etc.

This week’s Illustration Friday theme: daring

I’ve had this fellow drawn since last Friday and every night this week I’ve gone home with the intention of adding some colour to him. With all the hardcore, deadline-driven crafting that has been going on lately (more about that soon), I haven’t had the chance, so this morning, in an 11th hour attempt to redeem his honour, I scanned him into Photoshop and coloured him in there. I think I am addicted. (And I’m already having ludicrous dreams of Adobe Illustrator. Boy howdy).

I’ve been meaning to tell you about the monkeys. I’ve spent a good deal time over the past couple of weeks trying to come up with a monkey I am happy with. You see, there are a couple of new babies I’m making softies for, both of whom were born in the Year of the Monkey (yes, I’m terribly behind), so I thought it would be fitting to make them a couple of monkeys. At first I thought a monkey would be a breeze, but not so! Here’s the first little fellow I came up with:

I liked his face well enough but the rest of him wasn’t working for me. Here’s the latest incarnation:

This one I like a little better. His name is Spencer and he’s on his way to a friend’s little boy in Minnesota. Which leaves just one other monkey and he or she will probably be Spencer-like, with a couple of minor modifications. Pictures as progress warrants.

Of course, the downside to making softies to match a child’s Chinese Zodiac is that this year is the Year of the Rooster, and I have three friends who have either had babies this year or are expecting them yet. So, three roosters, and maybe even more before the year is out. Roosters. I’m completely stumped.

Yesterday: my first Creative Sewing and Needlework Festival (that’s right, I left the house). I had heard that the Spring show is not as large as the fall show, the thought of which absolutely confounds me because yesterday was just overwhelming. Lots of sewing and quilting inspiration, the hall positively humming with the happy sounds of sewing machines and buzzing creativity. It made me yearn to quilt again, and so I’ve started mentally collecting fabrics for a bed spread (anyone else a mental collector? I do it constantly). Here’s what I walked away with:

I haven’t been buying real wool felt for long enough to know if $12 for two metres is a great price, but it’s certainly the best price I’ve seen locally. I stocked up. Also, 6 metres of cotton fabric in various prints, a bunch of cardstock and matching envelopes, and two balls of mohair yarn (that didn’t make the picture) that I have been experimenting with for knit flowers (I think I’ve finally worked out the magic pattern, pictures soon). Boy howdy, I couldn’t be happier that today is Sunday.

And, before I go, my dear friend Meredith celebrated a birthday yesterday — happy day, luv! Stop by and say hello, and while you’re there, you might want to browse the archives for pictures of her adorable little girl, Ella-Matisse. Those cheeks!

First up, thank you for your kind comments on the sushi bag! 15 comments on one post, I think that’s an e-j.com record!

Secondly, and unrelatedly: lately, I have been feeling like a reclusive crafter. I’ve been following a pretty regular routine of work-all-day, craft-all-night, with the occasional break to restock craft supplies and see family. I realized last night that I haven’t been to a stitch n’ bitch since last August (oh dear, it’s worse than I thought), and even though we’ve had some nasty winter weather between now and then, I really can’t blame the weather for lapsing into hermetic tendencies. And a lapse it most certainly is, since solitude is a bit of a natural state for me. So, while it is all very well to indulge oneself in solitude if it feels right, I can’t help but think that I am probably missing out on a vibrant local craft scene, one that is largely unknown and altogether foreign to me. So this morning, I set out for a bit of Internet sleuthing to get an idea of just how vibrant this local craft scene really is, and lookee here:

• Speakeasy – a gathering of local craft types with monthly shows dedicated to different media.
• Cabbagetown Arts & Crafts – with a pretty impressive fall sale.
• Church of Craft – my kind of church. Monthly crafty meetings, lots of special events, and Pedal to the Medal, the annual craft show, in December.
• Ladyfest Toronto – “Ladyfest Toronto is a community-based, non-profit event designed by and for women to showcase, celebrate and encourage the artistic, organizational and political work and talents of women.” And a fine looking art/craft/zine market too! Last year was Ladyfest’s first year and there is no word yet on whether or not Ladyfest 2005 is in the works, but I’ve sent a couple of e-mails and made a couple of calls and will let you know what I find out.
• Craft fair in the works? – a thread on Craftster that started in the Fall, petered out over the winter, and seems to have picked up steam again. I think I might have to throw my hat into the ring.

And so, into the breach! I can never resist a good craft fair (I’m going to two this weekend), so I think I’ll start by volunteering to help out at one or two, and maybe even get brave and rent a table at one of the fall fairs. I’ll keep you posted so you can stop by and check up on me. You know, just to make sure I’ve actually left the house.

More fun with the sewing machine:

I’m rather proud of this one. I used Mariko’s tutorial, which is very clear and helpful (moreso than all the tutorials I have been browsing on craftster over the past couple of weeks) and made complete sense to even me, a sewing illiterate. I was leery going into this project since I have an uncanny knack of messing up the measuring and cutting of fabric (regardless of how many detailed measurements I take and diagrams I draw) and I didn’t want to waste a scrap of this fabric (even though I bought it off eBay for a song — and four yards at that!). I can’t say for sure whether it was a fluke, beginner’s luck, attention to detail bordering on neurosis, meticulous instructions, or a hearty combination of all four, but this bag turned out perfectly, no puckering, no bunching! I am positively smitten with it, it’s the perfect size for what I needed (schleping files and other reading material to & from work), and the cats seem to be enjoying it too:

Must be all that sushi.

Meet Langston, my submission to the April Month of Softies:

The “recycled monster” theme was perfectly timed since the mister & I only recently did a massive closet purge, leaving me with three bag-fuls of clothing that was on its way to Goodwill. But not before I salvaged the craft-worthy fabric! Langston is made from an old T-shirt of the mister’s, sewn right through the middle to get his stripes angled just right. And while he isn’t much of a frightening monster, he is four monsters in one. All eyes and all legs, depending on which way you look at him:

Two new books to add to the sewing reference library that is growing fiercely and steadily. First, the hefty Reader’s Digest Complete Guide to Sewing, picked up off eBay for a steal and, sadly, a shipping charge to match the heft of the volume. I’m convinced it will be worth it.

And, Soft Toys, subtitled “An Introduction to the Craft of Soft Toy Making” from my Secret Pal. This slim volume is chockful of just the sort of tips, instruction, and inspiration I need. And, for those of you following along at home, yep, that’s two gifts in one week from my Secret Pal! I should just quit now because secret pals just don’t get better than this. Thanks, Bright Spark!

Remember the Not To Do List? Well, since I promised you an audit of how the system was working for me, and since to-day is the end of week three of Not To Do List implementation, I thought it was time to tell you: it’s been working excellently well for me. I have consistently had no more than 5-8 items on my To Do List each week (making the over-burdened Not To Do List slightly less burdened) and, this is the best bit, I have consistently accomplished all tasks on my list by the end of each week. Not only has it forced me to be realistic and prioritize in ways I never could before, but it provides that overwhelming feeling of accomplishment that you can only get when confronted with a list of tasks that have all been checked off. You know that feeling, I know you do. So if you’d like to have a go at it, and I encourage you to, it’s all outlined in this post. And let me know how you do with it.

And, while we’re on the topic of doing and not doing, I thought I’d tell you that I’m working on an online shop, sort of a creative outboard space for some of the things I make. Nothing major, just something to hopefully sustain my insatiable night-time craft pursuits. Some of you might recall the jewellery I made and sold/traded on e-j.com not too long ago. Well, something about spring weather makes me want to wear colourful glass beads around my neck again, so I’ve been designing more jewellery lately, and since I make a lot more stuff (jewellery/softies/knits) than I could ever use or gift, I thought I’d have a go at selling some of it. Anyway, more details here as progress warrants.

Thanks for the input on Enid’s owlishness. Most of you were happy with the extent of her owlishness, and those of you who weren’t offered everything from support, to your own owl illustrations (thanks, Josh!) that I hope to transform into softies eventually. Boy howdy, you guys get the award for Best Blog Readers Ever, thank you!

In the meantime, I did a little tweaking myself (which is probably imperceptable to everyone but me):

These little guys are really growing on me. Meet the newest members of the e-j.com owl family (L-R): Sullivan, Oscar, and Terrance:

You’re going to be so sick of owls before I’m through with them. Consider this an advance apology.

The latest incarnation of the odd-little-owl pattern. Meet Enid:

I made Enid with a certain little someone in mind, so she will be on her way very soon. As you can see, I’m still working out the owl face. I think Benny and mr. prototype look certifiably more owlish, but I like that Enid’s features are a little less austere. But (and this is a crucial but), does she look even remotely like an owl? Be honest.