Thursday Art Walk

 

It Is So Nice Out!

Today's been Very Much A Day, but at least the weather has been lovely. It's been warm and sunny all day long. The breeze is cold, but can you really beat a 49℉/9,4℃ day where the grass is green and the lawn is getting starry with wildflowers?

Even if those wildflowers are dandelions?

"Dandy"; watercolor brush pen on watercolor paper; 2022

I'm still figuring out the best ways to use and blend these brush pens, but I'm fairly happy with the way the flowers & leaves came out!

I was working on the confetti-ish background when my mom's mom stopped by to visit and needed help with some medical stuff (as far as I'm aware, she's going to be alright!). That took some doing, and then the cat needed out, so I got her ready while my mom enjoyed her coffee. After walkies, we ate some ginger snaps and I finished up the painting.

Confession: this painting is, for some reason, uncentered. It's far more on the left-hand side of the page than the right-hand, and I don't really know what I was thinking. Also, the brown shadow for the ground is too high up and not rounded enough, so it looks a little clumpy. I should try this again sometime!

I was thinking of maybe taking a walk today but... honestly, I'm already worn out and my back hurts, so I'll probably just stay in unless my mom decides to take bottles back or something.

I might sketch some more and see if I can start next week's drawing, too!

Regardless, that'll do it for me today!

Go Enjoy Something!

FC

Fiber Monday

 

In Which I Did More Work On the Bag

It's a nice, chilly day. The sky is pale blue, the trees are slowly browning from our unfortunate drought (of which we've had more drought years than fine ones in my memory...), and my toes are cold in their thick cotton socks. It's a crisp 60℉ (15.5℃) with 26% humidity. Perfection. I'm happy with this weather, though I still have that sense of unease that too long without rain brings. I'm not even an outdoorsy type of person, but even I can feel that something is off with the weather.

I spent this morning examining the insides of my eyelids, sleeping in until about 11AM, so I apologize for the lateness of this blog but I needed that sleep. I was beginning to feel the exhaustion of my insomnia in a very uncomfortable way - it felt like my body was bruising. I feel much better today. More settled. More myself. More human.

There was a short moment this morning, as my mother got home, where things got a little crazy, but it was in a good way. Our toaster oven hasn't been toasting properly for a few weeks now, so she's picked up a new one. The cat is thrilled lol.

A blurry shot of the new toaster oven

An Equally Blurry Shot of the Cat Going Nuts in Her New Box

The mass of yarn in my room is slowly becoming more organized, too! Thanks to the ball winder my awesome partner got me for my birthday, I've been taking apart the tangle of my horde and putting it into neat(ish) balls. I still haven't mastered the winder, so occasionally, the yarn will slip and coil around the top of the ball instead of actually winding properly, but for the most part, it's going well.

Also, my younger sister was awesome and surprised me with two balls of Red Heart's It's A Wrap: Rainbow yarn a couple days ago in both "Seaglass" and "Couture". They're awesome and I immediately started looking for shawl patterns for them. I didn't expect them to be such a loose twist (there really isn't any twist to them, it's a bunch of very fine threads that are all clinging to each other with static and hopes and dreams), so there's a bit of struggle with splitting, but once you have the rhythm down, the cotton/acrylic blend works really nicely and feels great in your fingers. I've already done one pattern repeat of a butterfly-themed shawl in the "Seaglass" and I'm planning on doing something a little more nocturnal for the "Couture" (maybe moons? Stars?).

As for that little yellow bag?

It's Coming Along :)

I really like the basketweave pattern on this, and despite the fact that the yarn ball is now the size of a tennis ball, I think I'll keep going. If I have to use the red sock yarn as a contrast for straps & closure, that's what I'll do lol.

How are your guys' projects coming along? Are you getting your rows in? Your wordcounts down? Your colors laid down? I'm rooting for you!

Go Enjoy Something!

FC

Fiber Monday - Wafflebag

 

In Which Progress Is Waffled... er... made...

I'm a wee bit tired, as of late. I've been staying up too late, waking up later, and just generally feeling run down and sleepy constantly. I'm 99% sure it's because I'm moving around more during the hours I'm awake, but there's always the worry that it could be a hormonal response or worse - my depression creeping back in. Which would be weird, since this is the most hopeful I've been in a while! My future is open wide, after all!

So I distract myself from my brain not understanding how to person.

And I do that with two things: Entertainment and Work.

For Entertainment, of course, I read (I'm working my way through Dashiell Hammett's Red Harvest right now), I play video games, and I watch lots and lots of YouTube videos.

For Work, however, you've seen a lot of what I do. I'm writing a novel (which, let's be real, takes up 75% of my Awake Time because that's what I want my JOB to be!). I draw (both digitally and on paper). I crochet.

And Right Now, I Am Crocheting A Bag!

The bag I'm crocheting right now is done using a basketweave pattern, but because the word "basket" likes to hop out of my brain like a frog from a log, I end up calling it a Waffle Weave bag, despite Waffle Weave looking like this.

Currently, the bag is about 3.5" (~8.9cm) tall, and I'm debating whether to make it a proper bag or to convert it into some kind of zippered clutch. What do you guys think? Purse with straps or zippered clutch?

I'll let you know how I plan to complete this project (if it's a zippered clutch, I'll probably have to line it...), and you'll continue to see progress shots :)

I think that'll about do it for me today - I gotta run downstairs and get some fresh water and maybe a sandwich!

Go Enjoy Something!

FC

Fiber Mo - WHAT DO YOU MEAN IT'S TUESDAY?!

 

In Which Time Is Slippery

But Yarn is Not

I'll be honest, I lost track of time both today and yesterday. I legit forgot that it was Monday, despite knowing that Tuesday was one sleep away (I haven't had that sleep yet, btw, I refuse to flake 100% on Monday :P ). I did have kind of a long day, after all, with a lot of writing and a lot of running around and doing laundry and working out... The weather today was spectacular - warm, sunny, breezy. My old man took out the hammock and cleared the mouse nests out of the riding lawnmower in between renovations and rebuilds on the camper he bought. My mom gardened. I wrote, did some situps, ordered chicken taco pizza for my family's dinner. Busy busy.

I didn't do any crochet until after dinner.

I didn't even think about crochet until probably 9:30PM (that's 1730 in military time, lol).

And now I'm too tired to keep crocheting lol.

But I did some work, I promise! On a woven stitch bag!

But it's not for a laptop like the pattern suggests - it's probably only big enough for an iPad or a notebook. It'll be a nice little purse or something :)

It's starting from the bottom, of course, which is closest to the ball.

So that's what I eventually got to work on.

That and page 19 of Part 2 of the novel. I'd like to finish pages 20 & 21 on Tuesday, but we'll see lol.

I'm very much enjoying the work, though. All of the work. The writing, the crocheting, the reading and the art. I enjoy my work.

I hope that all of you out there can find some work you'll enjoy, too, whether it's art, writing, music, video making, cooking, or teaching. Make something.

The weather tomorrow (Tuesday) is supposed to be (and I quote): "Partly Sunny and Delightful" with a high of about 73℉/22.8℃ (which will feel like 79℉/26.1℃ in the sun) with about 82% humidity (which will be pretty annoying!) with only 7-9mph breeze! 

I intend to spend it writing.

So please, Go Enjoy Something!!!

FC

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

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