See what happens when I'm bored?

Fun with the Heat Gun - First attempt at Embossing

2009-06-09T01:08:26Z

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.

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.

Dwarven Battle Bonnet #2

2009-06-05T22:02:29Z

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).

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.

Dwarven Battle Bonnet... of Death... and Annoyance

2009-03-09T06:38:06Z

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.

Ideally, at some point I shall drag Sarah to Olive Garden and con her into sticking this thing on her head again, as I do, and then there will be a picture of someone actually wearing it. Until then, Jack Frost gnome has agreed to model for us once more.

And here is a closer look at the braiding.

More sillyness with the DBB

2009-01-31T04:00:25Z

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.

So while Sarah ate her food, I proceeded to veeerrrrryyy slowly pick up 58 stitches around the brim of the helmet, using the red acrylic I had picked for the hair and beard and an impulse purchase of copper colored Fun Fur.

Seriously, in that photo, I'm more than a little out of it. It took me two hours to veeerrryyy carefully pick up those stitches. TWO HOURS.

Also, Fun Fur is not as amusing as the name would imply.

And finally, just to prove that I wasn't the only one in a silly mood that night - Sarah.

In which Jack Frost wears a disguise

2009-01-29T09:50:54Z

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

Either way...

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

Dwarven Battle Bonnet... of Death... and yarn

2009-01-28T05:12:17Z

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.

The hat part is sort of perched at a jaunty angle upon the rest of the yarn ball. If this works, I'm going to have to find another model or some sort of a head dummy thing, since Captain is not here to try it on for me.

Harlequin Gnome

2009-01-14T04:31:48Z

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!

At one point, toward the end, while I was recovering the face of pookie here, I sat back to take a break and went "oh, wow, that reminds me of something..." Do you see it?

You can't tell me that guy didn't look a bit like that one James Bond villain with the name I can't spell. Baron something.

Finally, in case anyone was wondering, Harley here is quite a bit smaller than the last gnome I worked on. I thought I'd include a pic to offer a visual size comparison. Remember, sometimes size really does matter.

Bedazzling

2009-01-14T03:53:11Z

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.

Gnomish Pic Spam!!

2008-10-20T02:50:00Z

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.

Technically, I took this first one in an attempt to get a decent picture of the coloring. The gas can in the back was a pure accident, but I think it makes Jack look like he's been caught in the act.

The rest of these are all Sarah's efforts. I gave her the gnome and wandered off to do some more Christmas shopping through the wonder that is Amazon.com and twenty minutes, one request for my car keys, and two horn honks later - voila.

Jack Frost Gnome

2008-10-14T04:11:29Z

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

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

He's got a dark purplish red hat (all gnomes have red hats, it's in the rule book, I'm pretty sure) and a kicking blue smoking jacket, complete with groovy polka dots on the cuffs and collar. There are hints of frost on his shoes, bag, knees, hat and hem. Not to mention the pointy chompers for nose nipping. Although you really can't see it in the pictures, his eyes have a bit of silver glitter for that added bit of whimsy.

Keep in mind, this has been sitting on my desk for the last month as I worked on it.

Staring at me.

Squared Baby Blanket

2008-09-09T16:24:44Z

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.

House of the Badger Scarf

2008-09-05T00:27:19Z

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

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

House of the Eagle (Raven, take your pick) Scarf

2008-09-04T18:33:52Z

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!

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.

House of the Lion scarf - Completed in Four Weeks + 1 Day

2008-01-28T00:33:05Z

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.

The scarf artfully arranged upon the ginormous coffee table in the living room of my parents.

The scarf artfully arranged upon the shoulders of my model and gift recipient - the Midget.

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.

House of the Lion scarf - End of Week 2

2007-12-12T00:57:42Z

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.

House of the Lion scarf - End of Week 1

2007-12-03T02:51:50Z

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.

Don't worry, the Green and Silver yarn were purchased separately since they're a completely different weight. I would never forget Slytherin House.

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.

As of tonight (Sunday, December 2nd) I have two trapped bars completed.

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

Scarf Project - Completed in 17 weeks.

2007-12-03T02:41:13Z

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.

For comparison, this is Who V. 1.0 (the difference between season 12 and 15 I believe, although I could have the later season wrong).

Scarf Project - End of Week 10

2007-10-13T20:32:16Z

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

Still have a long way to go.

Two days and some craft paint

2007-10-02T20:11:24Z

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.

Scarf Project - End of Week 7

2007-09-21T04:25:11Z

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?

The white arrow hovering on my basket of spare yarn is the 1/4th completed arrow. I would guesstimate that I'm about 40% done with this thing (not counting tucking in ends and adding fringe). Considering this is going to be a Christmas present for someone and I sort of wanted to finish another knitting project or two (also for Christmas) after it, I should probably start working a bit faster, huh?

Please ignore the hideousness of my craft closet, btw.

Scarf Project - End of Week Five

2007-09-07T03:16:33Z

Between getting ready to ST a Hunter campaign (Which required me to read A LOT of books in a very short amount of time AND think of some sort of long term plotty thing) and coming down with a case of the icky cooties, I missed last week's progress photo. Not that there was much progress, because I wasn't kidding about being really really busy/sick for the last two weeks.

So, here's week five.

It's getting a bit longer, and I'm getting to the point where I've already asked a friend to pick up one skein of the tan color (and may soon be asking for more) since I'm working with the yarn I had left form the last scarf attempt.

Also, because I missed last week's photo, I have a bonus pic today.

Behold - Loki staking his claim on my garbage can.

Ignore the eye crusties, he's sort of flat faced and Siamesey and tends to get eye cooties daily. That's his daddy's job to clean up, btw, since Loki is "Daddy's kitty" and the nice, non-spraying, non-cootied, alien cat is "Mommy's kitty".

Scarf Project - End of Week Three

2007-08-24T04:07:30Z

At this point, I'm doing this mostly out of my own curiosity to see how long this will take and how much I manage to accomplish when I'm not farting around on the Internets (which isn't often). Who am I kidding, sometimes I knit while I am farting around on the Internets, but only because I'm a multi-tasking demon, don't you know.

Speaking of - I'm considering attempting to sell a custom painted lawn gnome or two, so far I've only managed two flavors: Drowish/fire demony guy or undead zombie guy. If you were going to buy something like that at a craft fair or through the mail, what would you be willing to pay? To be honest, I'm pretty sure it wouldn't be worth enough to someone else to cover my costs for the naked gnome in the first place which is why they tend to be gifts rather than sold, but I thought I'd ask since Captain has been bugging me because he seems to think someone might want to buy one if I advertised and he wants to know how much I'd want.

Anywho, back to a picture of a partially knitted scarf.

Scarf Project - End of Week Two

2007-08-17T06:38:59Z

Newest Knitting Project

2007-08-09T23:38:15Z

I started this on August 2nd during my FRG meeting. Was able to finish the purple stripe and start the tan one before I had to leave, and then didn't touch it again until two days ago.

I'm sure you can guess what this is going to be.

Knitted Hand Warmers

2007-04-26T06:01:32Z

Considering how much time I spend sitting at my desk every day, it's no wonder my circulation isn't the best. My hands, in particular, tend to get very cold. After I finished the striped hat of doom, I took my new found double pointed needle skills and started working on a set of hand warmers that would let me type and do other things that gloves or mittens wouldn't.

The yarn is left over black from the hat. The pattern is hard to see, since it's basically black on black, so I lightened the photo. I think, if you look for it, you can sort of see the twisty formation going on, sort of angled ribs.

And yes, those are my fat, and very short little fingers. It's a curse.