What's on My Hook #20: Pom Pom 'Splosion!

Sheesh! I haven't done a WOMH post since the beginning of the month... I need to blog more regularly. *shrug*

So last night I decided I wanted to make myself yet another hat... and not just any hat. I wanted to make a hat that is gathered at the top instead of decreased down... Random, I know. So I grabbed a couple balls of Wool Ease chunky (not sure of the color... maybe amber or something) and whipped this puppy up.  It's stupid simple and I'm thinking I'll make more... I seem to be in a hat tizzy. I've been wearing hats to work like everyday for a long time now... Oh well. Call it "protective styling."  Anywho, feast your eyes upon my newest hat, complete with ginormous pom-pom!

I should've wrapped more layers on the pom-pom to make it more round instead of floppy... I think I'll edit that later. So yeah, my fingers got the 'make something' itch and this is what was born.  Does that happen to anyone else?  Sometimes you just have to create?

I sure do love my chunky yarns... ^.^

The Perks of Being Nice

or On Listening to Your Boyfriend When He Tells You Not to Cuss Out the Burger King Worker.

Good evening. Tonight I have a quick little tale for you.
Tonight after running a few errands and taking a benadryl, I came to the conclusion that I was too tired to cook anything for dinner.  I was quite hungry tho... so I did what any relatively unhealthy eater would do... Burger King to the rescue!!

I ordered a meatless Whopper meal and a sprite with no ice.  Now, I've ordered that specific thing many-a-time in the past without incident so I didn't check the bag.  That is, I didn't check the bag until I got home and sat down to eat my long awaited dinner.  I open the whopper box and what do I find???  A big ole slab of meat!  First I thought, "MAAAAN!!!!! That's gross!!!!!!!! Maybe I can just take it off... the dogs will really enjoy this."  Then I looked at the bottom bun... it had soaked up meat juice... No dice on picking the meat off...  Next I thought, "I'll just give it to my friend John," but he didn't respond to my text message... Lastly I mentioned the whole frustrating thing to Lamar, who calmly said, "Just take it back."  So I got back in my car to drive back around the corner to BK (luckily they're like a mile from my house).  On the ride, I was fussing and ranting about how I just wanted to eat and really wanted to yell at someone because the person that took my order put it in correctly- it was the one that made it that messed it up...

A few deep breaths later, I tell the BK cashier what happened and showed her my receipt.  The graciously remade my sandwich and gave me some fresh fries as well. 

Morals of the story: 1) Always check your order before leaving. ALWAYS. 2) Be kind to people, you may get free fries :)

So now, my belly's full and I'm rather happy about that. Thanks Lamar!

Book Haul

OK. I've been in quite the funk lately.  Random acts of sobbing, sleeping all day, maybe eating... you know all that craptasmagorium... yep. I just made up that word.  Anyway, in an effort to not bore you with the ebbs and flows of my mood today, I'm going to introduce you to my newest literary companions.

Yay! Nine new friends to fill my time.  Does that sound lame??  I dunno.  So, we have: (top row) The Web Designer's Guide to Typography; The Truth About Style| Stacy London; & Think Positive Thoughts Everyday; (middle row) Marbles: Mania, Depression, Michelangelo, & Me; The Color Index; The Layout Index; & The Type Idea Index; (bottom row) Flowers for Algernon & Great Short Works of Edgar Allan Poe. [I've linked to all the book listings on amazon for your possible purchasing convenience.]

I'm currently reading Marbles, which is a graphic memoir. I had no idea there were such thing, but I'm really enjoying it.  I do have to fight the urge to color in all the pictures though. *shrug*  It's about the author's Bipolar diagnosis and how she learns to balance her "creativity" with her "crazy."  I found it while aimlessly haunting Books-a-million last night.  Of course the colorful cover caught my eye.  I mean, how colorful and cheery for a book about a mood disorder right?!  Anyway, I'm halfway through it now.  I keep thinking while reading, I'm not bipolar... nah... It's weird because there are passages where she talks about how the low feels and she shows her thoughts when she's in public and I just think Yep. I've done that. or I know exactly how that feels! I said I wasn't going to make this a "how I'm feeling" post... So lemme jump off that train...  I got Flowers for Algernon because I watched the movie adaptation "Charlie" a while ago in college and figured, might as well read the book.

I picked up the Web Designer's Typography book from a library sale and the 3 indexes from amazon. They came in a box set and I felt fancy.  My plan is to use them for inspiration in my pending blog revamp. Wish me luck on that. I'm trying to get back into more design because I've forgotten how much I enjoy it. I think if I can infuse as many things into my daily life that I use to lose myself in, it'll be easier to stay happier.  ...does that make sense...

The Stacy London style book, Think positive thoughts everyday, and the Poe collection came from another library sale.  If you haven't checked out those little "friends of the library" book sales in your area you should.  You know, they normally take donated books and sell them to raise money for the library.  Anywho, The Stacy London book just came out last October and retails for $32.95 with $14.59+shipping being the lowest price on amazon... I paid $2. Yay me!  The Poe cost me $0.75 and the Positive Thoughts cost $0.25.

So that's my book haul.  I'm excited about reading these and pulling all the info out of them I can.  I want to read 15 books this year.  That's the plan. Do you have any suggestions for me?

A couple things :)

Here are a couple things that make me think about you :) I hope they make you smile ^.^  Let me do a quick disclaimer... Everything St. Patrick's day reminds me of us :) And I'll probably be adding a few more bits to my little collection as March approaches.  Yes, it's cheesy but I love it ^.^

I found this bow-tie at some craft store and I couldn't help but to get it.  I'm already thinking of wearing it as a bow-tie to work, and also as a headband.

I just got these socks earlier tonight from Target.  They had another pair, but they had beer all over them... so they stayed right in the store.  I figure, socks make me smile, these socks remind me of you, my feet are now fashionable, it's a win however you flip it! Hurray!!

:~)

Calm Jar DIY Tutorial

I think I've mentioned how I like to watch youtube videos while I'm crocheting, and recently I saw this awesome do-hickey called a 'calm jar'.  It involves a jar, hot water, glue, and the herpes of the craft world... GLITTER!!!! (lol)

Steps:
1. Gather your supplies: jar, hot water, clear tacky glue, glitter
2. Fill your jar with the hot water
3. Add a lot of glue (I ended up putting like a third of the bottle & I think I'm gonna add more)
4. Add as much glitter as you want
5. Close securely
6. Shake well to mix.  If the glitter settles too fast, add more glue.
7. When you're satisfied, glue the lid down to avoid any unfortunate spillage.
7. Ta-da!

I have this one on my desk at work and it's really nice to have around. One of the student workers came in and played with it for like 5 mins.  I'm going to make another one in a different shape bottle.  It's such a really quick and easy project, I might as well make a set, right??

Plus, for like the first time in my life, I used glitter and didn't spill a piece!  What?!?! Yay me!

Crafty Blogger's Guilt

I'm noticing that when I have a lot of time to get into my crafting/crocheting, I'll finish projects and not write about them. ::rolls eyes::

Am I a slacker blogger?  probably.

Anywho,  I have been verrrry busy over the last few days. Making and crocheting and planning.  And laughingly, I am still working on a few holiday gifts.  Terrible, I know.  But I will have them done before the end of January- crafter's honor.

Let's see, what can I tell you about...  I picked up a few crochet books from the library recently and one has the cutest patterns in it.  The book is Crochet Boutique by Rachel Oglesby.

via: amazon.com

I love the photography of the book.  It's seems really effortlessly comfortable. Like if I make these pieces I too can cuddle up on the sofa in a colorful throw sipping hot cocoa & laughing with friends equally cozy in their slouchy beanies, lounging on giant granny square floor pillows...  lol ^.^  I'd def recommend it for any level crocheter.  The patterns are simple, easy to read, and they look lovely.  That kinda turned into a bit of a review huh?? *shrug*  Meredith over at One Sheepish Girl reviewed this book last year and shares a link for a free download of the Small Bow Pattern. Check her review out here.

from my instagram @nadiratani

This is the bow headband.  I've been wanting to make one for a long time, and last Sunday Crafternoon was the day.  It's worked in the griddle stitch, which just so happens to be one of my favorite stitches ^.^  I like it now, but I think I'm going to modify it to fit better when my hair is bigger. But right now, it's great for braided down hair or pressed hair. 

This is definitely a book that I want to add to my collection.

Sewing Fail Resurrection

Ok, like I said in the previous post, I messed up the dress I was making.  So to salvage it/ make it work (say it like Tim Gunn), I chopped it off at the waist, added a band, put the zipper back in, sewed in a couple darts, and ended up with this little number :)

photo from my instagram @nadiratani

Not bad huh?!?  It's really thin fabric, so it needs a slip.  I'm excited to wear it to work :) Yay for me!!

Sewing... Fail...

Well... we'll just call it a "learning experience"

Monday night I decided to make a pattern from a really cute dress I recently thrifted.  So I pulled out my tracing wheel and brown paper and got to work making the pieces.  I successfully traced the front, back, and sleeves.  Now... my intention was to reproduce the dress using this awesome 60's inspired fabric.

Photo from my Instagram @nadiratani

Ok... looks like a great idea right?  Nope... What I failed to take into consideration was the fabric of the original dress.  It was a super stretchy material and the fabric above is a cotton.  Needless to say, I cut all the pieces and sewed it together, even put a zipper in the back as an afterthought, but the dress was just too small.  I guess I need more practice in the pattern-making area (and zipper installation! I really suck at it!)

I'm not going to scrap it tho.  I'm going to chop it off at the waist, cut pocket shapes from the bodice as to not waste that fabric, and make a skirt with pockets.  Because who doesn't love a skirt with pockets?!

I will keep the pattern pieces tho.  I'll just make sure to find a stretchy material for the next try at this.  Besides, I have a couple coupons for Joann's maybe I can find something on clearance. *shrug*  I'll post a picture of the finished skirt, hopefully tonight.

I hope you are having a nice wednesday... it's still raining here.  It's been raining for nearly 10 days now.  Everything's soggy :-p ick...

Perks and Me

Last night I saw The Perks of Being a Wallflower.

In my head, I have sooo much to say about the awesomeness of the book and movie, but I still can't find the words to express it.  I read the book in high school after one of my friends suggested it.  I want to say it was... maybe 11th grade or so.

The main character, Charlie, resonated with me SO strongly.  Maybe it's the anxiety of being new or the feeling that you are so different from those around you or maybe it's the creeping realization that no one notices you.  There were so many moments while watching the movie that I couldn't help but to think back to my experience in high school.  Luckily for me, I had a couple friends that stuck after middle school.  My high school was a trade school, so we all had to pick 'shops' to study.  I chose Visual Communications which was the "artsy" shop with illustration classes and layout design and sign making.  There was a 'joke' around the school that whenever you saw anyone weird (spiked/dyed hair, JNCO pants, crazy make-up, etc) or even the quiet out-liers like me, they were most likely in VisComm.  We oddballs tended to band together like that.

So I had people. I had friends.

That's not to say that I never walked into the cafeteria and didn't feel that snake of anxiety squeeze the air out of me while trying to figure out where to sit.  I'm almost 27 and still feel that way in settings like that.  Charlie was like a concentrated version of all the hard things about HS life.  He was very real.  I felt (while reading the book and watching the movie) that we would've been friends.

Unlike Charlie, I haven't had any friends commit suicide.  I have had too many suicidal friends.  That could be another reason his story is so close to me.  I remember having to be "the strong one" for a friend who was in and out of psych hospitals.  She would come back to school with cuts down her wrists... the 'right' way.  I still remember how she'd look.  Hollow eyes. One day I walked out of class and cried in the hallway because I couldn't fix her. My history teacher came out and told me that he knew it was hard on me, but I had to be strong for her because she can't hold herself up.  I took that in.  And I've been that person ever since then.  Always trying to be the strong one... holding everyone up.  But I digress... Charlie felt everyone's pain. He saw people for what they were. Behind the masks we create.  He knew what it was to want to fix everyone... to save everyone, but he also learned that he couldn't.  I guess I'm still learning that.

I love this character so much because while he is an illustration of the horrible parts of growing up and some really effed up things happen to him, he works his way through.

"And in that moment, I swear, we were infinite."
He said he felt infinite.  And to someone that knows how finite life really is, that statement, right there is perfect.

What's on My Hook #19: Stashin' & Hexin'

Hey there :)

Wow... I haven't writing anything on here in more than a week... I'm sorry.  Work has been getting consistently more unsatisfying so yeah... I've had to have some convos with my supervisor regarding appearance and dress code and what not.  Today I spoke with her regarding my hair.  Being natural in itself gets so many mixed responses depending on preferences, but it's become decidedly more concentrated in certain environments.  I don't want to feel uncomfortable with my hair at work because of the preference held by my supervisor or anyone else. I read her the appearance guidelines from the staff handbook and pretty much left it at "if I contradict this please correct me. Otherwise, leave personal preference out."  She said that she just wants everyone to be "neat."  So we're going to have another sit down on Friday to discuss what she means by neat and how we can both feel comfortable at work.  (Because I am going to wear my hair out... that's just it...)

Anywho... I didn't plan on going into all that, but that's what's going on in my life these days... just being Caleisha, ambassador for the Natural Hair Staff Members of Oakwood University...

What have I been doing crochet-wise?  Slowly finishing up holiday gifts... and picking up other projects along the way.  I have a HUGE project pending for my aunt that I'm excited about and really nervous at the same time... But I'll talk about that when I get it underway.

My personal little project is a Hexagon Motif Bag.  I found the pattern today and thought it would make an awesome polka-dot bag. Here's the pattern.  It's actually a list of crochet-a-long videos explaining how to make the bag.  But it's so cute!  I'm using some christmas yarn I got on sale from walmart. They were 75% off so they cost me $0.85 per ball.  I picked up 4 red & 4 white.  I was going to get green, but I have enough green yarn.  So my Hex Bag is going to be made up of motifs like this:

The pattern calls for 26 hexagons, but I'm not sure if I'll have enough yarn, so I'm already creating some mods just in case I have to reconfigure them.  The yarn I'm using is Bernat Icicle Holidays and I'm glad I didn't pay a lot for it.  It's super splitty and it untwists while I'm crocheting.  I'm def going to use up all of the yarn on this bag just to be rid of it. :( I hate it when I dislike a yarn so much...

I also did a bit of yarn stashing in addition to that balls from walmart.  I took a trip to Joann's because recently they had a 25% off your total purchase coupon and of course I couldn't let that go to waste.  Now in store, all the yarn is 25% off, but online it's from 30%-50% off the same products... I asked one of the salespeople if they pricematch online prices and she said yes.  So I was able to get a bunch of yarn (mostly types I've been wanting to try out) for the online prices and then put my 25% off coupon on top.  These are all the yarns I got (just without the Bernat that I already told you about)

There's Patons Silk Bamboo in a deep purple (I'm making socks, one pair crochet/ one pair knit -determined-), Lion Brand Organic Cotton in creme and mustard (not sure project wise, but it's very soft and squishy... maybe a hat), Caron Sheep-ish in cream, yellow, & lime (again not sure of the project), Red Heart Eco-Ways in blue and green (I was drawn to the blue color first and grabbed the green to offset it. That blue is GORGEOUS).  So yeah, I'm not allowed to buy any more yarn until I use out all of this and a good chunk of the shelves and shelves of yarn already chilling in my stash. 

This is long enough... Good night!

Goodbye 2012; Hello 2013 ^.^

Of course, these days, everyone is uploading the requisite year end/ new year posts and here is mine to add to the lovely pile ^.^

I decided to make a list of the awesome points of my year.  It's not a complete list, as I'm terrible at remembering things when I sit down to write about them, but that's why keeping this blog is really great for me. :) So on with the list!

1) Made some great blogger friends
      -Alina
      -Erica
      -Shakti
      -Auntie C

These ladies have become really important to me as I'm getting more comfortable here in the 'blogosphere' :)  They're lovely.

2) Made some real life crafty friends
      -Mrs. Nina: Fiber Artworks on Ravelry
      -Ms. Susan
      -Ms. Laurie: flycreekfarm.com
      -Ms. Melissa: artinthewind.blogspot.com


This year I decided to infuse more creativity into my everyday.  Luckily, I met these four ladies who have encouraged me in my crochet/fiber endeavors.  They were/are quick to give me tips or teach me new stitches. I'm looking forward to see what I will learn from them in the new year.

3) Built up my Kitchen Confidence


I started baking desserts for bi-monthly church potlucks maybe 3 months ago.  Lo and behold, I'm really enjoying it! ...who knew... I use to be afraid of cooking, like I would get legitimately anxious at the thought.  Now, I'm developing a new comfort with being in the kitchen baking.  Next up will be cooking. ;)

4) Went yarn bombing 3 times
      -Fiber Artworks yarn bomb
      -Sheepish yarn bomb day
      -Pink yarn bombs

Yarn bombing was something I'd wanted to do for a while.  I'm so glad that Ms. Nina gave me the opportunity to bomb her store.  That gave me the confidence boost to do the other 2 installations.  Thanks to Meredith of OneSheepishGirl for having the Sheepish yarn bomb day and thanks for all my friends that participated in Pink yarn bombs for Breast Cancer Awareness.  Love you guys!


5) Learned how to spin yarn


What can I say about this accomplishment?  I learned and was hooked!  It's rather relaxing and how awesome is it to make something out of yarn you crocheted yourself?!?  You can't beat that!


6) Learned how to dye yarn with food coloring


This is along the same lines as the spinning accomplishment.  I love wearing the hat I made with my hand-dyed yarn.  If it wasn't unique enough to have a handmade hat, knowing that the yarn is truly one of a kind is really cool ^.^

7) Finished a queen size crochet blanket for my bestsisterfriend Amber's wedding gift

My best friend got married earlier in the year and I gave her a crochet blanket. I was so very proud of this blanket as it's the biggest thing I've ever completed... ever...  I'm glad she's happy and I pray God's blessings on her in 2013.

-------------------------------------------------------------

Good night and I hope you had a wonderful and safe new year's day!  >>HUGS<<