FO Friday: The prodigal notebook returns

Here's a finished project that isn't just mine.  It belongs to seven other people as well, each of whom added wonder and excitement to pages of my notebook which were blank when I last saw them oh so many months ago.  After traveling around the country, and even crossing the border into Canada, there are drawings, collages, and plenty of words.  No knitting, but I think there's still plenty of craft to call this an FO.

Here are just a few of the pages:

If you're on Ravelry, you can see all of the pictures in a project page I created for it.

WIP Wednesday: A smorgasbord of stats

At work we're always looking for metrics to be able to quantify the value we're bringing to the organization.  The thing is, it's hard to find metrics that mean much of anything, especially when you're working on lots of different projects, some of which intertwine.  But statistics are fun to look at when they have to do with fun stuff like my many WIPs.

Here are some vital numbers for my non-work life:

Days on the Tour de Fleece: 5
Minutes spent spinning today: 15
Rows knit on cardigan since starting TdF: 0
Cookies served: 36

Sets Andy Murray lost while I wasn't watching: 2

Sets Andy Murray won while I was watching: 3

Pages of 'Don Quixote' read (total): 123

Pages of latest notebook completed: 0

Miles run today: 2.36

Days until the marathon: 227

Hours until I plan to go see Joss Whedon's 'Much Ado About Nothing': 19

Number of fireworks I plan on setting off for the 4th of July: 0

For a little more narrative, go to Tami's Amis.

FO Friday: A portfolio of purple

I still don't have a knitted FO to show off, but I do have another notebook that the postal service has successfully passed down the chain of command.  The big theme here is purple, because the owner loves it.  So much so that it's part of her Rav name.  I wanted to mix her favorite color with the things I was most enjoying about filling pages so far, and I really like the way this turned out.

I wrote a short story, just a page long, using four of the paint color names as my inspiration and challenge:

More paint chips cover an entire page here, then I wrote a quick little poem and tucked in some Kool-Aid so she could create her own purple:

I haven't done as much collaging as I thought I would in the previous notebooks, it always takes longer than you would think, but I managed a page of it here.  Opposite that is some of my favorite doodling, curlicues.  Can you see the word 'purple' in there?

More inspiration from the paint chips, this one was called 'Plum Good', and I think plums taste best when their in some Czech fruit dumplings, so I included a recipe:

And another recipe, this time for a Lemon-Raspberry Shortbread Tart:

I'm not sure the shade 'Raspberry Tart' falls into the range of purple she likes, but the recipe sounds yummy, so I stretched the color a little.

My next notebook is on its way to me, and the plotting has already begun.  In the meantime, for more FOs this Friday, visit Tami's Amis (I lovelovelove the sock Tami herself has posted in her TARDIS Tart Ombre colorway).

Inspiration Saturday: Happy Joss-mas!

So yesterday I shared the knitted items that I sent as part of the Joss Whedon swap, so I thought today would be a good time to show off the neverending spoils I received.  They really did feel neverending, so it's hard to know where to start.  I think I'll just throw it all at you with this collage photo and then attempt to break it down:

What I have so artfully displayed here all came out of a single box!  And if you think packing a box full of stuff is hard, try taking a picture of it all in one frame.

I cannot believe how much knitting my spoiler did in two months of crafting time.  I barely squeaked by with the tea cosy, tape measure, and shawl, but he really went for it.  There were two Aestlight Shawls shawls, one for me and one for my mom.  It really is a lovely pattern, very interestingly constructed to create something lacy and delicate, but with no right or wrong side.

Shawls don't always come in pairs, but socks do, and I have another pair for my beloved collection.  He's called them Dead Man's Party because the Knit Picks yarn colorway reminded him of that particular 'Buffy' episode, and he aptly chose the Zombie Socks pattern.  Suitable for a gathering, shindig, or hootenanny.

Standing in the center there is my own little Joss!  And he even has a tiny Jayne hat, I love him so much.  I also really love my own Jayne hat, because he used a pattern that I have admired for so long and made it into an abstract 'Firefly' reference.  Cunning, indeed.  The original pattern is Nightshade, and again, it's fascinatingly constructed and very cute.

There were also adventures in clay, with a decorated notions tin that had 'Firefly' and 'Dollhouse' references, with 'three flowers in a vase', 'medicinal carrots', and a strawberry on top.  He also fashioned a spindle for me out of a chopstick and clay, which is going to be really fun to play with, along with the distaff he made from braided yarn and beads.  And, of course, I will have to play with my dinosaur clay stitch markers.

Just a classic scene.  He also knit me a Deep Sea Flower notion bag that will hold all of the notions perfectly.

But speaking of bags, let's talk about epic.  Let's talk about a felted tote bag with transparencies from one of my favorite 'Buffy' episodes ever.

It's appropriate that this episode is so silent, because there are no words to describe how amazing this bag is.  I highly recommend clicking the link to his project page and taking a closer look, especially if you're a Joss fan.  It's one of those items you just cannot believe that someone made.  And then that they made it for you.  And then they also knit a little anatomically correct heart to go with it.  Awesome.

Alright, I hope I haven't overwhelmed you too much, but I just felt that even after posting in the swap's Thank You thread, not enough people had been exposed to the wonderfulness of this box.  It truly is inspiring on so many levels.  And I didn't even mention the yarn he dyed.

If you can handle any more inspiration, go over to Woolen Diversions.

FO Friday: A noteworthy notebook

In lieu of an FO that is knit, I can offer one that was written and drawn, one of my notebooks in the notebook swap.

The owner of this notebook has a particular fondness for genealogy as a subject and trees as iconography.  She also expressed a preference for a pot roast recipe over my usual sweet baked goods.  So after filling in my first single page with a little about me essay, I used my two double-page spreads to give her something I hope she'll like.

First, I offered up two recipes that make me think of family.  To save on space, I printed the recipes themselves out to about the size of index cards and inserted them in an envelope.  Then on the right-hand side, I drew sketches of the dishes and wrote a little spiel about what they meant to me:

The two dishes are:

• Svickova na smetane, which is a beef dish covered in a creamy root vegetable sauce.  The sauce is sopped up with deliciously squishy bread dumplings.  There is usually a garnish of whipped cream, some cranberry sauce, and a slice of lemon.  To me, this is like Czech Thanksgiving, comfort food at its best.
• Toad in the Hole, which is impressive but so simple.  Sausages are browned and then baked into a Yorkshire pudding.  Another comfort food, I actually made this with my mom this past holiday season, but my memories are of eating this for a sunny Sunday lunch with family.

Next was a forest of three of the trees I grew up with.

What you can just about see above is:

• Van Gogh's 'Starry Night' cypress tree has been with me since elementary school.  I've seen the painting in person twice, once in high school on a touring exhibit in Houston, where I promised it I would see it again in New York as a student of Sarah Lawrence College, my then-dream school.  And then, obviously, the second time was indeed as an SLC student.
• 'Ferngully' was one of the few non-Disney animated movies that I loved as a kid.  Along with flying and breathing underwater, the ability to 'help it grow' is totally up there on my list of desired superpowers.
• The other week, while I was working on this notebook, I found a book of Czech...proverbs?  Sayings?  I'm not sure, but it had black and white drawings in it, and one included a forest.  So I included it, even though I didn't grow up with it, it's been on my bookshelf, or a bookshelf near me, for years.

The notebook has now moved on to another link in the chain of swappers, and I'm working on more pages in another notebook.  I can't wait to get my own notebook back, full of pure imagination!

For more crafty FOs, check out Tami's Amis.

WIP Wednesday: A contributing member of society

Yesterday I wrote about the Kickstarter campaign for a 'Veronica Mars' movie, but that is just one of the ways that I think contribution has been the theme of this week.

My local NPR station, KUT, reached the end of their spring drive tonight.  My dad tends to tune out during these drives, but I must admit I take a certain guilty glee in listening to general manager Hawk Mendenhall's snappy dressing down of 'The Situation Room' for spending ten minutes on Jay-Z and Beyonce's Cuba trip while they spanned the globe with two or three more serious news stories in the same time frame.  I like the moments where that foundation of professional journalism gives way to a rainbow sprinkling of personality and quirk.  Tomorrow it's back to the grindstone of day-to-day radio production, 92% funded by listener contribution.

My ongoing notebook swap is also all about the contributions of a group coming together to create something special.  I'm still waiting on the next book in the series to come into my mail box, but I've already been working on what's going in it, planning some of the text and drawing some of the images:

I'll cut them out and collage them into a little cookbook, which I've personalized based on her fandoms. So hopefully it will be a tasty treat.  Speaking of which, it's getting to be about the time for me to start considering final options for what edible goodies to include in my Joss Whedon swap box.  I think I have everything else pretty much nailed down, with my second knit project progressing quite nicely.  I am tempted to try making some stitch markers as well, but we'll see.

I don't think I ever posted the finished pics from my last notebook, did I?  Well then, something for FO Friday!  For more WIP Wednesdays until then, go to Tami's Amis.

WIP Wednesday: I don't care, I'm still free, you can't take the swap from me

I've been feeling a little frazzled this week, at times wondering if I was in over my head.  But I was able to make it through those moments to the other side by just getting one thing done at a time.  With each step forward, the way seemed less daunting.  It helps that the way I'm referring to is having fun coloring in notebooks, knitting, and otherwise crafting.

I'm still spoiling away on the theme of Gilmore Girls, and I thought I would offer a little teaser photo of the actual knitted item, since I've given away the yarn and the stitch without spoiling the actual project:

You can sort of see the through-line of a knit every four stitches going up, and the color shift of silver to purple.  I'm into the rhythm of this pattern, I could almost do it without referring to my directions.  But I still use them anyway, because I'm paranoid.  Just a few inches more and I'll be ready to weave the ends in!

I also made progress on a non-knit handmade for this swap, which involves upcycling an old book into something new.  I found the book itself at Half Price (on my birthday trip), and all I can say for now is that it involved cutting, which felt really wrong, and decoupaging.  I'll likely post a tutorial on Examiner, since it is literature related, and they've just introduced a feature that let's us write lists.

In a similar vein, I've added color and a page or two more to the notebook I'm working on.  That should be ready to send this weekend with a little bit of luck.  I've developed a similarly comfortable rhythm in doodling bunnies as in knitting my stitch pattern, but I still can never quite make them look as artistic on paper as they do in my head:

Notice also the roses, which have been 'painted' red, and the pocket watch which tells the White Rabbit how late he is.  I wanted to add in a little color since the bunnies really needed to stay white.  If I had been doing this strategically, I might have drawn them on white paper and pasted them on, but what's drawn is drawn.

And finally, I've also been given a spoilee for a swap themed around the genius that is Joss Whedon.  My mind is swirling with possible connections to random bits of hilarious dialogue, heroic bravery, and gut-wrenching character deaths.  Well, probably not that last one, I want my package to be a happy one, so we'll ignore the death and stick with things like 'the funny syphilis' and 'sudden but inevitable betrayal'.  Which Joss fans know are happy memories.  So my plotting and planning for that is another work in progress.

For even more works in progress, check out Tami's Amis!

WIP Wednesday: You have been weighed, you have been measured

This morning I did a health screening at work, where they took some basic vitals in exchange for a reduction in my health insurance costs.  It reminded me of that line in 'A Knight's Tale':

Hopefully I have not been found wanting.  Unless I have been found wanting cupcakes, in which case I must always plead guilty.  I would say that my progress this week has not been wanting.  Aside from the super-secret knitted item I've already hinted at, which is about 60% done now, I've gathered a few more things for my box themed around 'Gilmore Girls'.  I've also set myself up a non-knit handmade which involves transforming a book into something new.  I'll post a tutorial if all goes well.

Speaking of non-knit craft projects, I have just begun a long-term notebook swap with a few people on Ravelry.  We each have sent a notebook to the person below us on the list, and we're all going to add our own work, whether in words, images, anything, really, to each others' books as they get sent down the line.  Eventually I'll receive my original notebook back, full of wonderfulness.

I couldn't stop myself from starting with my own notebook and illustrating a few lines from the 'Willy Wonka and the Chocolate Factory' song 'Pure Imagination'.  Here's a sample:

On the left, a little mixed-media, as I drew my Turkish drop spindle spinning the clouds (made out of bits of a cotton ball) into a world of yarn.  The right is a sort of improvised prose version of the debate in 'Monty Python and the Holy Grail' about coconuts and swallows, with emphasis on the words that are part of the song as a not-so-hidden message.  Wow, that's the third movie reference in this post, I guess I'm feeling cinematic.

Just a fun burst of color here.  I'm not overwhelmed with an abundance of drawing talent, but I can draw lots of pink stripes and hearts.  I whipped out my middle school gel pens for this, anyone else remember these?

A peek-a-boo lyric here, hiding behind one of several doors which can be found in Prague.  I tried to insert a few personal details within the pages, breadcrumbs that others might not notice.

Further examples of that: on the left, I've used an old photo I had from the beaches of Scala, Cephalonia.  Because that's what came to mind when I thought of paradise.  On the bottom is an attempt to continue the pine trees at the bottom of the picture using markers and colored pencils, because all of my pictures were horizontally-arranged and not ideal for the notebook's frame.  And then on the right, another idyllic locale.  These were cut from the last alumni magazine I got from Sarah Lawrence College, where sitting around a table discussing and changing the world is the main pastime.

Check out more WIPs (perhaps a little more of the knit and crochet variety) on Tami's Amis!