Valentine's Day

Dear Readers,

Just kidding.   :)
Happy Valentine's Day, everyone!


Love,
Chicca

Chance

My friend Clara over at Just Listen dedicates every single post she writes, so today I'm stealing a page her book. Today, my post is dedicated to chance and the unexpected things life throws at us.

Back when I was first starting out with photography I would just sort of point my camera at things and play with the exposure to get it right. I would take tens of photos of the same thing, hoping that I would capture an image that really resonated, that meant something, that was good. A lot of them were pretty terrible. Sometimes, though, I would get lucky and find something I liked amid the mess I'd created.

It was all up to chance. I'm not saying that I've gotten drastically better since then, but I'm learning more about what makes a good photograph. It takes a lot of skill and often, yes, quite a bit of luck.

I'm learning now that life is sort of the same way. As you get older and have more experience with it, you learn that there are a few necessary skills. The rest, like taking a good photo, just seems to be luck. Dumb luck. Sometimes you come upon something so interesting it changes your life. Sometimes you get screwed over. Mostly, it's just looking for something you like within the mess. And that's something I'm getting better at.


By the way, thanks to everyone (anyone) who reads this. I know I've had ups and downs and have sometimes been downright neglectful, but I appreciate all of you and the time you take to read my ramblings.  :)

Looking on the bright side

This past week has been really, really rough. Suffice to say, the boyfriend is no longer the boyfriend. On the bright side, though, my orchid is flowering:

Hey, I have something important to say!

Okay. So. I know this is my third post of the day, but I just have to say this. Someone just told me that they were "creeping" on my blog and I just want to get it out there that looking at my blog does not constitute creeping. Seriously! I put these things up here so people can look at them and comment on them and maybe even share them with their friends! If you were stalking me or doing something creepy like peering in my bedroom window at night THAT would be creepy. But reading my blog posts? Not so much.

I love you all. Now discuss, if you'd like, without fear of creeping. :)

Lol, or, I love being at home.

I introduced my family yesterday to Willow Smith's new single and just caught my dad singing it. I love my parents.

I'm back! Part II

Okay, so on a scale of one to "seriously, another one?" how boring are these knitting posts?

And if you answered "seriously, another one" you probably won't like this post, but you're in luck because I'm cooking Mexican food this weekend. Yum!

So. For knitting. I still haven't taken pictures of my beret or the accompanying hand warmers (mostly because I've lost the hand warmers since I've gotten home, durr), but I have been working pretty hard. I've knit/am still knitting a few Christmas presents and am slowly, slowly working through the list of things to make for other people.

I really only have time to knit during breaks, unfortunately, which is why it takes me so damn long to get anything done. But this summer I discovered that I LOVE making stuffed animals-- you don't have to worry about gauge and you get an adorable little being at the end of it that someone will love and cuddle. How wonderful is that?

So for this Christmas, I had the lofty goal of knitting three stuffed animals for my three little cousins... in a week. Yeah, I may be a little crazy. So far I've only gotten one done-- we're finally getting together with them on Saturday, after nature's last snow-dump of the year cancelled our first planned event-- but gosh, is she cute. She's from Danger Crafts, and, according to the pattern, is named Iris and loves gourmet cheese.

You know. Just chillin' with some oranges.

You see why I loved stuffed animals/monsters/creatures so much? Look at how CUTE that thing is. Seriously.  But you do have to keep more of an eye on stuffed creatures than you do a hat or scarf. I turned my back during our photo shoot and someone decided they were hungry:

NOM NOM NOM

Monsters. Anyway. You can only get Iris in a kit, but she's available in lots of different colors and size yarns. Mine is in the color Daffodil from this lovely shop called Noble Knits but is also available on Danger Crafts' etsy. 

The other one I started is also from Danger Crafts, but it's a mommy and baby set! You can start the aww soundtrack when you look at this picture from DC's etsy:

D'awww.

And, even MORE ADORABLE:

D'AWWW.

But so far I've only started the baby. Iris wasn't as big as I initially wanted her to be so I decided to make Daphne (momma) and Delilah (baby) with heavier yarn. I got a huge yarn (recommended needle size equals a whopping 13) and am working on size 10 needles, and so far baby's arms are GIGANTIC. Like, three inches long and and inch-and-a-half in diameter, making mommy and baby MONSTER MONSTERS. F'real. 

List of things for other people will come next time when I have pictures. Until then, LOVE YOU ALL READERS. 

OH YEAH AND HAPPY NEW YEAR!!!

I'm back! (Part I)

Yep, that's right.

After writing half the things I wanted to say, though, I realized that this post is going to be wayyy longer than anyone would want to read, so I'm going to break it up. Here's part 1 for you all.  :)

So I'm back from an unintentional many-month long hiatus, and I'm back for a bit with some new projects and news. First of all, though, I want to catch up on some long-delayed and promised things:

1. Birthday presents for the boyfriend. I mentioned allllll the way back in August the birthday wonderfuls I was making but couldn't tell you about a) because I hadn't gifted them yet and b) because there's always a chance the boyfriend reads this blog.... maybe. Well, now not only have I given them to him (and he has been using them daily), I have the time to post the pictures!

 I made him a hat and scarf set from a wonderful Green Mountain Spinnery Mountain Mohair in Mesa (yay, alliteration!). The hat is the long, ear-covering version of the boyfriend hat from Stephanie Likes to Knit-- I chose this pattern not only because it's a hat designed specifically with a boyfriend in mind, but because I thought the decreases at the top were beautiful. It was super quick and easy to knit, and the boyfriend LOVES it!

I didn't use a full skein of the yarn with the hat, so I started a simple garter-stitch scarf to go with it. I ended up getting another skein to finish off the scarf, but it was well worth it: both it and the hat are super comfy and warm (I just HAD to try them!).

2. Well, this is a continuation of birthday presents, but it's another project so I'm giving it its own spot on the list. Or him, I should say, not It. Because this most certainly IS a him. Meet the bear the boyfriend has named "Mr Cuddlewuddles":

Isn't he adorable? The pattern (for Henri the Bear) is by Yarnigans, but the original site where I found the pattern has been shut down. I'm super upset about that, actually, because she had some wonderful patterns up, but oh, well. Mr Cuddlewuddles is knit up with Vanna's Choice in Fisherman and stands about six inches tall-- just the perfect size to travel with, so he was great for the boyfriend! He's super soft and snuggly and was wonderful to work on. He was a quick knit, too-- I finished him in only a couple of days. Man, stuffed animals are the best!

Which will lead me to my next post, involving more stuffed things... stay tuned.  :)