Cecinatrix

Turkey Palooza 2011

2011-11-23T12:19:00.001-08:00

Happy Happy Turkey Day

It approaches rapidly. An entire day of mainlining giblet gravy and indulging in glorious TV zombification. Parades, football games, comfort food out the yin yang and relatives! Oh, wait. Can we add copious amounts of liquor to the list? That always makes my family very entertaining.

Not able to partake of the fun this year - just a wishy washy pseudo version here at pay-by-the-month ~~Casa~~ Apartimento Cecinatrix. I am perfectly fine with splurging for a turkey coma this year even though it may be tight financially. Hey, I'll be napping through a lot of that stuff anyway.

So to honor the crappy economy, the season of gluttony and my ever more annoying feline situation (as in with the very existence of my little habitat-infesting hairball demons), I offer a "new" service: crochet patterns for sale.

Pumpkin Cat Pie

Available at Etsy and Ravelry.

Couldn't bring myself to charge a lot although God knows that I really... really... really... wanted to because these things take for frickin' ever for me to write and draw. We are all in the same 3-ring fiasco of an economy together and maybe the best we can hope for is to all get together online and swap our pennies.

"Do what you love and you'll never work a day in your life." Or so I've heard it said. I love making cat-pliques but can't imagine making them as items for sale. Just can't see mass producing and stockpiling a product that may or may not sell. I prefer special orders and finite logistics. Requests are great and I love working out the details with customers. That I find creative, fun, goal-oriented and logical. (No. There are no points on the tips of my ears - I just like at least the pretense of organizational order in my life.)

Besides, patterns are actually a fun option, eventually. Time consuming and frustrating yes, but also pretty cool. Share the love without stocking woes or even shipping costs? Mmmmm. Homerina like.

Soooo...

Hook On, my lovelies and feast well.

C

I Love Extortion

2011-10-31T07:54:00.000-07:00

bwa ha wheeeeee

Halloween!! Strange houses, empty loot sacks, disguises and .... candy. What's not to love love love love love.

Ooo, ouch. Sorry - sugar rush spiked there for a minute. Still. Totally worth it!!! :-B

Always
C

FiberArts Magazine Farewell

2011-06-14T08:04:00.000-07:00

Snail mail has brought me many an "aw, man!" moment in the past but none as crappy as the notice of the demise of FiberArts mag. The only periodical that covered the broad range of the eclectic wonder that is fiber artistry is no more.

I've subscribed to FA off and on for over 15 years. It would have been "continuously subscribed" had I not been a grad student and subsequent underpaid stooge working for the man during that time.

Anyway, I really should have seen the writing on the wall. The issues have become much slimmer over the past few years and more recently the articles have been much more art-quit oriented. That would have been fine except that the house that publishes FA also keeps Quilting Arts magazine in their stable. Two mags with the same focus coming out of the same publishing group does not bode well for the mag undergoing changes.

I had feared for months that "Fiber" would be completely supplanted by "Quilting" and leave me bereft and a sea wondering what was up in the world of fiber. I needn't have worried. Upon notification of the death of Fiberarts I was concomitantly informed that the remainder of my subscription has been switched over to Quilting Arts. Ooooo. Irony.

Indeed, if I weren't so heavily anti-depressed via modern chemistry, I would find this particular irony just insulting. As it is, I'm simply sad to see them go. It has been hard for me to find a welcoming niche in the world of fiber art. I don't sew. Or paint. Or mix my media. I crochet. I don't even feel particularly at home in that world either in that I don't make clothes or accessories. All I want to do is tell stories using crocheted applique elements as the characters. I haven't yet fully realized that vision, but I hold fast to the dream. After all, waking-dreams are the only thing that get me out of bed in the morning.

In FiberArts I found articles about other crazy dreamers telling stories with fiber and string and cloth and whatever else they could get their hands on. To be fair, I do see some of that in Quilting Arts, but lately they are more about altering the surface of cloth, particularly with paint and dye but through other rather fascinating treatments as well.

But now where will I go to find the lost-wax glass knitter or the power-extreme embroidery mavens? The articles on "what did they say that was made of" or the outdoor installations of sculpture made with light.

Alas, business is business and a no-longer profitable title has to eventually meet the chop. Especially in today's economy. Now there is a phrase that I have truly grown to despise. No money nowhere. I get it. I feel it. It sucks. And now it kills. Oh well, at least it is better to go out with dignity than as some pale, junior-league knock-off of another title.

So long FiberArts. Know that at least this one crazy string tinkerer mourns your passing.

Hook On with nobody to watch
C

Experimental Posting

2011-04-08T22:28:00.000-07:00

Whilst scratching around my computer desktop I found these images from the end of February's 2011 Thing-a-day. Little words assembled using my Catphabet:

Meow

Kitty

I didn't post them then because I wanted to end that challenge by spelling out "The End" and "G'BYE" and then I kinda forgot to share them later.

Seeing these again made my mind wander to thoughts of the other communal thing I recently participated in- if only peripherally and mostly anonymously - the 2011 Knitting and Crochet Blog Week. Specifically the challenge topic posed on Day 5 - Experimental Blogging: "an experimental blogging day to try and push your creativity"

Don't know why I didn't think of it at the time, but now, the only thing I can think about is writing an entire blog post in catphabet code. How annoying would that be? So much so that I can't stop smiling. You know that twisty, evil smile that travels up past your eyebrows and into your hair along your part, curling and uncurling the very tips of the ends of the shafts.

Grinch Smile
google images

Good thing I'm far too lazy to do that.

Bwa ha ha

Hook On!
C

2KCBWDAY7 - Fun Time

2011-04-04T23:16:00.001-07:00

2KCBWDAY7 Day seven: 3rd April. Your knitting and crochet time.

Write about your typical crafting time. When it is that you are likely to craft – alone or in more social environments, when watching TV or whilst taking bus journeys. What items do you like to surround yourself with whilst you twirl your hook like a majorette’s baton or work those needles like a skilled set of samurai swords. Do you always have snacks to hand, or are you a strictly ‘no crumbs near my yarn!’ kind of knitter.

Day late, dollar short. Eh. Life.

Here we are at the end of another round of the fun and lovely community activity that is Knitting and Crochet Blog Week. So quickly too. Alas.

So. Last year there was a topic about actual physical place-of-crochet. This topic is broader in scope but the response begins in the same place – my chair in the living room. No photo. Not ever. I’m rather embarrassed by the state of things around here these days and prefer to wallow alone in my shame. Actually, no photos at all for this one. I’m afraid that we are off another whirlwind adventure down my the foaming stream of my dizzying consciousness. Bring your Dramamine, everybody?

I crochet while watching TV. In fact, I often keep the ole boob tube on for the background noise alone. Why not music? I don’t know really. We just didn’t sit around listening to music in my youth. More a conversation, TV and play with the cats and dogs and other sundry critters type family. There were records and radios and we all loved music but that wasn’t the real focus of our entertainment. Except for physical things like cook-outs and cleaning house, where the beat made the mood and enhanced the activity.

I did listen to music more often while in college and grad school. Usually in my bedroom at a desk where a TV always felt rather out of place. So I studied with music playing. Drove the inevitable long distances commuting to schools and jobs with music too. College was and hour commute daily, each way. Grad school wasn’t at first but eventually it too was an hour in traffic. Hmm. Then most, if not all, of my real grown-up jobs were long commutes. Hey, culinary school too. Shoot, even my first out-patient treatment center was a long commute. Lucky I guess. No wonder I was always so tired and cranky.

And with all of that driving, I listened to the car radio. Maybe I equate the radio playing with the drudgery of endless, mindless hours at the wheel and aching, bubbling, enraging frustration of dealing with big city long distance traffic. I don’t know that I can relax listening to music anymore. I haven’t really tried. I just stick with the TV.

Daytime programming is nice and monotonous. Nothing too exciting to drag my attention away from the hook. The white sound is important, but the visual stimulation is also quite helpful. All the changing patterns and colors of standard TV broadcasting decorate the periphery of my sight as I hunch over my hook and thread. Prime time can be a bit problematic though. Sometimes I have to put things aside and focus on something with a unique plot or irresistible character interaction. Funny enough, when I stop and think about it, there isn’t a lot offered prime time these days that will make me put down the crochet. I like that term. Interestingly enough, I heard that about a TV show once: they added a young, hot guy to the cast to get the girls to "put down their knitting" and some hot girls to get "Dad out of the garden". Brtitish show, kind of obviously.

Anyway, summer reruns are coming and I can crochet to my heart’s content while only marginally responding to the TV. Have been on basic cable for only six months now, but it didn’t take long to find out that daytime cable is rerun hell … or crochet Eden depending on your mindset. This all works for me. Keeps my hands hooking and my synapses firing. In fact the only glitch in thoroughly enjoying my crochet time comes from the daily, often seemingly hourly, wrestling match with the cat.

Like most cats, Wulfie is an attention whore. The sight of hook in hand is his signal that the human is nicely fluffed up and awaiting his sprawling presence. In other words, he wants to sit on my chest and will squeeze his fuzzy little head under hook and thread and up between my hands completely blocking my line of vision. And if I’m not fast enough, I’ll lose hook, thread and any other small accouterments I may have temporarily stored on my shirt under a solid 108 degree wall of fluffily annoying catness. Of course, even if I can clear the deck fast enough, I will have to put the work away anyway and attend to his satanic majesty or I’ll get kitty-claw pin cushioned to death as he tries to get comfortable on my person. Remind me why it is that I think I like cats?

Ah. Cats and crochet. They go together like Spring and flowers, hearth and home, tar and feathers…

Hook On!
C

2KCBWDAY6 - Aspiring

2011-04-03T10:41:00.000-07:00

Aspiring to be more timely with these posts. My bad. Lost an entire day somewhere. Weird. Back to it.

2KCBWDAY6 Day six: 2nd April. Something to aspire to.Is there a pattern or skill that you don’t yet feel ready to tackle but which you hope to (or think you can only dream of) tackling in the future, near or distant? Is there a skill or project that makes your mind boggle at the sheer time, dedication and mastery of the craft? Maybe the skill or pattern is one that you don’t even personally want to make but can stand back and admire those that do. Maybe it is something you think you will never be bothered to actually make bu can admire the result of those that have.

Sometimes I get the urge to build. Something that I can assemble in a few hours instead of a few days. I’m not sure if it is the planning of said projects, you know - the dreaming, or the actual desire to make that captures my imagination. After all, some of these objects would take days if not weeks to actually complete, and that’s only if I already knew how to do any of the construction. I like to imagine myself as bright enough to figure things out from the internet, a couple of books and some blind struggling. I rather love trial by fire, if I can beat the fire that is. I only kind of like a little adrenalin and am not full-on masochistic.

Although many things cross my twisted little tinkerer-wannabe mind, the thing I am repeatedly drawn to is clear materials. Lucite, Plexiglas, pourable resin, glass, crystal, acetate sheets - all of it. No matter where my ideas start, I always wind up in the land of see-through with high hopes, deep wishes and insufficient coffers.

For example, one day I started dreaming of not being crushed beneath the weight of collapsed columns of poorly balanced crocheting supplies and decided to devise a more stable storage method. The format that came immediately to mind was that of the old, now decommissioned library card catalog chests with the all those lovely drawers.

Wine Storage Card Catalog

apartmenttherapy.com

They have popped up a lot in design blogs and studio organization literature. I really respond to compartmentalization. You should see the trees of folders I have on my desktop. Any cons? Uh, yeah. The mothers cost a lot, weigh a ton and the worst offense - the drawers are too small to hold the balls of crochet thread I use. Arghh.

OK, so how about the old style apothecary chests. I love the “mad scientist in the land of copper and glass” aspect of them and the drawers are a good size:

Apothecary Chest

apothecarycabinet.info

Bigger Apothecary Cabinet

antiquesandthearts.com

Ha ha. The prices for these babies are even funnier than those for the card catalogs. Even, or maybe especially, the reproduction ones are out of the same solar system as my budget. Clearly, trendy and commercial is not the way to go for me. Sooooo. DIY it is.

The idea of hacking CD/DVD towers into my own version of an apothecary chest came to mind. The result of “internet inspiration” re: thieving photos off the net.

CD Drawers
www.sz-wholesale.com (apparently)

I like the possibilities. Get a plain, unadorned version and Cecinatrix it up. Would this mean I had to invest in paints and cabinet hardware and lacquers or whatever? Considering that my workshop would be in my tiny apartment where random flurries of cat fluff assault the atmosphere? Uh. No. Anyway, my heart had become set on something clear in which to store my cotton threads. A system that would offer both quick and easy access while presenting the world (OK, me) a constant display of colorful sparkly big time pretty.

I found these acrylic boxes in the ULINE catalog:

The Stassssh

I lo-uh-uhve catalogs. Anyway, I misunderstood the description and as I’ve mentioned before (only like every time I talk about these boxes), the outside dimensions are perfect for my packages of crochet thread. The inside dimensions? Short by 1/4 inch in every direction. Alas. But I make do. Stubborn and cheap to the rescue!

Then I stumbled across a pic of what I really wanted:

Hallelujah!
Mother F-ing choir of angels!
ca-acrylicdesign.net

Yes. A plexiglass apothecary-style chest. Mmmmmmmmmm. Lucite. The company that made this is a custom fabrication place in California I believe. Fun, fun, funny fabrication prices. Completely worth the cost, too. It's just – you know - the money flow suckage. DIY? Maybe. This project/idea is resting on the back-burner for now. I’ve done the "construction research" (all that I have the patience for) and am all ready to tinker and catch fire. But the supplies? Maybe if I was patient, thrifty and shifty, I could buy a shelf sized piece of acrylic every couple of months until … judgment day.

boo

So here I am, lost in slumber with see-through dreams. Let me share a few items with you that make me very happy to look at even if I could never, ever afford them; and truth to tell, I wouldn’t necessarily want all of them in my home. For a lot of these things, it’s the desire to figure out how to make them for myself, after which, of course, I’d probably lose interest. Either that or go maker-wild, turning my bedroom into Lucite Labs. Does cat hair interfere with acrylic bonding?

Chandeliers:

Rimfrost Hack
ikeahackers.net

Three Rimfrost Hack
ikeahackers.net

I missed the Ikea Rimfrost shade by a few years. Drat! Curse their thrifty Scandinavian good-business practice product rotation! The fun I could have had. Bwa ha ha! I digress.

Candelabras:

Ghost Candelabra
MOMA

How awesome is that!?

Lamp shades:

Lamp
letsbuyit.co.uk

Crystal. Lampshade. Crystal. Come on!

Entire 3D lamp:

Bourgie Lamp
also MOMA
although I seem to have
misplaced the link info

Comes in gold-tinted see-through goodness too. I saw that one at styleofdesign.com but sorry, they are much too clever to let me acquire by questionable means any usable photos for me to offer them unethical, yet free advertising.

Chairs:

Ghost Chairs
interiorexpress.com

Hmm. OK. Maybe furniture leaves me a little cold. I may like the idea of a cabinet and chest of drawers and even a slick nightstand/end table/coffee table but these chairs? They are turning up all over the design blogs, some TV shows and even a few craft-art mags. The “forefront of a popular trend” has never been a selling point for me, in fact quite the opposite is true. I resist many things on the basis of their popularity alone.

But, the real trouble I have with the Ghost Chair is that I can’t get past the image of naked thighs beneath the short pants featured in the requisite Texas summer survival gear kit. I don’t know a lot of supermodels and the image of folds of sweaty exposed flesh pressed up tight against clear sparkly acrylic doesn’t exactly make me want to run out and get the bank loan I would need to purchase one of these babies. That image would haunt and terrorize my beautiful see-through dreams causing me to awaken hourly with fevered screams.

But then again, maybe that’s just me.

Hook On!

2KCBWDAY5 - Experimenting

2011-04-02T00:57:00.000-07:00

2KCBWDAY5 Day Five: 1st April.

And now for something completely differentThis is an experimental blogging day to try and push your creativity in blogging to the same level that you perhaps push your creativity in the items you create.

There are no rules of a topic to blog about (though some suggestions are given below) but this post should look at a different way to present content on your blog. This can take one of many forms, but here a few suggestions:

* Wordless, photographic post
* Video blog post
* Podcast
* Cartoon/sketch of an idea
* Write about a subject from a different perspective (for example, you could write about a day in the life of a knitted sock from the point of view of the sock).
* Interpretive modern dance (why does someone always suggest this?
* A poem or piece of rhyming verse
* Stop motion animation

OK

Meow. Meowmeowmeow. YAAAAOWL!

mew.

mew?

meow. MEOW! MEOW! MEEEEEEEEEYAOW!!!!

Just kidding. April Fool! Just wanted to share a little of what my nights have been like lately. Nights. Afternoons. Trips to the bathroom. Or kitchen, or front door. Sitting on the couch. I really miss REM sleep.

Hmm.

So many things I can think of…

“Desire fo Rorrim” ala sdrawkcab nettirw tsop elohw eht…

(ie " The whole post written backwards ala “Mirror of Erised”…")

…block word by backward maybe or

(ie "or maybe backward by word block…")

or in surface crochet cursive…

Gimme

or free-air crochet cursive…

Book-uh-duh-mark

or hand drawn and colored penciled…

Insomnia

or entirely beaded...

Lists

or even on pennant flags…

wahoo, buckeroo

Nah. I think I'll go somewhat virtual:

Fun. No, really. But now I have all these ideas bouncing around inside my head and I'm itching to play with them all, but I just can't seem to justify the copious amounts of time that they would each require. Sigh. Ideas are seldom the problem - it's the realization that frustrates.

Hook On!
C

2KCBWDAY8 Wildcard – Embellishing

2011-03-31T13:19:00.000-07:00

Uhm In the interest of full disclosure (ie sharing waaaaay too much), I'm doing the Wildcard option today because the Day4 topic "Whatever happened to your _____?" is not my kinda thing. I never keep track of things I make for other people and the stuff I make for myself that actually gets used are socks and my nasty-ugly-walked-barefoot-through-crushed-glass-in-a-wild-cactus-patch-in-winter feet tear through those too quickly to justify photography.

Sooo.....

2KCBWDAY8 Wildcard – Embellish the story

Embellishments come in all types and forms. Some are more than purely decorative and form a practical function – pretty buttons are as much part of holding a garment together as mere decoration, and some are just there to give a piece an extra ‘something’. Blog about an embellishment, be it a zipper, amigurumi eyes or applique patch which you are either saving to use or have in the past used to decorate a project with. Write about whether you are a very minimalist kind of knitter with classic lines and timeless plain knits or whether you love all the bells and whistles or sticking sewing and otherwise attaching decoration to your pieces.

I am a loud creature by nature. Love bright colors and shiny sparkly things except of course when I don’t. “Inconsistent” is the word I hear used most often and I am strangely okay with that. Why do the same thing the same way twice? That sounds to much like work – chain gang sledgehammer smashing big rocks into little ones type work. I prefer that my work day be neither Dickensian in its constant soul-crushing repetitive mindless automaton sweat-shopery nor Orwellian in its level of overbearing supervisory interference cum guidance. I kind of like being a flake. But I draw the line at being called “childish”. I am not so much immature as easily filled with wonder and awe.

So, yes, I have a child-like fascination with baubles and gee-gaws. Not only do I have bags of buttons yet do not sew but quite a few of those are novelty buttons shaped like all sorts of fun things. Have a few beads too although I don’t consider myself a jewelry maker. I just like color and shine and texture.

Most of these embellishment items I purchased when taking a stab at being a mixed media person. I don’t paint or bring myself to tear up books so I find that I never could quite find a niche in that world. But I did use all sorts of things I never used before, like pipe cleaners. Oops. “Chenille stems” – my bad. I showcased the gloriously malleable fluff factor of those stems as a detail alongside my crochet appliqué motif creatures (I haven’t settled on what I want to call them.):

Alex in Wonder Land
(should be Land of Wonder -
we are still a litigious society)

I really like the way this turned out but was alone in my enthusiasm. Still, I often do things merely to amuse myself. I added the Alex piece to my collection of books. Come to think of it, I seem to reserve most of these embellishments for use on my books:

Roses Are Dead

On the Fence About the Fence

Postcards from Home

Particularly the spines. I’m not about to leave an unadorned open grid of a spine just hanging out there in dead space. And my usual form of detailing and embellishment would hinder the free movement of those pivot points.

I do like to include a lot of detail in the construction of my pieces, and that usually means adding lots of structures created out of thread:

Ides of Uh Oh

Still, I hold on to and often add to the beads and buttons and little doo-dads because they strike a chord in me. They are the toys of my adulthood. I know that for myself, when I stopped playing with toys of any sort, I started to stagnate and fester from within. Depression with the big, clinical “D” was the diagnosis. The view was pretty dim from the bottom of the crevasse I dug for myself when I tried to became a productive and mature member of 9to5 society. Crochet was the way out.

I started by refamiliarizing myself with the how of stitching and then stepped up to teaching myself filet crochet. Just made things to see if I could make them at first. I was never really aware what was happening, but I was having fun playing with crochet thread and kept going slowly but steadily and kind of crocheted myself a rope ladder out of that abyss. Sure medication helped, but they will always be external - elements being put into me to stabilize me and turn me into some semblance of a functional citizen. Crochet comes from me, is me. Let’s me know that I am alive and that I can touch the real world. I can make something funny, beautiful, silly, painful, meaningful, nonsensical. I can make a small noise in this world. A tiny dent in the fabric of reality. And that is a hell of a huge reason to love crochet.

So, I treat embellishments like my playthings - reasons to smile and be sarcastic and ... well… be me. Crochet was my first toy-for-life and it is the grandest embellishment I could ever hope to include into my life and work.

'Nuff Said, True Believer

Hook On!
C

2KCBWDAY3 - Organizing

2011-03-30T12:21:00.000-07:00

Day Three: 30th March. Tidy mind, tidy stitches.

How do you keep your yarn wrangling organised? It seems like an easy to answer question at first, but in fact organisation exists on many levels. Maybe you are truly not organised at all, in which case I am personally daring you to try and photograph your stash in whatever locations you can find the individual skeins. However, if you are organised, blog about an aspect of that organisation process, whether that be a particularly neat and tidy knitting bag, a decorative display of your crochet hooks, your organised stash or your project and stash pages on Ravelry.

The only positive thing I have ever heard consistently in past job performance reviews was “She’s organized”. I won’t go into the negatives from those reviews except to say that I AM what the Home Ec films warned you about in high school.

But it is mostly true. I love using spreadsheets to keep track of things, 3 ring binders to store hard copies of POs and important information like MSDS sheets and just generally like for things to have their own designated spot complete with carefully selected item-specific storage container. That is so much easier to do at work than at home. My need to compartmentalize my organization efforts suffers in the face of having to pay for the storage places and supplies out of my own pocket. So I close my eyes, grit my teeth and do my scraggly best.

The corner of my bedroom is my little way station for all things crafty not in current use. I have a little folding craft bag next to my chair in the living room where I do all my crochet work and other craftniverous type activities not requiring a flat work surface, but you are not getting a picture of that DMZ. Instead, let’s talk yarn.

I rarely use yarn. Does that mean I don’t have a stash? Heh heh, yeah, that’s funny. I decided a few months ago to collect all the stray skeins I bought for some project or another that I self-proposed but never actually realized and this is the result:

Great Leaning Tower of
Yarn and Yarn-like Fibers

Not too huge a stash but not so small as to fit in a single box. The boxes? Free... once we ate the bakery goods that came with them. Well, they are corralled, stacked and dust free. Doesn’t have to be pretty or high quality as long as the solution solves the major problem. Right? It's the story of my life, so it better be right.

I use thread for my work. Lots and lots of crochet thread. Mostly cotton but some nylon. I never know what to call the package type – ball, sleeve, skeinette? – but they tend to take up a lot of room. Especially since I found these cool, not too expensive clear acrylic boxes to store them in. I have to grease the sides to fit the new packages in these boxes (the outside dimensions are perfectly the right size for these things. Perfect. The outside. Soooo close.), but they fit great once I use up a couple dozen yards of the thread:

Upper Right Craft Corner

Contained, stackable, dust free, tangle free, cat-slobber free. All a gal can ask for in my apartment. Too bad I already outgrew the 25 I bought and need to place another order. That’s the reason for all the little scrunchy plastic bags. The very bags the boxes were shipped in – how’s that for ironic and miserly upcycling? Alas, time to start saving up the pennies that don’t already have Lincoln screaming from all the pinching that goes on around here.

The only real problemito with this system was that I need access to all of the threads when I’m making my appliqué pieces and vignettes. Often the detailing requires only small amounts of thread and I would have to be constantly interrupting my work flow to get up off my buttocks and grab a snippet of thread from the bedroom every time I need a new color. As cool as the boxes are, they are bulky and storing them handily in the living room would just add even more flotsam to the already copious jetsam and that all just makes me want to toss my frumpy apartment-frau /domestic non-goddess cookies at the sight. The solution:

Bobbins!

Embroidery floss bobbins! Yay! So I keep this huge jailer's keyring with me at the work comfy-chair and only have to refill the bobbins periodically. I may have to hide the ring from zee kit-tees, but then again, what don't I have to hide from them. Besides, this system is actually working for me. Who knew?

Hook On!
C

2KCBWDAY2 - Learning

2011-03-29T15:12:00.000-07:00

Day Two: 29th March. Skill + 1UP

Look back over your last year of projects and compare where you are in terms of skill and knowledge of your craft to this time last year. Have you learned any new skills or forms of knitting/crochet (can you crochet cable stitches now where you didn’t even know such things existed last year? Have you recently put a foot in the tiled world of entrelac? Had you even picked up a pair of needles or crochet hook this time last year?

“Learned new skill. Gained new knowledge."

Well, last year on Knitting & Crochet Blog Week, I went on at great length about trying out broomstick crochet. Have the tools and the technology but I just didn’t get Steve ~~Majors~~ Austin out of the wreckage in time. [Character/actor mishmash - my bad. 3/31/11]

However, I did manage to take a stab at hairpin lace which I also mentioned last year,if only in passing. I wanted to play with the Berroco Boho Colors ribbon yarns I acquired in a protracted fit of “oooh that’s pretty” and hairpin seemed the way to go to preserve their lovely tapeyness.

So with loom, hook and ribbonated yarn in hand and an article in Interweave Crochet propped up against my tumbler of ~~scotch~~ uh, “diet soda”, I started hairpinning my little brains out.

The idea was to make longish panels in a combination of colors that I probably wouldn’t want to wear in public and assemble them into some sort of vaguely defined, poorly imagined and imminently ill-conceived tunic top that would allow me to bear the heat waves bouncing off my beauteousness while avoiding the violation of any uptight civil laws against rampant nekkidness. Trouble is, the pattern I was looking at for inspiration/instruction was for a fancy scarf with an intricate joining technique that resulted in lots of curves and open spaces and that kind of garment wasn’t gonna keep me of any episodes of COPS. But I’m a preternaturally clever thing (when not leaving my keys in the car door lock overnight) and between the article, the instructions on the back of the package the loom came in and some judicious web stalking I figured out how to make and join straight panels. Kind of.

Hmmm. Helpful.

Under my cat's watchful gaze and with the pins set arbitrarily at about 2.5” apart I went to town:

Loopy Goodness

I liked it but didn’t think that the loops would offer much coverage at these widths. So I moved the pins in to the approximately 1.5” marks and tried again:

Eh. O. K. I. Guess.

Not sooo bad. In fact, I rather like the tight packing of all the pretty colors. Besides, to complete what I see in my head with panels of this width will probably be much more tedious than necessary with the added bonus of requiring way more product than a sensible person would commit to a single project. Perfect. My kind of ordeal!

Being a curious but lazy monkey, I had no intention of undoing the larger strip and redoing it at my newly preferred setting. So I just ran keeper threads through each set of loops as recommended in one of my source materials (Good Lord, No. I don’t know which) and have the two strips in storage/limbo. But before relegating them to the land of blurry flying saucers and even blurrier yeti peepshows, I managed to catch a wild hair about trying to join the strips:

Comfy Chaos

Hmmm. The scarf in the magazine was made with a solid color ribbon yarn so the joins were less... dramatic. I have no idea if they are allowed to be as blatantly noticeable as mine or not, but I march to the beat of my own Tim-tom and like the zippy, vaguely Morse code/ bones on the fish skeleton look of this join. So why did I only join about a fourth of the two strips together?

I have no idea. I did this months ago now. I think I might remember something about wanting to have strips/panels in alternating ribbon color patterns because I didn’t have more than one ball of yarn in any one colorway. See, I knew full well that one ball of any yarn wasn’t enough to cover even my collar bones and since I was ordering more than one ball anyway I couldn’t resist buying different color patterns. Individual balls. On sale. Closeout sale. Discontinued in perpetuity sale.

So, I have the one purple based yarn you see in the photos and one beige based that I know doesn’t sound at all like something I’d like only it has this gorgeous coppery bronze segment in it that I can’t stop drooling over. Sigh. Two lonely little balls. (ooo, irony) That’s not getting me covered up in any kind of way. Maybe I’ll wait for a sale and get some of the solid colorways still available and just commit fully to a full on Frankenshirt.

Monkey likes to see progress when working on something or she’ll get frustrated then bored then distracted by something shiny and everything will get put into back burner storage hell. So, even though I liked learning/blindly struggling through how to do hairpin crochet, I’ll need to wait for the muse to strike me upside the head before I recall the project from perdition. Hey, speaking of Hades, summer is coming pretty soon. Maybe another heat wave will wake up that peaky muse.

Here's hoping that the ape-ling hasn't written the technique off as "figured out - don't need to proceed". Curious, lazy, clever and apparently crazy monkey signing off now.

Hook On!
C

2KCBWDAY1 - Blog Week

2011-03-28T10:15:00.000-07:00

Time for the 2nd Annual
Knitting and Crochet Blog Week event.A great idea launched by Eskimimiknits last year. A week of knitters and knotters blogging about a different communal topic a day.

I love to talk, hate to come up with my own subjects and like feeling a part of the community, so I'm in for sure.

I participated last year too. Was a lot of fun. Search the tag knitcroblo2010 or follow this link to the first of my humble offerings for the 1st Annual ...

Wow. Upon review, I was quite a bit peppier last year at this time. Oh well. The posts won't be as long or photo heavy this year, but they'll still probably bedazzle and amaze the casual reader with their meandering gabbiness.

So, to Day One

Day One: 28th March. A Tale of Two Yarns.

Part of any fibre enthusiast’s hobby is an appreciation of yarn. Choose two yarns that you have either used, are in your stash or which you yearn after and capture what it is you love or loathe about them.

Can do.

I spent some time this past year doing a little R&D for a very good customer and a potential new project. The D has stalled out a bit, but the R has forever left it’s mark on me. I have had my hands in the bubbling cauldron of fiber-greater-than-1 mm-in-diameter and I am hooked … so to speak. (Ow and Yikes on that one)

These two lovely little numbers live with me now:

Twinkle Soft Chunky
super bulky, pure virgin wool yarn
Eggplant

And

Plymouth Yarn Confusion
bulky, synthetic mix
Pink and black

Both from WEBS. Soooo convenient and awesome.

Now considering the earthy tone on tone colors my client prefers, I have no idea why I even suggested these particular color options - except maybe that I find them oddly hypnotic for some reason. I’m not usually that into purple but I do love jewel-tones and the color royal blue so the shiny purpleness of the wool found me especially vulnerable to its seductive dance of undulating wavelength of light. The synthetic mix, well I love controlled chaos. “Come to me, my jumbled amalgam of texture and color.”

The wool:

I’ve never crocheted with wool before, or any animal sourced fiber for that matter. Although I deeply dislike the idea of annoying baby animals to get yarn (a separate thought for another time), my wool-less past has less to do with ethical deliberation than with a simple, circumstantially and personality driven issue - I’m broke and cheap to boot. Truly, a deadly combination that has me tractor beamed blindly through the friendly neighborhood crafti-plex and directly into the 99¢ bin of acrylic wonder. But we were working on a vision here, so I held my cheapskate breath and clicked “order now”.

Oooo. This stuff is soft and pretty and just shiny enough without going Vegas and nostalgically like those fuzzy hair ribbons of my Neolithic youth and… and… Freakin’ Huge! What am I supposed to do with this? Besides the obsessive fondling it, I mean. Chain? Huge honking chain? Maybe keep it smooth and purty? Maybe something exotic? Something Zen-adjacent? Smooth flowing yin to rough and tumble yang. Which brings me to -

The synthetic:

Looks so great in the photo. A little more black and pink than the photo may lead one to believe but all in all lovely chaotic fuzziness. Hmm. Actually, it is pretty great in person except for the one tiny detail that I always seem to forget – “bulky” can also mean very thin with butt-loads of texture.

Confusion Strands

Once again, my first thought is chain. But with what hook? One of my steels? Maybe. Lots and lots of drapey little chains sounds like the start of a good fiber neckpiece. Like dreadlocks for the throat and shoulder area. Might lose a lot of the gorgeous texture details in little knotty chains though. How about that big plastic S hook I picked up for another way-way-way-in-the-future project? Oh wait, I detest big open gaping flaccid crochet stitches. How about with multiple strands?

Confusion Chain

Hmmmmmmm. Me like. Still need to play with the logistics. Well, “need” to be read “want very, very, very much”. The disparate textures and harmonized colors go so well together...

Chunky Confusion

... yet I am stuck. I don’t have a lot of fiber neck-piece experience which is pretty obvious from the "uhhh, me wrap big soft around fuzzy wuzzy" styling genius depicted in that picture. I do like fuzzy chaos as an aesthetic, I just don’t know how to think that way and my two beautiful new friends languish in oblivion for my shortcoming.

Individually they are wonderful yarns, but together… oh, so much greater than the sum of the parts. I am inherently drawn to the beauty of duality. So much so that I often collect synergistic elements without any thought of their application. Case in point, while gathering the photos for this post, I stumbled across an even more glorious combination of colors for this duo. Something more in keeping with my obsession with the color blue:

Sapphire Twinkle Chunky

Purple/yellow Plymouth Confusion

I would love to get my hands on these two yarns, but I simply can not justify the expense without a clear idea of my plans. I can only allow myself to collect the photos for now.

Sigh. Flat broke fiber enthusiasm really blows. Oh well. I can still drool over the photos and dream of the possibilities anyway… besides, I do still have the lovely purple and pink/black versions with which to play. Now if I can just learn how to think…

Hook On
C

Kittytrix

2011-03-17T06:09:00.000-07:00

Remember me?

This is the cat from the Nat'l Crochet Month post - sans pins. She is also both felid companion and caudate counterpart to my avatar alias Cecinatrix.

the minion and me

I've been trying to decide what to name her. Not that it matters. You know. Cat. Not into the whole "beck and call" thing.

So anyway. I thought riffing off Cecinatrix would be appropriate:

Catatrix.

Cat-trix.

Kit-trix.

Fluffy.

No, not quite ...

Trouble is that I love words but am a tad on the... uh... "quirky" side by nature and often use my beloved woids completely inappropriately. Sometimes for the pun, but most often because "that's what I thought it was". Cecinatrix on the other hand is a phonetic choice.

Here's where I'm so clever I even startle and amaze myself. Take my proper nickname Ceci and add on a dominatrix and we get Cecinatrix. This name was made up on the fly as a joke at the end of an email to a friend that appreciated a good S&M pun. (Do not ask). It was pretty deeply fused with my psyche when it came time to choose a nom-de-internet. So ... ta-da. Uhm, yeah.

See, logically (ooo, cleverness that leads me directly astray) it should be Cecitrix where "Ceci" replaces the "domina". But that isn't what drifted down upon me from the ether. It was years before I realized that the "na" was completely unnecessary, merely a vestigial echo resulting from poor pun construction and editing. But as embarrassed as I am at my grammatical incontinence, I find that I do prefer the "na" version. Cecitrix is too much "brightly colored sugar clumps as kid's breakfast cereal" if you know what I mean, silly Rabbit. Besides, life is a constant quest to be unique and special if only in a socially acceptable and subdued manner.

...and the cat?

Yeah yeah yeah. I'm getting there. So, indeed, what about the cat:

Catanatrix

Catnatrix

Kitanatrix

Kittynatrix

or, simply the properly semantically conjugated

Kittytrix

I hate thinking too much. Too late for gut instinct. I've pontificated this to death. Or am about to....

Kittynatrix matches. Kittytrix is cute.
Kitty=Cat. Rabbit=Trix.

Kittynatrix. Kittytrix. Kittynatrix. Kittytrix. Kittynatrix.
aaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaargh!

Ow. My head.

So....

Kittytrix it is.

Gotta go before I start thinking again.

Hook On!
C

National Crochet Month 2011

2011-03-13T23:58:00.000-07:00

Posting stuff doesn't seem very important in light of the horrors the Earth has wroth unto Japan, New Zealand, Australia... the list has grown too long. It just seems callous to continue on with the frivolities of life, but that is what existence demands. So, holding the lost and suffering in my thoughts, the plight of the those left behind in my heart and hopes and prayers for all in my soul I'll continue on with my days, presenting my impractical work and its silly joy in tribute to the fragility of life and its tenacious persistence into the future.

So to that end, I return to being me:

Cecinatrix-Cat makes her debut

In the blocking phase, but the best picture I could take.

What?

Is that disbelief I hear?

Proof of Photo Ability Suckage

"Well, what about using your beloved Photoshop?" You may ask.

Version 1

Version 2

Take your pick. Each is the product of separate but equally prolonged sessions of selecting/deleting, erasing and just general fiddling around.

Well, it wouldn't be from me if it didn't:

1) take a ridiculous amount of time to complete

2) require a lot of tearing out and starting over

3) photographed terribly

and, lastly (yay!)

4) be something I can brag and whine about in the same breath

Eh. C'est yo.

Happy National Crochet Month 2011, ya'll

Hook On
C

Kittythulhu

2011-03-05T12:32:00.000-08:00

Sometimes, late at night, I like to think that my cats are worth spoiling a little. Delusional, I know. But it happens. It was Christmas and I got it into my head that nice new kitty dishes would fit the spoiling-their-fuzzy-orange-asses bill quite nicely. Something sturdy to counteract their... catness yet something funny and/or cute enough to keep me from hurling it at them in a fit of ire. While doing research online (ie goofing around on Google Images), I stumbled across this image from Cafe Press:

Chromatic Design at Cafe Press

and nearly shorted out my computer with the fully carbonated soda that blew out my nose and all over my keyboard. Nasal spit-take aside, I couldn't stop laughing ... until I saw this:

Cathulhu Kitty Bowl

and fell in love! Now, unfortunately for these vendors but fortunately for my meager and thread bare coin purse, the wild-hair impulse to pamper my kitties is often a ROM event that does not extend much beyond collecting downloaded photos in my "impossibly cute file". So the moment did pass.

But the image kept popping into my head and making me smile. A bit more research at Cafe Press and I found more from the same designer - Evil Genius Tees - including:

Onesie

Oh, Come On! How is this NOT cute!?

Okay. So I have no spawn of my own or any nearby and I'm still BBCB (broke beyond credible belief) but this is just too good to leave alone.

...and you know what, I make cat-pliques for grandiose fun and minuscule to nonexistent profit so why don't I just take a stab at the Cthulhu as cat in my own style:

Kittythulhu

Me am so happy.

Tee hee.

Although I used "kittyth" instead of "cath" or "cth" apologies are still owing. Sincerest apologies for "taking inspiration" without permission and deepest thanks to Evil Genius Tees for the cat and Lovecraft for the Cthulhu.

Hook On!
C

Dr. Seuss 2011 and Friend

2011-03-03T22:29:00.000-08:00

I can soooo do better than that.

1st - Learn to Spell

"I do not spell, either."

Check

2nd - Pay the man a proper tribute.

Cat making broad to cat creating god:

Cake anyone?

Double check.

Happy Birthday Dr. Seuss and your Cat in the Hat.

Hook On!
C

Dr. Seuss 2011

2011-03-03T08:43:00.000-08:00

It's the birthday of the one and only Dr. Seuss!

Caught unawares - a natural state for me - I offer this powerpointed message in celebration:

"I do not draw, Sam I am."

Hmm. But maybe I can do better...

Day 28 & The Catphabet

2011-02-28T08:42:00.001-08:00

Year of the Rabbit

The End

G'bye

Day 27

2011-02-27T16:01:00.001-08:00

February

Day 26 - Z is for Zeus Cat

2011-02-26T09:51:00.001-08:00

Z is for Zeus

Day 25 - Y is for Yarn Cat

2011-02-25T15:57:00.001-08:00

Y is for Yarn

Day 24 - X is for Xray Cat

2011-02-24T22:14:00.001-08:00

X is for X-ray Cat

Day 23 - W is for Wrestler Gato

2011-02-24T07:24:00.001-08:00

W is for Wrestler Gato

Day 22 - V is for Valkyrie Cat

2011-02-22T22:01:00.001-08:00

V is for Valkyrie

Day 21 - U is for Usher Cat

2011-02-21T21:56:00.001-08:00

U is for Usher

Complete with little round hat, white gloves and shiny black shoes. Ahh.

Day 20 - T is for TRON Cat

2011-02-20T15:19:00.001-08:00

T is for TRON Cat

Day 19 - S is for Sherlock Cat

2011-02-20T15:18:00.001-08:00

S is for Sherlock Cat

Day 18 - R is for Rapunzel Cat

2011-02-18T22:36:00.001-08:00

R is for Rapunzel Cat

Day 17 - Q is for Quetzal Bird as Cat

2011-02-18T00:13:00.001-08:00

[[posterous-content:pid___0]]Q is for Quetzal Bird Cat

Trouble with camera, auto-focus, battery pack, photoshop, ... name it and you have the idea.

Aw Heck and Dagnabit! Add Blogspot and Posterous to the list of inanimate things that hate me today.

Here's the photo for Day 17 again, in all its blurry glory, just in case the autopost thing doesn't actually auto-correct itself and make it past the solar flare.

Q is for Quetzal Bird as Cat

So what is a Quetzal bird?

Brilliant green, red and white plumage:

Quetzal Bird

image from myths-made-real.blogspot.com

Kicky little buzz cut:

Quetzal Bird Close-up

image from hubpages.com

One of my most favorite things lurking in the jungles of Central America.

Hook On!
C

Day 16 - P is for Prisoner

2011-02-16T22:29:00.001-08:00

P is for Prisoner

Not really a repeat - this is based on the cartoon type of convict - ball and chain working on the rock pile turning big ones into little ones for no apparent reason. That's my story and I'm sticking with it.

Day 15 - O is for Ophelia

2011-02-15T22:50:00.001-08:00

O is for Ophelia

Day 14 - N is for Nero

2011-02-14T22:27:00.001-08:00

N is for Nero

afiddlin' away as Rome burns

You know, I'm never quite happy with the way my fires look - just post and hope it works.

Day 13 - M is for Matryoshka

2011-02-14T00:09:00.001-08:00

M is for Matryoshka

or perhaps more familiarly:

Thing-A-Day 2011 autopost

2011-02-12T23:10:00.001-08:00

Finally noticed the autopost function at my TAD blog. Kinda cool. Makes me wish I knew what I was doing with my Facebook and Twitter accounts so I can auto-up to them too.

Day 12 - L is for Lawyer Cat

And what a pain in the butt it was to complete too. The hair just wouldn't cooperate and I ran out of black thread just in time to give the poor possessed looking creature "blond eyelashes". Still, finished. I love you, Photoshop.

tee hee - a new toy.

Hook On!
C

Fortuitous Accident

2011-02-10T22:45:00.000-08:00

Hmm. What does it take to appear clever?

I posted the "I" Catphabet critter for Thing-A-Day yesterday and only just noticed today that there is a happy little accident posing as tiny allegedly intentional detail.

I is for Inmate Cat

If you look somewhat closely at the cat's right eye you see a small brownish line transecting the "socket" - like a little bad-ass scar! I think I might just pretend that it was intentional.

What is it really? Well... just between you, me and the server (and anyone with access to a computer that stumbles across us)... I usually use black thread to outline the kitty eyes because it helps define the lighter colors as well as make the eyes stand out:

B is for Box of Cat

...however, it can impart a bit too much of a Vegas showgirl glamour onto the figures - perfect for show folk:

J is for Jester

...but a bit outr'e for the average unwilling guest of the Department of Corrections. All I wanted was to imply the look of your standard, run-of-the-mill, temporary ward of the state.

So I initially outlined the eyes in the same shade of brown that I used on the nose and mouth. No photo, but trust me, it looked rather too bulgy eyed meth head for my purposes. I ripped out the thread and apparently missed a piece that got caught under the right eye itself.

So lazy follow-through and shoddy clean-up result in the creation of a nice little touch. I love not having to be creative or smart to appear clever. Love love love.

Ooooo, but I'm fighting the impulse to go back in and darken the "scar". That's my trouble - a heavy hand for a subtle detail. After all I already photoshopped the holy hell out of the photo to get this far. Those numbers on the chest? Not nearly that legible in stitch. The entire figure is only an inch and a half tall after all.

Original Image

Slightly Monkey-ed With

Whole Hog Monkey-shined

... and that's the best I can do as a photographer.

sigh

Oh my, but I have revealed too many of my warts...

Hook On!
C

Cats Out the Wazoo!

2011-02-07T22:45:00.000-08:00

Or so it seems.

Being apparently somewhat masochistic in nature, I committed to making a cat-pplique a day for the month of February. To remain accountable, I am doing this under the framework of the Thing-A-Day 2011 challenge website: only during February, only once a year (well... yeah) and only to combat the individual's own commitment issues. Perfect place to give it a go. No rules, no pressure, not even any punitive measures for the slackers at heart (uh huh, me too).

It's been a week now. So far so good. Photos aren't always getting posted before midnight of the actual day, but at least the critters are getting done.

Here's week one as a group:

A through G

They are taking longer and longer to make. I may need to pare down the details and go for the least that suggests the most. Huh? Even I don't fully understand that.

Well, I guess that blithering means that it's time for bed. Another couple of hours hovering in the twilight of sleep running through the alphabet in my mind looking for the next cat to grow from my hook.

Hook On!
C

My Mind and the Xmas Dalek

2011-01-29T17:51:00.000-08:00

The Xmas Dalek I talked about toward the end of an earlier post still really amuses me and I'm actually pretty happy with the way it turned out. Nice and blingy with a lovely feathery dusting of snark.

Since process fascinates me, and I don't seem to have moved much past dwelling on my Christmas projects, I thought maybe I'd share a little bit of how my mind allegedly works.

My projects all begin with a snarky little idea such as:

"Hmm, the Daleks on Dr. Who come in a lot of fashionable color combos these days. That snazzy red and black look is a good combo both classic and trend-tastic. Wonder what other colors they have. Ooo. Lots of different ones - some with gold. Gold? That's a regal and festive choice. I wonder what Davros would have decking his halls during the holidays? Oh oh oh I know..."

... and then the process continues along lines mostly ~~littered~~ paved with my own crappy little sketches and copyright-tweaking gently lifted images from the interweb.

Since I have no documentation of the mental runaway train action, I'll start our journey with a little sketch.

I did say little... and crappy.

I freeform my crocheted applique figures. A little like sculpting with thread and stitch, but I need a point of reference, a shape to follow and emulate. Especially when shooting for a Dalek which has various unusual sloping angles to it that I just can't visualize strongly enough to keep in my head. Sooo... To the internet! ...with fully optimized download capability.

"Source Material"

You know, in hindsight, I probably could have colored it in with Photoshop while I was cutting and pasting my way through the copyright laws, but I didn't think of it at the time and I really, really enjoy using my super el cheapo colored pencils for some nostalgic preschool playtime.

Top down is how I like to roll, so while staring at the vandalized print-out I began working on the basic forms starting with the domey head which was an easy enough structure of a flattened quarter circle. The "neck part" was a little work but the look of the elements was achievable with simple techniques that were easy to anticipate: sides flared via end-row stitch increases and slats raised by post stitches.

The part that kept throwing me though was the skirt. (Yes, get over it - it's a skirt.) I've done alternating rows of decreasing stitch sizes as attached rays before and had that idea ready to go, but this time the pitch of each ray was different and that bounced a rugged little curve ball off my forehead.

I mostly work by starting on an object and ripping and redoing along the way if it isn't shaping up right because I can usually tell if a compound structure I'm trying to build will work before the object is complete. The skirt is different.

For some reason, I have a butt-load of trouble discerning spatial interactions. (Makes driving an adventure: How far is that car and what speed is it traveling? - oh just gun it - WAHOO! - Thrill Driving!!) Anyway, with the Dalek skirt, I just couldn't tell if the proportioning was correct as I was stitching. I had to make complete models before I could tell if the slope was right. What a pain! So this time I have nasty little proto-versions lying around.

Trial and Error

Nasty little things but getting me closer to go. Eventually I figured out the right distribution of angling then blocked, card-stocked and bejeweled it up a treat.

Ta Da!

Exterminate! Exterminate! La! La! La!

Wow, I really do amuse easily.

But then, who wouldn't want a glittery Dalek applique of their very own?

Guess what? I took notes along the way. I always forget to do that!

Working Notes

And looking at the photo above, you can probably guess why. My notes are a mess and barely useful. Yes, I do understand them, but sadly, only for a day or two then I'll be as lost as the next hook-monkey looking at crochet gibberish.

So I often try to rewrite the mess before I forget everything:

Cleaned Up Notes

Better? Meh.

Works for me though. In my shorthand code because I am much too lazy to write out the entire word for a stitch much less any explanatory sentence on how it was achieved and accompanied by the odd sketch or two because I'm a very visually oriented lazy person.

So by virtue of the herculean effort that resulted in this extensive documentation, I may just be able to write out this pattern for others to understand. Who knows?

And that is my "process": from internal dialogue brainstorming/idle daydreaming nonsense to cheesy and vaguely unethical image research to brash just-jump-in almost blind "stitch sculpting" to finished project with the potential accompaniment of a juicy stockpile of the raw compost necessary for pattern writing.

Not pretty; but fun as Hell.

Hook On!
C

Ghosts of Xmas Past yet Recent

2011-01-25T14:40:00.000-08:00

My nod to Christmas gifting runs toward the crafty in nature. Specifically, I crochet Christmas flavored appliques with a Texas theme to send in handmade cards to my friends, family and a few co-conspirators in craft I've met along the way.

This year's applique:

Gingerbread Cowboy

and handmade card:

Gbread Greetings Card

A fairly large undertaking this year.

The gang.

The look I was going for was a "Howdy, Ma'am. Have yourself a merry little Christmas there." Some of the boys are just a little too smirky to pull that off. Alas. Consistency is over-rated and I stand by that even if every employer that I have ever had has seen it a bit differently and argued it vociferously just prior to our carefully orchestrated parting of ways.

True to form, I was pretty late completing and mailing these cards. Mostly due to the constant distraction from a couple of other Xmas projects that kept tapping on my parlor door:

Christmas Bulb Garland

and:

Merry Dalekmas

Little things done to amuse myself but which were all true labors of love.

Thought I'd share.

Hook On!
C

Open Book

2011-01-21T08:25:00.000-08:00

Handmade books are one of the creative venues that keeps happily distracting me from the chaotic clutter of this noisy life. When I recently stumbled across the realization that I hadn't made a book in a while, I started thinking ... always an activity fraught with peril around here.

The brief period of mental gathering/physical inactivity that I call "planning" led me to the pun as tactile sarcastic object:

My life is an open book
... with nothing to say.
The pages are empty.
Ooooo - The pages are open.

Ta Da, Voila and Bingo!

Empty Book

So, let's see:
Creative impulse slaked.
Sarcastic nature indulged.
Tiny little pun-based joke made.
And it looks a lot like a rectangular Oreo.

All in all, a good week.

Hook On!
C

Making friends.

2011-01-12T06:33:00.000-08:00

Hooky looked a little lonely (if maniacal).

In an attempt to remember how I made him, I made him a little friend...

Hooky and company

(Fun lighting effects, huh? Maybe Hooky ain't the only maniac in the room. Hmmmm.)

Lil' Hooky with a hook

...and I forgot to take notes. Poo and crap!

Since the original concept behind a soft crochet hook was for a bolster style pillow, I made the small green hook as an excuse to explore my options while still fully intending to take notes:

Pillow Crochet Hook

... and ... you guessed it! Forgot. Again. sigh

This razor sharp memory of mine is, above all else, the reason why when prototyping/"doing one to take notes", I always work small. Soooo much easier to make a new version. We'll just wait and see how the next attempt goes before I fully admit to junior grade senility.

In the meantime, here's a photo that offers a sense of both scale and the extent to which my cat Grendel can be an annoying little interloper:

Scale Puss

Once more into the design breach...

Hook On!
C

Idle hands and crochet hooks

2011-01-11T05:24:00.000-08:00

makes Cecinatrix go ... something something.

Crazy?

Don't mind if I do!

Hooky McGee & friend
(& my thumb)

With apologies to "The Shinning" and everyone at the Simpsons factory.

Hook On!
C

2011 - Yay!

2011-01-01T00:15:00.000-08:00

One year closer...

mwa ha ha

Huh?

I don't know. Just felt like acknowledging the new year.

Happy New Year!

really

Hook On
C

Aha! Another Banner.

2010-12-10T06:03:00.000-08:00

See? I have been up to no good with my hook. Another pennant banner made before summer that has, until recently, been languishing away in my hermitage awaiting its day in front of the camera. OK, so the picture doesn't do the details of the stitches any kind of justice. I do believe the gist can be gathered - maybe if you squint?

Anyway, now available at my little hunk of Ravelry:

Pennant Banner - Mixed

Six different stitches each featured on its own pennant flag all lined up in a row as a bright and colorful banner.

And for free, too.

All 12 pages.

Enjoy.

Hook On
C

Trendy Me

2010-12-04T12:17:00.000-08:00

Hey, a girl can dream. I was so pleased with myself earlier this year when I noticed that colorful banners made of pennant flags were popping up everywhere in the home-deco/craft-happy world. I usually don't notice a trend until it has appeared everywhere first. But not this time. No, I was right there when the paper versions started making the rounds. I even managed to notice that there weren't any crochet versions popping up yet.

Woo hoo!

So I hopped on the boat and came up with this nifty little thread crochet banner with a slogan that just snarks "me". Even came up with a second, more complicated version that I'll post later this week. (I may actually have finally learned to space out my publishing efforts.) There I was, mid-April 2010 with the banners done and both looking kind of cute, even if I did say so myself. I say a lot myself. Anyway...

May = Getting too hot outside to think properly.
June = Hotter!
July = Hotter!
August = Oh dear Lord!
September = Ooo, I can think again.
October = Hey, I need to write those patterns.
November = Oh yeah, and the charts.
December = Where's my camera?

And now, only a few short months later - I present to one and to all, the Wahoo Pennant Banner:

Pattern available at Ravelry.

I'd post it here, but it's kind of long - 5 pages. Big charts, lots of words. What can I say?

Hope you enjoy this little offering.

Come experience the wonders at the trailing end of a trend with me.

Hook On!
C

Halloween 2010

2010-11-01T22:04:00.000-07:00

Trick-or-treating was light this year at the ole apartment complex. Only two small visitors:

Kitty Corn & Ghostie Puss

...but they didn't seem to want any candy.

Two more feline fiends to add to my collection.

bwa ha ha ha ha ha ha ... ahh, yada yada yada - meow

;-)

Hook on!
C

Elephant pattern update

2010-09-10T07:25:00.000-07:00

Finally posted at Ravelry an update for the Republican Elephant from my "Political Animal Appliques" set of motifs . The instructions have been expanded into somewhat more complete sentences, the text/stitches color-matching has been revised in hopes of more clearly delineating the individual steps and the pattern itself has been reworked to make the features stronger.

Pattern is still free, of course. How could I in good conscience set a price on fridgie motif animal icons of the land of the Free ?

;-)
Hook On.
C

Donkey pattern update

2010-09-10T07:00:00.000-07:00

Finally posted at Ravelry an update on the Democratic Donkey from my "Political Animal Appliques" set of motifs. The instructions have been expanded into somewhat more complete sentences and the text/stitches color-matching has been revised in hopes of more clearly delineating the individual steps. Pattern is still free, of course. How could I in good conscience set a price on fridgie motif animal icons of the land of the Free ?

;-)
Hook On.
C

Eagle pattern update

2010-08-27T23:10:00.000-07:00

I noticed that on Ravelry someone was having a lot of trouble with the Eagle pattern from my set of Political Animal Appliques so I decided to take a look at what I currently had available as a pattern.

Wow.

No wonder the poor soul suffered. That is one crap pattern.

I am pretty obviously still polluting the web-o-sphere with some horribly truncated mutant ... oh, let us call them "patterns" for lack of a succinct term that defines an almost random collection/list of ethereally defined yet mostly standard abbreviations for crochet stitches.

My major bad.

So, now I'm taking steps to do round-ups and updates on some of the more ornery miscreants. Starting with the Eagle applique.

Would greatly appreciate any feedback on the update. I put in a lot of structural details hoping to clear up the intent of some of my hook juggling. I fear this may have made the pattern more confusing.

Thanks

Hook On!
C

Cat Loaf applique update

2010-08-24T11:47:00.000-07:00

Another pattern rescued from the arcane and cryptic shorthand world from which all my instructions hail.

Kitty Cat Loaf in applique now available as free PDF download at Ravelry:

Kitty Loaf - the applique

Again, much thanks to KittyDobson for the interest and request.

Hook On!
C

Stretchy Kitty Applique update

2010-08-23T10:18:00.000-07:00

It is said that the road to perdition is paved with good intentions and now we can add another one of my old patterns onto the tarmac: Stretching Kitty applique has now been revised/translated.

Available at Ravelry

Thanks to KittyDobson for requesting the update. A memory-elf is exactly what I've been needing - not that I've become absent mind... what was I talking about? ;-)

The Cecinatrix

knitcroblo7

2010-05-02T08:04:00.000-07:00

Journey's End- final day of the Knit and Crochet Blog Week. Lots of talking. Interesting fun.

Day 7 - What a Yarn

"There’s one love that we all share: yarn. Blog about a particular yarn you have used in the past or own in your stash, or perhaps one that you covet from afar."

I have thread. Lots of thread. It's what I do. I've just never really gotten into the yarn too much. I mean, I love the soft and fuzzy, it's just I don't like the idea of bothering baby animals for it and then paying through the nose to get it to my door. I do believe that the price is fair and justified when considering the care and feeding of the donor sources and the costs of harvesting, processing, packaging, marketing and etc incurred by these products. But I'm cheap at heart and also a genetically sweaty woman to whom the idea of donning a garment actually called a "sweater" seems to be flouting the vindictiveness of fate.

But I do love the unusual and am currently borderline obsessed with certain fibers: Bamboo, Sari Silk, Banana Leaf and Nettle.

I haven't bought any bamboo yet because I'm saving up for the wildly fantastic 100% stuff from South West Trading Company by way of Yarn Market:

Midori

That's the color that keeps me interested. There are several other colors I like in that line, but this is the one that keeps smacking me upside the head and saying, "Over here, stupid."

I like to say that it is the price that keeps me from saving my pennies with any efficiency for this purchase, but I have to admit that there is also a lot of "it's too popular" going on. If I'm gonna spend Serious Bucks on something (and believe me when I say that $16 bucks a hank is SERIOUS Moolah to yours truly), it is going to be something I think is cool and that flies under the general radar. So last year, I figured recycled Sari Silk yarn wasn't too popular yet and bought a hank from The Wool Peddler:

Kathmandu Sari Silk

Gorgeous isn't it? Shiny and colorful and exotic. Uhm, well the one I received was more like a lovely vomit color partially obscured by a haze of hairiness that felt a bit like thick sandpaper when crocheted on my J hook. Ultimately used it for the heel and ankle of some franken-socks I made for avoiding impaling my tender diabetic feet on hidden caches of power-shed kitty claws. To be fair, my ankles are always cold and my rough dry crone's heels tear through yarn like wet tissue but the sari yarn is warm and tough enough to solve these little problems. Now if my feet weren't so ginormous that I could get a whole sock out of 1 hank it would be worth getting more for this purpose. But as it stands, it would take about 4 hanks and I will not pay $64 dollars for a pair of house socks - not even if they came with a naked man to don them lovingly on my feet each morning. Well... No! Not even.

But I was so happy to find Wool Peddler because they also carry some oh so imagination- capturing fibers: Banana Leaf and Nettle.

Pretty weird and odd and funky - what's not to like? According to the web site promotional blurbettes they have a lot of good karma associated with them too:

Made from fibers reclaimed from the clothing industry and spun by hand by women in India.

Banana Silk Yarn

Chemical and pesticide free, made from wild plants in Nepal:

Nettle

They also sell hemp yarn but which is too eco-trendy a fiber for my taste right now and besides, nettles remind me of a favorite fairy tale - The Goose Girl.

I am making something from this combination, but it is incomplete and incredibly heavy. I'll post a pic later.

... like now

Banana Nettle Swirl

CAL 5-6-10

I'm thinking of taking it apart and making something smaller. I love the interplay of these 2 fibers. The thick-thin, broken in several places but totally worth it Banana and the super thin, scratchy nature-in-a-roll quality of the Nettle.

So that's what I'm jones-ing on right now yarn wise. That and the discontinued Berroco tape yarn discussed ad nauseum a few days ago.

MMMM. It is good to have plans.

Hook On!
C

knitcroblo6 & Wild Card

2010-05-01T07:08:00.000-07:00

Day 6 - Revisit a past F/O

"Bring the fortune and life of a past finished project up to the present. Document the current state and use of an object you have knitted or crocheted,..."

Hmmmmm. I don't make things that get used. I've had three pieces travel a bit - which is more than I get to do these days - lucky string! Even had one piece go home with someone for keeps. A couple of ATC trades, a couple of "thinking of you" thingies, a couple of informal swaps. I guess I could track any one of those items, but I don't know that it's all that exciting. Plan, sketch, make, hold on to forever, mail (which can also take forever especially if it has to pass through customs - I'm on a list. I think.) and wait ever so impatiently for word that it was received. That's kind of what the whole of this blog is about anyway. So I thought I'd offer this paragraph for the official Day 6 topic and then tackle the Wild Card topic:

Wild Card - All Tooled Up

"Do you have a particular knitting/crochet tool or piece of equipment that you love to use?"

This is my trusty size 9, 1.25 mm steel crochet hook.

Photo ~~to Come~~ Here!

I use it for almost everything. Not sure why. Just love the way the stitches, matrices and finished fabric look when I use this hook. I have a size 10 I would like to try as well but I like sticking to one hook. Must be my hangup about loyalty, fidelity, honor and respect. Sheesh! Go figure.

Some of the finish is worn off of the size 9 from the constant use and the added injury of the acidic guiding finger-tip. I slipped it into a length of clear tubing. My father got that tubing for me millenia ago when I mentioned in passing that I was looking for a way to make crochet vases that could stand on their own without starching as I like the soft feel of the thread. In passing mind you - and he scoured the hardware store coming back with a coil of this and a sturdier type as well. He was a kind and thoughtful man under the guarded and secluded personality. Miss him. We drove each other a little nuts, but only because we were too much alike. Way too much for comfort. No one likes a good mirror. Still. Love and miss.

What was I talking about? Oh, the hook sheath. The tubing fits perfectly at the thumb rest but is a bit loose everywhere else. I crochet with a heavy hand: have broken a white plastic hook at the 1/3 way mark and broken the tip off 2 separate size 12 steels. What can I say? I like a firm matrix and can't stand seeing air between my stitches. Anyway, the hook slides around inside the sheath due to my tight and harsh style, which exposes the metal to my hot little fingers and smudges the surface with the inevitable bio-oil. There's a lot of stitch, stitch, stitch, push back up, stitch, stitch, stitch, push back up in my work day. But beats the livin' heck out of the ooey, gummy, shredded mess that those incredibly expensive blue rubber guards that are sold commercially turn into.

I do have a handful of other steel and aluminum hooks and even an acrylic one. I'm trying to collect only dark blue "regular" crochet hooks but having no luck. Boye's Crochet Master kit has ads were the kit in the photo has all dark blue aluminums, but I can't find the one in the picture for sale anywhere. Not even at my go to online suppliers. It is worth it to me to pay for steels that I already have just to get the all dark blue theme completed. Hell, even my one clear acrylic one is dark blue. All I can seem to find is that icky metallic pastel "blue" that's out there. More green than blue if you ask me and so frigging pastel it makes me want to drive it through my eye socket just so I don't have to look at it anymore. I don't care for pastels.

So that's my hook-story. Hook history get it? All together now - commence groan at pun-itude.

Hook On!

knitcroblo5

2010-04-30T13:42:00.000-07:00

Episode 5 - A New Dawn

Oh, Wait! - wrong franchise.

Day 5 -Location, Location, Location

"Where do you like to indulge in your craft?"

Oh, I have a favorite arm chair tucked into a corner of the living room. I will spare you the sight and it the humiliation of a photo because the poor thing is in a very sorry state. Due in no small part to the territorial shenanigans of the biological weapons of mass destruction known as my annoyingly evil but ultimately unflushable pair of devil-cats: Grendel and Beowulff.

But we'we so cute and adowable.

DO NOT fall for that!

Oh, okay in the interested of honesty and fair play, the responsibility for the state of that poor chair is in large part due to my large parts - specifically the large vaguely human buttocks and all that accompanies it.

So how about we take a look at my trusty worktable instead:

****ING Blogger won't upload the photo! I'll try later.

My Worktable

Some highlights:

1 - Giant Ass Glass Ruby - my birthstone. Preeeeeetty... and a welcome reminder of happy things - my birthday being on the same day as my father's. My brother's birthday 5 days after mine so that for 5 whole days we are the same age. Mwahahahaha! My mother being the only oddball - April in a sea of July - even their wedding anniversary was in July! Good things all.

Also - a lesson in patience. First saw the diamond version of this paperweight a couple of years ago and I loved it, but I really wanted a red one for the reasons listed above. Did find red ones on eBay for $25 freaking dollars with $7-8 shipping. Uh, No. Seven, eight months go by and - Boo-yah! - Michael's for 5 bucks, baby! I don't have the patience for bargain hunting but, oh, I do love it when it happens "on accident".

2 - Plastic boxes almost perfectly sized to hold my balls of thread. Almost. Let's just say that the outer dimensions of these boxes are freaking perfect!

Also - Bunny in a balloon wine glass aka. the ultimate in sophistication.

3 - I likes my critters. They keep me company and are lovely reminders that I do still have family - gifts from my beloved brother for such auspicious occasions as birthdays, Christmas, Halloween - all the biggies.

This particular huggy bear guards the top of the glass Barbicide jar in which I store my crochet hooks. Barbicide - not just for nixing nits.

4 - Pinky & the Brain giganto mug for corralling pens and junk. The weird orange and yellow tube next to the 4-color and Viagra pens (don't ask - I'm on some insulting as shit mailing list) is my 8-color Pentel Mechanical pencil! I love that thing. Now I don't have to have my colored pencils sitting right next to me when I want to make a color sketch. No room for them here anyway. In fact I need to weed some more of these tchotchkes and relegate them to the Ceci-cave.

5 - Take your pick:

Pink plastic fountain pen. A Lamy that was on sale - hence the hot-pinkness. I'm more your electric blue kind of gal. In a glass Erlenmeyer type flask on a box of incredible burgundy colored ink. Like arterial blood. Gorgeous. Gotta use up the cheapo came-with ink first. Bummer, but at least not wasteful.

Martini glass for catching scraps of usable size. A little overflowing. MY worktable - leave me alone.

Soda stained ceramic coaster with slogan to live by - "I Crochet so I Won't Kill People." Christmas gift. Hmm. Eh - compliment!

6 - Old broad care package - Nivea face/ hand cream plus glasses. The rest of the drug store is in a box on the floor behind the chair, hidden from sight - no need to frighten the occasional visitor.

7 - I be from TEXAS! Yay-my-hoo!

So if the location is the thing then the clutter is the way. Seriously, you wouldn't know it to look at this photo, but I don't like clutter. I like convenience. When the crap to handy ratio goes south, then I pare. But only so far as to hit the bedroom/cat cave.

And there will be no photos of that DMZ.

Hook On!
C

knitcroblo4

2010-04-29T18:21:00.000-07:00

Day 4 - A New Skill

"Is there a skill related to your hobby that you hope to learn one day?"

Sure. I love information and ideas. Perhaps to the exclusion of taking any action. I tend to have plans... for a long time. But, suddenly one day I will dive in and go to town on the plan. Some projects take years to complete, but I'm always happy with them when they eventually see the light of day.

Maybe it's the fate of a depressive to be in constant need of mental stimulation. It certainly is for this one. I get my synaptical jump-start by making the aforementioned plans. And by collecting ideas - but that's a separate tirade best left for another day.

Lately I've been planning to try my hand at both Broomstick and Hairpin crochet.

Broomstick because one of the fondest flashbacks into my Mesozoic youth are those of my Mother and her peeps running around with actual broomsticks that had been sawed off and honed to a wide blunt point. Now that I'm significantly older, I fondly respect the whole intrepid, diy, homemade aesthetic of those original tools and am seriously loving the delicate loopy ethereal quality of the fabric made from this technique.

Hairpin because I bought some wicked cool yarn from WEBS that I love the color and texture and, oh, just the whole freaking megillah:

Berroco - Boho - Torero

Berroco - Boho Colors - Sangria

...and true to form for me, they are now both discontinued lines. But, I have a couple of balls of some some of the more awesome colorways squirreled away and, since I hate the way standard crochet squishes the living crap out of this beautiful and funky, multi fiber variegated self-striping tape yarn, web-research points to hairpin as the technique to do these beauties serious justice.

I have made progress on these plans beyond the yarns and the dreams. I've actually gone so far as to purchase the necessary tools:

big mama, size 35 knitting needles
leftmost in photo

and a standard, if rather plain looking, hairpin loom

The funny thing about the tool (called a "pin" - I know, wtf?) specifically designed to supplant the classic broomstick is that they are ugly with a capital B and F.

Institutional/Correction Facility Grey

Plumbing-esque PVC

Not having access to the wood working tools needed to hew a dollar store broom handle down to size, I opted for the wooden knitting needles. I hate the idea of letting one go to "waste"/being unloved, but the pair are made of so very beautiful rosewood and were in such a freaking colossal half price sale that I had to jump on 'em. Maybe I'll offer one up to my growing obsession with entombing things in crocheted thread.

Anyway, someday - not now, maybe soon, but definitely in the indeterminate future, I'll be tackling such projects as:

Hourglass Jacket
StitchDiva

Hairpin Lace Neck Scarf
also StitchDiva

Good God, I LOVE Stitch Diva! ... in case you hadn't noticed. :-)

Where else would I be able to find something as cool as a funky wonderful pattern bearing my name:

Cecilia Vest and Chemise
StitchDiva of course

Splendiferous pattern that has nothing whatsoever to do with me, of course, but do you know how hard it is to find anything with "Cecilia" on it? Just makes me happy that something so cool bears the same name.

Unfortunately I've never been young or cool or hip or thin enough in my entire existence to be able to wear anything as delicate and wonderful as these Stitch Diva creations. But that doesn't mean I can't entertain myself trying. The best way for me to learn is trial by fire. First time out may as well be on something masterfully designed because it may just be the only thing I ever make if it turns out that these particular techniques aren't my cup of iced mocha frappucino venti deluxe... with cinnamon dusting.

;-)

Hook On!
C

knitcroblo3

2010-04-28T13:08:00.000-07:00

DAY 3 - One Great Knitter

"Write about a knitter whose work you enjoy."

I crochet. So when I look for careers to covet and art to drool over, I like to wander the web for "crochet as art".

I of course mean that "I search for inspiration and concomitantly seek vindication for the presentation of crochet as art via perusal of the internet." ;-)

I think the first real example of crochet art I stumbled across in my daily surf hunt was Joan Dulla. She is a talented and visionary crochet artist that works in wire and creates great sculptural pieces including the brilliant:

Emily's Fine / Spinal Cord

Her work currently incorporates both floppy and hard money into the crocheted matrices of jewelry and purses, respectively. I've seen examples of her "money series" published in official "fiber is art" magazines. She is a ***Real Artist*** and she crochets stuff that kinda looks like stuff I might make.

When I first started exploring crochet art for myself, I focused on doing my own thing because I couldn't find anyone whose work even remotely resembled mine. Plus, I love the high drama associated with the idea of being unique - even when it is at the expense of being successful or reasonable:
"t-pot""pins & needles w/a zipper"

Thinking I was the shiniest thing in the tool shed, I found Ms. Dulla's site and some vaguely familiar themes that pre-dated and out-classed my meager little knottings:

"T-Pot" "Keeping the lid on"

D'OH

Fortunately I am pretty fond of myself and decided to chalk up this suspiciously awkward coincidence on my part to vindication that my vision is indeed artistic in that it is similar to that of a professional artist.

Being a study in contradiction, I also have a miserably dim view of myself and finding this kind of parallel brings to light the fact that I make tinker-toy sculptures out of stiffened thread that don't hold a candle to the wonderful wire sculptures of a ***Real Artist***.

Ah, well.

What doesn't make us kill ourselves only makes us stronger - to misquote a famous optimist.

At least I have found an artist that is inspiring, witty, successful and well-respected that also happens to use crochet as the main focus of her work. Knowing this makes me happy and keeps me keeping on even in the face of questionable brain chemistry and unwieldly personal circumstance.

So thank you Joan Dulla in all your magnificent glory.

Hook On!
C

knitcroblo2

2010-04-27T12:44:00.000-07:00

Day 2 - An Inspirational Pattern

"Blog about a pattern or project which you aspire to."

I work with crochet thread almost exclusively. The aesthetic of the medium wherein a thin straight line is transformed into a graphic image greatly appeals to me. So if I find a pattern I like and want to try, I usually adapt it for thread work. Nothing fancy, often just use thread and my regular steel hook instead of the intended tools and dive in.

Admittedly, this is an approach that requires a lot of blind faith and reckless abandon. Not necessarily a problem for me though. I'm a little odd in that I do not mind ripping a project back to the slip knot repeatedly as long as I can eventually get it to work. Trouble is that a huge majority of the patterns out there are for clothing. And that involves covering a lot of land before realizing you need to realign the tiller.

So a nice, short scarf seems appropriate for my limited and fractured attention span. Of course, being me, the only scarf I had a yen to own and therefore tackle was the Dr. Who scarf.

4th Dr.Who - Tom Baker
lifted from www.drwhoscarf.com

Simpsons version - just because
lifted from the wiki page

The scarf? About 11 inches wide and 15 feet long. Yeah, that says feet. Nice quick project in worsted weight yarn, eh?

See now, the original was also knitted and I don't knit. Too many tools and, more importantly, my somewhat addictive personality would probably make me go all crazy for the medium and wind up giving the crochet monkey on my back a nice playmate.

Do you have any idea how much product it would take to make an 11 inch by 15 foot scarf in crochet thread?

www.drwhoscarf.com Season 12

Neither do I, because even I'm not crazy enough to tackle that endeavor. I took the text instructions, switched garter stitch to half double crochet (greater flexibility than single crochet and more body than double crochet), swapped size 10 crochet thread for worsted, cut the stitch number per row by a third,lost the 5 inch tassels and picked up my trusty 1.25mm steel hook.

Mini scarf tucked into TARDIS model

It was still much bigger a project than I could stand in one go. After a week or two I but it on the back-burner for, oh, 8 - 9 months, maybe a year. Only to pick it up again and power through, finishing it in another couple of weeks.

Dr. Who Scarflet

Still and all, I like the way it turned out. What are the finished dimensions you may ask? Uhm. Don't know. Whenever I finish a project that takes forever and a day I just play with the finished item some, take a few pictures and never consider any technical aspects about it ever again.

All Coiled Up

In the interest of playing fair, I will dig it out, measure it and post that critical info... retroactively... later.

Well, well - it's later. Who knew? So... 1-1/2" by 59" (3.81 by 149.86 cm) - CAL 5-1-10

Right now, I'm just happy that it was fun enough to keep me both interested and committed enough to see things through - even if the journey required a huge rest stop right smack dab in the middle of everything. After all, the journey may be half the fun, but being rested makes it possible for the battle to be won.

Hook On!
C

Knitting & Crochet Blog Week - Day 1

2010-04-26T08:51:00.000-07:00

I thought I'd step out of my cozy little hermitage a moment and participate in a blog-along event organized by Eskimimi Knits - a blog I've been following on a reader for a while now - you know, in lieu of talking to people. ;-)

It isn't easy for me to break the seal on the vacuum in which I live, work and survive; however, there are occasions where it is worth the effort. And since I love the challenge of a designated topic almost as much as I love to talk...

Knitting & Crochet Blog Week...

Let loose the pigeons!

Starting Out

"How and when did you begin knitting/crocheting?"

No biggie - my mother taught me back when the Earth was still cooling and festooned in shades of Avocado Green and Harvest Gold. Crocheting was popular at the time and my mom was a teacher that loved people so she knew how to crochet. Sadly, I don't know if she learned from her mother or grandmother. I didn't know either woman - women don't seem to live much past 50 in my direct bloodline from that side of the family. My mother did make it to her 50th year, but no further. I miss her. Pop too.

Down Home

I have a Great Aunt (great person, yes, but also - my grandfather's sister) that crochets. She was the first person I knew that could reconstruct an object just by looking at it and figuring out the stitches - all without the hack and slash autopsy that I would probably need.

Haulin' Ass

How old was I? Don't know - old enough to remember but young enough to exhibit the behavior wrought by my short attention span - 8 or 9 probably. I never made anything useful. All I ever wanted to do was make chains. Long, colorfully yarny, big hooked chains. Like a J or K - I don't remember the steroid hooks existing yet.

The Bag Smith

Banner used with humble attribution
if not actual consent

In a generous mood, I say I am easily distracted. "Bores easily" is probably listed on a couple of psychiatric charts somewhere though. Extra curricular activities got more interesting and I didn't crochet again for years. I grew interested again in my late, late 20's. A time when I needed to make with my own hands. Was spending too much time thinking but not creating. After grad school and during my descent into the aimlessness that was my science career.

Mad Lab Assistant Laugh

By then I had begun my isolationistic behavior and with my mother gone, my father terminally ill and living 300 miles from friends and family I did what I usually do - collected information. ie - got a book. Lots of books, actually. I love information! Love to read about doing over actually doing, ironically. But the desire to make was too great and I actually re-taught myself the basics and subsequently dabbled sporadically in the knot-tying with a stick that dare not speak it's name. Eventually settling on the fill in the blocks approach to design of filet crochet, but in no serious way.

Enter 9-11. Already in the early to mid stages of succumbing to a soul-crushing clinical depression with the big "D", I took those murders pretty hard. No, I didn't know anyone in New York at the time. Didn't know anyone effected directly by that massive sudden loss. Still, as I snapped rudely at people that questioned my state - I don't have to know them to be sad at the instantaneous loss of thousands of people.

Grief

I wanted to honor these people, these losses. I graphed out a very primitive filet pattern featuring everything and everyone that perished: the towers, the planes, the pentagon, the rescue workers. It's very primitive and it took me a couple of years to finish it because I kept letting life gett in the way and kept putting it aside. I would post a picture, but I don't know where it is. Most of my life is in storage awaiting the ability to move into a larger abode and it is packed away tightly.

I started playing with filet crochet images as some non-destructive self medication.

Blue Man in Bell Drugz

It helped immensely. But it got harder and harder to get a desirable level of detail that would still keep the projects small enough for my attention span to embrace. And then I stumbled across fridgies again. Back when I learned to crochet, many of the ladies in my Mother's daily life made and sold small, seasonal yarn appliques as boutonniere style brooches complete with straight pin for securing. I loved those rabbits and shamrocks and stuff. Never occurred to me that they were little building blocks. So I started playing around with the idea of crochet pictures like the felt ones we made for church as festival decorations when I was a teenager.

Still Life RGV Me-mo-ry

So here I am.

**Crochet Applique Tableaux Artist**

Life Blood

Loving it!

Hook On!
C

The Trifecta

2010-04-13T12:57:00.000-07:00

The Trio

Finally finished the trifecta! Woo Hoo. Well... finished it quite a while ago, but it never seemed appropriate to post it.

To explain, I have an unusual mind-set of which I am rather proud, but it does create these obsessive fixations with particular imagery. Case in point - a bell jar. Stemming from the only passage in Sylvia Plath's The Bell Jar that really resonated with me. What it feels like and all. Wish I could quote it from memory but that just ain't gonna happen. Anyway - that image of being trapped in glass and it's uncannily accurate comparison to Depression with the capital D have stuck with me - even if the actual words have not. Visual learner here.

After a few sketches and mental calisthenics (the only kind you'll ever find me doing btw), I tripped right over my favorite interpretation of this idea - human as clapper. Unusual, see? But which style of crochet would best do it justice?

Upon contemplation of what exactly it is that I do with my hook, I realized that my work falls into three general categories and I took "the clapper" for a ride through all of them:

Filet Crochet

Hanging Clapper

Crocheted Applique'

Hanging Around

and Sculptural Crochet featuring small dolls

For Whom the Bell Tolls

When I turned to art and craft for life-support, I started out with filet work, but soon found it to be extremely time consuming and limited in it's ability to represent rounded images. I still love the way light passes through the finished pieces though and the way that highlights the blocked out images. I have plans for projects that allow me to further experiment with different thread colors and small glass beads to add detail, contrast and definition to the figures. But again, this requires a lot of time and focus and unfortunately that means waiting until I am in the mood to do filet work. That Muse is either shy or lazy but the end result is the same, I don't get around to these projects very often and they are currently in a bit of a backlog.

While experimenting with changing colors in the filet matrix I stumbled across the realization that I could assemble more intricate images out of applique motifs. Big ole Duh. I find that I love making these upscale fridgies. It feels like drawing with Crayons and building with Playdoh. This style of work is nostalgic playtime in a world filled with too much reality. This is currently the mode of expression that suits me best.

Having fought the instinct for years as a manifestation of immaturity, I have finally come to embrace in my advancing middle years that I have a strong whimsical streak that runs parallel with ones of melodrama and moroseness. I need to interpret the world in cartoon-y pictures that harken back to childhood where things were safe and happy and fun. My outlook is child-like, not childish. This distinction has made the difference between a life lived for exploration and one not lived at all.

So why did I bother to pursue the bell jar image in a 3D version? Sometimes, only a dolly with do. A clapper should clap or at least move and only 3D would let the clapper swing. More child-like play in a sea of cocked eyebrows. Do not care. I wasted my 20's striving to be what I should, my 30's in realizing I wasn't, and now in my 40's I just need to be - silly, melodramatic, inquisitive, morose, sarcastic, angry, happy, goofy ... alive.

Hook On!
C

More Show Business

2010-04-13T00:15:00.000-07:00

...and one I can actually go to. My crocheted book "On the Fence About the Fence" was accepted into the exhibit: Texas, A Blending of Cultures.

The exhibit is through the Texas Museum of Fiber Arts and will be held at the Mexican American Cultural Center both in Austin, Texas. Just a coupla hours up the road from here.

I might have to crochet myself that top that says "I'm in this show".

Maybe a top would be a little too much eccentric for a public appearance. Good luck getting a butterfly net over all this pals!

OK, there is a tiny yet lingering suggestion of a vaguely insulted feeling that my other book "Postcards from Home" didn't get in, but then, who am I trying to kid? "Postcards" is fun and pretty to look at but doesn't have anything to say. I didn't even put the names of the places I was paying tribute too on the cards. Something to consider adding if I ever want someone besides myself to understand them.

Enough of that. I'm going to leave the greedy negative vibes at the door and enjoy the getting in now.

Hook On!
C

Tee Hee - the Sale Edition

2010-04-09T14:46:00.000-07:00

One of my pieces sold at Metaphoric Fibers - Untamed Knitting and Crochet at the Textile Center of Minnesota.

So long "Depression". Enjoy your new home.

Wait, wait, wait.

How do I feel about this?

I thought I overpriced her so she wouldn't sell.

So hard to let go of the babies.

Oh, just shut up and enjoy basking in the glow.

Tee hee. Now I can call myself a professional artist. Tee hee.

Very professional, indeed. ;-}

tee hee, yet again

Hook On!
C

Where Does Entrepreneurial End and Sleazy Begin?

2010-04-08T22:57:00.000-07:00

This is my Garden of Eden / Apple and the Snake inspired chatelaine:

Snakelaine

it's designed to corral sewing paraphernalia:

pin cushion - scissor keeper

It's the type of thing that my giggly imagination enjoys creating. I sold this item at my etsy store to someone that bought the only other chatelaine I had listed at the time as well. I'm not completely naive - I knew that such a purchase meant the customer was likely going to resell the items. More power to them. I was new to the business and had made the rookie mistake of underselling my wares. I am fine with this. Live and learn. That's the entrepreneurial spirit spotting an opportunity - even if it is at someone else's expense. That's what makes capitalism spin.

I personally don't like taking advantage of people and that is why I am a bit of a schmuck. But in the interest of full disclosure, I am also not very good at spotting said opportunities and have never had to put that altruistic statement to the test. And further truth be told, the design elements for the other chatelaine bought that day:

Swirly Chatelaine

were a hodgepodge cut and paste mix of two other people's unrelated yet publicly published patterns. So my ethics, at best, are subjective.

I digress.

What I wanted to write about today is that I found a listing for the Snakelaine at an unrelated online store. So it was indeed bought for resale; HOWEVER, the person had used my photos and my description directly from my etsy site without even a hint of attribution to their source - yours truly.

Lifted verbatim.... even calling it a Snakelaine.

This galls me.

How lazy do you have to be to steal someone else's three sentence copy? And don't try to tell me that only so many words exist to describe things and duplication is inevitable. My writing is fairly distinct. And even if they were able to come up with the same lame little puns that I prefer to pepper my copy with the odds against coming up with the exact same words in the exact same order under the exact same vaguely blurry photo and all under the exact same punny title are astronomical.

So what? Not illegal. Well, yes it is. However, proving plagiarism is difficult and any attempt to do so is tantamount to lunacy in a situation that deals with an item that sold for $10.50 and resells for ~~$25~~ $21.

My question then, is this:

Is it worth incurring the sizable legal fees simply to prove a point?

Grrr....

and Hook On

C

Oh, Wait - March is over!

2010-04-07T23:49:00.001-07:00

Oops. Forgot to talk about my latest pride and joy: My snarky feline ode to the Ides of March.

So okay, yes, that was way back on March 15th, but cut a gal some slack - sometimes I actually do get busy.

... and not merely distracted by shiny objects

... or air.

"I come not to praise Caesar,
but to bury him... in kitty litter."

Where did this come from? Well... I've been on a serious cat-plique bender for quite some time now. Also, I wanted to celebrate March with something other than the obvious and predictable: two traits I would love nothing more than to scour bloodily from the feel of my work - and my life really.

As an aside, I must confess that I did go the green cat route for St. Paddy's which would seem to be a betrayal of my search for artistic individualism. However, the love of the cute and catty is a deeply entrenched facet of my psyche and, therefore, commands a large presence in my work.

So, in keeping with those things which most clearly identifies my view of the world, I opted to combine cute cats and a snarky historical reference into my more involved tribute to March - and thus, "The Cat Ides" was - uhm... well... bred?

I did post images of this tableaux at my flickr photostream. Although I had been warned by my artist/artistic sounding board brother that I would need to decide on which figure was the Feline Brutus, I admit that I was unprepared with a definite answer. Still am.

Is Brutus the one staring off in the distance, lost in contemplation?

Hmm?

...or the one hailing the emperor with a welcoming paw as his robes conceal the short sword behind his back?

Hey there!

...or is he the one overwhelmed with zeal taking a flying leap at the gilded Emperor-for-life?

MEOWRRRR!

It wasn't a conscious decision, but I'd wager that the purple assassin kitty is meant to represent the infamous Brute'.

Unfortunately, his facial expression offers no clue. I work hard to make the faces convey specific emotions, but it is difficult at this scale. The cats are only about 2" tall. Hopefully, the stitched features capture the intended look of surprised dismay on the main subject:

Emperor Puss

as well as the shiftiness of betrayal on his flanking senators:

Senator Kitties

BTW, the background is intentionally mono-toned (well, at least close within a color family) - originally to suggest white marble halls and columns but ultimately to direct attention to the colorful figures instead of the background. I've had trouble with suitable backgrounds in the past. This is one attempt to address the issue. Not so sure it sent the missive to the appropriate location, if you'll pardon the postal pun.

Maybe not?

Hook On!
C

Lame' - ntation

2010-04-06T10:00:00.001-07:00

Loss of Lion Lame'

Just found out Lion yarn is discontinuing the lame' line of crochet thread. I've used this thread for years even if it is called "yarn". I've tried other metallic threads and none of them had what Lion's lame' had. Bright, true, pure color.

There are other allegedly metallic crochet threads to be sure. Most are simply wisps of metallic tinsel wrapped around a weirdly bland, matte thread colored a sickly mustard gold. Others themselves are whisper thin dental floss with a dull edge. Closer to bronze than gold.

I shouldn't fault these manufacturers - metallic thread can't be cost effective to produce. And I can't imagine that the demand for it can offset that cost. I personally use the stuff like - well - like it's going out of style (oh bitter irony, thy wicked lash) and yet I only buy 3-4 tubes a year.

So as most fiber enthusiasts know, an artist is very particular about their supplies and fiercely devoted to their favorites. I couldn't help but get emotional about the loss of my shiny golden friend, and needed to console myself with a hackneyed clip-art laden tribute; heart-felt if cheesy.

Alas, the complete line of Lame' thread will be discontinued - there goes my beloved silver into the sepulchral mist.

Oh sure, the Lame' could be a festering pain in the gluteals to work with - it was rather stiff and scratchy and unraveled easily from the free end. But it made for stable, strong and shiny dimensional finished pieces.

They will be missed as I scour the internet for something to fill the void - probably in the embroidery aisle at some of the finer, less-expensive craft outlets.

On the up-side, the remaining lots are on sale at Lion's website. Really good price too.

I'd pick over the remains myself, but gold is long gone and my heart too heavy (and pockets too light)to consider hoarding up on the silver. Alas.

Hook On, dear friends in fiber,
C

Happy Easter

2010-04-04T13:20:00.000-07:00

As the Unsuspecting Kitty Naps

Nothing like a Photoshop-hack to welcome in the Spring season. Unless of course it's with a crocheted version. My bad. ;-)

Happy Easter everyone.

Hook On!
C

Happy St. Patrick's Day

2010-03-17T20:09:00.000-07:00

Saint Patty Catty

I've pretty obviously been on the cat-plique bandwagon for quite some time now and planned to continue along the same vein with a green cat as St. Patrick complete with bishop miter, crook staff, green robes, and fleeing snakes. But alas, time ran short.

I considered paring down the idea to St. Patrick's younger cleric days and have a green kitty with a white priest's collar but I wasn't sure if it was specific enough. Green cat priest is funny but ultimately too vague even with a snake dangling from his little mouth or maybe just under his paw. And of course, legend proclaims that Ireland's patron saint drove the snakes away, nothing was said about killing them or even merely standing on them.

So, short on time and eager to do something for the day, I settled on the little green kitty with golden yellow eyes and a leprechaun-style belt as collar.

Wishing you all the luck of the day.

Hook On!
C

More Pattern Translation

2010-03-16T08:18:00.000-07:00

Sigh. Someday I will get the hang of writing out these patterns so that normal folk can understand them. But for now...

Sitting Cat

Amended version with expanded and clarified instructions - now available as free pdf download at my Ravelry pattern store.

This replaces the pattern posted previously on this blog. I keep forgetting that I have patterns floating around out there that are still in my shorthand/lazy-butt instruction form. I find it easier to use the shorthand while I'm trying to document a pattern. I was so excited to get the patterns posted in the early days that I sometimes forgot to translate from Cecinatrix-ese into something intelligible.

My bad.

My sincere apologies.

Hmm I guess I better go through the older patterns and bring them up to snuff. Cool. Now I have something to do today. Wheeeeeeee.

;-)

Hook On!

the great big C

Show Business

2010-02-22T21:24:00.000-08:00

- like no business I know.

Only now, I do!

Had 2 pieces juried into the Metaphoric Fibers exhibit at the Textile Center in Minneapolis.

The Show:

Promo Post Card

The pieces:

"Life Blood" and "Depression"

The artists:

That's me at the big blue arrow.

I have no idea if it is okay to post my photos of these pieces before the show, but I am too excited to hold off any longer.

I received notice of acceptance back in October and have kept it to myself for irrational reasons based on proven scientific superstition: "Don't talk about it or it might go poof on you."

Well, the pieces are at the gallery and I'm more happy than paranoid just now so I thought I'd share.

Although I can't make it to Minnesota for the show, I want to spread the word.

Come one, come all.

And if you would be so kind, I'd love to hear all about it.

Hook On
C

Happy Valentine's Day 2010

2010-02-14T12:54:00.000-08:00

A little love never hurt anyone. Of course, there are consequences.

Kitty Valentine

At least they seem happy.

;-)

Hook On my lovelies.
C

Groundhog Day - Eve

2010-02-01T10:41:00.000-08:00

I don't usually celebrate Groundhog Day - not much of a huge-family-fiasco/dinner-but-maybe-with-presents kind of day is it? But for a rodent, groundhogs are pretty darned cute and I love cute animals. I also love trying to make cute animals even cuter in an applique kind of way. So here's my contribution to the festivities. A day early but it's a fast pattern to work up. Available at Ravelry (or scroll down).

Hmm? I didn't crochet a little shadow to go with him but then maybe I'm hoping for a short winter? Not that it matters much in Texas. My apologies to the blizzard barricaded citizenry for gloating over our global warming flavored climate. Not so much joy in Summer, but in Winter... tee hee. No. No. Again, I apologize. ;-\ (Smirky McSmirkington) No. Really.

I better go while the getting is good.

Hook On
C

Groundhog Day CA Lira 2010

Yarn: Aunt Lydia’s Classic Cotton Crochet Thread – size 10
Colors: Copper Mist, black, Fudge Brown, Green, Ecru, White
Hook: size 9, 1.25 mm
Gauge: not important for this project
Abbreviations: chain (ch), slip stitch (slst), single crochet (sc), half double crochet (hdc),
double crochet (dc), stitch (st), skip (sk), back loop only (blo), front loop only (flo), sc decrease (scdec)

Begins at top of head – text color matches diagram

With Copper Mist
1) ch 6, sk ch closest to hook, work 2 sc into next ch (the 2nd ch from hook), sc in each of next 3 chs, 2sc in last ch, ch1 turn,

2) 2 sc into 1st sc, sc into each of next 5 sc, 2 sc into next sc, ch1 turn

3) 2 sc into 1st sc, sc into each of next 7 sc, 2 sc into next sc, ch1 turn

4) 2 sc into 1st sc, sc into each of next 9 sc, 2 sc into next sc, ch1 turn

5) 2 sc into 1st sc, sc into each of next 11 sc, 2 sc into next sc, ch1 turn

6) 2 sc into 1st sc, sc into each of next 13 sc, 2 sc into next sc, ch1 turn

7-9) sc in 1st sc, sc in each of next 16 sc, ch1 turn

10) scdec across 1st 2 sc, sc in each of next 13 sc, scdec across last 2 sc, ch 1 turn

11-16) sc in 1st sc, sc in each of next 14 sc, ch 1 turn

17) scdec across 1st 2 sc, sc in each of next 11 sc, scdec across last 2 sc, end off.

With Black and in back loops only
18) on right side of body, count up 4 rows from bottom and attach thread with blo-sc into the side of stitch

19) working down along bottom of body, work 2 blo-sc into the side of next st, 2 blo-hdc into the side of the next st, 2 blo-sc into the top of the next st, blo-sc into the top of each of next 11 sts, 2 blo-sc into top of next st, 2 blo-hdc into the side of the next st, 2 blo-sc into the side of the next st, sc into side of next st, end off.

With Fudge Brown
20) attach thread into base of 1st black st on right hand side, slst into top of each st in rows 18 & 19

With Green in front loops only
21) attach thread into 1st slst on right hand side of row 20 with a flo-sc, flo-sc into each slst of row 20 (the free loop of the brown sts should be clearly visible) , end off.

Ears

-Right hand ear:

With Ecru
1) on the right hand side of head, count down 6 rows from top and attach thread with an sc into side of stitch

2) working back up along side of head, sc into the side of each of next 2 sts, ch1 turn

3) scdec across the 1st 2 sc, sc in next sc, end off.

With Copper Mist
4) attach thread with an sc into the base of the same st in row 6 as in step1

5) working back up along top of ear, space 5 sc evenly along outside of ear shape, sc into the head directly adjacent to ecru st, end off.

-Left Hand Ear:

With Ecru
1) on the left hand side of head, count down 4 rows from top and attach thread with an sc into side of stitch
2) working down along side of head, sc into the side of each of next 2 sts, ch1 turn
3) scdec across the 1st 2 sc, sc in next sc, end off.

With Copper Mist
4) attach thread with an sc into the base of the same st in row 4 as in step1

5) working down along top of ear, space 5 sc evenly along outside of ear shape, sc into the head directly adjacent to ecru st, end off.

Paws (make 2)

With Copper Mist
ch 5, sk 1st ch closest to hook, sc in next ch, dc into each of next 2 ch, sc in last ch, slst to end off, leave long tail

Use tail and a tapestry needle (or sewing needle with a large eye) to attach the paws to the bottom of the groundhog. Align the flat chain base of paw with the bottom of last row of Copper Mist on the body. The paws should extend out over the black, brown and green rows to create the appearance of little rodent hands resting on the edge of the hole. With black, straight stitch 3 vertical lines evenly spaced along each paw for toes (see photo).

Face

surface crochet = holding thread behind piece and using the crochet hook to pull loops through the piece up to the front so chain stitches can be worked on the surface of the piece – like embroidering, but with a hook. If preferred, embroider satin stitches with the crochet thread and a sewing needle with a large eye.

With Black

for eyes, surface crochet 5 chains into two tight black circles as shown in diagram over rows 6-8 and positioned as shown in photo

for nose, surface crochet 3 chains in a triangular pattern over rows 9 &10 as shown in diagram and positioned as shown in photo

With Ecru

surface crochet the muzzle shape starting at upper edge of left hand side of nose, using approximately 8 chain stitches work around in an oval shape down to bottom tip of nose and again using approximately 8 chain stitches work back up and around to upper edge of right hand side of nose in another oval shape as shown in diagram and positioned as in photo.

With Black

surface crochet 7 chain stitches between the bottom points of the muzzle shape creating a slightly curved smile

With White

surface crochet 6 chain stitches into each of the teeth shapes as shown in the diagram and as positioned in the photo

straight stitch two tiny lines in each corner of eye as show in photo for that glimmer of intelligent life

Sunglasses Cozy

2010-01-30T23:17:00.001-08:00

OK. Sometimes my mind functions within its own little pocket universe. And since I was taught never to write a statement without adding a supporting example, I made this the other day:

Sunglasses Cozy

I call it a cozy, but in reality the sunglasses are completely entombed in rainbow variegated cotton crochet thread.

Back

Side

I guess the sunglasses are indeed nice and cozy in their thready wrappings but a true cozy should be removable. This is more like vandalism. Still, or maybe because of the naughty factor, it was fun.

Ah. But why?

Let's magic genie our way to the beginning.

I saw these wooden eyeglass frames from urbanspectacles.com advertised in a magazine. (Warning: the site is very image heavy - absolute bugger to wait for full download if you are the impatient kind - like me)

in lieu of permission: www.urbanspectacles.com

and I went nuts. I love this. Unusual and slightly odd - what's not to like?

Well now that I'm an old broad and the vision correction is mandatory I checked out the site. I don't know if it was the price, the relative inflexibility of the material or something I imagined I whiffed in the tone of the accompanying text but something turned me off to getting myself a pair. I wouldn't have thought twice about expense or sturdiness, even though I am notorious for breaking eyeglass frames, if I were a wood worker. How cool would it be to wear a symbol of your art on your face? Then it hit me - how freaking beyond cool would it be to have crocheted frames?

Big idea I was in love with - one trouble: couldn't figure out how to make it work. I had a pair of old sunglasses lying around in my pack rat larder-of-hoarding. They were broken, natch, missing only a tiny screw and therefore imminently repairable but the metal frame was damaged in the screw losing incident and the fit had become wonky. So I crammed a broken sewing needle (don't ask) into the joint, snipped it flush and used them to practice decoratively crocheting eyeglass frames.

I never did figure out how to address the need to see through the lenses but I did find serious amusement in the idea of just encasing the whole thing in a form-fitted thread cocoon. Now I have this nice little object d'art that makes me grin every time I look at it. Unfortunately, my cats absolutely lust after them. I am currently hatching ideas on how to display the glasses while protecting them from amorous advances of the feline persuasion.

See? My mind. Not this universe. ;-)

Hook On!
C

The Raven

2010-01-29T14:24:00.000-08:00

Edgar Allen Poe's The Raven, published in 1845, turns 165 this very day (according to my slightly dodgy, occasionally reliable online historical calendar updater).

So Somber Birthday, Raven. Live long and Caw!

A Christmas card to celebrate a birthday?

So - ignore the hat and enjoy the bling.

Life's too short to pick nits, Lenore. ;-D

Hook On
C

Silly Attack!

2010-01-26T22:38:00.000-08:00

Ever just feel silly, all sudden like?

I love a good pun. Hmm. Oxymoron? Maybe just moron? HA! ;-)

There's just nothing like a loud throaty groan and head tilting eye roll to make my day sing:

Granny Square

HA! Put an Edna Krabapple-style snark on that expletive, if you would.

Interestingly enough (to me anyway), I've never made a real granny square before - never felt that Hippie/Granny/Retro-chic/nostalgic. Although pastel colors aren't usually featured in my work, they felt granny-appropriate. However, it just wasn't complete until I acknowledged the pleas from my little subversive heart and added the black spiky "border". In fairness, the pastels look a lot nicer with biological lenses - kind of Easter chocolate candy coating -esque.

Mmm...chocolate...

Gotta go!

Hook On and stuff
C

Magritte Appliques

2010-01-12T22:13:00.000-08:00

Ok. I make a lot of applique type thingies, and I enjoy making crocheted tableaux with my appliques. I dream of making more and getting gallery representation. But my mind skips around a lot and I focus on odd things at odd times, often even forgetting that I love to make my little appliques.

Case in point, I've been thinking and scheming and crocheting and ripping and re-crocheting a lot lately around the idea of a bowler hat patterned with clouds, a la Magritte. Not terribly original, but it's been in my head forever. Ever since I saw this umbrella at a museum (MOMA?) gift shop:

Lifted from Google Images

Which I saw over ten years ago in a catalog and still think is one of the coolest things ever.

I digress.

I've been trying to make a full size wearable hat out of yarn. Mainly because making a life size hat out of thread seems like a madness that even I couldn't sustain. It dawned on me (well, actually it smacked me upside the back of my head while I was crocheting along) that I would like the end product better as an applique motif. Duh. I had this realization last time I was on the Magritte hat train of though (maybe 6 months ago - or a year?) but that was after years of "Oh, I'll try that later after I get the right yarn". And I forgot again! But this time I didn't let it go. And... tada!:

Stormy Magritte

Why Stormy Magritte? I couldn't find my ball of thread in my favorite shade of blue for skies. I had put it away in a nice container and couldn't find it. Please imagine a silly sheepish grin while rolling your eyes.

Back to the applique. It's about 1.5" across. Forgot to measure it. Did I mention that I also filed my rulers away the last time I was in a cleaning jag? All my measuring devices are still currently in limbo somewhere. Anyway. Standard size for my projects. Then - Lo and Behold! For on this great day was found my blue thread. Hallelujah!:

Sunny Magritte, small

This one is about 0.75" - ie tiny. Hard as hell to photograph due to that minuscule state especially since we all know full well that I suck at photography to begin with. But I really like the way the clouds look. So I tried again, going bigger:

Sunny Magritte, large

Ah. Comparable in size to the Stormy one but a freaking struggle to make (and photograph - again!). The clouds came out awful. I had to do a lot of over-stitching with needle and thread to even them out and I absolutely did not want to simply embroider the clouds on. Wanted them to be in the matrix. sigh.

This happens to me occasionally. At the best of times, I can't reproduce an applique identically but then there are times when I can't seem to get my hands to cooperate with my brain. I get frustrated and angry and usually quit. But lately, I've discovered that physically putting the piece down for even 10 minutes hits the mental refresh button. Pretty cool. Who knew that getting up to get a glass of water or even taking a short side trip to make room for said water could loosen up the bats packed so tightly in that belfry?

Still, I like the hat applique idea overall. (No big surprise, that.) Even thinking of making more to decorate a sketch book or two for the etsy shop. Hmmm.

Hook on
C

One Million Giraffes

2010-01-06T23:06:00.000-08:00

An e-buddy told me about this website: onemilliongiraffes.com That's http://www.olahelland.net/giraffes in case the link doesn't work - I don't trust my luck on blogger.

Anyway, apparently the gauntlet was thrown down between two guys about whether or not it is possible to collect one million giraffe images by the year 2011. Why giraffes? Hell if I know, but the challenge is fascinating on a few levels:

1) The call is for only handmade giraffes. I'm always in for a handmade challenge. I like thinking and solving such puzzles. Keeps me awake and happily tying knots in string with my little metal stick.

2) Grass roots efforts are always cool to be in on. The world is big physically, but that doesn't have to keep people separate. We are all the same functions of biology and it is powerful and moving to connect with people all over the world in reaching a common goal. Especially those that seem to meet no identifiable need. This isn't about banding together because of a common threat, or a hideous act of nature, or the ultimate folly of partisanship and conflict. 111111111111111111111111111111111

Fucking cat!

Where was I? Oh yeah; peace, love and unity. ;-) It's just a bunch of people doing the same thing in their own ways, in their own homes to accomplish one unified thing.

3) It's a tactile display of the power of the internet. Not only in connecting people worldwide, but in asking for and receiving help on a massive scale and in a fairly immediate time frame.

4) It's also a great way to remind us that the internet is only the tool, not the builder. It promotes the use of our hands for something other than clicking keys on a keyboard, interfacing with a digital portable device or zapping through channels with a remote. Nothing at all wrong with tech - God knows it's beyond great to have electricity and access to virtual anything - ;-) - sorry, but I love the puns and will not stop. We do collectively run the risk of never looking up at another human being in person nor of ever seeing the light of day again. I'm almost already there and don't mind a reason to take a small break from the warming glow of the monitor.

5) It's as ironic as hell and therefore amuses me to no end that it uses the internet to promote taking a break from the internet.

6) It's a kick to see how different people interpret the same theme.

7) Giraffes are fun to draw, crochet, build... etc

So my internet buddy subtly dropped a request for a pattern of a crocheted applique version of a giraffe. And if you have read the rambling reasoning list above and are still with me: I love a challenge... and sharing - I guess.

Enjoy: (also available at Ravelry)

Giraffe CA Lira 2010

Yarn: Aunt Lydia’s Classic Cotton Crochet Thread- Goldenrod
Hook: size 9, 1.25 mm
Gauge: not important for this project
Abbreviations: chain (ch), slip stitch (slst), single crochet (sc), half double crochet (hdc),double crochet (dc), stitch (st), skip (sk), dcdec (dc decrease), scdec (sc decrease)
Notes: dc decrease is also known as dc2tog = dc 2 together as follows, yo, insert hook in st indicated, yo, pull loop through, insert hook in next st indicated, yo,
pull loop through, (yo and pull through 2 loops on hook) twice scdec is also known as sc2tog = sc 2 together as follows, insert hook in st indicated, yo, pull loop through, insert hook in next st indicated, yo, pull loop through all loops on hook

Begins with first front leg at chest level

1) ch 15, sk 2 chs closest to hook, work hdc into next ch (the 3rd ch from hook), slst into next ch, sc in each of next 7 chs, hdc in each of next 4 chs,

2) ch14, sk 2 chs closest to hook, work hdc into next ch (the 3rd ch from hook), slst into next ch, sc in each of next 7 chs, hdc in each of next 3 chs

3) ch3

4) ch14, sk 2 chs closest to hook, work hdc into next ch (the 3rd ch from hook, slst into next ch, sc in each of next 7 chs, hdc in each of next 3 chs

5) ch1

6) ch14, sk 2 chs closest to hook, work hdc into next ch (the 3rd ch from hook, slst into next ch, sc in each of next 7 chs, hdc in each of next 3 chs, ch1 rotate piece 90 degrees to the right (continue working along sides of previous sts and chs)

7) sc in each of next 12 sts (including one sc in side of each hdc), ch1 turn,

8) sc in 1st sc of prev row (same st as turning ch), sc in each of next 11 sts, sc in turning ch of prev row, ch1 turn,

9) sk 1st sc of prev row (same st as turning ch comes is worked from), sc in each of next 12 sts, 2sc in turning ch of prev row, ch1 turn,

10) sc in 1st sc of prev row (same st as turning ch), sc in each of next 13 sts, sc in turning ch of prev row, ch10 turn,

11) sk 2 chs closest to hook, work hdc into next ch (the 3rd ch from hook), slst into each of next 7 chs, slst into sc of prev row on body, ch 1, sc in next sc, hdc in next sc, dc in next sc, hdc in next sc, sc in each of next 6 sc, hdc in next sc, dc in each of next 3 sc, 2 dc in turning chain of prev row, ch2 turn,

12) dc in first dc of prev row (same st as turning ch), dc each of next 3 dc, ch2 turn,

13) sk 1st dc of prev row (same st as turning ch), dc in next dc, dcdec over next 2 dc, dc in turning ch of prev row, ch2 turn,

14) sk 1st dc of prev row (same st as turning ch), dc in each of next 2 dc, dc in turnng ch of prev row, ch2 turn

15) sk 1st dc of prev row (same st as turning ch), dc in each of next 2 dc, dc in turnng ch of row12, ch5

16) sk 2 ch closest to hook, hdc in next ch (3rd ch from hook), hdc in each of next 2 chs, 2 dc in next dc of prev row, dc in each of next 2 dc, dc in turning ch of prev row, ch3,

17) sk ch closest to hook, slst into next ch (2nd ch from hook), scdec across next ch and next dc of prev row, slst to that same dc,

18) ch3, sk ch closest to hook, slst into next ch (2nd ch from hook), scdec across next ch and the same dc of prev row in step 17, slst into that same dc, slst to next dc on head,

19) ch2, sk ch closest to hook, sc in next ch (2nd ch from hook), slst into the same dc as last slst (same dc as this ch2 was worked from), slst into next dc on head,

20) ch2, sk ch closest to hook, sc in next ch (2nd ch from hook), slst into the same dc as last slst (same dc as this ch3 was worked from), endoff

Happy New Year 2010

2010-01-01T15:54:00.000-08:00

So long 2009, don't let the door hit you on the ass on your way out. Or maybe you should let that door spank you rosy just like the economy did to most of the world this past year. Oh, enough about the suckage that was, time for fun:

"Old" 2009 and Kitten 2010

I really enjoy the whole passing the crown to the baby new year gambit. Probably because of the "Rudolph Saves Baby New Year" animagic/claymation special I saw every year growing up. Or maybe just because it's a fun idea. Conjures images of office parties gone awry. No on wants to see Jones from accounting in a diaper and sash but when the alcohol starts flowing you never know what will happen.

happy new year

An installment in the Surly Kitty Chronicles for all those out there riding the morning after hangover express to hell. Here's hoping at least that you got the day off to wallow in champagne's revenge.

Ahh. Those were the days. Champagne alone in your living room is apparently considered "unhealthy" - whatever. Maybe next year I'll take the time to find some fellow hooligans with which to welcome the new year completely blotto. No party like the one you can only vaguely remember.

Too old to booze the night away anymore, but not too old to grab that hook.

Hook on! (with quiet yarn)

C

Merry Christmas...

2009-12-24T10:06:00.000-08:00

... to those that celebrate - love and good cheer to those that don't.

Jingle-Back Rattle Snakes

The rattlers are my contribution to the festivities this year. My cardstock-backed, hand-crocheted ornament posing as present. I've been spending effort instead of money for a few years now. This year I thought I'd expend a little extra effort and photoshop/powerpoint my guts out.

Ticked-Off Kitty in a Wreath

Ah well, at least it makes me smile...

...like a big 'ole goober as a matter of fact! ;-D

MERRY CHRISTMAS ONE AND ALL!!

Much Love and Hook On!
Cecinatrix

Happy Holidays - Surly Cat style

2009-12-15T08:00:00.000-08:00

I finished these a while ago but haven't been able to photograph them worth a puny little darn. (That is the weeniest swear I have ever perpetrated.) But I wanted to share the joy:

Happy Hanukkah!

I know little about Hanukkah but I don't like how most non-Jewish crafters seem to ignore this wonderful ancient holiday. Besides, how often is royal blue an appropriate cat color?

Merry Christmas!

Something I'm more familiar with, although we weren't much for holly in the Rio Grande Valley. Never snowed down there during my Cretaceous Period youth so evergreens were pretty limited to fuzzy artificial trees and fake wreaths under the Advent Candles. "Fresh" trees were available but they were so dry by the time they got all the way down to the RGV that the huge trail of pine needles through the parking lot in town, the car, the garage and then the house was too much hassle for the regular folk. Ooo. And my aunt, the hip working divorce', had a trendy silver tree. I loved that thing. Even if I can't remember if the ornaments were blue or pink. It was like visiting Hollywood. But I loved assembling our tree back home with my parents and brother even more. Cats underfoot, TV specials playing in the background and of course a happy, funny family now halved and tired.

Anyway...

Surly Turkey Kitty

At least it's a great excuse to have ridiculous amounts of turkey and stuffing and pumpkin pie and pecan pie and cool whip and those cool "heat and serve" rolls all over again. Just have to remember not to try and dress up the cats.

Hook On!
C

Holiday Bangle

2009-12-10T15:41:00.000-08:00

In a slightly subversive nod to the holidays, I made the following:

Not so subversive you may say.

I guess not, but I couldn't bring myself to use the proper term nor the rougher euphemisms "frickin' " ,"freakin' "or even "friggin' ". Just a little ennui on my part not a full on hating of the season.

Hmm. Words are funny. "Subversive" - My little bracelet doesn't mean I want to overthrow, destroy or corrupt Christmas (as dictionary.com defines it). Just want to poke at the falseness of certain excesses in the more secular rituals affiliated with the season. I guess its then a gentle irony.

Can irony be gentle? The defining terms of "mean-spirited" and/or "disrespectful" seem to have barnacled themselves to "irony" lately.

I'm not some Stepford-bred Pollyanna. I am, indeed, a fairly damned sarcastic individual, mean-spirited and disrespectful in my own right, but even I don't get the hate seething just beneath the surface of some of the "ironic crafts" out there.

Socio-politico-xenophobic-ethnocentric commentary - all good. Land of the free, home of the brave, holding rights to be self-evident and all. Just seems you shouldn't have to hate something to have fun with what you think is wrong with it.

Matter of degrees? or simply lily-livered posturing?

Ok. No one asked to see any of the fitful stream of consciousness I must endure in my waking hours. I'll stop now.

Happy Flippin' Holidays

Hook on!
C

Snow in Purgatory

2009-12-04T08:52:00.000-08:00

It's snowing! So what??? Its 10 in the morning and there is snow. Real flurries (okay jr sized flurries but come on!)

Click on the pictures - look real close. It was so much cooler and heavier than the camera caught.

So what, again? This is Texas, it was 90 degrees yesterday. Well maybe last month but still the weather didn't dip below 70 until last week and here we are.

Yeah sure it snowed last Christmas too but that was at night. The photo above is the same view not the same shot. I'm excited not insane - I'm ill prepared to venture out into the actual melee. I like cool weather not slippery fluffy rain. Anyway.

I just got so excited. Me. Queen of the jaded ennui. I run hot and cold (so to speak). I'm either blase and cynical or excited and rather giddy. For some reason the snow has me talking fast and smiling like a goof. I even put on my Horton hat and let my brother take a picture.

Ahhh. The wonderful wizard of odd.

Okay I need to calm down and get back to work on my Christmas cards. I'm usually pushing these things to the last minute but even for me, I'm running behind.

More on the cards later.

Tee hee.

Snow.

My God I'm still geeking out!

I AM the princess of planet geektron. sigh

Who cares? Life's too short!

Hook on, me maties!

C

Happy Thanksgiving 2009

2009-11-26T23:40:00.000-08:00

Technically Thanksgiving no longer but...

Happy Turkey Day Anyway

I had a devil of a time taking a photo of this little guy that was 1) lit properly and 2) in focus. I really don't know how to use my camera and every photo is a mystery until it is downloaded and blown up in Photoshop. Ah, technology in the hands of the impatient and lazy.

So anywho, this kitty is part of a series I'm allegedly planning. Still in the half-formed scribbly sketch and slowly growing list of ideas phase. The idea being that of kitties dressed up for the holidays against their will. Sitting prettily for portraiture but not happy. Working title for the series is the Surly Kitty Chronicles. This particular kitty is currently titled "Surly Pilgrim Kitty" but hopefully a more clever title will eventually emerge from the murky depths of my tryptophan addled brain.

His angry eyebrows are hard to see. I may have to go over them with a pencil or black thread. A classic wip but the sentiment is there:

Happy Thanksgiving

please stop annoying the cat

;-D
Hook On!
Cx

Happy Halloween ... Day

2009-11-01T06:43:00.000-08:00

Hey a day late and a dollar short is my motto. Not just pretty words, after all.

As much as I love Halloween, I rather spaced on doing anything crafty - well except for this bracelet:

Hallo'een Bangle

That was fun. The creamy green beads reminded me of green cartoon Frankenstein creatures - neck bolts, zippery stitches and all. So the bracelet was always going to be panels of Halloween colors stitched together in crochet. The original vision failed miserably and I spared myself (and anyone else clinically sensitive to exposure from crochet disasters) the photography of it. Let's just say - wanted stitchy bustier style chains got weird bowed and buckled circle of Pringle-like crochet inclusions. Anyway, I found something I liked and the thing is fun to wear.

However, I couldn't let the day pass without a cat tribute, so true to form I spent the entire day making this orange-eyed kitty (been really into beads lately) and ... da da da dah! (phonetically spelled drumroll, please):

Orange-Eyed Kitty

And for some extra fun:

Great Pumpkin Kitty !

Although I don't know how sincere a corn syrup pumpkin patch can be...

:-)

Hoping y'all had the happiest of Halloweens!

Hook on!
C

Borrow, Alter, Repeat

2009-10-20T16:08:00.000-07:00

Welcome to my definition of "inspiration" or is that "copyright infringement"?

A peek into my "creative process":

I love "Horton Hears a Who". Loved it as a young kid. Love it as a geriatric kid.

While meandering online one day, I came across this neat little project at about.com:

Horton Clover & Speck pencil topper by Christy Galemore

My fevered little brain started spinning,

"ooo. That's cool. But the stem is supposed to be a swirl of 2 shades of green. Wonder if I can make a crocheted version. How do you make pom-poms again? Oh look, something shiny. Have I checked my Ravelry account today? Hmmm. Let's see....."

and I was off on another webby tangent.

A few days later, on an unrelated amble through e-space, this caught my eye:

Dandelion Headband by Polka Dot Robot

More mental shenanigans,

"So cool. Hmm. Wonder what it would look like in the Horton colors with the little speck and all. The band could be 2-tone swirly and the pom-pom stuck on - ooo ooo ooo - how about if the head band is some normal drug store, super thin plastic, hair color matching band and I crochet a 2-tone stem and "clover" that attaches to the band in a curve like it's falling onto the person's head? "Clover"? What's that about. Dandelions are puffy, clovers are... leaves, aren't they? I wonder. Need to find a pic. Where did I put that Google images bookmark...."

and thus ended another episode of "Short Attention Span Theater". But things like this linger in the back of my head. Growing, flexing, festering and most of all, plotting to take over the world - or at least my head which is often swollen enough to be mistaken for a world. ;-)

Random thoughts occured,

"But what about something for Horton. He was always holding the clover. Hmm still haven't looked up clover at google pix yet. Eah. Later."

"Maybe the headband part could be gray in honor of Horton's trunk?"

"why am I thinking headband? That's so simple and dull and already done. I never want to just re-paint the wheel. What have I been working on that would look cool with a pom-pom. OH! The swirly hats I posted at Ravelry."

So I looked up the pattern I had worked up for a 2-color swirl beanie, skull-cap, whatever.

Swirly Caps

and to amuse myself I revisited:

Me and the Kilroy crochet bear

To quote Vlad (not Vlad the cute little cookie baking bunny), "Easy peasy, bro."

Quick yarn run to the craft store, switch out colors on the spirals, add kicky little ribbed band in a shiny pachydermy gray, struggle through how to make and attach a big ass pom-pom and ta-da:

Horton Hears a What cap

The pom-pom is horrible and not well attached. Shaggy and floppy - terror-ific combination of looks. But for the picture, with my hand holding onto the pom from the inside, it is exactly what I wanted to make. It's me - odd, unique, quirky, unusual, uneven, loud, and fun.

Now what? Am I going to sell it? the pattern? Will I do anything at all with it?

Nah.

Sometimes I just need to get an idea out of my head before it declares complete martial law on my brain function.

Maybe someday something marketable will germinate in my head. Until then, I will waste resources and time having fun and staying out of the booby hatch.

Huh? What do you mean there's some people outside with a big butterfly net? Oopsie. Gotta go.

Hook on!
C

Measure once, cut twice

2009-10-06T06:19:00.000-07:00

or is that the other way around?

Doesn't seem to matter much to me, because I evidently enjoy doing things the most difficult way possible. Especially when a deadline is involved. Like for contests. I get so excited about the challenge of a topic that I start on the fun part and then end up having to push and pull and prod at the end project until it meets entry criteria.

It's a rather harrowing way to live and I look craggy enough without the addition of stress fractures furrowing my brow.

So when I heard about the "Wish You Were Here" fabric postcard challenge at Tohono Chul park in Arizona earlier this year, I decided to be terribly clever and approach the project logically.

Went well... for a while. Hit Google images hard for pictures of and info about Arizona and Tohono Chul. Developed an idea, sketched out a background at full size and even crocheted it first! Then I let myself start on the fun stuff - the figures that would populate my little postcard.

The largest and center-most figure was to be a ghostly Kokopelli figure, caught mid-dance and playing his flute. I started free forming the figure in paranormal- suggestive white thread and forgot all about checking the size against the background. You guessed it - too dog-gone big. Start over... and over... and over until I finally got the right size - and the figure was too solid to convey the idea of "spirit". To heck with it and switched to a cut out tracing of the final crocheted figure in tulle.

So I wound up with:

Kokopellis on parade!

Outlining the tulle in white looked like poo. I wanted shine damn you! Had plenty of the copper metallic embroidery thread left so tried that and the stuff got all bitchy with me as multi-strand floss tends to do when I'm in a rush. Added bonus - it blended in too much with the Copper Mist I used for the desert sand:

Evolution of Kokopelli

Think I did better with the desert animals?

"Puny humans! Critters smash!"

So this was three days before desperate, expensive, overnight-mail deadline and I was tempted to simply include a note saying that the setting sun was a nuclear event that Godzilla-ed the creatures instead of the derivation of the Arizona State flag that it obviously was. But, what the hey, I technically had three days left. Plenty of time! Plenty! Besides, didn't I have some silver metallic sewing thread somewhere?

End result:

Arizona Night Song

I know, I hate the title too but the alternatives were no better: Critters of the Night, Disco Feral, Hootenanny, Primal Pachanga, Things That Go Disco in the Night... my snarky flair for titling had abandoned me. sigh

Oh well, 20/20 hindsight. Done, sent, accepted, in the catalog. It doesn't even matter that everything was accepted and that participants had to purchase a copy of the catalog to see their own narcissistic names in print. It's over. And I learned a valuable lesson in planning, timing and responsible making.

Yeah.

Sure.

Always
Cecinatrix

Caption Chihuahua

2009-10-02T06:44:00.000-07:00

Poor little doggie. Never saw the glue gun coming.

Crafty Chica caption contest - just had to try some things out:

The Sighuahua

The Tacohuahua

The Tequilahuahua

tee hee.
Hook on and stuff.

Basket Flashback

2009-09-30T05:38:00.000-07:00

I've heard tell that LSD is the gift that keeps giving, unsolicited-trip wise. Of course, that is only what I've heard... It would have to be as all my brain malfunctions have much less illicit sources: microwaves, bad perms, a tour through post-graduate education...

My point?

Oh! yeah... I think attending public school actually gouges its mark deeper into the brain than any silly pharmaceutical ever could - no matter how groovy. (Please, stop mentally referring to me as Grandma - the correct term is "Geezer-tina, the square".)

Anybody remember these?

Photo lifted from http://www.flickr.com/photos/24337417@N07/3551598758/

Seems like a lot of people do, and apparently with some sort of wistful sense of nostalgia. I've seen them appear in magazines and vendor sites being touted as the coolest new/old organizational tool. Even to the extent that there are shiny spanking new reproductions being made to catch the imagination of the retro-chic set that don't want to deal with rust or metal labels. Hey, more power to you all.

Me? I must be the only person in the world that snapped a tendon from the force of the knee jerk upon seeing their return. Wire locker baskets!

It was one little article about how to tame your fabric stash with kitschy fun storage solutions. Never has it been clearer that one person's gentle fond memories of school gym time past can be another person's hard, sharp smack to the back of the head... memories of school gym time past.

The term "un-athletic" couldn't even begin to describe me during those far distant days of grade school. Physical Education class was a special treat. In a time before the term "athletics" PC-ed "PE" from the vernacular, I had gym class. Fifties-era styling in an off-campus remote location. Dank, dark locker rooms. The smell of wet hay that I now know to be the unmistakable aroma of aging sweat and damp concrete floors. I'm pretty sure the locker room wasn't quite the medieval cave I remember, but then again, it was in a part of the country that is still today in the grip of cute and cuddly McCarthyism. Just because no photos exist of a rack or iron maiden doesn't mean they weren't there.

So what is my point anyway?

Nothing really. I just had some post-traumatic behavior to stave off and I find whining to be cathartic.

Still and all, I always kind of liked the metal label system on the baskets. Very ... well, uhm, organized.

Oh well, crazy is as crazy does and the dichotomy of melodramatic tendencies reigns supreme.

Hook on!
C

Two-Color Swirlies

2009-09-20T11:52:00.000-07:00

Wow. That could be the intro to something pretty disgusting. Relax. It's wholesome.

Ok, so maybe it's a little unsettling. ;-)

I believe I've mentioned before that I love Halloween. I may have also mentioned that I greatly enjoy crocheting spirals. But something that may not be known about me is that I like to animate stuffed animals... and now it is caught on film. yikes

I thought I'd post the pattern for the hats just in case anyone else might like to play dress up with someone small and accommodating.

Enjoy

Two-Color Swirly Cap
CA Lira 2009

*Also available with chart at Ravelry*

Yarn: Sugar n Cream - hot orange, black,1 ball each (completes both hats)
Hook: size G/6, 4.25 mm
Gauge: 16dc = 4” = 7 rows
Notions: 2 stitch markers of different colors or styles
Abbreviations: chain (ch), single crochet (sc), half double crochet (hdc), double crochet (dc), stitch (st), back loop only (blo)

Adult

Circumference: 21” - but stretchy
Height (crown to base): 8” - fits to just above eyebrows

Worked in back loop only unless otherwise specified
Worked in continuous rounds without joining
Either color can go first – just stay consistent

1) With A, ch 2, work sc, hdc, dc into 2nd chain from hook, place “A-marker” into front loop of last st worked, pull long loop, remove hook

2) With B, in same ch as step 1, work sc, hdc, dc, place “B-marker” into front loop of last st worked, pull long loop, remove hook

3) Return hook to long loop of A, adjust loop to fit around hook, work 2 dc in back loop only (blo) of next 2 stitches (of color B), pull long loop, remove hook

4) Return hook to long loop of B, adjust loop to fit around hook, work 2 dc in blo of next 6 stitches (of color A), move B-marker into front loop of last st worked, pull long loop, remove hook

5) Return hook to long loop of A, adjust loop to fit around hook, work 2 dc in blo of next 10 stitches (of color B), move A-marker into front loop of last st worked, pull long loop, remove hook

6) Repeat step 4

7) Return hook to long loop of A, adjust loop to fit around hook, work [1 dc in next st, 2 dc in following st (of color B)} 12 6 times, move A-marker into front loop of last st worked, pull long loop, remove hook

8) Return hook to long loop of B, adjust loop to fit around hook, work [1 dc in next st, 2 dc in following st (of color A)} 12 6 times, move B-marker into front loop of last st worked, pull long loop, remove hook

9) Return hook to long loop of A, adjust loop to fit around hook, work [1 dc into each of next 2 sts, 2 dc in following st (of color B) 18 6 times, move A-marker into front loop of last st worked, pull long loop, remove hook

10) Return hook to long loop of B, adjust loop to fit around hook, work [1 dc into each of next 2 sts, 2 dc in following st (of color B)} 18 6 times, move B-marker into front loop of last st worked, pull long loop, remove hook

11) Return hook to long loop of A, adjust loop to fit around hook, work [1 dc into each of next 3 sts, 2 dc in following st (of both colors)} 24 6 times, move A-marker into front loop of last st worked, pull long loop, remove hook

12) Return hook to long loop of B, adjust loop to fit around hook, work [1 dc into each of next 3 sts, 2 dc in following st (of both colors)} 24 6 times, move B-marker into front loop of last st worked, pull long loop, remove hook

13) Return hook to long loop of A, adjust loop to fit around hook, work [1 dc into each of next 4 sts, 2 dc in following st (of both colors)} 30 6 times, move A-marker into front loop of last st worked, pull long loop, remove hook

14) Return hook to long loop of B, adjust loop to fit around hook, work [1 dc into each of next 4 sts, 2 dc in following st (of both colors)} 30 6 times, move B-marker into front loop of last st worked, pull long loop, remove hook

15) Return hook to long loop of A, adjust loop to fit around hook, work 1 dc into each of next 36 sts, move A-marker into front loop of last st worked, pull long loop, remove hook

16) Return hook to long loop of B, adjust loop to fit around hook, work 1 dc into each of next 36 sts, move B-marker into front loop of last st worked, pull long loop, remove hook

17) Repeat step 15

18) Repeat step 16

19) Repeat step 15

20) Repeat step 16

21) Repeat step 15

22) Repeat step 16

23) Return hook to long loop of A, adjust loop to fit around hook, work 1 hdc into each of next 3 sts, 1 sc into each of next 3 sts, slst to next st, end off

24) Return hook to long loop of B, adjust loop to fit around hook, work 1 hdc into each of next 3 sts, 1 sc into each of next 3 sts, slst to next st, end off, weave in all loose ends

Child

Circumference: 19” - but stretchy
Height (of sides): 5 ½” – fits to just above eyebrows

Worked in back loop only unless otherwise specified
Worked in continuous rounds
Either color can go first – just stay consistent
Work same as adult size up to and including step 12

13) Return hook to long loop of A, adjust loop to fit around hook, work 1 dc into each of next 30 sts, move A-marker into front loop of last st worked, pull long loop, remove hook

14) Return hook to long loop of B, adjust loop to fit around hook, work 1 dc into each of next 30 sts, move B-marker into front loop of last st worked, pull long loop, remove hook

15) Repeat step 13

16) Repeat step 14

17) Return hook to long loop of A, adjust loop to fit around hook, work 1 hdc into each of next 3 sts, 1 sc into each of next 3 sts, slst to next st, end off

18) Return hook to long loop of B, adjust loop to fit around hook, work 1 hdc into each of next 3 sts, 1 sc into each of next 3 sts, slst to next st, end off, weave in all loose ends

19) Repeat step 15

20) Repeat step 16

21) Repeat step 15

22) Repeat step 16

23) Return hook to long loop of A, adjust loop to fit around hook, work 1 hdc into each of next 3 sts, 1 sc into each of next 3 sts, slst to next st, end off

24) Return hook to long loop of B, adjust loop to fit around hook, work 1 hdc into each of next 3 sts, 1 sc into each of next 3 sts, slst to next st, end off, weave in all loose ends.

Interconnected Leaves

2009-05-11T05:59:00.000-07:00

The International Fiber Collaborative are my kind of fiber folk - they promote fiber art, encourage amateur and professional alike to co-mingle as equals, care about the world and people in general and they "tag" responsibly having gained permission to make the big statements.

Their first project culled volunteers from everywhere to make a fiber cozy for an abandoned gas station. Love that. Totally missed that it was happening but love it all the same.

Their current project is a giant tree exploring human interconnection where the individual leaves are made by... well... individuals. A community of individuals. How great is that?!

The call for volunteers asked for a leaf shape made in some form of fiber and just about any technique as long as it is 5x7" in size. Leaves are always a fun motif to explore and since I am working hard to make my own stubborn statement in this world by only producing crocheted art, my leaf is a lacy, open-work crochet kind of thing.

Here is my leaf for the tree project in green thread featuring stick figure people holding hands as the leaf veins. I blocked the living daylights out of it with undiluted fabric stiffener straight from the bottle.

I even got a little carried away decorating the mailer:

Hmm. Would have looked brighter on a white envelope in a room with sunlight. ;-) Probably should invest in some white mailers since this isn't the first time I've doodled on a package.

Anyway, to see my humble little leaf posted at the website (always a treat for me -maybe less so for other people?) just click on over. I'm seven down in gallery 11.

Do yourself a favor and make sure you check out the other galleries of leaves. Incredible work on display.

The assembly photos are mind-blowing. So many volunteers and craftspeople working so hard together.

Good causes and public messages make me happy. (hum to the tune of John Denver)

Hook on!
C

Fiber Postcard Book

2009-05-06T13:09:00.000-07:00

Many, many moons ago (but not quite a millennium ago) a challenge was presented in the pages of Quilting Arts magazine to make a book of fiber postcards.

Oooooo. You don't know how much fun that sounds to someone who loves to crochet little vignettes. Then again, maybe you do. One shouldn't assume. ;-)

I started on the project and between fits of giggling with glee I started increasing the level of detail in the cards to the point that I managed to zoom past the deadline date without really noticing. After that, enthusiasm waned a tad, but I kept at it - honestly I did.

For a while anyway. :-}

Things came up, hurricanes came down, and finishing the postcard book came across as perpetual back burner material.

Until now!

Dum-da-da-daaa!

"Postcards from Home"

Even went insane and decorated the spine...festively.

Fluorescent orange dingle balls. ahhhh.

I'm not your sugar skull wearing, chalupa-image jewelry creating type gal, but I love that kind of stuff. Especially the chandelier drops. You know, the kinds of things that a self respecting Tex-Mex maiden and modern Latina is told she should be embarrassed to admit she has draped on her festive inner child. My response to that simply has to be, "My head, you get out of it!"

So a mere 3 years later, my fiber postcard book is done.

Now to other pursuits. Maybe some of these postcards will be revisited as prints and/or larger stand alone works. The possibilities. Squeal. A dignified squeal, but a squeal nonetheless.

Answering a challenge is always a good source of inspiration as well as a fantastic chance to grow as an artist. Even if deadlines still elude you (ahem), challenges are no pressure, no risk and always fun.

And that's why a stubborn, stead-fast crochet maven that owns the dustiest sewing machine in creation subscribes to a quilting magazine.

Expand the borders, explode the possibilities!

Hook on!
C

Window Cat Family - revised for humans to follow

2009-05-01T08:38:00.000-07:00

I keep forgetting that people just can't read my mind. Thank you to KittyDobson for pointing out the confusion inherent to the instructions for the window cats posted here previously.

Yikes!

Apologies, y'all. It was one of my first attempts at writing things down and I'm still figuring out how to do it smoothly and with some elegance... or at least not littered with editor foibles.

I am always open to questions and editing suggestions. Seriously. Please let me know.

Here's the revised version: (free PDF availabe at my section of the Ravelry store)

Window Cats

C. A. Lira 2008 (rev 2009)

Note: crochet thread size 10
hook size 9 (1.75mm)

Wider Window Cat - finished height 1 3/8”
1) ch3, slst into 2nd ch from hook, hdc in 1st ch worked, ch5, slst into 2nd ch
from hook, hdc into next ch (3rd ch of ch5) , ch2 t
2) sc in sc of previous row, sc in each of next 2 sts, 2sc in next st, ch2 t
3) skip 1st sc, sc in next 4 sts, sc in turning chain of previous row, ch2 t
4) scdec (include 1st sc), sc in next 2sts , scdec (include turning ch of
previous row), ch2 t
5) sk 1st st, (scdec) twice (include turning chain in 2nd dec), ch2 t
6) sc in each of 1st 2sts (including 1st sc), 2sc in next st, ch2 t
7) sc in each of 1st 3sts (including 1st sc) , 2sc in next st, ch2 t
8) sc in 1st 5sts (including 1st sc), 2sc in turning ch, ch2 t
9) sc in 1st 7sts (including 1st sc), 2sc in turning ch, ch2 t
10) sc in 1st 8sts (including 1st sc), 2sc in turning ch, ch2 t
11) sk 1st sc, sc in next 8sts, ch2 t
12) scdec (include turning ch), sc in each of next 5sts, scdec, sk turning ch of
prev row, ch2 t
13) sk turning ch, scdec, sc in each of next 3sts, scdec (include turning ch),
do not turn
14) ch12, hdc in 2nd ch from hook, sc in next ch, 2sc in next ch, sc in each of
next 7 chs, going up toward head sk last 2 Rows of body, slst to next st
on side of body, end off

Rounded Window Cat - finished height 1 ¼”
1) ch3, slst into 2nd ch from hook, hdc in 1st ch worked, ch5, slst into 2nd ch
from hook, hdc into next ch (3rd ch of ch5), ch2 t
2) sc in sc of previous row, sc in each of next 2 sts, 2sc in next st, ch2 t
3) skip 1st sc, sc in next 4 sts, sc in turning chain of previous row, ch2 t
4) scdec (include 1st sc), sc in next 2sts , scdec (include turning ch of
previous row), ch2 t
5) sk 1st st, (scdec) twice (include turning chain in 2nd dec), ch2 t
6) sc in each of 1st 2sts (including 1st sc), 2sc in next st, ch2 t
7) sc in each of 1st 3sts (including 1st sc) , 2sc in next st, ch2 t
8) sc in 1st 5sts (including 1st sc), 2sc in turning ch, ch2
9) sc in 1st 7sts (including 1st sc), 2sc in turning ch, ch2 t
10) sc in 1st 8sts, 2sc in turning ch, ch2 t
11) sk 1st sc, scdec, sc ineach of next 5sts, scdec, sk turning ch of prev row,
ch2 t
12) sk 1st sc, scdec, sc in each of next 3sts, scdec (include turning ch), ch2 t
13) sk 1st sc, scdec, sc in next st, scdec (including turning ch), do not turn
14) ch12, hdc in 2nd ch from hook, sc in next ch, 2sc in next ch, sc in each of
next 7chs, working up toward head sk last 2 Rows of body, slst to side of
next Row on body, end off

Window Kitten Kitty - finished height 1 ½”
1) ch3, slst in 2nd ch from hook, sc in next ch (first ch worked), ch5, slst in
2nd ch from hook, sc in next ch (3rd ch of ch5), ch2 t
2) sc in 1st sc of previous row, sc in each of next 2sts, 2sc in next st, ch2 t
3) sk 1st sc, sc in each of next 5sts, ch2 t
4) sk turning ch of previous row, scdec, sc in each of next 2sts, scdec
(include turning ch of previous row), ch2 t
5) sk1st sc, (scdec) twice (include turning ch in 2nd dec), ch2 t
6) sc in each of next 2 sts, 2sc in turning ch, ch2 t
7) sc in 1st 3 sts, 2sc in next st, sk turning ch, ch2 t
8) sk turning ch, sc in each of next 6sts (include turning ch), ch2 t
9) sk 1st st, sc in each of next 6 sts, do not turn
10) ch12, sk 1st ch, 2sc in each of next 3chs, sc in each of next 7chs, slst to
body at end of Row 9, end off

Enjoy
Cecinatrix

Tying knots and the burger as art.

2009-04-24T04:51:00.000-07:00

I can't believe that this is the way my brain works.

My cousin owns and operates this fantastic burger joint. The Litty Bitty Burger Barn. Check it out if you're in Houston - really. This isn't just a case of familia shilling for the blood. Place has crazy mad good reviews from all media.

Anyway, commercial aside, this past Christmas I was inserting the little crochet motif/ ornament that I put in my outgoing X-mas cards and when I got to the one earmarked for them (not him and the burgers - him and his partner) I realized that they must have a logo that I could play with. Always on the edge of being bored = always looking for a new challenge. I checked the site and ~~stole~~ acquired a copy of the logo.

littlebittyburgerbarn.com

Hell. Easy peasy. So I thought.

It was already too late to finish one for Christmas (yeah yeah yeah last minute as usual - do you mind? - I'm telling a story here!) but maybe New Year's Day?

Well turns out crocheting decent looking siding with a star-accommodating hole in the middle of it takes me forever. Got it done though and in time for Jan 1st thank you very much (yes,of this year!)

Of course, I probably should neglect to mention that I only just sent it to them right before Easter but who am I trying to impress by hiding my flaws?

Anyway again, I like the way it turned out, modest woman that I am, and didn't even notice it was crooked until I looked at the picture just now. Got so tired of trying to make the cursive slipstitch embroidery legible that I put the thing in an envelope as soon as it was finished all those months ago and never looked at it again. That is until Easter snuck up on me and a surprise Auntie visit reminded me.

Still constantly lingering on the edge of the abyss that is boredom and still desiring a challenge-ette or two, I thought maybe I'd try making a 3D one. Just the idea of stuffing a little burger into a little barn makes my problem solving mental machinery start to grind its way back to life.

No. Haven't done it yet. It's on my list of fiction fantasy projects that someday I will do dagnabit! But it started me thinking about the burger as sculptural fiber art.

Ed Bing Lee is a fiber artist that uses a modified macrame technique to make the most amazing art. His super-sized burger was the piece that introduced me to his work and style:

From edbinglee.com, ahem, unofficially.

Fantastic ain't it? The topic, the mastery of technique, the colors - love it all. After enjoying its aesthetic and the warm creative place it has landed in my heart I noticed that this burger is art with the capital letters in the curly font. Craft art, fiber art depending on which of the seminal industry magazines you peruse, but art nonetheless.

Yet if you spend any time on line looking up crocheted items, you see the ubiquitous crocheted-burger-as-toy. Not art, but crafty toy. That's craft - with the small be-thou-ashamed-to-say-elsewise lower case letters in puny subservient font. You know, craft as dirty word. Don't necessarily know why, so I looked online for some examples I could pilfer (gotta love the google) for a compare and contrast.

Uhm. Okay. I get some of the lack of love. There are some fairly un-burger looking crocheted burgers out there. (But then again, there are also a lot of un-news posts out there too - un-news in the sense that they are not even remotely true.) I'm not going to steal and paste any example photos of the Nessie burgers - freedom of speech, self-esteem, sharing - all good things, Martha. But there are some really well done crocheted items for view that I am going to talk about.

Big burger of technical delight:

Photo lifted from Steph Chows.blogspot.com
(cyber-neighbor of complete stranger variety)

the teeny tiny burger of awesomeness:

Michelle Rheaume at flickr

and the art to wear burger of mind-blowing-dom:

Joy Kampia

What is the difference, art v. craft wise?

Is it the genre?

Sculpture beats art garment and firm beats soft sculpture?

The time commitment?

Tying a bazillion knots in waxed linen thread by hand certainly takes an excruciatingly longer amount of time than tying knots in yarn with a crochet hook.

Material?

Waxed linen thread has a sleek firm texture with a gently reflective quality. Yarn (even the industrial acrylics that are so very affordable) has a matte surface that imparts a fuzzy tactile squishiness on the finished objects.

Complexity?

Knots are knots, but more (lots more) does equal harder.

Name? Gallery representation? Publications? Personal aesthetic? Intention? Commentary? Social impact?

Probably.

But when the day ends and I lay snuggly in my bed, it doesn't matter what the world calls my work or my art genre. As long as I can close my eyes and dream dreams of juggling knots on a hook, I know I'll have spent another day actually alive. That is more than enough to keep me going. Uncharacteristically, there is nothing more I have to say on the subject.

...today.

Hook on!
C

Notebook antics.

2009-03-29T14:48:00.001-07:00

I was in my notebook attaching the rejection letter to the first project page (yet another attempt at keeping things organized) when I saw the sketches that started the whole thing. It sounds arrogant, but I sometimes really like the sketches. It just isn't all that easy to reproduce them in thread. I thought it would be fun to see how things progressed:

Call for entry topic was: "With or Without Water".

First idea that came to me:

A "water is life" thing.

I envisioned a river-scape teeming with behind the curly stylized wave side of the figure and the sered, cracked fissures of a dried lake bed under the stylized skeleton half. Didn't draw it in because I couldn't figure out how to make the dry lake bed look like it was approaching the horizon (remember - no art training at all). So I started on the figure to see if I could at least get her to where I wanted.

So the skeleton is more of an outline than an empty cage form butI liked it. So much so that I didn't want to ruin it with color work on the waves. So I made another one.

This second thread sketch/prototype, as I like to refer to them, also served to see if I could repeat the figure satisfactorily. Ever have trouble making the same thing look the same way twice? sigh. I do.

I make my prototypes out of white thread so I can see all the stitches clearly (never try to use black or navy for this purpose unless you have a police-grade search light in your working space). Usually I then switch to another color for the final product and for this one I was going to use a blue body. I tried several variations on small test swatches and didn't like any of them. The white body made the blues in the curls pop. So I stuck with white. Glad I did. When it came time to make the heart/wings the white makes the figure stand out better against all that green.

The skeleton half of the body could have been made of that linen brown color that was used for the heart/wing background loops. I didn't think that the black lines alone wouldn't stand out enough. So white it was for that half too.

Next choice was black or white background for the photograph?

Dramatic but hard to see the edges of the wings/heart.

or

see the edges but loose the "haunty" feel.

Ah, White is more of a standard for these things (I think) so that's what went in despite the crap-tastic-ness of the photo quality. I know better, but I did it anyway. I swear by everything that isn't blurry; next time, professional photographer!

So that's how a faint little sketch becomes a final crocheted project in my little corner of the universe. This was fun. No one ever hears about how the design decisions happen along the way. Only my cats if I happen to be talking aloud. Hmm. Who knew?

Hook On!
C