Craftiness

Creative Pay-It-Forward: 2013 Edition

I don’t normally participate in these sorts of things, but this one seems right up my alley.

I am participating in 2013 Creative Pay-It-Forward: The first x people (where x is some randomly determined number, or until I’m tired of doing it) to comment on this status will receive from me, sometime in 2013, a special gift – perhaps a book, or a scrapbook page, or a mix CD, or baked goods, or a candle, or a small object – a special surprise just for them. There will likely be no warning and it will happen whenever the mood strikes me.

If you want to receive a bit of meri randomness in your life, please comment, and then send me your mailing address via private message.

There is supposed to be a catch, in that these same x people must also make the same offer via their (Facebook|Blog|Journal) and deliver during 2013. However, I’m not much one for these sorts of conditions. Play along if you want. 🙂

[ An aside: If you are a Gweep, please consider this to be a reminder to update your GweepDex entry. ]

Need a planner for the new year?

As the end of the year comes rushing at us, if any of you are looking for a new DayRunner / DayTimer / Franklin Covey style planner, but none of the one out there really match the way you work, drop me a note. I can probably work with you to design a planner that fits your usage patterns better than something off the shelf. (Really. I do this. 🙂 )

My epiphany of the day.

I’ve been posting on Facebook about how I feel the urge to build things with my hands, but am stymied by the lack of actual artistic ability (and the fact that the really big LEGO sets cost more than a car payment). Brett suggested a trip to IKEA, somewhat as a joke. But my brain quickly tripped through the problems with that: Money and Space, neither of which I have. Which means that, if there were a smaller, cheaper version of IKEA…

IKEA dollhouses. Everything IKEA, in miniature, and everything is flatpack and whatnot, the way IKEA really is. Complete with miniature allen wrenches.

SOMEONE GET ME THE KING OF SWEDEN ON THE PHONE NOW!

For you (closet) lushes out there.

The closet bit is parenthetical because most of my friends who are lushes are very open about the whole thing.

Our friends at woot! have put up a pop-up store for the holidays, and they’re kicking it off right. There are a variety of drinking games up for sale, if you’re in to that sort of thing. (I know, I know, you don’t need no stinking game to help you drink, but it might be fun for a change.)

(Oh, and if anyone is looking for a custom -opoly board, we should talk. 😉

The internet is awesome, part in a series.

I was joking with Cindy about needing to knit her a hat to wear during her running expeditions, and she asked if I could knit one of those hats with the attached beards, because they’re awesome. I knew exactly what she was talking about, and went off in search of patterns.

Turns out, there’s an entire web site dedicated to them. Check out Beardhead.com, if that sort of thing interests you. (These are actual finished projects, not patterns, which makes me both happy and sad.)

PSA: Important Knitting Rule.

If you are the sort to have an occasional drink, it is a good idea to keep around a knitting project that you can safely work on after having a drink or two. There is, in fact, a whole book dedicated to this idea. (The book rates knitting patterns based upon how many drinks you can have and still safely work on the project.)

Having had a drink, I think I shall put away the Terribly Intricate Project for the evening, and pull out a nearly-fool-proof project.

Cables, cables, everywhere.

If you’ve been paying attention, then you know I’m working on a project whose nickname I keep waffling on, but it’s essentially something along the lines of Most Intricate Little Project Everâ„¢. I don’t think I’m giving away too much to say that I’m working on knitting a dress, size 2T (that’s toddler size 2, for those not in the know). So, itty bitty dress, for a little person. Which is to say, small in circumference, ya know? So I don’t think that I’m overly insane for thinking that 20 cables in a single row are a wee bit much.

If anyone sees my sanity, please let it know that I’m on the lookout for it, k?

How I know it’s chilly out…

I’m wearing socks for the first time (other than knitting purposes) this year.

A question for my knitting friends.

Not that I’m looking to start a new project at the moment, because I’m hip deep in projects, but I have a question for my fellow knitting freaks.

If I wanted to get a start on color work, what would be a good beginner-level project? I don’t think that I’m quite up for Fair Isle ( 🙂 ), and would like to get an idea of a good project that gets me started down the path of using color for more than stripes.

I look forward to all the great ideas!

Athena, give me strength.

I’m working on the Incredibly Intricate Projectâ„¢, and am ever so close to joining in the round. I am, in fact, on the last row before I get to join in the round. Unfortunately, this row is a ‘purl 257’ and my brain has a mental block against it. I’ve picked it up about 4 times, and I think I’ve actually purled about 60 stitches. At this rate, this row will be done by lunch.