I kept telling myself, "As long as I post before September 7th, I'll be okay because that means I would have at least posted within the month." And now it's September 7th. And now I'm posting. Because I suck. -_-;;;

School has started up again and between class and clubs and socializing, I've barely had time for anything. Even before the school year started, as summer came to an overwhelming and kind of sad close, I was really busy. So there isn't much to say as far as crafting goes, which is why I don't feel compelled to post.

However, I have done some stuff. For instance, like I said in the last post, I finished up my awesome snood. I taught Dani how to crochet and she figured out her own snood pattern so she's been going crazy with them, heehee. Also, Dani helped me with my SCA garb: a dark blue striped Venetian style Renaissance gown. IT'S SO PRETTY! It took a lot of work and it's still not quite finished (I still have to sew the trim onto the bodice and make the sleeve caps), but I got to wear it to my local Renaissance faire (which Dani and Ryan drove out to go to with me) and I was a sight to behold. Dani and Ryan wore their garb too, and our total tally was 5 people asking us if we worked there. I was very pleased. I even wore my snood! Heehee. I'm also making a dress doublet in this nice gold-with-purple-stripe fabric. I started with that but put it aside for the gown so I would have had something to wear to the faire, but soon I'll be working on my doublet again.

As for cross stitch, I am one color away from finishing my dad's project! And I would have finished it by now but it turns out I hadn't gotten that color when I got all the colors for the project and I only just got it last night. So that'll be done, yay! I've decided to make cross stitch things for my friends for Christmas this year, and I've started planning out what I want to make for some of them, because I really should get started soon on Christmas presents, since there are bound to be a lot.

I haven't been doing much crocheting. I have a bunch of the TARDIS and one of the Cthulhu done, but I didn't do too much else. I'm designing another afghan based on this one square I really like that does a combination of checkered and striped patterns in each fourth of the square, but the squares take a while so I haven't gotten far.

So apparently, as I learned from a sort of lunch date I had today, sometimes "I have a friend I want you to meet; I think you'll like him" really means "I have a friend I want you to meet; I think you'll like him" and not "I have a friend I want to hook you up with." Oh well. At least I looked pretty today! ^-^

Anyway, as the title implies, this is a blog to write about the stuff I've finished recently. Let's go in order of completion!

First we have my green and black beanie I made during Scion (which is my LARP - Live Action Role Play - game) a few weeks ago.

Cute, no? I was bored and beanies are easy to make, and I have a shirt that's black with striped sleeves that are almost the exact same green and black as the hat, so I thought they'd make a nice combination. I had wanted to do more stripes but didn't plan for them properly (meaning I didn't count my rows right so I didn't know when to change colors), but oh well. I still think it looks nice. Special thanks to my two friends Abby and Erin, who were also at Scion, for wearing the hat to see if it would fit my head, since my hair was in liberty spikes (oh Jack...lol).

Next!

This is an example of the granny squares I've been making for Cait's baby blanket. So cute! I love this yarn! It's a little hard to see the rainbow speckles in the yarn in this picture, but I think if you look for them you can see them. I really should start taking these pictures with my good camera. I currently have 21 squares, and I want 150 for the blanket (10 across, 15 rows down), so I still have a ways to go, but I keep getting distracted by other projects!

That's a really blown-out picture, but it's of my cross stitching endeavors, finally finished! The chick came first and technically should be the first thing posted in this blog entry since I finished it weeks ago.

No flash this time, heehee. I did the dark brown back stitching in the wrong color considering I'd just been going with the few basic colors Meredith had given me to start me out, but I think it looks pretty good!

And there's my birthstone angel fairy thing! I wasn't entirely positive on the backstitching colors again. I think I got it though. I'm really proud of how this turned out, even though it took me forever (I had posted a bit back that all I had to do was the backstitching for the dress, which I didn't do until last night).

As for work, it's been going well. I'm probably going to be dropping my second summer session class to free up some time for me so I can relax for a bit since in spite of being very fun, this summer has been very stressful too. I'll keep my jobs and we'll see where the school year takes me.

Last entry I posted that I wasn't going to sleep between jobs. Turns out this was a very dumb idea. I took off the subsequent night because I was too tired to function. I'm worried for later in this week when I start picking up shifts and my non-fabric store job, but we'll see what happens when we get there. But really, despite the hours, I like my job at Joann's.

This past Friday and Saturday was double discount weekend for Joann's employees, so instead of the usual 15% off, I got 30%. I didn't have much money to spend so I couldn't get the cheap-o sewing machine I'm considering getting, nor could I get all the craft books I want, but I did get a cross stitch kit with a pretty angel on it (and it comes with everything you need), some more aida (the fabric you cross stitch on), and I decided to have a little fun. I've always wanted to try embroidery, so I figured, hey, I have a discount, I should get some embroidery stuff! So I got the hoop and a small cheap book on some basic stitches, figuring I could use my cross stitch needles, aida, and embroidery floss to get me started. I haven't started yet because I got so wrapped up in finishing up some crafts last night, as well as teaching Sarah how to make granny squares because she wants to make an afghan like mine, heehee, that I didn't have time to get started, but I hope to soon.

Also last night I decided to make another square for my star afghan. I almost finished it but was getting tired (it was like 3 in the morning, heehee) so I put it down. I have pictures of the squares by request, heehee, so we can make the decision about whether to have it be inverted on the reversed side or just keep it black squares with green stars. Here ya go!

Here are both of the squares together. Next we have the squares on their own (no flash in these pictures so the color is weird).

Oh no! I have failed you, blog! I've gone over a week without posting! ;_; Well I haven't been doing much craft-wise because my free time is spent looking for a second job or trying to figure out Dreamweaver for my online class. As for what I'm crafting, I'm STILL working on that dang cross stitch! It's almost done though. I really want to finish it soon. I didn't realized when I signed up for cross stitch that it would take so dang long!

Anyway, a little about my life right now. This past weekend I went home to Jersey to visit Devon and go to her prom. SO MUCH FUN! Busting out our poi and hitting on waiters (including copping a feel. Cody was only 27...but was taken. Darn!) and general antics. That was Friday night. I stayed up all night that night talking to Devon's 13 year old brother about all kinds of stuff, mostly Jim Morrison and music and government and religion and all that good deep stuff. Saturday was spent at Devon's teacher's daughter's (lol) first birthday party, which was the most well thought-out kid's party I'd ever been to (as Devon said, this is what happens when two graphic designers get married, lol). Devon and her friend Steph did face painting, and I assisted, which means I sat there and entertained the kids (and got painted on like you wouldn't believe!). Sunday we went to the beach at Atlantic City in the morning. Devon and I did some shopping while Steph and her other friend Shannon tanned. There was this one store called "It's Sugar" that was an epic candy store (9 inch tall Gummi Bears. Just sayin'.). I bought a Blow Pops lunchbox that I intend to use as a purse a la Seth-Green-as-James-St.-James-in-Party-Monster (only his was black with a Jolly Roger on it. Do want!). I don't feel like taking a picture, so I'll show you one from the Internet.

Cute, non? Very club kid. I love it. And while looking for pictures, I discovered that OMG THEY MAKE ONE FOR JUNIOR MINTS! IT'S GREEN WITH STARS!

I must own this! GREEN AND STARS! What more could I want? ^-^

Anyway, on the ride back home from south to north Jersey (where I live when not in school, and where I had parked my car) I tried and failed to teach Devon how to crochet. But I had my yarn so I decided to whip her up a beanie because I could, and because it was a three hour drive. I managed to finish in about an hour, which is a personal best. It was light pink with three thin black stripes (pink and black are Devon's signature/raver colors, just as mine are green and black). I'd show a picture but I didn't take one.

I just finished the chick, but I'm too tired to post pictures right now, lol. I will tomorrow.

Meredith and Dave took me to the craft store today and I got a book with a small cross-stitch pattern for every day of the year (for making like calendars and stuff). It has some awesome stuff in it. One of the things it has is a little birthstone fairy for each month, so I decided to do the one for April (diamond). I'll post when it's done. ^-^

So today I finished an afghan I was working on since winter-ish time. Turns out the skein only had about one and a half once-around left in it, so I could have finished sooner. I had the ultimate choice of "do I get more yarn or leave this skein unfinished?" and decided to leave it unfinished, because I'd already used 8 skeins on the thing, lol. But now I have the second afghan I crocheted all finished! It's really just one giant granny square made with Seagrass by Red Heart. As Drea has often said to me friends don't let friends knit Red Heart, but the coloration was soooo pretty I couldn't help myself!

Here is the afghan on the couch, and on it is my giant octopus Hubert (I decided to give him a name besides "giant octopus" just before taking the picture) that I finished the day before I started my blog, lol.

And one more of my "baby octopus" Dumbo on Hubert's head.

Sarah was posing the octopi on the blanket, and she said it was like an ocean scene. She said we should cut off some of Dumbo's legs and make her a starfish, to which I replied, "Or I could just make a starfish..." Sarah continued with something to the effect of, "We need some fish, and...do you think you could manage a coral reef?" I said maybe; she said she had faith in me. Heehee.

We got to talking about Emo Bunny again, and Sarah asked if he had a real name, and I explained the name of Jack. She seemed unconvinced, and said he needs "a more depressing name." I'm leaving it up to her to come up with one.

OMG CRAFT SWAP TOMORROW! SUPER EXCITING!

He's done! ^-^ Here he is posing on my couch with my first afghan. (Sorry about the not-so-fabulous quality; the light in my living room sucks.)

Some close ups of his face.

And a close up of the embroidery skull and crossbones.

I've half-decided to call the bunneh Jack after my LARP character for Scion, who is also an emo, but is a far cry from a bunny. Jack was an adventure in crafting, to say the least. Getting the ears to match the slits in the hood was tricky, but that was just the beginning. I think I got more than I bargained for with the emover; it took a lot of thought and creativity, as well as a good 45 minutes. Then came the skull and crossbones. I believe I mentioned I suck at embroidery, and if not, then I'm saying it now. But I am DAMN PROUD of how this turned out. It might just be the best thing I've ever embroidered (let that be the standard you judge my skills in embroidery, lol). After several attempts at just a skull that looked like some kind of abstract line art, I finally came up with the skull and crossbones idea, and that only took one try! And it looks really good! And I did it with my cheap plastic flimsy tapestry needle because I still can't find my good metal ones! Booyah!

My summer roommate Sarah thinks I won't trade this for anything at the swap. She might be right. He's going to be hard to part with, if I'm even able to. We'll see on Thursday. ^-^

So I didn't finish it BY dinner, but by dinner everything was done but the handle so I finished the handle, ate, then did the button and stitched it together. I was talking to Katie, my during-the-school-year roommate who is presently finishing up her study abroad in Vienna, while working, which is why it didn't get done sooner. But here it is!

Another angle.

Detail shot of the front. I break away from the pattern for the rings and make them more like funnels, since the frontmost one is made like a funnel and this way they all match, rather than have a funnel with three rings.

In my rush to finish and eat, I accidentally skipped over four rows of the handle. I didn't notice until I had bound off and was about to stitch it on and noticed how short it was. So I retied the yarn and threw four rows on the end. The result is a handle that's not exactly right, as it's supposed to be a more gradual narrowing, but it still looks good. Detail of handle (sorry it's sideways!).