Saturday, February 8, 2014

Arts and Crafts

I have been very bad about taking photographs with my sweet new camera lately. I can't even blame the weather for it- it's been sunny and gorgeous this week. You know what? I'm going to put down this laptop for a minute and take a picture of something. Then I'm going to upload it to this blog. Don't say I never did anything for ya.
Okay, I'm back.  Look! I made a toque!
And that lipstick is quite fetching too, I believe. Ben Nye's Cinnaberry. I've never found a shade to match it in any other brand.

This is actually the, oh, fourth toque, maybe? Two I just don't wear. They were more like experiments. Practice toques. The third one is a pretty nice design but I don't love the yarn. I can't remember what this yarn is comprised of but it's light, so I'll be able to keep wearing it when it gets warmer. And you can't see here, but I made it long and didn't bring it to a point, so it kind of flops over in the back. It's also got flecks of purple in it which I love. Although the yarn I like is expensive and this particular hat seemed to take a while to make, I really like how I am learning new things every time I make the effort to crochet something. In this case, new stitches (half-double-crochet and crossover double crochet) and a new design (slouchy). 
In terms of learning a totally new design and following a pattern successfully, these were a high point:

Socks! These are the product of almost exactly 2 balls of Noro yarn, which is Japanese and woollen and absolutely gorgeous combinations of colours. I made these for my friend Megan who is one of my inspirations in all things crafty. It's hard to give a homemade item to someone who's so good at crocheting (and sewing. and quilting) but on the other hand I knew she'd appreciate all the work that went into them. 

Hey, guess what else I've been making? Music, that's what. 
I don't always look like a slack-jawed moron when I play. Honest.
An actor who I'd never met asked me to play some squeezebox on his new album. It was a freebie, which I try and avoid unless it's for friends, but since I wasn't doing much anyway I figured it'd be good karma to say yes. And it was. I got to play, and sing, and meet Torquil Campbell who heads up the bands Memphis and Stars, two faves of mine. He played trumpet on one track and my accordion gets to harmonize with his trumpet line. Kind of magical. I love spending a day in the studio, feeling as if I was born to do this. That's worth more than a paycheque. 

Speaking of paycheques, I'm also doing Standardized Patient work this weekend (roleplaying for medical students). Which means I need to get to bed SOON 'cause it's an early day tomorrow. I can't tell you what my role is because we sign confidentiality agreements (if the students find out our roles ahead of time it spoils the surprise element and it's usually for a medical exam so it would be kind of like finding the answers for your test). But this role is going to be very fun. The kicker is that it takes about 6 weeks to GET paid. Which is hard because I need money NOW. 

Finally... I also did my first Fight Like Sherlock Holmes class today which was amazing. And hard. It's a Victorian martial art called Bartitsu, which basically combines Ju-Jitsu, boxing, and stick fighting. We did the Ju-Jitsu part today. It takes me a while to get stuff into my body, so I wouldn't say I'm a natural at it, but I really enjoyed it. And after 2 hours I felt rubbery, as if my arms and legs had been stretched quite a bit. Which they had. 

Okay, that's all for now except that I should add that I also saw a lot of theatre this week; 1 play sucked and the other 2 were fabulous. And now, goodnight.


No comments: