NxtDrGrrl

Oh, Hello There

2011-09-04T11:40:00.000-07:00

I know, I know, I am among the world's worst bloggers. It doesn't mean I haven't been up to things (I have), but sometimes, I feel selfish or lazy and the end result is, I don't share.

The biggest change was an accidental weight loss of about 30 lbs. I say accidental, because while certainly welcome, it was the end result of finding out I'm allergic to a lot of things I was eating on a regular basis. I ended up cutting out about 1/3 of the things I was eating on a regular basis and before I knew it, I'd lost 10 lbs, then 20 and finally 30. I've been at this current weight about 5 or 6 months, so I think I've found where my body wants to be with all the changes I was forced to make.

If you're wondering how you can apply the changes I made to your own life (because I've had friends tell me they wish they were allergic to food), I will tell you my secrets.

I am allergic to soy, which is surprisingly in EVERYTHING. Seriously. Go to your cupboard and check out the canned and pre-packaged goods, if you don't believe me. I'll wait for you... Now that you've seen it, you will understand the necessity of the first change I made: No more snacking. This meant cutting back on chocolate bars, too (since soy is used as the emulsifier in the majority of commercially available chocolate bars - it's cheaper than the alternatives), so in effect the no snacking rule also meant cutting back on my sugar intake.

The other major change was potatoes (I'm allergic to night shades - tomato, red pepper, white potato and eggplant), which I LOVED eating as french fries. So, this change meant cutting back on fried foods.

Now, that said, I can still eat certain foods I'm allergic too IF they are prepared in a certain way - basically, they need to be cooked at 200 degrees or above for a minimum of 20 minutes. This kills the allergens and my body does not recognize that a baked potato is bad, but since fries are cooked too briefly, they are in the no go column. Confused? Yeah, me too. I just know it works, but as a precaution, I carry Zyrtec in case I feel the familiar tingle. I haven't had a reaction since January, so I must be doing something right.

There's more, but the above will give you the gist of the changes I've made. Initially, it was difficult, but the fear of having a reaction made it easier (very easy to avoid fries when you compare it to the thought of itching and swelling from them).

The end result is I have a whole new body to sew for, and honestly, I am still not seeing it in the mirror. I keep buying and making things for the old one, and I am working to change that. I finally went and tried clothes on and found out what size I am (2 sizes down from where I was - I am still shocked by this, again my friends hate when I say this, but I think it is important to note we can all have body image issues no matter if we gain or lose weight).

So that brings us to the more crafty, less wordy part of this entry! I have decided to take part in the Coletterie fall palette challenge, if for no other reason to make new clothes to go with my new body! I picked out my colors, which I am sharing below. They go with a lot of things I already have, and I think the grey will be a nice neutral (as I think black is too harsh for me now). I've actually already got a lot of these colors in my fabric and yarn stash, and just need to finalize what to make before posting that.

I hope my post about food allergies is useful for others. I was really lucky to have had other friends who had gone through something similar and was able to discuss it with them, which made it a less stressful experience. If anyone needs recommendations for companies that do not use soy in their product, please let me know - I've found a few I can recommend.

New From Old

2011-01-08T07:36:00.000-08:00

I've sewn for a long time, and back when I was a teenager (read: cash-strapped), I would often remake one item of clothing into another. This was especially important if I loved the fabric, but hated the rest of it. The item that stands out was a pair of cropped pants that I made from the skirt of a jumper that was too tight in the bodice. The bodice itself was later remade into a hat. There's something really satisfying about taking something you love and making it into something you love even more.

The leather tote I made the other day is one case in point. I loved the skirt, but never wore it, and now that it's a bag, I've used it everyday this week.

Along the same lines as the leather tote, I just finished a suede bag that was made from another skirt. That skirt I found for $7 at the magical thrift store with the intention of turning it into something else.

Here's the before:

And now the after:

The pattern I used can be found in this mook:

And here's a picture of the original (not that you can even see it here...):

I have a small collection of Japanese mooks, but this is the first thing I've made from any of them. If you have any experience working with Burdastyle (formerly World of Burda) magazine patterns, you should have no trouble figuring out how to work from this. This particular pattern needed to be drafted by hand (the mook gives you diagrams and measurements), and then you can follow the pictures on how to put it together. I've made several of these bags from other material (mostly linen and corduroy) and they turn out awesome! Very roomy, and great for carrying knitting projects around. The bag is also lined, but for the suede version, I wanted it to be a little unconstructed, so no lining was added.

Risk Taking

2011-01-04T22:08:00.000-08:00

Sometimes, I am my own worst enemy when it comes to taking risks. Playing it safe has gotten me far, but not far enough. This is especially true in my crafting. I am full of wild ideas, and then don't allow myself to follow through. The funny thing is, when I have allowed myself to take risks, I end up surprising myself and the idea comes out even better than I imagined. So, I have dubbed 2011 the year of follow through.

I went thrifting with my friend, Nico, a week ago and when we got to Playclothes, we started talking about this very thing - risk taking. I told her that I had a leather skirt that I never wear and have been intending to turn into a tote bag forever, but was afraid of ruining it. There is something about being a lover of all things vintage that makes you want to care for the things in your possession and the leather skirt was no different. Another friend gave it to me about 10 years ago, and in my own way, I felt it would hurt that memory if I messed up the transition from skirt to bag.

Well, with that conversation fresh in my mind, I thought, "What is the worst that happens? I could ruin it, sure, but better to try then have the skirt hanging around being useless." So, I measured my favorite tote bags to get an idea of the size I wanted, grabbed scissors, a measuring tape and the skirt and got busy.

Here's the before:

And here's the after:

I'm really pleased with how it turned out, and have a brand new appreciation for the bloggers I read who work with leather. That is no easy task!

In the end, I got the bag I wanted - very simple shape to show off the seaming from the skirt, and I left it unlined for a modern look.

Happy New Year!

2011-01-01T15:51:00.000-08:00

Here we are at the beginning of another new year, a time of renewal, both on the calendar and in our souls. NxtDrGuy and I changed up our usual celebrations - instead of Black Angus, we went to Gulfstream. The food, as always, was superb, but since we were stuck in a corner, at some point, our waiter just kind of disappeared. We literally could have walked out without paying and I don't think anyone would have been the wiser (we are not the sort of people who dine and ditch, but given the lack of attention, it would definitely have been possible). Good thing we had no where to go except home for some Doctor Who and Dick Clark's Rockin' New Year's Eve, or we would have been a lot more steamed about it.

Eh, but enough with the complaining!

I have been on a paring down kick lately, and things I thought I couldn't let go of, have been let go of. My old bedside table resides with a friend, and clothes and shoes are slowly being let go of. I have a friend who takes my fabric scraps for his business, and yarn has also been parted with. It's a way for me to make some order out of the chaos, and believe me, there is a lot of chaos in my life right now. Nothing that is interesting to anyone other than myself and a few close friends, but I find letting go of things by finding them good homes is helping me to cope.

Speaking of order from chaos, I am updating/repairing/re-making a few cherished items, and wanted to share the latest success story. I bought a red cardigan from Anthropologie a few years back and then promptly dribbled salad dressing on it (grrrrr). In order to cover it up, I was inspired by another Anthropologie cardigan with trim. Here are the results:

Here's the sweater:

And a close up of the spot (out, out damn spot!):

Here's the inspiration - such gorgeous trim to play with!

And here is the outcome (well, just pinned on - need to find the time to stitch it down, plus, still not sold on the crochet flower...):

Now for the close up:

Overall, it took about an hour or so to do all of the trims while watching TV/surfing the web. I even crocheted the squiggly bit and the flower (which I'm aware is not the best crocheted flower ever, but it's the first one I've ever done and I'm kind of partial to it's sorry state).

The best thing I got out of it is more life from a favorite sweater and a little practice with crochet (a craft I now want to try more of...).

Anthro Rennie Tee Shirt

2010-10-31T16:36:00.000-07:00

Like many crafting bloggers, I find Anthropologie's website to be very inspiring. Earlier this week, I fell in love with the Rennie Tee, and although the original was made from knit fabric, I thought I would try my hand at a woven version. I made it in about 4 hours this morning, and I really love the results!

Here's the original:

The William Morris-style fabric with the contrasting trim really works with simple design of the t-shirt.

I chose Vogue 7457 as my basis for the design, and some cotton satin I had in my stash from Mom:

I chose View C, but made a few changes. First, I really wanted the length of View B, but since I had decided to use the wrong side of the fabric as my contrast, I removed the hem length (1 1/4") from View C, and lowered the slits by 2". I also did the same for the sleeves (though this had more to do with the fact the fabric I was using was only 36" wide, so I didn't have enough to make them longer).

Before sewing the shoulders and side seams together, I hemmed the sleeves by pressing 1/4" to the outside and then another 1" after that. I then topstitched the contrast hems. For the lower bands, I again pressed under 1/4" and then folded the hem to the outside to where my new slits ended (about 3"). I then folded this back to the inside, stitched the sides of the contrast together (in order to encase the contrast portion), trimmed the seams I just stitched, clipped the side seams to the notch, and turned the contrast wrong side out again. I pinned the contrast down and topstitched it down. Once I did that to the front and back pieces, I was able to sew the side seams together and the top was almost done!

Lastly, I decided I wanted a contrast band at the neck edge, so I cut self bias tape that was 1 1/4" in width and about 24" in length (I measured the neck area and suggest you do the same. It doesn't have to be too perfect since bias will stretch). I used the bias tape to encase the neck edge. First, I pinned it to the wrong side and adjusted to fit, and the sewed the raw edges together (joining the bias ends in a circle) at one of the shoulder seams. Then, I stitched it the the wrong side of the neck edge before pressing it to the right side, (pressing raw edge under by 1/4"), and finally stitching the bias tape in place. And that was it! Super simple and very cute. It will make a great top by itself in the Summer, but I know me, and it will also get worn throughout the fall and winter over a long sleeve t-shirt, with either pants or a skirt.

Here's my finished version:

And a close up of the contrasting trim:

Taking the Plunge

2010-04-13T13:00:00.000-07:00

While Wardrobe Refashion undergoes it's changes, I've decided to do my own personal challenge. In an effort to knock down my massive stash (fabric and yarn) and cut down on spending, I hereby publicly declare that for the next 4 months, I will not buy new clothing. That means this pledge will be done on my birthday, so if I feel the need to treat myself, it will be well-deserved and much-desired!

Admittedly, the hardest habit to kick will be my shoe addiction. I may slip up, and promise to report back on my progress.

Here goes nothing!

It's up! aka Get Your Hoodies Right Here

2010-02-07T17:41:00.001-08:00

Just a heads up: The hoodie pattern I wrote is up over at Puchicollective.com. Thank you so much to Linda and Melissa for hosting it for me!

Hope everyone likes it! I would love to see an army of Blythes dressed in Hoodies :-D

Stella!!!!!!

2009-11-29T22:21:00.000-08:00

I came across the Stella McCartney collection for Gap Kids about a week or so ago online. The clothes are a little pricey for a kids collection (IMO), but very well priced for Stella. If you're not familiar with her, besides being the daughter of Paul McCartney (aka one of the Beatles), she also brought the design house Chloe back from the brink in the last decade. She really has her finger on the fashion button in terms of being both fashion-forward and wearable.

Anyway, I was at Fashion Square with my little sister today taking a break from the rest of the fam, and we poked our head in to Gap Kids to check it out. It was a wee bit crowded in there, so she got on line while I perused the collection. I loved the cashmere pullover with the intarsia leopard, but it was far from practical in real-life (and for something I wouldn't wear often, $98 is a little expensive).

I did, however, find a grey asymmetrical cardigan in kids XXL that fit me just right. For the price, $58, I couldn't go wrong, and I will even go so far as to say this is my new favorite sweater! I fully expect to wear this until it falls apart. The cotton/cashmere blend also make it feel really nice. Did I mention I'm excited about this? I really am, like, stupidly so! And, I can forgive the XXL tag by reminding myself that it's a KIDS XXL, not women's! Muahahahaha

Day 5 - Tune in Thursday

2009-11-05T21:52:00.000-08:00

I'm not a huge fan of episodic TV - miss a week and I'm Lost (no pun intended). That said, I do occasionally fall for shows - HARD. Usually, the ones I like get canceled - Square Pegs, anyone? What about TV 101? (Yes, there are more recent examples, I'm just drawing a blank). I adore most of the sci-fi on BBC America (Doctor Who, Torchwood, Life on Mars, Ashes to Ashes, Being Human, Primeval), but not so crazy about the period pieces (Robin Hood, for example - too soap opera-y and they killed Marian, wha???). I despise reality TV shows, to the point that I feel they suck the life out of you and are hastening the demise of Western Civilization (merely MHO, of course! Others LOVE them, but I'll just continue staging my one woman boycott to make myself feel better).

So, the reason I'm posting is to say that I really like Flash Forward and don't want it to go away! The pilot was intriguing, and there was enough there to make me want to see where they're going to go with the idea. Oh, and Joseph Fiennes is cute, which never hurts ;-)

The only other show I'm interested in catching is V, though I missed it Tuesday when I went to Disney Hall. Still, I'll catch up over the weekend on abc.com and see how I feel. I liked the original version way back in the day, and the kid who played the lead's son sat behind me in French class that year, which made it that much cooler.

Day 4 - for reals

2009-11-04T22:01:00.000-08:00

Ah, Wednesday, that un-special, middle of the week, hump day. Half way through the week already (thank goodness!). I really ought to be sewing, but am procrastinating while watching TV. I wish I could craft as fast as I come up with ideas, but have to remind myself: It's the process, not the finished product that makes it enjoyable. That said, I've finished quite a few knitted projects over the last two weeks that just need blocking/sewing together. I'll get it all done eventually...

Anyway, not feeling particularly verbose this evening, so will sign off for now...

Day 3 (kinda sorta)

2009-11-04T01:25:00.000-08:00

I'm a little late today, but I'm still up from yesterday - does that count? I stepped out of my comfort zone today and spontaneously agreed to go to listen to chamber music at the Disney Hall in downtown Los Angeles. My friend, R, had amazing seats down in front and we had a great time. I've only had the pleasure of knitting with her every month or so, but going out outside of knitting was a good thing. Turns out, we have quite a few things in common! Anyway, I'll leave it brief for tonight, but just wanted to share a little something from my day.

Day 2

2009-11-02T20:42:00.001-08:00

Now, don't get too excited, but yeah, I'm back for Day 2 of NaBloPoMo! Today's theme is Make It/Mend It Monday. On the mend it front, I fixed the hem on my favorite pants. They'd only hung out in the mending pile for a month or so... (sad, I know). I really do love those pants, and anyone who has met me in person knows this, as I wear them every chance I get. They're brown linen palazzo pants that I made from a New Look pattern. In fact, they're my second pair since I loved the first ones so much, I wore them until they fell apart.

On the make it side, I made a top from a vintage 1980s Simplicity pattern (design by Hang Ten - remember them?). I finished the top a couple days ago, and am already in love. The thing to keep in mind here is there was some serious wardrobe refashion involved here. NxtDrGuy gave me a periwinkle T-shirt with holes and a stain (artfully covered by the pocket!), and I proffered up a navy workout T-shirt, and a remnant of darker periwinkle ribbing. I'm seriously in love with the outcome, and if I could get away with wearing it everyday, I would.

Up for the challenge

2009-11-01T20:51:00.000-08:00

I've been a little lax on the blog front (work stuff has kept me busy for the most part, which would be too boring/technical/eye-glaze-inducing for all but the nerdiest out there to get into here), and so have decided to participate in the NaBloPoMo* this November in order to shake me out of my quietude.

Perhaps, the easiest way to get back in the groove would be to have some themes going... For sure, I will post some of my crafting projects this month, as I really need to get back into that habit. My fear is that I will post all my good intentions here and then not follow through. That would hardly be fair and certainly wouldn't make for very interesting reading. Oh, and since I've been promising to post some Blythe knitting patterns, I will publish those this month (sorry, Kittenlash, I really haven't meant to drag this on for so long!).

Okee dokee then, that's gonna have to do it for today, but I'll be back tomorrow, I promise!

*National Blog Posting Month

Tulip Skirt

2009-09-08T13:04:00.000-07:00

A couple of weeks ago, I was tooling around flickr and saw this skirt. I thought, "Gee, that looks like a skirt in the first issue of Stitch magazine." Well, lo and behold, they are the same! For some reason, I never put the designer of the skirt pattern, Jenny Gordy, together with her line "Wiksten." Anyway, I decided to give the pattern a spin and make one of my own.

These are the results:

I have to say, I'm pretty pleased with how the pattern turned out! My measurements put me in between a small and medium, so to be safe, I went for the medium. Well, for once, my erring on the side of caution means my skirt is a little on the big side (but, hey, it's easier to take things in than let them out, so even though it meant an extra step in my case, it was the wise choice). Instead of ripping the skirt apart to take it in on the sides, I just took it in up the back.

Jenny mentioned a few errata in her blog, but I noticed a couple of minor things as I went along - the arrow directions for the pleats on the front are incorrect (I just followed the photo of the finished object), and the grain line on the pattern for the front and back pieces are swapped.

Details:
Fabric - a 100% cotton corduroy from Joann's. I pre-washed it, and cut it out with the nap going up (gives a richer color).

I didn't feel like doing as much hand-finishing as Jenny's pattern calls for (I like instant gratification and hand sewing is avoided like the plague at chez NDG), so I did a lot of extra top stitching, which really works with the fabric I chose. This included topstitching the placket closed, and also edge stitching the center front edge of the placket. I did the same thing on the wasitband - both topstitching it closed and edge stitching the top. I guess I could have edge stitched the belt, too, but it didn't dawn on me until this moment. In addition, I also pressed up the bottom of the waistband facing prior to attaching it to the waistband for a neater finish at the front edge. I also added a button to the waistband, and one more at the bottom of the placket. I would probably do that again, but I debated between horizontal and vertical placement on the waistband and well, I'm still not completely sold (but it's better than hook and eyes, which I've never been very good at getting to sit right).

I will definitely be sewing this again, and love the fact that this skirt lets me be a size small!

Oh, and because I cut the belt out along the grain, I had almost half a yard left over, so I'll be making a tote bag for my knitting projects. Win win all the way around.

My New (old) Love

2009-04-13T22:00:00.000-07:00

My first love in the crafting world is sewing, but since I prefer using a machine, it isn't a terribly portable craft, and so my love of knitting, cross stitching and needlepoint was born.

But, I digress... Sewing, although my first love, has been relegated to the bottom of the totem pole in my crafty world and this weekend, I realized how much I miss it. I mean look at this shayna punim, how can you not love it?

So, to get back in the grove, I went through a few of my boxes of fabric and came across some fabric scraps given to me by a cousin who worked in the schmata business at the time. The scraps have probably been in my stash about 10 years, and have been sore point with me - too good to throw out, too small to be of much use. And then I realized what I needed to do with them. I pinned and sewed the pieces one after the other until they were long enough, and then folded the whole thing in half lengthwise and sewed them into a tube. I kept second guessing myself, but gave myself permission to screw it all up if I had to. Well, I didn't screw up, in fact, I had enough to make two! But, please, don't take my word for it, judge for yourself (but forgive the flash photo, it is night after all!).

Oh my

2009-03-09T23:43:00.000-07:00

Why.Must.The.Time.Change.Be.So.Painful? Seriously, it hurt to get out of bed this morning, and if work weren't so busy, there's a good chance I would have called in sick.

In some ways, I wish I had - I started off the day by leaving my blackberry in my car, necessitating a run back to it after my morning meeting, and ended the day leaving my wallet at work, necessitating a run back to the office. It was a perfect, if nerve-wracking, bookend to the day.

In knitting news, NxtDrGuy lost the Noro ribbed hat I made him 2 years ago :-( Luckily, I found the same colorway, and ordered two skeins (an extra, just in case!), and he feels sufficiently bad about losing it. So, at least he's knit-worthy...

And finally, in shopping news, I scored the Dr Martens flats I'd been ogling for a few months on crazy sale (we're talking cheap!), in my size and the color I wanted. Here they are in all their gorgeous red technicolor (nom nom nom):

Happy New Year

2009-01-01T10:22:00.001-08:00

I slept hard after last night's eat-a-thon, and waking up was painful, until I realized it was New Year's Day and all I had to do to today was putter about the kitchen and maybe finish some knitting. I really love days off!

Nxtdrguy and I celebrated New Year's Eve in the usual way - dinner at Black Angus. It felt different this year, though. The place was pretty quiet and it was way too easy to get a parking spot. If this is not a sign the economy is in the dumps, I don't know what is. What I do know is that this is the first time I haven't felt a twinge of sadness at the passing of a year. 2008 was really a shitter of a year, and I hope 2009 will be a vast improvement on it.

Speaking of vast improvements, I've been using the time off work to get things done around the place, and am finally getting my crafting mess a bit more organized. Me + organization results in more mess, but it's coming together, albeit slowly!

The big project was building an Expedit bookcase from IKEA to hold my mags, dolls and the fabric I want to sew now (much more stored elsewhere!). Yarn is stored in the closet (sorry no photos, though maybe I will flash the stash this year).

Here's a photo of the first round of organizing the Expedit (it's likely to change at some point, but will do for now):

All my magazines fit across the bottom row - I'm ever so proud of that! They look so much neater there, and have freed up a bunch of space elsewhere. The Blythes and other dolls fit in the top two shelves, and that cleared two smaller bookcases, which I think will go in the dining area to hold cook books and other displayable items, like Pyrex, etc. See? Already making plans on how to whip my place into shape...

Ah, and speaking of plans... It is New Year's Day after all, and tradition dictates one should make resolutions. I think I'll make mine a list of things I'd like to accomplish this year, so I can refer back to it periodically and make sure I'm on track.

1) exercise more: I have started hiking on weekends with a friend of a friend, so will continue that. In addition, I am to exercising two times a week after work with a co-worker.

2) knit more: I already have dedicated time for knitting on Saturdays, and do a little during the work week, too. I'd like to knit through at least ten miles of stash yarn, and I think the best way to do it is to make a list of what I should work on per month. I intend to follow that up by posting picks of FOs here (yeah, right - haha!)

3) stay in touch more: I tend to get so into work that I feel like I never come up for air, and it promises to be even more challening in the next few months, so I will set aside time to hang with friends. If nothing else, I'll update the blog so everyone will know why they never hear from me!

4) write more: yup, it's time. Will do that by blogging more, and finally getting my laptop out so I can work on my stalled novel. Really.

5) keep my place neat: I can't say organized, because my sense of organization is quite different than anyone else's! But, stuff put away and not on every surface might be a good start. I would also like to purge some things this year, which I think will help.

6) do fun things: I'd really like to finally learn to play guitar and chess! I know, so weird that my idea of fun is learning new things. I blame the IHP. XD

That should cover most of it. I'd add travel more, but I've not been in love with travel for while - it seems like more of a chore for some reason. But, if I do, it would be to visit friends in Italy.

How's About a Nice Cup of STFU?

2008-08-03T18:09:00.000-07:00

Car shopping is the pits. Friday, I spent about two hours getting dicked around by the dealers at Honda Airport Marina. They totally marked the Honda Fit up $4000 over sticker because they weren't smart enough to get enough in. Two hours later and we'd barely gotten them to halve the difference. That was when we got the most perfectly timed instant message from our boss that said, "If they are still charging over the sticker, get the fuck out." So, we walked. They totally followed us to our car still trying to work a deal and I had just had it. Why can't there just be a shut the fuck up sign - kinda like the Staples easy button? Seriously, I would use it all the time in restaurants when parents don't control their kids, or you get the guy/gal who needs to fill the room with their voice.

So, I am still with Neon and I swear it's like something new goes wrong every time I drive her. The driver window is now completely off the guide, which just makes getting in and out of work a royal pain. Not to mention the lack of AC, meaning it's a necessity to put the window down every time I get in anyway. Maybe I can just sweat off the 10 lbs I want to lose before I get the new car. Ugh.

The Long Goodbye

2008-07-31T22:48:00.000-07:00

I took the Neon to the mechanic yesterday, and before I'd even arrived at work, they called to give me the bad news. The transmission is shot and the mechanic did not recommend putting another dollar into her. Needless to say, I was distraught.

The Neon was the first new car I ever bought and I've become quite attached to her and her idiosyncrasies. We've been through a lot together - road trips, blow outs, accidents, friends, dating, dieting, short hair, long hair, dyed hair, job after job after job... As a matter of fact, now that I think about it, it was my first permanent job in entertainment that allowed me to buy her, and she's come along for the ride as my career has been built. She put up with me shifting her into lower gears to gain extra power to pass more powerful cars, carried me faithfully to and fro work and held her head high even as her age showed. I spent most of yesterday mourning her, crying during my daily meeting and tearing up at the thought of not driving her anymore.

I spent some of today researching my next car, which I think will be the Honda Fit. I still need to sit in it and test drive (trust me, we tried to do this today, but the local Honda dealer sold their last Fit last night - harumph!), but aside from that, I like what I've seen. And, let's face it, the Sport version comes in purple, and as far as I'm concerned, that is the most important thing of all.

The picture on the Honda site makes it look more navy blue, but IRL, it's more of a blackish purple with glitter:

As a goodbye gesture to the Neon, I took a picture of the mileage on the way to work this morning. It seemed fitting that after more than 12 years together, the mileage should be 121212:

I know we will be going our separate ways within the next month (the mechanic said I could drive her for about that without too many problems), but the times we had were good and that is what I will try to remember.

And speaking of... Here are two pics of the Neon the day I got her:

My first time behind the wheel:

Ah, memories..... *sniffle*!

Long Time, No Blog

2008-07-29T22:55:00.000-07:00

That whole New Year's Resolution to better balance work and life has been a bit of a bust. What can I say? It's been a busy year! The good thing is, I think I may have a bit of a breather before it gets really crazy, and let me say, I'm going to need it.

My poor car - I've needed to fix the AC for months and there has just not been any time to do it. I'm taking her in for a few other things tomorrow (transmission/oil change/tire rotation) and depending on what they say, I may be car shopping *sniffle*. I really don't want to deal with buying a new car right now! And truth be told, I like my car. Silly, I know, but in a sea of sameness, she stands out.

So, I've been trying to decide which direction to take my blog in - obviously, since it's public, I keep most personal information out of it (stalkers need not apply), but I'm not sure whether to skew it towards my crafting or my dolls. Both of those hobbies bleed into one another since I do make a lot of things for Blythe, but I think it might be better if I focus on crafting in general, with the girls making an occasional appearance. I also wouldn't mind working on improving my photography. Usually, I'm happy when everything is in focus, but honestly, I think the best way to showcase my crafting is through better photography.

Speaking of crafting, a co-worker and I are already planning what to make for the Holiday Bazaar at work in November. We'll see if anything comes to fruition as I am always full of plans (better than full of $hit, I suppose), and have trouble with the follow-through (hello, lonely blog o'mine). It can't hurt to try advance planning, and roping someone else into it means I am responsible to that person and less likely to flake. See? Already an improvement! ha!

And just so this isn't the most boring post ever with no visual stimulus in sight, I leave you with professional pictures (not taken by me, natch) of the two pairs of shoes I bought this week - both by Born (spelled with a / through the o, only I don't remember the code to get that to show up, but you get which brand I mean...). They're supah cute and supah comfy. In fact, I think my feet will be having a deep and meaningful relationship with these shoes for the next few months!

Pair #1 - the heels:

Pair #2 - the flats:

Happy New Year!

2008-01-01T16:31:00.000-08:00

Last night's celebrations were not too much in excess. Maybe it's getting to a certain age that makes you realize overeating isn't all that anymore. Nxtdrguy and I went to Black Angus, heretofore known as "The Anus" (yes, we really are that immature) to celebrate and split a pound of prime rib - ugh, my stomach is in knots thinking about it! We've now gone there the last 3 years straight, mainly because we know they're one of the few restaurants that are open late and we like to reward them for that with our loyalty. After eating, we went to his place and watched "Serenity", which played so differently, now that I've seen the entire Firefly series. A lot darker and a lot more action. I still wish they'd do a sequel, but that's because most of what's put out by Hollywood is just so much dreck, aimed at the lowest common denominator.

When the film ended, we played a little Animal Crossing to watch the clock change and celebrate with our virtual friends. Somehow it seemed better than watching Dick Clark kissing his wife and listening to Ryan Seacrest pretending he's cool and down with that. Yuck.

Anyway, that was last night. Today, of course, is the first day of the new year, and well, that means one thing: RESOLUTIONS. I usually make fun ones like "getting in touch with my inner bitch" and "must learn how to play guitar", in the hope I can actually follow through on (Let's say I was successful with one of those...)

So, without further ado, here are my resolutions for 2008 (in no particular order):
1 - incorporate more exercise into my routine and watch what I eat
2 - file the papers that have piled up
3 - sell what I don't use on ebay
4 - keep in better contact with my friends (I've been a little out of the loop)
5 - find a better balance between work and home life
6 - knit through more of my yarn stash and sew through my fabric stash
7 - save money
8 - teach nxtdrguy how to play backgammon

I think I can manage most of those (even if I detest filing). I guess we'll know how successful I was by the end of the year! XD

My So Called Crafty Life

2007-09-30T20:29:00.000-07:00

I am drowning in yarn and fabric, and yet I wouldn't have it any other way. The one thing I wish is that sewing were more portable, then I would be able to get more done on that end of the spectrum. Instead, I've taught myself to walk and knit (so long as there isn't any lace involved) and can usually get a row or two of knitting in while I walk from the parking garage to the office. So, at least it feels like I've accomplished something before I get to work. Otherwise, it feels like all I do is make lists of all the things I'd like to be working on :-/

To better organize myself and how I spend my time, I've made a general weekly schedule, which assigns projects to me during the week - everything from work, to exercise to sewing and writing (yup, I've decided it's time to get back to work on the novel). At least this way, I have my little checklist to tick off one line item at time so I know I've done more than play Animal Crossing and Picross (most evil game ever!) all week.

Sunday nights are devoted to cutting out sewing projects, and so far, I've cut out a pair of pajama bottoms from a pattern I've made quite a few times. They'll sew up super fast and then I'll have yet another thing to cross off my to-do list :-D

I took a crappy flash picture so I could share the fabric - it's bagels and New York style coffee cups on a red background. I have a ceramic version of the coffee cup, which I use every morning for my coffee at work. It's one of my favorites (favorite one being the Snoopy "I think I'm allergic to morning" one I've had since I was 4). Cute, huh?

I figure every little bit counts when it comes to getting back in to my crafting life.

Dr. Who?

2007-09-09T15:11:00.000-07:00

While organizing my closet last night, I had the tv on in the background, and was lucky enough to catch some Dr. Who on PBS. Gah, the new Dr. Who is so frickin' sexah! Maybe it's the accent, I don't know, but I do remember the original 1970s Dr. Who always reminded me of my Algebra and Philosophy teachers combined, and the new one, well, he doesn't!

Anyway, watching it got me to thinking about Dr. Who's scarf, a fairly well-known accessory, and cause for obsession amongst fans. So at 1am, I pulled out some yarn and created my own version using this website as a guide.

Here are the results (before weaving ends in - there are a lot of them!):

I'm fairly pleased with the results, and have written the instructions, if you'd like to make your own Blythe-sized Dr. Who scarf (and who wouldn't want one?)

You will need:
sz 2 needles (2.75mm)
fingering yarn (aka 4ply) in 7 colors: Purple, red, tan, brown, gray, yellow and green

Using the color guide below, CO 10 stitches in the first color, and then follow the guide for the number of rows in each color (the rows are even numbers so the front side will have a seamless change of color). When you're done, bind off and weave in ends and take lots of pictures :-D

Rows - Color
2 - purple
12 - tan
4 - brown
2 - yellow
6 - red
2 - purple
12 - grey
6 - green
2 - yeloow
8 - tan
4 - red
2 - brown
2 - purple
12 - green
2 - yellow
4 - gray
2 - red
12 - tan
2 - purple
6 - green
4 - gray
2 - yellow
6 - red
2 - purple
10 - brown
2 - tan
2 - gray
12 - red
4 - yellow
6 - green
2 - purple
10 - tan
4 - brown
6 - gray
2 - red
4 - purple
2 - tan
4 - yellow
12 - green
4 - red
4 - gray
2 - yellow
6 - brown
2 - purple
2 - tan
8 - grey
2 - red
2 - yellow
4 - tan
2 - purple
8 - brown
2 - red
10 - purple

As with all my patterns, you're welcome to make items to sell from them, but please credit me for the pattern.

It's a Knit Knit Knit World

2007-06-10T16:11:00.000-07:00

Ah, Summertime! When brains turn to mush and fingers ache for something to do... I compiled a list for myself of the projects I would like to work on/finish this summer (keep in mind - this list is made for a perfect world where days last forever and things actually get done). Anyway, without further ado, here's my list:

1. Rowan Scottish Tweed ballet wrap sweater - body is done, sleeves are half done
2. Sheela Scarf - on needles
3. Tagliato Shawl - on needles
4. Rowan Linen Sweater - back is half done
5. Fitted Knits sleeveless turtleneck
6. Fitted Knits puff sleeve cardigan - on needles - I'm using some vintage angora yarn from the thrift store - so soft!
7. Fitted Knits Alexandra ballet top - on needles - in naturgarn in goldenrod
8. Nxtdrguy's Noro hat - not like he can wear it now, but it'll be ready for the winter at this rate!
9. Noro Kureyon Cardigan - back is done, fronts are on needles
10. Noro Kureyon throw - on needles
11. Debbie Bliss Soho turtleneck
12. Debbie Bliss Soho arm warmers
13. Knitty Fetching fingerless gloves
14. Noro Kujaku tea kozy
15. Twinkle knit vest in Cascade Magnum
16. Vogue Patons cape - on needles

I'll be happy if I can get 1/4 of the list done (that would be 4 projects for the fractionally challenged). Any more than that and I'll be ecstatic! And of course, pictures and links are forthcoming on all of these. No fun reading the list when pictures can show you!

Wardrobe Refashion

2007-05-15T23:27:00.000-07:00

While trolling through some comments on my flickr, I came across a picture of a shirt made from Simplicity 4589, which led me even further down the rabbit-hole to this website. O.M.G. I must do this! It feeds into all my neuroses... er, I mean, hobbies! 1) I love to sew and knit, 2) I have a ton of fabric and yarn to be gotten through and 3) I really need to save some money after splurging on a certain Blythe doll...

I've already bought the fabric I want to use for my high school reunion dress, so I think I'm covered.... Oh, wait - there is one more pair of shoes I want to buy... Hmmmm... Well, I haven't signed up yet, so I could in theory buy them and then sign up - that wouldn't really be considered cheating, would it? ;-)

Fancy Pants

2007-05-07T17:15:00.000-07:00

I was finally in the mood to attack the *mess* that is my place, and while I didn't get as far as I'd have liked (I never do...), I did do some Blythe sewing. I made a pair of flares out of this really cool tie-dye corduroy I found yesterday morning, and they turned out so well, that I've decided to make more to post on etsy. :-D

I want to make more than just one version, so I pulled some other cord fabric that has embroidery and sequins on it, and I thought, "Those are gonna make some fancy pants!" So, that's gonna be the name of my flares - Fancy Pants. I kinda like it.

Here's a pic of Sabrina wearing the tie dye fancy pants, a hat by Simplykir and a sweater knit by me from Woollyrockers' pattern:

I hope to have some up on etsy this weekend.

Sheesh

2007-04-29T18:13:00.000-07:00

So many things... I'm supposed to be finishing up my 2nd craftster swap (apologies to my swap partners - your stuff will be rad), but frick, it's hot and I've been rearranging all my crap today and I've realized I HAVE A LOT OF CRAP! Not that I didn't know that before... But, somehow moving it around to try to organize it just makes the problem so much more obvious. I'm annoyed with myself for letting it get this bad, and annoyed that work has been so busy that I haven't had time to fix it. Ugh.

On the plus side, I finished a project and wanted to share - it's knitty's fetching:

Aren't they cute?

I think I should concentrate on the shorter projects as, well, they go much faster! :-P Though, I do get supreme satisfaction out of finishing the more involved projects on my list, they just take forever to do...

New test hat

2006-12-31T12:11:00.000-08:00

I've been playing around with strand knitting (aka fairisle) and have completed a test hat for the Blythes. Tiff had some ideas I couldn't resist, so I tried them out on the hat. :-)

I like the braids, but think I made them a little too long. The weight of the braids isn't allowing the flaps to curl up, which I find to be one of the cutest details of the hat. I'll either make them shorter or leave them unbraided next time. The fairisle pattern was my own addition and I think needs some tweaking - I was shocked to find that the row after I finished the pattern, I needed to decrease already! So, I've adjusted it, taking two lines out of the pattern, which should work better for placement overall.

Here are some more pictures:

Ear flaps up a` la Sherlock Holmes:

And tied under the chin (definitely needs a pom pom on top!):

Oh, and if I don't post again today - hope everyone has a safe and happy new year!

Happy Thanksgiving!

2006-11-23T10:10:00.000-08:00

Being that it's now Thanksgiving, my mind is already thinking ahead to the holidays and how to avoid as much of the festivities as possible. It seems to come faster and faster each year and the false frivolity irks me. It's not the happiest time of the year, who are we kidding?

I don't know about you, but I certainly have enough *stuff*. Not that I don't have my eye on a few things, but I'm at the point that I can pretty much buy the little things for myself. It's the big things I'm having trouble with - you know, like a house. The prices are ridiculous where I am and I keep waiting for something to happen to change that.

Anyway, enough of my diatribe - no one really wants to listen to a curmudgeon during the holidays - we all get labelled as "scrooge" - when all we really are is realistic.

I've been knitting up a storm in hopes of selling some stuff at squeakymonkey. Tiff and I have made some stuff in exchange, which is really cool - I think her clothes are amazing! I'm for the most part done with what I'm sending her, but am hoping to finish a couple of Jayne Cobb hats to send along.

Almost done with my pumpkin pies for the Thanksgiving dinner I'm going to - then I need to go get whipped cream (forgot to pick it up last night). I'm just glad I stopped and picked up fixings last night as I got the very last can of pumpkin pie mix in the store. How lucky is that?

Two Weeks in and...

2006-11-12T16:23:00.000-08:00

Nothing. I haven't written a word. I'm lame, I know. I have a great idea for my novel, but the last two weeks have been really hectic at work (more so than usual). I'm so stressed, I really fear I could end up with reflux or even worse, an ulcer.

On the plus side, my knitting has really taken off! I modified a skipper pattern for a knitted hoodie for my Blythes, and it's gotten a really great response. Here's the semi-finished hoodie:

I need to add the tie chain and beads for closure.

I also tried out Woollyrockers' pattern. It turned out amazing! I highly recommend buying Liz's sweaters - her knitting is impeccable.

Here's my version:

And here's the one I bought from her:

I've also been commissioned to create a Blythe sweater dress using this as a guide:

So, I'm going to work out a pattern for it - I hope it turns out as cute as I think it will!

NaNoWriMo

2006-10-30T22:40:00.000-08:00

I wish it were a long vacation that kept me away from my blog for so long, but really it's just been work, work and more work for the last few months. And just when I thought I had some relief, the person I've been training goes and gets herself on bedrest for the next two months. Ugh. Mmmm - bedrest - gawd that sounds frickin' amazing to me right about now!.

So, anyway, it's almost Halloween, and I'll be doing my usual "turn off the lights hide in the bedroom" routine for it. I just don't want to 1) have to open the door to strangers and 2) have candy around when I'm being good.

Come Wednesday though, my whole world will be turned on its ear for none other than NaNoWriMo aka National Novel Writing Month. I think I lasted a week last year, so we'll see if I get farther than that this time! I do have a much better plan this time, and that is to write loads of short stories based around a theme (which I can't tell you as that would spoil the surprise, but I think it's pretty clever and hope you do, too). Anyway, it's a challenge to do it, and you know me, always up for a challenge! Besides, if I don't try, how will I ever know if I can write a novel?

Ugly is the new Pretty

2006-08-01T22:50:00.000-07:00

Sunday was spent checking out a store in Echo Park that carried Blythe with Snoopygirl and another local girl from the forum. It was cool to see them in a store, but 1) I already had the few they had in stock, and 2) they were vastly over-priced (about double what they cost on ebay).

There were a couple boutiques nearby that had some very expensive, obviously geared to young Hollywood clothing. I'm fine with expensive clothes if they're well-made, but ugh, these took the cake. Edges were all unravelling, and it looked like they were the craft project in a jr high school sewing class. We all joked that all we had to do was come up with the ugliest thing possible and then sell it for loads of money. There was one item in particular, a skirt made from a cheetos t-shirt - it was cute, but for $60? I don't think so... Especially when you consider the t-shirt probably cost them $1 at the local thrift store, + $2 for the elastic waistband. Anyway, it got me thinking: The more expensive something is, regardless of perceived beauty, the more exclusive and valuable it is. Name it - cars, houses, clothing - the more it costs, the more likely there will be some idiot prepared to pay more for the right to say they belong to that rarified club that can afford to buy it (whatever IT is). As for the clothing, the ugly factor just adds to the *hip* factor - "I don't care how I look or how much I pay to look this way - that's how hip I am!" Let's all say it together now: "Dumbasses" or as I like to say it "Dumas" (doo-moss).

Ugh.

Hmmmm

2006-07-09T23:50:00.000-07:00

This is what happens when I'm bored.

'What will your obituary say?' at QuizGalaxy.com

Sounds about right. The only difference is: Rosebud will not be a sled, it will be a Blythe!

Serenity

2006-07-02T14:38:00.001-07:00

No, I'm not all mellow - I'm actually miserable 'cos it's so freakin' hot, but to pass the time, I've been knitting in the line of AC. I've finished the hat part of my full-size Jayne Cobb hat (a character from Serenity and Firefly - hence the name of this entry) and finished the entire version for Blythe. I really like the way it's turned out and think I might make some more to sell. We'll see what people think before I get my knitting freak on...

Here's the pic of Leia, my Cherry Berry modelling the hat. I think it's one of the nicest things I've ever designed.

In case you're not familiar with the whole Browncoat cult of Firefly fans, it's supposed to look like that (ie - ugly and handmade).

Well, off to finish the full-size version - just have the ear flaps and pom pom to go...

Random

2006-07-01T16:03:00.000-07:00

Last week, I went to my bro's to hang out with him and visit with my nephew (gaaaa - he's so cute!). We were channel surfing, and I see the name of the game show I was on 4 years ago on Game Show Network. I tell A to turn it on because "wouldn't it be funny if it were the one I was on?" Well, he flips to it and and we both screamed - there was my head filling the screen! So random! I've switched on GSN occasionally to see if it was me and for all the times I did that, I never saw me. And then we turned it on and there I was. What are the odds?!?

I'm supposed to be neatening up the apartment, but fcuk it, it's hot and the computer is right in line with the AC, so if I sit here, I feel slightly cooler than elsewhere in here. At least I can post and then I'll feel like I got something done :-P In fact it's so hot, the water coming out of the cool tap is so hot the cats wouldn't even drink from it. I ended up having to put their bowl in the fridge before being able to give it them.

I went knitting with mom and my aunt this morning at our LYS. It was so crowded and loud in there - not really relaxing, but I did finish a knit hat (which I think I'll give to M) and made one for Blythe from the leftover yarn. I should have enough hats to start selling in another week or so. I love doing them because they knit up in half an hour and then I can tell people I got X number of projects done this week (as opposed to my sweaters which are all languishing in various states of *undoneness*, causing me to say I got nothing done this week). I brought my mini ipod and noise cancelling headphones to the LYS, but didn't use them until one of the owner's mothers sat next to me and was talking so loudly it made me tense up. I forgot I had the Katamari Damacy soundtrack on there, so that was a nice surprise and at least had me smiling rather than scowling like I'd been doing.

I think I'll go empty and reload the dishwasher now and then sit on the couch and veg with a couple dvds and my knitting. I may even do a load of laundry. I really am that boring sometimes! But, sometimes you gotta do what you gotta do, y'know?

Creepy

2006-06-22T23:10:00.000-07:00

I heard this on the morning news...

Sometimes, we need to be a little proactive - so, new rule: when you hand over your car keys to the valet, make sure you take your other keys off the keychain! If you're like most people, your registration's in the glove box, so if you hand over all your keys, you might as well put the welcome mat out at home for them too. Don't make it easy for anyone to make you a victim - if they have to go the extra step, it's not worth it to them.

It's Been...

2006-06-21T23:33:00.000-07:00

A Long, Long Time!

Where to start... Well, work's keeping me busy, which is both a blessing and a curse. M's bday was yesterday and I got him this. Of course, he's convinced he's cursed and to further enforce that feeling, the lightsaber I gave him had SFX that were super quiet. We just thought that was the way it was, until Squishy opened hers and it was LOUD! So, now I have to exchange it for him. Does that make me cursed for being with him? ;-) Or is he cursed for being with me?

I dragged M to a dolly meet over the weekend. It was good to have him meet everyone, but I think he was extra sullen just to prove the point that he hates meeting people. Ah, well. We're similar that way - the first two dolly meets, I sat in the corner and barely spoke, and now you can't shut me up. Some people want to castigate me for it, as though it were a character flaw to be shy in group settings. Me, I need time to get to know people - it's part of being a middle-child - I have to weigh all options before I can act.

I've also been knitting loads of things. I've finished doll hats, and that's about it. Those don't take me too long, and the look really changes depending on the yarn I use. I did take a picture of Clancy (V-Smash) and Rowan (LM) at the dolly meet at Chez Snoop in some knitted goods I made recently.

The hat's really cool - made from Noro yarn. Snoopygirl wanted to buy it off Clancy, but I told her I'd pick up some more of the yarn and make her one of her own. And that's just what I did. Here's a pic of the skein that arrived today:

It was supposed to be two skeins, but only one was in the envelope. I emailed the seller and am just waiting to hear back. I really hope it was just an oversight on their part...! If I were M, I'd probably think this was yet another sign of the universe conspiring against me. Hehehehe. When in reality, it's probably just a matter of someone not taking the time to double-check the order before shipping. And if it's not an oversight, I'll be filing a claim with Paypal faster than you can say "fluffer-nutter". Mmmmm, fluffer-nutter....

Dollybird

2006-06-05T23:34:00.000-07:00

I scored 2 Dollybird mooks (yes, you read that right - it's a combo magazine/book, hence "mook") off ebay and got them just today. OMG - I wish I'd known previously how absolutely fantastic they are! In the back, there are patterns for the doll clothes you find scattered throughout the pages, and illustrated instructions (a very good thing, since I can't read Japanese - yet!). I have 2 more in the mail to me from hlj.com, and now that I've seen these two, I am so excited to receive the next two! I think I may even try to get other past issues, just to complete the *collection*. Oh, ebay, why are you so cruel to my wallet?

Here's a picture of the two I received today:

Now, if I could just find the time to do a little sewing.... I'm just grateful that knitting is so portable! I've got loads to photograph and post - I know I keep saying that, but it's true.

On the Blythe doll front, I am currently up to (OK, this is embarassing): 20 dolls. It would have been more, but I gifted one to my mom who fell hard for my first semi-custom, Emma (I wasn't even done, but mom liked her just as she was and I couldn't say no to mom), and sold the other. Of course, now I'm thinking that was stoopid to sell her as she really would have made a great custom, but I don't think I would have had the heart to customize her at the end of the day. And, the girl who bought her seemed to really want her (and then I found out she turned around and sold her within a week of buying her - poor little maligned Georgie!). So, there is a pang of guilt there, but in the end, she needed to be with someone who loved her more than me.

I haven't posted any of my new dolls in awhile, so I'm sure that number must seem shocking. It's shocking to me, too, and I have them! Anyway, here are two of my latest girls (just to slowly get caught up with my posting)...

First, is my second BL girl, an FAO Schwarz Hollywood named Teague. Last Saturday, Teague joined M and I for dinner at Outback and yearned to try a piece of the Chocolate Tower (aka the world's best chocolate cake - which, oddly enough, looks like a bloody steak in this picture. Hmmm...):

FYI - Teague is sporting a Euro Trash Fashion Kitty Helmet (thank you, Ruth!) and a knitted dress by me

Second is my second custom - a Cherry Berry named Meredith (I couldn't help it, I love Grey's Anatomy), who I'm in the process of customizing to look like a Rosey Red. I've already swapped her body for a Licca, sand-matted her, cut her hair and painted red lips (though I'll re-do those shortly - I'm a bit of a perfectionist about these things). I only have to boggle her eyes and twist her scalp a 1/4" and then she'll be done. That probably sounds like gibberish if you don't know Blythe, so just pretend I said something clever, nod and add in an "ah huh" every once in awhile and everything will be fine. Anyway, here's a pic of Meredith supporting the cause for more Farrell's Ice Cream Parlors:

Do you think I possibly have a thing for dolls and sweets? Hmmm... I guess some things never change no matter how old you get ;-)

Bituminous Coal Queens of Pennsylvania

2006-06-04T21:07:00.000-07:00

Some things in life are serendipitous, and the story of how The Bituminous Coal Queens went from being a small pageant in southwestern Pennsylvania to a documentary available on DVD this Tuesday from Netflix is one of them. The producers, Patricia Heaton and her husband, David Hunt, were at dinner with actress Sarah Rush a few years back when Sarah mentioned she was going back home for a reunion. "High school?" "No, the 50th anniversary of the Bituminous Coal Queens of Pennsylvania." And thus was born the three week prep and ten days of filming that would become the documentary of the same name.

I was lucky enough to be at the Netflix screening at the Egyptian Theater in Hollywood today, and recommend everyone put this documentary in their Netflix queue. I promise you won't regret it.

Petrified Tomatoes

2006-05-29T14:06:00.000-07:00

I finally cleaned out the fridge today, something that I apparently haven't done in quite some time. The best find was the Roma tomatoes at the back of the bottom shelf that had literally petrified. They'd dried out and shrunk down where I left them gawd knows how long ago. I'd photograph them, but I think your stomachs will thank me for leaving it to your imagination. Ewwwwwww.

All I know is that M can no longer make fun of me for the state of my fridge :-D hehehe

But, I can continue to rag on him for his bathroom. The toilet especially. I do believe it rivals the one in Trainspotting. Double Ewwwwwwwwwww.

Overall, I'd say it's been a nice and relaxing weekend. I've found quite a few things I'd lost (this is what happens when you organize), but alas, the cable remote is still MIA. I just know it's going to turn up in the weirdest place when I do find it...

I'm thisclose to finishing tons of knitted goodness... I'll post pics once they're done. ;-)

Why Do We Do This?

2006-05-12T10:28:00.000-07:00

Yesterday was such a horrible day (not including the overall horrible week I've been having...). I've been sick since Sunday, but because there are massive important projects due at work, I sacrificed my recovery by trying to be a responsible adult and get these done. Now, I feel worse than ever - partly because work was so bad yesterday that I spent half the day crying - first over one thing, then over another. So, here I am at home, missing E3 because I have an earache that started yesterday from my sinuses getting all swollen because I'd been crying over the state of my projects. The client even asked when we could ship (since we'd missed the first date due to elements needing to be replaced), I told them next Friday, they sent an email saying Tuesday, which just crushed me. I was like: "Is this a real date? Do I need to come in on the weekend again?" Then he was telling me not really, he was just trying to make his boss happy and we could have our date, but it was kinda infuriating as it makes me wonder if I'm supposed to take their dates seriously now. Either way, I'm sure I'll end up paying later for trying to get better today...

The one benefit to being home (and it's not what you'd think!) is that I can now take my car over and see about getting the AC fixed. And just all around get some chores done that are really, really in need of being done.

So, my question, really, is this: Why do we allow someone else's poor planning to become our emergency? This whole week I was supposed to be at E3, but instead I got sick from stress and worked myself up into a tizzy over my client's insistence at moving their deadline up 3 weeks, only to have it move back a week. I'm wondering why I let it get to me. I guess 1) I care about my clients since I've worked with them for almost 4 years now, and 2) Familial issues make it easier to concentrate on work and make that the center of my universe, so that when that gets out of control I feel overwhelmed. Anyway, I've changed cubicles so I'm no longer with my back to the door, and that has helped my concentration enormously, and now I just need to remind myself to breathe and laugh these things off (obviously, refrain from laughing in my client's face, but behind their back, maybe) when they happen. Because as M loves to remind me, the way things are going the nuclear holocaust is going to make this seem like the best time of my life. Lovely.

I'm also guessing that's why I get so involved in my crafting and writing - as these things are *fun* to me, and relatively less stress. I'm sure you've noticed I have a constant string of on-going projects, well, it runs in the family. Both Mom and I do this so that if we get to a place in the project that's boring or too hard or just plain sucks, we can put it down and there's already another project in the works to pick up! It sometimes feels like you get nothing done that way, but then there's that golden moment where you're able to finish 5 projects all at once - and there's no better feeling of accomplishment than that. Trust me.

Don't get me wrong: I sometimes wish I were a super serial crafter - able to finish one project in a single bound, but for whatever reason, I bristle at being tied down to just one thing. Maybe it's just that I see endless possiblities when it comes to crafting and I want to do it all NOW. Or maybe I'm just impatient. But, that's how I am, good or bad. One thing's for sure, I'm hella good at multi-tasking, and that's something you can take to the bank.

Take that, Cholesterol!

2006-05-10T15:46:00.000-07:00

Squeal! Got my numbers back today in the great Cholesterol trifecta.... And, it was much work on my part, lots of being aware of what I'm eating, making better choices, etc... But, I have FINALLY triumphed over my numbers! YEAH!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

Here's the latest:

Total overall: 201 (this is the lowest it's been since I started seeing my current doctor - ie, in 8 years)
HDL: 103 (this is the *good cholesterol*)
LDL: 89 (this is the *bad cholesterol* and has dropped a whopping 40 points in the last two months!!!!!!!!)

My feelings now... If I can add in more exercise AND keep up my *healthier* diet, I could see the otherside of 200 (a feat not accomplished since I was first tested at 20). So, I think that for me, knowing that high cholesterol runs in the family, healthy choices are the best way to go. That doesn't mean becoming so strict that eating is no longer fun - you do have to live a little - but everything within reason, with an emphasis on oatmeal, lower fat, more veggies and lean meats (and the occasional chocky cake for good measure!).

Big hugs and kisses to everyone who cheered me on and gave me advice! I couldn't have done it without you!!!

Happy Birthday to...

2006-05-05T22:52:00.000-07:00

L!

Hope you have an awesome b-day (technically, this post is an hour early, but I want to make sure you see this on your b-day). ;-)

Since it's been a wee bit crazy at work, I have to apologize for not sending off your prezzies on time. In fact, I'm having trouble finding a box big enough for one of them, so until I do, here's a pic of what I got you (sorry to spoil the surprise, but I've been dying to give the big prezzie to you for months!) Hope you like them!

I may just have to make you something for your Blythe to make up for spoiling the surprise. :-D

Knitted Noro Hat

2006-05-05T22:27:00.000-07:00

I picked up a skein of Noro Silk Garden on sale, and couldn't wait to make a hat out of it. Rather than look for a hat pattern, I designed my own. It's really simple, but I think shows off the Noro to its best advantage.

Here's the picture of my FO of the week:

And here are the instructions:

You will need - 1 skein of Noro Silk Garden and 1 pair of sz 9 needles (or size needed to obtain gauge)

Take your head's circumference (mine's 21"), and then subtract 3" (in my case, I get 18"). Do a gauge swatch to figure out how many stitches per inch you're getting. I got 4 stitches to the inch x 18" = 72 stitches to cast on. Do 4 rows of 2x2 rib. First and third rows k2, p2 * repeat to end of row. Second and Fourth rows, knit the knits and purl the purls. Row five, switch to stockinette stitch - knit all odd rows, purl all even rows. When the hat gets to 7" (or desired length), on a knit row, k2tog stitches across the row (so each set of 2 stitches get knit together, thereby halving the number of stitches on your needle - I ended up with 36 stitches when I was done with this row). Next row, purl all stitches. Now, cut a tail at least 10" long - you will weave this back through all the stitches on the needle (do a few at a time, once all stitches have been transferred from needle onto the tail, pull taught, thereby gathering the stitches (and closing the top of the hat). Thread the tail onto a yarn needle, and sew the back seam closed. Weave in all ends and you're done!

Yup, it's that easy! Not only that, but it knits up really fast, and is a good stepping stone for those who have knit one scarf too many. ;-)

No. 9 ... No. 9...

2006-04-24T21:49:00.000-07:00

My mom had her ninth back surgery today. Nine! At this point, they should just put a zipper in to get to her spine - spare her some of the agony. :-( She's doing well, blissed out on morphine. I got to spend some time after work with her and she seems to be in good hands at the hospital, which is important. The doctors *think* they solved most of the problems she's been having, which if that's the case, would mean she won't have to use her cane to walk anymore. Crossing fingers, toes, eyes, whatever. For her sake, I really hope things improve to that point. Did I mention it sucks getting old?

My dad barely said two words while I was there. I get the impression he was dying to ask totally inappropriate questions like "do you talk to my sister?", "when are you getting a raise?", and my current fave "do I need to get the kneepads?" - a reference to his wanting to ask M to ask me to marry him. Ah, family... I'm just waiting for him to tell me to call my own sister so I can tell him not only have I called her, but I've emailed, too, and heard nothing back. It's such a weird situation, I really don't even have words for it anymore.

At least mom and I have been working on our relationship, and as she seems to be the most amenable of the holy trinity, I may have a foothold to eventually developing a better relationship with my dad, too.

A Little Retail Therapy - Thrift Store Style

2006-04-23T20:14:00.000-07:00

Work's been pretty crazy this week, and promises to get even worse (lovely). Basically, I've gone from having almost nothing to do (except surfing the web to look busy) to having more work than I can handle. I've even brought out the headphones to block it all out so I can concentrate better. Thankfully, we're on a network at work, so I'm at no shortage for new music to listen to while I slowly wilt in my cubicle.

To take the edge off, one of my best friends from 5th grade suggested a day of retail therapy - more specifically - thrift store hopping. She printed out a list of shops to go to, and we were off in the Neon. I've lost count of the number we hit, but we did find a treasure trove out in the West Valley that kept us very happy on our journey. Overall, we each spent less than $30 and got loads of goodies! She got the score of the day with a vintage 50s evening jacket that looked like it had never been worn.

In no particular order, I got:

Some gorgeous fabric, that is either silk or a highly polished cotton (I'm leaning towards silk, but will try the burn test later to be sure). It'll be turned into either an a-line skirt or summer dress (using a pattern I picked up at one of the thrift stores we went to):

Some vintage craft/fashion books. The Vogue Sewing book has a case it slides into - I'm in love with it! I had a similar one from the era, which I gave to a friend when she started sewing, and have wanted another ever since. The other book has interviews with a bunch of 70s designers, and is unfortunately water-damaged, but still good for reading/ideas:

Some gorgeous 60s glass bowls - possibly Murano. Very good for entertaining. I have another set in brown, so these will go nicely:

A vintage Pyrex serving bowl - goes very nicely with the table and chairs my bro and sis-in-law got for me. (pardon the coffee grounds on the counter - I guess I didn't wipe the counter down so well)

A vintage Pyrex decanter. It's missing the lid, but I can probably make a functional one out of some quilt fabric and a rubber band (it won't stop spills, but it will keep bugs out if we're outside). I'll probably get another with lid later - you can never have enough decanters for summer beverages!

And finally, a huge batch of patterns (sorry - no photos). I'll be posting some on ebay, and others will be used to make some gorgeous 70s style clothes pour moi.

Once it gets super hot, my insomnia should kick back in and I'll have loads of time to sew! hehehe. Kinda looking forward to it - my sewing machine's been neglected for way too long.

Oh, and one last thing - after a day of thrifting, M and I went to the bookstore after dinner and I got the most fabulous cross stitch book ever! I've gone to this website for years and kept meaning to purchase a kit or two, and now I finally have her book and can't wait to make loads of insane cross stitch.

WIPs

2006-04-16T17:33:00.000-07:00

We had a Blythe mini-meet at Snoopygirl's place yesterday, and I stupidly forgot my camera. Ah, well, I'm sure the other girls and guys will be posting them on flickr soon enough ;-) There were some truly lovely dolls there, and Snoopygirl's piano was the perfect place to display them all!

I've been cleaning the apartment (boring) and knitting this weekend (fun!), and thought that since I've neglected posting any of my creations that I'd do so today...

We won't get into the ridiculous amount of yarn I'm in possession of, nor my FOs (those will be separate posts later on), or even any of my sewing, which is sadly neglected... Instead, today's post is just going to be about my current WIPs (works-in-progress). There are two more than I'm sharing here, but that's because one doesn't photograph well on needle (my gold Paris Loop looks like a giant glob of yarn at the moment) and the other is a gift and therefore can't be posted without fear of giving up the secret ;-P

So, with that said, here's my current batch of on needle projects:

Cropped Bolero by Veronik Avery:

It's a really gorgeous, thick Lopi type yarn, and should be nice and toasty once sewn up. I've finished the three major pieces, need to sew the shoulders together, then I get to pick up stitches around the neck and sides for ribbing and then I'll finally be done. I learned how to properly M1 while working on this, as well as learned to CHECK MY GAUGE. Only had to knit the back 3 times - 2nd time for gauge problems the third for making proper M1s (I was making eyelets instead - oops!).

Eyelet scarf from Last Minute Knitted Gifts:

I originally bought this mohair to make the Branching Out scarf from Knitty, and then realized there's a reason why they suggest doing your first lace project in something other than mohair - it's a biyatch to rip out! It's coming along nicely, and I'll probably use the leftovers to make a doll sweater.

Branching Out from Knitty.com:

I was supposed to complete this for the Knitting Olympics back in February, but ran into some problems with timing and YOs. It's now about halfway done and aside from the fact that I have to knit it in slience away from others, I'm actually enjoying it.

Brilliant Retro by Teva Durham:

It's knit on tiny needles, and takes seemingly forever, but as long as I work on it, it will eventually get done. I love pretty much anything by Teva as she's really clever in her stitch combinations and this piece is no exception.

Rowan Linen print crewneck:

My first proper summer sweater (an oxymoron, I know...). I didn't think I'd knit anything for the summer, but then saw the linen print yarn on elann.com and couldn't resist. I have a gorgeous pair of linen pants I made that this will go very nicely with when done.

As long as I keep working on these, they'll get done. I keep trying to remind myself of that and not get discouraged by the amount of projects I've taken on... What can I say? I love a good challenge!

Bald is Beautiful

2006-04-12T23:42:00.000-07:00

I adopted another Lounging Lovely Blythe from the TIB forum, as I just couldn't bring myself to customize Lucy. This new one has the most gorgeous hair I've ever seen - absolutely perfect bangs. I really want a Goldie, but they're somewhat rare and expensive, so I've decided to customize my new girl a bit to make her *inspired* by Goldie. Because of this, I've named her Fish. A girl named Fish... I kinda like it. Here's her pic:

I was checking out Puchimadam's site about removing the hair and was fiddling around with Fish's scalp, when it started to pop off and I was left with this:

She's really quite gorgeous bald! Obviously, she won't be staying this way, but I might play with her this way for a few days while I look for the tools I need to finish customizing her. I've already tucked her scalp with preserved flange away in a box, lest Dolce and Gabbana get a hold of it. I have to say, her scalp looks like a dead animal when not on her head. Ewwwww.

Anyway, the things I plan to do include: boggling her eyes, adjusting her gaze, sand matting her, repainting her makeup and swapping out her body for a Licca. Hopefully, she'll turn out well and I won't be embarassed to say "I made this!"

Design Flaws

2006-04-09T09:08:00.000-07:00

It's such a pain to create patterns that I often just modify existing ones - it's comparable to stepping into the middle of a relationship, rather than having to go through the whole dating process over and over until you find the one you like. Anyway, occasionally, I luck out on the first attempt. Like with M, for instance - although, that's technically a special case since we were friends prior to going out, so we both knew what we were in for. ;-) I also really lucked out with a skirt I designed yesterday for Blythe. It's not exactly what you think - one of the girls on the Yahoo LA Blythe group and I swapped Blythe bodies (I had a Takara one she wanted and she had a Licca one I wanted), and she also had some fabric scraps and needed clothes for her Blythe. So, in exchange for the fabric, I promised to make her something out of it. There was just enough to make 2 prairie skirts. It was a long strip she gave me, so I cut it in half length-wise, and then again height-wise, and used those strips to test out my idea. I even had some lace from another girl that I added to the bottom. I really love the way it turned out, and am so glad I have enough to make the second one for me.

Here's the finished product:

Cute, huh? It turned out even better than I'd expected.

It was also really simple to put together. Here's what you'll need:

3 fabric strips (one each of the following lengths - all sizes in inches):
5" x 1.5"
8.5" x 1.5"
13.75" x 1.5"
delicate lace for the bottom of the skirt - 13.75"
bias tape in color to match/complement the skirt fabric - 4 3/4"

All of the above include seam allowances (I'm not that cruel...)

Instructions:
Press under 1/4" to inside on one long side of the 13.75" piece, pin lace on the inside, covering the part you just pressed, allowing the lace to show at the bottom of the skirt - sew from wrong side (when you look at the right side, it should look like the lace is peeking out). You've just done the hem and attached the lace. Gather the top of the long piece and sew to the bottom of the 8.5" piece. Gather the rop of the 8.5" piece and attach to the 5" piece. Now it gets a little tricky. Gather the top of the 5" piece - the easiest way to do this is to pin it to the bias tape (which will eventually cover the top of the gathered skirt, but to start, hold the bias tape open to get the skirt gathered the way you like it). Fold under 1/4" on the right back of the skirt, and pin it 1/4" in from the end of the bias tape. Pin the left side of the skirt to the bias tape, also 1/4" in from the end of the tape (do not fold under the left side of the skirt though). adjust the gathers, then fold the tape over the top of the gathered part, fold in the 1/4" on each end and stitch the waistband (ie - the bias tape) onto the skirt. Now, fold the skirt (vertically - you're going to create the back seam now), and stitch from the bottom, ending where the top tier joins the middle tier (where you sewed the 5" piece to the 8.5" piece). Because you turned under 1/4" at the top of the right side, you'll want to press the back seam in that direction (instead of opening it up). Sew a snap to the waistband where you turned under the 1/4" on bias tape. And you're done!

If you're unsure of any of my instructions above, let me know - I've tried to make the instructions as clear as possible, but I may have taken some stuff for granted since I've been sewing since I was 10.

And now, just because I can...

GRATUITOUS KITTY PIC!

Gabbana tried to get into the box I brought Maia home in... Shortly after this photo, she knocked the box and its styrofoam popcorn all over the floor and was banned from the living room while I cleaned it up and put the box far away from prying kitties.

Focus

2006-04-07T00:20:00.000-07:00

I've been thinking about the direction of my blog, and have come to the conclusion that I want to use it to focus on my hobbies - knitting, sewing, collecting and, obviously, writing. I figure we all have enough crap going on in our personal and professional lives, and want this blog to be my little haven away from all of that. Anything crappy goes in my journal, away from *prying* eyes, leaving me to focus on the good stuff here.

So, I expect there to be loads of updates in the next few days as I have been sewing, knitting and, um, collecting like mad. ;-) And, what can I say, I feel the need to share...

M and I have tried out a couple of new games, and we've both gotten hooked on Animal Crossing for the DS. OMG. It starts out rather annoyingly as you have a character who's your boss and never pays you, and you have to do all of these chores and you feel like you'll never get through it. In fact, I'd put it aside for quite awhile until M said it had won some awards for best game of 2005. So I picked it up again last night, and now all I want to do is play it. We played it all through our sushi dinner and I'm sure the sushi waitresses just thought we were the weirdest - but then they've seen me come in with my knitting or Blythes, so they probably thought "oh, there's that crazy couple again - at least they tip well!" hehehe.

On top of Animal Crossing, I also picked up Me and My Katamari for the PSP. I like it - what's not to like about portable Katamari?! But, I find the controls a little wonky. Well, nothing a little practice won't cure. M said it felt totally natural to him, but I'm still having trouble going in one direction...

Oh, and I've gotten M hooked on puzzle video games - he's mad for Luxor! And after he saw me play Jewel Quest, he got into that one too. It's funny how he and I have had a huge impact on each other's interests. I didn't play video games at all before we got together and now I have a huge collection of games to choose from. :-D

I know there are some people who think it's a waste of time, but it's our way to escape the stress of work - some people eat, some people drink, and some people do drugs. We play video games. And that's just the way we like it. ;-)

She's Here!....

2006-04-04T23:46:00.000-07:00

It's been quite the week trying to get my little MIA Blythe. I missed the postman by minutes on Saturday, and then tried to pick her up yesterday. It's a long story, but can be summed up in one word: Shirley. If you've ever been to the Valley Village post office, you'll know what I mean.

Finally, after getting the A/C on the Neon fixed (and the mysterious rattle along with it), I stopped by the post office and finally got my girl. This time, it only took 2 stop lights to get the tape off. Once I confirmed it was the right girl, I waited until I got to work to take a good look at her. It's funny, even though I bought her from a woman on ebay, I feel like she really came from the other girl whose doll I received. I send major kudos to catpower on TIB forum for being so awesome and helping get the whole thing straightened out when the seller really couldn't be bothered. Funny thing is - the seller has three more Blythes, only now she kinda knows what they're worth, and has suddenly increased the BIN price six-fold. Yikes. So there goes my hope of getting a Kozy any time soon. I guess she'll have to remain my dream girl for the time being.

In the meantime, I've already posted pics of my new girl on flickr, who has been named Maia due to her MIA status all last week. I think it suits her. She also seems to be quite into video games, as evidenced by the below pic. We even have matching teal Nintendo DS. Yes, I realize this is an illness, so if my brother is reading this, you can stop snickering now. hehehe

Anyway, in terms of Blythe, she's my first BL girl, which basically mean she has Gumby limbs, perfect for things like holding miniature DS consoles and knitting. :-D

This week/weekend, I'll update my knitting progress as I have tons of WIPs and tons of FOs that need to be documented - some really cool stuuf, I think.

Sadness...

2006-03-29T23:17:00.000-08:00

I totally scored an Aztec Arrival Blythe Sunday night off ebay - it was such an impulsive buy that I was shaking afterwards as I couldn't believe my luck. The post office attempted delivery yesterday, but I wasn't here to accept her (that was fast!), so I picked her up this morning. It took a good 5 or 6 traffic lights to get the tape off enough for me to open the box.

This is what I should have seen:

This is what I saw instead:

Does that look like the same box to you?

My heart sank so fast. The minute I got to work, I emailed the seller both via email and through ebay's automated system, and over 12 hours later, I still haven't heard anything. I'm tempted to email the girl who bid on the doll I got by mistake (as I presume she got mine) and just see if we can exchange, but it would be nice to hear back from the seller about this. I mean, it is her mistake! I'm hoping this was just an honest mistake and that we can rectify it, but gawd it's unnerving not to hear anything...

It's so funny, I don't think I've ever been so sad to receive a doll, and even though I'm sure she's lovely, I can't tell you how much I dislike her at the moment - just because she's not the girl I paid for. Ugh.

Been a Long Time...

2006-03-27T23:50:00.000-08:00

I've been really naughty - since my last post I've brought home a few more girls, with one more on the way... Let's just get this out of the way: "Hi, I'm NxtDrGrrl and I'm a Blythe-a-holic." ;-P They say the first step to recovery is admitting you have a problem, and oh boy, do I have a problem. At least I've sold some other things on ebay to help pay for my addiction, and I've been really busy with the sewing machine... So, not only will my girls be very well-clothed, but so will all the other Blythe-heads on the TIB forum ;-) You could call it the only positive aspect to being a long term insomniac.

I can't wait to get rid of as much stuff as possible (except Blythes and books) so that I will finally have the room to set a bookcase up with all of their stuff. I'm trying to do it the Flylady way with baby steps (ie - a little at a time so I don't get overwhelmed by the sheer size of the downsizing task!). There are days when it feels like nothing is being accomplished, and other days, I see great strides forward. This weekend, I'm going to take a load of stuff to Goodwill, and the cans and bottles will be recycled (Exciting, huh?). That'll help with the clutter that's building up (seeing as I despise cleaning and only want to play with my sewing machine or knitting needles - is that so wrong?). Speaking of sewing... If you happen to enjoy sewing, I'm planning to list a whole bunch of vintage patterns on ebay - some really cool stuff from the 1930s to present day. It's time to prune the collection.

Aside from sewing, I've also been going crazy with the knitting needles. I've got somewhere around 10 projects on needle at the moment, which is just insane! I usually carry the easy ones with me to work so I can knit during lunch with M. I bring the "brainless" ones - ie - simple stockinette or garter stitch projects. I've gotten to the point that I don't need to really look at the needles unless it's something like rib (or lace - ugh) where I would have to see where I'm placing the yarn. I'll post pictures of those soon - I've just realized I haven't posted any of my knitted objects (except the Branching Out scarf) for quite awhile.

M's mom, S, was out last week - she's a really nice lady. She got me a lovely scarf from Loehmann's, and I got her the Knitting Answer book and helped fix the shrug she's working on. It's too bad my mom cancelled on dinner with us at the last minute... Not cool - even if she wasn't feeling well... S said I should tell my mom that she was going to take it very personally - she was very kind about the cancellation, but I was mortified - especially since my mom also cancelled the day before because she forgot she was seeing my sister's mother-in-law. I haven't felt that embarassed and stoopid in a long time.

One last thing before I get to my new girls: I picked up the latest Katamari Damacy game tonight and I'm so playing it after I finish blogging!!!!!! Gaaaar - I love that game!

So now, my girls can finally make their official debuts!

On the left is my Samedi Marche, Henrietta (Hattie for short), and the lovely Lounging Lovely, Lucretia (Lucy) on the right. I am absolutely in love with these two! Both have had their hair washed, and bangs have been trimmed (what is it with Takara and the uneven bangs?). I would absolutely love to get another LL and custom her to look like a Goldie (especially since Goldie's are fairly rare/expensive). I think it would be a good way to get my feet wet with a custom without doing anything that couldn't be undone later (just in case).

My latest girl is a Pinafore Purple named Penelope or Penny for short. She's so pretty and delicate in person. M totally adores her! This is going to sound really odd, but when I pulled her out of her box and dressed her in her complete outfit (including crochet hat and 70s sunglasses) she reminded me of a young Hillary Clinton. How weird is that?

You may have noticed the Mouseketeer hats in both photos... That was one of the things I made this weekend. I'm really impressed with the pattern, and have to give credit to the fab Oriettacat of TIB forum as it's hers. A huge hug and major kudos for sharing it with the forum. :-D

On top of Lucy and Penny, I have one more girl coming this month - shhhhh - be very, very quiet... She's paid for, but until she arrives, I'm afraid I won't believe it...

If you've read this far, then you deserve to hear the real news of the day: I pitched a story to the local paper and am waiting to hear if they'll buy it from me (there was some initial interest - I'm not brave enough to do this completely blind!). Fingers crossed!!!!!!!

Twins!

2006-03-15T22:58:00.000-08:00

Timing is a funny thing... I've bought a few new Blythes over the last two weeks, and two of them arrived within a day of each other. So, although I ordered my Merry Skier 2 weeks ago, she was shipped late and arrived the same time as the Disco Boogie I bought last week. I picked them up at the Post Office this morning and waited for M to get in before we each grabbed a box and pulled the girls out :-D

So, here's Daphne, my Disco Boogie. I have to say when I took her out, she looked so sad! I let her hang with Georgie for awhile to see if that would help cheer her up. I think that and my brushing her hair a bit helped. Here's the pic I got with Georgie trying to console her:

Once I finished taking photos of Daphne, I pulled out Magda, my Merry Skier. She is so much prettier in person! I had planned to cut bangs, but think I might leave her alone for a little while to really bond with her. Here's her first official photo:

I'm really digging the braids - maybe because it reminded me of this:

I'll leave you to guess who that might be ;-)

Red, White & Blue

2006-03-11T00:46:00.000-08:00

I've had a head cold the last few days, so haven't been in the mood to do much of anything (including post). So, I finally got myself together a bit tonight and created an adorable striped tee shirt using xoxoblythe.com's long sleeve tee pattern. I've dressed Deirdre up in the new tee, as well as the SVB dress I picked up and some red boots and glasses to match. Doesn't she look cute? I've discovered the secret to finding stripey fabric for Blythe tees: Thrift store children's shirts. They're so freaking cheap and the patterns are positively adorable. I won't be sharing my particular favorite for fear someone clears out all my lovely selection, but do recommend you try your own local one and let me know how it goes :-D

I'm going to Pixelleposse's place tomorrow for a mini-meet (prior to the big Blythe meet at Meltdown next weekend), and have to figure out which one of the girls is coming with. There have been requests to bring them all, but I don't think I'm ready to take all 6 girls out with me. So, I guess I'll figure it out in the morning...

I'm tired or I'd keep going on the other clothes I've cut out. At the very least, I can now say I finally finished a sewing project this year! I've been sadly neglectful of my machine - to the point I had to put the dust cover on - that's how infrequently it's been used. :-( Hopefully, this will be the beginning of a major creative streak! ;-)

Ooooo - Pretty!

2006-03-07T19:16:00.000-08:00

As most of you know, I've been struggling with learning how to knit lace. Well, I can now tell you that the struggle is finally paying off! I've finished 8 repeats (19 to go) on my Branching Out scarf from Knitty.com, and I am in love! I don't think I've used this many exclamation points in a long time!!!!!!! Yes, it's that pretty! So, once I'm done, I'll block it a little to really open up the lace, but even in the following picture you can see what an improvement it is over its previous incarnation ;-)

One note: I really should listen to my own advice and NOT knit this around others. I got a little *cocky* and tried it after work and a co-worker came over to talk to M, and he just has one of *those* voices and before I knew it, I'd lost count, a string of "fcuk, fcuk, fcukity fcuk" came out of my mouth and I started to sob. I really thought all was lost, but thankfully, the Noro yarn I'm using is not slippery and holds its loops, so I was able to frog back 2 or 3 rows and start all over again (just in time for co-worker to return for more blah blah blah - thank goodness M distracted him and walked him out into the hall so I could finish the row). Love my M!

Centennial Celebration

2006-03-07T19:00:00.000-08:00

Ah, my Neon... Yesterday morning, on the way to work, we passed 100,000 miles together. I think we may have technically passed them earlier, as I vaguely remember a time early on in our relationship (when she was still under warranty) when her circuit breaker went out, and none of the electonics worked for a day or two. But, since I can't prove the earlier, actual 100,000th mile, I have chosen to celebrate the one that showed up on the odometer yesterday.

The moment before:

The moment of:

It's kind of exciting - I've never driven a car this long before. The one I had prior (currently retired and waiting for me to resurrect her), was driven for 8 years, so I'm pretty loyal to my cars - but I never expected to keep the Neon for almost 10 years (next month is her b-day to be precise). I thought 5 years sure, but didn't expect 10 years. I think if it weren't for her color (Magenta), I probably wouldn't have been so attached to her for so long. She's just too pretty to part with (and cheaper than buying and insuring a new car)!

Cholesterol Sucks, Part 2

2006-03-03T22:55:00.000-08:00

I had my follow up with my doctor regarding my health and overall, I'm doing much better. Lost 3 lbs, blood pressure is back to normal, and even the scary grown-up medical thing I had to go through came back clean. I'm thinking, "Hey, if all that's good, well, then my blood work will be good too!" Kinda, sorta, not really. Overall, my cholesterol did go down - a whopping 18 points! But, the bad stuff aka LDL only dropped 2 points. Fcuk, fcuk, fcukity fcuk. My doctor now wants to put me on crestor, and truth be told, I don't want to be on it. I mean in three weeks of being decent (not great), I got my numbers down. Give it another month (excluding the last three days of ignorant bliss where I ate everything that wasn't nailed down) and my numbers should be in a very good range. I'm going to pick up my prescription tomorrow, but I think I'm going to hold off on taking it until my next meeting with him. Call me stubborn (which I am - thanks, Dad), but there are things to consider: possible liver damage, and I can't get pregnant while on it. Not that I'm actively pursuing having a child this particular moment, but it could happen.

I think I'll call the office on Monday and let them know - just so there isn't a surprise and/or hurt feelings when I come in next time...

Girls Who Wear Glasses

2006-02-27T22:52:00.000-08:00

I received the two pairs of glasses from mimiwoo on ebay today, and couldn't wait to share photos of the girls. By now, you must all be bored to tears of seeing my bookcases - I swear I'll get around to making new backdrops, but for now, here's some pics of my girls in their new glasses:

Olivia, the bookworm:

And UltraViolet:

Can't wait to make a gorgeous costume for Violet - was gonna keep all of this underwraps until it was done, but am so excited I just have to share ;-)

Ru-ro

2006-02-27T09:04:00.000-08:00

I pulled out the Branching Out scarf to work on it again, and one thing's been really bugging me - the fact that the lace holes don't look like those in the photo. I couldn't figure out what was wrong, so started another lace scarf - a mohair one from Last Minute Knitted Gifts. Well, it's an all-knit scarf, and my eye-lets are HUGE. Wha?!? Why isn't that happening on Branching Out? So, I thought, "I'll try something new for the next couple rows - I can always un-knit it." I thought I'd been purling my YOs wrong, but what I discovered is that I've been doing my YOs wrong! I'd been wrapping them clockwise instead of counter-clockwise and that's why my lace holes (eyelets) weren't gaping like they should. ARGGGGHHHHHHH!!!!! And the worst part of this? I wasn't sure in the beginning if I was doing any of these new stitches right and asked my mom and she assured me it was right. Waaaaaaaaaaaahhhhhhhhhhhhhh! I thought if there was one thing my mom was *perfect* at, it was knitting. I'm so sad.

So, I guess I'll be frogging the scarf and starting over again. All 6 repeats... Including the last 4 rows where I finally got it right (see those gaping holes nearest the needles - beautiful!):

I just keep thinking: "What doesn't kill me, makes me stronger." And next time, I'm so checking my Knitting Answer book after asking mom (sorry, mom!) - just in case.

Ribbed Hats

2006-02-25T12:28:00.000-08:00

So, instead of finishing Branching Out like I was supposed to, I put my hands to work making hats for two one-year olds. I couldn't help it - they're cute, they're family and they're one. I mean, what does a one-year old need? Food and clothes, right? They're easily entertained with car keys and funny faces at this point, so I made them little stripey hats. I used self-striping yarn, which makes the hats look more difficult than they were to make. I took measurements, and checked my yarn gauge, and created the pattern myself. K2, P2 every row, and decreased the second to last row k2tog, p2tog and then k1, p1 last row before drawing the tail through the last row and sewing up the back seam. Anyway, the hats turned out really cute and fit them both - yeah! I did make the girl's 1" smaller than the boy's as she is a petite little lady. They have a nice 70s vibe to them, which is great too. So, once I finished the hats, I had some leftover yarn, which I then used to create hats for Blythe, using the same method as desribed above. Here are the finished projects:

Boy colors on Violet (they match her hair):

Girl colors on Didi (the pink is cute and girly and matches her hair):

I'll probably pick up some fluffy yarn today, as I have yet another little one in the family now - just born yesterday - and can't have anyone feeling left out :-D Whatever's leftover will be used for Blythe - such a great way to use up stash!

I've been a little naughty

2006-02-25T12:22:00.000-08:00

OK, so Violet isn't the only new girl to arrive this week... I found another girl who called to me, and now I have a Samedi Marche Encore who arrived about half an hour ago... She hasn't even been taken out of the box yet! I hear her name starts with an "H" and is a little old-fashioned... I'm not sure, but I think it might be Hildegard - Hilde for short. So, those are my last girls for a little while, although I will be keeping an eye out for a Merry Skier and a Pinafore Purple. But, for now, I have plenty of girls to play with. It's been like a floodgate around here - I waited forever to get my first girl, and then suddenly I find I have 6!

So, here's the pic of my SME still in box while I figure out where I'm gonna put her:

My Little Butterfly

2006-02-25T12:15:00.000-08:00

Ah, so I caved and got an Asian Butterfly Encore Blythe. She's really quite gorgeous in person - the flash from the camera makes her hair extra blue, but in person it's much more subtle. Her name is Violet, and she'll be dressing like the character from The Incredibles in no time ;-) She just has that leave me alone teenage personality. A little like me at that age, actually.

Here's her first official Photo on my blog:

I have a couple design ideas for her, as well as some costume ideas for Blythe in general that I think will turn out well. Now I just need to find the time to work on them.

Give me a Bronze Medal and Call It a Day

2006-02-25T12:03:00.000-08:00

Ah, the Knitting Olympics. I really was quite zealous and thought I could complete Branching Out, but alas, life threw me quite a few curve balls over the last two weeks (new baby in the family, following up on some health stuff - trust me, you don't want details, but will say all is good and I don't have to go through that again for 5 years - and the 1st birthdays of the other babies in the family) and I've only finished 5 repeats (20 to go). I don't think I'll be able to finish by tomorrow night's closing ceremonies. Am I sad? A little, but I've also finished quite a few other projects in the meantime - two baby hats for family (hey, family comes first - especially where kids are concerned), I worked on another Paris Loop, and I also finished two hats for Blythe from the leftover baby hat yarn. The thing is, Branching Out is the most solitary item I've worked on due to the repeats and the need to keep track of your stitches as you do each knit row, so I couldn't work on it at lunch and still hold a conversation with M (unless you call screaming "Fcuk! Fcukity fcuk, I made another fcuking mistake!" a conversation). So, it wasn't worked on nearly as much as I'd have liked. But, I did learn quite a few stitches and learned how to identify my mistakes and how to fix them, so for that, I say, give me the Bronze Medal and call it a day. I'll definitely finish the scarf, just not as soon as I would have liked.

I finally get it...

2006-02-12T18:36:00.000-08:00

I only had to frog Branching Out two times, but I've now finished two repeats (something like 25 to go) and it's looking pretty good. It won't be blocked until it's done, so my version looks nothing like Knitty's (unless you squint really hard). I even discovered a place where I'd twisted a stitch and was able to fix it in the next row (phew!). So, I think there may be more lace in my future when I'm done with the Knitting Olympics. ;-)

Here's my progress so far:

The Agony of Defeat

2006-02-12T01:28:00.000-08:00

Now that the Winter Olympics are officially here, the Knitting Olympics have begun. For my project, I chose a lace scarf called Branching Out from Knitty.com. Please note that this is my very first lace anything and that I am, in general, an over-achiever. Familiar with Hermione from the Harry Potter series? Picture her grown up and you get the general idea...

Not only do I pick lace, I choose to do it in mohair. I cast on and frogged the damn thing 5 times before I realized there was no way I was ever going to be able to see my stitches in all the fuzz. So, I ended up buying some gorgeous Noro in teal that's a lovely wool/silk blend in order to save my sanity. Things were going well until this woman was like "blah blah blah" at my LYS and distracted me to the point that I realized I'd lost count of where I was. This scarf really is a solitary pursuit with counting not only of how many rows in the repeat, but also how many stitches in each row due to the pattern involved. I frogged it once at the LYS, and was getting going again when I got home, and just as I realized that I'd missed a stitch somewhere in the last row, the phone rang and I gave up trying to figure out where so I frogged it a second time. Not to worry though, I think I finally know what I was doing wrong, so I have a very good chance of doing it right the third time.

The whole thing just put me in a funk, coupled with having to drive the 405 to go out with M and friends for dinner (and other less fun things that no one wants to hear about anyway). So after dinner, I finished the left front of the cropped bolero by Veronik Avery and that perked me right up.

I have to say for all the knitting and frogging I did today, I learned quite a few stitches I'd been avoiding for fear they'd be too difficult, and would like to recommend this book, as it was extremely helpful in grasping how to do them. Don't know what I'd have done without it.

It's a Mod, Mod, Mod World

2006-02-10T00:18:00.000-08:00

Georgie's been keeping me company at work this week, and when she played with the other girls at home, I noticed she has a kinda greenish tinge. It was bugging me, so I did a little research on the thisisblythe.com forum and discovered that the ADG repros are known for this, and not as well-loved because of it. :-( The thing that made it stand out the most was the harsh eyeshadow. One clever girl on the forum recommended removing it with Mr. Clean Magic Eraser, which is exactly what I did. :-D

The girl was right, it's a huge improvement. G's still slighter greener than her sisters, but I'm loving her so much more now that she doesn't look like she's gonna be ill all the time. I took some pictures to document the difference:

Before:

During:

After:

The next thing I'd like to do is give her a peachier lip color, as the fuchsia is currently reminding me of the lipstick I wore in 1986. Let's just say, it's retro in a bad way...

And following that, a bit of a haircut - maybe make her look a bit more like Pow Wow Poncho, as I picked up the complete outfit for cheap on Ebay (love BIN!).

I am having way too much fun with my girls ;-) Next up is making clothes for them...

Cholesterol Sucks

2006-02-10T00:01:00.000-08:00

Yesterday my doctor's office left me a message with the following information:

Overall cholesterol: 251
LDL: 129

Suggestions for improvements:

Exercise and eat better (well, duh).

I've always had borderline high cholesterol - around 215 - but this is BAD, even for me. The LDL should be below 100, and since high cholesterol runs in the family, I doubt I'll ever see 190 overall, but will aim to get it back to where it usually is.

The first thing I did when I heard the message was to run over to M and tell him "No more dessert!" So, even though it's only been 2 days of *healthier* eating, we're doing pretty well (Let's just say it was a good thing we tried the lemon meringue cheesecake before I found out my numbers - yikes).

The last time it spiked like this, I did a modified low carb diet and ended up losing 14 lbs. We like that.

So, between me, MacGeekette and LoQuesha, we've come up with a plan of attack to get my numbers down fast: 1) oatmeal for breakfast - apparently it just sucks all the cholesterol out of your blood - we like that, 2) once my shoulder's heeled and I'm off the meds, I get one glass of red wine a day - we like that too, 3) cinnamon continues to go in my coffee - yet another thing that just sucks the cholesterol out of your blood, 4) LoQuesha suggested pomegranate juice, which I will try with seltzer water and report back - she says it's strong like cranberry juice, 5) exercise is my friend - already hit the gym last night, and LoQuesha and I will go hiking over the weekend and finally 6) I will go back to my modified low carb diet - meaning I mostly eat lean protein and veggies, with occasional treats of bread - the wheat kind - and chocolate (hey, I'm not perfect) - the dark kind, which happens to be good for you (no more of the milk chocky that M likes so much).

Now that I've found Pocky, I can have my taste of dark chocolate without all the calories and cholesterol of Ritter Sport (if you haven't tried Ritter... mmmm.... milk chocolate with coconut is best, but there are many, many yummy flavors - I know, I've tried them all).

I go back to see my doctor in 3 weeks, so we'll see if there's any improvement...

The Latest To Join The Fray Is...

2006-02-09T23:31:00.000-08:00

Olivia!

She's an absolute stunner. I had to go to my local PO twice before I got her (they felt the need to try to deliver her to me twice, even though I wasn't home to receive her). Anyway, she's well worth the wait. She's a Tweedly Do - a Japanese Toys R Us exclusive. Why can't the Toys R Us in the States have such cool exclusives?

Aside from Ebay, I haven't found any stores in town that carry Blythe, but did recommend her to an anime store owner at the Westside Pavillion. In the meantime, I placated myself with their lack of Blythe with a few boxes of Pocky. Mmmmm - chocky Pocky. Olivia is probably my last for a little while, even though I wouldn't mind a Samedi Marche or Asian Butterfly if one showed up for the right price... The anime store owner said to check back with him in April, which is just what I'll do ;-)

Foody Call

2006-02-04T12:00:00.000-08:00

Due to our schedule, M and I have certain limited choices for our after work nourishment. Of the 5 or 6 places we frequent, each has its pluses and minuses. This has become the topic of many of our conversations (once we're done figuring out how to save the world, of course), to the point that I think he needs to start his own blog based solely on food. I mean, how much trouble can you get in writing about FOOD? As to our political opinions, well, I won't even go there - except to say the current President is far from our favorite.

So, now that M has fallen just as hard for Blythe as I have (I don't think he'd buy his own, but he's welcome to borrow mine to photograph anytime), we've come up with the idea that we need to photograph Blythe at all of our eating establishments. I don't know why we thought this was a good idea, but in addition, M wants us to treat her like she's real (because our fave waiters don't think we're crazy enough for whipping out our Nintendo DS and playing with our virtual dogs). Anyway, we haven't treated her like she's real, yet, but while I was knitting my Paris Loop at the table, I looked down and saw this:

Which gave me the crazy idea to do this:

That is EXACTLY the look I get when I want spicy food. Can't you just hear her? "Hand over the Cholula and no one gets hurt!" Come to think of it, I get like that when it comes to chocolate (hey, I'm a woman, I'm supposed to be crazy for chocolate!), but I will never deny myself the cholula, sweet nectar of spicy goodness.... ;-)

TGIF

2006-02-03T16:01:00.002-08:00

Seriously. I'm having a moment and it's not good. Here it is:

I know that's Georgie and not me, but that's exactly how I feel right now. Glassy-eyed with a headache. I'm just going to say that some people should not be allowed to be in charge of certain projects, as this is what they leave in their wake.

Shoes

2006-02-03T08:33:00.000-08:00

Since I've been sewing since I was 10, I tend to buy things I can't make (or can't make as cheaply), which has led to a minor obsession with shoes. On top of that, the nice thing about feet is that once they stop growing, that's pretty much it - even if you gain a few pounds, your shoes still fit. So, since my feet have been the same size since I was 14, add in my love of shoes, and you understand that I have a lot of shoes. It's your basic equation of if P=>Q and Q=>R then P=>R, too. There should be one person in my reading audience who will get this. ;-)

Sometimes, I don't pick my shoes for comfort. Sometimes they're just little pieces of art (read: super uncomfortable). Now, we all know art is in the eye of the beholder, so this doesn't mean everyone will find them attractive (I can guarantee my mom won't like these). In fact, if I hadn't fallen for them, I'd probably find them kinda ugly, but they speak to my inner granola child and days of making candles and tie dye t-shirts back in kindergarten. I've worn them once already and they were so uncomfortable, I was barefoot by the afternoon. Now, I have to say they only came in whole sizes (and I'm a half-size), so they were slipping around and gave me humongous blisters. Well, I'm going to try them again today, only this time I've inserted Dr. Scholl's in the hopes that will take up the extra half-size and make them wearable. Otherwise, I'm gonna have to find a worthy girlfriend to take them off my hands. So, wish me luck - my feet are gonna need it.

Here's a pic of the aforementioned shoes (note Dr. Scholl's already inserted):

On the plus side, they're platforms, so I'm going to be super tall today (another fantasy of mine, and one achieved through high heels only until science catches up with me).

Edited to add: I ended up having to wear them with my gym socks to keep them on properly. Also, the left heel tap fell off, so I was rhythmically challenged for most of the day, but no blisters - and that's a very good thing in my book :-)

PS - Picked up some heel grips at Target and now they fit PERFECTLY sans gym socks. Still gotta fix the heel taps (right one's about to fall off now too), but I can take them to the Shoe Doctor for that.

And Then There Was...

2006-01-30T11:45:00.000-08:00

Sabrina!

I stayed home from work today (lest anyone think I'm a slacker - I had a massive headache, but my doctor has since fixed me right up with a shot in the shoulder - go figure), and so was home when my 3rd Blythe showed up. She's an "I Love You, It's True" Neo-Blythe, and is really lovely. She's my Anthropologie fantasy doll. She's very feminine and comes wearing blue and pink, including pink net socks and blue sandals. She also has a girly flower print skirt. Can't you just see her in anything from Anthropologie? I think after this, I only want one more - a dark haired Blythe with bangs.

I just know I'm going to go crazy making them cute little outfits to wear. Well, at the very least, it's a good way to use up all my fabric scraps! I currently have all their stuff in an Irregular Choice Shoe Box (because it's pink and girly). I hope I don't go so crazy that they outgrow the box... Heck, I hope I don't go so crazy that they end up having more clothes than I do! That would be sad, coming from someone who's sewn her own clothes since the age of 10. ;-)

Progress is progressing

2006-01-24T00:30:00.000-08:00

I thought I'd give you all a quick update on my Swirl Girl. Overall, I'm really pleased with the way the CLR treatment is coming along. Her hair is mostly green-free now! There's still a touch in the ponytail, so I put a little CLR on it, and it should be gone by morning. There was also a tiny splotch of green on her right cheek and that, too, is almost gone. Her ears are finally making progress, which I'm very relieved to see. Here's a pic for you to judge for yourself:

I figure at this rate, she should be mostly green-free by weekend, and completely healed within 2 weeks. Then I'll re-wrap her ponytail, dress her and put her on display.

I'm pretty happy with how fast the green is clearing up, as Swirls are supposed to be notoriously difficult to de-green (is that even a word?), and would definitely recommend this treatment for vintage Barbies.

New Girl on the Block

2006-01-22T14:19:00.000-08:00

I just realized I never posted when my second Blythe arrived. She came last Wednesday, and is really quite cute. She's dressed retro at the moment in her original outfit, but I'm thinking she needs something a little more modern. Since she's a redhead, she'll look best in fall colors, so I expect to see her in lots of greens and browns. Oh, and her name is Georgina or Georgie for short.

Here she is in all her retro splendor:

Leftovers

2006-01-22T00:54:00.000-08:00

I accidentally left my knitting notebook at my LYS today, so am going through withdrawals without the directions for my current knitting projects. I finished the Tagliato shawl, which turned out so cute that with the leftover yarn, I created a mini one for Blythe. I knit it on smaller needles than I used for mine, so it's a bit bulkier feeling, but I like how it turned out. I also used a safety pin to close it, because I will be using a kilt pin to hold mine together. It was a super fast knit. Check out the finished results:

As an added plus, I have the two Stitch 'N Bitch books in the background. A big FU to SFSE and a big thumbs up to Debbie Stoller. If you haven't been following it, click on my sidebar for the Stitch'N Bitch controversy. Such BS, and bad business acumen for Sew Fast, Sew Sleazy. Well, if they want to go out of business, I guess that's one way to do it - piss off all your potential customers! Lame-a$$es.

Don't Try This at Home

2006-01-22T00:44:00.000-08:00

It used to be that if you wanted to treat green ears on vintage Barbies, you had to cake on the Remove-Zit and leave Barbie on the windowsill for a couple of weeks. I did a search after picking up the swirl ponytail, and have found that the latest treatment is done with CLR. So, I got some on the way home, and after using rubbing alcohol to get the grossest bits of green off Barbie, have pulled her head off and started treatments. Here's the progress:

It can take up to 2 weeks to fade the green ear, so I'm just going to have to be patient. I just hope I see *some* difference in the next day or so to know for sure it's working.

My First Swirl

2006-01-21T15:20:00.000-08:00

I've collected Barbies since I was 10 (played with them since I was 2 or 3), but in all that time, I've only collected a few very early examples. One of the first I picked up was a #4, and she's been the elder statesman in my collection, and the only ponytail. Today, I scored her sister, a swirl ponytail.

If you're not familiar with Barbie, all of this will be gobbledigook, but it's a huge deal to me. As a matter of fact, I bonded with my friend in SF over her collection of Swirls. So, back to my first swirl... This morning, I decided to go to my local thrift store, which can be hit or miss. The last time I was there, I noticed they had some Barbies in the front case, but didn't really have a chance to look at them. Today, I looked. And saw. And bought. They had a few lovely examples of Ken and Midge and a couple of bubblecut Barbies, and one swirl. She was dressed in orange pants and a blue jumpsuit (turned out to be an orange cat suit with Barbie tag - yeah! and a Tammy original playsuit). She also had horrendous green ear. It's so bad, it's gone up into her hair. I really hope I can get it out, as her makeup is PERFECT, and her hair just needs a new elastic - it even has the original ribbon at the bottom of the ponytail. Poor swirl, she was priced a lot lower than the others due to her green ears. The price caught my eye, but the green at first kept me from buying. Until I realized she was also 30% off... So, now I have a green-eared swirl girl with lots of potential. :-D

Here are her pics (note that she's now nekked - this is nude art, not Barbie porn):

head on - perfection

side shot - ewwwwwwwww

Pimpin' the Neon

2006-01-18T19:45:00.000-08:00

I have a tendency to hold on to things in my life - we can debate the merits or lack there of, but it's just something I do. So, my car is fast approaching its 10th year with me. For the last 7 or so I've been thinking about selling it, but the *no car payments* thing has really kept me from doing so. Last fall, I even went so far as to list my Neon for sale on Neons.org. No one even so much as nibbled at it. Not that I could blame them, Neons are much maligned. But, hear me out, there will come a day when they will be collected. In fact, I think the day is coming soon. But, that's besides the point. It wasn't until I listed Barney for sale that I realized how much I still like her. So, that has brought me to thinking about pimping her (and not in the pimping her out sense of the word but more of the bling bling type of meaning).

So, first things first. I made a list of all the things that are mechanically wrong with her that really needed to be fixed (as opposed to the idiosyncratic things that I can live with for now). The biggest (or so I thought) was to replace the exhaust manifold - which was replaced early last year. Found out this morning that Valley Dodge are a bunch of MORONS and wouldn't know a cracked exhaust manifold from the crack in their a$$. Look, just because I'm a woman doesn't mean you can take advantage of me. My dad's big and he can kick your little scrawny a$$ to the curb. Heck, I can kick your a$$ too, but you really don't want to piss me off that way - it's not pretty. So, it turned out, the exhaust manifold was NOT cracked, it was just the donut that's hooked on to it had gone bad. (See what I mean about Valley Dodge being MORONS?) Cool, much less money, but now I have a surplus exhaust manifold. Could be a good thing since I intend to keep the Neon around for awhile, but annoying in that I didn't have to buy the part after all. The other thing was an oil leak. I actually have two. One is just the way the car's designed, so whatever, and the other has to do with the oil filter. That will be fixed once the part gets in. So, now for under $200, my car is going to be in good working order. Much less than buying a new car.

Now that the mechanical stuff is out of the way, I'm going to see about getting Barney detailed, and then swap out the radio (one of the idiosyncratic things) for one I got cheap off Neons.org. Just swapping one stock radio for another, nothing fancy. That should keep her (and me) happy for awhile. And then we'll be able to toast to our 100,000 miles together in the next month and a half (not while driving, of course - drinking and driving don't mix).

If you're wondering why she's named Barney, well, let's just say they're both the same color. Although I think Steve Martin described her best as a "frisky lip-gloss pink Dodge Neon." Seriously. Don't believe me? See page 12 of the paperback version of "The Pleasure of My Company." And if you notice a slight resemblance between me and Clarissa, that may or may not be a coincidence. ;-)

Craftopia update

2006-01-15T22:16:00.000-08:00

I love long weekends - I stretch two days worth of whatever over 3 days and don't feel guilty about taking long naps and doing nothing for hours at a time.

Took a very long nap this afternoon after doing laundry (which, trust me, was very overdue), and am pretty sure it will manage to upset my sleep schedule this evening. Since that is the case, I will probably have hours to work on knitting and sewing while I await sleep to overtake me.

So, in honor of the crafting that awaits me, here is an updated list of current knitting projects (one of these days I will map out the sewing projects, too), with changes in bold:

1) Gedifra Tagliato shawl - about half done
2) Gedifra Tagliato mini-sweater from Glampyre.com
3) Gedifra Cicco Gold Paris Loop from Glampyre.com
4) Gedifra Cicco Teal Paris Loop from Glampyre.com - on needles, about 1/4 done
(I totally scored on the Cicco off ebay - yeah! 3 balls each color, so both my Loops will be slightly shorter than the original pattern)
5) Colinette Pt 5 Capelet from Teen Knitting Club (I actually made this first as a sweater from Yarn Girls' Guide to Simple knits and frogged it cos it was HUGE, then made this capelet on size 17 needles, but it stretched out so frogged it again and trying it on 15 needles this time). Reknit this about 3 times over the last week, but FINALLY got it - on 17s. Just need to sew the two pieces together and it'll be DONE.
6) Astrakan scarf (to match the hat I made last week) - DONE
7) Patons Up Country bolero designed by Veronik Avery (off womansday.com - lovely!) I was off gauge, and had to rip the back out. Found I could make gauge if I knit tight on the 10 1/2s.
8) Debbie Bliss Merino DK Julsey shrug (off craftster.org). I actually finished this, but made it about 3 inches too wide, so it does a weird baggy thing under the back of my arms. I thought about steeking it, but think it really does just need to be done properly. Ugh. Have been thinking about this - I think I just need to shorten it 3", which is a hell of a lot better than ripping the whole fcuking thing out.
9) S. Charles Cabaret shawl
10) Rowan kidsilk mohair branching out (from knitty.com)
11) Tahki Stacy Charles Cotton Classic in a gorgeous teal - not sure exactly what I'll do with it, but I have a strong suspicion it will be a summer top
12) Some vintage 80's rust colored yarn that I plan to use to make a modified mini sweater from glampyre.com (mixed with some Rowan Yorkshire Tweed)
13) Eco forest green for an ubernaturel from glampyre.com
14) Eco lavendar - currently working on a ribbed scarf, but may make another shrug
15) Some gorgeous BonBon Gourment Collection to make a 70's style vest

New additions:
16) Naturgarn in deep gold which will become this. I like the one on the left, but will add the peplum from the one on the right.
17) My first cabled sweater out of more Patons upcountry. It's the one called the "Perfect Turtleneck" sweater.
18) A gorgeous Patons Brilliant sweater in gold from the current issue of Interweave Knits. It's knit on sz 4 needles, so this is going to take awhile...
19) More Patons Brilliant - but in Burgundy this time, to make a shrug a` la the one I espied at Zara in Vegas last week.

So, here is what I've learned looking at the new list: For every 2 projects I finish, I take on 4 more. Great... At this point, by the time I finish all of this, my list will have doubled!

On the plus side, my yarn buying does seem to have slowed down a little. I went to my LYS with mom yesterday, and didn't buy ANYTHING. Now, that's restraint! ;-)

Bad Girl

2006-01-12T17:32:00.000-08:00

Didi's been disturbing my co-workers most of the day, and so she's been placed in time out until it's time to go home.

I showed her to M, and he found her so disturbing that he loves her even more. He also loves how photogenic she is. Then he said, "I could see how this could become an obsession and how you couldn't have just one." To which I then confessed that I already bought another... He wasn't surprised. Thank God we're both collectors or we'd have a hard time getting along. A similar pathos is essential to a healthy relationship. I told him I'd probably end up with 5 total... We'll see if I keep my word. One thing's for sure - she will not be sleeping anywhere in my room or I'll be having nightmares. It's the eyes.

I Present To You...

2006-01-12T13:12:00.000-08:00

Didi!

Damn she's cute. And heavy! I had no idea. Oh, and her head's a little flat. I can totally see why kids were scared of her back in 1970s... But, she has serious potential. I want to dress her all in black, as she's really just a beatnik at heart. ;-)

Don't believe me? See her now!

She's playing nicely with my motion buddy. I like her already.

Edited to add: I finally realized I misheard her when she told me her name - it's not Didi, but "Deirdre". You know dolls, they're not so good at annunciation, and I've become a little hard of hearing after all those rock concerts I went to in high school. So, now we know ;-)

Infected By Blythe

2006-01-11T23:45:00.000-08:00

I saw Gina Garan's book, "This is Blythe" back in Fall, 2001 and added it to my amazon wish list in January, 2002. Now, four years later, I am finally going to pick up my first Blythe. I no longer need to stare longingly at the disturbingly gorgeous pictures of everyone else's Blythes. I will now have my own! I am oddly elated by this, even though I am, ahem, legally of the adult-persuasion. Up til now, I've been a staunchly Barbie Girl, with a few dalliances into Dawn, Tiffany Taylor and more recently Bratz and My Scene. So, what started the recent obsession? This did.

So, which Blythe am I getting? Well, I actually got two (shhh - don't tell M, he thinks I only got one!), but the first one I purchased is coming via mail. So it turns out the second one I purchased will be the first one in hand since I am picking her up at will call in the morning!!!!!! Woo hoo! She's a Madame Rosebud, and I can't wait to dress her in black - the better to show off her pink (yes, pink) hair. Don't believe me? Take a look for yourself.

I've been thinking of a name for her, and I know I should wait until I see her to be sure... But, I'm feeling a little inspired by Didi Cohn in Grease - I mean, the hair, c'mon - it looks just like her! So, it's a toss up between *Pinky* and *Didi*. Didi's character name, *Frenchy*, just does not speak to me... So, I'll unveil new pics and her official name tomorrow.

Now that I've told you all about my first Blythe, you're probably wondering what the other one was I purchased. Well, I'm a red head, so I have this thing for red-haired dolls... So it really should come as no surprise that this was the other Blythe I purchased.

Yes, I think she'll do just fine! And, of course, now that I have two, I'm already thinking of which others I'd like to have. It's a sickness, I tell you. I have been infected by Blythe.

Shuffle Me This

2005-12-31T19:59:00.000-08:00

Apple is having a nice little sale on refurbished 1GB shuffles, so I got myself one. Funny thing is, when they came out last year I thought, "How lame - no screen, only hold 240 songs," and now I have one. Well, the reason is: It's the PERFECT size for working out - light-weight, comes with a lanyard and you don't have to think while using it (have you tried navigating a regular iPod - wtf?!?). You can set up a play list in your iTunes and just use that to load up the shuffle - otherwise iTunes will do the thinking for you.

My friend, MacGeekette got me a Juicy Tunes skin for Xmas, and was so turned on by the shuffle that she ended up getting one too. So, now PeeCee Girl and MacGeekette have matching shuffles (awwwww). The funny thing is, after I bought mine, the 1GBs went MIA on the apple site, and then were back (and then gone again and back again - they seem to be WAY more popular than the 512mbs). So, MG was freaking out cos she wanted one too. I called her while she was getting her hair done to let her know they were back on the Apple site, and her hubby took care of ordering it for her (he's so lovely).

Inspired by the fact that we now have twin shuffles, we took a look at the shuffle boards at apple.com. Wow. Nothing puts the fear of shuffle in you like reading that. "My iPod won't work" was the most common complaint. There were some truly sad/funny after Xmas posts. The problem is, the way the iPods are set up, Apple expects you to know nothing and to not care about knowing anything about how they work. Therefore, if it doesn't go smoothly, you're fcuked. Granted, there are some duds out there, but most of this could be solved if Apple provided a step by step list of how to connect your iPod for the first time. For starters - you're probably going to have to update your software - this is different from iTunes. And, since it's the first time using the iPod, you have to let it charge fully (like your cell phone) before using it. So, when you plug in the shuffle, iTunes will ask if you want to download the latest software, you say yes, it downloads and then you have to RUN it. Then, it will tell you it's ok to disconnect your iPod. Well, it's ok because the update has been done, but it's NOT ok because you're still charging it, so basically, until you see the green light on the shuffle (or the full battery icon on iPods with screens), do not disconnect until it's done charging. That's very confusing, which no doubt added to the numerous post-Xmas posts.

I don't want to bring any bad karma on myself, so I won't comment on some of the *funnier* ones, that just wouldn't be right... But, if you have some time to kill, go check out the comment boards on the apple site and you'll see what I mean. Mmm-hmm.

At last count...

2005-12-29T22:19:00.000-08:00

So, I looked over at my stash (which has grown leaps and bounds over the last month), and realized it looks like a yarn monster exploded. In case you don't believe me, take a look at this:

Granted, there are a couple of finished projects in there that just need ends woven in, or fringe added, but still... It's seriously out of control. Let's see how many projects I have going (knitwise, not sewwise):

1) Gedifra Tagliato shawl
2) Gedifra Tagliato mini-sweater from Glampyre.com
3) Gedifra Cicco Gold Paris Loop from Glampyre.com
4) Gedifra Cicco Teal Paris Loop from Glampyre.com
(I totally scored on the Cicco off ebay - yeah! 3 balls each color, so both my Loops will be slightly shorter than the original pattern)
5) Colinette Pt 5 Capelet from Teen Knitting Club (I actually made this first as a sweater from Yarn Girls' Guide to Simple knits and frogged it cos it was HUGE, then made this capelet on size 17 needles, but it stretched out so frogged it again and trying it on 15 needles this time).
6) Astrakan scarf (to match the hat I made last week)
7) Patons Up Country bolero designed by Veronik Avery (off womansday.com - lovely!)
8) Debbie Bliss Merino DK Julsey shrug (off craftster.org). I actually finished this, but made it about 3 inches too wide, so it does a weird baggy thing under the back of my arms. I thought about steeking it, but think it really does just need to be done properly. Ugh.
9) S. Charles Cabaret shawl
10) Rowan kidsilk mohair branching out (from knitty.com)
11) Tahki Stacy Charles Cotton Classic in a gorgeous teal - not sure exactly what I'll do with it, but I have a strong suspicion it will be a summer top
12) Some vintage 80's rust colored yarn that I plan to use to make a modified mini sweater from glampyre.com (mixed with some Rowan Yorkshire Tweed)
13) Eco forest green for an ubernaturel from glampyre.com
14) Eco lavendar - currently working on a ribbed scarf, but may make another shrug
15) Some gorgeous BonBon Gourment Collection to make a 70's style vest

Wow, now that I see it in print... Well, it's, um, overwhelming. Guess I better get a move on with my knitting! ;-)

C'est fini!

2005-12-29T01:09:00.000-08:00

My. Oh. My.

I've just finished my OSW, and am thoroughly IN LOVE with it. I'm in my pjs with hair akimbo, or I'd model it, but for now, feast your eyes on this:

Kindly ignore the cat and the cat hair, Dolce's been claiming my chair as her own, and I didn't have the heart to shoo her off for the photo.

Now off to beddy-bye (yeah, right).

Edit: I didn't actually go to bed until 3am.... Gaaaarrrrrr.... So tired this morning!

It's a One Skein Wonder Obsession

2005-12-26T16:59:00.000-08:00

I saw Glampyre's One Skein Wonder (OSW), and thought, ooh, that looks interesting. Certainly more interesting than another scarf, hat, shawl or poncho. I bought the pattern and put off starting it because it asked for stitches I hadn't done yet, and was kinda worried about. Well, I bought the Knitting Answer Book and looked it up in there, and the k1fb (knit 1 front and back) that I was so worried about turned out to be the easiest thing I'd learned since purling. Funny how we dread something until we actually do it.

So, now that I have the hang of it, I have become a bit obsessed... I started last night and had this:

After dinner, while M played with his new Guitar Hero (my present to him), I got obsessed with my OSW. I chose Noro Kujaku yarn, which is variegated, so it ends up being self striping. Anyway, I just couldn't stop and am now 5 rows from the end. Here's what it looks like now:

If I keep on this way, I'll be done with it tonight - woo hoo!

I love knitting! And all these years I thought I was just into sewing. Knitting, who knew?

That's Amore...

2005-12-24T17:27:00.000-08:00

After I finished my other post, I went to a news service, and saw an obit for my mentor, Argentina Brunetti. I hadn't spoken to her in quite awhile, so was very saddened by this. I drive past her old building pretty much every morning on my way to work and always think, "I should give her a call," but never did. And now, obviously, it's too late. :-(

So, I'm a kinda blue about all this.

Argentina was amazing - I met her when she was 80, living next door to my maternal grandmaother, and she was a firecracker. She was so kind to me when I was learning Italian and would always be so positive even when I made mistakes. When I wanted to study acting, she encouraged me and told me about her own mother, stage actress Mimi Aguglia, and how she was almost born on stage in Argentina (hence, the name). Every Christmas, there she was as Mrs. Martini in "It's a Wonderful Life" for the whole world to see. And she became my mentor in all things acting, writing and Italian.

Even after my grandmother moved up to Northen California, I would go see Argentina. She would tell me about her life and I was just mesmerized. She really was a true original and very much an inspiration to the modern woman's desire to *do it all.* She was a wife, mother, grandmother, actress and journalist. Really an amazing woman.

For her 90th birthday, her family threw a huge party at the Sofitel and the best part was when they pulled out a TV and played a clip from a movie she did with Dean Martin. She played his mother and he serenaded her with "That's Amore", and then the entire group of us broke into a chorus of "That's Amore and serenaded her again. She just beamed.

When I think of her, that is what I'm going to remember - her beaming while being surrounded by the people she loved and who loved her.

My LYS

2005-12-24T14:34:00.000-08:00

I was supposed to meet mom at the LYS, but ran late. Turns out, mom was running so late, she cancelled, only I never bothered to check my cell or home phone. Some days, I just don't really want to be in touch, and today was one of them. Oh, well.

I ended up just hanging out at Stitch Cafe and doing some knitting on my Gedifra Tagliato shawl, and some on my Gedifra Astrakan scarf. I finished my Gedifra Astrakan hat last night - it knit up soooooooooo fast! I actually had to undo the finishing on it and shorten it by 2 rows, but now it's absolutely perfect and I love it. I also finished the circular shrug pattern I got off craftster.org. The length is spot on, but I made it a little too wide (note to self - never try to measure your own shoulder width), so it bags out a little under the arms in the back. I'm really tempted to rip it out and redo it, making it 3" narrower. On the plus side, I know the size and the gauge, it'll knit up faster due to the decreased width and I'll end up with a little extra yarn when done - the better to make a matching one for my red-haired My Scene Barbie. tee hee.

So, after doing the above knitting, I asked Vash, one of the girls who work there, to help me with the gauge on the Glampyre OSW (one skein wonder) I'm about to attempt. I made perfect gauge on the 9s with the Noro Kujaku, but it was really stiff, so we tried it on the 10s, and it was much better. My gauge is off by 1/8", but since it's only 40 rows total, it shouldn't be too bad - basically mine will end up a little longer is all. The bad thing about the OSW is that there's really no room for adjusting the pattern since you make increases on every row, so you can't remove rows without making it narrower (unless your stitch width is off, which mine wasn't - only the row gauge changed when I changed needles - weird!). But it's all solved now, so I'm really looking forward to it! I'm going to learn a couple of things with this pattern: Knitting into a stitch front and back to make an increase, and picking up stitches to make the ribbing. What doesn't kill us makes us stronger, right?

Anyway, here's a pic of one of my FOs this week:

Hope you like! Matching scarf coming soon :-)

Lo Squishy

2005-12-18T12:22:00.000-08:00

I have a friend from work whom I go hiking with every weekend. Well, we've skipped this weekend since she's been sick :-( So, I'm feeling a little squishy (which also happens to be one of her nicknames) and trying to think of ways to avoid exercising. I've just eaten breakfast at noon on a Sunday (God, I love Sundays!), so really can't exercise unless I want my stomach to cramp up during my walk. So, I figure I have about an hour or two to kill before the dreaded exercise session.

Speaking of *dreaded*, last night I finally gave M the Dreaded Knitted Object aka the DKO. See, it's supposed to *curse* a relationship if you give your boyfriend a knitted sweater before you're married. So, I wanted to make him something, but it couldn't be a sweater. To the rescue - the boyfriend scarf! I made it length-wise, using the rustic scarf pattern from last-minute knitted gifts as a guide and some sale yarn from stitch cafe and a left over ball from one of my mom's sweaters. It's possibly the most gorgeous and professional looking knitted object I've ever made. But why don't you judge for yourself?

This pic was taken before I'd woven in all the ends, so don't let that distract you...

M just called me to say he woke up at 7:20 this morning and looked over at the clock, saw the time and thought, "Best Buy opens at 8, do I want to go get on line to get an XBox 360? It's cold, oh, but I have the DKO to keep me warm!" Haha! Success!!!!!!!!! He didn't get the 360 - Best Buy only had 40 units, and M said the majority of buyers looked like they were just going to post them on Ebay. Little children everywhere will be waking up on Xmas without their XBoxes. So sad.

So I did a count of knitting projects the other day, and realized I have over 12 projects lined up. It's very daunting! Especially since I consider myself more of a sewer than a knitter. And to top it off, I frogged a poncho I'd made from Teen Knitting Club because it was pulling out of shape, so I'm going to reknit it on smaller needles (the very needles I need for two other projects... Garr - I can't knit fast enough!). M's getting used to the sight of me knit my way through lunch and dinner.

I also have a lot of sewing projects lined up and in various stages of completion. I am so looking forward to the 2 four day weekends I have coming up! First day of the first four day weekend is going to be devoted to cleaning. And I think I'll probably also dedicate the last day of the second four day weekend for the same - just because I know how I like to spread out). At least that way I can start the year off with a clean apartment :-) Whether it stays that way is a totally different story :-P

My very first...

2005-12-12T22:55:00.000-08:00

So, I thought I would truly inaugurate this blog with the U-G-L-I-E-S-T pattern I could find. In case you don't believe me, take a look at this...

I'm utterly speechless. The pants, well they're fake wrap-around pants - you might as well ebay an original pattern from the 70s. Then, what is with the poncho? I think ponchos are totally cute, but this is just not right. Lace for a poncho? You'll get a funny tan line. And what's with the cut out shoulder thingy? This is all that is wrong with American pattern companies - it doesn't look like anything you'd buy in a shop, and isn't that why we sew? To make what's in the stores ours, but better.