Karee Raisu and a Crochet Tongue

Karee raisu is the Japanese "katakana English" word for curry rice. And that's Japanese curry rice (quite different than an Indian or other Southeast Asian curry). It's kind of like a thick curry gravy stew served with sticky white rice. It's one of my favorites!




So, I had been planning this for some while, since I bought some tiny little china "bowls" at the thrift store. This is a curry rice pincushion. I was scared the curry rice pincushion in my head wasn't going to come out... but I'm very pleased that it worked out pretty much as I imagined it.

I need to get to the post office before it closes in the late morning. I have a postmark deadline to meet, and if anything is a form of motivation, it's a postmark deadline.

If I make the deadline, I'm planning on entering the curry rice pincushion and a re-worked toothy pincushion into the Interweave Press Pincushion Contest. Thanks to my friend Catherine for telling me about it quite a while ago - of course I waited until a week before the deadline to get these going.

I had to "learn" to crochet as a technique which would fulfill the requirements. So I crocheted a tongue for a toothy pincushion.



Previous incarnations of the toothy pincushion have been sewn velvety fabric. It's much much more difficult to crochet a pincushion tongue than it is to sew one.



It's been a hectic week, craft-wise. Let alone organization/cleaning/yardwork-wise. There's just too much I need to do. As crazed as they make me, deadlines really are helpful.

flip books & clean fingernails

I attempted to make another movie with my camera but I ended up having to reshoot a few times due to lighting, technical bloopers and my previously dirty fingernails.  It's certainly a step up from my last (needle felting) episode, but there's much improvement to be had.  I need a voice disguiser thingy so I can do dialogue in upcoming movies.  Or not.  The whole audio portion of anything is a challenge to be sure.

So, now I have 6 flip books in my shop, to sell individually and also in sets, and I'd like to make more and more.

Presidents & Pill Boxes

The other week I spent quite a while sorting through a shoebox and basket full of stamps.  I bought 70 stamps for 5 cents each.  Despite my moratorium on shopping, I allowed this purchase because they don't take up a lot of space... and also I had specific plans for them.



In the piles were some stamps from Helvetia, and while watching Helvetica, the movie I found out that is Switzerland.

So, I used 4 of these stamps and decorated two sets of "pill boxes" (these are the kind I make from empty tape roll "cylinders").  Set one is Abraham Lincoln & Lady Liberty:


Set two is George Washington and Thomas Jefferson:
. 

Both are in my Shoppe for President's day. 

Stay tuned for upcoming news from the flip book factory...

lack o' progress

Week 3?

Well, I decided I need more containers in which to "sort" my belongings. Until I get that going my cleaning/organization project has been temporarily stalled.

However, I have been relatively good about not buying stuff.  So there.

Becoming vagabondish is more and more appealing. 

I've been using stumble apon and finding some interesting stuff.
For example, I like messing with sketchswap
and want to live here and now I know how to make a steam engine. 

dust, scraps, bad habits

organization test week part one


This is all about being organized. One big hurdle is avoiding procrastination. I say that now as I procrastinate further by coming online to talk about getting organized and cleaning up instead of actually doing it.

In a last ditch effort to motivate myself, I've got out that little tray, into which I will place various items as I attempt to clean up some of the mess which is suffocating me. It may be filled to overflowing very soon. I will wait until that time or until the week is up (whichever comes first) and then report on my findings.

As a side project, I absolutely must stop buying things. In particular, things that I don't need or things that I probably already have but can't find (i.e. various art supplies). This is very difficult, because I like buying stuff. The tentative guidelines are as follows:

No-nos:

* Absolutely no craft/art supplies unless they are absolutely necessary for something I am doing THAT day.

* No clothing except things I'd wear to work/shoes, and of course any pants that fit and I don't have to hem (something I actually really need). Avoid thrift stores, as painful as that may be.

* Food purchases are permitted, but focus should be on quickly consumable items. No long term "rainy day" snacks.

* No "beauty products" or toiletries unless I will use the item THAT day and have nothing else to use in its stead.

* NO books, unless I swap out some I already have. (Exception is gift certificate from Christmas).

Things which are allowed: anything which is not a physical permament object.

* Food, movie theatre, barbershop quartet/whatever is ok.

* Gifts for other people, though preferably not something which is a physical object.

* A hair cut, self improvement of some sort.

* Cleaning supplies/household items and such which are not duplicates of something I already have. Better idea is to follow recipes to make some "non toxic" cleaning supplies out of materials I can buy (i.e. Baking soda, vinegar, borax, etc).

* A car if the one I have doesn't survive this weekend.

Other tasks:

* Collect old batteries, light bulbs and other stuff to recycle.

* Find out where/how to recycle number 5 plastic containers.

* Take bag of stuff (more discard clothing/etc) to thrift store (but don't go in).

* Throw away coupons or circulars offering discounts on prohibited items (i.e. JoAnn fabric monthly coupons).

Duration of this torture: a month if I can stand it.

Rewards: peace of mind, some free space, save money for car and household repairs and necessaries. If I don't break the rules for a month, I can have some form of edible or experiential celebration at the end.

flippety doo da

Well, my newest obsession is making flip books.  I've made them in the past, but was not as methodical about the process.  Now I've made myself a template and it's really only a matter of finding subject matter.... and time of course.


So, all of the ones I've made so far are available in my 
shop



And I want to make a flip book every day now.  I won't.  But I will make more.



* * * * *


In other news, azure grackle's  periodic table print project that I participated in is done.  She might make a book or poster or something out of it and that would be awesome.

Go away

The other weekend morning, like many weekend mornings, the doorbell rang.  And I didn't answer it.  But later when I went outside I found a mangled loaf of bread.  Based on the label, it was clearly meant to lure me to a church.  I can't understand why they would leave such a smashed up loaf.  I think I need to feed it to ducks. 



So, I made what I had been needing for a long time.  That is a sign to try and limit the morning doorbell ringing.  It's really been a problem.  Multiple religions have been represented, as well as questionable salespeople and other uninvited strangers.  I just hate the doorbell waking me up.  It's one of the worst ways to wake up.

Anyway, I searched on the internet to buy a "no solicitors" sign but all I could find was just that simple statement (which just doesn't cover my needs) or else you can get a sort of religious stick figures prohibited sign, but that also doesn't suffice and also I think it's slightly rude.  So, we'll see.  I have a second style in mind, but I'm not sure what else I'll be doing with this.  Maybe I'll mass produce the sign and finally all the people who need such a sign will find what they've been looking for.

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