There is no pattern

Hiya from a.,

So what I thought I would show this week is not yet finished, so something to look forward to for next week. I did however manage to make a couple of other things this week, that I believe you will enjoy. These are two wildly different projects, but what they have in common is that I didn't have a pattern for either, they were both strictly from the let us see what I can come up with.

I'll show you the easier project first. This is an old, sort of bulky sweater that had belong to my dad, but he gave it to me for crafting.


I had a few options for what to do with the sweater, and this is what I came up with:


I sliced the sweater right at the bottom of the zipper, brought in the sides a fair bit, added a waistband and a pocket and now I have a sweater skirt for the fall. I think it turned out kind of cute, and should be fun to wear with a pair of tights.

So, not having a specific pattern for that, no problem, as it was really just elementary sewing. This next project, it was a lot harder for me to not have a pattern. This was made as a birthday gift for one of the FLBs. There is this super awesome cartoon called Invader Zim. He is supposed to be the initial leader of the invader of earth, but he is really bad at it. His sidekick is a robot named GIR. Now on earth, they obviously need to be in disguise, so GIR is hidden as a dog, this is what he looks like in the cartoon.


As you see GIR is super adorable and a little dim looking. Now here is the amigurumi that I made of him (again to remind you, I made this pattern up myself)



I weighted the body with pennies, in order to help it stand upright, and the only red I had for the tongue was some handspun merino. I am pleased with the results of the little guy, and he seemed to go over well.
Enjoy the cuteness.

big projects in the works

Hiya from a.,

So no new stuff to show you this week, as we are in the midst of big projects the both of us. r. is working on a bit of an epic canvas, and I am right in the middle of three things, so usually I would give you a photo of b.b. to tide you over, but instead enjoy a shot of the typewriter I purchased for r. at a fiber shop.

Adoropus

Hiya from a.,

I have a couple things that are a bit different from each other to show you today. I'll lead with the pretty and soft item.



This is a wrap for myself that I made using the Bamboo yarn from the Stitch Nation line they sell at JoAnn. It's a relatively new line of yarn and this was my first time playing with it, and I can tell you that it sure as heck won't be my last. I loved this yarn, soft, workable, and the colours are gorgeous (plus the regular price is 4.99 for a ball that is 250 yards, and being Joann it goes on sale every few weeks). Here is a close up of the stitch work for you, which I find quite pretty.



I like the contrast between the two colours and the two different lace patterns. Also as a bit of a side note, I have come to a personal choice. Shawls are super pretty and I love the patterns, but I look like a massive dork in shawls. Wraps and I get along great, but shawls aren't meant for me (this life decision will also help me avoid lace weight yarn).

Next I have for you a birthday gift I made for one of the Freaky Little Bitches. I tend to dye yarn as a birthday gift, but I wanted to shake it up and I knew that this friend liked monsters. This brought forth the creation of the Adoropus.


This little guy is made from some yarn I had left from gloves I made for r., as well as old ties that once belonged to my father. I pulled out the stitches and cut them into pieces, sewed and stuffed them. I stitched the legs loosely together and then I worked the yarn body in rounds and created holes to poke the legs through. I thought that the Adoropus (so named by r.) would make a cute object, and the legs can also function as pin cushions.

That is what I have this week, hope you enjoy.

p.s. I am sure that you can tell from the state of the work table that r. has started working on his next chapter.

Is this a "Dialectical Image"? No, probably not.

Hey Folks! This is r. I have for you today a little bit of art of the wearable and wall hangable variety. As some of you may be aware, I occasionally get together with a few friends to hang out and rock out. I think we sound pretty good and the fact that we sprung out of a dissertation writing group gives us the kind of music mag friendly back story that should have us signed to SubPop within the week. Anyway, we call ourselves the Zen Arcade Project (google the references) and decided that we needed merch despite the fact that we have absolutely no intention of playing out, at least not yet. So with that in mind I prepped a screen (these are screen printed) with this image. The lightning bolt and the ZAP on the arcade cabinet are a reference to the group's initials and have the added bonus of being really rocking. I've done the t-shirt as a test, along with three proof/prints in green and I'm quite pleased with the results. In all likelihood going to a second non-green print run (I suspect that it would also make a nice holiday gift for my more nostalgically or video game inclined friends), so if you want one or your very own t-shirt so you can be the very first Zappatista in your neck of the woods let me know. The next major screenprint project I'm planning on undertaking will be, I think, one designed for my sister tentatively titled "Jessie's Midnite Runners" or "Hurricane J" and will be based on the classic Saved by the Bell episode where Jessie gets hooked on speed--I mean caffeine pills, not speed, certainly not speed. I have some sketches ready and I think I can make it happen. We'll see.