Monday, January 23, 2012

Completed practice plushie

So, I finished making the monotoned plushie.

Picture!

I had to make a few ears before I had a pair that were the same shape.  The whiskers are simply a strand of yarn weaved throug the snout. I left the tail unstuffed to make it more pliable.

Tuesday, January 17, 2012

The Money Wish List

Now that I got a job, this is the list of things I plan on getting, and this is where I'll prioritize them.
Oil change for my car. Est: $35-40
Spaghetti attachment for my Marcato Atlas pasta mill. Est: $35-40
Clothes, like jeans. Unknown estimate at this time
Fabric, for a real plushie, with faux fur. Est: $20-30
Rats, for my snake. Est: $6-9 each
Guild Wars 2. Est: $60
Bicycle. Est: $200-300
Plants, seeds, compost, other gardening supplies. Est: $50-100, depending on what there is
Black sneakers, for work. Est: $20-35
Xbox 360 controller rechargable battery, because one of mine is dead. Est: $15
Newspaper pot maker. Unknown
Lava lamp. Awesome. Est: $10-15 Window squeegee, and ice scraper.est: $10 total

Monday, January 16, 2012

Crochet and Knitting for a Sorta-Newb

So, for the last few days, I've been fiddling around with yarn, because my mom and sister have been knitting scarves in mom's new looms. I randomly picked up knitting needles, and quickly got back in the rythm. It made me think of an idea I had to make a plushie of my fursona. The thing is, knitting focuses on large areas of rectangles, at least for a beginner. So I switched to crochetting, and after a couple tutorials on adding and subtracting stitches and circles, I got started on some practice yarn.

Shaping a semi-reptilian head in miniature size was trickier than I had thought. The entire first day of crochet was spent crochetting the first 4 rows over and over again, trying to get the right number of stitches to make the shape I want. Then the next few days were pretty straightforward as I single crochetted the neck and torso, throwing in a 14 stich long slipstiched chain for the arms. I went to Mochaels and got white, black, and dark red yarn, along with some stitch markers, which are the best things I've ever used. Now I have a couple inches of torso to go before I have to figure out the legs and tail.

I also cleared my library account of fines, and found 4 or 5 books on amigurumi or plushies that look great, among another 20 other books I put on hold. Not all of these were on crochet, but I can't remember them right now.

Wednesday, January 11, 2012

First post!

Alrighty, I think my first post in a very, very long time warranted a new blog, so here we go. My first blog was almost entirely about my garden, which I think felt sort of obsessed to me. Perhaps that's why I forgot about it until now. So, this blog will be different. I will expand it to include anything I feel worth talking about, or feel like remembering one day.

I have a feeling that none of my posts will be famous, or even thorough enough to help anyone. I'm not very good at writing, hate it really, and this blog may stretch my enthusiasm for it. If I think about talking myself through it, I could say that writing is another art form (which it is, of course) and convince myself that I want to at least be decent at it.

That being said, I have some gift cards from Christmas that I have almost no idea what to buy with. A $40 Amazon gift card, about $30 for Michaels in gift cards, and a $50 Kohl's gift card.

I went to Michaels the other day and walked all around, but I didn't see much to my liking. I was sort of interested in a wood burning kit, but have not had any experience with wood burning. On Amazon, I found a good looking 50 foot soaker hose that I think I want for my garden. I haven't really been thinking ahead to what I want to plant this year, except that this year I want to stay on top of those pesky snails.

Someday soon, I'm going to volunteer at a couple veterinary clinics. I took a veterinary technician training course, and absolutely loved it. When I was little I wanted to be a veterinarian, but as I got older I believed that working in the computer field would be more profitable. I was a little more literate with computers than a lot of people my age, but what I learned wasn't so fun. I believe now that working with animals is what is going to make me happy. I can't remember what I saw in those cold machines. Besides playing games all day. =3