ishkabibble

2017 Recap: Books

Hi! It feels weird to be posting so many times but I wanted to squeeze in a timely recap of books for the year. I won't give you any book reports, though.

image via Google image search

Italicized is a book I have never read before.
Italicized and bolded is never read and a new-to-me author.

Little House in the Big Woods (Laura Ingalls Wilder)
Little House on the Prairie (Wilder)
Farmer Boy (Wilder)
On the Banks of Plum Creek (Wilder)
On the Shores of Silver Lake (Wilder)
The Long Winter (Wilder)
Little Town on the Prairie (Wilder)
These Happy Golden Years (Wilder)
The First Four Years (Wilder)
Harry Potter and the Sorcerer's Stone (J. K. Rowling)
Harry Potter and the Chamber of Secrets (Rowling)
Harry Potter and the Prisoner of Azkaban (Rowling)
Harry Potter and the Goblet of Fire (Rowling)
Harry Potter and the Order of the Phoenix (Rowling)
Harry Potter and the Half-Blood Prince (Rowling)
Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows (Rowling)
The Color of Magic (Terry Pratchett)
The Light Fantastic (Pratchett)
Equal Rights (Pratchett)
Mort (Pratchett)
Sourcery (Pratchett)
Wyrd Sisters (Pratchett)
Pyramids (Pratchett)
Guards! Guards! (Pratchett)
~~Faust~~ Eric (Pratchett)
Moving Pictures (Pratchett)
Reaper Man (Pratchett)
Witches Abroad (Pratchett)
Small Gods (Pratchett)
Lords and Ladies (Pratchett)
Men at Arms (Pratchett)
Soul Music (Pratchett)
Interesting Times (Pratchett)
Maskerade (Pratchett)
Feet of Clay (Pratchett)
Hogfather (Pratchett)

After unpacking our books post-move, I felt the need for familiar, easy books that I love and that would serve as a pick-me-up. The Wilder books were given to little-me as a boxset from one of my father's college professors. My copies are very well read at this point. I've always particularly loved The Long Winter.

It was past time to do the almost sort of annual reread of Harry Potter. At least these are hardcover and can stand the abuse! No Cursed Child, never again, boooo hisssss.

And then, after joining the new local yarn group, they roped me into a summer reading challenge, which I'm pleased to say I not only completed, but also won the drawing for a gift certificate to a local restaurant! The Discworld series fit in nicely with some of the options, and after a spectacular enabling essay from Jo, I dove in! I decided to stick with publication order as it was easiest for me to keep track of where I was. All of our local libraries function as one and we also have the option to request books from any library in the state. Because I often had to wait for the next one(s) to come in, progress slowed as the year aged. I didn't quite make it halfway through though I started reading the series in June. So far, I've greatly enjoyed Equal Rights, Small Gods, and all the Witches and Rincewind books. (Rincewind may or may not make me an oddity in the Discworld fandom but I just loved his personality and timing haha.) There were a few I didn't really love, at least not as much as the others (such as Moving Pictures and most of the Watchmen series). And it was a bit fitting to be reading Hogfather at Christmastime! I promise that wasn't planned. It took this book for me to fall head-over-heels for Death. :)

I did not include any manga. After thinking about that, I might try a separate list for them in 2018, at least for completed series. I'm sure this year I was well over 200 for this genre alone! I read a lot of manga, though many are one-shots (basically one chapter) and almost all of them are online. I do have a nice collection of my own on my "geeky" bookshelf. I will keep track of them by completed series, not a separate line for each individual book (volume). I'm not sure how to go about including ongoing series. Perhaps I should just omit them or I'd really wind up with a plate of Spaghetti-Os.

You know, I guess I did pretty well on books this year. :) No new-to-me authors but that's okay. Sometimes familiar favorites make things better.

And that's it for this year's posts! I'll see you all on the other side. :D

✧･ﾟ: *✧･ﾟ:* HAPPY NEW YEAR! *:･ﾟ✧*:･ﾟ✧

2017 Recap: Do All the Crafts

Hello, howdy, and hi! I always like to do a recap post so here is 2017's little collection. I've copied the list from my finishes page and created a small collage for each craft, including a few images of stuff I hadn't yet shown on the blog due to various present restrictions.

2017

February - Casserole Potholder - thermal crochet, freebie pattern found here, modified by me
February - Small Potholder - thermal crochet, freebie pattern found here
May - Mock Honeycomb Dishcloth #1 - knit, freebie pattern found here (ravelry)
June - Little Cowboy Afghan - crochet, freebie pattern found here (ravelry)
June - Mock Honeycomb Dishcloth #2 - knit, freebie pattern found here (ravelry)
June - August Gladiolus - 14-count ecru huck towel, freebie pattern found here
July - Rubber Ducky Washcloth - knit, freebie pattern found here (ravelry)
September - Sunflower Coaster - crochet, pattern cobbled together by me
September - Zinogre - 20-count light tan jobelan, pattern by me
October - All Hallow's Eve - 14-count black Aida, pattern by Frosted Pumpkin Stitchery
November - Star Stitch Dishcloths (4) - knit, freebie pattern found here (ravelry)
December - Fan Bookmarks (6) - crochet, freebie pattern found here (ravelry)
December - Snowman Mitten - 14-count brass ornament, kit by Bucilla
December - Clothespin Angel #4 - crochet, pattern from Leisure Arts leaflet 2518
December - Creeper Hat - knit, freebie pattern found here (ravelry), modified by me

Knitting

knittin's

I felt like this turned into a year of dishcloths! Apart from the hat, that's all I knit this year haha. The final count was seven (two of each color of the variegated yarn). The purple and green ones are done in a "mock honeycomb" stitch which makes a delightfully dainty-looking cloth.

The hat was a Christmas present for my husband! It was my first time doing Fair Isle knitting which I'm pleased to say wasn't difficult at all once I figured out how I was most comfortable holding the second color. I did make a rather silly mistake though. The pattern calls for size 6 needles and I accidentally used size 9! My needles don't have the little underlines to denote those two sizes apart haha. I didn't realize this until I went to put the needles back in their case after the hat was finished. The gauge was close (mine was 5.5 stitches per inch to the called-for 5) using them, though. The pattern idea came from here, along with a modification here. I changed the look of the face to fit the in-game creeper. Also, it had to have a pompom. :)

Crochet

hookin's

Crochet was a bit more varied! The potholders were finished early in the year as a sort of therapy for the move. Next up was the star baby afghan and sunflower coaster. Lastly was the thread clothespin angel. What a fiddly little pattern! I had to pay close attention to the pattern reading as commas were VERY important haha. I changed the called-for colors, giving her a bright red dress and a metallic sheen halo (FYI metallic crochet thread behaves much better than metallic floss). She was fun and I hope to make more in the future. I certainly have enough thread to crochet an army in a rainbow of colors!

Cross-Stitch

stitchin's

Like last year, this was again a bit sad for cross-stitch finishes. I am happy to have made my first flatfold for a Halloween stitch, as well as stitched my first Frosted Pumpkin piece! And the brass ornament was a fun idea. I did manage another one of my Flower-of-the-Month huck towel finishes, and another Monster Hunter side for the cube. I even managed to work some on Final Fantasy III (last shown on here for last year's recap!).

It went from here

to here.

Not much of a change but there is a little difference, most notably the right side of the picture with his cape and sword. I found a new (to me) floor stand that allows me to sit back more comfortably to work on these larger pieces so I have been grazing on it. The goal is to have it finished in February as the local framing shop runs a special on free museum glass. I would like it and FFVIII framed at the same time and possibly explode from the excitement. Even if I just manage FFVIII framed, I will probably still explode from the excitement!

Goals

That's it for 2017's crafty endeavors. It wasn't as much as last year but still more than previous years so I'll count it as a win, especially with how rough the start was!

As far as "goals" for next year, one item of interest is the 2018 Ravellenic Games. I enjoyed working on projects during the 2016 Ravellenics where I finished a hat and a pair of house slippers so I'd like to challenge myself again for the new one. I'm still trying to decide what I'd like to "compete" in. Cross Country Living is a strong contender since I've already a project in mind. Toy Bobsled also sounds fun and perhaps a way to get me to actually try my hand at amigurumi! Or perhaps Sock Hockey. I've attempted my first pair of socks which has ended in total disaster (wrong yarn, waaaay wrong yarn) but I don't want to be defeated.

I was out of all SALs this past year. I know I'll be rejoining Gifted Gorgeousness (this is 2017's link). Other than that, I'm not sure what I'll be doing. I don't enjoy facebook or flosstube as a medium so that knocks out a few. I've never stopped collecting my ORTs though I no longer take pictures of them for TUSAL. I'm considering WIPocalypse (2017 again) as it would fit in with my posting style but because I have very few projects ongoing at a time WIPs are actually scarce! Plus I don't think I'd link up because of the facebook thing.

It seems I like to stick to broad-spectrum SALs where I can work on whatever rather than ones that have a specific theme. Maybe I should see if there are any KALs or CALs out there that could help broaden my horizons. I would love to hear your suggestions!

Thank you all for helping my 2017 get brighter. Here's to 2018!

Advent Calendar Blog Hop: Day 21!

Hello, hello~ Are you here for Jo's Advent Blog Hop on this fine Winter's Solstice? Sure you are!

Ooo we are so close to Christmas; are you ready?! I can safely say all the Christmas cards are mailed and so are all the cookies! I am now working on the "local" cookie batches, mostly the cookies that I love to make but would never survive mailing (decorated sugar cookies, etc) or that my husband loves and I have to make another batch of (thin mints).

Here is what I've created for you behind door 21! I can assure you it took an awful lot of work to assemble this intricate piece.

almost staying still

Wait, that's not a craft...

Okay, okay, enough with the silliness and on to the Real Stuff. Every year I've been trying to make something for the tree and this is 2017's contribution.

baby, it's COLD outside

I bought this little kit in a thrift store. I really like brass ornaments so finding a cross-stitch one was awesome! There doesn't seem to be any images of this particular kit online, but there are stockings and wreaths out there somewhere. I enjoyed the easy finish of it but it was a bit rough "seeing" the beginning stitches; I simply couldn't process the squares! I just started at the bottom and worked my way up until it made sense. Plus the 3-over-1 was remarkably tough despite the the large holes. Back stitching required a thimble just to stuff the needle through some places!

Technical Details

Brass Stitchables "Snowman Mitten", a kit by Bucilla.
3 over 1 on 14-count brass.
Finished Size:
Started: November ?, 2017, Finished: December 8th, 2017. Unknown hours.

I added a bit of red felt to the back to ~~hide~~ protect the stitches. I thought I'd get all fancy pants and attach the felt with gold metallic floss to match the brass. Trying to do that blindly and neatly....... Nope, not happening! Glue gun to the rescue hah.

And because I felt this was a pretty sparse post, I will share two previous ornaments I don't believe were ever on the blog.

naughty or nice

delicious house

Both of these little kits were picked up in thrift stores (of course). I believe the gingerbread house is the first Christmas ornament I've ever made in cross-stitch; I scribbled a date on the back of August of 2009 which is the year I started. It was a fun stitch, although I obviously needed a bit more practice centering in a frame! Santa was stitched closer to Christmas that same year and was finished by being glued to cardboard, and then of course that looked ugly on the back, so I cut another piece of cardboard and used Christmas wrapping paper and a fat ribbon for hanging. I do remember designing the M and C myself because the plain font looked too, well, plain!

Christmas... worm?

And this little guy was made when I was a tiny Rosey in kindergarten. Our teacher cut out the little pieces of felt and we assembled them into these ornaments with glue. Then we "sewed" around the edges and stuffed the bottom with a bit of fluff. Such trust with a needle! I'm sure nowadays someone would demand that children are too young and would eat the needles or some other disaster.

Jo asks: How do you plan to spend Boxing Day? Do you have any traditions associated with this day?

Welp, like a few others on this hop, I'm also American and have no specific traditions associated with this day! My husband does actually have off the day after Christmas though, but this is more of a fluke of the days lining up just so. It's a day for lazing around, eating cookies (and I guess leftovers), and playing with any new toys that Santa deposited under the tree. Although after reading all the hops so far, I feel this might actually fit in haha. I could pretend to be a milkgal and you could slip a note under the door on the way out. ;)

Okay, that's enough from me. Thank you for visiting! Your next stop is a Double Delight. Please knock on Craftartista and A Snapshot of my Life's door tomorrow~

✧･ﾟ: *✧･ﾟ:* MERRY CHRISTMAS! *:･ﾟ✧*:･ﾟ✧

As usual with these blog hops, I've scheduled this post to appear overnight here so the people in the future (read: the rest of the world) can have the post in a timely fashion.

An Eclectic Ensemble

I did!

Howdy, y'all! Thanks for all the interest in the blog hop post. I'm glad you guys like Frosted Pumpkin cuties too! I figured I'm well overdue for a crafty recap that doesn't have to do with holiday stuff so let's take care of that, shall we~? :D

before

after

First up, I finished the next side to the Monster Hunter cube, Zinogre the lightning doggy! I rather like how this guy turned out. (Have I said this about all of them? ;b) I was worried about the lightest color blending in too much with the fabric but it turned out to have just enough texture to make it subtly pop.

Technical Details

"Zinogre" glyph from Monster Hunter 3 Ultimate, pattern charted by me.
2 over 1 on 20-count light tan jobelan fabric.
Finished size: 3.50 x 3.50" (9 x 9 cm).
Started: July 6, 2017, Finished: September ??, unknown hours.

I'm pretty sure this is a hunt

Four sides down! Next up is Nargacuga, the hyper catbat. I haven't started him yet; I'm not even done tweaking the chart for him! He will be a rather dark stitch as I'm trying to keep to the main species and not the subs (this will present a problem for the last stitch).

I promise this is a flower

I have also started the next Flower of the Month -- September's Aster. I'm still not enthusiastic over this one but it's not too terrible to stitch. I snack on it on occasion but that has tapered off with all the holiday crafting. I do not like that jarring orange center. I am leaving it until the rest of the flower is stitched to see if it becomes less InYourFace but I am not hopeful! Luckily it's only a few stitches that will need replaced if need be!

sunflower coaster

I'm kind of proud of this one. I couldn't find a crochet or knitted sunflower pattern to suit my needs, so this was my first attempt in cobbling something from nothing! I had to learn how to crochet the crocodile stitch (which, if you're interested, consumes a LOT of yarn), plus learn how to do it in the round. For a first attempt, it turned out fairly well. It's made of cotton yarn so it should work well as a coaster, though I'm not sure the recipient is using it as such! I do wish I had written down ANYTHING about what I did for this pattern haha. I'm not sure I could recreate it, though I think I'll give it a try at some point not-Christmas time.

front - front, back - back

I feel like I've been doing an awful lot of knitting lately too. These are "star stitch" washcloths made as part of a Christmas present! YAY I AM ALMOST TIMELY. Also it is a good thing I started these rather early as the star stitch is torture for us poor tight knitters and these take me quite a while to make. It does lovely things to variegated/ombre yarn, though, and that is why I chose this particular stitch pattern.

close up of the action

I have two more I'm going to make in "winter" colors. I might make some for myself, but they can wait until after Christmas! I did both a crochet cast on and bind off which have quickly become my favorite ways to start and end a knit project! My tension is a bit better with them so they are looser, creating the slightly scalloped border on both edges. Very much would recommend!

There was a minor annoyance with this yarn. I bought the first skein at Michael's and it was 2oz. This was enough to finish one cloth, plus about 7/8ths of the next one. I bought the second skein at JoAnn's and it was 3oz! Ugh. 3oz would've been enough to finish both, in the same dyelot (you can't tell the join on the second cloth though), with only a bit left over. Now I have almost a full skein left to do ???? with. I was a little grumpy over this.

Technical Details

"Star Stitch" cloths, knit, pattern found here (free!) on ravelry.
My ravelry project page found here.
Cotton yarn: Lily's Sugar n' Creme in coral seas ombre.
Size 9 (5.5mm) needles, plus a crochet hook for cast on/bind off.
Started: October 28, finished November 10, unknown hours.

Lessons Learned

Crochet bind off.
Better tension control for purling! (!!!!)
Where to buy yarn, bah.

I think that's all with crafts that I can show right now. I have some small projects on the crochet hook which are turning out quite fun and really cute. Plus I have another Christmas present on a different set of needles. Plus plus I have some holiday cross stitch in the works. Plus plus plus it's almost Cookie Time!! I'm so happy to be excited about Christmas this year. :)

nyaa-p time

And even though it has nothing to do with anything I made but LOOK AT MY NEW PAJAMAS. I don't impulse buy very often but I had to have these instantly, pink or no pink. How can I ignore sleepy kitties and yarn balls! These are seriously adorable and very comfy too. They were brand new with tags, in a thrift store no less, so I got them for a whopping $6. :D

helping

This entire post could've counted for Gifted Gorgeousness, haha. I look forward to joining in again next year! I hope you all have a wonderful time and those of you in the US, have a Happy Thanksgiving! I don't have to cook for it this time. \:D/

Spooky Hallowe'en Blog Hop

Hello there, blog hoppers and minions! It's that magical time of year for Jo's Hallowe'en (look I put the apostrophe in) Blog Hop. I've scheduled this post to appear in the wee hours of the morning here as many readers are from the future... Or at least from over the puddle. If you're stumbling onto the game from my blog, please head on over to Jo's blog to start!

Google-y Oogley

This year I have a Shiny New Finish, full of firsts! It is my first time stitching on black fabric (I've done black perforated plastic), my first flatfold finishing, and my first Frosted Pumpkin Stitchery (finally)! So much YAY!

not a whole lot of border fabric -- whoops

Technical Details

"All Hallows Eve" pattern by Frosted Pumpkin Stitchery, found here.
2-over-1 on a 14-count black Aida.
Backing material: Holiday Showcase™ Halloween Cotton Fabric 43" - Candy Corn Dot, remnant purchased at JoAnn Fabrics, and stash black felt.
Finished stitching size: ~3" (7,6cm) square.
Started October 4, 2017, finished October 15, 2017, unknown hours.

🎃💀👻🎃💀👻🎃💀👻🎃💀👻🎃💀👻🎃💀👻🎃💀👻🎃💀👻🎃💀👻🎃

small kine goodies

Because I stitched on black, I made a few adjustments to some of the charted colors. Ms. Witch is in a fabulous navy dress, and Sir Mittens, her trusty familiar, is a dark grey gentlecat with dainty white paws. The stars were stitched with E940 which is the wonderful glow-in-the-dark DMC. I was surprised how... fluffy? this floss is. It's in the light effects line so I guess I was expecting something more stiff. But the coverage is great, even for 14-count! Other than that, there were a few other tweaks, mostly involving the charted black floss. I was not overly enthusiastic about stitching black on black and then not having it show up!

cell phone didn't like pretty glowing things

The tutorial I used can be found here on Meari's blog! I am also big on recycling and using what stash I've accumulated/inherited. I do not have any batting so I used some of my ample felt stash, in black. This doubled to provide a dark background so nothing shows through the 14-count fabric holes! Of course, since it was my first attempt, it's not quite perfect. Mostly because my "flat" fold is not very flat at almost an inch thick lol. Lesson learned, use pasteboard thickness! What I used was not corrugated cardboard but more like two pasteboards pasted together... Still too thick apparently!

help yourself to healthy(?) snacks

I found the finishing fabric on sale in the remnant bin. It is partly responsible for the choice of black Aida. I was waffling between it or a navy. Can't say I much like to eat candy corn (says the sweet tooth) but they do look cute~ I left one back piece as exposed felt because it wouldn't really be seen at any point. The "cording" is three pieces of yarn twisted together. Orange, black, and some really strange hairy black stuff (like eyelash yarn but... hairy) that is rather creepy all on its own haha.

And here's what you've all been waiting breathlessly for: The letter!

the letter B - more Google-y Oogley

Your next stop is Le Coeur Celtique so keep on hopping (ghosting? zombie-ing? witching?) your way along!

HAPPY HALLOWE'EN!