The Quilted Librarian

If you’ve yet to visit there, Dana Warner Fisher’s blog, The Quilted Librarian, is amazing.  The quilts she creates are gobsmackingly cool – dense with color and concept.  And her writing is really great, too. ^_^  Please consider a visit!

Change of Pace

I think that I have been limiting myself in terms of scope on this blog, and also being very impatient with myself in terms of my own creativity.  I am still poking along working on learning to knit – hopefully I’ll get back to that soon.  Right now a lot of my focus is both inward (I am a Buddhist, and I have been renewing my practice.) and then also written – I’ve been working on various blogs and also story ideas.  I’m hoping that these focuses (or is that foci?) come into fruition.

One thing I love about the internet in its latest iteration is the wonderful celebration of creativity I see.  So many blogs of folks expressing themselves through writing or crafting or other artistic pursuits.  There’s so much to see out there – so many lovely things, so many inspiring things.  Part of my new focus in this blog is to follow my explorations of the creative side of the net – posting on what I find, and perhaps also on what fruit I draw from them.

So – in that vein – here’s a video I found today.  I like the way the topic is explored visually:

more about "Begging Bowl on Vimeo", posted with vodpod

Vegan Knitting…and then some: Vegan Sock Yarn List

Found this browsing the web – looks to be a fabulous resource with pics, links, and more! ^_^  Woot!

The Hook and I Disagree…

Well, I’ve tried, and tried, but the whole crochet thing is just too uncomfortable right now.  I’ve switched to trying to relearn knitting (I was a kid last time I really made a go of it).  So far, it’s much better, though my technique is pathetic, haha.  I was really getting discouraged with my lack of crafting moxie.  Hopefully things will keep going in the same vein!!

I Think I’m in Love…. ^_^

Via the Persnickety Knitter, I found this lovely guy.  Wow!  Not that I have any hope of something that glorious any time soon, but a gal can dream, yes?  ^_^  Anyway, hope P.K. doesn’t mind me borrowing the picture – what a lovely image and what great inspiration!!

• The pattern is actually part of a kit – the Alligator Scarf KnitKit from Morehouse Farm.

Droolicious Knitting Blog

Lovely Photo of Sakura Shamelessly Lifted from Astroknits to Prove my Point XD

Found a new one tonight – astroknits – lovely stuff – she takes wonderful photos and does lovely work.  XD  Plus ya can’t beat the fact that she’s working on her Ph.D. in astronomy. Woot. ^_^

Hooks and Aches

I’ve been really struggling to get a real project done, crochet-wise.  If I sit and crochet for a long period of time, my hands begin to ache through the base of my thumb, in towards my palm, and then also across the outside edge of my wrist down through my upper arms.

I haven’t been able to figure out what’s going on here.  I don’t get swelling or numbness – just a very strong feeling of hyper-fatigued muscles so tired they want to cramp.  To me this doesn’t sound like arthritis or carpal tunnel.  So I’ve been trying to track down what it could be….

I’ve been typing for more than twenty years, but beyond a little bit of tiring after a while, I seldom have an issue with it.  I have always tried to take care with my typing technique in an effort to avoid getting a repetitive stress injury like carpal tunnel.  On the other hand, I do have a very hard time writing by hand for very long – I get the response I get when I crochet.

Anyway, I have a lot of ideas, but no specific thoughts on how to proceed.  Any feedback, y’all?

Sneaky Crafting

I absolutely adore sneaky crafting.  If there is something that will soak up entirely too much of my time, it’s guerilla knitting, or something along the lines of The Toy Society.  Colorful social commentary and joy spreading – can’t beat it.  ^_^

Some great links to check out:

• International Fiber Collective
• Knitted Landscapes
• Yarn Bombing
• Masquerade.

Telling a Good Yarn, and a Tiny Project

Howdy, y’all – hope this finds you well.  It’s lovely here – very temperate.

So, I finally got back in the swing of doing a little crochet – doing a very simple project, as I’m such an abject beginner.  I’m making a thin little scarf, not measuring or anything.  Gonna give it to youngest son, as the blue of the yarn will match his lovely blue eyes. ^_^  I’m using this pattern from Adventures in Crochet as inspiration – kinda obsessed with moss stitch right now….  Not gonna take pics right now – I’m sure they’d be horrifying, lol – I keep having to start and stop my work, then there’s just the fact that this me attempting to crochet, haha!  ^_-

Speaking of ha-ha’s – I’ve been having fun exploring the blogosphere of late – via Flying Pig Knits, which I love to visit, I found The adventures of Gladys and Harold Quimby, which I’m absolutely adoring – her latest two posts (3/7 and 3/6) had me in stitches.  (No pun intended! o.0)

OMG – Best. Cupcakes. Ever.

A dear love of ours made Eldest Son some strawberry shortcake for a belated birthday present.  It wasn’t bad, but it was not perfect enough that it drew a lot of razzy comments about vegan cooking.  So – with a third of a quart’s wilty strawberries in mind, I went looking for another recipe.  What I found was seriously the best cupcake ever.  Very good shortcake experience – I highly recommend:

This is not my pic – I was too much of a bum to run down to the office to get the camera, so this has been shamelessly borrowed from the blog of origin: Vegan.Chicks.Rock.