See what happens when I'm bored?

Please ignore the various smudges and oopsies, this is my first attempt at playing around with ink and stamping in general, not to mention the embossing powder and heat gun. I used Gold and Copper metallic powders.

( Behind the cut for the flist )

These four pages are meant to become background sheets for a scrapbook I'm working on. Most of the details will be obliterated once pictures and text blocks are added, but I will know they are there.

Obviously I'm building a Dwarven army, one beard at a time.

This little guy was slightly less irksome than the first attempt (redheaded pain in my rear, as I still affectionately call it).

( Blond Ambition )

No more helmets and beards for a bit. I've got a few new projects to tackle over the next six months. Not to mention a scrapbook to finish for a trip I took back in '93, and various other bits of mischief to get into.

You have no idea how frustrating this project was for me.

Worse than the House scarves with the mumps.

Worse than repainting Harlegnome a bajillion times.

If this project hadn't been a labor of love for the Captain, I would have tossed the entire thing into the garbage long, long ago.

Instead - I give you pictures of the finished project.

( I knit for great justice! And for beardless dwarves! )

Thursday, Sarah was kind enough to drag my over-medicated butt out of the house for a few hours so that I could get some air or something. We went to the Olive Garden, where I ordered most of my food to-go because I'd been forced to eat already in order to take a pill that tastes not unlike what I imagine licking the wrong end of a donkey might be like. Assuming there is a right end of a donkey to lick.

Anywho, by the time we made it out in public I A) didn't really give a flying crud what I looked like because I was more concerned with the concept of walking without tilting over and B) I was trying to flush the evilness that is Benadryl out of my system by refusing to take my evening doses. In other words, there was enough left in my system to make me slightly loopy, but not enough to make me feel the need to pass out in my bowl of salad.

( Read more... )

Or - Miah needed someone to wear the stupid hat at three am and had no other options.

Either way...

( Read more... )

The helmet part of the Battle Bonnet is complete. Ish. I think.

The problem with being a fairly inexperienced knitter is that I see all these patterns and finished projects and I think "oohhhhhh that's cool" and then I get the rather stupid idea that perhaps I could make it myself.

In theory, this is true. I could make the whatever it is myself, but we all know that what will really happen is I'm going to give it a go, discover fairly early that I really haven't a clue what the pattern is really saying because now that I've got the yarn and needles in my hand there is no way I can make them do whatever the author of the pattern is claiming they should be able to do... because I'm missing that one vital piece of information that more experienced knitters just seem to know.

What's worse, it is always a different "vital piece of information" for every project. With the house scarves it was that K1,P1 for ribs actually means K1,P1 then P1,K1 on the next row, then repeat, otherwise you end up with a seed stitch which is something similar to giving the yarn a case of the mumps. I could not, for the life of me, understand why my scarf had a disease but their project had lovely ribbing.

Vital information that I did not have.

My newest "I can make that myself. Maybe." project is a little something called a Dwarven Battle Bonnet. Personally, I find the finished project to be quite amusing, which is why I coughed up the three bucks to buy the pattern (google it, it's worth a look even if you don't buy the pattern). HOWEVER, the author tends to use certain terms interchangeably (most notably the word round) for different things, resulting in the need for me to unpick several rows of knitting once I realized why things weren't shaping up as they should. The author also gets a bit vague in certain spots, and I understand that she's trying to save herself and the reader from having to look at extremely detailed notes for every single row of work... but I like detailed notes for every single row of work.

This way there's too much guesswork, and as I've already expressed... guessing is what gets me into trouble since I don't really have enough experience under my belt to make informed decisions.

Therefore, I am predicting that this project will be completed, yes, but it will not be identical to the original because I am about to begin improvising the heck out of it in roughly four minutes. I've reached that point in the pattern where things have stopped adding up again, you see.

Anywho, below the cut, I give you the beginnings of MissMiah's Dwarven Battle Bonnet... of Death... and yarn.

( Pic behind the cut to save the flist )

There hasn't been much time for painting the last few months, what with two exchange fics to write, a husband home on R&R, the usual nervous breakdowns AND my new faux-dazzler to play with... but I did manage to finish a new little guy.

This little bugger ended up being completely repainted (mostly on the whim of whatever day I was working on it) no less than four times. FOUR.

By the time I was done, the paint was so thick it was staying tacky for longer than a day.

Behold - the version I disliked the least!
( Harlequin. Ish. )

I received a GeMagic for Christmas - there's a long story involved as to why, suffice it to say that if the phrase "I would BeDazzle the crap out of that" ever passes your lips, be prepared.

Not that I didn't want the faux-dazzler, because now that I have it, I've spent hours buying little gems for it and sorting them into cases by size and color and plotting what I was going to make once I figured out a way to bypass the step that involves using a transfer pen (which I can not find ANYWHERE, damn you Hobby Lobby, Wal-Mart AND Joanne's) and an iron.

Anyway, below the cut is a quick picture of my first two forays into the world of sticking shiny bits of plastic onto random crap. Enjoy.

( Pics behind the cut )

I've been wanting some pictures of one of the gnomes out in the yard, doing what evil gnomes do...

Whatever that is.

Sarah, bless her twisted little mind, agreed to come over with her camera and go to town with the new gnome.

Below are the results.

( Behind a cut because I'm nice that way. )

My latest fugly hand-painted ceramic gnome project is finished.

And he's fugtastic, if I do say so myself.

( I call this one 'Jack Frost' )

In the span of a month, I found out that four different couples I know were going to be spawning. Two of them informed me on the very same day, even.

Four.

In a month.

I swear, there's something in the water.

Anywho - in response to the new influx of small people about to populate the world, I have begun knitting a couple of baby blankets.

The first of what will be at least two, possibly more, is completed.

( Behold! )

As promised, I bring you... HUFFLEPUFF!!!

( Read more... )

One more and I'll have the whole set. Gotta catch them all.

Many, many months ago I completed three more House scarves for various friends.

A Gryffindor for perkygothess, a Ravenclaw for rewil and a Hufflepuff for beeform.

Unfortunately, I completely forgot to take any pictures of the three finished products before I sent them off to their new homes. I've already posted pictures of the first Gryffindor scarf I made, and Perky's is pretty much identical, so no need to hunt her down and ask for a photo illustration. However, the other two are brand new to the Catalog O' Junk Miah has made...

Thus - below the cut, the Ravenclaw scarf!
( Read more... )

I have it on good authority that there will be a pic of the Hufflepuff scarf soon.

Now I just need to finish the Slytherin scarf that's been hanging out on some needles untouched for the last several months and I'll have made a whole set, +1.

It took a bit longer than I had hoped it would, but the scarf was completed in time to give it to the Midget.

And by "in time" I mean we were opening presents on Christmas Eve as I added the tassels and the last thing we did before throwing away all the used wrapping paper involved me throwing the completed scarf at her head while yelling "Happy Christmas! Here's your last present!"

So, you know, your definition of "in time" might differ.

Either way, the scarf is completed and below the cut there are some pictures for you to see.
( Piccies! )

I am currently working on a super secret project that is about one quarter finished - the deadline is known only to me, mwhahaha, and at the moment I seriously have no hope in heck of meeting it. Which is why it is a secret.

December 9th was the end of week 2 on this project.

I have high hopes that I'll be able to finish it before Christmas, if nothing else there will be a seven hour car ride where I'll have nothing to do but knit as we drive to the parents' house for the family gathering if I get desperate.

( My progress. Let me show you it. )

Now that Who Scarf is done (for this year, anyway) - it's time to move on to the next gift-type project I don't have time to finish before the holidays but I'm going to give it my best shot anyway sort of thing.

Below is contents of the box of yarn that arrived on my door step several weeks ago.

( Piccies )

24 skeins of acrylic/wool blend worsted weight. I know, I know. It's not 100 percent wool, but to be honest I didn't want 100 percent. Wool may be all that and a bag of chips but A) I have at least one friend who is allergic to it (don't ask me, I didn't know that could happen either) B) getting some that won't felt can be extremely expensive C) I wanted a fiber that could be washed and worn without worry and D) I had specific colors I needed and finding them was a PAIN IN THE ARSE as it was.

So blend it is.

Anywho - I started the next project which I'm sure we all recognize on November 26th. Took it apart about four times, and finally found my rhythm by the 28th, which is when the pictures below were taken.

( More Piccies )

Hopefully this one will go a little faster than the last scarf.

Knitted almost entirely during 17 weeks of D&D games, hospital visits, FRG meetings, waiting room waits, watching Suvivor/Amazing Race/Ugly Betty/CSI and car rides - Who Scarf V. 2.0 is finally complete.

I wrapped up the knitting over the Turkey day weekend (fringe was completed during the D&D game on Saturday, the 24th of November). This scarf is not identical to last year's efforts (see below for a comparison) - completely different pattern, width, length, stitch - but I believe it turned out well.

( Pictures? )

I skipped a few weeks of pictures, been busy running about.

( Scarfyness )

Still have a long way to go.

Captain's ren garb has taken on a bit of a piratey bent of late (I blame the boots), and we were talking about just going for the full on Pirate look for Halloween and possibly the upcoming Faire. Since the Faire doesn't allow swords, even those that are peace tied, I thought perhaps one of those plastic gun things from Volde-Mart might help a bit.

Plus, it was cheap. Fugly, but cheap.

So, see what I did in my efforts to avoid working on fic or cleaning the house.

( Can you see the difference? )

Not as much progress as I would have liked the last two weeks, but I've been busy working on a brag book for Captain's certificates and things that he has to keep track of for the Army (They don't keep track of awards and classes on their own, you see. Someone has to bring them reminders from time to time or else they forget to promote you. I figured, if we have to keep all that crap someplace where it can't be lost, I could shove it all in a three ring binder and scrapbook some pages at the same time, thus killing two birds with one stone. Turns out I'm not the first Army wife to have this brilliant idea, and I've been having a "Play Date" with another spouse once a week to work on our scrapbooks together.)

And I totally got distracted, didn't I?

( You know what's hiding behind here. )