Said the Lion to the Cat. . .

"You don't love me, you love the idea of me."

My cat, Pique, seems to have fallen for a drawing I did a week ago. She sleeps by it, she stares as it, she marks it with her face-scent, she knocks it over so she can lay on it. I don't get it, but I'm sorry to say that I need my drawing board back. Also, she's ruining the paper. I'll have to make another pastel drawing to see if it's just the fumes she loves. Or, perhaps she and lion have bonded.

Christmas Knitting

As I am unable to post knit items for family and friends until they have received said items, I shall instead post a commission that I received wind of the other day.

I present to you . . . A knitted Dickey


Serious Business, this Dickey. I was given very little notice during my bout of Christmas knitting, and managed to pull it off in about 3 hours. It's made from Paton's Classic Wool, 100 per cent sheep's wool, in a very pretty/manly denim blue (I wasn't sure the gender of the recipient so . . . . everybody loves blue! right?) as you can see from the tag. Here Nigel models it. Nigel thinks it's dashing.
Here's something I can show you - A sneak peek at my new mittens! This is a reward for myself for being on schedule with all my Christmas knitting. I needed a treat. The colours are fairly true in the photo, a very pretty teal and a kelly green. I'm following Elizabeth Zimmermann's Mitered Mittens Pattern with great success. I've used this pattern before but shhhhh. . . what I made is top secret!

And here's Sarj with someone else's gift:
Knit Catnip Mice!

She was pretty pissy when I took them away. I guess she thought they were for her - I'll have to make her and Pique some for their stockings. I made these guys extra big because they are going to such a big guy!

Deck the Halls

This is how we decorate the tree at my house - with flair and gusto.
That tree is fake - can you tell?
Still struggling with school, though keeping up. Only three more weeks until this semester is over. I'm scared. Next semester will be much better, and *gasp* I may actually be creating art instead of colour scale exercises. I'm so on it!
My computer is almost up and running as usual. Installing Norton really helped, as I am getting something trying to "attack" my PC every five minutes I'm on the internet. Even after hours of picking through every file on my computer I was unable to locate the infected ones, but switching to Firefox as my browser was a good move. I guess only Internet Explorer is really messed up.
Yesterday, while riding the bus, I happened to sit behind a very large man with a sticky-out moustache and a child's mind. He was picking his nose with bandaged fingers and smearing whatever he found up there on the rails and windows. Further proof that men smear (10 points if anyone can tell when what movie that is referenced from). I was pretty disgusted and may never take public transit again. One of those situations where it's totally inappropriate to say anything, but god damn do you want to.

M's DS Cozy

That's right - it's hairy. . . just like everything else in the house.

This was a gift for his tenth birthday - he was also receiving a DS, so I knew it would immediately be put to good use!

I used a light courdoroy as the outer fabric and a pumpkin-coloured fleece for the guts. I sewed in two deep (by DS game standards) pockets in after the fact, and made a wrist strap for it as well. I was especially proud of the strap, as it showed more foresight and planning that I usually exhibit in my sewing. I may actually be getting good at this thing!

I made up the pattern, using my own DS as a template. I didn't want to use too much velcro, as the stuff that I bought out of a bargain bin has incredibly hold-power, and I have to wrestle with my wallet that I made a little too often. I did do a test run with my own DS though, inserting it into the cosy then flailing it about wildly by the wrist strap. I can safely say that this baby is solid.

Jake Rocks Out

Some sketches of Jake playing Guitar Hero III - The first took about ten minutes and the second of him standing about 5. I hadn't been drawing much lately, and wasn't feeling very inspired, but the the past week or so I seem to have the hankering to draw everything I see. Which is welcome, believe me.
I've also got to find a job. Some money would be welcome, too.

Being Proactive and Loving It . . .

So life has been hard to keep up with lately, but I think I've survived the storm. Not that it will be smooth sailing, but I don't run the risk of capsizing so much.
I'm working hard to get all caught up on my Craftster Swaps, homework, housework and Christmas crafting. A huge bout of family birthdays in a very short period of time has left me out of breath; my midterms marks left me breathless. Let's just say I could be doing better. Way better. Let's just say I'm ashamed and dismayed. Let's just say I'm pulling up my socks.
Let's just say I'll never do this poorly again. Let's.
The Zombie package was very well recieved, and candy was consumed. Hurrah!
Hallowe'en was ok - my brother and I had a mini shindig with the signifigant others. I'll have to post pictures later. If you have ever wanted to see a Drug Dealer, Shifty-Eyed Drunken Vagrant, Witch and Hooded Skeleton rock out on Guitar Hero whilst imbibing fancy drinks. . .boy are you in luck!

And Thus Ends a Haunting Chapter of My Life.

So I finally sent off my Zombie Swap Package. I would feel like the worst swap partner ever, except for the fact that everything I made was gold. Here is the completed package, plus black cat for extra spooky goodness:

I made these magnets out of those glass drops sold in mesh bags and little water-colour paintings I did especially for the project. I actually did six, thought I had taken a picture of all six, and then realised that I was missing a set of two after I had packed them up and sent them off. Bummer. They were all different. I drew the faces on with pigment liner and highlighted the white bits with acrylic paint. I totally plan on making lots more for myself! Magnets are glued in behind.

Sorry for the wicked glare. . .

I made these earrings as well. Hoo-Rah for Shrinky Dinks! They are based off of a guitar pick that you can buy from Hotpicks, but who wants to do that when they can make them at home? Earrings, I mean. Not guitar picks. I realise that shrinky dinks are far too brittle to be used as guitar picks. Simmer down.

I really liked the packaged for this. Ziploc Bag, and index card and a sharpie. Oh. . . and staples. Can't forget the staples.

She should receive it Hallowe'en, which I thought was terribly appropriate, however late it may be. I really think that she'll love it. I was so sad to see Gary, my zombie, go. I will miss thee, Gary.

I also sent some Bulk Barn candy (hopefully she is willing to eat bulk candy she received in the mail from a stranger. I just bought it. It's fresh. It's also brain gummies and sour bones. Awesome!

Just in case she dutifully adheres to the lessons of concerned parents/school teachers/scout leaders and is leery of eating unpackaged candy from strangers (though they never mention it arriving by mail, which in my opinion cancels the whole thing out) I also sent her some body parts. . . packaged. . .at a factory. Definitely no poison or razor blades there!

My PC is still indisposed.

And it's pissing me off.

hope to have it fixed in the next week. We are coming up on reading week, and I must say I'm looking forward to it. I need some time to catch up on some work that I've been struggling with. I've decided to really pull up my socks and start taking my courses more seriously. I am considering applying to Fine Art in the fall. It scares the crap out of me: I'm so homesick. We'll see how it pans out. I think it'd be good for me though. Wherever I may go, more schooling seems like the answer for me.

It was Pique's birthday this week (and Cristin's!). Same day. We had balloons and a cake and everythin'!

The Birthday Girls! (We have a newfound tradition in my family to wear this awesome hat I found at the dollar store on your birthday. Pique is not a big fan of hats:

And. . .
PIQUE DEMANDS CAKE!!!
Never piss off a cat with a fork. It's death.

BEST. . . SHIRT. . ..EVAR!

Please don't mind the smushy chin - it's hard to take a picture of choself. . . I found this shirt on Threadless and completely fell in love with it. I think my favourite aspect is that is totally looks like a little kid's shirt until you realise exactly what the cuddly unicorns are up to. My rainbow is a bit wonky - my scalpels were dull (I have since replaced them). Enjoy!

Gainfully Unemployed

I finally quit my stupid awful job.
Rather, the new manager (my old manager was transferred to another store within the company with no notice. . .there's a big long story there that I'd rather not get in to, but let's jsut say that it's not a good scene, and I no longer felt good about the ethics and politics within the higher-ups) called after I didn't show up for a shift. I had already called her and told her that I was sick and unable to come in to work (more on that later) and she demanded a doctor's note. I thought this ridiculous, especially because I have never needed one in the past, it is not company policy and I don't want to go all the way to Angus to get a note for a headcold. So I told her that I wasn't coming in anymore. She got mad - told me that she didn't need this crap and that she doesn't have time for this. . . she's got a business to run. I stayed chipper and friendly and told her to have a good day. And that's that.
I've got to say it's pretty nice to know that you're not selling bedding anymore. I would really like to stay out of that type of retail in the future. The idea of selling people things that they most definately do not need really bothers me. Also the up-selling. I hate how good I am at it.
Aaaaand. . .I'm sick. It's just a headcold but I've very nearly lost my voice. I could only whisper when I awoke this morning, and now I sound like a goose. It should be cleared up in the next few days though, and I get a few days in my pjs playing vids as a result. Not too shabby overall. . .
My computer is also sick, and will be out of commission for a while. There's a trojan virus on there and its hacked my system or some jazz. I can't use the internet or any of my programs. That really stinks. Especially when I'm sick. . . .