Off the record

Oh, Tom Waits...

2012-01-21T19:41:00.005-05:00

..the coolest man ever.

Tom Waits is an American singer-songwriter, composer, and actor. Waits has a distinctive voice, described by critic Daniel Durchholz as sounding "like it was soaked in a vat of bourbon, left hanging in the smokehouse for a few months, and then taken outside and run over with a car."

And an older one

a prototype

2012-01-20T21:15:00.001-05:00

Now mine is truly a craft room.

Eames!

2012-01-19T13:03:00.006-05:00

block printed linen napkins

2012-01-04T15:36:00.010-05:00

hand cut stamp

hand mixed ink

Please excuse the crappy lighting. I can't get the color true to life in these pictures, but it's warm and mustard-y.

happy new year!

2012-01-01T13:35:00.003-05:00

A $10 craigslist projector makes for a pretty great party. Here is our first go at a liquid light show

teeny wearable art

2011-12-30T14:27:00.003-05:00

crochet ball

2011-12-27T03:05:00.000-05:00

booties for 'pip'

2011-12-22T15:22:00.000-05:00

pattern

Jars

2011-12-21T18:25:00.001-05:00

recipe

Housewarming

2011-12-20T00:02:00.000-05:00

In Mom's garden

2011-12-16T18:29:00.003-05:00

I took this picture July 4th 2010, and just re-discovered it today. I can't remember why I wasn't happy with this shot :)

Crochet slippers & vintage buttons

2011-12-16T17:23:00.003-05:00

pattern

ROLLER DERBY WORLD CUP

2011-12-06T12:06:00.004-05:00

Oh. Em. Gee.

13 countries were represented in Toronto Canada for the first ever Roller Derby World Cup.

I got to Cheer on my derby wife Blockadile Dundee on Team Australia who came in 4th! USA swept the competition (of course). We got to hang out with derby legends from all over the world, and the global afterparty was everything you would dream it to be. And then some...

Invites

2011-11-30T19:08:00.009-05:00

raise a glass to turnings of the season

2011-11-27T15:38:00.002-05:00

granny square necklace

2011-11-21T00:10:00.000-05:00

A belated birthday gift for my sister-in-law, crocheted with embroidery thread.

I invented a game

2011-11-15T23:27:00.005-05:00

Equipment: feline, laser pointer

The playing field: bottom line worth 100 points, top line 500

400 points for Team Bowie!

update: we need to add another line, the kitties are regularly reaching the peep hole now!

poster

2011-11-14T21:21:00.002-05:00

This popped into my head today.

b-day gift for my derby wife

2011-11-13T16:36:00.000-05:00

An homage to Tobias Fünke

autumnal decor

2011-11-13T16:16:00.003-05:00

inspiration

new Avett Brothers

2011-11-11T09:59:00.006-05:00

We sat down yesterday to listen to the new album, i thought this song was perfect for the occasion.

and an older one

It's hard to pick only two to share. Really any song of theirs is just beautiful. Check them out.

Acute kitty

2011-11-10T00:40:00.002-05:00

Banjo demonstrates our general household atmosphere.

Been enjoying some relatively lazy days after the derby season and before the holiday season. loving this.

Man is a complex being; he makes deserts bloom – and lakes die. -Gil Stern

2011-11-03T10:51:00.005-04:00

This reminded me of these pictures I took last March. This was in the field across from Indian Gardens, and I had never seen so many sandhill cranes before. I pulled over to get a picture, this flock was spread out over a mile or so!

Dredged ditch in the foreground, mentioned in the video.

The ecological teaching of the Bible is simply inescapable: God made the world because He wanted it made. He thinks the world is good, and He loves it. It is His world; He has never relinquished title to it. And He has never revoked the conditions, bearing on His gift to us of the use of it, that oblige us to take excellent care of it. If God loves the world, then how might any person of faith be excused for not loving it or justified in destroying it?

-Wendell Berry, "God and Country,"

recommended viewing

2011-11-02T10:36:00.003-04:00

Watched this last night, it is a wonderful and sad story of an outsider artist from Lincoln Park in Chicago Ill named Henry Darger.

diamond ring

2011-10-26T14:11:00.003-04:00

embroidered diamond ring with a crochet gold band

Suckers made from jolly ranchers!

2011-10-25T14:57:00.007-04:00

I used these directions as a starting point. But here are my slightly modified directions:

1) Place 2 candies side by side on wax paper
2) heat candies in oven for about 5-9 minutes at 200 degrees. Take cookie sheet out of the oven as soon as all the originally molded corners are gone and it's a big smooth blob. Just keep a close eye on them.

3) Lay sticks into place on melted candies. Slowly twirl in melted candy to coat the stick so it will hold. They're hot! Work quickly before the candies harden, but don't burn yourself. I made 6 suckers at a time so I didn't have to rush so much, and wore a winter glove so I was able to touch the pan a bit.
4) let cool for 30 minutes and enjoy!

Preeeettyy!

embroidered shoe

2011-10-24T12:24:00.005-04:00

I take that back, this is the last time I did embroidery. This is from sometime in college, on my first and last pair of chucks.

pumpkins

2011-10-19T20:58:00.002-04:00

We carved pumpkins with the neighbors while sippin' moonshine and watching The Nightmare Before Christmas. Mine's the disappointed guy on the right.

covered rock

2011-10-18T17:23:00.004-04:00

My first yarn bomb

2011-10-16T19:55:00.002-04:00

Yarn installations, or yarn bombs are not permanent, and unlike graffiti, can be removed if necessary. Nonetheless, the practice is still technically illegal, though it is not often prosecuted vigorously. Yarn bombing is about reclaiming or personalizing sterile and cold urban environments, or altering on object in an adorably unexpected way.

I have a handful of these random little circles in my stash, so I started out with a green and blue one, and just "free-styled" it from there.

I started small. And decided that this no parking sign could use a little flair. It stayed up for at least 3 days, though I haven't checked on it recently.

*edit 10/25 it's still up and looks great!

My first embroidery (since the 3rd grade)

2011-10-15T19:41:00.000-04:00

Here's the shoddy pattern I made from my own key collection (the heart one is my favorite).

Pattern free for personal use

Fresh Start

2011-10-14T11:20:00.005-04:00

I hope to record my crafty-diy-project-type-things and pretty pictures here, though I am easily distracted by other topics. We'll see where it goes. Hopefully the coming projects are a bit more impressive than the "kitty command center."