...And Done!

Sam and Tucan

I've finished my tacky birds! Now I have no idea what to do with Tucan and Sam (they are respectfully called now). I was thinking either a pillow or making it into a purse or something but truthfully, I wouldn't use either.


Any ideas would be great!

On another note: I've been thinking about modifying Little Mojo's Hogwart's Crest pattern again. I'm not liking how the grey's are contrasting with the other colours. I am very partial to just ripping the grey's out and just filling the space with white. I'll continue finishing the badger and seeing if I like it and if not then I'll just go out and get some white and filling in the gaps.

-Nessa

Harry Potter Craft Madness!

Crochet:
I finally had a chance to upload my pics from Christmas of the Harry Potter House Scarves I made for my little cousins. Sadly, I didn't have enough time to finish sewing the tails in (there were 124 in total) for Christmas Eve, but was able to finish it for the munchkins in time for New Years Day. They were really excited and were jumping for joy at the sight of them! Glad my hard work paid off! They both asked for specific houses.

When asked why they chose their houses, the youngest said that Gryffindor was the best house because Harry Potter was in it and that it's the "good" house. The oldest said that she liked the colour green. Personally, I think the oldest didn't want to look like her little sister and what better way than to be in the opposite house. Silly monkeys!

Modeling the Slytherin Scarf

The yarn was really thick so instead of making it in single crochet (which would make it super thick and hard for the girls to move their heads), I decided to make it half-double crochet. Truthfully, I am falling in love with the hdc stitch.

I also designed the pattern myself. It wasn't that hard. I just looked up children's scarf lengths and got to it. If you would like the pattern, I'd be happy to post it.


Cross Stitch:
As for my cross stitch project, I've picked up a Hogwart's School Crest from the Leaky Cauldron's craft website (Link: here). My boyfriend and I went to the local Michael's for the floss and they had every colour except one. Slightly put out, we left with all but that one thinking we'd go to another one on the weekend.

Instead of spending too much time looking for DMC's 415 Pearl Grey, I decided I could wait to go to my mother's house and steal from her stash. That was easier said then done.

First off, my mom hasn't taken out her supplies in about eleven years and so the supplies were packed away in the basement. Second, she just re-arranged the storage space and had no idea where the totes were. Third, after going through the entire basement storage space (and getting caught in many spider webs and many scrapes and missing many avalanche close calls) we ended up finding her supplies in the first tote we looked in. Thankfully she had the colour and also gave me a lot of her bulk canvas (yay saving money).

Week One - January 23 to January 30

I have to admit, I haven't cross stitched anything since I was about fourteen. I've also messed up the pattern a few times already but I'm glad the mistakes aren't noticeable. What has helped a lot is that my mom came across a cross stitch stand for $2 at a garage sale. I've been wanting one for a while and have been saving up but since they cost about $60 it's taken me a while. Best thing is about this one is that it holds both the scroll style holders and the hoops. Thanks mom!


On Another Note:
Also, go check out Totallee's crochet webpage. She makes amazing work using a "crochet-by-numbers" technique. She's also a geek and loves Harry Potter. Check out her Harry Potter Bunch blanket. Beautiful work!

Until next week,
Nessa

Needlepoint and Nerdiness

Good morning Neverland! Well, afternoon, actually.

I've been busy crafting since my last post. After a four month long crochet binge my arms and fingers needed some much needed rest. I felt myself getting into a cross stitch/needlepoint mode with no supplies. I ended up digging through my craft supplies and found an old project and picked it up.

When I was about twelve (since I was still in my old house at the time) I picked up a really tacky needlepoint kit at a garage sale for 50 cents. It had two parrots on it surrounded in leaves. I ended up working on it for about a day or two and then was forgotten and misplaced during the move. I finally found it about twelve years later. (Man, I'm old.) Moving on...

PROGRESS PICS

I took pictures of my progress and I am glad to say I only have a small corner of the background to finish (yay)! I have no idea what to do with it since I think it is utterly tacky. I may turn it into pillows since as you know by now I have a very odd obsession with pillows. I LOVE THEM. I am currently using (and not for decoration) six pillows on my bed.

I have many pillows planned for my own place and most are geeky ones. I am not ashamed to say that I am majorly geeky and I am proud to show it off!

-Nessa xoxo

Crochet Pillow Cases

Hello all! I hope you all had an amazing holiday and that 2011 brings you many great things.

For Christmas I made a few crocheted pillow cases for my boyfriends mom and my two young cousins. I already have orders for more from other family members. I plan on making some superhero (Batman and Superman) and some Star Wars pillows for when I get my own place.

I may put up a tutorial if I get around to it and if anyone else would like one.


Below are some photos:

Tales from the Unemployed Graduate

Yes, it's been a year and a half since I graduated. What do I have to show for it? Fifteen extra pounds and a sleep schedule that rivals Dracula. I admit, I've had my ups and downs in life, but this one sure takes the cake (and I don't even like cake).

I'm in a rut. My boyfriend is off in Alabama working on a construction site so my only tie to the outside world is gone and my best friend is off in Halifax working towards her dream. As I've pined before on this site; what is my dream? It's hard being a twenty-three year old loser living in her dad's house sitting in fuzzy ducky pj's trying to figure out what she's good at in life. So boo-hoo right? I've been sitting here depressed (crying at times) trying to figure out what happened to that care-free, outgoing, fun loving comedian I once was just eighteen months ago. Seriously! What happened?!

The recession. Evil ex-bosses. Crazy overbearing family. Growing up. Graduation. Life. Life happened.

So why am I not currently living it? I've been searching non-stop for a job. Applying relentlessly to the point I'm losing sleep worrying over why I haven't gotten a bite yet. I love the internet craze, don't get me wrong, but when the entire world relies on applying for jobs online it's hard for someone to get your personality off a piece of paper. I miss the good old days when you had to go in person to ask for a job and drop off a resume. Nowadays when you try that, they tell you to go online. When you do that, you don't hear from anyone except for jobs that you are way too under qualified for. I applied for a job which was similar to one I had in the past and they told me I was not qualified for it. It was sorting mail. How under qualified can that be. I got another telling me I was overqualified for it. For answering phones. I don't care if I am over or under qualified for something. I need a purpose in my life other than just sitting in fuzzy ducky pj's blogging about how my life sucks right now.

I'll admit it. I'm an unemployed graduate watching Glee and America's Next Top Model re-runs to occupy myself until my muse comes back.

So I ask you this: if you see my muse, please send it back. I'm starting to feel like how Martha Stewart felt under house arrest.

Ravelry

I have recently joined a crocheting/knitting website and I am so glad I did. The patterns are endless. I have so many ideas on what to make and what to give for Christmas. I'm planning to make my sister a Tardis pillow (hopefully that works out) and my boyfriend's sister a Mario Luma plushie.

The Tardis will be a bit more intense as I would need to modify a pattern and find a pillow... but in theory it seems very doable. I also found a Tardis blanket that I know she'd love but it will have to wait until her birthday because that thing is MENTAL! and I would need to find the correct blue to make it.

As for boyfriend, I don't know yet. His birthday is coming up and he wants me to buy him his tattoo... but he says depending on the price he doesn't want me to spend too much... so perhaps a pair of NIN wrist cuffs. If all goes great with my sisters pillow, I may make him a Torchwood one. But I'm still working things out.

Now to think of things for boy's Momma, boy's father, boy's brother, my momma, momma's boyfriend, step sister (a cowl maybe?) and step mom. Oh and BFF (can't write anything here... she actually reads my blog). Dad won't like anything I get/make him anyway... so that one's going to be tough.

Right now I need to shower (got a temp job and start in two days) and finish spa treatment. Need to start my nails (painting them before bed) and then start the plushie. Need to start now before I run out of time!

-N

It's that time of year again...

Yes, it's that time of year again. I don't know what it is about September that suddenly makes me want to redecorate, but when the beginning of September rolls around I have to change something in my room. Perhaps it's due to my living in residence and I decorated my room for the start of the school year... or perhaps it's just Fall. Who knows!

Last year it was the need to paint (which was postponed until July since my dad refused to allow me to paint my walls green so I convinced him on a sky blue) where as this year it's putting up photos.

I love Ireland. So I used an old calendar of scenic Ireland my mom got me for Chirstmas a few years ago and I got twelve cheap glass photo frames and went to work. I did this for my final year in University and it took this long to finally say: "That's it! They're going up!".

And so they are.


They are just above my bed and my step mom are afraid they will come crashing down on me while I sleep. I demonstrated by kicking and punching the wall (much to the disdain to my shared wall neighbours) that they may rattle but wont fall... and if they do then they will fall down between the bed and the wall and not hurt me.

Today was productive. It was my dad's birthday and boy came over for lunch. Then we chilled for a few hours watching the Back to the Future marathon and a bit of Criminal Minds (I passed out for an hour and can't remember what the episode was).Now Dad is downstairs chilling, boy is back home taking care of his sick brother, my sister is back at my Moms and I'm here working on some crochet projects.

All in all, it is that time of year.

-Nessa

Follow Friday

These are some of the blogs I follow for inspiration and creativity. Please check out some of their work!

Crazy About Costumes - My best friend's cosplay/costume blog. Tips on how to make costumes on a budget!
Etsy Labs - Tips on making your Etsy shop successful as well as craft tutorials!
Planet June - A fellow crocheter. She has some amazing and adorable designs!

That's the one's I follow almost daily. I'll be searching for new blogs and craft ideas soon!

-Nessa

Quarter Life Crisis.

So. It's been a long time since I posted last and a lot has changed. I have changed my mind on what I want to be and am still searching for it. I am no longer interested in going to Dalhousie (as you can see, I'm still on the big T.O. with nothing to do not even a job).

It's hard to find out what one wants to do in life and as I have been catering to what my family and friends wanted of me since I was young, I have realized that what they hoped for me was not what I wanted in life and wouldn't be happy if I continued on the route I was on. Rather than have their dreams come true, I put everything aside on a useless journey of self discovery. Since April I have been searching within myself to find what I enjoy on life or find interesting to turn into a career. I was tired with holding dead end retail jobs so I joined with a temp agency. Although nothing has come of it yet but one three day job, I hope that something will hit my brain like lightening and I will suddenly know which direction to take and finally start my life.

There are a few constant things in my life that I can be thankful for. For one, my other half (Alex) whom I met in November of last year has been a pillar of constant support and love. He encourages me to be myself and to go for my dreams (whatever they may be once I figure it out) and to never give up. The second, my best friend who, like my boyfriend Alex, puts up with my constant crazy and my changing my mind. In a way she is my costuming/crafting mentor and in another she is a role model. Not only has she found what she wants to do in life, she has grabbed it by the horns and is now in Halifax studying costuming. And finally the last is my creativity. It comes in leaps and bounds and there it never seems to dry up. My hands are constantly itching for new projects to try and things to get dirty. These three things have kept me sane the past few months and will keep me going onwards.

I have many dreams and ideas in life on what I wish to accomplish. Many will stay that way. But for others I hope they become a reality.

To open a shop with all my hand made items.
To work in/open a candy shop.
To work with computers either in graphics or IT.
To become a teacher.
To create and sell my work.
To become an actress.
To get my license.
To hold a job with health care.
To get married.
To have kids and dress them up as the justice league for Halloween.
To find a job I am content and satisfied with.

As you can see, I have no idea what path in life I want to take. If being a stay at home mom and running my own business from home was a job where I could have a stable income, I would. I know I'm not cubicle material. I truly consider myself someone who will always be off the beaten path and is a little more... original (crazy, outgoing, quirky?) and wish to find a job that represents me as well. It's unrealistic, I know, but as a dreamer and a crafter, I know it in my soul that I was meant to do something unique with my life.

So, this blog will be a way for me to post crafts and updates from my social life to keep me sane and a way for myself to reflect over my life and where it leads.

-Nessa

Venus

Well, I've had a costume sleepover with my friend who is ace in making sailor senshi at this point.

We basically watched a whole 1.5 seasons of Sailor Moon and a sailor moon movie to boot to get us in the mood. I've worked on the body suit pattern and the Venus collar. I was having trouble with the damn iron and need to figure out what is the best setting to not burn the fabric and not have it leak all over it (which stains it). Satin fabric really is Satan's fabric.

I still need to get a wig, the body suit fabric and the blue satin fabric for my front bow. After that it's all a jigsaw to put together and accessories. Which reminds me, I need cheap orange gems to make the earrings.

I wish I had a camera to show progress but I don't have anything. I would work on the skirt but I don't have the body suit fabric. Soon I will be able to figure things out and finally work on it.

Well, I'm off to figure out how to iron things and work on the gloves.