Hey! Weird Food!

I think that's what Chris said. So there's a new asian food source in town: Oriental Market - Seafood Place... it's at 203 Harding Blvd. in Roseville, right down the street from me!

I made Chris try the cuttlefish (after much prodding- literal prodding, with cuttlefish), which he promptly spit out... he did like the fresh tamarind and sweet rice cakes, though. Anyway, make your way there if you can- they have fresh produce like long beans and raw peanuts, a huge frozen food section, fresh baked goods (like bean cakes... mmmmm...), and a fantastic whole fresh fish selection where they will cut and clean your fish while you wait! You might see me there, wandering the aisle of sauce. That's right, and entire aisle of sauces. You just can't go wrong with that.

Sqeal!

Wendy of Knit & Tonic mentioned my pattern in yesterday's post! I squeal because this is one of my very favorite blogs... Not only is she a very talented designer, but the lady is Funny. That's right, capital F Funny. Even if you don't knit, the blog will crack you up, guaranteed...

Private Benjamin

Self Control is Overrated.

I could not live without it:

Monster by Amy Earles (aka Wool & Water)

Check out the sweet postcard it came with and the squeal-worthy ghosty stamp on the shipping envelope...

A couple more Sea Creatures...

They both join the other sea creatures in the bathroom.

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Squid

Pattern:
Squid-A-Licious by Hansigurumi

The only mod I made was making the body in one piece instead of two. I just ran a length of yarn through the middle and tightened it to make up for that.
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Cuddle-Fish

Pattern: Cuttlefish by Hansigurumi

I used to eat copious amounts of dried cuttlefish (as a child).

They're not really "fish". Obviously.
I really had to force myself to finish this one. There were many mistakes in the pattern (very unusual for Hansi… she’s pretty much a genius) (*I included my Errata below). It’s also a bit bigger than the other cepholopods- I’d probably would have used sport-ish weight if I thought ahead… I embroidered him with some stripeys to make him a bit more realistic, and cast off the fins with white for a little extra detail.

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And speaking of Sea Creatures:

I'm pretty sure Maggie is an otter. There's more new pics of her here.

And her BFF, Laika, of course.

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My Hansigurumi Cuttlefish Errata:

Page 4, Section 4 (last on page): Even Rows- do not wrap and turn, as you are at the end of the rows.

Hansi's Errata: Page 6, should read "Using Figure 1 as a guide, use MC and pick up a total of 34 stitches from the top selvedge of arms as follows...", and Row 1 should read "P22, w&t"

Page 6: Row 21: P25
Page 7 (top): Row 22: K9, SSK, k2tog, SSK, K2tog, K9. Place remaining 22 stitches...

Page 7 (middle): Clarification- When picking up 5 sts from the underside of the outermost arms, do not pick up from the webbing area.

Page 7 (bottom): Round 4: K1, *K2tog, repeat from * to the end of the round, end K1. (20 stitches)

Page 8: Round 7: (*K2tog, KI), repeat from * to last 2 stitches, K2tog. (6 stitches)

Page 11: Round 4: *SSK, (K1, KLR, K1) 3 times, (K1, KLR) 56 times, (K1, KLR, K1)...

Japanese Super Fun Animal Plush!

I acquired some Japanese craft books via Etsy to help in my sewing endeavors... I'd like to make my own patterns, so I wanted some help in the construction, since I'm quite a beginner. My first project from them was this:

Alligator from Animal Mascot

(ISBN-10: 4391624206, ISBN-13: 978-4391624205 )

On Crafting Japanese

For Kathryn's (belated) B-Day,

made with vintage velvet from my bedspread as a child,

cotton fabric, wool felt, beads, and embroidery floss.

This book is pretty popular and fairly easy to find (on Etsy or Ebay) and has super cute designs with clear pictorial instructions (the text is all in japanese). I also picked up a couple without names (as in, I can't translate the names):

I haven't seen these anywhere else (I got them on Etsy), and they are pretty fantastic. The instructions are not as clear as Animal Mascots (and the projects are a bit more advanced), but I think I'll do alright with them still... There are more pics of them on my Flickr.

Things You Should Buy for Me

Aaaah, disposable income, when shall you and I meet? I have a large wishlist of art that I want to live at my house from Etsy... where I could easily dump buckets of cash, if only I had it:

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jacksonswift: Wolves

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berkleyillustration: Everyone Serves A Porpoise

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therunnybunny: Victorian Deer Lady

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belleandboo: Lost and Found, Chance Encounter

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LittleRobot: The Queen and I

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robbridges: The Ursine Dream

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NuitBlanche: Deer Print

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woolandwater: Monster

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misterrob: We Had Everything
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ohmycavalier: Honey
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There are more, of course, but there is only so much one can put in one post, right? I'd love recommendations, too... not that I need to add to my already ridiculous wishlist, but... wait, yes I do.

Old Timey Bathing Costume

Well, I have finished my very first clothing sewing... and I've made me-self a Bathing Costume! Old-timey, no? We're going lake type camping at the end of the month & I had no bathing suit, and no wish to get into one, so... you know, this is what happened:

I used a couple different patterns: New Look 6705 for the top (I added the belt & belt loops) and 6707 for the shorts (I cut the pants short). I added the stripes with seam binding.

I must thank Emily of the Black Apple for re-introducing me to sewing... I sewed her Doll pattern from her Martha Stewart appearance & was totally hooked. I had a sewing machine already (I'm 5'1", so most of my clothes are hemmed) & now I've been gathering patterns voraciously. The Black Apple Doll and Lambkins from my last post were my first two pattern babies, and now I have a huge queue forming for sewn projects, which will now compete with knitting for Ultimate Time Sucking.