Another baby- it's not mine

This baby is totally laying down, the picture is flipped upright so you can see the face...trust me, if I posted the picture of it on it's side you would be thinking the drawing looked really retarded anyway.

THIS, is not a commissioned piece. I'm drawing because I'm bored.

I keep re-typing this paragraph, and it never makes sense. So I will leave you simply with:

I drew a few things on Friday, I need to scan them and post (I'm lazy), On Saturday I went on an Art Supply Store binge, but only bought things at one store and not very much- We must be in a depression because that is just depressing. Sunday I knitted 10 rows on my sock, can someone please explain to me why my fingers and hands hurt so bad after 10 rows? Arthritis at 26? Oh yeah, and my mom and dad (my dad=the glue king) made a cupcake pin cushion for me this weekend...I'll take pics and post later. When my mom finishes my quilt (you know in December of 2012), I'll take pictures and post it as well. :P (just kidding mom, but quit breaking things and get to work on it, would you??? My lap is cold! HA! Totally kidding! Love you!)

One of those weeks

It's just been one of those weeks where this picture pretty much sums it all up for me.
Although, by getting this drawing done, I can now cross something off my "to-do" list that has been on there for eternity..."Work on flames tattoo design". Granted I still have a few more sketches to go before I can completely cross it off, but this is the first actual completed design I've finished for one particular individual (I'm sure he would like it tweeked).
I do like drawing tattoo designs for people, although I have yet to actually know anyone who requested one that got it put on themselves. Well...myself excluded. I'm thinking that any tattoos from here on out, that I get, will all be designed by me. You know. Because I'm like that.
Anyway.
I'm ready for it to be Saturday already. I don't know if I can take the hours left in this day and another 24 hours after that. Really. This week has been one of those screaming headaches, without the screaming headache. Full of mis-communication, co-workers who try to throw me under the bus for their mistakes, one blogger using my name and linking my information to a blog where she describes my name as well as 2 others as "strippers"- when this person doesn't even know me, and fall is still not here. Have I mentioned that I didn't knit all week? Yeah, I know. It's sad.
But I've been drawing. And that's all that matters.

ATC's and doodles

Just wanted to stop by and show you some of the ATC's that I've completed over the last two days. Again, these aren't for sale, but they are for trade. So if anyone is interested in trading Artist Cards, let me know (ASBTSF@gmail.com)



Also, I decided to work on stippling today. I haven't done any of that since college. It wasn't too bad. Although not my best work.

I'll probably be working on more ATC cards the rest of the week, unless I get any commissioned work, in which case we all know where my attention will be.

Hope everyone is having a wonderful week.

ATC anyone?

This weekend I went to my local Asel Art Supply (is it ok for me to want to live in the store?), and found some very interesting small items at the check out counter. Artist Trading Cards.
Holy crap, how have I not known about these? Anyway, I'm working on some. I won't be selling them. But I am offering up to trade with anyone else who is into the ATC. Feel free to comment, or email me (ASBTSF@gmail.com) and I'll be very happy to trade you cards via snail mail.

Parents make the darndest things

My dad is a wood worker- has been for awhile. However in the last several years he has turned his focus to wood turning. Once I told him that my friend Jessica was having knee surgery, and I thought that I should send her a "wood turned" cane- my dad got on it. It's hard to see from this photo- taken by my dad, but that light colored branch is actually the cane, and it was turned from a branch of a similar nature of that bush it's sitting against.

For a better view of the cane:

I don't know if she'll ever use the cane, but thought she would at least get a good laugh at the fact that I'm a smart ass and decided knee surgery= walking with a cane.
Anyway. I'll be shipping off her goody package probably later this evening or tomorrow at the latest.

So yeah, that's the big "secret" thing my parents were planning. Originally my mom was going to carve a horse head for the top, but after looking at it logically, as something Jess might actually use, decided that #1- the horse head would be very uncomfortable to hold, and #2- wouldn't be sturdy enough to support anyone's weight without it breaking. Hope you like it Jess!

The end to a relatively calm week

First things first- Can someone please do an exorcism on my car? It keeps turning up very odd looking spiders. I DO NOT LIKE SPIDERS. Or can someone send a memo to the spider police insisting on a new law for no spider hitch-hikers on my car?

I really wish I had gotten to take a different picture of this guy. You can actually see an orange band with a bazillion eyes when you look at it. How I got that close, is beyond me. I only got to take this picture and one really blurry one because he was not affraid of me or my camera and was running across the roof of my car right for me. did I mention that I DO NOT LIKE SPIDERS? Does this look like a scorpion without a tail to anyone else? I'm not having it! Spiders STAY OFF MY CAR!!!

On to the moral of this post:

This week has been pretty calm, I'm hoping that it's the calm before the storm. I managed to complete one commissioned drawing, that will be shipped out next week. I'm getting together with my parents this weekend to get the final piece for my friend Jessica's "knee surgery care package". I'll also be sending that out next week (her surgery is next Friday). And I started learning how to knit a sock.

This is only 3 days of work, and not 3 entire 8 hour work days full of knitting, mind you. Grand total probably about 4 hours of knitting here. It's so tiny it's hurting my hands. I had a co-worker ask me today if the sock was for an adult. Sadly it is, guess I'll be using the new steamer and blocking it...when it's done...in the year 2012.

I've actually got a pretty booked weekend of doing nothing art or knitting related, but I'm hoping to work on some stuff in between the other crazy things. I've also go to re-do part of my website content. I really need to stop working on that when I'm so sleepy that I can't think straight. Content should only be edited when I'm fully awake and high on life. So yeah, I'm going to do that at some point either this weekend or during the week next week. I also hope to get some more things done for Zazzle and get them up for sale. Anyone have exciting projects they are working on?

In a Funk and it's only Thursday

Have you ever had one of those days, where you woke up- you were really excited because the weekend was almost here; work was going well, and then BAM! The crap hits the fan? Or maybe it's not even that much crap, maybe someone just says something and you bristle up like a porcupine? Or someone sends an email and you can't tell if you are taking the meaning of it wrong or not, so then you spend hours upon hours wondering what it is that you did wrong? Yeah, I'm having one of those days.
Without going into a whole lot of details- one of the companies I used to work for has a google group, so we can all stay in touch, etc. etc. Someone made a comment yesterday about the Production Assistants that we worked with being "Coddled" (I would be one of them), and it's continued to snow ball- yet none of the PA's are even replying to the emails. I'm a littler per-turbed by the whole thing because being a PA is one of the most Thankless jobs on the planet already, people who are or were or who will be a PA don't need to be reminded of that. But because of those emails I'm just left dumbfounded and questioning every action I made at that job and others. Being treated like dirt on the bottom of a shoe is a tough enough job- I may not be one now, but there are days that I still feel like I'm sitting at the bottom of the barrell. Maybe that's why I ran as far away from the animation industry as possible...
Anyway
I started working on some socks yesterday. It's my first ones so I hope they turn out to at least resemble socks- I don't even care if they fit or not, as long as someone can look at them and go "Ah! Socks!" then it'll be alright.
I can't even draw right now I'm so flustered. People suck sometimes.

"Mr. Buddy"

The dog, which I have learned is actually called "Mr. Buddy", is complete.

Any questions, comments, concerns are welcome in the comments section (open to all), or feel free to email: ASBTSF@gmail.com

Getting back into animation, maybe...Last night was a wealth of knowledge from "the guys". Watching some of them learn how to better their animation, as well as listening to one of them teach the rest of us. It was good times. Did I draw? Um, no. I brought my laptop...and it froze up. Excuses, right? Yeah, well, I still learned alot. Unfortunately the animation guru might be moving far far away as his job will be history in a few weeks. That makes me really sad. And angry at myself for having dissappeared off the face of the earth for so long that I couldn't hang out with the guys prior to the last few months. If he moves, I wonder what the likelyhood of "the guys" having their weekly meetings will be? Sucks.
I'm completely finished with the dog drawing, but still waiting to hear back on approval before I post the final picture- once I hear back I'll post it though. Critiques are welcome.

my life in a nut shell...or on paper

I know, where has the time gone? It's only been, what? 10 minutes since my last post?

But I drew a little, and dug out my camera and decided to post a little something, something.

I got the idea for this while browsing a forum like 4 months ago. It's me, from the age of 5 until the age of 18 (I'm working on the later years).

This (to the left) is me at the age of 5. I had this really awesome hair cut from the time I had hair until probably 5th grade, bangs straight across, short in the back. It was truly a sight to behold (sarcasim). There are pictures of me from around this age, maybe younger, of me in a blue tank top and shorts. I remember wearing this outfit until I outgrew it- I loved it! Anyway, I remember my babysitter calling me "Chipmunk Cheeks" because I had, and still do have, gigantic cheeks.

But yeah, that's the gist of me at the age of 5. Not a whole lot of a story there. (a co-worker came up to me while I was drawing this and goes "and the story is?" and I just said "no story" and she goes "are you going to make one up?" I wanted to say "why would I make one up if it was real life?" but instead I just shook my head and bit my tongue and proceeded to continue)

When I was 12 I used to wear this pink sweatshirt, alot! It was painted by someone, for all I know it was my mom who painted it. But I remember there was some Native American Indian theme to it, and on the shoulder there were some painted feathers. My 6th grade substitute teacher, in front of the entire class, stopped me from walking across the room to tell me I had something on my shoulder- figuring that he was joking I was like "ha ha, yeah, it's called paint" and he starts laughing, pointing, and very loudly going "oh! I thought you had bird poop on your shoulder!!!" Needless to say, I very rarely wore that sweatshirt after that, and very rarely did my peers speak to me that year. Oh, to be back in the 6th grade...I would rather die.

By the time I reached High School I was very much...um...I don't know- quiet? shy? to-myself? High School is a very self-concious age (all 4 years, thank-you-very-much), so the baggy paints, shirts, oversized sweatshirts, backpack, and long hair in the face were a must. If I could have dyed my skin the color of the walls I would have. I just didn't want anyone to notice me- at all. But looking back on it, if I had known then what I know now- oh what a joyous time I could have been having, instead of trying to blend in to the surroundings. But I'm ok that I was the wall-flower. It probably kept me out of a whole lotta trouble.

And of course there's no time like my Senior Year. I had 6 art classes. I was glued to the back table, and the rocker in the back of Mr. D's art class. Always head down, looking at the paper- whether I was actually drawing anything or not. I had some joyous times in that room, one very horrible rant that I exploded at my evil tormentor from one of those classes, and 2 very large crushes of guys who sat very close to me. Don't get me wrong- I learned a crap-load of art-stuff from Mr. D. But who really takes away JUST what you learned in class? I have some very fond memories from High School, and some very horrible memories that I still slap my forehead because of.

Anyway, I will continue to go with the "my life in a nutshell" theme, and produce some more years in my life- hey! Maybe I'll work on that while I'm hanging out with "the guys". (they get the quotes. Because they are "the guys".)

"The guys"

Tonight I meet with "the guys". I'm determined to draw this time. I'm practicing right now...ok not really...right now I'm typing this...but maybe in a little while I'll draw a little something. I'm almost done with the dog...just a few more dark spots and a signature and we'll call it done- well, done until it gets approval or request for changes comes thru- which there were none the first go around. I was doodeling a little something earlier, but theres no point in describing it if there's no picture to show you...so it'll have to wait. What is with all of the "..."'s I'm doing? Geez, learn to type!
So anyway "The guys"- I'm not sure if I've mentioned them before or not. They are 4 guys that I've known since college that are very talented and crazy good artists. They make me laugh, therefore I hang out with them. Ok, the laughing part is just a plus, I hang out with them because they help motivate me to put the pencil to paper. I actually got out of the routine of hanging out with them for several years (long, therapy needed reasons for that- not going to go into that right now), and a few months ago started up again. I don't think I've ever actually drawn while hanging out with them. I usually hang around and watch them draw, which, honestly, I find creepy. Mainly because it drives me insane when people watch me draw...I don't know why...maybe I need therapy for that as well...much like I need therapy for these freakin' ".................." that I keep typing! AAAARRRGGGHHHH!!!!
A-N-Y-W-A-Y: So I'm brining my laptop and paper and drawing board tonight, to hopefully draw at least a line- whether on paper or on the computer. I think I just feel like I'm not good enough when I hang around them. Seriously, these guys are crazy talented. I get all excited for the "Tuesday meeting".
Ah well. I hope it goes well. I hope they don't ban me from coming over- I'm actually hoping that Gonzo gets off work early enough to show up this time, I think these guys think I'm making him up and just saying "he works alot" so they'll think I'm in a relationship. Seriously, he does exsist. He'll be in good "none drawing" company. The guy whose house we meet at is married, so his wife and 3 dogs will be there, and maybe one of the other guys will bring his girlfriend/fiance along- they can all sit in the corner and make fun of the fact that I "pretend to draw at the meetings".
On to practice drawing....
....
........................................
done and done...

Dog gone it!

Haha! I had to start over on the dog :( So sad I know. It's not done yet. But I sent an email to wait for approval from the requester. Once that's all approved, or changes are requested then I'll finish it up and post the final product.

So Ike was a pain when it went thru DFW, lots of rain, not too much wind, but yeah, the rain made me sleep all Saturday away. I could have been doing things...

I feel really awful for the people in Galveston and Houston, both for the people who didn't heed the warning and leave, and for those who have lost everything. Everytime I turn on the news it makes me want to volunteer for something, Red Cross, Salvation Army, who ever will take me. It also really makes me wish I was a millionaire. Just so I could donate some money- that way the organizations can buy the right supplies they need. I'm also considering donating blood. I've never done that before. When I was 18 and my High School had a blood drive, I wasn't elligable to donate because I had just gotten a tattoo. I went with a friend so she wouldn't be scared while she donated, and I almost passed out. Needles/hospital equipment + me= not a good combination. I went to try to donate while in college and that's when I found out I had anemia. Surely that's under control now- as I couldn't donate once they found that. I don't even know what blood type I am. Part of me hopes that I'm the same blood type as my mom- as she has one of the most needed blood types in the world (Don't ask me what that is). But part of me just really wants to help. These are my states people. I want to help.

The storm's a comin', the storm's a comin'!!!

Ah good 'ol hurricanes. Well not for the Gulf Coast people, but you know. There's the rain, the clouds, the wind, the flooding- you know..."The Good Stuff". Ok, it's not good, but it means that I get to eat microwave popcorn, drink sodas and order pizza and make the delivery man want to kill me because I made him drive to my house in the Tropical Storm conditions (by the time Ike gets to North Texas it will only be a Tropical Storm).
Well, this lovely "stay in doors" mentality gives me a ton of time to draw! I received a request this morning for a drawing! I'm overly excited!!! So excited that I did this outline quickly and started on the head...and well...I'm starting over. I know it's all rough, but I don't like where it's going. I may attempt to re-work this attempt this afternoon, but I think I would like to start fresh. We'll see. I'll post up more pictures later. (FYI, I dropped my camera on the ground yesterday. Concrete...it didn't break. Nor are there any defects happening. I'm in a state of shock.)

Big foot poop in a baggie

1. Ugly drawing:

I started drawing one of those babies from that forwarded email I was referring to earlier today...and OH MY LORD is it ugly. I'm not going to even start on the clothing. It's horrid (the drawing, not the photo I'm drawing from).

But at least I was in a drawing mood, right? So I kept drawing, designed some wrist tattoos that I would like to get (yes parents, wrist tattoos...one on my right that says "Draw" with a squiggly line under it and the tip of a pencil. and another one on my left that says "Knit"...so I can remember when I knit and purl my knitted rows are on the left... :) I'm lame. LOL.

So since I was still in the mood to draw after the ugliest drawing of a baby I have ever drawn (not entirely true, I actually drew a horrible picture of a co-workers niece that was gorgeous once...and started over before she saw it.) I decided to draw some Big Foot Sketches:

No, I am not one of the crazy people who will pay for a tour of some land that is "known" to have big foot walking around. If in fact big foot does exist, it's a wild creature. how do I know he won't come attack me if he felt like it? Or bite me. I have a very odd fear of creatures biting me...just running up and knawing on my leg or foot. Odd.

Anyway- yes I was crazy, glued to the news when there were reports of those idiots who claimed to have found a giant rubber suit with entrails in a freezer...I mean big foot. I figured it was a hoax. But with all of the new species people keep finding, or animals scientists thought were extinct, but keep popping up, I did want to believe that maybe, just maybe someone found one. It would have been kind of cool.

Which brings me to story time. I'm pretty sure I swore to my friend that I would never tell a soul about this, but I'm pretty sure I've told every living acquaintance the story, because I felt like such an ass (sorry mom, but it's the only fitting word here). So this "friend" of mine used to live in Seattle, and he would wander the woods at night, asking for trouble...I mean, hiking. He was afterall in search of big foot. One of these outings, he found "something" that he believed was "somethings" of big foots. So he picked it up and put it in a plastic baggie...to carry it around with him for 10 or so years. Until he meets me. He didn't tell me what it was, but grabbed the baggie in mid-story, where I go "oh yeah, Owl pellets. We dissected those in 6th grade". To which he immediatly threw the contents in the trash. He thought it was big foot poop. And I just went and shaddered his hopes and dreams. Seriously, I feel like an ass for that. I could have kept my mouth shut and he could have lived in blissful happiness for the rest of his life "knowing" that he had "bigfoot poop" in a baggie. But oh no. Open mouth insert foot! So yeah, Chad- if you ever read this, I'm really really really sorry that wasn't big foot poop. If I ever come across some though, I'll be sure to give you a call to redeem our friendship.

Part of me really likes to think that big foot is just a really tall, fat balding old guy who has a body hair growth problem. You know, especially with the reports from the south east where people say it has a horrible odor. To me it makes perfect sense.

I also some times think that it was just a really really tall gorilla that some how managed to live in the wild and mated with lord knows what to keep the "hurd" alive.

But then there's another part of me. Whose pretty sure this ellusive creature is actually just an unshowered, unshaved college Freshman who got lost after hitting the bong one night.

Or just got really drunk one night and lost in the woods...maybe hit his head on a tree branch and suffered some brain damage, so now he 1. doesn't know who or where he is, and 2. forgot how to speak.

But if there is "big foot" out there somewhere, I think it would be cool. I think it would be way cooler if there were unicorns and mermaids, and dragons, but I'd settle for a big foot. I just hope he's like Harry.

BAM!!!

See, you didn't really have time to be all that nice. I just seem to be in a better mood today.

Basically, after I made that purple and tan "pocket wallet" (name patent pending :P), and using it for the weekend, I decided it needed a little more...something...to make me feel safe that small objects that I was keeping inside weren't falling out of tiny holes. So I decided to fabric the inside (yeah sure, that's a real term right there "fabric the inside"). Plus, I felt that there needed to be a pocket inside of the wallet (hence "pocket wallet")- to prevent my phone from being scratched (too late for that, I scratched the crap out of the back of that thing 2 seconds after I got it). So voila! Granted this is the prototype. I attempted a stockinet stitch self stripping gray yarn yesterday and...well...It looks really pretty. But as for holding anything...unless it's small, it won't fit in there.
On the plus side, I'm totally in the mood to draw today. I've got a bunch of pictures to draw from the car show from Saturday, and I found some baby pictures that I had printed out from an email forward from back when I drew "Scary Leaf Head Baby". So maybe, just maybe I'll get a drawing done today. I finished the car drawing from earlier last week, 2 days ago, so I need something else to work on. Business has been ssssllllloooowwww. I'm guessing no one is thinking of Christmas...which is a quick 3.25 months away. I'm hoping for some commissioned drawings soon, just because I miss the rush of a deadline...and setting my own deadlines for drawings that aren't going anywhere just makes me go "hum, so I can push that date back, I'm a slacker". But if anyone is reading this and thinking "I want a drawing done, but it's kind of pricy". Just know that I don't charge shipping- anyone else who I've run into that does the same type of drawings charges more than I charge per drawing, and then charges shipping on top of that. No pressure though. Hand drawn portraits aren't everyone’s taste, and I totally understand. There's a lot of art work out there in the world that I'm not too keen on, so I wouldn't just go buying it because someone has time to make it. But if you are considering having me draw something for you, drop me a line and we can discuss it.

Slowest day ever

Aside from having eye issues yesterday and part of today, I have gotten some things accomplished.

If you are nice this week, I may show you the inside of this "pocket wallet" as I'm dubing it. Trust me, you will want to see that. But I'm not really in a posting/bragging mood.

I figured I should show the splatter paintings I've been working on...or worked on this weekend. The last 2 days it's been raining after work, so i can't spray the backs of the remaining ones...so here are the ones I finished this weekend:

I had to make a second Red splatter, purple background panel because Gonzo's aunt stole it, as you may recall. So I did this one. this is actually only a sliver of the entire thing. I got lazy with the photos. What can I say?

Ignore the flash in these, my camera hates where I live, so it's impossible to get rid of the glare. I actually really like this one, although not as much as Gonzo. This is actually partially see thru. I used a textured spray paint for the back, and oddly enough, 3 coats...heavy coats of the stuff, didn't make it non-see-thru (I've lost my vocabulary this afternoon...check back tomorrow.)

Weekend

I forgot my camera cord, so I can't upload any photos right now. Anyway, there's not a whole lot that went down this weekend, but here's an overview:

Saturday was the 1st Annual THEM- The Invasion Car show in Deep Ellum. That was freakin' awesome! It was a classic car show...and by classic, I mean mostly rods- one corvette showed up for about 20 minutes and left, obviously realizing that he was at the wrong car show, not your mom and pops classic cars, that's for sure (although some moms and pops were there with their awesome cars). I took lots of pictures and so did Gonzo, so I will have plenty of cars and bikes to draw for awhile. Not to mention enough inspiration for pinstripping that I may actually put brush to metal soon.
I got a wicked bad burn...again...while at the car show. Forhead and nose are nice and crispy, as well as the back and front of my neck, and my lower arms. At least this time I was smart enough to wear a t-shirt and not a tank top. One day I will wise up to the sun screen. One day.
Saturdays car show made me realize how much I want more tattoos. I've neglected getting more than the one I have because of work. I hate that work places won't accept that as art, and be done with it. Corporate America needs to loosen their ties a little. Freedom of Expression is needed more. Tattoos are sweet. I almost won a $100 gift certificate to get a tattoo done on Saturday...and by "almost won" I mean Gonzo bought a raffle ticket for me- the numbers weren't even close. But seriously, there were so many women there with sleeves done, or their entire legs covered that I was just like "I only want 1/10th of the number they have- what do they do for a living???"

Sunday was Zest Fest in Fort Worth. I wasn't that excited about it before I went, and during I was even less excited. A whole lot-a hot salsa's to sample made my stomach severly upset. I was surprised after only having gone down one aisle Gonzo threw in the towel and said "no more, I'm done"...so we just wandered amongst the 100s of others that were there until we had seen everything. Not all that exciting.
Saturday night Gonzo and I did paint up some more panels to hopefully either sell as is, or pinstripe and then sell. Hopefully I'll remember to grab the camera cord while at lunch, or I'll bring it tomorrow and upload some pretty photos.

Hope you all had a wonderful weekend.

Oh my pretty pretty yarn, what have you become?

So I knitted for awhile today. Actually for the entire day, I guess. I did get some work done, don't get me wrong. But yeah, it was a knitting fine Friday.

I started off completely knowing what I was doing, but telling any co-workers who asked that I was just messing around. Why ruin the surprise?

Basically, I cast on 25 stitches, then worked in stocknet stitch until the piece measured 10 1/2", then I worked one row for the button hole (instructions that I used can be found here.) Then I purled one row, knitted 1 row, purled one row, knitted 1 row, purled one row, and bind off.

Voila! My cell phone holder/wallet. I kind of like it. Granted I would totally do the top part where the button hole is different next time...I don't like all the folding in of the yarn...decreases on the sides next time. There will be a next time, you know?

Oh yeah, the size phone I made it for was the LG Shine size, and the size needles I used were US 5.
Anywho, thanks for letting me share.

The prettiest yarn I own

On my excursion to The Shabby Sheep, some many moons ago, I was almost to the check out when Gonzo darted off to go find the 2nd most expensive thing of yarn I own, while waiting for him to get back to the register, I saw this glorious hand painted yarn hanging on the wall. Hi! All my favorite colors wrapped into one tiny tiny ball!!! I wanted to buy anything that resembled these colors at that point...but the thing was $12.00...and it's tiny (180 yards)- Hello most expensive thing of yarn I now own (granted the Alpaca that Gonzo picked up was close to $30.00 I can at least knit on that for awhile)! Sure, the normal knitter would be all like "sweet! A pair of socks!" but I don't know how to make socks yet. So I'm going to be making a cellphone/wallet. Ask me how that looks or for the pattern, and I'm going to stare at you blankly. So far I've casted on about 30 stitches I think and I'm going with a stocknet stitch- past that I haven't gotten very far. I'll post pictures later of either the progress or the finished product.

Stare into it's beautiful colors and yarny yarnness...it'll make you want to drop a small fortune on it too...

What Koolhaas Hat?

Don't adjust your screen. That IS a Roll Brim Hat. I got frustrated with the Koolhaas hat. Not that it's all that difficult, I'm just not good at remembering numbers, or what I did 5 minutes ago, let alone trying to remember what stitch I'm in the middle of doing when the phone rings and I have to answer it, "Thank you for calling the place that I work at, do you know which stitch in this chart I am on? Why did you call then?"

Anyway- I totally forgot what part I am on in this blog...you know...work and all. Meh. LOL, JUST KIDDING- I LOVE MY JOB!!!

Ok, so can I just say that the 90210 theme (from the 90's) is stuck in my head right now? Yeah, well it is. **Omitted due to seeing the episode where Dylan and Kelly finally become a couple- I forgot about that one.**

Back to the hat. Wow, side tracked much? Yeah I finished that hat in about 5 hours today. In between answering phones, typing invoices, and listening to co-workers. (so probably more like 3.5 hours)

Anyway, the hat and mittens are done for Jessica, my friend in Wisconsin who is going to have knee surgery at the end of the month. I'm working on a few other goodies to throw in the care package, and still waiting on my parents hand made gift to send as well.

And for all the naysayers who are going "why did you make black knitted goods?" it's because I knitted this girl a pair of convertable mittens forever ago that were black and green, and specifically remember her saying she liked black and green...and well...black goes with everything. Does that make sense?

Stuff and Things

A new project that I'm working on. Don't be surprised if you don't see the completed drawing just yet. It may actually be quite some time before you see the completed drawing, not because I'm so slow or anything, but because this is for this thing that I can't talk about just yet. As soon as I'm able to talk about it I will...but don't look for that post anytime before next year.

So I watched the new 90210 last night (I DVR'd it because I was occupied on Tuesday night and wasn't close to my TV). I have to say that all of the negative reviews for it are a little odd. I tried to watch this, as if I had not seen the original, and in the mind set of a person who is in the demographic. Honestly, even as a 26 year old who has seen the original 90210, I found it to be highly entertaining. Sure there were similarities between the original and this one, sure they had characters in common, sure there were unbelievable moments of "only on tv". But I'm also currently DVR'ing the original 90210 on the Soap net, and can verify that the original was just as unbelievable, just as badly scripted, and contained skinny anerexic looking girls. I loved the original 90210, loved the original cast, watched all 10 years of it. While I'm not still in the same teenaged mind-set that I was while watching the original, originally- I can see where I think they did a good job of making this one. Teenagers today do actually act like the actors on the show. The only thing I can't get past is the fact that the main girl- the one who moves with her family to Beverly Hills- is from Degrassi- The Next Generation- also a show that I got into. She's basically playing the same role. I think it's kind of funny how Degrassi was a long running show in the 80's, then in the 90's and it's still going...on it's 3rd or 4th adaptation now. Hello 90210. Is that what they are trying to do with it?

Anyway. I do like the new 90210. Will I still watch? If I'm home when it's on I will. I like seeing Kelly and Brenda and finding out what the characters are up to now. I really think that they should have done a spin off of "what is the orginal cast of characters up to now". I think it might not have gotten as many bad reviews. But for what it's worth, I enjoyed it. Which means that they will probably cancel it.

Enough of my soap box. I completed-completed the green scarf (meaning I sewed in the loose ends so they aren't flying around being all crazy),and delivered it to the green scarf loving co-worker- who wore it like a movie star yesterday!

I'm having difficulties with the Koolhaas hat, so I'm setting it aside for the time being. Although I can't do that for very long, as I have to get that package out to my friend having knee surgery relatively soon.

I may just frog the whole thing and make her a roll-brim hat, so I'm not under so much pressure to get it done.

some of the many photos I owe

Giant orange splotches. With some dirt. That's the hood of my car currently. The spot actually resembles the continent of Africa, so there's always that. Too bad the paint was tacky when I drove it to work yesterday. Now there's all of this crap stuck to the orange. Oh well, I was getting bored with the silver color anyway.

If anyone knows of a great way to get enamel paint off of a surface without taking the clear coat of the cars paint off, it would be completely awesome if you would share your secret with me.

This is the new technique of painting Gonzo taught me this weekend. It's not a new technique per-say...more of a "I didn't know how to do it myself, this way" technique. That's plexi-glass, and what you're looking at is the clear side of it, there's no paint on that side. Trippy, huh? Maybe once I learn to pinstripe this will look even cooler? We'll see.

Ok, and now I have to warn you, shield your eyes from the coming monstrosity. It's hideous, and might make you vomit.

You can't say I'm not warning you. Just please, shield your eyes...you may even want to ask small children to leave the room, and people with epilepsy to look away as I don't want my blog to be the cause of any siezures...

Seriously I'm not kidding about the warning.

This is it. Taped lines, squiggly lines, some yellow splotches, and it was supposed to be orange for a background color, but unfortunately I didn't check the can before leaving Home Depot and I picked up the rejected can of "hey, everyone in the store try it and don't clear it before returning it to the shelf"- so I got about 3 sprays out of it before it clogged completely and couldn't breathe anymore life into it...there-by resorting to black, which kind of makes it look like vomit.

I'm not happy with it, let's just say that.

I had another one, beautiful actually. It was way bigger than these two, with Red and Purple- I loved it! We took it to Gonzo's mom's house and his aunt was there, and fell in love with it. I let her take it. Unfortunately I let her take it before I got any pictures of it. Too bad the same can't be said for "swirly vomit" up there.

things to share but no photos

I have stuff. Lots of stuff to share, but no photos of any of it.
1. I painted this weekend using a new technique Gonzo showed me so I can have a background when learning how to pin-stripe
2. I knitted. Not one whole project, but I started a Koolhaas hat which isn't looking like the picture, so I might have started it wrong, we'll see.
3. I taught Gonzo's mom the beginning stages of knitting- although we have nothing to show of that, I just wanted to share that bit of info.
4. My car has an orange spot on the hood due to a misplaced wet drop cloth...go orange spray paint (good bye resale value)!
5. Zazzle.com goodies up for sale- look to the right, that's what I have so far. I also have a Christmas card that I'll post later once it looks good. FYI on the blue shirt with "Anywhere But Here" as the title- for some reason Zazzle isn't recognizing that the .jpg file doesn't have a background color so it's filling it with white, so that title shirt is only available on light colored shirts- I'll attempt to adjust and make it available for darker shirts later on- or if anyone has any suggestions, who has maybe worked on zazzle, as to how I can use the same image (without making white transparent- as this lightens the color dramatically on this image) on darker clothing- it would be greatly appreciated!
6. It's September already! Get those Christmas/Holiday orders in soon!!! I have lots of time to work on them!!!