Month: September 2011

On Bird-Watching

Don’t Quit Your Day Job

 

I’ve been out in Central Texas for almost two years now, yet I’m still losing my shit every time I spot one of these guys – much less the three that appear to live – or at least feed – right along my daily commute route.  In my defense, several of my coworkers who have lived out here much longer than I have are just as thrilled as I am with our neighborhood roadrunners.

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Running rings around the competition

Don’t Quit Your Day Job

 

I blame Phil Plait.  His blog is an unending stream of pretty space pictures, and he’s been getting a little Saturn-happy lately.

I mean, are these Cassini pictures not the prettiest things you ever did see?

Windmill Bag – now with handles!

Hey, remember that fabulous windmill-pattern bag I made for Dear Roomie last Christmas?  The one made from fabulous hand-dyed wool purchased from the fabulous little yarn shop in my parents’ fabulous little hometown in the NC mountains?  The one that was all done save the handles?  Welllll guess what I finally purchased, 8 months later!

Yes, the amazing little red bag has handles!  I was back in the mountains for the annual Mt. Mitchell Crafts Fair a few weeks ago, and nabbed these red leather handles at – you guessed it – the Yummi Yarns shop.  Of course, they had these same handles a year ago when I purchased the yarn, but I foolishly thought I’d be able to find something comparable closer to home.

Lesson learned, handles acquired.  The bag is complete!

…now I just have to get it to Dear Roomie, who is no longer actually my roomie.

On Restraint

Don’t Quit Your Day Job

 

Apologies for the comic being even later than usual.  Once again, I procrastinated, and didn’t finish the original drawing until too late on Friday night to start inking.  Then I was actually – gasp! – productive on Saturday.

I cleaned my room.

Yeah, I know.  Wow.

I got the closet so organized, in fact, that the boy felt an overwhelming urge to prance, and then did.  He pranced in my closet.  Not a euphemism for anything at all, I swear.  There was clear floor space in my closet, and he did a little jig right there, on that clear floor.

…no, I really don’t know why.

I Like This Alot

For the uninitiated, Hyperbole and a Half is one of my very favorite blogs.  Dear Roomie and I have spent many an hour reading and re-reading her stories aloud to each other, sobbing with laughter.

One of my very favorite posts is “The Alot is Better Than You At Everything.”

I’ve been looking for a good excuse to make an Alot, and now I have one.

One of my cousins is beginning his third year of teaching high school English, and I just introduced him to the Alot this summer.  Obviously, he needs one for his classroom.

I’ve been hanging on to this I Love This Yarn brown tweed for a while, and I am unbelievably pleased with the touch of whimsy it lends while saving me from the pain and suffering of crocheting eyelash yarn.
It’s fairly simple amigurumi construction otherwise – doll eyes, yarn stitching, and felt accents.  This may be my first project involving felt, and I kind of love it.  Anchoring the horns and tooth was a little troublesome, but I’ve always liked the boldness and simplicity of felt in other projects, and that still holds here.