Nemesis

You know, Pocketeers, sometimes things just don't work.  I have been struggling with some of the most basic of stamping skills, and it's driving me crazy.  But I realize that sometimes there's just something that is jinxed and you should be able to do it but it just won't come out right, so I have decided to share mine with you so maybe you won't feel so bad if/when that happens to you.

It all started with this:

I embossed the leaves using Gathered Twigs Distress Ink and clear embossing powder, then inked over it with Ripe Persimmon Distress Ink.  Now, look closer:

 The embossing powder refused to cooperate.  I tried everything.  I polled the GPP Street Team group on Facebook.  I took their advice.  I used a little brush to wipe away stray grains outside the stamp.  I wiped it with a dryer sheet before stamping to avoid static cling.  Nothing worked.  Eventually, I found one discussion forum that talked about having no end of trouble with the particular brand of embossing powder that I was using, so I decided it must be a powder problem and accepted it.  I inked the orange on first, dried it with a heat gun, let it sit overnight to be good and dry, and did my stamping over it.  The result:  little orange stray embossing dots.  Better than off-white at least.  And my background is finished.

That was last week.  This week, I'm still having trouble with the embossing powder not distributing evenly, but at least it's not clinging everywhere it's not supposed to.  But there is of course a new problem.

Ladies and gentlemen (do I get any gentleman readers?), meet my Nemesis:

I love these stamps.  They're the "Pumpkins & Flourish" set from Inkadinkado.  And when I ordered them I couldn't wait for them to come in.  Now I am about ready to throw them out the window.  I love clear stamps.  I love the designs that come in clear stamps, I love that they're so compact, I love that I can see through them to position them exactly where I want.  I do not love that my Distress Ink beads up on them more than rain beads on my Rain-Ex coated windshield.  Because then you get this crap:

See how bubbly that looks?  What The Fruitcake?!?!  Even with the awful embossing, the regular rubber leaf of last week at least took the ink evenly.  Without embossing, this is some of my copious amounts of testing:

(Ok there's a little embossing on the right side of this image)

That damn leaf will NOT come out solid.  Not in this color, not in these colors:

Incidentally, Archival Ink works just fine:

Again I turned to the intarwebz.  Taking advice from various online sources, I tried letting Archival Ink dry on its surface (FAIL - all it did was come off with the Distress Ink), I tried using an eraser to clean the manufacturer's finish off of it, I tried sanding it lightly with an emery board, I tried washing it with soap and water... All I got was a big bucket of FAIL.  The best image I got at all with the inks I wanted to use was this:

Still not solid, still not crisp.

On a whim, I experimented with Distress Clear Embossing Ink.  The stamp finally seemed to like that and gave me a clear, solid image.  So I tried a different embossing powder.  

It's obnoxiously perfect.  So I guess all I have to do is not use Distress Ink in any sort of color on my clear stamps.  Which is extremely frustrating.  I use those inks because I love the colors!  So I can either continue to beat my head against the wall (figuratively) by trying over and over again, or I can limit how much I can use in my work.  

I don't like those options. 

Stupid stamp.

We interrupt this program...

...to bring you progress. Sadly, I did not get any spinning done today. Despite my new resolution to spin a bit on every Sunday. I know, bad Carrie. No biscuit. But what I did do today was make some progress on organizing my life. Got more storage stuff for my bedroom (which is one of the two rooms that are all mine in the house), cleaned up my CDs, rearranged some stuff, and it's now waaaaay cleaner in there. Why does this matter on a crafting blog, you ask? Why, because it's one step closer to guilt-free crafting, of course! Until I set to work cleaning my room, I felt soooo guilty sitting in the next room knitting away on my W&M scarf. Do you ever have that problem?

Tribe Pride, yo!

My quest is at an end. I finally found a perfect lace pattern for a William and Mary scarf. It's Feather Lace from Vogue Stitchionary Vol. 1. Oh is it perfect.

See, I wanted something that would look like feathers. Because the NCAA had a problem with Willliam and Mary being the "Tribe" because that's apparently offensive to Native American Indians. Nevermind the validity given to the name because W&M was the first Indian school in the colonies. Whatever, that's only, ya know, historical legacy or somesuch. And don't even get me started on the fact that "Tribe" does not indicate what kind of tribe. Anyway, W&M challenged the NCAA's opinion, and so we get to keep being the Tribe. Not to be completely shut down, however, the NCAA decided that W&M has to change their logo. No more feathers. Having feathers in the logo is "hateful and offensive." Yeah, I don't buy it either. They should look at the really old logo, from when W&M was "the Indians." But President Gene Nichol decided it would be too much hassle and expense for the College to fight it when it's just an athletic logo, and so he just accepted it (the one reasonable decision I've seen him make so far), despite how ludicrous the ruling is. So now I am very happy to have the stuff that I have with the feather logo. And I will continue to use it on my own stuff. And this is why I insist on my Tribe green and gold quiviut scarf having a feather motif.

Wanna see how it's going so far? Ta-daa!


I know, it doesn't look like much now. But it'll be a lot clearer once it's blocked. It's fuzzy yarn, after all.


When it's stretched, the motif looks just like the W&M feathers. Woohoo!

Tribe Pride, yall! Get some!

Yay?

Last night was a night fraught with emotions. Most of them negative. I will explain.

First off, Mom and I went to the fabric mecca yesterday. I got some of the stuff I was looking for (rayon velvet so I can try embossing it), but the main thing I wanted just wasn't there. I'm more than a little frustrated.

Then there was the evening. My computer was just not responding to anything I tried to do to fix it. Even advice from Roxy's hubby was in vain. But finally, last night as I reached the breaking point and gave up in a fit of rage, my dad stepped in again. Seems he had turned on a security feature that was blocking my laptop. So he turned that off, and now I'm connected! Woohoo!!!

That, however, could not help my Ravens. As a Ravens fan, I am depressed and more than a little embarrassed over last night's sorry excuse for a game. I don't even know what that was. I had to turn it off after the Colts' third touchdown. Did turn it back on in time to see the last two minutes of the game, though, and saw Troy Smith play with some guts. Granted, it was against the Colts' second-string defense, but still. He didn't dither. He didn't cower in the pocket. He played. OMG! I hope we get to see more of what he can do. In the meantime, I am not making any Ravens gear. I had plans. Those plans will be on hold until the Ravens come back and play in Baltimore. I'm a loyal fan, and I still love them, but if they're not gonna put in the effort to play the game, I'm not gonna spend my crafting time making Ravens gear.

And now, since it is still Handspun Monday for another few hours, a spinning update! I don't have pics (bad Carrie! no cookie!) but fear not! I have spun in the past two weeks! Last Sunday, I tried spinning some of the silk/merino I got from Lisa Souza. It was such a frustrating exercise that I had to walk away from it. I'm not one to give up on things, but at some point I do have to acknowledge that I'm not having fun and shouldn't waste my time. On the other hand, yesterday I pulled out some of the alpaca I got at MDS&W and started spinning it on my square spindle. Yum. I'm in love with that alpaca fleece. Being alpaca, it's a little tricky to spin. A little bit slippery. But if I'm paying attention it works just fine. Woohoo!!! Pics will come soon, I promise!

I've also started a Christmas present. Remember Charmed? I'm developing a crocheted version, this time using the cashmere I got from Habu Textiles. Having never worked with cashmere before, let me say: YUM.

This present may or may not be aided by a class I took on Saturday with mom. The class we took was on soldering small glass pieces together to make jewelry, ornaments, multimedia art, etc. My pieces ended up a little wonky, but for a first attempt they aren't bad. I'll have to post pics of those too. Mom and I now have a little soldering kit and plenty of little glass bits to encase pictures or fabric or whatever we want. Whee! I really wanna play with it right now. But I can't. Have to make an hors d'ouvre for the office Holiday Party tomorrow. Ah well. Soon. I will be making charms, and pendants, and such things. After all, the only way my soldering is going to get better is by practicing!

OMFGsplosion

*WARNING: Mild profanity ahead, not at all ladylike*

Wow, sorry, haven't posted in a month. Partly this is due to the show EATING MY LIFE. But that's been over since the weekend before Thanksgiving. Thank God and all that is holy, it's over. Biggest freakin' disaster of a show I've ever had the misery of being involved in. And I've seen some train wrecks in my meager experience. The other half of the reason I haven't been posting is my goddamn computer. The FiOS guy came out to fiddle with our connection for some reason, and since then my piece of crap five-year-old laptop has flatly refused to talk to the wireless network. It has now been weeks that my dad and I have been completely unable to figure out this problem. I think that part of the problem is that the computer can't remember the new network password once you hit "OK" thus closing the properties window for the wireless connection. Cos every time I go back to double check it, the damn thing has clearly gone back to the old password. NO, YOU GODDAMN MORON, THAT'S THE WRONG FRIKKING PASSWORD, I JUST GAVE YOU THE NEW ONE, SO HANG ON TO IT YOU SENILE OLD PIECE OF SHIT!!! This is what I say to my computer. My computer, named HAL for a reason, complacently stares back at me as if to say "I'm sorry Carrie, I'm afraid I can't do that." Jackass.

Finally, tonight, my dad reminded me that he's got an ethernet cable just kinda hangin' out, connected to the modem. So here I am. Tied to the modem, completely defeating the purpose of a laptop. Son of a bitch.

End rant.

Some good things have happened since my last post. I started a sock. Woo! I got my Ravelry invite today, so I'm happily dinking around with that a bit on my mom's computer. The problem is I can't post any pictures yet, because my pics are all on Photobucket, not on Flickr, and not having my computer hooked up to the internet, I haven't been able to upload anything to Flickr. Now, I'm of the opinion that a website should not be exclusively compatible with any one particular hosting site, but that's just me, and I'm sure they have their reasons. So now that I'm tied to the modem, I'm going to take the opportunity to upload all that I can to Flickr. Then I can start posting pictures to Ravelry. And I'll probably end up just using Flickr and leaving Photobucket alone. Because really, why have two photo accounts?

Well, now that I have my life back and am not spending much time with the boy due to, erm, complications, I have tons of time to craft. Too bad I've missed Navy football season before getting to make any of my planned Navy gear. But now is a perfect time to start working on it for next year!

To-Do List

Recently I've found that if I am going to accomplish anything, especially at work, I need to have a to-do list. Otherwise I forget half -- if not all -- of what I was planning to do, and it never gets done.

With that in mind, I've been thinking about writing down all of the various crafts that I want to learn, and posting about them to share my aspirations and to commit to them, because once they're public I can't take them back.

If anybody knows anyone I could learn any of the following crafts from, please let me know. I realize that there's a lot on this list, and I probably won't be good at all or even most of them -- jack of all trades, master of none, right? But they are all skills and techniques that I would at least like to be familiar with and be able to play with if and when the inspiration strikes. Here goes, in alphabetical order (I am an archivist, after all):

1. Bookbinding. Been in love with books all my life, and even moreso since studying medieval ones. I understand how books are bound, I know the basic process, I just have never done it myself.

2. Chainmaille. Okay, so technically I've learned this one. But only the very basics, and I haven't done much with it. Hell, I've only worked on it once. When I have more time, when the show is over, I'm going to get back to this one.

3. Digital image manipulation. I just want to be able to play with stuff on the computer and make it look good. Don't need to be a digital artist, I'd settle for a decent working knowledge of Photoshop's basic functions.

4. Leatherwork. Touched on this somewhat in SCA. Haven't learned much, though. I've been wanting to get into this one for years, though.

5. Metalwork. This one is less of a priority. I just think it would be nice to be able to cast my own pewter charms. And maybe spindle whorls.

6. Photography. I've said it before. I'm not very good at taking pictures. Once again, this one could be basic. I just want to be better than I am at it.

7. Polymer Clay. Just think of the awesome low-whorl spindles I could make with polymer clay whorls. Yes, a craft to support one of my other crafts. Shameless.

8. Screen printing. Been wanting to do this for a couple of years now. Just haven't gotten around to doing it. Really need to, though.

9. Weaving. Would give me something else to do with my handspun, right? I don't want to get into big-time weaving, just small-loom stuff. A small table loom. Like the one Mom and I have had sitting downstairs for YEARS.

10. Woodworking. Yes, another support craft. But one that would support oh-so-many of my other crafts. I just need to start following Dad around the workshop again on weekends. And find someplace to pick up woodturning and woodburning and all that fancy decorative stuff.

Wow. I ended up with ten crafts/arts on the list. Not much to ask, right? ;) I know I'm a nut, but even if I don't run with any of the above, I want to at least be able to try each one. Call it a desire for a greater education. Or maybe the need to have a hand in the creation of the things around me. Really, though, I just like to make stuff.

eep...

Okay, still no pictures to post. Haven't downloaded them from my camera. And I haven't taken any of what I've spun. But I wanted to post anyway, and rant a little about how very over my head I am in. If you don't want to hear me rant, just stop reading. But opening up about stuff helps me get my head in order.

See, with the costumes for the show, I feel like I'm just treading water. No matter how many people I dress, there are still five million more. And I only have one person helping me. It's a nightmare. Not that I'm not enjoying it at all, but it's just getting more and more stressful.

And because I put it aside for so long, I now have to finish that baby blanket I was crocheting by this weekend. Funny thing, that's also the first deadline for costumes. Hm. Funny how that worked out.

And there's a good deal of personal stress that I won't get into here but suffice to say it's all a bit draining.

Wouldn't it be nice if we could each just take a month whenever needed and say "bug off, world, I need some time to myself!" and just do whatever inspires us? I think that would be fantastic. I definitely need about a month to myself. That would be nice. But alas, I have no such month, so I guess that means I'm off to bed so I can get to work in the morning!

Zombie-head!

That's what I kinda feel like. I started the week -- no wait, day -- out with a minor cold. A low-grade cold that was barely a cold at all. By the time I got home from my sweltering, semi-tropical office, I was feeling definitely infected. And as the evening has gone on, I've gotten progressively more zombie-like. Grr.

In my stuffy-headed state, I did manage to not only get some real work done but also take WiP pics! Oh yes, my friends. I am actually posting WiPs. Go me!

First, the ever-present Razor Cami. In the car this weekend, I kept screwing up the front. So I had to keep ripping it back. I finally got tired of it and left it screwed up until today, when I finally frogged the same damn rows for the gazillionth time, and now it looks like this:



Notice the heap of yarn? Gotta knit that back up.

And then the New Design. No, it's not finished yet. Haven't been working on it. Much. But it's progressed since the last time you saw it, so here:



Exciting, no?

I'd post more (there's so much I want to post about!) but instead I am taking my hopped-up-on-nyquil self to bed. As soon as I stop sniffling to death.

On Why the RenFest is a Mixed Blessing

Never thought it would be my parents encouraging me to buy a leather bustier.

Alex, I would expect. My best girlfriend Murph, I would expect. Pam, I would expect.

Did not expect my parents.

But they did. And I bought it. And it's hott. Yes, with two "t"s.
(ETA, by popular demand) The item in question:



Please pardon the different plaid shoelaces. Trust me, they're better (at least temporarily) than the ridiculous laces that were in it when I bought it, which were so stiff they stuck out on their own.

And now that I have an item for pirate garb, I would say I spent my limit today at the faire. Certainly. And probably will once again, the next time I go.

Which will not be until next month. Sad. And yet, very okay with that.

Also, I now have a desire to pick my recorders back up again. I have a soprano recorder and an alto recorder. Beyond that my hands just aren't big enough to play. But this is brought on by the fact that I've been thinking about it for a while and by the discovery today of a music ensemble I'd not seen before. (Ironic, seeing as how they play right before my favorite, The Pyrates Royale.) This ensemble is called Cercamon. And I am not ashamed to say that they stuck in my mind not only because of their fantastic medieval music but also because their frontman is absolutely beautiful. He is a gorgeous man. I noticed that after I noticed an instance of this: two at once. I've only seen that in pictures.

While I was at the RenFest and shopping in a WONDERFUL accessory shop, my dad's friend commented to me that I should be designing clothes for a living. Truer words were never spoken. I do still have a desire to work with medieval manuscripts and stay involved in the study of the middle ages, but really? I would be so happy to design and make stuff all the time. Of course I'd still have other hobbies. But my work would be so much more like play. And that would be fine with me. If I could feasibly quit my day job and spin/crochet/knit/sew/design all day, that would be wonderful. Alas, I cannot, and it's not that I don't like my job at all, it's just that I much prefer doing those things. That's what I really think about all day while I'm working. Most people zone out thinking about what they're going to do over the weekend, where they're going to go for dinner, whether that hottie at the bar last night is really going to call him/her... I zone out and think up new and interesting ways to make threads wearable. Now I am already signed on to design for my friend's next summer show, and that's really preoccupying my mind. Most of what I'm thinking about has to do with costumes and visuals for that show. Ohhh how I can't wait for next summer...

And for my next trip to the RenFest. Feathered hat, here I come!

Confessions

No, there's no body hidden in the basement. Not that kind of confession.

I confess that at the Renaissance Festival this past weekend, I bought garb.

Yes, I could make my own RenFest garb. Yes, that way it would be exactly what I want and perfectly fitted and I'd be able to say "Why thank you, yes I did make it."

But I didn't.

My SCA garb is never going to be worn to the RenFest. And I don' t feel like putting the effort and time into making garb for the RenFest, and I did find exactly the style I wanted at a very low price. So I bought it. And proceeded to justify it to everybody.

Which brings me to my next confession. I have too much on my plate. I can't even manage to make stuff that I want to make. And yet I'm doing costumes for Ragtime. I need to start staying home after work, but I don't want to give up my social life. And that's all part of why I don't post here very often. I'm not home to post, and when I am, I haven't got anything to show. Pathetic, no?

Sometimes I just don't know how to stop. I've always been bad at time management.

So meanwhile, I've got a gazillion inspirations. Someday I'll get to them all, right? How do people do all the stuff they do? I've always wanted to know.

Sorry bout the angsty rant, sometimes venting to the world helps.

"You say you want a revolution, well ya know..."

The revolution had nothing to do with the Beatles. It had everything to do, however, with rock and roll. OH MY GOD did it have to do with rock and roll.

I just got home from Projekt Revolution at Nissan Pavilion. Now, we didn't stay for all of Linkin Park's set, because I'm a wuss and have to go to work in the morning, but still. I have some new favorite bands.

Of all the bands we caught on the Revolution Stage, only one impressed me, and they were the last to play. Mindless Self Indulgence. Wow. They were incredible. Witty, and energetic, and interesting, and not just the same emo-punk as everyone else.

The Main Stage opened with Julien-K, which apparently used to be Orgy, who I remember having a really awesome video for "Blue Monday" back in the day. They were awesome! And they played their song "Technical Difficulties," which is on the Transformers soundtrack :D But really we were waiting for two very special bands...

First off, Placebo. Now, I haven't listed to much Placebo, but what I've heard I've liked, and plus, part of the band was in Velvet Goldmine, which is one of my favorite movies ever. My best friend has listed to way more Placebo, and I will be doing so in the future. Cos damn. And yes, they put on a good show. Very energetic, which is extremely important but surprisingly not necessarily a given. And Brian Molko is just adorable.

The band my best friend and I were really there to see was next: HIM!!!!!!! Yes, the extra exclamation points are necessary. HIM is the greatest band since sliced bread. And, notably, Ville Valo was the first singer to hit the stage wearing something other than skinny jeans*. That's because he's made of awesome. They played wonderfully, it was actually better than either of the small concerts I've seen them in, because *gasp* it wasn't a crappy venue, thus Ville was happy, which made for much better on-stage banter. So wonderful. Jaime and I were melting all over each other. So good.

I missed most of Taking Back Sunday, but they opened with their song from the Transformers soundtrack, "What's it Feel Like to Be a Ghost?" They sounded pretty good from the merch tent...

Then the impressive one. I never knew I'd become a fan of My Chemical Romance. But DAMN do they put on an awesome stage show. They had pyrotechnics and everything. Also, the lead singer had on a black cavalry jacket with a sherriff's badge. He proclaimed between songs: "I'm the sherriff of fuckin' emo-town!" Oh yes. Very much the sherriff of emo-town. And yet, their music is really not emo. Not really much at all. Just their look, and their stupid stupid fans. But yeah, WOW. Amazing. Such energy, such a good rapport with the crowd, and hey, any lead singer that "collapses" to the stage and starts up with the bridge from Queen's Flash Gordon theme song is awesome in my book. Meanwhile, I need a cavalry jacket...

So okay, I know you want to know about Linkin Park. Yes, they were fantastic. It would've been nice to stay for the whole set, but not getting home til 3 AM just was not an option. But wow. Chester is a maniac. And I love it. I really need to see them again sometime. Really freaking awesome. Overall, the concert was definitely worth the money and the travel. Definitely.

*A note on skinny jeans: GET OVER THEM, PEOPLE!!! I mean, they're not even jeans! At that point, they're spandex! It's just not right. And we definitely saw more skinny jeans today than I care to count. And not all on people that ought to be wearing skinny anything. Mostly on girls who are oh-so-tragically-'80s even though they weren't even ALIVE in the '80s. Man, I can't wait til Grunge comes back as a backlash against the '80s revival. 'S all I'm sayin.

Presents!

My man is wonderful. See, we've been having a bit of a rough spot, as people do, and he felt maybe we need to get back to the romance and the sweet little things that we used to do for each other but let slip recently. So I come home from work to this:



He had taken his afternoon after work and run around accumulating things for me to enjoy on my evening that I'd claimed all for myself, and sneakily dropped it off at my house before I got home. My man is wonderful.

And so this week's yarn pr0n is going to be from the gift basket. It's Lion Brand Homespun in Gothic. Who knew humble Lion Brand Homespun could be so beautiful? Maybe that's the sentimentality in me talking.



I confess, I like Homespun. A lot. It's just so damn cozy. And the two skeins of it that my wonderful man gave me today are going to become something warm for football season. Which is only two months and... 15 days? away. Go Ravens!

And, just an update: I spun a skein of yarn on Ford today! Spun, plied, and cabled! The cabling was a pain, because I got it snarled right at the beginning, so that made the whole process difficult. But it turned out almost completely balanced. Yay! I'm withholding pics until Handspun Monday.

Also, I'm starting to feel pretty down on myself as an aspiring designer. I haven't designed much of anything in a while. I certainly haven't been particularly productive in crochet or knitting. Mostly in spinning. There are projects that I need to finish on a deadline right now, and then I've got a to-do list as long as my arm. The problem is, only two or three of the projects on said to-do list are originals. I was going to write up a pattern for Gryphon, but I didn't because I wasn't pleased with the prototype. Now I might have another one I can do for her, but I don't know if it'll work and I need to actually get to doing one up, and frankly I'm terrified that it's going to turn out to be not so brilliant after all. Argh.

That's it, I need to stop ranting and go to bed. Just gotta focus on my presents and let it all go. Because my man is wonderful.