Talk About Tuesday

 

In Which Tuesday Happened lol

I mentioned yesterday that a lot happened between last Tuesday and this Tuesday, so I shall explain a bit, though it will likely be as disjointed as usual since my brain is, predictably, pudding.

I mentioned some crochet related stuff yesterday, but that's all in yesterday's blog, so go ahead and check that out if you're curious about bag design and Gordon the Gordian Knot.

As for the other things I mentioned, here you go.

I helped my mother make boiled frosting on Sunday. It was not easy, since we don't have an electric hand mixer, and one of the things you have to do with boiled frosting is beat at rapid speeds over high heat. Being a generally helpful person, I offered to help do the mixing. I've whipped dalgona coffee by hand before, so this shouldn't be too different, right?

Wrong.

Whipping room temperature coffee to soft peaks is vastly different from standing over a double boiler in August while rapidly sloshing around egg whites and sugar with a whisk.

So I asked if we still had the immersion blender. Similar action, right? Rapid mixing and aeration, right?! We did have it, but I had forgotten the blasted thing is slightly broken in that it does not stay running, you have to hold the button down the whole time. It... mostly worked, but the problem quickly became that it was not working fast enough, so...

We moved the double boiler off the stove and under the stand mixer.

Problem:

Stand mixers have locking bowls for a reason, and the pot from the double boiler does not lock down.

Second Problem:

My mom is left handed. I am right handed. The controls are on the left side of the mixer.

Needless to say, there was a minor incident that splattered the entire kitchen in soft-peaked egg whites and sugar. It also spattered me. The pot holders my mom was using to help hold the pot still were completely slathered in the frosting.

But the frosting got made! And as hot and frustrating as the process was, it was really fun to problem-solve with my mom. We mostly just snark at things together, so trying to figure something out was cool, and, even better, it worked!

And so did my attempt to clean the pot holders! I took them outside, tossed them on the driveway, and grabbed the garden hose. It had a gentle shower attachment on it for watering my mother's gardens (she's got some really nice roses and other flowers going right now!), so I popped that off and used my thumb to pressurize the stream. Within a few minutes all of the frosting was off the pot holders and my thumb was wrinkly lol.

I also tried some fruit from a fruit salad my mom was eating and discovered that, yeah, it would seem I'm still allergic to melons. Your mouth shouldn't burn like you've licked the side of a tea kettle when you eat melons, apparently.

So that was my kitchen adventures this week!

I also mentioned spiders yesterday.

I have a single window in my room, and in that window, I have a fan. When I use that fan to bring air into my room, sometimes insects, usually gnats, come in. I don't like bugs in my bedroom, so when I have spiders that move in on the far side of my room I'm perfectly okay to let them stay there. They're paying rent. They stay.

They're also usually about the size of a polystyrene pellet - the kind that were inside Beanie Babies in the 90s.

Night before last, I came into my room after 10PM and there was a much larger spider, about the size of a dime, legs included, on my ceiling. It was too late to grab the vacuum, and then it crawled to the Spider Acceptable side of the room, so I left it. It's still sitting above the far corner of my window. If it decides to move, I will be forced to evict it.

I'm down with feeding spiders with the bugs from my fan.

Not with my own flesh.

Anywho, the third thing I mentioned was how awesome my friends are. Over the course of about 4 hours, my friends found out my guy needed a new bed, found a bed online, picked it up, and then helped him get it inside and set up! Seriously, they're some of the best human beings on earth! What a turnaround!

Now as for today, I must regretfully confess that I did... nothing. I did absolutely nothing.

I woke up at a reasonable hour, drank coffee, and then I checked the temperature and it was already 77℉/25℃ at 9AM. I was not going to go for a walk. I was right to stay in. I wilt in high temperatures and it was 83℉/28,3℃ with 72% humidity this afternoon. I'd have been truly miserable. Instead, I stayed in and pretended I was going to finish detangling Gordon the Gordian Knot. It did not happen.

I watched some YouTube vids, cuddled the cat, and drank more coffee, but today was entirely unproductive with this blog post as the only exception.

Hopefully the next week has me do these things:

• tomorrow I'd like to paint something - if you want to have a say in that something, drop me a donation on Ko-Fi with a message letting me know what category (Animal, Vegetable, Mineral, Dedbert, Word, Geometric, Location)!
• Thursday I'll post a blog with the art!
• Maybe I'll talk tea on Sunday? I'd like to start talking about tea.
• If there's a quiet, cooler day this week, I'd like to take a walk. If I do, I'll try to remember my Goblin's Purse from yesterday and then take a pic of whatever I find lol!
• Next Monday I'll have something yarn/crochet related
• Next Tuesday I'll blather at you some more!

For now, however, I'm going to relax and rest and hope that the spiders respect my personal space.

Go Enjoy Something!

FC

Fiber Monday

 

In Which I Have Speedy Little Updates

This week has been... a lot.

It hasn't been bad, don't get me wrong. I've been fairly productive by my standards and nothing tragic has befallen me, but boy has there been more activity than I'm used to.

I'll probably get more into it tomorrow, but for now I'll just say this:

Boiled frosting is hard to make.

Spiders don't care how hard it is for you to sleep when they're over your head.

Scrap Yarn is just another opportunity.

Gordian Knots can be unraveled without cutting them (or at least, I'm pretty sure they can)

Good friends are the best.

For today, however, I'll just talk about the Yarn and the Knot!

Behold The Goblin's Purse!

Last night, I was listening to some music and trying to avoid a spider on my ceiling, so I decided to use up a tiny amount of blue thread I had leftover from a long while ago! I started my pouch based off this Treasure Pouch Pattern by Pahavit's Universe, but I had misread what kind of thread they were using, and they were using a Size 3 thread for their 2.25mm hook and I was using the 2.25mm hook on a 10 weight thread.

This meant that when I reached the recommended stitch-count circumference, my pouch was... itty-bitty. We're talking "won't fit over an American Girl Doll's hand" small. The pouch I ended up with is small, make no mistake, but it's at least large enough to hold a small handful of coins, some shiny rocks, or whatever other minor detritus you might scoop up on a walk if you, like me, are a cross between a crow and a goblin creature, hence why I'm calling it The Goblin Purse.

R1: Make a magic ring, then sc 6 stitches into the ring, close it. Do not turn work, do not chain. Work in continuous spiral rounds. (6sc)

R2: 2sc in each sc around (12sc)

R3: (2sc in next sc, sc in next sc) around (18sc)

R4: (sc in next sc, 2sc in next sc, sc in next sc) around (24sc)

R5: (2sc in next sc, sc in each of next 3 sc) around (30sc)

R6: (sc in each of next 2 sc, 2sc in next sc, sc in each of next 2 sc) around (36sc)

R7: (2sc in next sc, sc in each of next 5 sc) around (42sc)

R8: (sc in each of next 3 sc, 2sc in next sc, sc in each of next 3 sc) around (48sc)

R9: (2sc in next sc, sc in each of next 7 sc) around (54sc)

R10: (sc in each of next 4 sc, 2sc in next sc, sc in each of next 4 sc) around (60sc)

R11-25: sc in each sc around (60sc/round 900sc total)

At this point you can either continue adding rounds in 60sc increments or do what I did and finish it off. I chose to finish mine in a crab stitch, which is, as best as I can describe, a single crochet, but backwards? There are other people who can describe how to do this stitch. I am not one of them. You can finish it however you like! Remember to weave in your tails!

To make the bag cinch shut, you take two strands of thread or cord and sew them through the top of the bag to make a drawstring. Then tie the ends. I put my threads over two stitches and then under two stitches around.

After you have your drawstring in, if you want to add the little wrist strap that I have on there, you just find the opposite side of your bag from where the drawstring comes out, and put your hook through the holes to either side of an sc. Then attach your thread and chain as many chains as it takes to get your hand through, slip stitching back into the same stitch you chose. If my instructions aren't clear enough, I 100% understand, and it's absolutely fine to, say, make a loop of chain stitches that your hand fits through, and then sew that to the back of the bag. You can even add a cute button or bead to hide your sewing!

At this point, you have a fun little goblin bag to take out adventuring with you! If you make one of these, feel free to @ me on Twitter with pics of the bag and any trinkets you collect in it! I'm hoping to take it out for a spin maybe tomorrow or Wednesday :)





Now, as for the Gordian Knot I mentioned...

You see, I have a tangle of yarn that has become a bit of a recurring character here on the blog, and its name is Gordon. Gordon is a large quantity of what I think is a DK weight acrylic yarn. I have had it for years and never have I ever been able to detangle it.

This week, however, I've really been working hard on him and...

I think we're getting close!

Gordon has gone from being a pile of yarn that pooled to a width that dangled over my tv tray or totally filled a 12" cube to a ball the size of a very large cantaloupe, a tangle the size of a grapefruit, and after finally locating his other end, a small pile of spaghetti in a paper bag.

Not a particularly overlarge paper bag, either.

So I'm thinking that this is Gordon's last week as a mess. Next week, he'll be one ball. And after that? Well... I don't know, but he's kinda scratchy, so maybe he's not going to become anything that'd touch skin. I would like to use my 3.75mm hook on him, so I'll go hunting on Ravelry or elsewhere on the interwebs. If you have any suggestions for what appears to be approximately an entire mile of primary blue yarn in about a DK weight, I'd love to hear from ya!

I think that'll about do it from me tonight. I'm tuckered out, and I hope you appreciated the linked and free patterns!

Go Enjoy Something!

FC

Thursday Art Walk

 

In Which I Have Painted

I hoped this week that getting my painting done on Wednesday would mean the blog going up before 3PM, but... I'm sometimes quite tortoise-y and forget to actually start the typing. for instance, this blog page got opened an hour ago, and I'm just now adding text lol!

In my defense, however, there was another kerfuffle with the scanner(s), and frankly, I am shocked that I'm even conscious after all the running around I had to do.

See, our scanners and printers (multiples because my dad does a bunch of stuff for his hobbies/extra work like managing the music for the jazz band and keeping track of memberships for his small country golf course) are all in the basement, and I don't know how to use half of them because my brain is a sack of pinkish pudding in a bone-bowl 90% of the time. I work from an upstairs bedroom, and the living room and kitchen are between the scanners and myself.

This means that I have to go up and down two sets of stairs with two social spaces between. If someone's in the living room or kitchen (a fair bet after 11AM), then I'm going to get distracted. Even if no one's there, I still get distracted because coffee is delicious and my will is weaker than a tissue paper bridge over an arroyo during flood season. Add to that the fact that my memory is about as good as that of a 1989 computer whose CMOS hasn't been changed in the intervening years, and you've got a frazzled, coffee-soaked artist who keeps forgetting artworks either upstairs or in the cellar.

And then you add in the fact that sometimes the scanner just... won't work.

I've noticed that the first time you try to scan something from the black scanner, it freezes on the computer end, but the scanner is still trying to work, so you can't actually just... restart the scan. You have to get up from the computer, go down to the cellar, manually cancel the scan, go back upstairs, then restart the preview from there, reset the parameters, and pray that the darn thing scans.

"But Casual," you may ask, "Why not bring your computer to the scanner so it's easier to troubleshoot?"

Well....

Uh...

Okay, I'll be real, I never think to do that, but mostly that's because of my abysmal luck with batteries failing at important junctures.

Also I'm terrified of the cellar spiders and don't like to be down there any longer than I have to.

And the lights turn off from the top of the stairs only, so if someone doesn't hear me down there, they might turn off the lights and I'm a wimpy little wiener who's still scared of the dark.

And now you know my deepest secrets...

Anywho, here's what I worked on this week!

"Sketches" Watercolor; 2022

This piece is a small warmup where I was picking which category I wanted to go with this week! The shapes represent the GEOMETRIC category, the little cottage is LOCATION, the squirrel is of course an ANIMAL, the purple spire is an amethyst spear and therefore a MINERAL, the pinkish blob is supposed to be a mushroom which I count as a VEGETABLE, Dedbert is DEDBERT, the word Hope is sketched out for the WORD category.

This week's category proper, however, was ANIMAL!

"Frogi" watercolor on cotton paper; 2022

I took a very loose approach to this frog with only the vaguest outline, and I splashed random colors from my Peter Pauper Press palette on. I quite like the messy background, which I feel gives it an out-of-focus-rainforest vibe!

If you'd like a say in what I paint or draw next week, definitely check out the "commissions" page I have to see the different categories (also listed under the sketch before Frogi!). It's just one Ko-Fi, and they've got a messaging system that I'll absolutely see!

Back on the topic of scanning, though, I think I should look into a sheet of black poster board or construction paper to help me find the edges of my scans. If you're someone who does a lot of scanning, do you have any suggestions to help make things easier for myself? I know I probably don't need to be scanning at as high a dpi as I do, but... honestly, I don't know what I'm doing.

The joys of having to choose between which art you want to focus on in High School. You don't have to scan to play the flute.

Anywho, I'm gonna get back to untangling Gordon the Gordian Knot of blue DK weight acrylic yarn, and hopefully I'll be talking with my guy and watching some author chats with him!

Hope your weeks are going well!

Go Enjoy Something!

FC

Talk About Tuesday

In Which I Still Struggle With Insomnia

I had such high hopes for yesterday. When I went to sleep on Sunday night, I was eager to get some rest, start early on my crochet and the blog, maybe even go for a walk!

And then I woke up at 10:30AM and the tip of my middle finger felt bruised for some reason. And I felt run down. And I felt both hungry and not hungry.

In short, Monday was a total bust for me. I didn't even take the shower I'd been looking forward to.

I did try to work on crochet, but it was not comfortable to work, and typing was a little painful. You never realize how much work your middle finger does when you're using a keyboard until it's sore.

Thankfully the finger feels better today, but I'm still tired and I have a mild headache. The headache is probably from the weather systems moving in and out. For whatever reason, my skull is a great barometer.

Despite my blahs, I've still got plans for this week!

• Art for Thursday - now's the time to put in your requests via Ko-Fi! Remember, the categories are:
• Animal (an animl)
• Vegetable (a plant)
• Mineral (a rock, crystal, etc)
• Geometric (something abstract)
• Location (a place)
• Word (illustrated word art)
• Dedbert (The Mascot Himself)
• Hopefully I can do more crochet on the gloves, the Mystery Project, etc for Monday
• Next Tuesday I'll be back to blather some more!

I know today's blog was a bit quick and little, but I have a giant tangle of yarn to finish unwinding, after which I'll probably try to make something from it. No idea if there's enough for my plan, but I'll try anyway. Worst comes to worst, I can always border it in another color...

Go Enjoy Something!

FC

Thursday Art Walk

 

In Which I Did A Lot of Art

This week, rather than wait til 10pm on Wednesday night to find out what I'd be posting on Thursday, I decided to start working on some digital art pieces starting on Friday last week!

And I finished... several. With more in-progress.

These artworks would probably best be described as "Geometric" in terms of my list of possible labels, so here are a series of abstract geometric digital artworks!

"Linegraphic #1"; digital; 2022

"Linegraphic #2", digital, 2022

"Scoop #1", digital, 2022

As you can see, I'm experimenting with different colors, line-weights, and curves, and I'm having a lot of fun while doing it! Each piece is 500px square, and I really enjoyed playing around with them. I might try the shape function next week.

As for today, I'm just enjoying myself and taking it easy. I've listened to a lot of jazz, I've worked on more art, I've crocheted, I've advanced the plot of one of my stories (and some day, hopefully you'll get to read those...), and I've drank... nowhere near as much coffee as I'd like. I should really get another mug!

If you'd like to have a say in what I make for next week (in addition to the things I'm already doing) please feel free to send me a Ko-Fi donation with your request (Animal, Vegetable, Mineral, Geometric, Location, Word, or Dedbert), and I'll get on it!

Also, these designs are available on my Redbubble shop!

I hope you're all doing well, and I hope you can all...

Go Enjoy Something!

FC

Talk About Tuesday

 

In Which Today Has Been Off

Today was a beautiful day. 78℉/25,6℃ with a middling humidity and an abundance of birds, bees, butterflies, and calm.

Except for inside because today was a whirlwind in the Casa de Casual.

My folks are planning an outing, my cat has been being weird, and I have been fighting insomnia and other unfun things while also making art and trying to work on crochet and writing. Needless to say, today was busy.

Today was mostly taken up by phone calls - mine and my parents'. When I wasn't on a call, I was making digital art, writing, crocheting, etc. Or looking for the cat because she was very cute this morning, rolling around and meowing and playing with her toys, but then she vanished after 11AM and only just now reappeared. 

I'm pretty happy with the way the art I was working on came out, so look forward to a trio of interesting Geometric pieces on Thursday. If you want me to make something else as well, please feel free to send me a Ko-Fi donation with your request of "Animal", "Vegetable", "Mineral", "Geometric", "Location", "Word", or "Dedbert"!

For the rest of the week, here's what I've got planned:

• Thursday - I already have art! That doesn't mean you can't nudge me in another direction, though, so go right ahead ;)
• Next Monday will 100% be.... ecru or beige. It'll either be the the Mystery Project (if I don't stab myself with the needles too much...), the gloves, or the shrug I'm working on.
• Next Tuesday I'll be back and hopefully feeling good and letting you know what's up with my life.

I am hoping that by next week I'll get the insomnia and the random overheating I'm doing under control. It's... early for all that...

Anywho, I've got videos and art to get back to, so I hope you're all having a good week!

Go Enjoy Something!

FC

Fiber Monday

In Which It's Not the Secret/Mystery Project
But It's Still Cool!

Last week, I posted a picture of one of the thread-based crochet projects I was working on - a pair of lovely lacy gloves from 1943. I had only a couple of sections done, and today I'm pleased to announce that I have finished...

The fronts & backs of each hand.

I still have to sew them together and add the thumbs.

These are made from the same ecru crochet thread as the other project,
and the pattern is quite elegant!

It's a little easier to see the lovely filet pattern on this shot

I have a few... concerns about this 1940s pattern. For one, these hands look awfully narrow, and while I'm certain that adding the thumb will give a lot of wiggle room, I'm concerned that each finger might be too narrow. I also am concerned that it will be hard to round the fingers as I'm sewing them. I do, however, have a possible solution to that.

Instead of sewing the palms and backs to each other, I may just try to crochet them to each other using either single or half-double crochets, depending on how tight the squeeze is. This is, of course, a very experimental approach, since I have no idea what I'm doing, but I'm willing to try!

I'm also using this project as a way to test out the pricing guide I'm putting together for myself, so I recorded about how long it took me to work on this altogether!

So far, these gloves have taken approximately nine and a half hours to make. That's... not a very quick make. By my math, these gloves are probably around 30 bucks. Which... is actually in keeping with the Etsy estimates! I think my math may be good! Yay!

Now, I am actually keeping on with the big crochet-along Mystery/Secret Project I started ages ago, but my first few attempts at sewing today did not go well. I'll have to carry on with that later in the week I think lol!

As for the rest of tonight, I think I'll relax for a bit and then go to bed. I've been sleeping very poorly and I'd like to get some real rest.

Go Enjoy Something!

FC

Thursday Art Walk

 

In Which I Need To Plan Better

Thursdays are hard, man.

Not only am I trying to make art, but I usually don't know what I'm making until the night before, so then it's a CRUNCH, and it means I neglect things I'd also like to do - like shower and talk to my boyfriend.

But you're not here to hear me whine about how I can't manage my time, you're here for today's artwork, which is a strange little pixel DEDBERT!

DORDBORT - digital 2022
(It's actually pretty good sized, I don't understand computers...)

I think next time I try to do a digital Dedbert, I won't try anything fancy. I'll just go for colors, shading, and then post.

This experimental bubble/pixel piece is cute, but boy did he take way too long. Again, it's all the background's fault. Inevitably, I gave up. It was too muddy and busy and took away from my boy.

As it is, I think I did pretty well on the mirroring everywhere but the beak, so I'll be practicing that, too!

I would also love any suggestions for 100% free, non-pirated artist's software that anyone might have! Bear in mind, of course, that I have an older laptop with limited GPU, so I'll never be making anything exquisite, effects-wise, but if it has some better brushes (I cannot figure out how to make or import brushes on Paint.net, so it'll have to be super duper user-friendly...) or a cleaner interface, I'm down to try it!

Hopefully next week, I'll have an easier time of it!

Time management has always been a struggle for me. I've never been tested for anything, but if you've read even one of my blogs, it's probably pretty clear that I struggle to think in and operate in a straight line. Not trying to pull the "I'm so special!" card here, I'm just stating a fact. I've never been able to accurately lay out what I'm going to do, in the order in which I'll do it, actually follow the directions, and then finish something in a timely manner. I've just never been able to.

So I'm going to try to trick myself this week.

I'm going to start a pixel project, and if I get a commission-lite this week, I'll work on that when I get it. If not, you'll see what I'm working on on Thursday. Hopefully before 9pm...

That's the plan!

I'll see you all next week on Monday, where hopefully I'll also have more of the crochet-along project finished!!!

Go Enjoy Something!

FC

Talk About Tuesday

 

In Which I Am Blob

For the last couple of days I've been taking advantage of the cool weather and just popping outdoors at the slightest excuse. I saw the hawk yesterday, watching out for tasty pigeons in my yard, and I've been holding scintillating conversations with the savage little hummingbirds who keep throwing beaks at the feeder my mom put out. I've also been a bit racy by watching birds bathe in the bath we put out.

But I haven't just been luxuriating in the springlike temperatures!

I've also been trying to figure out what good pricing would be for crochet projects!

Obviously I can't compete with Fast Fashion, they've got some vastly underpaid children working 18 hour days in a sweatshop to make their crochet goods, but I've been trawling Etsy and other handmade sites, looking to see what the average prices for things might be!

I've been surprised by some of the prices, especially considering what the materials costs must be, but it also does my heart an enormous amount of good to see craftspeople really valuing their time and efforts! I haven't seen a single major garment under fifty dollars! How cool is that?

I may be somewhat alarmed, however, at how many women are apparently comfortable with the idea of a crocheted g-string. Then again, I'm just alarmed by g-strings in general, because I am a Square.

In any case, I'm going to keep working on my pricing guide, and then I'll start figuring out how to make enough projects to support selling them!

As for the rest of the week til next Tuesday, these are my plans:

• Art for Thursday - feel free to Ko-Fi me your suggestions for this week's piece! You have until Thursday morning!
• Gonna see what I can get done for Monday, crochet-wise, but no promises sorry
• Gonna blather more on Tuesday.

If I seem distracted tonight, I am! My brain is doing that whole "why can't I hold all these ideas?!" thing, and it's very annoying.

I hope you're all doing well, and I look forward to any suggestions, comments, questions, or random thoughts you may have!

Go Enjoy Something!

FC

Fiber Monday

 

In Which Today Was Too Nice To Stay On Task

Yesterday, it felt like 100℉/37,8℃ at times, so I was largely just plunked in front of a fan, staring at a screen and wishing the temperatures would drop.

I got my wish today!

The high was around 76℉/24,4℃, and despite the higher humidity, it felt glorious! I actually went outside for a while and had to change into an actual tee shirt! I haven't worn a tee in over a week - it's been to hot and muggy! Yes, tomorrow's going to be a little warmer, but it felt so nice today, guys.

So of course I was 1000000% scatterbrained and couldn't focus on the crochet-along we've been doing under the #secret project tag here.

Instead, I worked on a few creamy thread lace projects!

Some Lovely lace gloves from 1943

Which I keep tangling the thread on...

And a cream-colored version of the infamously unfinished Lady Sibyl shrug

I like to walk out to meet my boyfriend on Fridays, but it was so blisteringly toasty while the sun was out that I didn't make as long a walk as I prefer to. Instead of walking the 3.4 miles (5,5km) to and from one bookstore or the 2.2mi/3,5km to the bakery and back or the 1.8mi/2,9km to and from the other bookstore, I walked a paltry 1.4mi/2,3km to the local library and back. 

Why the library? It's a short walk, there's a lot of shade coverage, and it has the most powerful AC in town.

Also it has books.

And I love me some books!

So I picked up this book, Designer Crochet by Shannon Mullett-Bowlsby, and let me tell you, it is one of my favorite how-to books in that library. This may be the fifth time I've taken it out, and I desperately want to make everything in it.

For myself.

And also to sell, because they are Fashionable and I am 100% for getting these garments into the real world.

Which brings me to the next point.

I want to start making things for sale. Mostly crochet, but also eventually original artwork. I'm not going to get into a cost benefit analysis of Etsy vs Facebook Marketplace this week, but I am actively looking for sites to sell through, preferably ones that handle sales tax and don't charge me extra for a buyer using a credit card vs PayPal or whatever.

Or charge me for a listing. That would not be good for me.

If y'all have any suggestions, please do leave them in the comments (which I'm the sole moderator of, so I have to read them ;) ), along with any suggestions of what exactly I should make to sell!

I'm currently looking into what good pricing practices would be, so keep an eye out for any fiber additions to the How To Commission Me page in the sidebar!

Also, if you want a say in what I paint or draw this week, send me a coffee over on Ko-Fi with a message telling me what category you're choosing (also in the Commission Me page), and come Thursday, you'll see what I come up with!

I think that'll about do it for me tonight, those gloves have exhausted me!

Go Enjoy Something!

FC

Thursday Art Walk

 

In Which I Worked Digitally!

Today was... hot. It was about 86℉/30℃ and about 60% humidity most of the day. What's funny is that I felt... fine? Until now, when it's about 75℉/23,9℃ outside, but since I am above the kitchen, it is probably still 86℉/30℃. And if I switch my window fan to intake, I get bugs. Tomorrow's high will feel like 93℉/33,9℃, and we'll be getting rain - which I'm actually super okay with.

I quite enjoy a rainy walk in hot weather, generally.

Especially if we get some wind, too!

I'm less okay with the fact that I'll have to take my window fan out. Sounds like I'm spending a lot of time downstairs tomorrow.

But the main factor in me getting super toasty up here today was that I was on my computer, hunched over the tablet and keyboard, working on today's art!

The theme today was "WORD", and the word in question was... well... see for yourself:

"WOMBAT" digital art 2022

"WOMBAT" with background, digital art, 2022

I used Paint.net for this work, along with my XP-Pen Star G430S.

You wouldn't expect the thing that took me the longest to be that background, yet here we are, 3 hours after I started painting it!

It's because I couldn't decide what kind of background I wanted, how it should look, or how to make it.

I'm planning on making a bunch of "background images" I can copy/paste into any piece, too!

If you have any suggestions for types of backgrounds, colors, etc, I'd love to hear your ideas!

And if you want a say in what I draw or paint next week, feel free to shoot me a coffee over on Ko-Fi along with a message telling me which category you'd like to see next!

Those categories are, of course:

• ANIMAL
• VEGETABLE
• MINERAL
• LOCATION
• GEOMETRIC
• DEDBERT
• WORD

I hope you liked today's WORD, and hopefully, you'll like whatever comes next! For now though, I'm going to try to get some sleep - I'm wiped and tomorrow's gonna be toasty as heck!

Go Enjoy Something!

FC

Talk About Tuesday

 

In Which I Forgot it was Tuesday

This will be a short little blog, guys. Just here to touch base, basically! It's 10PM and today was 80℉/26,7℃ with 80% humidity so I did not do a whole lot! I ran the old Wahl over the buzzed area of my head (10/10 do recommend shaving your head for summer, even just halfway), showered, took the bottles back, bought chips that were too expensive (everything is), and mostly just played with colors and video games the whole day while watching random videos and listening to music.

All in all, a pretty enjoyable Tuesday.

My plans for the rest of the week are as follows:

• Art on Thursday - I haven't received any Paid Requests yet (see my Commission page in the sidebar), so if you want a say, go for it!
• Still nothing video game-wise, but I'll keep looking
• Still working on a lot of different projects, but the plan for Monday is to have more to show you towards a finished Mystery Project/Secret Project!
• Next Tuesday I'll be back to hopefully talk to you earlier in the day.

The heat has been killer on my sleep schedule, so when something like tonight's weird balmy-but-soggy weather happens, I take what I can get. I'm hoping to get at least five hours tonight!

How are all of you guys sleeping? Are you getting enough rest? Hydrating enough? I hope so.

In the meantime, though...

Go Enjoy Something!

FC

Fiber Monday

 

In Which More Progress, however small, Has Been Made

When last we saw the Secret Project, it was getting super close to being done, and now we're even closer!

But not quite finished yet.

Today, I made three rings from copper wire and held them together with pipefitter's tape. Friction tape of any kind would work for this, including medical tape, but sticky tape probably wouldn't work well. See, making the rings small enough to function as a spot to join the strap to the body and serve as a front closure means there's not a lot of room to maneuver the tape without getting it stuck where you don't want it if it's sticky. If it's a friction-based tape like pipefitter's tape, then you can just cut lengths and they'll go through easily until you tighten the wrap.

Three Rings! They're each about the size of a nickel, possibly bigger.

You can use any kind of ring you want, and if you use premade ones, you (probably) won't even have to put tape on them! I Have the tape on mine because I didn't want the ends of the wire poking through the next step.

I also took this opportunity to finish the little hanging loop!

The hanging loop is a few slip-stitched rows of the red color, approximately 4" long. I folded that in half and then put 3 single crochet stitches through both ends, binding them together. After that, I made a ch1, then placed a single crochet in the back loops of each single crochet, turned, and went back around, making a sc in the remaining loops of those original 3 sc. After that, I increased from 6 sc to 12 sc by placing 2sc in each sc. At that point I tied off the loop.

This red ring will be for the closure!

To crochet over the closure ring, take your cap color and find a point on the ring, then put your hook through, yarn over, and holding onto the tail, pull the caught loop through to form a slip stitch. From there, treat the ring as though it was a magic ring, holding onto the tail. You don't have to be too terribly picky about how many single crochets you make around this ring, just try to minimize any gaps! Once you have covered the entire ring, slip stitch into the first sc made and fasten off.

A Finished Beige Ring

Cover the other two rings with single crochet in the same way as the first, using your body color (beige in my case). These will be used to sew on the strap!

All Three Finished Rings

When you've finished your rings, go back to that loop you made earlier and slip-stitch it into place on the top of the cap of the bag! Now you have a hanging loop!

The ridge left behind will eventually be covered up - stay tuned for next week!

I hope to have the bag 100% assembled and finished next week, but we'll see. I've been saying that for the last ten weeks haven't I? lol!

That being said, I've learned a lot from this crochet-together project, and I hope you all have, too! If you've been working along with me, I'd love to see some of your guys' progress! Feel free to, if you have Twitter, tag me in a picture of your work! If you have Instagram, I'm there, too, as Grumpmuffin89, so if you know what you're doing there, hit me up because I'm all the way out in the weeds and it's incredibly confusing.

That'll about do it for me tonight - I'm hot and sweaty and ready for beddy. If you have any requests for Thursday's art blog, please feel free to send me a Ko-Fi with a message telling me what category (refer to my "commission" page in the sidebar for categories) and don't forget to...

Go Enjoy Something!

FC