Just a quick post to show yesterdays Christmas journal page. It was about Christmas cards. I took the front of one of the cards I made this year to decorate it.
My first two pages are done. Every day we are given a prompt for that days page. Day 1 was for the declaration. Why we are keeping this journal and what we hope to gain from it. I wasn't feeling very creative that day so I just copied out the declaration that was sent along with the prompt. Day 2 was about Christmas weather. You can see that I have been using my beads and felt again. Both pages took me a little longer than they normally would. I had a little mishap with my beads. I leaned over to look for a smaller needle when the box upturned and landed on the floor. It took me hours to sort them all out. I was tempted just to leave them mixed up but then I remembered just how much I had spent on all those beads. Also I thought of how annoying it will be to sort through them when I want to pick out all the same colours. I would eventually get fed up and sort them out anyway. So frustrating and a total waste of a day off.
So far the class for this journal has give some tips on preparation and some sketches of different layouts to try. The preparation is mainly common sense things such as tidying your workspace and having a routine. It also recommends that you tell people that you are doing this. You are more likely to finish it if people know you are working on it. I have already done those (although who knows how long my workspace will remain clear). I am hoping to post each days page here. Two years ago I had a question every day in the run up to Christmas. I wanted to do something similar again and have decided on this.
There are less than 40 days until Christmas. It really doesn't sound a lot when you hear it like that. Once again I am counting down the days. I finished the wall hanging I was making for my mum yesterday. Once I had done all the stitching I put off the backstitching. It doesn't take long but it's just so boring. I finally decided that yesterday I wasn't going to put it down until it was all done. Actually putting it all together was fairly simple and the instructions were easy to follow. My mum was very pleased with it. She is a collector of all things Santa. This year though she has been good and hasn't added to her collection. I decided to do it for her with this.
My sister has been turning her hand to crafts of late. Since moving out she has had to put herself on a strict budget and has turned to crafts to make extra gifts for everyone. She has been making lots of cute Christmas decorations using lovely beads and felt. I was in a craft store recently and that had lots of packs of sequence. I couldn't resist and made these tree decorations using those, felt and beads. I am posting them out to my sister so that she can use them as another idea. The green is my favourite as it is edged in pink beads (the photo doesn't show it too well).
I have a few other Christmas projects that I am working on. I have joined a class to make a Christmas scrapbook journal which I am very much looking forward to. I am making a scarf for myself and once it is finished plan to make one for my gran. I am making one of those banners for my sister (hers has snowmen). I am putting together my own Christmas crafts folder and I still have a few Christmas cards to make. I am going to be busy this month.
It's been over a week again since I last posted on here. Truth is that it hasn't been because I haven't had time. About a month ago my Digital camera decided it wasn't playing anymore. I have been borrowing my dads since then. He has one of those big fancy ones that I would probably need lessons to use properly never mind just reading the manual. Since I only wanted to borrow it to log my crafts I didn't see the point in asking for help. Actually stubbornly refused (ask my dad a question on one aspect of it you would be sitting there for hours). So I managed the few poor photo's you have seen already but after that the camera wouldn't work. Or rather I couldn't get it to do what I wanted it to do. This morning it hit me that I actually had to pay attention to lighting. Didn't have to do that much with my last camera (it was pretty much just point and shoot). So here I am with some slightly better pics and an actual update.
As you can see I have been once again working on Christmas items. The drum tree decoration I finished a while back. That was the first thing that refused to be photographed. I am really pleased with the way it turned out and I think I prefer it over the trumpet. I think it's the bold colours of the base of the drum that makes it stand out more. My mum liked it too which was the important part. I think it's her favourite so far too. Myself and my sister had brought her a whole load of tree decorations back from Amsterdam and with all the ones we have made for her over the years she is thinking of getting rid of all the less sentimental decorations. She's very excited about decorating her tree this year. When it comes to it I might have to take a pic of it.
I finished stitching the witch for my sister and turned it into a little pillow. I'm now glad that I used the fabric that I did as it is just a right size for a pillow. I took two pieces of purple felt and stitched it together using orange thread to fit in with the Halloween colours. Didn't take long to make at all. I wasn't there when my sister got it but she said she loved it.
When I showed the pillow for my sister to my mum she tried to steal it. I had to snatch it back out of her hands. As a surprise I got to work on a pillow for her. Along with the witch there was a chart of this cat which was shown as a card. Once again I used the smaller fabric count and attached it to a pillow made from felt. It's actually small enough to be used as a pin cushion. My mum has a habit of leaving sewing needles all over the place (not that I can talk!). I have also been working on some Christmas items but have no photo's as yet since my camera broke down on me. Have to wait until my dad isn't using his so that I can take some snaps.
Thank you everyone for your comments on the beaded ornament. One of the Christmas items I have been working on is the drum (which is actually finished). I am thinking that the violin is next as it's my favourite. I had always wanted to learn to play the violin when I was younger but was never allowed. Took up the clarinet instead. I think my parents must have thought that a clarinet would be less painful to the ears than a violin when in the hands of a beginner. How little they knew, lol!
Lili, I've never had a book put me off a place that I love. Not that I'm well travelled mind you. Have you ever read a book that has made you want to visit somewhere? For me Murakami's books have all made me want to visit Japan. Everything else I have read on Japan since has just increased that.
Timewarden, I quite like the track "I can't decided". It's actually becoming rarer and rarer these days to find an album that doesn't have bad language in it. Not something my parents had to worry about when I was little but these days you never know. Some parents that I have dealt with don't seem too bothered by it but others don't always realise it. A few parents I've had to warn about some CD's have been very surprised.
Crazee4books, I do like vampire stories although I don't go out of my way to pick them out. I think vampire stories are difficult to write well. Actually, maybe the horror genre is difficult to write well as I said the same thing about ghost stories. I did read one of the Anita Blake stories by Laurel Hamilton but didn't think much of it.
This little trumpet is a Mill Hill beads tree decoration. I know it is very early but I can feel the Christmas spirit building already. I love Christmas and every year I seem to be starting earlier and earlier. I was on the sew and sew website buying threads for a design I am considering stitching (funnily enough a Christmas one). While there I thought I would take a look at their Christmas decoration kits. Not really expecting to see anything new. The first thing that appeared on the page was these lovely Christmas musical instruments to hang on the tree. I tried to say no but I couldn't. Next thing I know four of them were in my basket. As soon as they arrived I made a start on this trumpet and finished it that evening. I thought they were a little different to the usual Santa's and snowmen (not that there is anything wrong with those, I love Santa's and snowmen). There are two more in the series which I didn't buy but I think I am kidding myself when I say that I will probably leave those. My mum is very excited to get a hold of them and put them on her tree when finished. I am just looking forward to getting them all stitched up.
I haven't forgotten about the little witch that I was stitching. I have just about finished and she should be ready to be attached to a pillow over the weekend. So expect a photo soon. Actually it might be a week or so before I am able to post again. I have a lot going on at work just now (nothing bad but I have a big project to do which is going to take up most of my time). It don't think that it will take me much more than a week. When I come back, as well as a pic of the finished witch, you can expect me to be talking about Dr Who, 4400's, DS9 and possibly more book reviews.
As you can see I have been busy making sock monkeys again. The first two are to be given away to people. The last one I have made for myself. I brought some socks back from Amsterdam and decided that I would use a pair to make myself a souvenir. His name is Dutch and he used to be a boat tour guide. He now makes a living as a romance writer under the pseudo name Delila. I have been considering taking him on any travels I might go on rather than Mr Sparkles. Poor Mr Sparkles is looking a bit poorly (have learned since to never use sparkly socks). As much as I want to make sure Mr Sparkles doesn't get any worse I do prefer having him along with me. The other option is for Dutch to keep me company in work. I haven't decided yet.
Quite a while ago I stitched this elemental dragon onto black fabric with the intention of turning it into a book bag. Last week I stumbled across it again and this time decided I wasn't putting it down until I had finished stitching it all together. I'm really pleased with the way it turned out. Although I think I will think twice before I make another one of these in black again. I am working on another one. This time for a friends birthday. I have had to design the pattern myself as I couldn't find one that I wanted. Just hope it turns out. Will post a pic of the cross stitch part as soon as it is done.
Lili, I am glad that you have become a Doctor Who fan. I do like Christopher Eccleston but I have since begun to favour David Tennant as the Doctor. Mind you they both have very different styles. I think you will like Tennant. Billie Piper leaves at the end of season 2. I did like Billie's character although she did begin to annoy me a bit at the end. Came across as too needy when her character seemed strong in season 1. I can't wait to hear your thoughts on season 2.
It's been a while since I read Curious Incident. I do remember that it was a very sweet story and also a little sad. I also found myself laughing at various points but felt guilty for doing so.
Yes, I have actually finished off some crafts. Lili you will be pleased to know that I finished stitching the frog trio. I have attached it to the front of my paper journal. It was actually very easy to stitch and had I took the time to do it I could have finished it in a couple of days. There are no fractional stitches and the majority of it involved half stitches for the shading. I quite like the way it turned out. It also brightens up my boring notebook.
Yes, another frog. This is the lovely pin that Lili sent me for my birthday. I loved it so much it really didn't take me long to stitch. I couldn't put it down. I love kits which involves a lot of bead work. Thank you again Lili. I think Mr Sparkles will wear her for me.
Lastly, a friend of mine gave me a beautiful Christmas card making set which will keep me going for at least a couple of Christmas's. I had to try it straight away and put this one together fairly quickly. The candy cane and the snowman are made from clay. They can both be removed from the card so that the candy cane becomes a tree decoration and the snowman becomes a fridge magnet. I am thinking of attaching these to most of my Christmas cards this year.
And just for fun I came across the Simpsons movie site. It allows you to turn yourself into a Simpsons character. You can either design your own or you can download a photo and have them do it for you. I used a photo as the one I did myself didn't really turn out.
Timewarden, I have noticed they seem to be bringing out the poorer episodes too and they are bringing them out so much more quickly too. I just wish they would go back to bringing out some favourites. The one I really want them to bring out is "War Games" with Patric Troughton. It's a family favourite that we once had on VHS but was lent out and never returned.
Lili, I agree that Fforde still came up with great ideas. It's the little things that I seem to really enjoy about his books. While I feel that maybe he is now just producing them because they have proved to be popular I would still read any future ones. It would be interesting to see what else he comes up with.
It was my birthday last week and the lovely Lili sent me some lovely gifts. First of all she sent me some items from sew and so. A lovely frog pin and a dragon chart. I am looking forward to working on both. I am thinking of stitching some of those dragons individually. She later sent me the items I photographed above. The card which has been stitched using variegated thread and the David Tennant design. Both of which are beautifully stitched. She also sent me the most beautiful linen with little frogs stamped on it. I am going to keep that for something special. Thank you so much Lili, you really did spoil me.
I bought some Fimo clay a few weeks ago with the intention of having a go and hopefully making something I could add to my Christmas cards. The plan was to make little stockings and attach them to the front of the cards with those glue dots. They would also have ribbon so that the stockings could be removed from the cards and placed on the recipients tree. Well I attempted a stocking and it went disastrously wrong. Should have started with something simple. So I next made some candy canes and I am thinking of attaching this to peoples gifts. These are fairly easy to make and I did have fun doing it. Here is my top tip if you want to try using clay. First of all have a packet of wipes handy. Colours transfer to other colours just through touch alone. This isn't exactly ideal when working with red and white. The black is the worst for it though. You need to wipe your hands, clay knife and surface before starting on a new colour. I also advice that you work with the paler colours first. One other tip which is probably just common sense, keep your window open while baking the clay and then air your oven after words. The smell is awful. It's not pungent but you will be aware of it. Other than that it is a lot of fun though.
Another reason to look forward to the Christmas season is that a few weeks ago I finished another scarf. I used another pattern from the knitting bible. This one is called eyelit rib. The pattern was very easy to follow. I quickly got into the rhythm of it and knitted away while watching the last of the Star Trek episodes. This scarf I have decided is for myself. I have knitted many scarves since taking up knitting and this will be the first thing I have made for myself. I'm looking forward to wearing it as the yarn is so soft.
Rufus
S. Bot and friends
Mr Sparkles makes some friends
I am afraid Mr Sparkles may have to go into retirement. I had planned on taking him to Amsterdam but he is looking a little worse for wear after being squashed into bags. I also found him under a pile of scrapbook supplies which didn't help. I am thinking of making a new one but then Mr Sparkles hasn't seen much of the world yet and I would feel a little guilty at leaving him behind.
Timewarden, speaking from experience a parent telling you that it's only a film doesn't help. When we were little my sister and I used to watch episodes of Dr Who with the Daleks and then we wouldn't be able to sleep later. My dad got so exasperated he even threatened no more Dr Who. Children's imaginations work overtime generally, especially when they are given a scary image. Logic never comes into it. I would have hated to be dragged out part way through a film too but this child was a little young.
I am hoping that this will be my last HP post for a while. Getting a little sick of talking about it myself. I have finally went to see the film though and thought I should mention it a little. Harry is angry in this one. He has been left out of the loop all summer until he is attacked by two dementors and so removed from his muggle home to that of Sirius Black's childhood home. There he discovers that an order to fight the Dark Lord has reformed, the order of the Phoenix. Harry then gets to school to discover that the ministry has taken over the school through Professor Umbrige. As they see that they are not going to be shown how to defend themselves Harry and friends decide to teach themselves and form Dumbledores Army. Meanwhile Harry is seeing flashes of what the Dark Lord is up to. 
And here is where the Cute Book comes in. I mentioned this book in yesterdays post. I saw this book discussed on a crafts website I visit. I didn't give it much thought. Although the cover looked very cute these books are usually disappointing. Then I saw it in the book shop and was pleasantly surprised. I had to go and buy it. This book shows you how to make lots of very cute felt mascots. The book gives templates for each of the characters and then detailed diagrams of how to put them together. All the instructions are simple to follow and the characters seems easy enough to make. The back of the book gives some ideas of other ways to craft these mascots.
This is my first attempt at one of them, the monkey. He does look a little angry but he looks a little angry in the book too. I think if I make him again I would probably try and give him a smile. He hasn't got a name yet as I plan on giving him away today. I also have a list of other mascots I want to make and thankfully I bought enough felt to make a few.
The second character has to be my favourite of the show. Hiro is almost your typical geek. He tries to prove to his best friend that he has the ability to transport himself by manipulating time and space. You can't help but love his enthusiasm and excitement when he succeeds in transporting himself to New York (you might recognise the actor as he played Franklin in Scrubs). There is something likable in most characters and you find yourself looking forward to finding out more and more about each of them. So far we know that New York is going to blow up some time in the future. We know that there is a serial killer on the loose. One who had worked with Professor Suresh who was making progress in discovering that there are people out there who are special. We also know there is some kind of agency looking for Suresh's work and that the cheerleaders father is somehow connected to it.
This series just gets better with each episode and I find myself looking forward to next weeks installment. The good thing about this series is that it seems to appeal to both sci fi and non sci fi fans. The lack of technology, the fact that the characters seem like real people and that it is sent in present time probably helps. It was actually too very non sci fi fans who brought my attention to it.
Other than Heroes being on the screen I had a good day for other reasons. It was just a relaxing day off. I managed to do a little reading, some knitting and I even got out all my scrapbook materials and worked on a couple of pages. Something I haven't done in a long time.
Here is one page I did for my sister's scrapbook that I am pleased with. When I took the photo my sister didn't notice until I got the photo's back (I didn't use the digital camera for this one). She was concentrating so hard on sketching a sculpture. I used an orange-brown card for the background and then some ribbon down the sides. I then cut some flowers out of papers I got free with the magazine "Scrapbook Inspirations" (my magazine of choice at the moment) a while back. I then used orange diamante for the centre of the flowers.The best part of yesterday was that while working on scrapbook pages my sister worked alongside me. Last year I managed to encourage her to have a go at cardmaking. She sat watching me and then asked if she could have a go. I let her just dive into my supplies to see what she came up with. My sister is a talented artist and it looks like she could be a talented crafter if she wanted to be. Her card was lovely although she didn't use it in the end. I thought that would be it. She is easily bored by these things after having one go at it. But no, we all got handmade cards at Christmas and she has since made cards for friends and family (including a card for my gran that I thought she had bought at the store until she showed me the supplies she bought). Yesterday she made a birthday card with her best friend and it turned out just as lovely as all her others. She doesn't mind experimenting on her own. Unlike me I find it difficult to break away from a style that works. And she always seems to hit it spot on. Yesterday she managed to make a card that looked both classy and fun. I'm not at all jealous of her talent!
Timewarden, how could I have forgotten to mention Relics? Actually I never like Relics then or now. I found it to be really dull. Not good enough for a guest appearance of James Doohan although he was good in it. I found Chain of Command a little upsetting the first time I watched it too. Those torture scenes were definitely a first for Star Trek. Like you I also preferred Descent to Times Arrow. I am a fan of the Borg too and it was good to see all the loose ends with Lor tied up.
This sock monkey is going to my best friend although she doesn't know it yet. She doesn't actually know I have been making them as I haven't seen her in a while. We have both been busy with work and attempts to meet up have had to be cancelled for various reasons. I thought I would make her one of these as a surprise. Since I don't know when I will get to see her next I am thinking of sending it out to her. It's always nice to get a parcel you aren't expecting and I hope she will like her/him. For some strange reason the socks were a little wider than all the other pairs I have used. So when I had finished it looked a little on the plump side compared to all the others which is why I pictured it in the cake tin.
This one was specially requested although he doesn't have a name yet (I have already named him Pete but his new owner may call him something different). I decided to picture him here with his wench. The reason only one eye is showing is that he is wearing an eye patch. Under that pitch I stitched a grey cross where his eye should be. You can't see too well but he also has a knitted sword (I used a straw to stuff it), a little green parrot (was taken from a pattern in a book belonging to my mum and was originally designed as a sparrow) and a gold hoop earring (I bought those rather than made). I also knitted a little red sash to hold his sword and a red bandanna. When he isn't with Barbie here is can be found looking for treasure or drinking rum.
Thanks everyone for your lovely comments. I really do appreciate them. Lili, I am glad that you liked Madleen Ross. I liked your post on her. Crazeeforbooks, thanks for the link. I love the look of that book. I will have to look it up. The escaped prisoner monkey was for someone I worked with who left to join the police. I am afraid all other projects have been left to the side. I keep getting more requests for sock monkeys. I am making one for my mum at the moment (she already has a name and a story). I have another to make and send away to a friend and two others have requested them.
What with yesterday being the Fourth of July and all, I’m feeling a little patriotic, and so have a simple question:What, in your opinion, is the (mythical) Great American Novel? At least to date. A “classic,” or a current one–either would be fine. Mark Twain? J.D. Salinger? F. Scott Fitzgerald? Stephen King? Laura Ingalls Wilder?
It doesn’t have to be your favorite book, mind you. “Citizen Kane” may be the “best” film, and I concede its merits, but it’s not my favorite. You don’t have to love something to know that it’s good.
Now, I know that not all of you are American–but you can play, too! What I want from you is to know what you consider to the best novel of YOUR country. It might be someone the rest of us haven’t heard of and, frankly, I think we’d all like to get some new authors to read.
This is a hard one. What do I consider to be the greatest book of my country? The obvious answer to that would be Shakespeare. His works are probably the most well known and the most influential. There have been so many takes on all of his books. Authors, playwrights, film and television writers are still influenced by him. I think most people would chose Macbeth out of all of his plays. For me though it has to be Romeo and Juliet. It was the first one of his plays that I actually enjoyed studying at school (Merchant of Venice was the first one I studied and I didn't like it at all). I think part of my enjoyment of it was that growing up I had always loved the musical "West Side Story" which was an interpretation of the play. Later I also enjoyed the 1996 film "Romeo and Juliet". Sad to say I have yet to see it in a theatre or even the ballet, both of which I would love to see. Is it the best loved? If you were to follow the Big Read then sadly no that would be Lord Of the Rings (I still believe that had more to do with the films released at the time). However, I would bet that there are very few people who have not at least heard of Shakespeare of Romeo and Juliet (excluding Brain from BB8 of course).
Of course I am from Scotland and there are many famous Scottish writers too. Sadly my knowledge on Scottish literature isn't that great (something I have always meant to rectify). However one author I very much enjoyed studying at school was the poet Robert Burns. My favourite poem was Tam O'Shanter. I loved the humour in it. Again there are few people who wouldn't have heard of Robert Burns (few in Scotland anyway, I would hope). We even celebrate his birthday on 25th January. It's traditional to have a Burns Supper of Haggis, Neeps and tatties (something I can live without eating) during this you recite poems and then follow it up with a Kailey. You are even encouraged to recite something of your own on these occasions. The seniors at my school took part in these events and it was always fun. The students were left to do most of the reciting and a boy had to write an ode to the lassies whilst a girl would give a reply from the lassies. Could be very funny if done right.
Lili, a graphic novel is a novel written in the form of a comic book. There are a lot of very popular ones out there and there have been films based on them. Sin City is probably the most well known and there are plans to write a film based on the Preacher graphic novels. I plan on writing a post on these at some point as I have only got into them.
I know a lot of people find knitting to be dull but I find it to be therapeutic. Also it's supposed to be the hip craft of the moment. Either way I like it although I have yet to advance to anything beyond the scarf. In all the scarfs I have knitted so far I have used very basic stitches. I have wanted to learn to do lace knitting for a while as I love the beautiful shawls and scarfs you can create with it. I bought the Knitting Stitch Bible and chose the design lace wheels from it to knit this scarf. This is my first attempt at lace knitting and while it is yet another scarf I'm actually a little proud of it. I have put it away as part of my mum's Christmas. I am now taking part in a knitting supplies swap and am knitting a bag for it. This will be the first time in years I have sat and followed a pattern so I am hoping it will turn out and will encourage me to do something other than scarves from now on.
Here is the sock monkey I made for Lili which she has now received. Her name is Madleen and she is a monkey of cheery disposition. She also loves nature. You can see here that while she was with me she did some chores for her keep.
This is the first story starring Tom Baker as the Doctor. The Doctor is still recovering from his regeneration and this is where Harry Sullivan comes in, UNIT's Doctor, to help him. Meanwhile Sarah gets to go visit Think Tank. A group of scientists that few reporters get to speak to. There she comes across a Robot. She believes that the group are using the Robot for something other than they claim. Which of course they are and so the Doctor gets involved. The Robot is being reprogrammed by a group of people who believe that they should do the thinking for the rest of humanity. It is up to the Doctor to stop them before the Robot goes insane.
Yes, I have made something other than a sock monkey. As part of a used book swap I was to make my swap partner a bookmark. As my swap partner was generous with what she sent I made her two bookmarks. Normally I would stitch something. As my swap partner doesn't do embroidery or cross stitch but wants to learn I was tempted to just go ahead and stitch a bookmark. Instead one of the books I sent her should help her with learning. I came across this ribbon while shopping for yarn for something else (yes this ribbon is actually classed as a yarn). I cut strips of it and tied it into a knot at the top. I had also bought some buttons and I stitched one to the knot and the others to the bottom of the strips. It's all in colours my swap partner listed as liking. The second bookmark I used another ribbon type yarn to brighten up the parcel a bit. I platted both together and then stitched buttons to the knots at both ends. They didn't take me long to make at all but I really like the way they turned out. 
