The Big Knit 2009…
I didn't get as many hats as I wanted to do for The Big Knit but I did some (well 5) and that's all that matters in the end. Since I've started knitting with some form of regularity I've noticed that compared to most I'm a really slow knitter. I'm wondering if speed is something that comes with experience or is this it. I used double pointed needles for the first time whilst knitting one of the hats as an experiment and although fiddly to do, makes the finished object look a lot more "professional" in my opinion. The pink hat shown below was my favourite.
My cat Lemmy.
Whilst on the same subject I stumbled across this video by a French band called Trichot Machine (which is knitting machine in French I do believe) on YouTube. It's made entirely from knitted frames (I can make out around 718 at the end). I bet it took an absolute age to make.
Crochet…
Yesterday was Stitch & Bitch day which as usual involves cake, glasses of Diet Coke and knitting. However, Sue one of the regulars (and who is an absolute knitting ninja) offered to teach anyone who wanted to learn to crochet and it must be said that I've completely shocked myself at to how quickly I've picked it up. I was up and running in 5 minutes. Pardon the pun but I think I'm hooked. I had tried to learn once in the past by reading books
Being productive…
I'm halfway through editing and uploading the backlog of gig photos which I was talking about in my last entry. The ones I've done so far are on Flickr if anyone is interested. I just have an all day Death Metal festival to go through when time allows and then I'll be up to date.
The Stitch & Bitch continues to go well too. I quite enjoy my Thursday evenings at Cafe Roco and I really didn't think that things would have turned out as well as what they have. The staff/owners of the cafe are lovely, the regulars who turn up each week are lovely too. There's no bitchiness (that I'm aware of) and there is a a good mixture of people who attend be it their ages, skill levels or backgrounds. I'm so glad it's finally here. It's still a relatively small group however so when I have time I'm probably going to knock up some posters advertising it and put them up at the local library, yarn shops etc. in attempts to get some new faces attending. My knitting as a result is improving I think as well. I'm currently knitting a hat for my soon to be nephew. A year ago I wouldn't have known where to start.
Finally this week I received a parcel from a friend in Japan which contained the much coveted Helvetica Moleskines. I'd been after these beauties for a while but I just couldn't find a way to order them in the UK and not being able to read kanji doesn't exactly help so I thought it was never meant to be until I asked my friend who happily obliged. Both Kaytea and her husband run their own business doing very unique hair extentions and wigs in Tokyo and come highly recommended.
I'm always writing/doodling in journals as this photo proves. I use them for everything, shopping lists, doodles, quotes, good random song's I've heard and want to remember, brain dumps, project ideas, collages, diary entries, you name it, it goes into a journal. I find it quite cathartic and although sometimes I may not touch one in weeks, when I finally do so I become a woman possessed. On average I fill around one each year, sometimes more, sometimes less and I always carry one with me just in case I have a few minutes to kill/get the urge. I also don't let anyone read them. I've considered burning them on a few occasions but I always bottle out in the end.
Quis custodiet ipsos custodes?
Today has been all about M.A.C Cosmetics, especially the launch of their Hello Kitty range. However as a cat owner I'm wondering how many takes it took them to get the cat in the video to walk on the paths. No cat would ever do that in one take. 
I do love M.A.C. make up however and it's mostly what I use nowadays. It's not tested on animals (I wouldn't use it otherwise) and I really like their "Back 2 M.A.C" scheme. I've had freebies from it in the past and I must have at least another 2 lipsticks worth of empties to take back. Methinks I need to try and aquire some Hello Kitty make up at some point soon.
Haute Macabre is a totally inspiring blog that's made me want to pick my jaw off the floor on the few occasions that I've read it too. I need to thank the ladies behind it for showing me such delights as this DIY shirt which I'm dying to have a crack at and also this purse. It's currently one of my favourite blogs on the internet.
And finally. The wait is over. Watchmen has finally been released at the cinemas. I made a vow a few weeks ago saying that if this film was a dissappointment then that was "graphic novels turned films" and I over with for good. I've got my cinema ticket booked for the first showing. I'm a big Alan Moore fan so I dearly hope I'll not be disappointed. The fickle silver screen has let me down a few times in the past, mostly because of Halle Berry actually! To this day I still reckon Grace Jones would have made a much better Storm (X-Men) and don't even get me started on Catwoman. They were the two comics I read religiously as a kid (I had subscriptions at Forbidden Planet and everything).
Hookers & Needles…
Last week I finally got my finger out and applied for an invite for Ravelry, which arrived yesterday and so far I'm loving it. I'm hoping it'll help inspire me enough to get the yarn and needles out again, which looking through the free pattens I doubt it'll fail. Hopefully it will give me the kick up the backside I need to finally organise the Stitch & Bitch I've wanted to establish for a while as well. I've also celebrated my 30th birthday and have had an amazing time. Lots of excellent presents received and lots of alcohol consumed.
Today is going to be spent doing some odd jobs and I am planning on doing some baking this afternoon. I did some on-line shopping recently with ASDA and I must have done something wrong as I ended up with far too many bananas as I have a ton of them which are slowly going black so I think some Banana Bread, Banana Muffins and some Banana Biscuits are in order. Today is going to be a good day.
Stitch & Bitch…
Image by Banksy
In the past I've always wondered if a Stitch & Bitch would work in the city of Sunderland. Yesterday I decided to find out after a lot of procrastinating and am trying to start one up.
This is purely because my knitting needles have been rather neglected thanks to one of my pet cats thinking its all a game whenever I get the needles and yarn out. Therefore if anyone is interested then please add the MySpace I quickly set up for more updates. If you don't have MySpace you can email the group too.
It really doesn't matter what skill level you're at (On a personal note I am a complete novice), what gender or age you are, or even what needlecraft leanings you have (be it knitting, crochet, embroidery etc). All that matters is that you want to make friends, and a bit of time on a regular basis so that you can indulge without cats trying to spoil your fun.
Inspiration/Things I wish I’d thought of…
Every now and then I see something I really wish I'd thought of doing first. This website and the accompanying video made my jaw drop the first time I saw it. The concept behind it is really quite clever and as mentioned on the site I have yet to see the same video twice. I also came across this video on YouTube today which I thought was quite cute.
Other than that I'm still upset about my results and I still can't get in touch with my course leader. I'm planning on sending him an email tonight. I've also went and bought 500 more Swarovski crystals to put on my Munny which will cheer me up a bit. The amount of money I've now spent on him now stands at £35.76 (blooming nora).
Cool Toys…
I was given a Munny to decorate for the Triple Six collective by the boss last week and I decided to go for a "bling" Munny based loosely on this skull. So far Damien (What I've called my Munny) has been sprayed gold and has had 222 Swarovski Crystals stuck on him but I've ran out now and unfortunately they're not cheap. He's going to cost me a fortune but I think it'll be worth it in the end as he'll look pimping when I'm finally done. I'm just going to buy some more crystals as and when I have a spare couple of quid. So far he's cost me £18.77. He'll be a family heirloom once I'm done hahaha.
After he was sprayed gold.
And the beginning of the blinging.
Spending money…
Well the trip to the art store in search for Karisma's was uneventful and I returned empty handed. I guess it all depends on what I can score on eBay now.
Today however I gave Steve Jobs and Co. even more of my hard earned dosh and bought a a 1TB Time Capsule
and this laptop bag. I do try to back up work/music/etc. at least once a month but I must admit that unless I remind myself on iCal then it never happens and the thought of losing stuff fills me with utter dread so at least once the Time Capsule is up and running I *shouldn't* have to worry about losing stuff anymore. Hurrah.
The bag I just bought because it was a) pretty, b) pink c) rather ladylike and c) vegan friendly. I'm a pretty strict vegetarian and I stopped buying leather goods about a year ago. You wouldn't believe how hard it is to find good quality, strong, non-leather bags nowadays. The non leather bags I've had have more or less fallen to bits after a month or so which sucks. Hopefully for the price I paid for this one things will work out happily ever after. I do use a rucksack normally for carrying my laptop about but I fancied something different for a change.
R.I.P. Karisma Pencils & Hills…
R.I.P. Karisma Pencils..., originally uploaded by Burn Black.
Shit... The best coloured pencils I've ever had the good fortune to come across are easily Karisma's by Berol. The box I have (shown in the photo) I've had since I did my GCSE in Art around 12 years ago and was thinking to myself yesterday "Ooo I may treat myself to a new set once Student Loan day arrives" so I tried to find an online art store where I could purchase some from only to find that they've been discontinued. I'm absolutley gutted. This means I'm going to go through to Newcastle tomorrow and if there's a box sat in the art store there I'll be leaving with them. If that is unsuccessful then I guess I'll have to look on eBay. Booooooo.
Sunderland used to have a really quaint book/art supply store (called Hills) which I used to spend ages browsing through all the different supplies etc. and they sold Karisma's. Unfortunatley it closed down last year and unless you do tapestry or make crap and naff "home made" cards you now have to succumb to WH Smiths or go to Newcastle which is where the nearest decent art supply shop is.
Hopefully I will emerge from this unscathed clutching a new box of pencils. If not I may have to do a little cry and ration the ones I have until my dying days hahaha.
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