Work in Progress Part Two

Mr. Squid with the accompanying cover that will eventually attach to a railing.The cover is a combination of double crochet and triple crochet in alternating rows for a nice textured look so it stands out just a tad from the single crochet amigurumi style squid. The squid will be fully attached (so no one can rip him off the railing) and will eventually have two longer tentacles that wrap around.

Hahaha look! There's a Star Wars poster in the background. What a nerd! Oh wait.

Here's another toothless that I completed on commission this week. It's not like you haven't already seen about ten of these already.

Squid!

So I was contacted last week by Knitty Graffity who asked if I would like to participate in her Woolly-Walk-Along all the way down in New Zealand! Well she described a little more of the event, which I don't go into detail about in case she plans to make a big reveal at the end, but I decided to join! I've never done a public work of yarn, but it sounded like such a neat challenge! Plus we just had a donation of a bunch of pink yarn. When I say a bunch, I mean around 10 skeins, so naturally I snatched it up and got to work.

We'll be decorating a railing, and here is my work in progress so far! (To see other works in progress for the same event check out http://knittygraffity.blogspot.com/ )

I will post more pictures when it's complete!

I feel like I've been here before

Well after a week of working hard and really getting down to business I have two things to show for it. Both are commissioned items, and I'll be touching on that idea later. First let me show what I've accomplished.

Nothing new, but still some of my favorite stuff. The toothless is a half size, super cute and extra lovable. The Zoidberg is actually a little too fat. It's like he actually had a meal for once haha. I hope the two individuals who ordered them will like them.

OK so I do have a few things to touch on. First is I'm putting a temporary HALT to any new commissions. I haven't had a chance to do anything for myself in weeks since I've been swamped with orders. Well, maybe not swamped, but enough that between my volunteering and helping a friend part time with some work that I just haven't had time to make stuff for me. I have a list of crazy nerdy items that I want to try out, and my blog is in desperate need of some honest updates. Mostly Nerdy Crochet is slowly turning into Mostly Repetitive Crochet! That's no fun at all!

One step at a time!

My apologies for all the design changes on my blog lately. Hopefully find one I like and keep it.

Happy Mother's Day!

Anyway just a few little things this week. First it was our two year anniversary on Monday (aww) and here's the fantastic Japanese style strawberry shortcake that I made for my husband. (As well as the start to the salad we had so I could feel less guilty about diving into a cake smothered with strawberries and whipped cream!) I was afraid the cake would collapse so I took the picture before the rest of the table was ready then promptly shoved it in the fridge...though I had to remove a shelf so the thing would fit.

I did get a little bit of traditional crafting in. I honor of May the 4th I crocheted a tiny Death Star.

I overstuffed the hell out of it so it makes a great stress ball. One that I've been using, a lot. There's something oddly satisfying about being able to crush the Death Star in the palm of your hand.

I've also been working on some orders. I have half a Toothless done, a Zoidberg that only needs his coat finished, and.. I swear there was something else I've been doing. OH I have two items boxed up and ready to ship.

As for non-crafty related events; tomorrow I'll be having my butt kicked by my personal trainer. I've been seeing this (hardcore) woman for almost a year, however even after all my work I still have 10 pounds to go and they are the most stubborn clingy pounds EVER. Of course that may be because I have the world's largest sweet tooth. I swear I can hear it actually whispering in my ear "just one cookie, you know you'll work it off later...come on, what's a little sugar when your meals have been nothing but greens?"

So after that I'm going to make applesauce bread and an angel food cake for my friend's not-so-secret baby shower. She is seriously the cutest person I know, and we both share a very strange passion for organizing things. At least I think it's weird that I should enjoy that.

I'm still debating whether or not to start writing a few more "books" (do they count as books if they are unpublished?) I'd LOVE to start a writing blog where I post chapters every few days, but I'm worried about having my ideas taken and having someone else make money off of it. Right now I'm waiting for my mother to finish editing one of my books so I can have a clear idea on whether or not to send it off to agents (you're the best mom!)

Other than all of that I'm still just trying to figure out who I am and what I want to do with my life. Though from talking to friends it seems that this is a common predicament for someone my age. Anyone else feel like they are living through Avenue Q?





Distractions

     I'm sorry to admit this, but I don't really have anything to show for nearly three weeks of no posts. For the first two weeks I was away tending to my husband as he recovered from surgery and this week has been catch up for everything we missed. I guess I'm allowed to let life happen and all, but I feel somehow negligent.

     Now that's not to say that I don't have plans. Oh boy do I ever have plans! But, since I've been working on the commissions so much I just haven't had the time to implement them. Not only that, but I'm working on three or four commissions all at the same time. I'm starting to think that splitting my focus really isn't helping matters.
So instead of a glorious post full of bright pictures and silly commentary I figured I would just clue everyone in on my life. After all, there's not a lot about me on here.

     My name is Tracey, I'm 23 and I learned to crochet when I was about 10 from my grandmother. I dabbled in it off and on for a few years, then dropped it altogether until I got married. Six months of unemployment equaled a lot of free time and so I picked my hooks back up and started working on a basic granny square blanket. I nearly killed myself with the tedious nature of such a large project. To be honest I never did finish it 100% but I reached a point where "close enough" and "good enough" worked for me.

     It wasn't until this last winter that I started looking into the other things you can do with crochet. Amigurumi was a foreign word to me, and I was completely baffled whenever I came across a little crochet doll. Granted some work out there still baffles me, but I at least understand the stitches behind the art now. My first amigurumi was the little bomb from Mario as a gift. I followed a pattern and was very pleased with the outcome. Next I made a brain slug, and again liked the results. It wasn't until following a pattern for an Invincibility Star that I realized that not all patterns were created equal. What a mess! So I took the parts of the pattern that worked and added my own flair to make it look right. Oddly enough it worked a lot better and required a whole lot less concentration. I haven't looked at a pattern since.

     I free hand all my work now, not because I think I'm better than the patterns out there, but because I'm too damn lazy to read them. Seriously. My idea of good crocheting is being able to only pay 1/3 attention to the yarn and what I'm doing and 2/3 attention to whatever I have streaming on Netflix. That's how I've done all my art (and homework) for years. I think the only time that ever changes is when I'm writing.

     Maybe you glanced at a post I wrote several months ago, but I really have a passion for writing. I despise papers, essays, assignments, and and sort of professional documentation, but I adore writing stories. I've written two unpublished books, one of which sucks, but the other has potential. I hope to send it on to agents by the end of the year. That is if my selection of "editors" will ever actually read it. I've been tempted to start a writing blog, posting chapters and updates, but I worry that someone will steal my ideas. Plus I could really use an income. REALLY use one.

     Oops, distracted myself again. See what I mean? I can't even stay focused on one topic long enough to finished a quick post. Anyway that whole thing was really to say that when I write the world disappears and I only see the events unfold in my head as I scramble to write them down. Crocheting isn't anything like that, it's relaxing and challenging, but not engulfing. I love it when I'm working, but I don't really crave it when I stop. Maybe sometimes if I'm almost done with a big project, but it doesn't bleed into my everyday life.

     This isn't uncommon for me, especially as the winter ends. It's summer now and my mind works more furiously at ideas and concepts, rather than relaxing into nothingness with busy fingers. Winter is the time when I love to craft and sew and concentrate on motions with my hands. Summer is a time to get up and move; and the time to stay up late pouring my creativity into a new world.

     So now the question becomes: will I be able to balance my adoration for crochet with this unyielding need to write again? Also, how the hell did I end up in some philosophical examination of my hobbies?

Screw it, I'm going to go make dinner.

Creatively Challenged,
                              Tracey