Tuesday Gol Goroth Frenzy

It has been a busy month, I have done three markets and there have been more sunekosuri:

This guy has the cutest round orange bum you have ever seen.

There have been more sleepy kitties:

A new egg on toast purse, and a new slice of apple purse but I forgot to take a photo before I sold it.

There were origami stars:

For Christmas there was raspberry cheesecake:

Yum.

I knitted Scott a beanie with a brilliant pattern that came from here.

You would think being in Australia and thus summer that it would be too warm for beanies but we are so far having beautifully cool weather.

Ithaqua also got gutted and then reassembled with aluminium armature so his head no longer lolls and his legs don't bow. The exhibition has now been confirmed for May so I need to keep moving. Over the last couple days I have started on Gol Goroth, a large bird with one leg and one eye.

Today I made sour cherry pie, it looks super yummy but still too hot to eat just yet.

I love sour things and Scott hates them but one thing we agree on is that sour cherry pie is the best.

Sunday Ithaqua Frenzy

Sorry I have been missing for a bit but I have been having neck and shoulder issues and haven't been able to get much done the last couple of weeks. Things are looking up though I have finally finished Ithaqua after many hours and a lot of hand pain.

He is a little unsteady on his feet, I had to lean him against the veranda post because I was

worried he might fall the not inconsiderable distance to he muddy garden below. If I make

another on this scale (60cm from toes to tips of tentacles) I will definitely use armature as he

is a little inclined to collapse under his own weight.

The head tentacles were a little tricky as they are stitched up from the head as the head is

decreasing in diameter so you have less and less room to work in as it goes on. That being said

I still managed to complete him without sewing on a single component he is totally crocheted

together.

I have also been on a bit of a sock monster binge with Christmas coming up and three

markets due. I am trying to finish one a day on the train - here are this weeks miscreants.

Sunday Fang Frenzy

Bit of a wasted weekend, had a migraine on Saturday and still groggy and headachey today.

All is not lost however I did get some stuff done during the week.

The latest pair of socks is coming along well I am about to turn the heel.

I made three more sleepy kitties - if I manage to make enough for the market I think the purple polka dot one is going to stay with me.

I have also made some progress on Ithaqua, not quite finished but looking much less headless than last week.

I had planned for the top and bottom jaws to be more evenly balanced with teeth on both, but he just didn't turn out that way.

I have had to learn that there is a limit to how many times you can undo things, sometimes you just have to go with the flow.

Besides I kind of like him this way and he continues to be 100% crocheted together. I suspect I would have a much easier time if I conceded and decided to sew bits on but as Scott well knows I can get awfully stubborn when I get fixed on an idea.

Next week you should find out how crazy I went trying to finish off the head.

Sunday Sock Frenzy

I finished the Noro socks this week, they are warm and comfy.

I have started a new pair with the lovely alpaca mum got me in Tasmania I am mixing it with a dark brown solid stripe to bring out the bright blue.

Ithaqua is coming along I have finished the body and have started on the head.

The head is a work in progress I have pulled it apart once already.

It doesn't quite make sense at the moment but rest assured I do have a plan.

I have also made some teeth.

Stay tuned for more, hopefully next week it will all come together.

Sunday Claw Frenzy

Looks like the exhibition thing just might happen if I can get enough monsters made. Last weekend was research ad sketching and I have been pondering and designing all week.

This weekend saw a bit of a creative splurge and Ithaqua is coming along nicely. I am using the basic design of Cthulhu but adding more detail, I think as part of this process I will redesign Cthulhu with claws too.

I had a bit of a brain wave on the claws, using polymer clay and wire.

The groove at the top is made so that you can tighten a magic loop into it which holds the claw in place, the chenille stick is for posing and shaping.

He is quite tall around 50cm at he moment, I am not sure where it will end up as the head design is still a work in progress.

I am still determined to have the whole creature as one continuous piece of crochet with nothing sewn on. You can see from this picture that the all the fingers and toes have been crocheted in rather than sewn on.

I am also planning on an open mouth with polymer clay teeth, I have an idea how to do it but will have to experiment a bit. I will keep you posted.

Sunday Unfinished Frenzy

Despite the fact that winter is my favourite season I always seem to run out of oomph by the end. Work has been a bit crazy which hasn't helped, I have a whole heap of not yet finished things and a giant mess in my studio.

I have one finished thing - well actually it was finished quite a while ago but it took us ages to post it.

This was a birthday present for my buddy Tonia over at Ailuromancy who made me the fabulous crafty octopus which now adorns my business cards and tags.

Some of the things I have not finished lately include:

A baby dragon from the very clever pattern by Karla over at Itsy Bitsy Spider.

A Monte Carlo purse, I have started and pulled apart the biscuit about 8 times and am about to do so again. I should have chosen a round biscuit to start off with, ellipses in crochet are a bit tricky - I should mention the icing part was started and pulled apart a whole heap of times as well. I'm having a little rest from this one in case I succumb to the urge to throw it out the window.

Fantastic Mr Fox made from mohair, fully jointed and eventually to have a suit. I love the Wes Anderson movie and Scott bought me a beautiful book on the production design which inspired this piece.

Stripey Noro socks, knit both together using the extremely useful and well documented tutorial over at Silver's Place. I am addicted to knitting stripey socks it is like meditation very rhythmic and calming.

Of course my biggest unfinished work is my studio which despite the acquisition of a "Tower of Power" (three 500 watt halogen lamps on an industrial stand) is still a big mess.

It is not actually quite this bad anymore you can see bits of the floor and the table is almost usable.

I have had some inspirational and possibly quite exciting news this week, although it is early days yet I remain quietly hopeful. An amazing new store and exhibition space has opened in Belgrave called Limerence run by Brent (who makes gorgeous kind of steampunky clockwork jewellery) and CJ (who makes fabulous clothes).

We dropped in to say hi last weekend and I had my crochet Cthulhu with me. Brent got all excited and wanted to put some in the shop, but even better he suggested that if I could get enough creatures together I could have a exhibition.

I spent yesterday afternoon researching descriptions of Mythos gods and monsters and have a shortlist of about 17. Some of them are going to take a crazy amount of design work, especially the Yithians but I think the focus could be good for me right now.

Sunday Rain Frenzy

Not a very successful market this weekend with gale force winds and driving rain. We set up and it just got windier and wetter, things were getting blown off the table, and the marquee started to lift off so we packed up and went home again - a fair bit wetter and muddier than we left.

It was supposed to be the debut of the sleepy kitties but I guess they will have to wait till next month. The grey one from my last post has already made its way to the US, the lovely Karla at Isty Bitsy Spider has given her a home.

The succulent that Greg gave us as a housewarming present has gone crazy this winter even though it barely grew at all for the first year.

It looks about ready to flower.

Mr Peeps came back today asking for afternoon tea, he and his lady friend have not been to visit for ages. I think there must be plenty of food around in winter so they don't show up looking for munchies very often.

They are so bright and pretty, we watch them from the lounge widow. Mr Peeps (so called because he sits on the veranda rail and chirps till we bring food) always comes down first and checks that everything is safe before his partner joins him.

The craftiness has slowed down a bit lately, the stall is fully stocked and I have been tired. I am halfway through a big perler monster (just need to order more dark green).

I am thinking of using him as a table top, we have a set of nesting coffee tables from Ikea and they have become very chipped and the paint is bubbling. I had originally thought of re-doing the table tops with mosaic but a chance remark by Scott when we were wandering round the hardware store today got me going. What if we put the perler monsters on the tables, add some edge beading and then set them in resin? Still needs some thought and maybe experimentation but I'm thinking it might work. Stay tuned for updates.

I have been either reading or sleeping on the train lately which is where I usually tend to get a lot of my making done. I need to find a good portable project and get organised.

Sunday Kitty Frenzy

Sorry for the gap between posts, I did make some new things last week but I couldn't post about them cos they are presents and I will ruin the surprise - maybe next week.

Things have picked a bit this week after an extremely quiet market last Saturday where for the first time I did not sell anything at all.

I have been succumbing to the whole perler thing and made a Dragon Quest IV monster sprite.

It has occurred to me that these being made of plastic will make really cool decorations for the bathroom where we have lots of blank wall.

I also received my owl from the swap part of the Great Owl Crochet along, plus an adorable frog from Karla of Itsy Bitsy Spider who organised the whole thing. I had sent her an owl for herself as a thank you for all the amazing hard work she has put into this project and she very sweetly sent me a froggy of my own.

The crochet along was a great experience and I will participate again if I can.

Also my Cthulhu amigurumi was featured on Itsy Bitsy Spider's Feature Friday (as you can tell by the badge over on the side). I don't think I have ever posted about it here because I designed it before I started this blog.

I think will try and post some more about the design process later this week, as it is not constructed in the usual amigurumi way.

The latest addition to my market stall is the sleepy sock kitty.

People often ask for things that are suitable for babies (i.e. no button eyes), but I have not been willing to compromise the monster designs - I make them as soft sculptures not toys anyway. Those who know me well (especially Scott who has to put up with it the most) will tell you how contrary I can be, especially when people want me to make things. I kept the notion of a button free creature in the back of my mind figuring that a suitable idea would come to me one day.

These were inspired by a picture I saw in "Stray Sock Sewing Too" by Daniel, his construction methods seem quite different to mine so I kind of took the basic idea but made them to my own technique.

Sunday Cheesecake Frenzy

I have not made a whole lot of stuff over the last two weeks, I have been reading on the train. The Kindle is brilliant (thanks Scott) way easier than carrying big heavy books.

I just finished Perdido Street Station by China Mieville which was bloody fantastic, I think he might be my new favourite author.

We have been totally busy this weekend having cleaned out and rearranged the kitchen cupboards - so much scrubbing. In between I made my first batch of seville marmalade for the year plus what has turned out to be my best cheesecake yet.

My first experiment with leaf gelatine - way better than the powdered stuff and a much nicer texture. Plus I found some cold setting jelly at the supermarket which I used for the top, never seen it before but it's just perfect cos you don't have to wait forever for it to cool.

I got an excellent present last week, the ever so clever and creative Karan with whom I share my market stall gave me one of her tattered hats, a really cool voodoo one. I did up some business cards and tags for her in Photoshop and she very kindly and unexpectedly gave me a hat.

It even suits me, which is unusual as I don't usually do well in hats.

I have discovered Perler beads which are just brilliant for doing 8 bit computer game characters. I made some coaster sets for the market and I also have plans to make some big Dragon Quest monsters to decorate round the house.

My photos are a bit crappy today it has been cold and raining and hailing and I had to do them with the flash inside. On the plus side after all the cooking and cleaning I get to snuggle up on the couch with the boys and a doona and feel all snugly and warm.