Over the last couple weeks I’ve slowly but surely been working on a new home for this blog, one that provides me with a multitude of new options to explore and customize until all my geeky needs are filled. The road to nerdvana has been filled with setbacks and frustrations, but I feel that I have finally gotten the new site working well enough to be shared with all (2) of my loyal readers and the rest of teh intarwubz.

That being said, over the next month or so you’ll see this blog slowly begin to disappear into the vast nothingness that is the data stream. I’ll start by deleting the oldest posts and working my way forward until this site is no more. But don’t worry, everything is already up on the new site, safe and permalinked in a shiny new paid-for server.

So clink on the banner below to come and visit me at my new digs, and maybe leave a comment or two? With any luck, I’ll see you all there.

Come visit my new home!

1. I am currently working on upgrading this blog, and will hopefully be rolling out a fancy new site with all the bells and whistles soon! I’ve purchased hosting and will be forwarding everything over to my new domain just as soon as I get it all figured out.

2. Today I entered into the Neil Gaiman Audio contest, which offers the winner a speaking role in the new recording of American Gods, as well as the opportunity to meet Mr. Gaiman himself. Now, considering there are literally hundreds of entrants into this contest already, I’m not terribly optimistic about my chances. But it would be lovely to see a few votes float my way between now and the time the contest ends. So do me a favor? Go listen to my recording, and if you like it well enough, send a vote my way.

You can vote for me here.

Allow me to repeat: Tiny pies! Inside CAKE.

Of course, my love for baking, combined with my love for all things pumpkin immediately made me decide that I needed to find an excuse to make these amazing little things. Which I did, in the form of the Renaissance Faire. I made them as a thank-you present for the two guilds I worked with during that event, and they went over so incredibly well, that I knew I’d make them again someday.

That someday turned out to be last week.

A friend of mine invited me to a cookie exchange party she was having, and when she mentioned that she’d seen the pictures from my first round of pumpkin pie cupcakes on my facebook, I offered to make them again for her party. And once again they were a wonderful hit! This time though, I had the foresight to take some pictures during the baking process:

Baby pie crusts!

Mini pumpkin pies getting baked into delicous goodness.

Baby pies ready to be put into cupcakes!

Delicious pie-flled cupcakes ready to be frosted!

Cinnamon Buttercream Frosting! NOM NOM NOM!

At this point I would like to make a note: the first time I made these, I could not, no matter how hard I tried, find cinnamon chips anywhere. This is a necessary ingredient for the frosting, and yet since I could not locate any I substituted plain cinnamon and made the frosting without that component. If at all possible, do not substitute out the cinnamon chips. Without them the frosting gets runny and melty and it just doesn’t taste the same. This batch was made with cinnamon chips, and definitely tastes much better.

Cupcakes frosted, decorated and ready to go!

Don't they look delicous?

As it turns out, these cupcakes are so amazing, that I will be making them yet again for a tamale making party I’ll be attending this weekend. If you make these, I guarantee you they will be epic. And you will get at least one (very awkward) request from someone who wants to bear your children in gratitude for the delicious, cinnamon-y, pumpkin-y treat you have just bestowed upon them (so far I’m up to 4, but who’s counting?).

And for those of you didn’t believe or understand when I said that there is a whole pie inside?

No really, there is!

I *almost* had more fun dissecting these than I did making them. Almost.

Bake It In A Cake’s Pumpkin Pie Cupcakes with Cinnamon Cream Cheese Buttercream

Makes about 24 cupcakes (filled with AWESOME!)

I wish I could tell you that ninjas kidnapped me from my dorm room one night and spirited me away under cover of darkness, only to be discovered escaping by a band of wayward pirates, and as morning’s first light crept across the bow of the ship an epic battle was waged between the crew of the Scarlet Temptress and the clan of the White Order like none had seen before nor ever will again, leaving only one who could lay claim to my soul…

But  sadly there were no ninjas (though there were some pirates), and my soul is still safely housed inside my body. Just kidding. We all know gingers have no soul. Instead, life got in the way (as it usually does), and I often found myself either at a loss for words, or with far too many and no time to type them all up.

That doesn’t mean I haven’t been crafting though! Hoo boy have I been crafting! I did my best to take pictures when I could, and in the coming weeks/days/etc. I will be updating this blog with evidence of my crafty nature, so that my readers (all 4 of you) can see what I’ve been up to in my absence.

In the meantime, here are a few things I’ve done recently to tide you over:

Thing One:

A couple months ago I began seeing a therapist again for the first time in years. She quickly discovered that I love to create things and am a creative person in general, and therefore has been coaching me to use this as a means of working through/with my various issues. One of the things she asked me to do was to “visualize” my depression, and eventually I was able to describe it as sort of a rorschach test, made up of varying shades of reds, oranges, and yellows flowing through an inky blackness. Once this description was established, she asked me somehow create this visual, using any type of media I desired.

Depression

I chose to paint it, since I figured that would be the easiest way to get the textures I wanted, and since in my mind the image I described is so large it encompasses my entire field of vision, giving you the sense of feeling surrounded, I hunted for the largest “canvas” I could find. This wound up being a piece of plywood about 2 feet by 3 feet in size, and it weighs a friggin’ ton*. I used black spray paint for the base coat, then worked with various brush sizes to splotch on the colors in three separate layers. I then sprayed a final coat of black spray paint over the top of everything to give it a sort of blurry, cloudy look.

Thing Two:

Early last week I got a message from a friend asking me if I wanted to go a “country event” on Saturday. I said yes, not really knowing what I was getting into, and Saturday morning said friend showed up at my door with a costume in hand for me to wear. It turned out that “country event” actually meant 1870′s Frontier Era Reenactment event, which is completely different than what I had in mind.

Me doing my best to look like an 1870's rancher/housewife.

While we were wandering about the little town, I discovered a group of spinners working in one of the buildings near our camp. Since I’d had the foresight to grab a basket of knitting supplies (including my drop spindle), I seized the opportunity to re-learn how to use a drop spindle and spin my own yarn from the kind ladies who were willing to teach me.

Drop Spindle with Blue Wool

I probably spent a good hour or so being coached and getting helpful tips on how to get just the right amount of twist on the fiber, how to pull from the bundle, etc. It was a ton of fun and I made sure to get some contact information on their spinning group, which means now I have someone I can run crying to when I mess up get help from when I need it.

And of course, because they were crack dealers lovely ladies who want to share their knowledge and art with others, they gave me this when I left:

Lots and LOTS of future yarn!

I look forward to finishing this skein of wool, and then knitting something nifty with it when I’m done. If I can keep up this skill well enough to actually produce the occasional skein here and there, then I will get to knit more with actual, honest to gods, hand-spun WOOL, which would be a beautiful thing.

Thing Three:

A couple days ago I discovered a link to instructions on how to make your own Star Wars snowflakes on several of my friends Twitter feeds. After making the appropriately nerdy excited “OMG!!!” noise, I decided to try making a set for myself.

Boba Fett/Clone Trooper and Darth Vader Snowflakes

I’m pretty happy with how they turned out, though I do wish my Vaders looked a little more “Vader-y”. As a Generic Winter Holiday treat for you all, here are the directions!

Star Wars Paper Snowflakes

Be sure and watch the Star Wars Holiday Special while you make these, for an added sense of festivity.** Enjoy!

*1 friggin’ ton = approx. 10lbs multiplied by exaggeration

** Do not EVER, under any circumstances watch this. You have been warned.

I have a pattern for teddy bears that I actually really like, because it’s simple and produces cute little bears. It’s actually the pattern from the Mother Bear Project, which is a wonderful charity that EVERYONE should support. Their goal is to provide support and comfort to children affected by HIV/Aids in emerging nations. One of the ways they do this is by asking people to send them hand-knit bears, which they then give to a needy child.

Their bear pattern is free on their website, and while I have knit a couple and sent them in to the charity, I also really love the pattern as a gift for people, and therefore have used it to make bears for friends as well. When I set out to make a bear for the newborn, I realized that the standard size bear it produces would be far too big for her tiny hands to hold. So I decided to try to modify the pattern to make a smaller bear.

Baby Bear with too many limbs!

Once I thought the process out in my head, I began to knit the bear with a reduced number of stitches. She knit up pretty quick and I was pretty pleased with how well she turned out at this point.

Trimmed yarn and added skirt!

Once I trimmed her up so I could see what I was doing, I picked up stitches on the front and back and added her skirt. Once I put her all together with stuffing and all, I figured out a better way of doing this so that the skirt turns out more skirt-like and looks less oddly shaped.

Completed Baby Bear!

Yes her skirt is a little weird, but I think for my first time modifying a pattern on my own she’s not too bad. And for once the face I gave her doesn’t look terribly creepy (I’ve never been too good at embroidery)! Baby Bear is made of Homespun yarn and stuffed with hypo-allergenic filling, and she is entirely washer safe. Which is probably a good thing, knowing wee ones and what inevitably happens to their little toys.

Here’s hoping the little one likes it!

After carefully pouring through the book several times to settle on which pattern I wanted to work with first, I finally settled on one that involves lots of cutting and lots of lacing, and sat down and got to work this week.

Working on the VDay t-shirt

The pattern calls for cutting out the sleeves, then removing 2-3 inches from either side of the shirt. The problem I ran into is that the shirt itself is so large of a size that in order for me to remove the right amount from the sides I had to re-cut the curved shape of the sleeves further into the shirt, or else I’d loose them all together. Once I’d figured that out I started work on cutting all the tiny little holes for laces that I’d need.

I used my pair of Fiskars Embroidery Scissors to snip out tiny holes along the sides of the shirt for the laces. Then I wrapped the ends of the t-shirt shreds I was going to lace with in tape to make it easier to thread them through the holes. I’ve still got a few steps left to complete the shirt, and I’m going to play with the design a bit more before I call it done. So far though, I like the way it’s progressing and I can’t wait to finish it!

For some reason, even though I confess I’ve no talent for drawing whatsoever, this image struck me as so ridiculous that I couldn’t possibly let it slip by unnoticed. So, I grabbed my drawing pencils and my moldable eraser, and I sketched out the following pencil image, hoping it would bring a smile to my friend’s face.

Pencil Sketch of Holmes and Watson

I promptly sent it to her, and then went about my day ignoring the urge to color it in. I thought that having produced the sketch would be enough, and that I could be happy that it didn’t look as awful as some of the other things I’ve drawn. But of course, like all little kids who loved craft time best, I couldn’t let it rest until I’d gone back and finished what I started. And so, I grabbed my markers and pencils, and produced the following:

Colored version of Holmes and Watson

I even went as far as to poke about online to see if I couldn’t find out what color Holmes’ eyes are supposed to be (as I sadly don’t have my Sherlock Holmes compendium with me at present), but alas I couldn’t find such information. So I settled on dark blue, and hoped for the best. In the end, I decided it wouldn’t matter too much, as after all, they are supposed to be a cute, childlike, cartoon version.

The pencil sketch was drawn with Derwent 2B Graphic pencil, and then outlined with a ballpoint pen in some places, and crayola markers in others. It was colored in with Blick Studio Artists’ Colored Pencils, and drawn and colored on Strathmore Premium Recycled Sketch paper.

And no, I’m still not entirely sure why the mouse is there, but for some reason he needed to be. And yes, if nothing else, his name is Basil.

This hat in particular is a trade for a service provided by a friend. She asked for a hat done in blues and purples, with a little pompom on top. I borrowed the pompom method from the Jayne Hat pattern, and defaulted to Ellen’s knit cap pattern for the hat itself. The yarn for the body of the hat is Vanna’s Choice Solid in Sapphire, Lavender, and Navy, and the deep purple on the brim is Paton’s 100% wool. Because I used both real wool and acrylic in this hat, the brim pulls a little differently than the main body of the cap, but I think it’ll look cute on my friend when she gets it.

Blue and Purple Striped Hat with Pompom

Here’s hoping she likes it!

This year, I decided I would “borrow” (in true gypsy fashion!) an idea that was used by a friend of mine in the past. A few years ago, she made all of her friends (yours truly included) a little puzzle with a valentines day saying on it. She used a blank cardboard puzzle that can be purchased at any craft store, and decorated it with construction paper hearts, glitter, and markers. She then divided the pieces to each puzzle into three or four envelopes, and sent them out to us one at a time. Thus, we recieved a couple puzzle pieces a day every day leading up to valentines day, and got the final piece on the holiday itself.

I thought this was a lovely way to show your friends you care, and decided to try the same concept myself, but with cheaper materials. As alas, like all gypsies, I am but a poor wanderer.

That being said, I started with some construction paper, glue, pens, and the glories of images printed off the internet, and ended up with this:

Completed card with puzzle pieces.

I created the card by gluing three layers of construction paper together, so that it would be thick enough to form a decent backing for the puzzle, should the recipient choose to glue it on to the card. I also made sure I cut out a handy shape inside the card to give the person an idea of what they’d be assembling:

Inside of the card with puzzle pieces.

I then separated out the pieces into three envelopes, and mailed them over the holiday. The first had the card and one puzzle piece, and the second and third each held half of the remaining puzzle pieces. So yesterday, everyone had all the pieces they needed to start working:

Valentines Puzzle!

And with a little patience, they’d end up with a fun little valentine to keep:

Reassembled Valentines Puzzle!

I did a different valentine saying for each friend, and it was a lot of fun looking online to find interesting photos to use for them. My favorite was one I did (and sadly didn’t get a picture of) that had Daleks and the saying “You’re Dalek-table!” Yes, I’m a bit of a nerd. But it was cute!

Happy Belated Valentines/Singles Awareness Day everyone!

When I last left off I had finished the color and outline for the center knot. Upon picking up the work again, I first mixed myself a shade of silvery gray that I was content with, and filled in the the crescents:

Silvery Gray painted in the crescents.

Once I had that done, I left it alone for a couple days. I toyed with the idea of filling in the negative space for a while, as I wasn’t sure I wanted to go to spend a great deal of time filling in the small spaces with a tiny brush. Finally, I decided I’d just have to bite the bullet and pain them in, if only to remove as much white space from the room as possible. So I mixed myself a jar of a deep blue and set to work:

Filling in the fiddly bits.

After a good two hours or so of working on filling in all the minuscule spaces (and believe me, there are a lot of them!) with an exceptionally tiny brush to be sure my lines were as clean as possible, I grabbed a larger brush and set to work on the brackground:

Initial fill in of the background.

Now, at this point I was nearly sure I was done. I was all set to wait for it to dry so I could hang it on the wall. But the more I looked at it the more I realized there was something important missing…

Added stars to the background.

Stars! Of course! I’d created this lovely night sky and left it completely blank. Silly me. So I cleaned that impossibly small brush and used it to create little pinpoints of light all over the background. This being done I felt it was less like looking at a picture and a bit more like looking out a window. Granted, I’ve never seen the moon look quite like this, but I feel I’m allowed some artistic license.

Finally, I realized that the one thing that was still missing was an outline on the crescents to tie them in to the rest of the knotwork. Yes, I thought they looked fine on their own, but I also knew that there was a silver sharpie in the possession of a friend that I could borrow, and so I once again set to work:

Outlined the crescents.

There! Finally finished! Once it was dry I went to put it up, only to realize that all of the water I used had bowed the cardboard outward, making it impossible to mount successfully. Never fear though, as I quickly whipped out every heavy book in the room (and yes, as an art history major, I’ve quite a few) and within a day or so I had a lovely flat piece of work ready to be put up for my viewing pleasure:

A much calmer space.

So there you have it! My finished tribute to the concept of dorm room feng shui. Perhaps one day I’ll come up with a real name for it, but for the moment I’m content just to have filled part of my wall space with a little less white, and a lot more color.

And don’t mind Jack’s expression. I’m sure he loves it just as much as Yoda does.