Part III: All Good Stuff

I know it's not 'right' but I sure do love decaf chai tea. I just like drinking it all the time and gosh darn it- sometimes I want it right before bedtime. Better decaf chai than, you know, nutella cookies. Which, by the way, are awesome. Unless you eat four of them right out of the oven. Then you get quite a stomach ache. Anyhoo.

This is what Spike does when I sew.
I made booties for a friend's baby and I know understand the fuss about this pattern. It's great. The finishing gets a little finicky and I'm upset I didn't take a good picture of the wicked button loops I crocheted but still. Great pattern (rav link).
I'm knitting like crazy on the beeb blanket. Beeb is due in three days. Just three! We did all expect an August beeb but September is fine as well.

Kitten for size. It's entrelac knit on 5 mm needles using Blue Sky Alpaca Cotton. It's soooo soft.
And you will not believe it but I finished my socks! THE SOCKS!!! The socks I started... maybe five years ago? That I knit about ten rows a year on for the past three years? I finished them tonight. They will be part of the next knit blog entry. Cannot believe I finished these.
OMZG I got these floating shelf book thingies from Chapters today (along with The Tale of Despereaux by Kate DiCamillo- it's the top book on the bottom shelf). I love them. When my bedroom is presentable I'll take a better photo. I really want to put in a fake headboard on my bed so maybe then. I love them. Just love them.
Sunday we went to Granville Island for free dancing in the park- this week put on by Centro Flamenco and it was just perfect. Perfect weather, atmosphere, music, singing, dancing. It was like being part of an awesome jam where everyone is just super talented. It was rehearsed and put together and all, but it just felt like home. Like being in someone's kitchen. It was wonderful.
My view when I looked up. Ahhhh.

This is a nice picture to end the photo rant.

Okay, so I have this crazy ass goal. Are you ready? I want to finish every single thing I am knitting to the point where I have NOTHING on the needles. Crazy right?!?!? I know! Yeah. But here's the thing. I want to get everything organized. Everything I've knit, everything I've cast on, all my yarn, all my scarves and shawls, just everything, I want to know where, what, why, and what to do with it. There will be frogging. I know it. And yarn that I may do away with. These are the times my friend, the radical radical times.

I got this idea because recently I finished three key projects. One was the socks I showed earlier, one was this awful synthetic yarn scarf a friend asked me to knit for her, and one was a pair of soul crushing slippers a friend asked me to knit for her. Noticed how two of those projects were requests? Yeah. No more requests. Anyhoo, I'm down to one cardigan that is nearly done, a hippo, secret xmas present, baby blanket, my dad's cowichan inspired cardigan, poorly neglected crochet mittens (why can't I crochet?) and a market bag. That's it! However! I have a shawl edging that I started ages ago and a mohair cardigan that I cast on and knit the back for. I also have a shawl that still needs to be blocked (I have my doubts about it's overall usefulness) and a lot of my 'finished' projects still need buttons, or lining, or ends woven in. Small things, things I need to get to you know?

So yeah, I'm hoping to photograph and organize what needs to be done and start a finishing. Now, I am allowed to start new projects, which sounds counterproductive, but frankly, I think I know me a little at this point, and if I tell myself I cannot start something, I'll start eight things just to show myself up. That's right! Can't tell me what to do! Ha hah! But as long as I keep on finishing things at a greater rate than I start them, it's all good. It may take me awhile, but this way the goal is actually attainable. My hope is that I will be only working on two or three projects by the end of September and maybe by the end of October... nothing on the needles! If that happens I'd like to create a poll for what I should cast on next. Crazy I know. But goals are fun. I'm excited.

Freaky Tired in that Good Way

My good friend Jodi got into town on Monday. We've done so much it feels like she's been here for weeks. Let me show in an excessive amount of photos just how much we did in the first 26 hours.
We are cute.

So Jodi got here at 2:00pm on Monday. Around 3 we left for Fabricana where we spent a few hours or so...
Jodi got some pretty awesome fabric to make a mini quilt. Afterwards we went to a very big mall, got some bellinis, and then went to IHOP for dinner (chocolate chip pancakes).

The next morning we left a little later than expected because of bad kitties waking us up at 4am; however, we found ourselves waiting for a bus at a good hour.
A little bit later we found ourselves in Stanley Park, surrounded by green green and green.
Jodi is very happy.
Pretty soon we were at the aquarium. Worth every single penny. I'll let the photos talk for themselves.
(This guy reminded me of Spike~ it's the Fangs)
One of the famous sea otters. You don't want to know how many photos I took of the Jellyfish.

After that it was time for Japadog. It's always time for Japadog.
Jodi got this bag at Aquarium and after Japadog she was able to put a book in it.
From the Vancouver Art Gallery amazing Leonardo Da Vinci exhibit. I'm so glad Jodi liked it, the exhibit wasn't for everyone but Jodi and I loved it!
Then we went to Granville Island to get some super yummy fresh pasta and four cheese sauce and....
CHEESECAKE!!!!
So at 4pm on Tuesday as we laid exhausted in the middle of a coffee shop I looked at Jodi and commented that we do too much.

Since then we have walked up and down Main street, visited UBC, went to Julia's for dinner and boardgames, and all the while I was still working halfdays on Monday and Wednesday, worked all day today as well. Pretty tired, but it's just been the best week ever.

Spike and Lala are planning their 3:30am debacle.

Balance and Appreciation

So like...... life is weird. Thought you'd like to know.

Here's my dilemma. And what a dilemma. Wow, when you hear about my dilemma, you are going to realize I lead a really really hard life. Anyhoo, work has been a little slow and we are just coming off of Spring Break so you know, March is kinda blah. I'm down to one contract so just one day a week guaranteed. I mean, it's still the same or more than I'd make working any other job with about a third of the time but still, I'd like to be working more. Blarg. And on top of that, it's hard to make plans because I never know when I'll get called in, and I can't do yoga in the evening because I have to be able to answer my cellphone. Blarg. And also, subbing has been great lately and all, but I don't love it. It's so hard. I just want my own classroom so badly. Sometimes having to go from other people's classrooms to other people's classrooms is just depressing. Double blarg.

The appreciation part comes in with realizing that I shouldn't complain. The only one I take care of is myself and I'm doing fine. I have no children, no dependents, really, not much responsibility at all. If I don't get called in I can spend that day playing computer games. It's scary a little. I try to make sure that I recognize that this won't always be the situation, and when I get my own classroom, this really won't be the same situation. So trying to appreciate my lifestyle right now.

The balance comes in with this 'dilemma'. A friend has offered to pick me up on her way to a two day annual fibre fair out of town tomorrow if I don't get called into work. Do you know how awesome that would be? And it's a good friend who I don't get to see that often, sometimes only once a month, and on top of that, it's a friend I rarely get to spend non-group time with. We're also planning a road trip to Oregon Coast soon so it would be a good trial. Regardless, it would be an awesome freaking day, and not one easily ever replicated. How do I balance work and awesomeness? How?!??!

So, after all that, what do I do if I'm called in? Of course I would accept the job but at the same time all my nerves scream NO because of that whole appreciating my current situation and getting the most out of it. When you step back, it's so easy (and true) to say that spending a day with a good friend is way more important than work. Another part of me also notes that taking off on a Friday would not be possible with an actual classroom or with kids! Do this now when you still can! So many factors say reject the call, and have a great day with your friend, one you will remember.

Blarg.

Life is just weird. Spike agrees.

Pirates! Pirates everywhere!

Even though zombies and ninjas are cool, pirates will always be my favorite. Might have something to do with Johnny Depp.

So I use to paint all the time. It started at a young age with my eldest sister, Jennifurfur being an artist, and my dad's influence too. When I entered high school you had to choose between art or band, so I went with band but then approached the art teacher about taking art before and after school. My other sister, Julia, warned me that the art teacher was a scary scary bearded man, which he was, but he was also super cool. He let me come in early every morning and romp around the art room as I pleased.

As grades went on I fell in total love with art and we had an art room like no other. We had a kiln, pottery wheels, a silkscreening twirly doohickey, a cupboard full of dangerous chemicals to mix glazes, canvas and frames (we made our own canvases we were that cool), acrylic paint, oil paints, watercolours, different kinds of watercolour paper, charcoal, pastels, massive drying racks, a massive wooden table with lots of fun slicers and dicers to make mats, specialized benches for holding canvases, linocuts, carving tools, soapstone... it was heaven. I even helped my art teacher build a canoe around the tenth grade. We had life drawing classes on Wednesday evening and I started right away in grade eight. One class I got adventurous and tore off a six foot piece of manilla paper and attached it one of the large pottery tables turned on the side so I could draw people life size. I also got a chance to work with raku which is an amazing clay. My favorite sculpture I did is of the upper torso of a woman, all clavicle and boobs, and while she was drying the weight of her head pulled her neck back, so she's greatly exaggerated and awesome. With raku you fire it once in an ordinary kiln and it turns white. For the second firing, you use a glaze and the clay turns black. After the first firing I mixed an ordinary white glaze and than mixed what should have been a copper glaze; however, something was mislabeled because my glaze was possessed! For the second firing you actually need a kiln that is hotter than a regular kiln so we built a kiln outside using special bricks and tiger torch. We would also roast marshmallows and hotdogs on it during lunch (btw~ this was an all day project and Mr. Weibe would write a note to all my other teachers explaining I simply could not attend class). It's an intense experience. The kiln (outside) in pretty small and when you remove the sculpture you have to use tongs and special fire gloves. You drop the sculpture straight red hot from the kiln into a bucket of sawdust and throw a lid on it. The sawdust instantly catches on fire but because of the lid, the smoke is trapped and that's how you turn the exposed raku black. The only thing is you had to be careful removing the lid because all the oxygen would get eaten up inside the bucket so if you removed the lid too quickly there was sometimes a small explosion which did result in my art teacher losing the bottom half of his beard at one point. Mom you aren't still reading are you? Anyhoo, I had just poured my two glazes over the sculpture so that they flowed down, showing large areas of plain raku and overlapping strips of both glazes. The white glaze did what it was suppose to, but the second glaze went bonkers. Where it hit the white glaze it went kinda copper but more blue-ish black but when it was on its own it cracked and curled up on itself. When we checked on the sculptures the glaze had actually formed little puddles of itself and was crawling all over the sculpture. When it was done, they formed little speckles of beautiful colour all over the areas I had poured the glass. It's an amazing sculpture. All in all, it was seriously, an amazing art class.

As I got older I often skipped (Mom stop reading) other classes and go hang out in the art room. It was so large I could hide quite efficiently and it helped that possibly, just maybe, my art teacher would say 'I haven't seen her' if anyone asked. Which I'm sure, Mom, he never ever did. Anways, it was all I did in high school and I loved it.

I tried to keep up with it afterwards but between the travelling and the stupid amount of post-secondary educatioon, I lost touch with painting. I was still drawing and doodling like mad, most of my tattoos are from those doodles, but I wasn't painting. I decided once I really started making an income and settling down that I'd start up again. Well, this is really as settled as I'm going to get I think so yeah.

This summer I went out to Deserres and bought a massive canvas. It's about four feet by two and a half. I took it home and instantly realized I wasn't about to start painting again for the first time in years on such a large canvas and went and bought another one. This one is um... quite smaller... I don't know, maybe 30'' by 30''? I started with this one though I do have the pencil down on the larger one. So far so good, but I forgot how long it takes me to do a painting.

I tend to stick with layers of washes, using acrylic paint, which means letting the layers dry and putting new colours ontop of old. I love the versitatility of acrylic, and how you can blend and manipulate the colours, unlike watercolour, where you're kinda stuck with whatever you put on the paper (though I still do love watercolour). It just takes a little longer. Afterwards I go ontop to do the details and such. My little painting is nearly done some of the layers, but I'm so scared of the face! Oh I'll have the whole thing done but her face I swear. I love faces and I draw them constantly. It's like extra pressure times a hundred. Anyhoo, here's the progression of the painting thus far...

Oh, the original photo I found here at Jezebel. It stayed with me after I saw it~ for a whole week I couldn't stop thinking about it and who the girls were and then I realized I wanted to paint that photograph.

I bought a set of paints from De Serres that not only worked with the colour scheme, but it also meant I could afford to do the painting with nice quailty paints. Their website is down but I'll see if I can find it later for you.

The first stage I was having trouble with the skin and the green colour but overall I was happy with it. I had a lot of fun with colour and the background.
The second layer I worked on the background some more and the folds on her clothing but I reallyl wasn't happy with the skin or the green again. I decided to go and buy her skin colour in acrylic instead of mixing it because my mixing was too haphazard to get a consistent skin tone. I could not get the green vibrant enough either so I bought another green.
This is where it's at now. I'm pretty happy with the earth and I'm going to hopefully finish off the pants behind her soon. The green worked fabulously and same with the skin, though I didn't do anymore on her face yet.
I'm very happy I did this post. I'm totally inspired to do some more painting tomorrow. Today I mostly slept and realized that I simply cannot eat soup anymore. I'm feeling much better and tomorrow is a holiday so I'm sure I'll be back with my class on Thursday. Wheee!

Thanks to Jubbers for phoning me and reminding me to blog! High five!

Why Hi Everybody!

I had a very busy day yesterday- saw Kipper, Nina, Ryan, Tracy, Essie, Jenn, Sara, Christina, Caitlin, Julia, Ryan, Jess, and Lisa. Not all at once of course. I was out of the house from 8am to 11pm. I bought a nice bag of veggies from the market (and of course another brownie from Veganmania). I played cards, had bubble tea, bought some yarn, and got lots of hugs. It's all good.

Otherwise than that I started teaching this week. My job is super hard and teachers are under appreciated but I wouldn't trade it for anything. It's where I want to be.

And here are some fuzzy pictures of the Beast which felted Like A Dream. No struggles, no pulling, no hand-felting~ just popped it in a pillow case, threw it in a top loader with a few towels (they did get a colour change), and without knowingly had it on delicate. Regardless, perfection! I have some beautiful pink satin/silk to line it but I couldn't photograph the colour in my night-time apartment. Try again soon. I also can't seem to find bag feet. Stupid fabricland. I will try to get some better photos right soon.

The front (which kinda is that fuzzy):
The side (those are the loops for the handles fyi) (aka: Yarnpiggy's Pasties):
The inside (knitting the fair isle loose paid off nicely):I'm pretty sure the Beast could hold water and withstand a grizzly attack.
I don't know about you but I'm going to bed.

Sweet dreams!

A Week Indeed (arooni)

Yeah... so. It's been one week since I finished teaching. Among other things I've gone to the dentist and they sent me to a specialist who put me on some super fun antibiotics and booked for for some fun root canals for next week. The REALLY fun part is that these teeth have already had root canals! They just weren't done right! AAAAHAHAHAHAHA!!!!

And oh yeah, I'm going to be super-dooper poor this summer. Those two things are completely related.

So let's give a round of applause to the only reason I've survived this week.

MOM!!!
She's helped me with everything. Including all the vital things like holding 900 yards of fleece artist.

She also made me a Canada Day lunch that made me very happy.

We've been knitting. While, Mom's been knitting~ I've been knitting and sleeping and being kinda grumpy because of these antibiotics.

I finished my cardigan which blocked a little large but it's okay.
I finished my cashmere lace scarf. It's short because the pattern was driving me crazy but I just need some nice buttons.
Cast off the bridesmaid shawl and have left it without a border. It just fits nicely around my shoulders.
As for new projects I started a pair of Monkeys with my STR.
And Mom is knitting a gorgeous cardigan for Mal out of some more of the gorgeous Dream in Colour Blue Lagoon.
Spike is exhausted by all this knitting.

A Knitter Sewing Bag

Sewing. It's like cheating for knitters and just like cheating is very productive! I started out with this neato piece of fabric (so far I have accidentally typed yarn instead of fabric twice) that was a gift from my Mom (or more accurately~ my Mom paid for it and I haven't paid her back yet). I don't have any sewing patterns and I figured none would work here because of the nature of the fabric. And while I was raised by awesome seamstresses (my Grandmother had her own store) and I kinda know how to knit, I don't particularly care for measuring and pinning so I just decided to wing it.
I started by ripping out the part of the fabric that I figured would make a good face of a bag and then I measured it. It was exactly 18" by 17.5" which was fun. And then I did some more ripping all approximately 17.5 by 3.5 inches. I really didn't measure these proper like which we'll talk about more later.
Then I spent some time putting together the strips in a pleasing way and then I put colour coding pins in so that when I sewed them together I wouldn't forget which one went with which. I am just so clever like that.
After sewing all the strips I ironed down the edges and finally recognized I could no longer ignore that one piece I ripped a little hasty.
That'll do.
So this is the other side of the bag. I'm very happy with it. I didn't want the strips to match up but I didn't want it to look disjointed either.
Then I took a break because the sewing machine got Spike so riled up he jumped up on my chair and kinda went a little Spawn-kitty on me. I have some battle scratches from taking these photos. The things I'll do for my blog eh.
He ended up getting his claw stuck in the top of the chair so I had to tip the chair down so he could detach his claw~ afterwards he stalked away and I resumed sewing. Here's the bag sewn together....

Spike was calmed by the bag and laid down for a nap.
Luckily I was onto the handles at that point. I took all the scraps and ripped them into approximately 1.5" strips and then sewed the wrong sides together, and folded them right side out afterwards with help of a massive safety pin. You would have thought I would have learned my lesson and measured the strips but no. After I ironed them I discovered what I had made.

The most un-even winding pathway strips ever. Hilarious.
I folded them into each other but I'm not happy with the look of them so I'm going to buy some ribbon and sew it onto the joins to make it look less... home-school.

When I did the hem I didn't want to pin so when I was ironing the inside seam I just folded over a chuck of fabric and pressed it. When I went to sew it I just lined up the crease with the 15 mark on the sewing machine and let her fly. I sewed the handles on with the square method which is really hard to rip out when you sew the handles on the wrong side but eventually I got it.
And here we are! A finished bag. I may line it with that stuff that makes it more sturdy- more because of the fraying ends than anything else. I lurves it.
And here's the koi fish I made in a latte last week. I made the poor woman wait for her drink while I ran to my purse to get my camera. I can't actually make foam art but I was attempting to make a tree when I was doing this. Isn't that just freaking wild?