Hand/Eye/Mind/Mouth

Reform School Girl

2012-01-30T14:15:00.000-08:00

Thrill-Crazy! Speed-Crazy! Mad-At-The-World Crazy!

Another fun and feisty embroidery, from Sublime Stitching's Mitch O'Connell pack.

12-Month Recipe Challenge Recap

2012-01-19T17:42:00.000-08:00

I have to admit, I’ve kind of been dreading this post. I knew it was coming about sometime in mid-October, but denial is a sweet and powerful drug. Alas, the tincture bottle is empty, and I now have to face the harsh reality...my 12-Month Cookbook challenge was a flop.

Okay, maybe “flop” is a bit of a strong word. However, it didn’t have a very strong start out the gate, and as the months ticked by the project began to falter further. First it was simply recipes tried and photographed, but not posted. Then it was no recipes tried. Then it was new recipes from the same cookbook. Then it was a new recipe from a new blog…you see where this went. Utter chaos.

I kicked off with the Lentil and Toulouse (heh, Kielbasa) Sausage Casserole in January, and skipped February. I doubled up with Irish Car Bomb Cupcakes in March (cake and frosting!).

The two I photographed but didn’t share were April’s “Aunt Joyce’s Brownies” from I Like You: Hospitality Under the Influence by Amy Sedaris, and May’s Double Lemon Bars from The Bon Apetit Cookbook.

That’s where things just petered out. Somewhere in the following months I did try the Marlboro Man Sandwich from the Pioneer Woman Cooks, a batch of Blueberry Ginger Freezer Jam from my old standby, the Better Homes & Gardens cookbook, and a wacky smoothie from a writing blog. I had another surge in November with Thanksgiving, with Roast Spice Turkey from Sunset Magazine and some new side dishes, but they didn’t get a post either.

In total, I tried about ten new recipes. I managed to properly post about three.

So, what has this taught me? Several things, but primarily that my priorities are pretty far from the kitchen! I do love cooking and baking…when I have the time.

I close the book on this experiment with a sort of odd satisfaction. I gave it a go, and it didn’t work out as planned. I did get to try some new recipes, and my kitchen confidence grows every year. I recently moved into a new apartment, with a bigger, sexier kitchen (granite countertops!), and I can already feel the rumblings of culinary inspiration. I’ll be cooking much more this year, but I just won’t be trying to document the process!

Bangkok: Sampeng Market (This ain't JoAnn's)

2011-11-15T06:00:00.000-08:00

With all the flooding going on in Thailand right now, Bangkok has been on my mind a lot lately. I felt the urge to go back and share some of the happy times I had there this summer. It's resilient city, and I know, with time, it will recover. My heart goes out to the good people in this trying time.

When I was in Bangkok this summer, one of my favorite days was the crafty "girl's day out" my Thai hostess invited me to. We left the husbands and her kids snoring away, and were on the road by 8 a.m. to discover the crafty treasures awaiting us in the labyrinthine corridors of the Sampeng Market.

Located in Chinatown, this market tends to be a bit off the tourist trail. Though, if you have a crafting bone in your body, Sampeng is a must-see. It's jam-packed with fabrics, notions, yarns, and beads, as well as hair decorations, school supplies, toys, clothing, housewares, and "exotic" snacks (oh, how I miss you, salted snow plums). Even better, it's all relatively inexpensive, though it really helped that I was with a local who could help me haggle.

Our first crafty stop was at one of the biggest bead stores in the market. I was drawn in by the walls lined with bags of colorful sequins, and followed the glittery trail back to find a cavernous room lined with sacks of rhinestones and beads. It took me a bit to explain to the nice employees that I wanted smaller quantities of beads, not smaller sizes of beads themselves, but once I did I walked out with some gorgeous rhinestones and hand-made polymer clay flowers.

After a bit more shopping for hair accessories and gifts (as well as a new pair of embroidery scissors to replace the ones confiscated in Taipei), we stopped for lunch. We simply stepped out of the flow of traffic to a noodle vendor, and perched ourselves at the wee stall-side table while they cooked up our meal on the spot.

I have to admit, I felt a bit like an adult sitting at a child's table, though by then I was getting used to being the biggest person around. You can see just how little the stools were from the background of this picture. Comfy for Thais, not so much for plus-size Farang women.

After a tasty lunch, we browsed some more. I was in high shopping mode. I picked up a Japanese quilting magazine for my mom, tons of beautifully patterned cotton fabric, numerous spools of thread, and some fine crochet yarn for my friend back home. It was a beautiful, crafty haul.

I haven't begun projects with most of the materials yet, but I'm waiting for the right ideas to strike. These are once-in-a-lifetime treasures for me, so when I finally do make something, I want it to be the right something.

A Reminder to the Writer

2011-11-08T06:00:00.000-08:00

A little reminder I stitched up to put by my writing desk. Made with Sublime Stitching's Sexy Librarians pattern set (and non-bleeding floss).

I did the majority of the stitching during my downtime in Bangkok this summer. I'm really glad I took it with me. It may sound hokey, but crafting does provide a common bond across language and culture barriers. My host's Thai mother-in-law perked up when she saw me pull out my hoop and thread, and scurried to show me the crochet she was working on. Suddenly, we had something we could "talk" about, even with just smiles and appreciative sounds.

A little tip to crafters traveling internationally: be sure to check the carry-on regulations for all the airports you're connecting to. Though my pretty little gold scissors were okay at SFO, they were confiscated at our connecting flight in Taipei. Oh well.

Tara McPherson Embroidery

2011-11-01T07:00:00.000-07:00

I'm doing a little catch-up with the embroidery posts. Though I haven't been sharing, I've still been stitching.

I do most of my stitching while my husband reads to me, and now that the semester's well under way there's lots of evenings spent curled up reading and stitching. Especially since we're currently in book two of George R.R. Martin's A Song of Ice and Fire series. So lots of good books = lots of fun stitching.

This is one I finished back in July. Tara McPherson is one of my favorite visual artists (so much so that I hunted down all 10 issues of the Vertigo comic The Witching, and I have to say, sadly, that her covers were the best part). So, I was over the moon when Sublime Stitching brought her on as a guest artist to make a pattern pack.

I carefully selected my colors, deciding on a rich, jewel-toned palette for this piece. It was a simple enough design, so the colors would really make it pop. It does. I loved how it came out...until I went to wash the finished piece.

You can't tell in very well from the photo, but the colors actually ran. I'd used a batch of no-name floss and the pink and purple bled permanently into the snowy white fabric.

At first, I was crushed. This was my first encounter with floss-color-bleed ruining a piece, and of course it had to be on the Tara McPherson pattern I'd waited so long to stitch.

However, the more I look at it, the more I like the look. It seems appropriate for this figure to have a hazy purple halo and a heart who's color bleeds gently across her chest. Thematically, it works.

I'm still not sure if I'm going to hoop her and add her to the growing wall of stitch, but at least I've come to peace with her.

Moral of this story: check to see if you floss will bleed when you try a new brand. Especially a no-name brand.

Little Halloween Friends

2011-10-25T18:36:00.000-07:00

This is what happens when I have a free afternoon, some polymer clay, and an urge to indulge my inner mad scientist: I create my own little army of mini-monsters!

It began simply enough. If I was going to have a squad of adorable creatures, I would have to start with the basics: Frankenstein's monster, an iconic vampire, and a loyal Wolfman. Meet Frank, Drac, and Wolfie.

I couldn't just stop there. Though there's something to be said for the classics, one must keep up with the times, especially when it comes to ghoul-making.

Thus, I included two of my personal favorite movie monsters, Pinhead from Hellraiser, and the Repo Man from Repo: The Genetic Opera. It only seemed appropriate, since I was watching Repo while sculpting my wee, fiendish pals.

Each of these are only about 2 inches high (which made some of the details a challenge). These were so much fun to make, I have a feeling my macabre menagerie will grow before the year is out. Friendly monsters are always welcome in my home, no matter what holiday it is!

Branching Paths

2011-09-25T16:37:00.000-07:00

For years, I've identified myself as a "jill-of-all-trades." My posts of late have felt a bit like drawing cards from a tarot deck, showing a different face each time: The Writer, The Filmmaker, The Crafter, The Geek, The Cook, The Traveler.

Makes for a bit of scattered reading, no?

So, after a bit of soul-searching, I've decided that it would be best to create separate spaces for the separate parts of my life.

My writing and filmmaking have become increasingly more active, and though this is wonderful for me, I understand most of my visitors to HEMM are here for cute crafts and tasty treats.

So, I've created a new blog devoted exclusively to my writing and filmmaking.

I have grand plans for this new little blog, including:

Advice and musings on the writing process, from inception to promotion.
A chronicle of my adventures in filmmaking as I launch into production of my latest short horror film, Inner Critic.
Book, comic, and movie reviews for stories that I truly consider "bloody good."

Hand/Eye/Mind/Mouth began as -- and shall remain -- my crafty space.

I hope some of you will join me over at Bloody Good Stories. If not, no hard feelings. I'll still be around here for a spot of stitching!

"Eldorado" now available from Red Stylo Media

2011-08-15T00:16:00.000-07:00

I am incredibly proud to announce the release of my first-ever comic book story, "Eldorado."

From the press release:

The digital release of "Eldorado," written by Sherezada Windham-Kent with art by Alex Cormack, is available now!

The sun sets on a 300-year quest for fabled gold and glory in this Zombie Western comic by film director, Sherezada Windham-Kent, and Alex Cormack. Inspired by Edgar Allan Poe's poem, "Eldorado".

The digital version is packed with EXCLUSIVE bonus content, including alternate covers and messages from the artists. This content will ONLY be available in the digital edition!

Download will be $1.99 in the RSM store and on DriveThruComics.com (soon also to be released on Graphic.ly and iVerse.) Read more about this and all of the stories in the POE TWISTED Anthology at www.TwistedPoe.com, published by RED STYLO MEDIA!

Feeling a little giddy right now!

And the winner is...

2011-08-10T21:01:00.000-07:00

My ultra-high-tech randomizer picked Looloolooweez as the winner of my 101 posts giveaway! Lest you accuse me of falsifying the results, I assure you that I used a trusted third party system (ie: Professor Lefty).

Thanks to everyone who entered! It's always good to hear from ya'll, so don't be strangers, now, y'hear? I promise, some crafty goodness is on the horizon. Most projects got put on hiatus for the summer, but now that my suitcases are back in the closet, my fingers are itchin' for some stitchin'. And typing. Lots of typing.

Sights of Thailand: Nutshell Edition

2011-08-03T18:31:00.000-07:00

"And this is Selma dropping off our vacation film to be developed.
Thus concludes our Mexican Odyssey."

So, to keep this from turning into an, endless, Patty-and-Selma like slideshow of vacation photos, I've done the seemingly impossible and picked a handful of my favorite sightseeing pictures from the trip. These are what summed up our time in Thailand, and they may not always be what you expect.

1. Temple Time

We saw three of Bangkok's most famous temples in one whirlwind day: Wat Arun, Wat Phra Kaew in the Grand Palace, and Wat Po, home of the Reclining Buddha.

Wat Arun, as seen from a longboat on the Chao Praya River.

The Reclining Buddha, resting his 145ft-long self.

The temples of the Grand Palace.

The Emerald Buddha in his summer regalia. The King
changes the Buddha's attire to match the seasons: summer, rainy, and cool.

2. Culture Clash

Western culture done Eastern style. Amusing at times, disconcerting at others.

Cap makes his presence known in the Kingdom.

A McDonald's stand in the Skytrain Station.
No, I didn't try the McChicken Porridge.

Ronald giving us the wai. That clown gets around.

My nightly poison: Cuban rum with Scweppes Manao soda.

3. We're not in Kansas anymore...

Just when I thought I had a grip on Thailand, a baby elephant would walk down the street.

A 2-year old elephant makes the rounds
at the night market at Hua Hin.

Spirit houses were more commonplace than tagging,
though the latter is on the rise.

I made an ass of myself by not realizing the leftmost
icon meant "monks," not "mummies."

Airport employees include "touching up the statues of
demon guardians" to their job descriptions.

Next up in the series: The Tastes of Thailand.

101 Posts Giveaway!

2011-08-01T16:17:00.000-07:00

Photo by Shirley Booth

This is post 101 on my blog!

It's been a little over 3 years in the coming, but that doesn't make this any less special. In these three years, I've started and lost jobs, made and pimped my first short film, and traveled to new corners of the world. I've also watched my embroidery skills grow, my knitting skills kinda flounder, and my repertoire of recipes expand.

More importantly, I've met all sorts of wonderful new folks with this blog. To my fellow crafters, writers, and geeks, I just want to say "thank you" for reading, whether you started reading at post one or post one hundred.

I think this calls for a celebration, don't you?

In honor of my 101 posts, I'm doing my first ever giveaway! I've created a little mini-prize package that I think reflects the nature of this blog:

A DVD copy of my film, Everything I Needed to Know About Zombies I Learned from the Movies
A Sublime Stitching pattern pack, Molly Crabapple
A set of recipe cards from BoyGirlParty
A pack of pretty, handmade flower beads straight from the Sampeng market in Bangkok
A felt heart pincushion with some "wooden stake" quilting pins, each made by me

Leave a comment below by midnight PST on Tuesday, August 9, letting me know why you read this blog (is it the embroidery? The sporadic cross stitch patterns?) and I'll pick one winner at random.

It's the least I can do to say "thank you!"

Sawasdee Ka Krung Thep (Hello, Bangkok)

2011-07-27T19:07:00.000-07:00

Krung Thep means City of Angels, but we are happy to call it Bangkok if it helps to separate a farang from his money. –John Burdett, Bangkok 8

When we arrived in Bangkok, it was after 14+ hours in the air. So, everything had a sort of dreamlike quality for the first day or so as our bodies adjusted their biorhythms from Pacific Standard to Indochina Time.

I’ll always remember when we entered Bangkok proper for the first time. As our taxi swept down from the expressway into midday Bangkok traffic, a strange sense of familiarity flooded me. It wasn’t just the billboards for Western movies and products, or even the landscape of high rises jutting into the milky sky.

It was the near-claustrophobic crush of humanity right at street level: brightly painted taxis, spindly tuk tuks, and hordes of weaving motor-scooters. Vendors would casually navigate between the packed lanes, selling snacks and flower garlands. The BTS Skytrain glided above all the commotion like a sleek, pale eel as we neared Sukhumvit Road (essentially Main Street, Bangkok), marking our destination.

It took me a minute to pinpoint where the nostalgia was coming from. Then it hit me: the urban soup of Bangkok was not too unlike that of the Third World metropolis of my childhood, Mexico DF. Half a globe away from my continent, and suddenly I knew I was going to be alright. I could navigate this, even with a huge language barrier.

Our basecamp was a condo right in downtown, which was being rented for the summer by a good friend of ours and his wonderful family. They graciously put us up for the two weeks of our stay, and were the best guides we could have hoped for as we not only navigated the ins-and-outs of the City of Angels, but the way of living in Southeast Asia.

Next up in the series: The sights of Thailand.

Berkeley to Bangkok

2011-07-22T23:14:00.000-07:00

Lordy, no posts since May? What kind of a blogger am I?

The traveling kind, I'm proud to say. I just spent the last two weeks in Southeast Asia (primarily Bangkok, Thailand, with three days in Siem Reap, Cambodia). I've been back in the USA about 24 hours, and I'm already at the keys. I'm jet-lagged and a little culture-shocked, but otherwise feeling good. A mix of sadness that it's all over, pride that we made it, and quiet relief at being home.

Bangkok is a metropolis unlike any I've ever visited before. Just like Thailand's prize dish, Som Tam (green papaya salad), Bangkok is a unique mix of sweet and sour, pungent and spicy. The air is humid this time of year, richly infused with the scents of lemongrass, diesel fuel, incense, and river water. You can find centuries-old temples and posh super-malls within a few Skytrain stops of each other. Cuisine ranges from street-cart noodles to luxurious, five-star dining. People from all around the globe gather here to shop, eat, and play: from middle-age Anglo men hunting for flesh to Burqa-clad women hunting for designer shoes. Not to mention thirty-something American writers hunting for inspiration.

How can I sum up the experience in just one post? I can't. So, over the next few days, I'll be posting a special series about the things we saw, tasted, heard, and did. Don't worry, crafting will be included. Promise.

For now though, it's time to unpack the bags, do some laundry, and catch up on my email. It'll take a few days to get back into the swing of things, but if there's one thing travel abroad has taught me, is to go with the flow.

Isabela's Fortune

2011-05-22T09:00:00.000-07:00

I’ve had poor Isabela here hanging on my wall for nearly two months, staring at me accusingly. With everything that has been going on, though, I just haven’t had time to photograph the poor girl before now.

Why name her Isabela? Well, it’s almost embarrassing to admit, but the pattern bore a striking resemblance to one busty pirate captain from a certain favorite video game. Yup. She’s named after Dragon Age 2’s Isabela.

I modeled the color scheme after the character’s, and even went so far as to add the little labret piercing under her lip. Yes, I'm a geek. What's new?

She was made using Sew Lovely Embroidery’s Mad Ink pattern set, which I think may be my favorite pattern pack ever.

It was a pretty straight-forward piece, all done with back stitch, with a little satin stitch and a few French knots to make it interesting. The most experimental I got was to tweed the floss (mixing navy blue and turquoise) to give her kerchief the illusion of pattern.

I painted her hoop a nice turquoise to match, which looks really neat hanging next to the purple one for my glow-in-the-dark Calavera (also from the same Sew Lovely pack). I’m envisioning a whole wall filled with colorful-hooped embroideries and cross stitching. It’s pretty well on its way!

Nightmares, Comics, and Travel Plans

2011-05-20T12:07:00.000-07:00

Aside from waxing nostalgic for ’80s movies and updating my blog layout, there’s been quite a bit stirring in my corner of the world.

A Nightmare on Van Ness Street

Some of the most exciting news I received recently is that my film, Everything I Needed to Know About Zombies I Learned From the Movies, will be participating in A Nightmare to Remember International Horror Film Festival.

The fest takes place Saturday, June 18 at San Francisco's Opera Plaza Theater. Join us for three hours of indie shorts, trailers, and general horror movie shenanigans, all presented by Horror Hostess Miss Misery (an awesome woman I had the pleasure of meeting at Wondercon this year). If you can’t make it, please wish me luck!

Panel by Panel

In other horror-related news, I also spent a good deal of time working on my very first comic book project. I learned a huge amount about comic scripting in a very short amount of time thanks to an excellent, patient editor (Enrica Jang, who is a marvelous comic writer herself. Check out her comic Azteca).

At this point, it’s all in the (very capable) artist’s hands, and soon I’ll have a link to share. All I can say is that it involves zombies (natch) and a certain favorite storyteller of mine.

Summer Plans

As if a film festival and comic project weren’t enough, there’s some big news on a more personal front: the Professor and I are in the midst of planning our first international trip together! We’ll be spending two weeks this summer in beautiful Thailand (mostly in Bangkok), hosted by some very generous friends. It still feels very surreal, but incredibly exciting.

Photo by D.Alyoshin

We haven’t had an adventure of this caliber since…well, ever! So, any tips and tricks for these newbie globe-trotters is most welcome.

From Andie to Iona

2011-05-17T11:24:00.001-07:00

As part of my overall plan to gradually simplify my living space, I recently purged much of my old VHS collection. I had three piles: Goodwill, keep, and buy DVD first. In the handful of films that warranted “upgrading” was my favorite film from high school, Pretty in Pink.

Oh, Pretty in Pink. It was already considered “old” when I discovered it, having been released 10 years before. But even with the ’80s time-capsule element, the characters and story resonated with the little DIY-goth-misfit that I was. I loved the film so much that I would break up my all-black wardrobe with baby-pink cardigans now and again.

So, when I got my new, shiny Pretty in Pink DVD last week, I devoted an entire afternoon to reliving Andie’s trials (and eventual triumph), and letting the nostalgia wash through me.

Except, a strange thing happened while I watched. There was the nostalgia, yes. However, I found myself relating more with a different character. Not just love-struck Andie, but her mentor, Iona.

Iona. Who is hip, funny, wise...and admits to being 15 years older than 17-year old Andie.Who pretends that teenage Duckie is her son to get him into the nightclub.

Who's prom memories involve a beehive wig and The Association’s 1966 hit “Cherish.”

It hit me, watching her comfort poor, brokenhearted Andie: it’s finally happened. I’ve graduated from being Andie to Iona.

Everyone has those “holy crap, I’m a grown-up!” moments. For a lot of folks, it’s when they become parents. For others, it’s when they buy a house, or land their first salaried job. For some film buffs, it’s when you start relating to different characters in films.

Okay, let’s be fair. A lot has happened recently to reinforce this new, “grown-up” feeling, such as creating my own career in the midst of a shitty job market, and planning for my first trip to Asia. But watching Iona serve Saturday tea in a cyberpunk-inspired cheongsam dress drove the feeling home.

Don’t think this is a complaint. Not at all. Back when I was a teen, I hoped to one day grow up to be a woman as unique, sweet, and well, cool as Iona. It’s a neat feeling to look around at my life, and see I have a few of those personal goals nailed. My wardrobe may not be as fabulous, but hey, I do have a cheongsam dress squirreled away in the back of my closet in case someone comes over for tea.

Ever had one those movie moments? Watching a film you loved when you were younger, and realizing that you relate to a different character now?

(BTW, If you're a Pretty in Pink fan, check out this great post from On This Day in Fashion about Andie's WTF prom dress.)

Star Wars Easter Eggs

2011-04-24T12:47:00.000-07:00

To those who celebrate it, I hope you have a happy Easter!

Today, I'm extra happy. I've had my Easter miracle (thank you, computer, for not dying after I spilled water on you), my brother's coming over for a fancy holiday dinner, and I actually finished crafting in time! Hell yeah.

Not just regular crafting, but some super-geek crafting. I couldn't help it. I had two extra paper mache Easter eggs in the pack after I painted them for my mantle. Of course they had to be Star Wars!

The details aren't perfect, as I had a hard time wrapping my mind (heh, I'm punny) around the three-dimensional helmet designs, but they're close.

They look so cute, sitting amongst my colorful Easter decorations. They were a lot of fun to make, too. It's been too long since I've played with my paints!

Maybe next year I'll add to the collection, make some Rebel eggs to duke it out with the Imperial eggs.

Embroidered Dice Bag

2011-04-14T18:46:00.000-07:00

I managed to squeeze in a bit of crafting before I got taken out by the double-whammy of Con and cold. The Professor’s birthday was at the end of March, and he had been dropping hints that he needed a new bag to hold his gaming dice. I was more than happy to oblige!

This was the perfect excuse to break out the brand-spankin’ new sewing machine my Mama gave me as an early birthday present. I don’t know why I hadn’t given it a run sooner! It’s truly a thing of beauty:

It’s a computerized machine, which is a light year leap from the antique Featherweight I’d been struggling with for months. Though I still love the old girl dearly, there’s really nothing like a sewing machine that is wholly and completely yours to bond with.

It only took me a couple hours to fully put together the bag, which is made from up-cycled denim from a pair of torn jeans. The embroidered emblem is the symbol of the Codex of Ultimate Wisdom, from the old Ultima computer games. It’s a game that the Professor loved as a child, and I thought it’d be appropriate for a dice bag.

He truly loved it. It was nice to finally be able to craft something just for him that he’d actually enjoy and use, as opposed to the knit scarves I keep trying to hoist off on him!

I'm really looking forward to tackling some other sewing projects, and learning some new skills. Is it too ambitious to think I can sew a sundress by summertime?

Secret Breakfast Ice Cream

2011-04-11T11:11:00.000-07:00

What a great weekend. Got some work done on some important projects, started a new co-op video game with the Professor (yay Lego Harry Potter), and went to the first outdoor dinner party of the season. Productive, relaxing, and fun.

The food at the party was delicious: roast lamb with mint sauce, oven-roasted purple potatoes, and sauteed mustard greens. However, what keeps haunting me is the ice cream that one of the guests brought for dessert.

I'd never even heard of Humphry Slocombe Ice Cream before yesterday. This made me doubly sad since it opened just a few blocks from one of the offices I used to work for back in my nonprofit days.

We sampled two flavors, Blue Bottle Vietnamese Coffee and Secret Breakfast. What's so secret about this breakfast? Perhaps it's the toasted cornflakes. Or maybe it's the Jim Beam.

I am not a whiskey person at all. But the combination of creamy sweetness, crispy cereal bits, and bourbon bite had me almost swooning.I'd never had anything like it. Paired with the coffee flavor, it was the perfect decadent breakfast-themed dessert.

I think a visit to my old work-stomping grounds may be in order soon. Check out this list of flavors that Humphry Slocombe offers. I'm so very curious about the Russian Imperial Stout flavor. Or the Peanut Butter Curry. Or Government Cheese. Or...

[Photo by Krista Garcia]

WonderCon 2011

2011-04-06T12:46:00.000-07:00

I’m still feeling a bit loopy from a cold that’s had me on the ropes for a few days, so forgive me if I don’t make much sense. Today is my first day wearing real clothes (as opposed to pajamas) since Sunday.

So, aside from sniffling and coughing, what have I been up to? A little of everything: some crafting, some writing, some gaming, some good lifestyle changes. It’s been a busy time.

The pinnacle of the past few weeks was definitely San Francisco’s WonderCon. It boasts the same geeky spectacle as the huge San Diego Comic Con, but on a slightly more manageable scale.

I spent a glorious two days networking with other filmmakers, writers, artists, and crafters. I got to see some great costumes:

Potter Puppet Pals!

Repo! The Genetic Opera

Meet some interesting people:

Lloyd "Troma" Kaufman

The Mistress of the Dark herself.

And shop for some cool stuff:

Spoiled Cherry

The highlight of it all, though, was meeting Max Brooks.

He’s the man responsible for the Zombie Survival Guide, as well as World War Z (one of my favorite books). He gave a great talk. He’s funny, intelligent, geeky, and genuine. The kind of guy you want on your team for pub trivia night.

When I went to Comic Con last year, I gave him a copy of Everything I Needed to Know About Zombies I Learned From the Movies. Honestly, I had half expected he hadn’t watched it.

Imagine my surprise when he said that he had enjoyed it very much. It had creeped him out. It reminded him of an early Romero film, and he could see the passion of the cast and crew behind it. Gathering up my courage, I then asked if he’d be willing to give me a quote for the film. Right there, on the spot, he scrawled one out on the back of the DVD jacket:

Holy crap! My little six minute zombie comedy was not only watched by the man who helped revive the zombie genre, but actually endorsed. I’m still on cloud nine over that! Perhaps it's time for a cover redesign...

It was hard to top that. The rest of the Con was just gravy. Interestingly enough, the second I got into the car to go home Saturday, my voice gave out and I got slammed with the full cold. It's like my body knew it could finally give in and be sick after holding it back for days.

I'm slowly catching up on my writing and other projects. April is officially Script Frenzy month, and I am so far behind. Wish me luck!

Irish Car Bomb Cupcakes

2011-03-17T15:17:00.000-07:00

Since I've been relieved of corned beef detail for this year's St. Pat's shindig (hooray!), I've been freed up to come up with a festive dessert. "Irish Car Bomb" cupcakes it is!

Well, kind of. No whiskey, since I can't stand the stuff. But it is a Guinness Stout cupcake topped with Bailey's buttercream frosting (adapted from Dulcedo's recipe). Nummy.

Bonus is, you don't have to eat is as fast as you can. Unless you really want to.

Be safe out there if you're celebrating tonight!

PS: I'm totally cheating, but I'm calling this entry two on my 12-month cookbook challenge. I've had this recipe bookmarked for ages!

Stitch & Craft Show, March 17-20

2011-03-15T10:25:00.000-07:00

Okay, I know I've kept you all in mad suspense. You ask yourself, "what the heck is this news that she promised to tell us, then disappeared for three weeks?" Finally dear readers, I can share.

Two of my stitched pieces are showing at the Stitch & Craft Show in London this weekend!

Han Solo and Nibbler are a proud part of Mr. X Stitch's entourage at the show, and will appear on a wall o' awesome needlework.

This not only marks my needlework's first international showing, but its first live showing in general. I feel quite honored, and only wish I could travel to London to see the exhibit with my own eyes. Jamie (a.k.a. Mr. X Stitch) has promised pictures of the event, so as soon as I have 'em I'll share.

I'm so excited! If any of my U.K. readers are planning to go, please take a picture for me!

"Don't Puke" Cross Stitch

2011-02-19T13:51:00.000-08:00

It's a rainy Saturday afternoon on a holiday weekend. Which means curling up under blankets with steaming mugs of coffee and pan dulce. Mmmm.

I mentioned in my last post that my friend Dana and I had successfully completed year two of our annual craft swap. I showed you the awesome hat she crocheted me, but I didn't show you what I sent her.

Dana requested a piece similar to one she'd seen posted on Apartment Therapy's tour of Liv and Jeff's Long Beach home.

After trying to figure out if the pattern was available, I contacted Liv at her blog, A Lovely Little Life, who told me she'd designed it herself.

I figured this was a good chance to make a custom one for Dana, so I asked her to pick her font and color scheme. The border I adapted from my copy of Donna Kooler's 555 Fabulous Cross-Stitch Patterns.

The result? A uniquely Dana cross stitch, ready to tell her cats to keep their hairballs to themselves.

I'm thrilled to announce that the week she got the swap package, she got an even more special delivery: she gave birth to her first child! Big congrats to her and her amazing husband Justin on the birth of their beautiful baby boy.

What's next on my crafting plate? I have another couple of geeky embroidery projects transferred and ready to stitch, plus a cross stitch pattern I'm developing. I'm really excited by it, but it's taking longer than I thought! I also have another couple of cool craft-related announcements to make later, but right now I've gotta keep things under wraps to not jinx anything. I promise I'll tell soon.

Now, to stitch, and enjoy the patter of rain on the window.

Holiday Hearts

2011-02-14T17:11:00.000-08:00

Happy Valentine’s Day, everyone! I hope you spend it in the spirit of love, be it by spending it with those you cherish or by celebrating how awesome you are.

I love the red heart motif surrounding Valentine's Day. Hearts can be lovely and innocent, but through the right lens can easily be made into something little more…merrily morbid.

This year, in honor of the holiday, I bring you a handful of the sweetest, most “heartfelt” crafts I’ve come across lately.

First off, I have to share this amazingly beautiful crochet hat my good friend Dana Koster made for me as part of our now-annual craft swap. Not only did she whip this up in my favorite shade of red, she appliqued an adorable human heart to it. This is without a doubt my new favorite hat.

Dana also gets credit for pointing me towards this wee, blown-glass heart, made by Kiva Ford. I love how it looks suspended in space.

Anatomology is my favorite jewelry store these days, which you can tell from my recent Geek Crafts post. There are numerous heart-based designs, my favorite of which is this heart-in-hand necklace.

If I could go back in time to my wedding and register for tableware, it would be for these “Eat Your Heart Out” dinner plates by Folded Pigs.

What to serve on such plates? Why, heart-shaped cookies, made with this custom-made cookie cutter by West Tinworks!

Of course, the set wouldn’t be complete without some sweet anatomical diagram tea towels to dry them with, right? By Girls Can Tell.

Someday, when I win the lottery, this will be the first opulent thing I buy: an 18K gold anatomical heart locket, embellished with diamonds (because not only hookers can have hearts of gold, y’know).

Made by Peggy Skemp, who also offers a sterling silver heart for those of us who are still playing the numbers.

Now, off to celebrate with the Professor with some micro-brew beer at Triple Rock Brewery, our special Valentine's Day place. Don't judge. They're cracking a "White Chocolate Milk Stout" in honor of the holiday (well, and SF Beer Week). It's festive!

Parrot Perspective

2011-02-10T12:08:00.001-08:00

Yesterday I found myself inexplicably in the depths of the midwinter blues. Despite the lovely weather -- which offered clear, blue skies and mildly warm breezes -- I couldn't shake the feeling of restless melancholy. Blame the writer's block, perhaps.

I dragged myself to my weekly appointment in North Beach, and managed to emerge feeling a bit better. I still had a funky miasma about me, though, one I was sure would plague me for the rest of the day.

Until, I cut through my favorite little park. Though it's only a one-block plot of grass and trees, it's close enough to the water to get a nice salt wind. Even more importantly, it's home to one of the flocks of famous wild parrots.

Normally, they're up high in the eucalyptus trees, chattering and fluttering about. Imagine my surprise, then, when I found them all no more than a foot above me, perched in the flowering cherry blossom trees.

It was a riot of color and song, their vibrant green and red feathers standing out among the delicate pink blossoms. They feasted on the flowers with impunity, oblivious to the crowd they were drawing.

It's amazing what a gorgeous sight like this can do to lighten your mood. Especially when you look around and see that everyone else has the safe goofy, child-like grin on their face. And I do mean everyone: the tired nine-to-fivers, the hipsters, the tourists, and even the too-cool teenagers. Some were whipping out their smart phones and cameras, others were just standing there drinking it all in. We'd look at each other and smile, linked in temporary camaraderie.

It's moments like this that gently remind me that there is beauty in simplicity, and that things don't have to be as complicated as I make them out them to be. I left the park feeling lighter, happier, and 99.9% funk-free.

Thanks, little parrots.

12-Month Cookbook Challenge

2011-01-24T10:12:00.000-08:00

I have this odd addiction to cookbooks.

Much like craft supplies, I love the possibilities that cookbooks present. Just leafing through the glossy pages, I can imagine myself sitting down to the perfect provincial French supper or mastering a centuries-old Romanian recipe.

Take this seductive gastronomical fantasy, and couple it with my obsession with printed words in general, and you’ll see why I have stacks of cookbooks and beautiful cooking magazines. There’s only one problem…I rarely make ANYTHING out of them.

I hate to admit it, but I kind of suck at meal planning. I’m an impulsive chef. I have a few key dishes I always have ingredients for, and the rest I make up as I go along. I may think as far ahead as a couple days, but in the end, I rarely take the time to go through my books, make a proper list, and give myself enough time to shop, chop, and cook.

This year is the year that changes! At least, a little bit. I’ve set for myself a 12-month cookbook challenge, where I will plan and make a new dish every month from my neglected cookbooks and magazines.

I started with a cookbook I had long been admiring, but had never been able to get it together enough to use: My French Kitchen: A Book of Treasured Recipes by Joanne Harris & Fran Warde. Harris is a novelist, and as many of her titles can attest (Chocolat, Five Quarters of the Orange), food plays a huge part in her writing.

The dishes presented are surprisingly simple, calling for fresh vegetables, herbs, and good cuts of meat. There’s nothing too exotic or difficult (aside from the hard-to-find slab bacon), just a bit of time and a lot of chopping required.

This weekend I whipped up the Lentil and Toulouse Sausage Casserole. I did have the proper green lentilles du Puy on hand, though I could not find genuine Toulouse sausage at my nearby stores (and didn’t have time to take the bus to the Berkeley Bowl). So, I made a last minute substitution: turkey Kielbasa. Yes, cringe-worthy to many, but for me, it worked out just fine.

I’d never had French lentils before. I’m used to lentils being cooked to a paste, so to see the little legumes holding their shape so beautifully was a nice surprise. The taste was earthy yet herby, and perfectly warming on a cold January night. It was almost better the next day, once the flavors had a chance to “marry” a bit in the fridge.

I already think I know what book in next in the queue, but Valentine’s Day may change that up a bit if we decide to eat in. V-day is always a good excuse to get creative in the kitchen. Especially with desserts.

Oh, Lydia the Queen of Tattoo

2011-01-21T11:06:00.000-08:00

Lydia oh Lydia, say have you met Lydia,
Lydia, the Tattooed Lady.

She has eyes that folks adore so,

And a torso even more so.

She once swept an Admiral clear off his feet.
The ships on her hips made his heart skip a beat.

Okay, maybe you can't see the ships on her hips. But you get the gist of it!

This is probably the most colorful piece I've every stitched. She's made from the Circus Palooza pattern from Sew Lovely Embroidery, which is chock-full of other beautifully creepy designs.

Most of the design was done with a simple backstitch, though I did improvise some stitching on the more delicate work. The beads I added for a touch of texture and sparkle, reminiscent of retro showgirl costumes.

The color palette for her outfit was loosely based on Laffing Sal's, who, though not sporting any visible tattoos, is the symbol for all things weird, wacky, and side-show for this Bay Area girl. (Next time you're in San Francisco, visit the Musee Mecanique. It's free, fun, and educational.)

Next up on my project plate? I'm going back to my cross stitchin' roots, and testing out a new crafting skill thanks to my mom-in-law: crochet!

[Lyrics used above are from Lydia the Tattooed Lady, sung by Groucho Marx. Quite fitting, no?]

Han Solo Cross Stitch pattern available (finally!)

2011-01-17T18:16:00.000-08:00

It's been two years in the coming, but finally, FINALLY, I have charted my Han Solo cross stitch! Here! Stitch! Enjoy!

Click on the image to download a JPEG version of it off Flickr.

I also have a fancy PDF version for folks who want the color table.

I have to give a big thank you to amigurl55 at Craftster for sharing the link to the free KG-Chart software I used. I've been looking for cross stitch pattern software that didn't cost an arm and a leg, and now I can finally chart up my old patterns as well as create new ones. I have some ideas for some other Star Wars cross stitch patterns, among others.

Thanks also to the folks who have been so patient for this pattern. I'm sure there's like, three of you left in the world who are interested in stitching this up, but for you three, here you go!

San Francisco Dickens Fair 2010

2011-01-15T13:36:00.000-08:00

Today is the day I put away my Christmas decorations. Which means I have one last chance where I can legitimately share photos of the Great Dickens Christmas Fair without it being completely irrelevant. Yup.

I'll admit, the husband and I were a little skeptical at first. We've been to our share of renaissance faires (both as participants and spectators), and were a little over the historical cosplay scene. Not to mention, neither of us are "Christmas-y" people, and Dickens was never either of ours' favorite author. Three strikes, yes?

Well, one thing trumps that all, and that's family. My brother and his lovely girlfriend have been actively involved in the Dickens Fair for years now, and have all but begged us to come see what its all about.

Refusing to disappoint my one and only sibling for a third year in a row, Lefty and I trekked out to the ass-end of San Francisco in the pouring rain to check out this bastion of Victorian holiday cheer.

The verdict?

We're getting costumes next year. Because this was too much fun not to be an active part of.

It's colorful without being campy, cheery without being obnoxious. Steampunk abounds, and spectators come in creative costumes ranging from the loosely inspired to the historically accurate. The participants are having a genuinely good time, which puts the spectators in a good mood. It was just...fun.

Lefty and I spent most of our time down at the "docks" with the riff-raff, quaffing cider, munching hot roasted almonds, and watching some pretty impressive live performances at Mad Sal's.

We also spent a lot of time hanging out with my brother and the guild he's part of, the Legion Fantastique. They portray characters from the works of Jules Verne, and their booth is an adventurer's hall full of treasures and curios. They had shows every hour or so blending "science, exploration, and imagination," including a "live giant squid feeding." You can see Archie the giant squid peeking at the audience in the photo above.

My brother Xander plays Michael Strogoff. His Russian accent is pretty convincing. I'm glad I finally got a chance to see him in his element. Really. How could I say no to this face?

You can see the rest of the photos below.

And now, I decree Christmas is officially OVER. Away with the stockings and ornaments until next season!

355 Days

2011-01-10T20:43:00.000-08:00

2010 was an interesting year. It was filled with big events, and yet nothing much changed. I lost my job when the organization I worked for folded, but it ended up being a great opportunity for me to refocus and think about what I really wanted out of my life. I think I figured it out, too.

In a word, the answer is writing.

It seems silly to think that it took me so long to figure it out. I won a school-wide scary story contest at age 9. I wrote for my high school paper. I had short stories published in college, and I taught a writing workshop. My first post-graduate job was working for a magazine. In my filmmaking, screenwriting came first, directing came second.

Yeah. Obvious.

It took my commitment to NaNoWriMo to really bring it to light. I woke up almost every day in November with a big smile on my face, eager to get to work. Even on the hard days, I always felt accomplished when I came away with words on the page. Nothing else in my life gave me such a rush, such a soul-satisfied feeling. Hitting the 50K mark was a revelation. If I could do that, I could do about anything.

So, my number one goal of 2011 is to focus on my writing. Fiction writing in particular, though I’ve also re-committed to my blogging. Ya’ll deserve more than one post a month.

Does this mean I’m done with filmmaking? Not at all. In fact, in refocusing myself as a writer I can finally free myself to simply write a good script. Storytelling is at the heart of filmmaking.

What about crafting? Am I done with that? Hell no. I need my needle and thread (or needles and yarn) to keep me sane, to keep my hands grounded and my mind clear. Not to mention, it’s just too much fun.

I’m excited to see where this year will lead. There’s a lot of work ahead of me, but I’ve never been afraid of getting my hands dirty and burning the midnight oil. I've already made some headway in this, with some classes and some writing pieces scattered here and there like seeds.

I still have 355 days left in 2011. Let's see how far I can get.

The Announcement!

2010-12-29T13:00:00.000-08:00

Hear that hush? The storm has passed. The gale-force winds of Christmas have quieted, leaving behind colorful debris of wrapping paper, tinsel strands, and cookie crumbs. New Year’s is still upon us, in all its cork-popping glory, but it’s a mild rain compared to Hurricane Xmas.

I, for one, had a lovely holiday. We had our first official Bay Area Xmas--my folks made the trek up from SoCal--and there was much merriment and feasting. I think the highlight was playing Rock Band until 3 a.m. with my entire family, and hearing my Mama sing Rob Zombie’s “Superbeast.” These are the precious moments holiday specials are made of.

But now, the parents are on their way home, the fridge is stuffed with leftovers, and it’s time to settle in and get ready to welcome the New Year.

New Year’s is both about reflecting on the events of the past 365 days, and looking forward to the clean slate of the next year. I, like many other folks, already have some goals set out for 2011, but there’s one in particular that got a bit of a head start this week: that thing I announced that I was going to announce.

Thank you for being so patient, dear readers. I can finally tell you what it is I’ve been sitting on for the past couple weeks:

I’m a new contributing writer at Geek Crafts!

I’m super-excited about this new gig, seeing as it’s the fusion of three of my favorite things: writing, geekery, and crafting. I’ll be combing the interwebs to find some of the best in geek craft to share with the world. My first post went up yesterday, and I’ll be posting every Tuesday and Friday.

This is not to be confused with my Crafty Bytes column over at Electronic Wasteland, which is all about interviewing video game crafters.

So, if you have any geek crafts you’d like to see featured, send ‘em my way!

"Oh no! Old Man Winter!"

2010-12-17T15:25:00.001-08:00

It may not be snowing, but Old Man Winter has definitely moved into the Bay Area. It's cold and drizzly, Club Mallard down the street has put up its giant Christmas-light logo, and Professor Lefty is giving his last final today.

So, why am I smiling? Could I have contracted a case of holiday cheer? Could I be looking forward to the end of the semester even more than my husband is? Could it be that I have exciting news to share?

Well, yes. But it's also because I can finally break out all my warm n' fuzzy knits!

This is my first foray into using those fancy-pants yarns that cost substantially more than my usual, newbie-friendly cottons and acrylics. It's Aslan Trends Del Sur in Scarlet, 100% Merino. Translated into plain English: It's pretty red and soooo very soft.

I picked up two skeins of this yarn over a year ago when I was visiting my sister-in-law in La Mesa, CA, and pawing through her local yarn shop, Two Sisters & Ewe. I instantly fell in love, though I knew a yarn this scrumptious was far beyond anything my needles could produce. So, I held onto it, knowing one day I'd have the skill to make something worthy of the yarn.

The day came last month, born out of a combination of impatience and inspiration. I'd hoped to make something a little more snazzy than (another) scarf, but then I spied an ingeniously simple pattern on Ravelry, courtesy of Twilightgirl. It's seriously the easiest knitting project I've ever done, and yet looks like one of the more complex.

On a side note, this picture also marks the last appearance of the black-rimmed glasses, both in this blog and on my face. Though I do love the new glasses I got today (hooray for no cracks!), I will miss those glasses.

Through those lenses, I saw New York, Washington DC, Baltimore, and Portland for the first time. They helped me read countless books, see hundreds of movies, and play dozens of video games. They survived a car crash, numerous baby grabs, and years being toted in my messenger bag on contact lens days. I'll miss you, old friends. You've earned yourselves your retirement.

As for my news...well, you'll have a wait a day or two. But I promise. It's awesome and exciting. Stay tuned.

The Mystery of the Glowing Calavera

2010-11-11T08:00:00.000-08:00

Okay, so maybe it's not much of a mystery. I took some nifty glow-in-the-dark floss, a scrap of fabric from a pair of torn trousers, and an awesome pattern from Sew Lovely.

The results? A spooky-yet-festive embroidery, perfect for scaring your spouse in the middle of the night.

Seriously. Wouldn't it freak you out to wake up to this?

Boo!

Tee hee. I'm mean.

NaNoWriMo madness and Halloween recap

2010-11-09T10:48:00.001-08:00

It's been a little quieter over here lately, I know. This time, I have a genuinely good reason, beyond the excitement of Halloween and Dia de Los Muertos, the thrill of the Giants winning the World Series, and the turmoil of the election season.

I have finally plunged off the deep end and straight into the vast, blue waters of National Novel Writing Month. It's something I've always wanted to do, but have always had some reason or other that I couldn't. Mostly work-related. Well, this year, little unemployed ol' me has run out of excuses.

I'm knee-deep in my first real novel, and I have to admit I'm loving it. I'm also having days of hating it, to be fair, but all in all, it's been amazingly freeing to sit down and just write every day.

All I can tell you now is that it's officially a high fantasy story of sorts (and here I thought I'd be writing a nice, marketable romance), which is as daunting as it is exciting. I never thought I'd be one of those people who wrote a book with a map in it (seriously, this was the reason I never read fantasy books when I was younger. I hated the idea of having to use a map).

But before I set out on this mad writing crusade, I did manage to squeeze in some holiday-related baking and crafting!

Usually for Halloween I go all out with the decorating and cooking, but this year I decided to mellow out a little. I'd put a lot of energy into some different holidays this year, and I felt like I deserved a bit of a respite.

So rather than baking a passel of cookies, I focused on one new recipe: quince turnovers.

This marks my first successful attempt at making pie crust, as well as with cooking with quince. An interesting fruit, that. Looks like a big, green apple, but once cooked becomes a lovely pink color.

I also finally, FINALLY finished stitching up the Halloween Ghosties I was working on last year from a free Annie Oakleaves pattern.

Here's a close-up of the brand-new one:

Last, but not least, were the touches I put together for the spouse's and my Halloween costumes.

I decided to be Maryann Forrester from True Blood, the wicked -- yet classy -- Maenad who plays the big bad in season 2. Considering my costume was mostly just a long black dress and hippie jewelry, I thought a little human heart would get the point across that Maryann is not to be trifled with:

I whipped it up in an evening out of felt and embroidery floss. I figured it'd be much more fun to have around than an ugly rubber heart.

Also, I helped the Professor put the finishing touch to his creepy officer's costume, an armband sporting the hammers from Pink Floyd the Wall.

This was a total no-sew project, using only stitch witchery, glue, and Velcro. I'm pretty stoked with how well the emblem transferred using print-at-home transfer paper. I may have to play around more with it in the future.

(I just want to put it out there that I understand that in the film, the hammers were used as a neo-Nazi symbol in Pink's hallucination. The costume was meant to be something out of Pink's nightmare world, and the Proferssor wore the officer's uniform with a gas-mask and gloves. No disrespect was intended. We did get asked at the supermarket on Halloween if it was a "Nazi thing," but the mood lightened as soon as the Prof explained it was from Pink Floyd.)

There's on more project I have to share, but I feel like it deserves a post all its own. Not to mention, I should get writing! That book isn't going to write itself.

Giving credit where credit is due

2010-10-26T09:22:00.000-07:00

EDIT 4/5/11: I wrote this post before I made my decision to make this pattern available for free online. Now that I read it again, I cringe a little inside. I'm leaving it up because I feel its important to be honest with what I was feeling at the moment.

I’m having a bit of a weird morning.

Last night, when I was working on my portfolio, I came across a few people who had made their own versions of my Han Solo cross stitch.

They’d re-created it, stitch by stitch. I didn’t see it for sale anywhere, but it still made me feel really strange to see it out there…especially without my name on it. I emailed the one I had contact info for, asking her to please credit me with pattern design. I tried to explain that it was a labor of love, and that I had received no payment. That I was fine with her stitching it up.

Now I’m starting to wonder if I did the right thing. I was polite, friendly even. But I’m wondering if I’m not blowing a tiny thing out of proportion. I’ll admit, there’s a part of me that feels weird seeing other people stitch up my work. I didn’t share a pattern, mostly because I couldn’t find a software program that worked on my Mac, and now I’m too poor to buy one for my new PC. So, in my mind, it was more “art” than “craft,” a one-of-a-kind creation. Now I see that other people have gone and re-interpreted my work, as crafty folks are wont to do. I’m both flattered and…and well, jealous.

I don’t know if I have the right to feel that way. The crafty community is all about sharing. I myself have enjoyed stitching up free patterns that have been made available. But, the difference is, the designers made those patterns available. I wouldn’t dream of re-interpreting someone else’s design. But that’s just me. I’m also really careful to always attribute the patterns I stitch up, even if I’ve paid for them. I don’t know.

Is this something I’m just going to have to let go of? The spouse reminded me that “imitation is the sincerest form of flattery.” I guess I should feel honored that they chose to stitch up one my designs. If nothing else, this is lighting a fire under my butt to get that pattern out there for free.

I’d love to hear what other folks out there think of this, if they’ve ever dealt with something like this. Is this something I’m going to have to learn to live with, or am I right in asking people to credit me for the pattern until it’s available?

[Note: The image was one I found on benisawesome.net. If I knew who had stitched it, I would have credited the photo.]

Futurama has me in stitches

2010-10-17T13:31:00.000-07:00

Sometimes I fear we are cute...

Continuing on my sci-fi stitching kick after the Adventures of Rocketgirl, I decided to turn my embroidery needle to something a little simpler, a little softer, a little...cuter.

Behold, Lord Nibbler the Nibblonian from Futurama!

He may not look very regal in this pose, but make no mistake, he'll vaporize you with his kitten-class attack ship (unless you can fight him off with a folding chair).

His likes include devouring hams (and live animals) whole, being scratched behind the ears, and messing with the space/time continuum. His dislikes include intergalactic pet pageants, flying brains, and high-velocity mail.

He's stitched up with back stitch, satin stitch, long-and-short stitch, and french knots. Click the picture for a closer look. He stands (well, sits) around three inches tall, and is mounted in a four-inch frame.

I wish I could take credit for the stuffed ham in the first picture, but alas, I am not that crafty a sewer. That delicious-looking plushy is from Sweet Meats, which gets extra points for wrapping their fuzzy creations in deli paper.

I'm contemplating more Futurama-themed stitching projects, since the art style lends itself so well to it. I have an image of a scuttling Zoidberg that would make an interesting piece, as well as some funny Bender pictures. We'll see, though. I'm 1/3 of the way through an involved Dia de los Muertos embroidery project I would like to finish by the end of the month, and then the holidays loom near. Which I'm so not thinking about right now, not with Halloween around the corner!

Letting go of "Someday"

2010-10-11T13:09:00.000-07:00

I’ve been a crafter my whole life. I may not have labeled myself as such, but my hands have always been busy with one sort of creation or another. My bedrooms, dorm rooms, and living rooms have been stuffed with boxes full of magazines for collaging, art supplies ranging from acrylic paints to pastels to air-dry clay, fabric fragments, yarn skeins…you get the idea.

I’ve hoarded art and craft supplies the way squirrels do nuts in a tree. Though I diligently purge books, clothes, and knick-knacks, I hold on to every magazine, every ball of clearance-bin yarn, every glass bead and block of Fimo clay.

What’s worse is that I add to this cache constantly. I swing by the craft store to pick up an extra bit of floss for a specific embroidery project, and leave with charms for beaded necklaces, colored felt for softies, and fat quarters for future quilting projects.

Never mind that I haven’t beaded in years. Never mind that I don’t have a specific softie in mind for the felt. Never mind that I have never made a quilt, and my sewing machine is more of an heirloom than an actual tool. Nope, none of that matters. Because, I’m sure I’ll need it someday.

I fall in love with the idea of projects so quickly, with the Martha Stewart-esque fantasies of 100% homemade gifts, holiday decorations, clothes, and more. This infatuation leads to spur-of-the-moment purchases…which in turn leads to expectations once I get the supplies home.

Sometimes I start the intended project soon after I make the purchase. Most times, though, the felt/yarn/fabric/Fimo sits in its store bag for days, until I deposit it in its proper place among my crafting supplies. Where it sits. And sits. And sits.

The longer the materials sit, the more obsessed I get with the idea of using them when I come across them again. I’ve held on this long, why give up now? Why relinquish the potential that these supplies hold? I might as well be throwing away the finished quilt/scrapbook/necklace/softie.

What I keep forgetting, though, is those two tiny things that turn beads and wire into necklaces, paper and photos into scrapbooks, and fabric segments into a quilt: time and energy.

I may not be employed, but I’m a busy woman. I write regularly, and am crafting a freelance writing career. I go to swimming classes in Berkeley and into San Francisco weekly. I do the bulk of the chores and shopping for my household. In my free time, you’re as likely to see a game controller in my hand as a set of knitting needles. I don’t have as much time and energy as I like to pretend I do.

Why am I sharing all this? Because I came to a difficult decision last night: it’s time for my first honest-to-goodness de-stashing. I’m going through ALL my supplies -- especially the ones I’ve had since childhood -- and getting rid of everything I really and truly will never use.

These supplies I will donate to the East Bay Depot for Creative Reuse, so I know that they will be used and loved -- not someday, but today -- by children, teachers, artists, and other crafters.

These items will still reach their potential. They will still be made into clothes, paintings, necklaces, and more, but by people who can put the time and energy into making it happen. I’m hoping that in letting go of these supplies -- of letting go of the potential -- I can let go of my own crafting expectations. I can focus on the crafts that truly make me happy, and that I actually want to make, rather than feel like I have to make.

I made good progress last night, though I still have the bulk of my magazines and paper scraps to go through. That may be my hardest challenge. But seeing those squares of felt, tubes of old beads, and hunks of yarn all neatly packed away is very encouraging, and extremely liberating.

"Independencia" Dinner: The Conclusion

2010-09-28T09:31:00.000-07:00

"Still Life with Parrot and Flag" by Frida Kahlo (1951)

[Note: You can read the first part of this culinary adventure in my previous post.]

When it comes to my memories of "authentic" Mexican cooking, I don't have much to pull on. From my childhood trips to Mexico, I remember mostly delicious homemade soup and restaurant food (including a Christmas Eve dinner of El Pollo Loco).

During the holidays, my mother would sometimes pull out all the stops, slaving over dishes like chiles rellenos with red sauce, bacalao (salted cod), romeritos (a rosemary-like herb) in mole, and flan napolitano. I would invariably reject these dishes (well, except the flan), wishing my Mama would make a roast or ham or some other nice, normal American dish. Now I wish I'd been able to appreciate it more.

We still sometimes do the "traditional" Mexican-American Christmas dishes of tamales and pozole (pork and hominy soup), but time and taste has keep these old-world dishes off the holiday table for years.

So, it was with a real sense of adventure that I embarked on my mole-making quest. I'd rejected the 25-ingredient black mole recipe from Frida's Fiestas, figuring the red mole would be a little more manageable.

A quick note about mole: it is not "Mexican chocolate sauce." Almost all mole recipes are chili-based, with a mish-mash of ingredients that can include a bit of chocolate. This red mole recipe didn't incorporate chocolate at all, instead relying on cinnamon, allspice, and cloves for its spice, and roasted tomatoes and plantain for its base. It also included boiled pork loin, along with some potatoes and masa-based dumplings.

It was a deceptively complex recipe, full of roasting, blending, straining, and stirring. In other words, a lot of steps that I could mess up. I soaked the dried chilies for 20 seconds, not 20 minutes. The dumplings dissolved completely into the sauce. I even burned the sauce, leaving chunks of blackened potato at the bottom of the pot (we transferred pots, though, so it didn't completely ruin the mole).

The results:

Okay, mole doesn't photograph well at all. Just image the scent of roasted chilies, pork, tomatoes, spice...yum. I'll admit, all the little errors added up to a dish that didn't quite blow my mind, but it was definitely not a failed meal...

...especially when it ended with delicious flan.

Even after dessert, there was still one last thing to do to make our Independencia celebration complete: we had to hear the Grito de Dolores.

It's not a song, but a speech that is made every year on the eve of Independence. It's the battle-cry that the priest Miguel Hidalgo y Costilla gave in Dolores in 1810, to rally the people to rebel against their Spanish colonial government. This rebellion became the start of the full-on war for independence. Or so the story goes.

The Mexican president makes the speech from the National Palace in Mexico City, with thousands of people coming out to hear. This year's was extra-special, being the bicentennial, and was followed with an incredible fireworks display. Even if you don't speak Spanish, take a peek and see what I'm talking about:

I have to admit, I got a bit misty-eyed. Even sitting in my Bay Area apartment, with only a few loved ones, and even a day later, I felt a deep connection to my birth-country like I haven't in a long, long time. I suddenly wasn't worried about making "perfect" mole or representing my culture "correctly." I wasn't thinking about immigration reform in the US, or the drug wars ravaging Mexico. For one moment, I was just another Mexican, proud and free. It was...powerful.

So, all in all, it was a successful celebration. Mama has promised to show me how to make better mole when I come home for Christmas, and I think I may try some simpler dishes from the cookbook before then. It should be fun.

I hope ya'll enjoyed my culinary adventure/history lesson/trip down memory lane. Food is famous for bringing up feelings and memories, and this meal was no exception!

Viva Mexico! Viva la Independencia!

2010-09-24T15:04:00.000-07:00

I was born in Mexico, to a Mexican mother and an American father. We came to the States to stay when I was around one year old, so I've spent over 99% of my life in the USA [EDIT: My husband the professor informed me it's more like 97%]. We only went back to visit Mexico a handful of times, and I remember my motherland with a sort of fuzzy nostalgia.

It's definitely not the Mexico of today that you see on the news. My Mexico is a child's Mexico, with bright bugambilia flowers and tissue paper kites, rope swings in the summer and exquisite Christmas lights in the winter. It smells of bollios warm from the oven, car exhaust, and my grandmother's powdery perfume. It's making your cousins cry because you broke the Christmas pinata on your first swing, since you didn't realize it was made of clay and not paper mache. It's being chased by your aunt's posse of viscious poodles in your uncle's mechanic shop. It's watching your baby brother throw a fit in the lobby of the National Musuem of Anthropology, and pretending you don't know him. It's hearing both your parents speaking Spanish to everyone, not just amongst yourselves when you're at home. It's comforting and strange, familiar and alien. It's beautiful and dangerous and a secret part of you that no kids in your class at home know anything about.

Even as an adult, I almost feel like it's a sort of secret identity, a quiet other half that I don't tap into very much. I have been trying to lately, and what better occassion than Mexico's Independence Day on September 16?

It felt extra-important to commemorate La Independencia this year, since 2010 marked both the bicentennial of Mexico's independence from Spain and a century since the Mexican Revolution.

Since I'm not very big on crowds, a more personal celebration was in order. I decided to throw a little dinner party, just for my husband, my good friend, and the aforementioned baby brother who is not really a baby anymore.

Now, beyond the odd dish of enchiladas or batch of salsa, I've never tried any serious Mexican cooking on my own. My Mama gave me a gorgeous cookbook years ago, Frida's Fiestas, Recipes and Reminiscences of Life with Frida Kahlo, and I'd been itching for an excuse to break it in.

The menu consisted of Red Mole, White Rice, and Flan from the cookbook, supplemented with a green salad and roasted tomato salsa. Simple enough, right?

Heh.

Now I know why traditional Mexican cooks spend all friggin' day in the kitchen. I thought it would take me about three hours to whip up this meal.

It took me six. With lots of help.

That doesn't count the hours I spent going to grocery stores, little Latino markets, and the farmer's market in search of all the ingredients. Who knew it would take me three tries to find both dried ancho chiles and guajillo chiles for the mole sauce? Not to mention, the failed quest my brother and I went on to find one little herb called acuyo. AKA heirba santa. AKA oja santa. AKA unicorn hair, 'cause it was just as impossible to find!

Regardless of the acuyo fail, it was still a grand old time. With Chavela Vargas and Pedro Infante serenading us from my new laptop, my brother and I broke in my new molcajete with a batch of Roasted Tomato Salsa.

It's super-easy to make. Just grill a bunch of small tomatoes (I used zebra tomatoes from the farmer's market), garlic cloves (not pictured) and serrano chiles on a comal or frying pan.

When they're starting to char and peel, and they feel soft and squishy when you squeeze them with kitchen tongs, toss 'em in your molcajete (or food processor). Be sure to remove the stems from the chiles. Add some freshly chopped cilantro, and a few dashes of salt to taste. Mush it all up real good.

Transfer it to a glass or earthenware bowl (I swear it tastes better than plastic), and let it sit in the fridge to cool and let the flavors "marry." Or just eat it warm out of the molcajete. It's awesome that way, too.

There's more to this, but I've already rambled on enough for one post. Next time: my Flan-tastic dessert and why you NEED to watch the mole while it cooks...

[The culinary adventure continues here...]

Shake the Disease

2010-09-23T15:15:00.000-07:00

Go. Read. Feel. Learn.

Be Real.

It's an "Electronic Wasteland" out there!

2010-09-20T19:42:00.000-07:00

Though not as big news as the release of Halo: Reach, I too have my own small contribution to the gaming community to announce today.

The secret project I have alluded to in my past posts is finally up and running! For all you gamers and game-curious folks, I give you the Electronic Wasteland!

Created by my old friend Kevin Eno, "Electronic Wasteland" is a place to discuss all things video game related. It covers video gaming news, reviews, and lifestyle, embracing all forms of digital gaming, from big-budget console franchises to indie-made iPhone apps.

So far I've contributed two pieces, one about how to get your significant other to game with you and one about my Dragon Age II experience at Comic Con.

I'm really excited to have a specific place to share my love of games, and I hope ya'll take a peek. Kevin is also looking for writers who would want to contribute, so drop me or him a line if you're interested.

Culinary catastrophes build character

2010-09-06T15:48:00.001-07:00

I should be working on a piece for my as-to-be-disclosed project, but right now my mind is swimming with images of melting butter, de-boned duck, vodka gimlets, and utensils being flung around a tiny Long Island City apartment. Yup, I just finished reading Julie Powell's Julie & Julia.

I picked it up as the inaugural book for my Berkeley Public Library membership (about friggin' time, I know), and polished it off in just under a week. I didn't love it. I didn't hate it. But it definitely struck a deep chord.

I know it's hip to hate Julie ('cause it's easy to hate people who become successful for doing what they love), and to be honest, there's a part of me that kind of does. But this is the part that recognizes the things I hate are exactly the same traits I find in myself. Which shuts me up fast and makes me appreciate her even more.

Here's the story of a depressed urbanite on the cusp of 30, who finds a direction for herself by taking a giant leap with her eyes closed. Is it easy? No. Is it sane? No. Is she trying to change the world? No. She's just trying to cook 524 recipes in 365 days.

She drinks too much. She has crying fits in the kitchen. She bitches about her job. Her apartment is filthy. She fights with her husband (a lot). In other words, she's a human being. Flawed, like the rest of us. Which is why I like her. She's no Martha Stewart. Thank god.

One thing that makes it easy to relate to Julie is her approach to cooking. She's not a kitchen goddess with eight arms, each coolly waving a gleaming gadget over her perfect culinary creations. She fucks up. A lot. But she's honest about it, and she keeps trying.

A lesson to remember when things like my Sweet Bean Pudding incident occurs:

This was supposed to be a delicious fusion of coconut milk-soaked rice and homemade black beans scented with orange, gently steamed in a fresh banana leaf.

What it was, was a friggin' mess:

I'd like to blame the vague cookbook directions, which lacked the proper instructions for working with banana leaves. But the cold, hard facts of the matter are that a) I should have known better than to substitute brown rice for white rice, and b) I didn't think about replacing the steaming water in the pot until after it had evaporated. At least, not until after the delicious aroma of steamed coconut milk transformed into the stench of scorching banana leaves.

And scorch they did:

It was so bad it took three days of soaking, plus a good working over with steel wool to get all the black funk off my best pot and steamer basket. To add insult to injury, I think this little mishap is what contributed to the burn-out of my biggest electric burner.

Did I cry? No. Did I throw things? No. Did I pour myself a big glass of red wine and whine to my lovingly patient mama? Oh yes. Yes. Yes. It still felt like a very Julie moment, even if it was Sweet Bean Pudding rather than Julia's Charlotte Malakoff.

Every cook has those moments. And every cook worth their Morton's knows the only thing to do is try again. And again. And again. Now that the burner is fixed, I actually can, and I will.

I'd like to think that Julie and Julia would approve.

The Adventures of Rocketgirl, Vol. 1

2010-09-02T15:08:00.000-07:00

It's been a while since I've dug my needle into some real embroidery. I've been getting my crafty ya-yas mostly through knitting, and even that I've kind of slowed down with lately. There's something about a warm summer day that discourages one from curling up with a skein of fuzzy yarn...or doing much of anything beyond lying in front of the fan serial-reading trashy vampire novels.

But then my pals at Sublime Stitching announced their Combo Contest, challenging stitchers to mash up three or more SS patterns. If there's one thing you'll learn about me from reading this blog, is that there's nothing like a contest to get me off my duff and get me creating! It's not the thought of winning that drives me, it's the participation, and mostly, the deadline. This was perfect.

I dug around in my hoard of patterns, and after a day or two came up with a concept that made my fingers itch to stitch. Inspired by my recent obsession with Futurama (what took me so long, anyway?) and my old love of Reading Rainbow, "The Adventures of Rocketgirl, Vol. 1" made it's way into the world stitch by stitch.

And I do mean stitches: backstitch, satin stitch, stem stitch, split stitch, French knot, as well as some funky, random fill stitch I used for the egg-shaped planet.

I have to say, my favorite bit out of the whole piece is the librarian. I'm super-proud of how her hair turned out. She reminds me of Amber Von Tussle from the OG Hairspray...but in a nice way.

I also love the colorful stack of books in her arm:

And her dainty little shoes:

I ended up using six different patterns in all: "Sexy Librarians", "Spaced Out", "Tara McPherson" (stars), "Craft Pad" (planet), "Lucha Libre" (lightning bolts), and "Chinatown" (cloud puff). I also played a lot with variegated floss, which added some nice effects to the more "natural" elements (stars, planet, lightning bolt).

Although I didn't win the contest, I feel like I got something really important out of it: a reminder of just how much fun embroidery can be (cue inspirational music). I've already begun working on a little non-SS stitching project to keep stoking this crafty fire, and I feel like I'm finding my groove again. It's a really good feeling to have.

In Unrelated News
Thanks to Jeff over at Craziest Gadgets for featuring my cookies as part of his review on the Star Wars cookie cutters. Not to mention, for the rallying call for a bona-fide Death Star cookie cutter. If there's one thing we know for sure about the Star Wars franchise, is that they'll make it if enough people ask for it. Just look at the phenomenon that is the Tauntaun sleeping bag.

Come to the Dark Side...we have cookies!

2010-08-30T11:24:00.000-07:00

May slips into June, June sneaks into July, July bowls into August. Now September looms around the corner, and almost an entire season has gone by since I last shared on this blog. That's what summer vacation is about, though.

This was my first genuine summer break since high school (which was back in the dark ages of the mid-1990s). As soon as I turned 16, I worked every summer and holiday. I always had a job (or two) throughout college and my summer breaks, and then right after graduation I jumped straight into the nonprofit work force. I've been very lucky that way.

But I have to admit, being laid off was a sort of a blessing in disguise. This was the first year the Professor wasn't teaching summer school, so we were able to spend two months just relaxing together. It was bliss. We took care of home projects, spent time with friends and family, and generally enjoyed the taste of sweet freedom...

...which tastes kinda like sugar cookies.

I actually made these cookies back in May, as part of my brother's college graduation festivities. These Star Wars cookie cutters were an early birthday gift from my folks, who had come up to the Bay Area for the commencement. On the last day of their visit my brother helped me roll, stamp, and sugar, which brought back a ton of happy childhood memories. Though, I have to admit, there was an extra bit of geeky glee in decorating Star Wars characters.

I think my favorite, though, is our DIY Death Star. Since there wasn't a Death Star cutter, I made my own with a round cutter and a toothpick. As you can see, it's ready to fire on a unsuspecting cookie planet...

Writing Update

So, last I wrote, I was awaiting the results for the NYC Midnight Screenwriter's Challenge. The good news is that I won third place in my heat, which held 18 writers. The bad news is that only first and second place advanced to the next round. So, that was it for me. I made a good showing, though, and I'm genuinely please with what I entered. I received some good, solid feedback from one of the judges, so overall it was a good learning experience.

Right now, I'm actually working on a secret project with a friend of mine, which I'm really excited about. It's not ready to be unveiled, but soon I'll be able to share more details...

May Madness

2010-05-20T09:59:00.000-07:00

It's definitely been an action-packed few weeks. Between job hunting, hosting out of town friends, and helping keep the Professor (a.k.a. the husband) sane during finals month, I've had my hands more than full.

Doesn't mean I haven't found time to knit, though, and I actually completed a pair of projects, which makes me quite proud.

Coffee Talk (with Linda Richman)

The most recent is a classy little cozy for my French coffee press:

This was born of practical reasons, more than aesthetic. Though pressed coffee is awesome and delicious, it also gets cold really quickly. I found a quick and easy pattern on Design*Sponge, and within a couple weeks, I had a lovely little cozy.

I used a trio of random vintage buttons I had in my collection. I picked them out in dim light, though, so I didn't notice until the next morning that the bottom button was brass colored! I kind of like it, though. Non-conformist button.

Flower Power

I also whipped up another little dishcloth, as a Mother's Day Gift for my Mama.

It may be hard to see the design, but it's flowers in bloom. I'd seen this free pattern on Kris Knits months ago, and knew my Mama would love it. I was right.

Take Me Out to the Ball Game

You may remember the Striped Scarf of Awesomeness, which I completed JUST in time for the end of the 2009 baseball season. Well, it's 2010, and last week was the Striped Scarf of Awesomeness' first field trip to AT&T Park.

It was also my friend Erin's (center) first foray to the stadium. He flew in from Milwaukee to watch the Giants vs. Padres series, and it became a mini film-crew reunion at the ballpark when Abena joined us for game 2. Garlic fries, $9 beer, and many laughs were had by all. Good times.

Writing Update

Last I wrote, I had entered into the NYC Midnight Screenwriter's Challenge. I'm still waiting to hear the results of the first heat, but I'm feeling really good about the script I wrote. I got lucky: my genre was horror. More than anything, it felt good to have a goal, a disciplined writing routine, and to come out the other end with a script I may want to produce.

It's strange. Writing is like exercise to me. I bitch and moan about starting it, but once I have, I feel great. If I go too long without doing it, I start feeling weak and cranky. With all the craziness, I haven't had much time or energy for writing or exercise. But I've got that listless crankiness setting in, which means I'm overdue. For both. Gym today. Writing tomorrow.

6th Circle: a comic for freaks and geeks (and the folks who love 'em)

2010-04-17T10:00:00.000-07:00

Launched just this month, 6th Circle is a new weekly web comic set in a San Francisco tattoo/piercing parlor. The brainchild of stand-up comedian Jackson McBrayer and artist Xander Kent, 6th Circle is a blend of biting social commentary, geeky pop culture references, and metalhead shenanigans. In a word: awesome.

Full disclosure: Xander is my brother, who is a ridiculously talented artist, IMHO. Crafty folks, check out his blog post on his hand-printed stickers, which should be popping up in tattoo parlors and comic book shops around San Francisco.

The Middle

2010-04-15T07:55:00.000-07:00

I'm not a fan of the band "Jimmy Eat World," nor of their overplayed song, "The Middle." That being said, I've woken up with these lyrics stuck in my head every day this week:

"It just takes some time/Little girl, you're in the middle of the ride/Everything (everything) will be just fine, everything (everything) will be alright (alright)."

I think my subconscious is trying to tell me something.

Why do I need to be assured things will be alright? Well, my friends, I'm being laid off tomorrow. The organization I started working for 4 months ago is in a "transitional phase" of sorts, and this phase does not involve my position (or many other ones, to be fair).

There's been a lot of mixed emotions about this, from grief to optimism, from anger to relief. Today, though, it's time to stop dwelling in those feelings. I'm shaking off the haze that's engulfed me since I heard the news and sinking my teeth into the opportunities this change presents.

So, I got up with the spouse at 7:30 a.m., made some coffee, and am about to start a job hunt in earnest. Later today, I'm taking a trip to the gym (which is so very overdue).

I'm also using my newly-given free time to pursue something a little different: I've entered in the NYC Midnight 2010 Screenwriter's Challenge. I'll have eight days (April 16-24) to write a short script (15 pages or less) in an assigned genre, based off a given prompt. If I win the "heat," I'll have 24 hours to write another one (June 4-5).

I've never entered a competition like this before. I've always had excuses: I don't have the time, I don't have the experience, etc., etc. Well, now I've got nothing but time, and some real experience writing a short script that has been successfully produced. I'm out of excuses, and genuinely excited to be trying my hand at this. Even if I don't make it past the first round, at least I'll come out of this experience with another screenplay under my belt.

So, if I may ask, wish me luck as I claw my way out of this "middle" period. On to a new job, and new opportunities!

Oh, and if you know of any jobs opening up in the San Francisco Bay Area, please send 'em my way!

Knitted dishcloths galore

2010-03-28T13:31:00.000-07:00

I'd like to say there was some big, important reason I've been absent from my blog for a few weeks. But I have to admit, it was merely a combination of work woes, lots of social time with good friends, and -- my main culprit -- a little too much gaming.

I've spent more free time with a Xbox 360 controller in my hand than knitting needles (damn you, Dragon Age, and your addictive ways), but I have managed to stitch up some lovely little dishcloths in my relaxed time:

This was made using a free pattern I'd discovered online a few months ago. I wish she had more patterns, because this one was so much fun to stitch up. I used Lion Cotton yarn in Poppy Red.

The other project I was working on was a set of lovely blue dishcloths, requested by a crafty friend of my mama's:

These are from Knit Dishcloth Corner, a bilingual French/English site with dozens of gorgeous free patterns for various skill levels.

These are "Petit Panier 1" (Little Basket):

and "Dunes de Sable" (Sand Waves).

Both were stitched with Sugar n' Cream verigated cotton yarn (Shaded Denim and Swimming Pool).

I'm kind of at a loss for major crafting projects right now. I have materials and patterns, but I just haven't found one that makes me sit up and say, "yes! I'll spend umpteen hours on you!" So I've just been poking at these little things, which I'm finding surprisingly fun. I'm really enjoying making designs in dishcloths...though I refuse to use them to wash dishes! They're far too pretty to gunk up!

Women in Horror Month at Fatally-Yours.com

2010-02-17T22:08:00.000-08:00

February is many things to many people: Black History month, month of romance (or conversely, month of resisting corporate-packaged acts of affection), month of shadow-seeking groundhogs.

This year, February also marks Women in Horror month at Fatally-Yours.com...and guess who's part of the celebration?

Among the numerous interviews and articles about women working in all aspects of the horror genre -- from FX artists to horror romance publishers -- is a humble little interview with yours truly. I feel incredibly honored to be included among the ranks of hard-working horror mavens, and it's been really inspiring reading about other artists and professionals who share my fervor for fright.

Fatally-Yours.com also ran a pretty damn awesome review for Everything I Needed to Know About Zombies I Learned From the Movies a few months ago. So, I'm very much feeling the love from this site. Show 'em a little love back for me by checking 'em out!

A Day for Staying In

2010-01-18T11:15:00.000-08:00

The rain is alternating between pattering and sheeting down my window. I'm declaring it a "hunkering down" sort of day, filled with warm and soft things, like knitting, and rice porridge with apple bits and dried cranberries.

I have to admit, I'm not a fan of winter. At all. So I constantly have to remind myself the things I actually enjoy about this dreary season. Like Satsuma mandarin oranges. Lots of soup. Having the spouse home for weeks while he's on winter break from the colleges. Knitting:

My first attempt at making dishcloths with cotton yarn. The pattern is from Kris Knits, which has a wide selection of lovely themed patterns. These are from the "Winter Wonder" Set. The little one on the right is supposed to be a snow flake. It was made on size 3 needles, and I have to say, my fingers were killing me after I was done. So, I made the next one on size 8 (which were the only ones I had with me at the time), and it came out a little too loose. It's hard to see the Capitol Building with the star on top (or "winter hat," as the pattern calls it). I'm making another dishcloth from a different pattern, and using size 7. I think that may be the ticket for me.

Another thing I like about winter: cooking and baking cheesy, stick-to-your-ribs dishes with impunity, like this Cauliflower and Carrot Gratin:

I've been experimenting more in the kitchen, partially due to my new, more relaxed schedule...which means a smaller budget to work with as well as more time. It's also due in part to the new "Grub Box" I've signed up for through The People's Grocery, who delivers a box of fresh, local produce to my office building twice a week. The veggies in this grautin came straight from the box, and I have to say, tasty as it was, it was almost a shame to cover the delicious veggies with sauce. Next time I may just steam 'em. But that's what experimenting is about, no?

Today, amidst my crafting and cooking, I will also take a few minutes to remember why today is special. Happy Birthday, Dr. King. Your dream helped tranform America, and has inspired generations to continue your work towards a more just and peaceful world for all.

Today's Top Story: Cookies

2010-01-04T12:44:00.000-08:00

Happy 2010! I hope everyone had a wonderful and safe holiday season.

I just returned from a nice, long trip down to Southern California, to visit family and friends. It was definitely an eventful trip, with the "Holiday Goblin" -- that little bastard that ensures maximum holiday chaos -- working overtime. Despite his best efforts, though, the husband and I managed to have a lovely time, with much good company, gaming of all sorts, and oodles of tasty treats.

Speaking of...

In 2008, I participated in a holiday cookie swap on Craftser. Like many other swappers, I made my package, I send it off, posted pictures on Flickr, and moved on to the next swap. Imagine my surprise, then, when a year later I have an editor from CNN asking me to share my photo -- and the story behind it -- on their new social networking site, iReport. Shortly after, I'm contacted for an interview, and now...

My holiday swap cookies are part of a bona-fide CNN report.

Not a bad way to end 2009! Definitely better than how I ended 2008, and I'm optimistic things will keep getting better from here.

Striped Scarf of Awesomeness

2009-11-15T13:15:00.000-08:00

Behold! My striped scarf of awesome is complete!

It started small:

But it grew mighty with hours of stitching!

This is my first foray into ribbing, a simple K2 P2. It's also my first attempt at adding different colors. I'm kinda bursting at the seams that I was able to pull it off.

It's original intention was as a scarf to wear to those chilly SF Giants games, but the season is over, and now even Halloween is passed.

Oh well. A girl doesn't need a special reason to wear black and orange, does she?

Halloween, in a Nutshell

2009-11-14T12:10:00.000-08:00

For many folks, Christmas is the busiest holiday of the year. The baking, the decorating, the company, the spiritual observance, the activities, etc. For me, it's the Halloween/Samhain season, and this year's was a non-stop, action-packed, three week period filled with friends, food, theater, film, games, and so much more.

Let's recap some of the highlights, shall we?

Exhibit A: "At the Opera Tonight..."

The festivities began the weekend before Halloween, with a weekend trip to the state capital for the Sacramento Horror Film Festival. This was purely a pleasure trip (I hadn't submitted my film this year) to see a screening of Repo! The Genetic Opera, with cast and creators in attendance.

It was a great evening (though it was preceded by a nauseatingly bad pre-show), complete with shadow cast performances, audience participation, and a lively Q&A with Terrance Zdunich (co-creator/"Graverobber"), Darren Smith (co-creator/"Opera Maestro"), Alisa Burket ("Henchwoman 1"), and Andreja Punkris ("Henchwoman 2").

I waited in line to get autographs from them all, and was quite pleased that I didn't make an ass of myself. I usually tend to put my foot in my mouth when meeting artists or celebrities, so this was a step up!

Exhibit B: "Holy Sugar Cookies, Batman!"

Like I mentioned before, baking is integral to my Halloween season. And when I bake...I BAKE:

In one evening, I made over 100 sugar cookies in 3 different colors of dough and flavors of sugar topping: orange leaves and pumpkins with real Wisconsin maple sugar on top, white ghosts and bones with vanilla sugar, and purple-black cats and witches with purple sugar.

I think, out of all the cookies this year, I am most proud of my Batman cookies:

You see, my video game of the season was Batman: Arkham Asylum, and I had to commemorate the occasion in cookie dough. *nods seriously*

The reason for so many cookies? I made enough to ship to friends and family, share with co-workers, take as my contribution to a play-reading/potluck party, and have enough left over for my own guests at a Rock Band party. Even with all that, we still didn't finish the last cookie until two days ago.

Exhibit C: Making Halloween

Of course, what Halloween is complete without crafts?

I didn't have much time, but I did manage to get a little stitching in:

This wee ghostie was made using a free Annie Oakleaves pattern I snagged last year. I made him using back, satin, and long-and short stitches.

I tried to finish a little friend for him:

But I didn't quite make it. Perhaps next year!

Now it's time to switch gears. Though my favorite holiday is over, there's still two big, special events right around the corner. That being said, I'm looking forward to a couple of weeks of mellow-time before we kick back into holiday mode!

Mind: "Hello, Brooklyn"

2009-10-08T09:00:00.000-07:00

Recently, I answered a call for stories for about one' first time hostelling, put out by the San Diego Council of Hostelling International. I was excited to see that not only did they post my story on their website, but they also chose mine for their newsletter! You can see the story -- and read some other travel stories -- on their website, or just check mine out below:

Hello, Brooklyn

Two double beds with faded maroon covers. An old radiator that had been painted over so many times its slots were clogged with dull ivory blobs. A corner crumbling into powdery hunks of drywall. And a curtain that promptly fell down as soon as I tried to close it against the night.

It was perfect.

25 years old, and I'd never traveled further east from California than Arizona. I'd never traveled alone, except to visit waiting family just an hour's plane ride away. Now, here I was, more than 2,500 miles from home in the one American city I'd always dreamed of visiting: Brooklyn, New York.

Sure, it's not London or Bangkok, but to this Cali-girl, Brooklyn was a slice of American exotica. New accents, new flavors, and a whole new city skyline. They even drank a different brand of bottled water. It was like being in a new country: the East Coast. Call me simple, but that was were I'd always wanted to start my globetrotting adventures.

My partner-in-crime was a much more travel-savvy friend who had flown down to meet me from Ottawa. She had made our arrangements with ease -- even springing for the plane ticket that had brought me from the City by the Bay to the Big Apple -- including booking us in at the YMCA hostel in Brooklyn's Greenpoint neighborhood. Staying at a hostel wasn't a matter of saving a little cash…it was a matter of making the trip financially feasible at all. No hostel, no trip.

Never having stayed in a hostel, I was naturally nervous, imagining nightmare scenarios of communal gym-room showers and forced chores ala college co-op housing. Even though I was soothed a bit by the knowledge of our private room reservation (and that no manual labor was required), I was still a bit skeptical.

My doubts began to dissipate as soon as we walked in the door. The front desk staff was friendly, which was especially welcoming at 1 a.m. in a whole new place -- and after a massively delayed flight. What was not so welcoming was that we had to lug our heavy suitcases up six flights of steps. But we made it.

A post-flight shower was definitely in order, even at that hour. Grabbing our thin-but-blindingly-clean towels, we wandered off towards what we thought was the ladies room…only to find ourselves wandering in circles through the oppressively hot hostel hallways.

We smelled him before we saw him round the corner, clouds of old summer sweat heralding the arrival of who we later dubbed "The Stinkiest Man in Brooklyn." He was also one of the nicest men we met in Brooklyn, as he stopped to ask two confused strangers if they were lost. He quickly straightened us out – "ladies' room is on the fifth floor" – before disappearing into his room with a polite, "good night."

Afterwards, clean and refreshed (and relieved that the showers did indeed have stalls), we happily toasted our hostel room with bottles of Poland Springs water, thanking our stars that the AC worked perfectly in the humid 90 degree night. I was so exhausted that I slept like a rock on the surprisingly cushy bed, and awoke with glee to find a whole new cityscape peeking out at me through the broken curtains, just begging to be explored.

Hand: Toasty Tote

2009-10-05T09:30:00.000-07:00

I feel like its been forever since I've posted something crafty, what with the film screenings and the traveling cross-country these days. I have, however, been crafting up a little storm in my downtime, bouncing between sewing, knitting, embroidery, and felt plushie-making.

The winner in the race to completion was my very first homemade tote bag:

I'm super-proud of this bag. I mean, bursting-at-the-seams proud. I designed it myself. I made it without a pattern. I did it with patience and without cutting corners. I made EXACTLY what I wanted: a cute chocolate brown tote with pink striped accents and lining.

It was inspired by the adorable Urban Threads patch I bought from AuntiFranni's Etsy shop. I have a "thing" for cute toast. Don't ask me why. I can't explain.

The straps. Oh those straps. They took me twice as long to complete than the body, what with the two different fabrics and interfacing and having to stitch them to the bag....grrr. Put it this way: I had to rip the stitches out more than one during the process of attaching the straps to the bag. And stabbed myself in the cuticle with the seam ripper. Not. Fun.

It was all so very worth it. I learned so much in the process of making this (including yes, it is natural to get so frustrated you feel like crying, which my Mama and her quilting friend reassured me of). The tote also held up remarkably well on my recent Midwest adventure, with being stuffed under airplane seats, rolled up and used as a neck pillow, and being crammed to near-brimming with non-knitting goods as I ran from plane to bus.

It's a solid piece of work. Maybe there's hope for me as a seamstress after all.

Eye: The Good Land

2009-10-04T12:15:00.000-07:00

"In fact, it's pronounced 'mill-e-wah-que' which is Algonquin for 'the good land.'" -- Alice Cooper

Now that I've utterly dated myself by quoting Wayne's World, let me share with you my impressions of Milwaukee, WI.

Amazing beer:

(Seriously, tears came to my eyes drinking this Black Bavarian, it was so friggin' good).

Amazing cheese:

Truly, it is the good land.

(Okay, really, I saw more of Milwaukee than this. But I didn't get pictures of it. So. Beer. Cheese. Until I can steal some landscape photos from my brother.)

Eye: My Kind of Town (Chicago Is)

2009-10-03T13:20:00.000-07:00

We came...

We saw...

We screened a film!

In a nutshell, last weekend was a whirlwind of highs and lows, marvels and the mundane, and surprises and disappointments. There was never a dull moment, and I have to say, the Midwest can be one crazy place! All in all, I had a hell of a good time, and can't wait to have more than 48 hours to explore it.

Eye: Zombies heading to the Windy City!

2009-08-22T11:21:00.001-07:00

Just got the news on Thursday, Everything I Needed to Know About Zombies I Learned From the Movies is playing in the 2009 Chicago Horror Film Festival!

The festival runs September 25-27 in Chicago, IL. Not quite sure when our film is showing (or quite where the venue is), so more info to come soon!

Eye: Rearview Mirror

2009-08-18T10:19:00.001-07:00

Rearview Mirror
Originally uploaded by Zhad_Squad

Taken in front of the American Visionary Art Museum in Baltimore, MD.

A truly inspiring museum for works by self-taught artists, filled with whimsical creations ranging from art quilts to microscopic sculptures carved into pencil leads. You can't help but be inspired here.

Hand: Lovely Little Lovebirds

2009-07-31T09:51:00.000-07:00

I've been in love with Sublime Stitching's "Dutch-Russian" set since it was released, though it took me a few months to cave and buy the pattern.

"But I already have so many patterns!" Practical me said.

"But wouldn't this look just lovely hanging in your kitchen?" Craft Addict me piped in slyly.

This argument went on (and often does when a new project requires new materials not found in my ample stash of supplies) and (as usual) Craft Addict won.

I'm very glad she did. This was a serious joy to stitch. I love the design so much I stitched it on both ends of the tea towel. There's something so happy about the bright colors and twisting vines, and the pretty little lovebirds. It even got a nod on Sublime Stitching's Twitter. Hell to the yeah.

**********

As if my dialogue between Practical me and Craft Addict me weren't enough, I truly think I have a sort of odd split personality thing going on. On the one side I love and make horror movies, obsess over freaky microbrews, and play violent video games. On the other...there's the monkey quilt-in-progress, stitched tea-drinking bunnies, and the whole pink cake obsession. Weird.

Speaking of those bunnies, I was thrilled to see one of my Black Apple stitches get a nod on You Can Call Me Chris, alongside some other wonderful stitching. I seriously love those baby onesies. Which again...falls into "weird" for me. Me? Onesies? WTF?

Hand: Taking the Cake

2009-07-26T14:26:00.000-07:00

I've been plagued by the weekend blahs. Yesterday I was in a particularly nasty funk, which called for some major-league cute crafting to cure.

So, I pulled out my new copy of Softies -- which I snagged as a b-day gift to myself a couple weeks ago -- and whipped up this adorable little party cake. It's all hand stitched, made of equal parts craft felt and pure cuteness. It was also a major bonus that I had all the right supplies on hand! I love projects I can start and finish without a trip to the craft store.

Now I'm eyeing my felt stash, and wondering just how awesome a little black and white cake would be...

Eye: How I spent my summer vacation

2009-07-06T10:21:00.000-07:00

Chillin' with one of my favorite writers in Baltimore, MD.

June came and went in a flash. I looked up today and it hit me that yes, we are now in July...so much so the 4th has passed and my 30th birthday is looming right around the corner. Criminy.

But not thinking of that today. Today, thinking of patching my poor old couch, starting a swimming regimen, and finally, FINALLY posting to my neglected blog.

Why has it been neglected so? Well, June began with me pulling my filmmaker hat off the shelf for my first-ever film festival screening, and then rapidly trading it for my traveling hat, as my husband and I took our first trip together to the East Coast.

Baltimore, MD, to be specific; five days in Baltimore and 24 hours in Washington, DC.

The Washington Monument, as seen from Constitution Gardens Lake.

I don't think I have words for the sheer wonder that was this trip. We stayed with a trio of our friends in Baltimore, who were generous enough to share their apartment space with us. So, aside from lots of sightseeing and feasting, there was lots of board games, Rock Band, laughing, and staying up too late talking on the balcony.

Blue crabs with Old Bay, ready to be devoured. Our hostess and her family treated us to a real Maryland crab dinner.

I'm still sorting through the 400+ photos I took on the trip, and I've begun posting them in a Baltimore/Washington DC Flickr set. So far, I'm through the first three days of the trip. Gotta get a move on...more to share soon!

The Capitol Building in the rain...the last stop on our 24-hour self-guided tour of the Mall.

Eye: My Zombies Invade San Francisco!

2009-05-22T10:56:00.000-07:00

My short zombie-comedy -- Everything I Needed to Know About Zombies I Learned From the Movies -- is having its West Coast Premiere at San Francisco IndieFest's Another Hole in the Head Film Festival this June!

We're opening for feature film Reel Zombies on:

Saturday, June 6, 7:15 p.m.
Wednesday, June 10, 5:00 p.m.
Roxie Film Center, San Francisco

Buy tickets here!

Come for the short, stay for the feature. You'll laugh, you'll scream...you'll get to watch the director (me) pass out in the theater! Good times!

*****

Seriously, folks, I am so flippin' nervous/excited I don't know where to begin. This is not only our West Coast premiere, but the hometown screening. HoleHead is probably my favorite film festival ever, so to be included in this year's line-up is an extra-special treat. Join us! First person to come up at the screening and tell me they saw this on my blog gets a free DVD copy of my film!

Hand: My Idea of an "Easy" Embroidery Swap

2009-05-16T10:00:00.000-07:00

Though I told myself I wasn't going to take part in another Craftster.org swap for a while, I couldn't resist when I saw the Embroider Me to Sleep Pillowcase Swap. I've never taken part in a straight-up stitchin' swap, and I'd never tried embroidering on pillowcases. So, naturally I had to do it!

It was designed to be a mellow, low-pressure swap. Just a pair of pillowcases, maybe an add-on, if you felt like it. Just some relaxing stitching.

Uh huh. This is me we're talking about. I can complicate anything. And I mean anything. Including what was supposed to be a mellow crafting swap.

My lovely swap partner, Melyssa_Marie, had a good list of things she loved, and would be fun to stitch. What stood out to me was her adoration of Dia de los Muertos sugar skulls. Since I'd been sitting on Sublime Stitching's "Dia de los Muertos" pattern set for nearly a year, I jumped at the chance to stitch up some festive calavera-themed pillowcases:

Six skulls and four flowers. A pair of eco-friendly bamboo pillowcases. Nine different colors of floss. 64 hand-sewn sequins. And 12 cheesy-ass episodes of Xena: The Warrior Princess. That's what went into this project.

Easy!

I was actually sad to send these away, I was so proud of them. But, the thing I forget in the heat of creating for a swap is that I get something in return...and I was not disappointed when I tore into my package from Melyssa_Marie:

She stitched me a pair of lovely custom-designed pillowcases inspired by -- wait for it -- the tissue paper flowers used to decorate Dia de los Muertos altars. What's that people say about great minds thinking alike?

I truly love the color composition and the clean simplicity of the lines. So unlike my own stitching style. They're made all the more awesome by Mel having designed them herself. I am very happy indeed.

So, now I return to my swapping hiatus. I have a big project that's been put on the backburner for the swap that I want to make some headway on, and a new cross stitch quote my fingers have been itchin' to stitch. I'm hoping for a creative, stress-free summer, and hopefully this'll be the ticket.

Hand: Lucky Cat Apron

2009-04-27T09:05:00.000-07:00

Though my Dad's Steal Your Face got delayed in delivery by the car crash, oddly enough, the crash was the reason I was able to make this sweet little Lucky Cat apron for my sister-in-law.

You see, my sis-in-law also lives in SoCal. I'd bought the Sublime Stitching "I Heart Sushi" pattern months before her birthday in December, with the intent of stitching it up before we headed down for our Xmas/Yule/New Year's holiday. Alas, in all the holiday commotion, I'd run out of time to stitch up her gift. I ended up buying her some things -- handmade and cute, true -- but I was disappointed I wasn't going to get a chance to make her this apron for another year.

Then, the crash, and I suddenly found myself with a couple weeks of "free" time when I was pretty much trapped on a couch healing up. It was the perfect time to stitch, and actually kinda helped me normalize again. Stitching adorable Japanese food and Lucky Cats will do that to you, I suppose.

She loves sushi, and used to work in a Japanese restaurant in Santa Cruz. Also, she LOVES cats, so I thought this would be a good marriage of the two.

I was able to give it to her when I went to visit SoCal a couple weeks ago, and she adored it. Oddly enough...shortly after giving it to her, both she and her boyfriend had some very good luck come their way in the form of raises and new jobs. I'm not taking any credit for their success, but y'know... a Lucky Cat is a Lucky Cat!

Hand: What a long, strange stitch it's been

2009-04-25T20:32:00.000-07:00

Soooo, this is a piece I've actually had completed since December of last year. There's a reason why I haven't been able to share it before now, which has been killing me, since I've been sooooo proud of it!

This was/is my Dad's Xmas gift, for Xmas '08. He's a huge Grateful Dead fan, but an even bigger fan of handmade gifts. This -- thanks to a suggestion from my brother -- was indeed the perfect gift for my Dad. A stitched version of Steal Your Face.

It took me about a month to complete. It's about 6 inches in diameter, and done completely with satin stitching and long-and-short stitching.

I wasn't done with it when Xmas came, but the way things worked out the husband and I were going to spend the holiday with his parents in Humboldt, and then go down to San Diego for New Years' with my folks. I planned to finish "Stealy" over the holiday, then give it to Dad in SoCal, all clean, stretched, and wrapped...

...then we got into the car crash.

When they towed the car away to the impound yard, they took all the luggage and gifts and such away. Though we had an Xbox and all our clothes in the shattered trunk, sitting in the Humboldt County rain, I kept thinking of poor "Stealy." I really thought he was gone.

Luckily, again, he survived perfectly (as well as all my embroidery stuff), and I was able to give him to my Dad on New Year's Eve. Though the piece was wrinkled, unframed, unwrapped, the look on his face was priceless.

Skip forward to two weeks ago, when I finally made it to SoCal to see the family. At last, I was able to wash, iron, and frame "Stealy" for Dad...and after five months, I can say he's complete. Really, it's been a long, strange trip with this piece, and much as I love it, I'm glad it's over. Now he can hang on a wall and be chill, as he was meant to be.

Hand: Bread and Dandelions

2009-03-30T14:37:00.000-07:00

The weather has been so warm and wonderful here in the Bay Area the past few days. I've been able to walk around the apartment without socks, and can leave the house without my scarf, hat, and gloves.

The birds are singing, the wasps are happily building nests on the BART rails (a little scary, yes), and everything is just so green and alive. I've never considered myself much of a spring person, but after the winter I've had, I'm ready for some happy, life-affirming changes.

This little bread-basket liner I stitched up a few weeks ago really kinda sums my mood these couple days:

I made this from a single white dinner napkin I had floating around my linen shelf (I have no idea where it came from), using Sublime Stitching's Kurt Halsey artist's series pattern.

Here's the other side:

Details of the little bee/fairy critters:

Modeling it is a batch of Irish soda bread I whipped up for this year's St. Pat's dinner. I look forward to that corned beef dinner the way other folks look forward to their Thanksgiving turkey.

While I'm here, I also want to share the reason the weather has been so nice here: I finally finished my first ever, honest-to-god knitting project...a scarf for my husband.

Completed JUST in time for the warm weather!

I'm quite proud of this scarf. I love how the variegated yarn brought out a triangular/stripes pattern. Adam is also especially excited, since he admitted he'd never owned a scarf before. I'm looking forward to seeing him wear it come June ('cause it's true: coldest winter ever is a San Francisco summer).

Now, off to go see Watchmen as part of husband's long weekend of birthday festivities. He turns 30 tomorrow! Movies, gaming, and a trip to our favorite microbrewery, Triple Rock. It's good having four days off in a row. I can't think of a better present for him.

Mouth: Chocolate + Bacon = Pure Heaven

2009-03-13T16:14:00.000-07:00

At this very second, delicious, creamy milk chocolate is melting on my tongue, studded with tantalizing gems of alderwood smoked salt and real applewood smoked bacon.

Holy mother of good confections.

I resisted Mo's Bacon Bar for months, partially for the hefty price tag (I'm sorry, $7 is definitely in the realm of silly for a candy bar) and because it sounded so...so...odd. Odd in that trendy, "flavor of the month" way, when bacon has been popping up in everything from ice cream to scarf patterns.

This, however...this is sheer perfection.

It's like toffee. But saltier and richer.

Thank you hormones, for making me cave in today. It's made my final Friday stretch almost joyful.

The only thing that could make this chocolate bar better was if it were shaped like a flying pig. I so hope there's one in my Easter basket this year.

Hand: Swapety Swaps (Image Heavy)

2009-03-08T16:34:00.000-07:00

As I mentioned before, I've been crafting like crazy the past few weeks, but haven't been able to share my projects since they were all part of one swap or another. Well, swaps are finally concluded, and now I can share both my creations and the lovely stuff I received in kind!

First, my most recent (and I think favorite) swap with my old friend Dana, The Geek Girl Friday. I stitched her a Black Apple Bunny (from the Sublime Stitching pattern):

And she custom made me a gorgeous set of mosaic cupcake coasters!

Here's a detail of my favorite one:

Personally, I think I got the better end of this deal. Mosaic is still a mystery to me as a craft, and to see such a cute design in glass is just amazing!

The other swap I was a part of was the Ultimate Whedonverse Swap on Craftster.org. It was a lot of fun, but I admit I find the whole "point system" a little stressful.

I made many crafty little things for my partner, all inspired by Buffy the Vampire Slayer (which was her favorite of the Whedon canons).

The big thing was a cross stitch I designed with a quote from Anya, the former vengeance demon who found herself winning in the "Game of Life" boardgame.

But, I have to say my favorite was my Spike-inspired pincushion with Slayer-stake quilting pins:

The quote is from the musical "Once More with Feeling" episode: "If my heart could beat, it would break my chest, but I can see you're unimpressed." What I really love is that it's in glow-in-the-dark thread, which I thought was very appropriate for a vampire's heart (which was based off Sublime Stitching's "Vital Organs" pattern set).

In return, my partner (craftster KCFirecracker) made me the most spiffy Firefly-inspired spats:

She also made me the most lovely pillow case I will ever own:

It's a beautiful applique based off my favorite cover of BtVS season 8. Check out the source image:

I love the texture so much:

It's been a swap-happy couple months, but I think it's time for a little break. My fingers have been itching for some bigger, more involved projects, and I have something in mind that may just fit the bill.

Hand: Of Xocolates and Sewing Machines

2009-02-15T23:49:00.000-08:00

Despite all the crap that's been going on, I know I am a very lucky lady. Sometimes it takes something as silly as a greeting-card-industry-holiday to remind me that yep, things aren't always as bad as they seem.

My V-day was lovely this year, and for all the right reasons. Woke up to make Strawberry Empanadas and coffee, and wrap the husband's present (a copy of Rumors, my second attempt to give him that CD since the copy I gave him for Xmas was destroyed in the car crash). Had a relaxed breakfast together, and went out to run a couple errands and pick out some amazing chocolates from The Xocolate Bar on Solano Avenue. Came home, watched Across the Universe, then did some co-op gaming until pizza arrived. Mellow and sweet. That's the ticket for all my holidays in '09.

Mmmm...Dulce de Leche, White Chocolate with Passionfruit, and "Aztec Amor" (with cinnamon, orange zest, and chili).

I've actually been doing quite a bit of crafting lately, though not sharing it all since a lot of it has been gifts and stuff for swaps -- including a Joss Whedon swap I just dropped a package in the mail for.

I can share, however, my very first non-supervised machine sewing project:

A sewing machine cover for my Singer Featherweight!

This machine was given to me by my mother-in-law about a year ago. It belonged to her mother, and hemmed clothes for six growing children for decades before it was passed on to her. I feel really honored she chose to trust this precious machine, this family heirloom, into my care. I was actually too afraid to touch it, until my own Mama talked me into taking it out of the box this past Thanksgiving.

My Mama has continued to fuel my enthusiasm for my this little machine with history books and pointers, plus lore about the Singer Featherweight she picks up at Quilting Shows and the like.

I felt this little machine deserved a special cover now that it's out of the box, and though the cover isn't perfect, it still looks a lot better than a dusty old case I was hiding it in. Besides, how can I not get excited about sewing when I see that on my desk?

I'm planning on making a similar one for my Kitchen Aid mixer (and I even have some adorable fabric all set). Who knows? This may be the start of a cozy craze in my apartment! Especially when I have a tutorial as easy as this one to work off of.

More things to post soon, once swaps have been swapped and gifts received. I can't wait to share!

Hand: Sublime Stitching Up a Storm

2009-01-19T12:04:00.000-08:00

When I promise embroidery goodness, I deliver!

I've been a busy little stitching bee since my last crafty post, mainly due to that pesky Christmas thing, and then to that mandatory down time called "healing."

The bunny above is from Sublime Stitching's Black Apple pattern, which I fell in love with. I wanted to make a little something for myself amidst all the gift stitching, and this is what I came up with.

This is a tea towel I stitched for a good girlfriend of mine. I was going for a sort of Edward Gorey-esque look with the colors and stripes.

Close-up on the little bee and banner.

This is a "Nacho Libre" towel I stitched up for another good friend. She loves that movie like crazy, and I thought the Sublime Stitching lucha libre masks in the "Craft Pad" would make a great gift for her.

Close up of Nacho. I tried to keep Nacho looking as true to the movie character as possible (even had to run out and buy the right shade of blue floss for the mask).

Aaaand, what "Nacho Libre" towel would be complete without toast! I designed this little bit myself, actually drew it freehand onto the towel with a pencil and stitched over it.

This, actually, is a towel I stitched about a year ago, a gift for a good friend. I forgot to take pics of it before I gave it, and she was nice enough to snap a few pictures of it for me recently.

The quote is from a "Buffy the Vampire Slayer" episode, and the monkeys are from (I think my favorite) Sublime Stitching pattern. I did add the monkey pants myself, though.

There's still a few more finished projects I have to post, one being one of the works I'm most proud of ever. But this is a good start.

In real-life news, tomorrow I go back to work. I'm a bit nervous...it's been about a month since I've been back in the city, and I'm still moving a little slowly. It should be okay though, once I get into the swing of things. Rejoining the world and all that stuff. Today, we're going to look at a new car. Wish us luck!

Mind: Healing Up

2009-01-06T17:38:00.000-08:00

It's been about a week and a half since the car crash, and Adam and I are doing a lot better. I'm walking without the cane, and today I was even able to get out of bed without its help. I'm still really sore in places, especially the ribs where the seatbelt was, but the bruising has all really come down.

However, I'm in that frustrating stage of healing where parts of my are feeling normal, and other parts of me are so not. I forget sometimes that I'm not healed 100%, and will go to do something like bend down or reach a bit to far, and my body reminds me that it's still not okay.

I have to say though, I've been so lucky in all this to have such wonderful people looking out for me, from my in-laws who nursed Adam and I in the days immediately following the crash to my parents and brother who came up to the Bay Area from SoCal to help us get settled back in at home.

These gorgeous roses were waiting for Adam and I when we got home after the crash on New Year's Eve, courtesy of my loving family. They're still blooming strong.

Also, there's been a few surprises. My Mama talked to our across-the-way neighbor the day before she left to go back home, and the very next night the sweet neighbor-lady showed up on our doorstep with a home cooked chicken curry dinner and this lovely narcissus plant:

I love watching it bloom day by day in our kitchen. It reminds me how I'm getting better day by day as well...slowly, but surely.

Mind: Alive, Kicking, and Thankful

2009-01-02T10:32:00.000-08:00

This is normally when I would apologize for the lack of posting. Where the holidays and travel and work all got in the way, and I try to make up for lost time. But not this time, unfortunately. This time things are a little different.

You see...last Saturday, on 12/27/08, my husband and I were in a horrible car crash. We were on our way back home from visiting his family in Humboldt county, through the windy, two-lane mountain roads in the rain, when a car spun out in the oncoming lane and into ours. We had nowhere to go...we collided head-on with the side of his car.

Everyone miraculously survived. My husband and the other driver were able to walk away (though we found out later the other driver was much worse off than he let on), but I was trapped in the car. I'd been pushed off my seat and under the dashboard, with my knees up against my chest. They had to cut me out of the car, which was one of the longest and scariest hours of my life.

We got taken in an ambulance to a nearby hospital, where my husband's folks met us. Once again, miraculously, my husband and I had neither broken bones nor internal injuries. Just a lot of serious aches, pains, and nasty, nasty bruises. I'm still walking with a cane for balance.

Up until two days ago, we were staying with his folks as we healed up (who were just wonderful to us). They drove us back to the Bay Area on New Year's Eve, where my parents and brother has driven up from SoCal to be with us. We had one hell of a little party, my husband's family and mine, though husband and I were pretty much confined to chairs. I hate the reason it happened, but it was great to have all our parents together again. It's been the first time since we were married 6 years ago.

So, happy ending, in some respects. Like I mentioned, I'm still moving really slowly, still using a cane for balance, and still in a bit of pain. I'm seeing my doctor today to get checked out. A lot of the bruising is fading, though I still look like I was beat up by barbarians. Obviously, my writing skills have also taken a bit of a hit, but like walking, I'm hoping to be back in full steam with that all well soon.

So, kids, the moral of this story: ALWAYS WEAR YOUR SEATBELT. Seriously. It saved my life, and my husband's. I'm gonna be the poster child for seatbelts from now on.

I hope everyone out there had a lovely and safe holiday. I'll be slowly catching up on everyone's blog posts, and hopefully next time I'll have something crafty to share...my Xmas gift to my father.

If you're curious, this is what our car looked like after the crash (I chose to post it small so folks wouldn't have a big, ugly metal wreck staring at them in their readers):

This used to be our Ford Focus. The doors were cut off and thrown inside by the rescue workers. Same for the seats on top of the car. The rest...pure collision, baby. Like I said...

...a miracle.

Hand: "Tea Time" Shadowbox

2008-12-05T09:30:00.000-08:00

This is something I've actually been holding onto for a long time, since late July, to be exact.

It's a shadowbox I made for my Mama's birthday in August, but upon completing it I deemed it far too fragile to ship. So, I held onto it until I could give it to her in person...which wasn't until she and Dad came up to visit for Thanksgiving.

She truly loved it, which I'm so happy about!

I cut the little table out of craft felt, and detailed it with backstiches. The flowers are from a lace trim, which I carefully cut out, and sewed on with seed beads in the center.

The tea set is a trio of pewter buttons I found in a shop on Haight Street, and were the inspiration for the whole project.

The background is layered craft paper and vellum.

The mat was a lucky find, since it matches the buttons so well!

I've mentioned previously how much my Mama and I love going to tea, so this was my little way of always being able to give her a tea party, even when I'm far away (awwww...).

Mouth: Frog and Toad's Pumpkin Chocolate Chip Cookies

2008-12-03T09:30:00.000-08:00

How many of you remember the Frog and Toad books, by Arnold Lobel? They used to be some of my favorites as a child, and to this day I see much of myself in those little amphibians (especially Toad).

There was one story, called "Cookies," where Toad brings over a bunch of cookies for Frog, and they're so good they can't stop eating them. Thus begins the morality tale of willpower vs. gluttony, ending when Frog finally has to give the cookies away to th birds so they'll stop snacking.

That's how I felt about these Pumpkin Chocolate Chip Cookies I whipped up Monday afternoon, I couldn't stop popping them into my mouth! Especially all warm, spicy, and gooey from the oven...

...I think I need to find some birds to share these with!

I came across the inspiration for this recipe when I was looking for something to do with the last cup of fresh pumpkin puree I had leftover from my Thanksgiving pie.

Usually, I'm good about sticking to recipes as I find them, but this time I felt a little adventurous. Throwing caution to the wind, I modified here and there, and the end result is simply delicious! I hope you give it a try!

Frog & Toad's Pumpkin Chocolate Chip Cookies

1 cup fresh pumpkin puree*
1/2 cup white sugar
1/2 cup dark brown sugar, packed
1/2 cup vegetable oil
1 large egg
2 1/2 cups all-purpose flour
2 tsp. baking powder
2 tsp. cinnamon
1 tsp. nutmeg
1/2 tsp. salt
1 tsp. baking soda
1 tsp. cream (or milk)
1 Tbsp. Vanilla extract
1 1/2 cups semi-sweet chocolate chips
3/4 cup chopped walnuts

1. Preheat oven to 350 degrees F.
2. Combine pumpkin puree, sugars, vegetable oil and egg in mixer.
3. In separate bowl, combine flour, baking powder, cinnamon, nutmeg, and salt.
4. Dissolve the baking soda with the cream or milk, and add to pumpkin mix along with vanilla.
5. Gradually add flour mix to pumpkin mixture. If the dough is too wet (as pumpkin purees vary from pumpkin to pumpkin), add spoonfuls of additional flour until dough is firm and holds together (rather than running like batter).
6. Stir in chocolate chips and nuts with a wooden spoon.
7. Drop dough by spoonful onto lightly oiled baking sheet. Bake at 350 degress for 12-14 minutes, until bottoms are lightly browned and cookies are firm.
8. Pour a glass of milk of your choice, and enjoy them fresh from the oven!

*Note: I'm sure canned pumpkin will work as well, you just may need to reduce the flour to 2 cups.

If you want to make your own fresh pumpkin puree, you can find all sorts of recipes all over the 'net, or you can use the recipe I used from ReadyMade magazine here.

Hand: Having a Hoot

2008-12-02T09:30:00.000-08:00

"Hoot?" Get it? 'cause this post has owls...oh nevermind.

More fun with Annie Oakleaves patterns, only these come in a form of a test pattern that I volunteered to help stitch.

This one is the biggest of all the owls:

This one is my not-so-secret favorite:

This one I call "Tweaky," 'cause really, look at those eyes:

He looks like he's been awake for three days straight! In a cute way.

I'm hoping to stitch these onto some nice, rich, mustard colored napkins I picked up, in a patch sort of way. 'cause really, what dinner table doesn't need some owls to spice it up?

Hand: Hello December

2008-12-01T10:59:00.000-08:00

Though it usually fills me with a vague sense of terror, I'm actually glad it's December this time around. Maybe it's just because it's been such a bear of a semester for my husband the Professor (which I always get to share in at home), and December heralds the end of the insanity. Maybe I'm actually looking forward to the holidays, with the making of gifts, and thus avoiding the shop-and-gift-fair battles that come with the season. Maybe it's as simple as being excited to see both sets of families (his and mine) in the span of one month, plus the added bonus of two weeks off work.

To celebrate this new found joy of the month, I've decked out my blog layout in an appropriately "wintry" theme, though:

I know it's still Autumn for 20 more days.
I live in the Bay Area. The last time it snowed here was 2005. And that was a freak occurrence.

But that doesn't matter. I hope you check it out and enjoy!

I think I was partially inspired by one of the latest stitching projects I completed, this cute little snowman from a free Annie Oakleaves pattern.

I'm seriously hooked to her patterns, they're so simple and so sweet, I can't help but feel cheerful whenever I work on one. You can download this pattern from her Flickr.

I've already bought a matching fabric to make a little wall hanging with him, so hopefully I'll have pictures to share soon!

Another reason I love the snowman is that it reminds me of one of my favorite B-movies Cannibal! The Musical, which was Trey Parker and Matt Stone's first film, pre-South Park. It's hilarious, sufficiently gory, and filled with ridiculous musical numbers such as "Let's Build a Snowman!" A warning, Not work or kid-safe, as there is language and a bit of gore at the end. But then again, what holiday video would be complete without it?

Hand: Vintage AYH Newsletter Embroidery

2008-11-10T22:33:00.000-08:00

First, the bad news. Although it came in a solid third in views, Everything I Needed to Know About Zombies I Learned from the Movies was not the winner of the NYC Horror Film Fest competition. A big congratulations goes out to the cast and crew of The Lake Passage, whose beautifully shot film is well deserving of the win. Thanks to everyone who watched and cast their votes!

I also wanted to share a project that's been finished for some time, but I just haven't had the chance to post about. My organization, the Golden Gate Council of Hostelling International, is celebrating it's 50th anniversary this year. Late last month, we had a fundraising luncheon with a silent auction.

When I was working on putting together a commemorative publication, I came across a copy of the cover for one of the organization's first newsletters, dating back to 1959. It was a simple line drawing, and of course, I thought "embroidery pattern!"

I couldn't help it. Even with the billion things I had going on, I volunteered to stitch it up, and offer it for the event's silent auction. I kinda underestimated how much time it would take, and I ended up staying up until 4 a.m. the night before the luncheon to finish it! But I think it was worth it! It pulled in $55 for the organization.

Everything framed nicely, with the original image for reference:

The embroidery before framing:

Detail of the sun and trees (my favorite part!):

Detail of the hiker and biker (I'm not sure about her...I think she looks a little like Mr. Bill!):

I'm sorry the pictures are so blurry and crappy...I took them at 4:30 am and wasn't as careful as I usually am (especially since I had to be up at 6:30 am to help with the event)! I hope you get an idea of how detailed this was. It was honestly a lot of fun.

Except for the bicycle. That sucked.

Mind: Hoping against hope & Halloween wrap-up

2008-11-04T16:35:00.000-08:00

The polls are closing around the U.S., and I'm way, way too nervous to focus on anything productive. I know everyone and your mother has told you, but I'm gonna add to it...if you haven't voted yet and your state's polls are still open...GET OUT THERE AND FRIGGIN' VOTE!!! It's not too late!

I just have to share, I'm so proud: my little brother is voting in his first presidential election ever today. I so wish I could be there with a camera to record this moment. Hell of an election for him to cut his teeth on (especially in San Francisco, where there's a million initiatives on the ballot).

Okay. With that being said, now I distract myself from hitting "refresh" every thirty seconds on CCN.com by sharing my Halloween wrap-up, before it becomes completely obsolete.

First, I want to share the little plushie Halloween ornaments I made using Annie Oakleaves' adorable free Halloween pattern.

I forgot to take a picture of the back, which is a cute candy corn pattern. This is my first attempt at embroidered plushie-things, and I think they came out well!

Here's a close-up of one of the bats, chillin' on my calavera garland and taking in the stormy day outside:

One of my annual Halloween traditions is the mass baking of sugar cookies, which this year were little sugar pumpkins and chocolate autumn leaves. I love my cookie gun!

And, of course, our jack-o-lantern. My husband really isn't into the ritual sacrifice of gourds, so I was on my own this year.

He lasted a full two days before giving into the creeping rot. He was cute before that!

Okay. Enough distraction. I think I broke CNN.com, besides. I think I'm going to need to find a local pub in Berkeley to watch the votes roll in. No way I'll be able to sit with no TV at home.

Fingers crossed. Here's hoping there's good news tomorrow.

Mind: Help send my zombies to The NYC Horror Film Festival

2008-10-25T12:43:00.000-07:00

It's finally time! The online contest for the New York City Horror Film Festival has begun, and I need your help!

Please watch and vote for Everything I Needed to Know About Zombies I Learned from the Movies on IndieFlix.com. All you have to do is take a couple of minutes to build a free account (no worries, you can easily opt-out of email spam), and download their player. Then you sit back and enjoy six minutes of zombie comedy.

The contest ends on Monday, November 3, and the film that gets the highest viewer vote score will be screened at the NYCHFF before a premiere feature film. Please help send my zombies to NYC!

Film Synopsis:
Trapped in a dingy office basement by shambling zombies, three disgruntled co-workers try to devise a scheme to get past the living dead lurking outside their door. When brains and brawn fail, it's up to useless movie trivia to save the day. But are these zombies really out for blood?

Enjoy the film!

Hand (Not Mine): "This is My Rifle" Embroidery

2008-10-23T09:30:00.000-07:00

I came across this piece when I was trolling my Flickr pools, and I just had to share it. I was intrigued by the caption underneath the photo, the promise of a story, so I checked out Knit-R-Done's blog to find out more about this incredibly detailed embroidery:

Not only has Knit-R-Done made an amazing piece of work, but her prose explaining the meaning of the piece is just breathtaking.

I have to amit, it struck a nerve with me, which is maybe why I loved it so. My thirty-something, family man, brother-in-law joined the Army last year. He's the first member of my family -- blood or extended -- that I know who's joined the military. He's a Lieutenant now, and we're all waiting to see where he's finally going to be stationed after all his specialized training.

It's been an adjustment for me knowing that there's this whole other man inside the goofy guy I once knew...but I know it's nothing compared to the adjustments and sacrifices his wife and kids have gone through. This made me think of my sister-in-law...and honestly understand her a bit more.

Hand: Cake or Death Embroidery

2008-10-21T23:04:00.000-07:00

See, I promised I'd post crafts soon! This is the "big project" I've been working on, which I'm really quite proud of it.

This is a quote from Eddie Izzard's "Dress to Kill" stand-up show, which I was originally going to embroider onto an apron. It got a little more involved -- which made me hate the idea of it getting gunked up with batter -- so now it's going in a frame on my kitchen wall.

This is the first semi-original piece I've ever embroidered (as opposed to cross stitch). I designed the piece, drew the cupcake myself, and adapted Sublime Stitching's "Tattoo Your Towels" for the banner and daggers (I changed the design of the dagger handles a bit). It was a lot of fun to stitch!

The piece is roughly six inches tall by seven inches wide, and everything except the banner is filled in with satin stitch or long-short stitch. I'm not entirely thrilled with how the long-short stitching came out, but for my first time trying it, I think it came out okay! I also braved the metallics again to give the daggers a little shine around the edges. All in all, I'm really happy with it.

If you haven't seen Eddie Izzard before, you should definitely check him out. He goes beyond your standard stand-up comedy, mostly because of his amazing storytelling abilities. He can embody any number of characters in the same sketch, just by changing his voice and body posture. It's amazing to watch:

Mind: Jeezy Creezy...

2008-10-21T10:17:00.001-07:00

This is how I've felt the past three weeks: like I'm fending off a horde of zombies who are having way too much fun tormenting me.

Hello, yes, I am still alive and well, thanks! It's been a rather full set of weeks, more full than I have wanted, in places.

The biggest time-cruncher was a writing opportunity I took on, but then had to let go as work responsibilities ramped up and I couldn't keep up with the other gig the way they deserved. I'm a bit sad it didn't work out, but at least the increase in responsibilities at my actual job came with a good review and raise in pay. Hooray!

I've also been stitching like crazy on a rather unique piece that I'm hoping to offer up for a silent auction my organization is holding this Sunday (yeep!), and also getting in some Halloween stitching courtesy of Annie Oakleaves' awesome free patterns (the spider is too flippin' cute!). I have some plans for those, so I'll be sharing soon...like, "after the event this Sunday" soon.

Finally, the big news...Everything I Needed to Know About Zombies I Learned from the Movies has been selected for the New York City Independent Horror Film Festival's online short film competition! If we get enough votes in the three-week contest period, our film gets to screen before a premiere feature film! The competition starts on Oct. 24, and I'll post more details when I have 'em. I am excited and nervous and excited again.

This means, though, I've been scurrying around trying to get together my contest package (which is in addition to the package I sent to NYC originally), on top of trying to get the duplication finished (now that the DVD covers are done -- thanks Xander!) and possibly put together a screening. Oy. I wanted to be a filmmaker again why?

Crafts here again soon! I promise!!!

BTW: Photo credit goes to Alexander Kent. That was the zombie actors' celebration once we wrapped the shoot.

Mind: Catching Up

2008-09-27T12:14:00.000-07:00

So, my promise to myself to blog here more often all came to naught when I was slammed back-to-back with a hellacious cold and an even more hellacious work week. All is finally calmer, but I feel like I'm sitting in the eye of the storm, waiting for the next wave to hit.

Most of that is my nervous jitters about applying to the NYC Independent Horror Film Festival, who's deadline is right around the corner. My film is finally done, the press packet written, and a cover/sticker image created...now all I have to do is print, package, and send. Wish me luck...this is my first time submitting anything to a real film festival. Fingers crossed.

This is the cover for the DVD, as created by my brother, Xander (who was also our on-set photographer). He's an incredibly talented designer, IMHO, especially since he's still a student. If this is what's he's making now, I can't wait to see what he'll do once he's gotten more training under his belt!

I've sadly had little time for crafting this week, though I did complete a large part of my current "big" embroidery project while trapped on the couch by the sniffles last weekend. I'm so friggin' close to finishing, and it's just sitting there in its hoop, silently mocking me. Maybe I'll get a chance to do some work on it today. At this rate, it's doubtful I'll have my Craftster.org challenge entry ready by the deadline, but I'm not giving up yet!

I also have a big announcement to make (part of my busy-ness this past week), but it's totally deserving of its own post. I'll share very, very soon...and yes, for real soon. Not two-weeks-later soon.

Eye: "Brown paper packages tied up with string..."

2008-09-18T11:00:00.000-07:00

...quickly becoming one of my favorite things!

Y'know, I never took much stock in that silly song, especially since "whiskers on kittens" make me sneeze and mittens just annoy the hell out of me. But there is something a little magical about getting a brown paper package tied with pretty string, especially when it's coming from Coo-koo-ri-koo.

I love how she packaged the little embroidered "granny bobbies" I ordered on a vintage flash card. Not to mention, the tiny sweet that's almost too pretty to unwrap and eat was a lovely surprise, as was the coupon for future purchases, of which there will be more, for sure!

If you're into vintage button jewelry and darling felted birds, I highly recommend you stop by her shop and peruse her wares!

Hand: More Monkeys!

2008-09-17T19:55:00.000-07:00

Monkeys, monkeys, monkeys!

Square #2 for my Monkey Quilt is now complete!

This little guy was also made using Sublime Stitching's "Monkey Love" pattern, like his older brother was. I tried something a little different with his face, which I'm not sure I'm happy with, but overall, I think he came out pretty well.

At this point, the plan is to make three more squares from the pattern, then pack the whole kit and caboodle down to SoCal to enlist the help of the best quilter I know, my Mama. She can do some seriously magical things with fabric, whereas I'm still using Stitch Witchery to hold together my projects!

(To be fair, she did sit down with me to help me sew not only my senior homecoming outfit, but some awesome school clothes when I was in high school. I was the one who went and forgot everything in college!)

I also finally scored the first bit of background fabric:

Before I started this project, I didn't realize how hard it was going to be to find yellow, cotton, monkey-themed fabric! So if anyone out there has come across some cute monkey or banana fabric, please send me the info!

On a side note, I've recently embarked on one of the more detailed embroidery projects I've attempted, made with a semi-original design. Hopefully, I'll have some pictures to share soon...it's coming right along! I also need to start working on my entry for the Craftster.org Fall Needlework Challenge, which I already have the pattern drawn up for. It's another quote cross stitch, and though not really geeky, I think it sums up what the season means to me pretty well!

Hand: Leftover Lanterns

2008-09-08T10:00:00.000-07:00

As I mentioned yesterday when posting my Chinese Dragon wall hanging, I lopped the lanterns off the top of the original design, since I wasn't happy with the overall layout. Not one to waste good embroidery, I decided to give the little guys the same treatment I gave the bigger piece:

I made mini-wall hangings! Honestly, I think I might like these even more than the bigger piece, but maybe that's because they were so much fun to make. I got to paw through my vintage button collection (which I got at a garage sale back in high school) and go buy some pretty fabric to go with the ones I didn't have matching fabric for.

This little round one is my favorite one. Turquoise and chocolate brown is quickly becoming one of my favorite color combinations:

This one reminds me of a sundress my Mama used to have:

This one...I got a little button-happy on. But I still like it!

As with the dragon, these were all stitched using Sublime Stitching's "China Town" pattern. They're all roughly two and a half inches wide, so they're fairly small!

Now all I need to do is add some pretty ribbon loops to the back, and I can hang 'em up! I was thinking of doing each design again in each different color, so they can be hung in a more coordinated display...but maybe I'll wait to try that with a different pattern. After looking at this one for so long, I'm kind of ready to move on!

Hand: Chinese Dragon wall hanging

2008-09-07T13:19:00.000-07:00

Sorry I haven't posted for a while. We went out of town for Labor Day last weekend to visit an old friend of ours, and this past week was busy, busy, busy. This weekend has been blissfully uneventful...except for a yucky, achy ear infection that's been plaguing me since Friday. I have a doctor's appointment tomorrow, but until then, it's been lots of Advil and crafting to distract me from the discomfort.

I've been having a lot of fun with Sublime Stitching patterns these days, and have either made progress or finished some long term-projects. The one I'm most proud of is this Chinese Dragon wall hanging I've been working on for a few months on and off:

I played with lots of different types of stitches and colors, and in the end, I'm really pleased with the embroidery.

Detail of the dragon:

Detail of one of the pagodas:

However, in the end, I didn't like how the lanterns looked above the dragon...soooo, I decided to do something a little different:

I cut off the lanterns, and made a hanging of just the dragon and the pagodas. I actually did this "no-sew," with my new best friend, Stitch Wichery, red scaled fabric, ribbon, and vintage buttons. I'm really happy with it, and now all I need is a dowel to hang it off of.

Next time, what I did with the little lanterns...

Mind: More Fun with Han Solo

2008-08-29T21:15:00.000-07:00

Blargh. Crappy, crappy work day. xkcd.com makes it all better:

I do love me some good Han Solo jokes...maybe I should cross stitch xkcd's version of the "hokey religions" line...

In other happy -- really happy -- news, my Kirby Cross Stitch Towel has been featured on Sprite Stitch today!

Thanks, Johloh!

Sprite Stitch is one of my "happy place" blogs, never failing to make me smile even after the hardest day. Not to mention, Johloh creates some seriously awesome patterns that make my fingers itch to cross stitch. Maybe someday I'll be brave enough to try the big Super Smash Bros. pattern, but I know for sure a Mario Frog towel is in my near future...

Hand: Bobby Pin Barrettes

2008-08-25T21:26:00.001-07:00

It's the last night of my staycation. Boo. Which means it really isn't a vacation night, since I have to go to bed early, not drink too much, and be a "good girl." Phooey.

At least I had a really nice week off. I got to see my brother, bake some treats, finish and start some crafts, play with the new Xbox (I finished The Darkness last night, yay!), and hang out lots with my husband. I wish every week could be like this one.

On the downside though, it was a pretty hectic week for hair in my apartment. I cut my husband's hair for the second time ever, chopping off a good 6-7 inches from his rocker-like tresses. I actually cried a little once I was done, and saw the hair curled up on the floor, so sad and separate from his head. I am so not a professional stylist! To be fair, he still has shoulder-length hair, it's all healthy and free of split ends, and he's THRILLED with it...it's just taking me some serious getting used to.

On top of that, the "trim" I wanted at the salon turned into a bit of a hack n' burn, with the back only a couple of inches long and the front still shaggy and longish (the exact opposite of what I asked for). So, in order to soften the blow, I decided to make some pretty new barrettes to "encourage" me to love my really short hair. I'd seen some cute fabric button bobby pin barrettes on etsy.com, and decided to try my hand at some:

I'm pretty pleased with them! I used a little button-maker-dealy and some cute fabric I picked up at Joann's, and some plain ol' bobby pins and hot glue. They do their job: keeping the shaggies out of my face while adding a touch of cute to my new butchie 'do.

Making these buttons also gave me some other crafty ideas to play with, so this isn't the last you've seen of these little fabric buttons...

Hand: Kirby Cross Stitch Towel

2008-08-23T17:01:00.001-07:00

Kirby has always been one of my favorite video game characters. Kirby's Dreamland was my first non-Mario game on the old skool Gameboy ("back in my day, we didn't have no fancy-schmancy color screens! We had LED screens! And the Gameboy was almost as big as an NES console..."), and I remember playing it for hours in the back seat of the car on long drives.

So, when I saw this adorable Kirby pattern on Sprite Stitch, I knew I had to give it a go.

I ended up using different colored flosses than recommended, which resulted in maybe a slightly more rosy Kirby, but hey, wouldn't you be a little red-faced if you were flying with your mouth full?

The stars were designed by my own personal 8-bit artist, my husband, who actually spent a good deal of time trying to make the perfect star. It's harder than it looks!

Please ignore the hoop markings. I haven't washed it yet since it looks so pretty all fluffy and clean. Soon enough, it'll look like the rest of my bathroom towels, and I am so not sharing pictures of it then.

Funny enough, I finished this in the same weekend we finally broke down and bought ourselves an Xbox 360. I am so flippin' excited! I was able to transfer my saved files from The Darkness from my brother's Xbox 360, which has made me oh so very happy. I'm so hooked on this game right now. Taking on the NYC mob with the powers of hell at your disposal...

...yeah, it's a far cry from a happy, pink little fellow, huh? Video games have changed a lot in the past 20 years or so!

Hand: Celtic Knot Cross Stitch

2008-08-19T07:00:00.000-07:00

Think I'm a fan of purple?

I just thought it was too funny I was making a purple cross stitch on my purple hoop with my purple (tomato) pincushion, so I had to take a picture!

This pattern is from a book called Magical Cross Stitch that I picked up a few weeks ago at JoAnn's. I'm usually pretty skeptical about fantasy and myth themed cross stitch patterns, but this book has some I think are quite beautiful.

I'll admit, though, that I'm kind of terrified of taking on some of the bigger projects in the book, so I started small. This is supposed to be a lid for a "trinket pot," but since no U.S.-based shops or website I've found seem to stock official, (U.K.-based) Framecraft trinket pots, I just need to be content with the pretty circular design and hopefully figure out a better way to display it.

This was my first foray into "tweeding," where I took one strand of metallic floss and one strand of regular cotton floss and used them together. It's hard to see in the picture, but it lends a nice, subtle sparkliness to the knots. It was also easier to work with then straight up using metallic thread, so this may the way I'll be using them from now on.

Mouth: Strawberry Empanadas

2008-08-18T13:22:00.001-07:00

First off, I want to give a big "thank you!!!" from the bottom of my heart to everyone who has blogged, commented, viewed, or even just smiled at my little Han Solo Cross Stitch this past week. It's been friggin' surreal seeing something *I* made everywhere online...and seeing people enjoying it so much. But it's also made me tremendously happy through a pretty trying week.

The last week before a vacation is always rough, and this last week was no exception. Aside from a lovely, after-work knitting lesson from my brother's girlfriend, I barely had time to craft (or do much else) before the weekend! So, when Saturday finally rolled around in all it's vacation-weekend rosiness, I felt a special breakfast was in order.

Fresh from the oven, these Strawberry Empanadas are soft, sweet little bundles of delight. The flaky crust gives way to a deliciously gooey filling of cream cheese and ripe strawberries, making this a perfect, decadent weekend breakfast.

I'll admit here, I'm totally a frozen pie crust type of girl, so my baking sensitivities weren't rankled by the thought of using store-bought, refrigerated dough. Maybe someday I'll play with my own dough recipe, but for now, "quick and easy" are the words for me on a leisurely Saturday morning.

Strawberry Empanadas
adapted from the InterCourses Cookbook*

1/4 cup reduced fat cream cheese
2 tablespoons brown sugar (I like dark)
2/3 cup coarsely chopped fresh strawberries
1 6-count package refrigerated crescent rolls

Topping (optional)
1 pat of butter
1 tablespoon cinnamon/sugar mix

1. Preheat oven to 350 degrees.
2. Blend the cream cheese and brown sugar in a small bowl. Gently fold in chopped strawberries.
3. Unroll the crescent dough, separating the six triangular pieces. Plop about a tablespoon of the cream cheese filling into the middle of the widest part of the triangle. Fold up the bottom, crimping the side, then wrap the remaining dough around the bundle. Make sure there's no holes where the filling can leak out.
4. Bake for 16-19 minutes, until golden brown and puffy.
5. If you want to use topping, brush the pat of butter gently over the top of oven-warm pastry, then sprinkle with a little of the cinnamon/sugar mix.

Makes 6 Strawberry Empanadas.

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