To Posterous or not to Posterous

I thought I'd just use Posterous for the ThingADay posts, but I've found it especially useful to post via email. I'm sure I can do the same on WordPress, but I just found a site explaining how to configure mine and it's very late now my mind is a little too tired to digest… so, I thought I'd cheat and send this to my TAD auto-poster and let it do its WordPress magic. Thoughts I want to put out there:

1. I'd like to know if my swap partner has received their swap in the mail yet…??? Is it OK to say who it is now?

2. Last week, I decided to make more stuffies. So I'm now in the process of deciding which (stuffed) animals I'll be making next and knowing very little about them, I've had to do a lot of looking around… I don't even really know where to begin looking, so I've done searches like "animal kingdom" and "animal classes" and clicked on a bunch of links several layers down from that. I just realized how many animal websites I've visited in the last 2 weeks and probably learned more about animals in that time than I have in the last 30 years. It is a foreign curiosity, but currently I am compelled, so I press on.

3. Is there really going to be a summer TAD? What happened to the weekly? How's March going for you?

OK, so tomorrow (or when I get around to it next), I will read the WP config again and probably leave Posterous for the next TAD adventure (we'll see). Until then, if you want to stay in touch, find me here www.karizmatic.com

from karizmatic’s posterous, thing-a-day

Stuffing

For those of you who don’t know me well, I don’t have a great history with animals. I’ve been bitten by dogs more than once (once by my own dog) and I’m also allergic to most furry things  so we’ve never really had an opportunity to mend fences… it’s mostly a fear of dogs these days. Over the years, my relationship with animals has improved and although I no longer have panic attacks when dogs bark (yes, even the little tiny ones), my heart still does race when they do, so I don’t exactly feel any urges for a pet-and-sneeze session.

In the last part of Thing A Day, I discovered a great way to use up the little bits of furry fabric scraps I had and it propelled me into making animals. Call it therapy, if you like. I call it, “Maybe I can finally clear out all these little pieces of fabric I’m hoarding without having to throw them away (I am even using the remnants from my own cuts as part of the stuffing)”.

I’ll be honest – a couple of weeks ago, I made this mouse and when I stuffed the tail and was smoothing it out, there was a moment of creep factor that crawled up my spine and I actually momentarily dropped it before I realized that it was just fabric. Aside from the panic-and-run reflexes I’ve had to practice calming down, I’ve found that it’s actually a great exercise for thinking about making patterns 3-dimensionally (hopefully this will help when I come back to making clothes).

So, in this last project, I decided to see if I could imitate a dog I know. I found some pictures of her at varying angles and picked out a few of her distinct characteristics like her spots (hence the “black eye” on one side); the fact that she likes to rest her head on things – so, I made her head stick out a bit; and the fact that her mom says it’s hard to put a leash on her because her neck is about as big – or bigger –  than her head, so I tried to keep them about the same. I think I should have probably used a matching colored thread and there was a part of the belly that I didn’t quite have enough fabric for and I thought it would come out OK, but I do see now that it makes the legs look a bit too close together, but lessons learned for the next one, I guess.

tad 2010-28 You Say Goodbye and I say Hello

Hello, Hello!

I started this hat this week and just finished:

  

My husband says that I also need to show a pic of the top:

Thanks to everyone for the collective push for making! It was especially great to get on board the friends & family plan this year with p0ppy, katstuff, & amster! See you next year!

from karizmatic’s posterous, thing-a-day

tad 2010-27 Happy Spring

Mailed out my TAD swap today and while thinking about what happens when TAD ends, I was inspired to make this card. is this considered a pop up card? 
  

you pull on the small piece on the bottom (first pic; below the rainbow) and it grows as flowers come up on top (second pic). closeup of the "flowers (scraps from the cutouts):

and sorry to my TAD swapper for ruining the surprise inside the card (hopefully you haven't been following/reading my posts to notice).

from karizmatic’s posterous, thing-a-day

tad 2010-26 OX

I had a craft party just before moving to SF and my friend, Ferrie, brought 3 boxes of fabric of all types and sizes. I couldn't figure out what to do with the small pieces and just didn't want to throw them away…I've just recently realized that they are perfect for making stuffed toys like this one. It's an OX!

     

I actually didn't have enough of one color to make this, but I really dig how the combination of the 3 colors came together (parts from the same scraps: head and belly/bottom; horns and tail; body). Unlike the elephant and mouse I did a few weeks ago I decided to skip the pattern and free hand the shapes on this one and sew it by hand (I don't know why; I just felt like it). I also used the shreds of scrap fabric from the cut outs as part of the stuffing. Finally, I crocheted the nosering, left a long tail at the end and used the tail to sew it into its nose. (I say it because I assume the recipient will name it; are there girl oxen?) I used the same yellow yarn to "brand" it with my initials on the bottom.

from karizmatic’s posterous, thing-a-day

tad 2010-25 Soon Devoured Tofu

This (soon dubu, aka korean tofu stew) is my favorite dish ever. PERIOD. There is something so special to me about the heat of the dish, both in flavor and in temperature. I love the arresting chokes on the first couple of bites from what feels like the chili flakes scraping my throat raw and the heat that radiates throughout my body when I take a bite of a whole piece of tofu. I cheated a bit and used dashi stock instead of making homemade fish broth. I DID used my homemade kimchi for the veggies. I was sweating the whole time I ate this thing and had to take a shower right after eating it from the stink of sweat and garlic. Alas, I can't wash the garlic scent in my breath (sorry to anyone I happen to see and come into close contact with in the next couple of days). I'll probably make some other "thing" today, but I'm not sure I can make anything else today that will make me feel as proud.

from karizmatic’s posterous, thing-a-day

tad 2010-24 Double Sided

I think these are double-sided fabric yoyo pendants (I haven't added any attachments like pins or hooks, so what they will eventually be is TBD). one picture is the opposite side of the other)

  

A thought: last year I didn't know TAD was only one month long and was sorely disappointed when it ended. This year, I've been a little more prepared, but somehow it doesn't seem any less sad. If anything, I think I am just sadder a little sooner. Anyone else getting the blues about it?

(On the bright side, since I'd like to try ending on a positive note, i dished out a bit of that kimchi I made yesterday to my neighbors today and just got a thank-you-it-was-good-with-my-dinner-tonight email, so it must have been good!)

from karizmatic’s posterous, thing-a-day

tad 2010-23 Kimchi!

At least I think I made Kimchi. I bought a whole lot of extra cabbage last week and really needed to find a way to use it and I've been wanting to try making my own kimchi for a while now. So, I found and I followed these instructions: http://www.maangchi.com/recipe/easy-kimchi, but I didn't have 10 lbs of cabbage, so I think this is going to have more sauce than cabbage. I'll know if it's any good tomorrow, I guess.

from karizmatic’s posterous, thing-a-day

tad 2010-22 Running Behind

Running behind on my post and last night I went to San Francisco City Knitter's Meetup. I met some fun folks, but that scarf I was working on the day before is still not done. Thought I'd post for the record.

from karizmatic’s posterous, thing-a-day

TAD 2010-21 scarfing up. some korean.

1. trying to finish a scarf form a sweater i unraveled that was supposed to be the love of my life's valentine's day present…worked most of the day on it and it's almost done… here's a progression:

  

2. i also made bibimbap at home today and wanted to throw a question out there… i chickened out and bought an already mixed vegetable pack at the korean market today that came packaged with kochujang (red pepper paste?). it was OK, but didn't have the proportions of each ingredient i wanted and would have been great to make my own… i keep reading that i have to blanch the veggies in separate pots of boiling water… has anyone ever done it in the same pot? does it screw up the flavors? if you've done it, is there a special trick, like the order in which i can put the veggies in that will let them keep their flavor? any other tips/tricks? also, is there a web resource where i can see the differences is between the large selection of kochujang paste in english? (i know, i really DO wish i could read and speak korean – it's on my list!)

from karizmatic’s posterous, thing-a-day