When checking my stats yesterday I noticed more than a few people had clicked on the post about my 2010 Knitting List which I had completely forgot about! I thought even though it’s been over a year I would check in with how I did!
1. To finish my wedding shawl!DONE!!!!
2. Finish my Baudelaire socks (sock one complete toe of sock two complete) DONE
3. Finish secret socks for special someone (sock one done halfway up the foot of sock two) DONE
4. knit at least 2 pairs of socks for Ryan I cast several pair on and had no end of troubles!
5. Knit one pair of knee highs for myself! NOT A CHANCE
8. Knit another Rose Of England Shawl(this one for myself) Instead I cast-on a Neibling pattern for a shawl
9. Try to work out a few of the patterns that are floating around inside my head!YEP just have to test them and write them out
10. have fun! Tried.
The reality was that I actually did very little knitting in 2010 I was sick for a large part of it and my Mojo seemed to flee due to that. I’m finally starting to get better and I seem to be knitting again! I’m in general crafting again, I feel creative and urges to do things and I’m loving it!!! I’ve finished several patterns this year already and have cast-on a few more!
I have been sewing left right and center, making costumes for LARP events purses that are perfect and MORE! I plan on posting some detailed blog posts soon and hope you all enjoy my return to the blogsphere.
I’m still behind on some things from 2010 and I’m working on those too… slowly but surely!
So to most people I talk good politics, I dress stylish and fashionable, and I’m super crafty. I enjoy making things for myself and occasionally others. There is though a not so hidden part of me that most of you probably won’t be shocked to find out about. I’m a Geek, spelled capital gee three three kay. I love sci fi, and fantasy, I complain about inaccuracies and I game.
Actually I game in three different formats. I game on my laptop (currently playing Dragon Age 2 and about to start Portal 2). I play table top Role Playing Games(RGPs) (these are the classic dice rolling geeks around a table games like Dungeons and Dragons). I also play in Live Action Role Playing (LARPs) (yes dressing up in costumes and pretending to be people and fighting with foam swords).
I love my gaming it helps me get out of my head and do other things for a bit. It can be hard for me to actually relax because my brain is thinking so many other things constantly interrupting it’s self. but gaming helps me to actually relax. I do them all for different reasons.
Computer games are fun because your the only player no one else but you get a say about what you are going to do. You go where you want to go, do the missions you want to do, and keep the speed you want to keep.
Table top RPGs are almost the exact opposite you usually have 3 other players that you have to work with, and have to work together to decide what missions to do. That is part of the fun. Not knowing what your other players are going to find more interesting. The other joy of this is your hanging out with others who have similar interests to you.
LARPing on the other hand is even more social you go out and play with other people who are interested in the same thing. I love LARPing because it’s like being in an improvisational play but everyone is the star because the play is from your point of view. You get to be someone else for the game and do things that you would never do.
So May has been an active Gaming month for me. Fist off I finally was able to get a hold of Dragon Age 2, and thus have been playing that (I try to limit it to less then 5 hours a week, not counting the night i installed it :-p) for the last two weeks or so. Last weekend was was Day Of Games which only comes around once a year.
Day Of Games is a nice relaxed game day, for 15 dollars there are three sessions that run through out the day and the games are chosen by what the players want to play out of what’s offered that session. Most of the games are indie games and definitely all the kind with quick character generation. Unfortunately I was feeling ill AND had insomnia the night before so I missed most f it. Although I was able to participate in the last session and play the super fabulous Silver Kiss of the Magical Twilight of the Full Moon by the super talented Jenni Dowsett(I want to be as awesome as her when I grow up). Our GM was my friend Ellen who is 8 million kinds of cool, and I played with Scott, Thomas and Freya. Thomas and I were Ghost (he a disturbed roman torture victim and I a Victorian lady who was killed in a terrible roast accident), while Scott and Freya were humans; Freya being my love interest.
This game is dice less which is always refreshing and different. I won’t go into detail, but my character was very delicate and fainted often, I scared my love interest with a tale of her parents getting freaky on my grave site, and not understanding sarcasm.
Then this past weekend on Saturday I had a LARP of Snow White.
Of all traditional fairy tales that were adapted and censored for children in modern renditions, Snow White has perhaps undergone the most change. Today’s bedtime story of an innocent princess, seven happy little men and true love forgets the original undertones of desperation, passion, poverty and sexuality. One cannot tell the true story of Snow White without going back to a time in which men were valued only for their size and stamina, and woman only for their beauty and ability to bear children; a time in which glass was so rare that a polished mirror was truly a frightening thing of magic.
Most of the original characters and a few new ones are present in this adaptation of the older, darker, and more vivid story of Snow White. It is set in the hours before the execution of the Queen and subsequent wedding of the Prince and Princess, a time of last chances and new beginnings.
I was cast as the Wicked Queen, which was a blast. My main goal was to get free and seek my revenge on the world. In the end Snow whit was up the duff with the dwarf’s baby and she runs off with him and the prince marries me instead to become King. I get to continue to be beauty obsessed. This was an interesting role to play cause everyone actively hates you except the nursemaid.
That brings me to last night which was my gaming group’s campaign night(we meet every fortnight). We are playing Dragonlance which is an add on to D&D 3.5 edition rules. I play a Elven Druid, who is the learned on of the group AND the most diplomatic of them all. The other two in my group are an Elven ranger who is not charismatic at all AND does not speak common, and a very stupid but farking huge Orc. Probably the funniest bit was when I accidentally set my Orc friend afire instead of a huge spider that was trying to eat the other elf. The Orc then slammed me into a wall for it. Guess who didn’t get healed after the fight :-p
I got to show off my woodland sword and the binding job I did for my Players Handbook. You see all My D&D books and such are digital PDFs which saves me heaps of space, BUTis a bit of a pain when you have to flip back and forth between many pages. Also I needed practice for when I make my spell book for my Teonn Character. I had some faux suede and did a basic japanese binding with a wrap over cover. Everyone was impressed and I’m really happy. I learned more about drilling through paper need something on top and bottom to protect the paper.
* you should totally check out the webseries that Jenni is in Urban Numina!
P.S. I have another post about more crafty things I’ve been up to lately! I’ll keep you posted.
I met Wendy through the Wellington Embroiderer’s Guild, we joined at the same time. We talked often at the meetings and at the monthly social stitch-ins. Looking at us besides embroidery people might not have seen a lot in common, but I think at times we felt that we had more in common than others. We were both part of a group that at times could be cold and stand-offish especially if you didn’t fit into their rigid mold. We didn’t fit.
Wendy was not only and amazing embroiderer, but and outspoken activist for people who have mental illnesses something we both struggle with. I had read many articles about her speaking out, and we had several conversations about the work that needs to be done.
Wendy had an amazing eye for colour and a unique style that so very often reminded me of Mexican day of the dead celebrations. Wendy was celebrating life instead. I remember when and how I found out Wendy was sick, it was from her. She had told me she had cancer and was dying with maybe a year to live. She then went back to stitching her piece like she had just told me it was raining and that’s all.
Yesterday Wendy lost her battle with cancer at 4pm.
I wish that I could have told Wendy how much I admired her strength and courage. How much I loved her wall hangings. how much the brooch that she gave me for my birthday meant to me. How much her style of embroidery and the things she made pushed my boundaries and inspired me.
I kept meaning to go see Wendy, take her some flowers, talk to her, be there. I let my life get in the way, and I regret that, I know though that Wendy wouldn’t want me to sit here and beat myself up. She would want me to sit down and try something new stitch something different and enjoy life.
I fully took advantage of the public holiday and stitched all day(as I plan on doing all weekend) and wow I finished a bunch of things…
First off I did the construction of the needle book not because I was particularly excited about it. In fact the construction stage is usually where all of my crafts go from WIP to UFO’s, this is something I’m trying to work on. For the needle book tho it was pure need that propelled me further. Since the discovery of a rust spot from a needle in my wedding sampler(something I think I can fix) I have seend the need for a book to atleast put the needles of my current projects… so I cranked this out and am very very happy with it!
With that completed and needing something to do in my hands while I watched telly I sought a project to do. Yes I know I have 8 million knitting UFO’s but I just couldn’t get into my knitting I wanted to do some stitching. Then I had an idea (I know a scary thing around this house, my husband practically cringes when I say I have an idea. Not because my idea’s are dumb, or even out right crazy, just usually very very complicated, bizarre or next to impossible feats that I imagine I can accomplish, usually in a short period of time).
Since I have been wearing more Victorian clothing lately I have wished I could wear my great-great-grandmothers cameo brooch of her mother as a young lady that was made for when she sailed over to the states from england in 1879. But the hand carved bone is so delicate it was sheer to begin with in nearly 150 years has not been good to it. What if, I copied it in stumpwork? What if? Hmmm I’ve never done stumpwork before. It’s okay tho I have a book on it! So I sat down with my husband and season 2 of Battlestar Galactica (we have just started to watch this series) and stitched away. a couple hours later I had this. Am i completely happy with it YES! Is it perfect hmm not really but pretty darn good for a first try.
So that was done and we still had more BSG to watch, what is a girl to do? I know I might as well work on my wedding sampler. I know I put this aside for more interesting techniques but simple one colour cross stitch can be really fun. seeing the design come to life before your eyes. Although I think I might unpick that bird on the ground just a bit crowded for my taste. I’ll be adding more green in to the sampler in the future.
Well that’s it for me everyone enjoy the long weekend. Next post I’ll talk about the mystery project that I have needed all the appliqué practice for! As for now I might go do some knitting or stitch more on that wedding sampler who knows!
Of course right after I finish a post about my WIP’s and how I need to finish them before I start anything new, especially with the socks, I get in the mail my second installment of the Vintage Purls Summer Sock Club. Of course the pattern and the yarn is sooo stunning that I immediately had to cast-on!
I love these colours and I love that to socks don’t match instead are exact opposites! I did make some minor changes, I really, really hate garter stitch like really hate it so I replaced that with plain stockinette I have othe plans for the cuff to add texture just you wait and see! And it was kind of okay that I started this sock because of how these ones are looking.
Yep that’s the “sample socks” I really need a new name for these. I have about 4 or 5 rows till I start the ribbing which will be done lickety split. Most likely I will finish these tonight. My mind is already on which pair of sock I will start next and what pattern to do them in. these are the current options:
Knitsch(a new NZ dyer who also goes to my knit night) in pewter. I really like the feel and texture of this yarn and the colours are just well YUM! I’m not sure on what to knit with it though.
Fibro Fibers Nightfall yarn in blue, I love this yarn so very much it slowly fades from blue to black through out the 50g skein and is already wound into center pull balls. I have a design idea in store for this one but I’m not sure I’m ready to really sit down and hash it out maybe. Jen who runs Fibro fibers is amazing and I want 90% of her yarn I got this also in a bottle green and I want the deep purple and the aqua too. She also has denim and tomato coloursways that make my mouth water and I want to get them in the sock in enough to do a striped cardigan.
Yberry’s Street woman, this is just wow what a combo of colours none of which I actually like that much on their own but together just WOW!!!! This yarn just keeps nagging at me and telling me I should knit with it and I know that I should but what? Part of me thinks it needs to go back in the stash to be kept for later to be used in a shawl.
What do you think what should I cast-on? do you have a favorite toe up sock? comment and let me know
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