak in the ocean yesterday, too.

But you're not here to listen to me blather about skin problems, you're here about crochet!

And I did manage to do some work this week - more than I worried I'd be able to!

Just... not what I'm supposed to be working on.

Any guesses?

Once upon a time, before the days of Quarantine and COVID-19, I would go to my local bookstore and look at their selection of fiction, knick-knacks, silly punny socks and totes, and yes, occasionally, I'd look for crochet books.

See, crochet books? They're expensive. If you want to get them, it's best to get them from a secondhand store. Now, during one of these pre-plague visits (in fact, years ago!), I found this book:

Which I highly recommend

In this book, there's a bunch of very weird amigurumi designs, and I'm working from the one on the top-right ;)

That's right, Cthulhu rises from the YarnCave.

Anyway, I'm pretty beat right now - it's been two fairly sleepless nights due to the spider in my room continually escaping and lying in wait - so I'm probably gonna go upstairs and fry in the heat, maybe take a nap, I dunno lol :)

Go Enjoy Something!

FC