Tuesday, January 31, 2012

Creative Every Day

Once again I joined the challenge Creative Every Day.
After reading that it didn't have to be ART, I decided that I am creative every day already.
Well, if I am lazy and watch telly all day, then my creativity might become questionable.

I have already done something today: crocheted a few rows on a charity square.

I just received my book from Amazon, and I hope it will inspire me as I expect.


Last Day of January

Here I am waiting for my book that I ordered from Amazon.
It's called "One Drawing A Day". I was amazed that it was shipped the same day
as I had ordered it.
I hope I could start drawing again. My attempts have been ridiculous and resulted next
to nothing. I don't think you could call it drawing when you take a pen, your sketchbook and
stare at the blank page, as if it was your enemy, close the book, sigh, "tomorrow" I will do something.
Later I take a crochet hook, yarn and start making squares for Heartmade Blessings project.
Mind you, I would consider that for some sort of drawing, too. Well, you create forms and
also texture. However, I do miss my pens touching the paper, other than what I do at work.

I "bought" another free book for my Kindle. It's about understanding people. For a few moments I hesitated if I should get the book: will I read it? Am I too old to learn the complexity of a human mind? Well, not really, I would be reading these books when I retire, and then try not to become a miserable, complaining, rude and negative retiree. That is, I need to change my attitude before I retire. Why is it so difficult to give a smile to a person who cuts you off at a grocery line-up? Something to do with personal space? something to do with "I was here first"?
Sometimes there is a reason for everything, but I am not sure if I want to know what those reasons are. I keep crocheting and knitting, and perhaps one day my pens will please me enough to glide on the paper and I will be happy forever.

Saturday, January 28, 2012

HeartMade Blessings

For many times in the past years I have made crocheted squares for HeartMade Blessings organization, and finally joined the Yahoo group. I have not taken pictures of my prior squares, but will start now.

The picture here does not show exact colors, but if you imagine white as white, purple as amethyst, and red as cherry, you got it.

The required yarns for these squares shown here are Red Heart Amethyst (356), Red Heart Cherry Red (319), and Red Heart White.
I also have two shades of blue, but have not worked with them yet.

Hubby and I made a trip across the border to Amherst, NY, yesterday, just to get yarn for these squares. Amethyst yarn is hard to find in my corners, and we thought it would be a good idea to try the stores in Amherst. I had several options, K Mart: no yarns there at all, Jo-Anne: no amethyst there, but had the blue colors. We stopped at Tim Horton's for a cuppa, and a very nice lady was telling us about the brand new Hobby Lobby and Walmart nearby. I thought, great, two possibilities. Hobby Lobby had the yarn in amethyst, and I was so happy that I forgot
to check what other yarns they have. As you might know, if not, that's OK, I have yarns and yarns and yarns at home, but "not the right colors" . Every time I go to a yarn store, I ALWAYS check the yarns, but not yesterday. I headed straight to the yarn section, caught Red Heart section, and that was all.

On the way home I crocheted with the yarn I had with me for the trip (hubby was driving), and
Canadian Customs officer asked if I was going to make a scarf for him, LOL.

Got thru that part with a smile and good feeling in the heart.

I crocheted all night, really, all night until 3 a.m. I was up that late because I was watching the movie "Shining". I should have not read the book first, because the movie left me cold.
So many good parts were either changed or omitted. That's the way it goes, I suppose.
I would have given 7 out of 10, but I am not a critic and have no statue made for me.


I just didn't find the movie scary, and had no nightmares. Enough said.

It's starting to snow with tiny snowflakes, you cannot see the individual ones, just white rain-like stuff running down from the gloomy clouds. I was going to walk to the mall, but I changed my mind, and decided to stay indoors and perhaps crochet some bright green squares.












Monday, January 23, 2012

Monday in January


Hi everyone,

We have a strange winter here in our area. There was some snow, and then no snow. Today the rain will take away all the snow that is left. At least most of it.
I had made a few Revontuli Shawls (Northern Lights), by knitting. Sherri found a pattern at Ravelry for crocheted one. I jumped, and now am crocheting one. It is called "Crovontuli"
I am using yarns that might go together, and what I have in my stash. However there is only so much of those shades that I already have that I had to go and
buy some more. Mostly using Kroy Sock yarns, and TicoTico yarn, which is now in process.
I started with solid navy Kroy sock yarn, and then a variegated Kroy, then Tico Tico. I have not decided for the next one. I'll see what happens when this TT yarn is finished. I still have a full skein of that one, fortunately.

I have been working also on a Central Park Hoodie for my dear friend Gaby, but she is not going to get it until in May. She lives in a country that has the winter when we have summer.
I'm also working on lace gloves for my DIL, in black Koigu. Pictures will follow for those two when I am finished with them.

You might remember that I have a serious case of startitis syndrome. This means that I like to start new things before I finish a current project. It's sad, really, but can't help it.

In other news, drawing is once again in the back corner of my intentions. Seems to me that every time I want to draw something, a knitting needle pokes at me and gets the yarn all
tangled up in my bags, and I have to clear those, and then knit a few rows, and then some more.
Soon I realize I must go to bed, since the next day is usually a work day.

I finished reading "Shining" by Stephen King. It took me a long time to read. Well, I just found out there are 464 pages of reading. I have the book on my Kindle, and pages only show by percentage of read pages. It kept going and going and finally I started skipping pages. It was just too much of the same horror. No, I am not saying it was a bad thing, it was just getting to me, and I wanted to see how it ends.
Now I can watch the movie, which I got a few weeks ago. I am waiting for a good gloomy night to watch it, haha. It might give me some nightmares.


Monday, January 09, 2012

Moby


Here is our new pet. It's not easy to take a picture when he's moving around so much.

Betta Fish

On Saturday I went shopping with my friend Sherri. I had four items on my grocery list.
Needless to say, the store buggy was full of unlisted stuff. That store is dangerous for me, I wanted to buy much more, but the little person on my shoulder started pinching me and I didn't buy everything I wanted (not needed).
After the grocery store, we went for lunch to an El Salvadorian restaurant. I had chicken Quesadilla, recipe here, but not the one in the restaurant:

Sherri had Chicken Burrito and Pupusa.
To Sherri's surprise, I didn't like Pupusa, but one cannot like everything, I did like the burrito, although it was a bit too
spicy for me, but never mind that, it was good.

From the restaurant we went to get some fish food for Sherri's fish at home. I was going to stay in the car (to read a little bit, I had my Kindle with me), but she told me it's going to take a while, so I went into the store with her.
Mistake.
I used to have several fish tanks and all kinds of fish, including small sharks. I had too many of them, and when we
moved to our apartment the fish and tanks were sold.

I used to have a Betta fish, Sam, he lived about 3 years, and then got old and died. I was looking at those beautiful fishes (?) and all of a sudden decided to get one, and so I did. He's not very colorful, but it was hard to see in the
dark area of the store, where these animals were located. I will take a picture of him tonight. I completely forgot to
do so, even though Sherri had taken a picture of hers.

My hubby named this little creature "Moby" (Actually Moby Dick, but I didn't want the whole name), he does look a little bit like a miniature whale, if you squint your eyes and let your imagination fly.

Hubby and I bought him a new home yesterday, when we went to Dixie Mall. It's a glass bowl, was meant for a candle to put inside a smaller bowl. When I told the girl in the store that it's for my fish, she looked horrified. The bowl has a designer's name on it, big deal, I don't even remember what it is. The most important thing was that it
is clear glass and is big enough for Moby and it was on sale 50% off. There, Designer bowl or not, Moby is happy.


Wednesday, January 04, 2012

Another Day in 2012

This is my first doodle this year. It's done on writing paper, thus the faint lines in the background.

I am promising myself to use my pen/s at least once a week, and my crochet hook as well.
I spent most of the day yesterday crocheting a scrumble with yarn that Sherri had spun. She gives me the "leftovers" or her "mistakes". Her yarn, whether it's crp for her, it's a treasure for me.

I have Kindle reader, actually two of them and Kobo reader. I am reading now "Shining" and
am almost half way thru. Can you believe, I never saw the movie, but now I have it on DVD, from amazon. Can't wait to finish the book and then watch the movie. I like it in that order, the same as I did with "The Help". I read the book first. I am glad I did, because the movie left so much out. Of course, that is understandable, otherwise the movie would have been made to a TV Series.

On the knitting site I have a few projects going on, all for gifts, but I'll talk about those later.

Monday, January 02, 2012

Happy New Year 2012

How am I going to start again? It's been too long, almost a year since my last post.
Year 2011 went with lots of knitting, some crocheting and hardly any drawing.
There were no trips to other countries, no significant vacations. All in all nothing
truly interesting happened.
I hope this new year

have been mostly following other people's designs, which is good in a way. I needed somewill re-kindle my interest in drawing and scrumbling. My projects
time off from my imaginational designs. That way I am able to start fresh this year.


Mind you, I made some freeform creations for FreeForm International annual chal
lenge, and some scrumbling in the summertime, when I was dog sitting Jasper, my son's dog. I stayed in their home two weeks. That green scrumble was my achievement in freeform projects while staying at my son's home.

I am hoping to begin this new year with more of my own ideas and creations, however, if there
should be any gift projects, those usually are done from patterns that other people had designed.

If you are interested, here are some of my freeform scrumbles and projects