Hats!

Yesterday was a day for working on hats while we gamed, as I have two custom hats to make. One of my friends at the game expressed astonishment that I nearly finished both of the hats while we were gaming. I ran out of the yarn I needed for one hat, or I would have finished it. I was just glad that I got through as much as I did, and didn't have too much idle time. Because I love our game, and it's a blast, but I also like having something to keep my hands busy. Otherwise, my brain is more likely to wander off and get lost.

I had an idea for a new hat design the other day as well, so that will likely be on my plate soon. And I have another hat that I made pieces for, but haven't finished. This is mainly because I need to do some embroidery to finish it, and embroidery is one of those things that I've always had trouble getting into. Cross stitch is fine because there are designated places to put the stitches. Embroidering with no lines to follow is a recipe for disaster for me. This is why I paid to have "Police Box" machine stitched onto felt for my TARDISes. :)

So we'll see how successfully I can do the embroidery. If it is too fussy for me, then I might just write up the pattern and sell that rather than making the hat as a regular item for me shop. I like making hats, but if I find that a hat is really fussy for me to make, it becomes a lot less fun for me.

"Wow, he does look like he's in pain!"

(a.k.a. We watched Twilight)

So Jeremy and I sat down to watch Twilight on Wednesday. More specifically, we were planning to watch a movie. I asked him what we had on Netflix. He said "Well, Twilight, and ..." And I didn't let him finish. :) Because for as cheesy as I thought the book was, I had to watch the train wreck that was the movie. (I also have to read New Moon before that movie comes out, so we can see it in the theater.)

And let me tell you. Serious train wreck. It was so bad, it kept me marginally entertained. Mostly, it was the acting that was just atrocious. I mean, I like the fact that they didn't cast any big name Hollywood stars in the movie. But at the same time, I half suspect that any big name Hollywood stars who read the script would have backed away, possibly using a cross to defend themselves.

I have to say that the best acting probably came from the guy who played Jasper, because as soon as one of the other characters said "The one who always looks like he's in pain is Jasper," I responded with "Wow, he does look like he's in pain!" Kudos to him for that magnificent acting feat. :) I wonder if he actually managed to hurt himself to make him more convincing? :)

And that's about as close as we come to End of the Work Week Wisdom this week. Short version: watch Twilight if you like laughing at bad acting. It's spectacular. :)

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And in other news of the shameless plug variety, I'm offering free shipping on all of my hats until the end of August. Yeah, I know it's way too early to even think about winter wear, but if you buy now, you can get a head start on the weather AND save a bit of cash. :)

Red and black

I seem to be on a bit of a red and black kick lately. I actually made one hat with the intention of adding it to my shop, but when Jerome saw it, he made the "I want it" face, so I let him have it. He needed a good winter hat anyway, and I'd rather him have one I made than one from the store. :) It also matches a scarf that I made to go with my old winter coat 2 years ago, and so he's inherited that as well.

Though it started with the red and black yarn, I later found this red and black fabric, and even though I'm on a self-imposed fabric buying freeze, I had to have it. Because if red and black Celtic knotwork doesn't scream "dice bag and/or tarot card pouch," I don't know what does. Also, fat quarters of fabric make 2-4 dice bags each, which is not too bad! :) (Well, they mostly make 2-4 dice bags. Gotta have something else for the lining though. :) )



And then I threw together another hat, though it's different from the one Jerome claimed as his. But I have a BUNCH of the black yarn (bought cheap when I thought I couldn't get any more of it), and it makes a nice warm hat, as does the red and black yarn. Now I just need more yarn to go with all of the black... ;)

Of course, I'm also working on some other stuff, but I thought I'd show these two things off. I've been adding some Valentines to the shop as well, and I've got a set of those in red and black as well... yes, I'm just obsessed. :)

What is it with me and mismatched armwarmers? Seriously? I already had one mismatched pair in my Etsy shop, because I didn't have enough of the blue yarn to make two armwarmers, and had to improvise. (And then I made a hat that used both colors to justify it.) Now, another pair (the pictured pair) don't match either, and I started a third pair last night that look to be the closest matching pair so far, but they are not quite 100% matching either!

Am I the only freak who wants to wear things on my arms that don't match? I've seen other people do it, so I'm thinking I'm not the only one. :) But then again, my fashion sense and the rest of the world's fashion sense are usually a wee bit at odds with one another.

(Conversation of this morning:
Me: "Why don't any of my olive drabs match?"
Jerome: "Because they're baby puke colored."
Me: "So? I like olive drab!")

At any rate, hurrah for new stuff in the Etsy shop, I suppose, even if it is mismatched. There's also a hat that matches the armwarmers... no, for real it matches. :)

Hurrah also for swapping stuff I wouldn't have ever used for stuff that I am using. After the EtsyRain swap, I had a bag of all kinds of yarn--normal acrylic yarn, super bulky acrylic, some crazy synthetic yarns, and a few Italian wool blends (the really pricy stuff!). Now I'm turning all of this stuff into more stuff for my shop. Hurrah! :)
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