Thursday, December 24, 2009

Merry Christmas...

... to those that celebrate - love and good cheer to those that don't.


Jingle-Back Rattle Snakes

The rattlers are my contribution to the festivities this year. My cardstock-backed, hand-crocheted ornament posing as present. I've been spending effort instead of money for a few years now. This year I thought I'd expend a little extra effort and photoshop/powerpoint my guts out.


Ticked-Off Kitty in a Wreath


Ah well, at least it makes me smile...

...like a big 'ole goober as a matter of fact! ;-D



MERRY CHRISTMAS ONE AND ALL!!


Much Love and Hook On!
Cecinatrix

Tuesday, December 15, 2009

Happy Holidays - Surly Cat style

I finished these a while ago but haven't been able to photograph them worth a puny little darn. (That is the weeniest swear I have ever perpetrated.) But I wanted to share the joy:


Happy Hanukkah!

I know little about Hanukkah but I don't like how most non-Jewish crafters seem to ignore this wonderful ancient holiday. Besides, how often is royal blue an appropriate cat color?



Merry Christmas!

Something I'm more familiar with, although we weren't much for holly in the Rio Grande Valley. Never snowed down there during my Cretaceous Period youth so evergreens were pretty limited to fuzzy artificial trees and fake wreaths under the Advent Candles. "Fresh" trees were available but they were so dry by the time they got all the way down to the RGV that the huge trail of pine needles through the parking lot in town, the car, the garage and then the house was too much hassle for the regular folk. Ooo. And my aunt, the hip working divorce', had a trendy silver tree. I loved that thing. Even if I can't remember if the ornaments were blue or pink. It was like visiting Hollywood. But I loved assembling our tree back home with my parents and brother even more. Cats underfoot, TV specials playing in the background and of course a happy, funny family now halved and tired.


Anyway...


Surly Turkey Kitty

At least it's a great excuse to have ridiculous amounts of turkey and stuffing and pumpkin pie and pecan pie and cool whip and those cool "heat and serve" rolls all over again. Just have to remember not to try and dress up the cats.

Hook On!
C

Thursday, December 10, 2009

Holiday Bangle

In a slightly subversive nod to the holidays, I made the following:



Not so subversive you may say.



I guess not, but I couldn't bring myself to use the proper term nor the rougher euphemisms "frickin' " ,"freakin' "or even "friggin' ". Just a little ennui on my part not a full on hating of the season.

Hmm. Words are funny. "Subversive" - My little bracelet doesn't mean I want to overthrow, destroy or corrupt Christmas (as dictionary.com defines it). Just want to poke at the falseness of certain excesses in the more secular rituals affiliated with the season. I guess its then a gentle irony.

Can irony be gentle? The defining terms of "mean-spirited" and/or "disrespectful" seem to have barnacled themselves to "irony" lately.

I'm not some Stepford-bred Pollyanna. I am, indeed, a fairly damned sarcastic individual, mean-spirited and disrespectful in my own right, but even I don't get the hate seething just beneath the surface of some of the "ironic crafts" out there.

Socio-politico-xenophobic-ethnocentric commentary - all good. Land of the free, home of the brave, holding rights to be self-evident and all. Just seems you shouldn't have to hate something to have fun with what you think is wrong with it.

Matter of degrees? or simply lily-livered posturing?

Ok. No one asked to see any of the fitful stream of consciousness I must endure in my waking hours. I'll stop now.

Happy Flippin' Holidays

Hook on!
C

Friday, December 4, 2009

Snow in Purgatory


It's snowing! So what??? Its 10 in the morning and there is snow. Real flurries (okay jr sized flurries but come on!)

Click on the pictures - look real close. It was so much cooler and heavier than the camera caught.



So what, again? This is Texas, it was 90 degrees yesterday. Well maybe last month but still the weather didn't dip below 70 until last week and here we are.



Yeah sure it snowed last Christmas too but that was at night. The photo above is the same view not the same shot. I'm excited not insane - I'm ill prepared to venture out into the actual melee. I like cool weather not slippery fluffy rain. Anyway.

I just got so excited. Me. Queen of the jaded ennui. I run hot and cold (so to speak). I'm either blase and cynical or excited and rather giddy. For some reason the snow has me talking fast and smiling like a goof. I even put on my Horton hat and let my brother take a picture.



Ahhh. The wonderful wizard of odd.

Okay I need to calm down and get back to work on my Christmas cards. I'm usually pushing these things to the last minute but even for me, I'm running behind.

More on the cards later.

Tee hee.

Snow.

My God I'm still geeking out!

I AM the princess of planet geektron. sigh

Who cares? Life's too short!

Hook on, me maties!

C

Thursday, November 26, 2009

Happy Thanksgiving 2009

Technically Thanksgiving no longer but...


Happy Turkey Day Anyway


I had a devil of a time taking a photo of this little guy that was 1) lit properly and 2) in focus. I really don't know how to use my camera and every photo is a mystery until it is downloaded and blown up in Photoshop. Ah, technology in the hands of the impatient and lazy.

So anywho, this kitty is part of a series I'm allegedly planning. Still in the half-formed scribbly sketch and slowly growing list of ideas phase. The idea being that of kitties dressed up for the holidays against their will. Sitting prettily for portraiture but not happy. Working title for the series is the Surly Kitty Chronicles. This particular kitty is currently titled "Surly Pilgrim Kitty" but hopefully a more clever title will eventually emerge from the murky depths of my tryptophan addled brain.

His angry eyebrows are hard to see. I may have to go over them with a pencil or black thread. A classic wip but the sentiment is there:

Happy Thanksgiving

please stop annoying the cat



;-D
Hook On!
Cx

Sunday, November 1, 2009

Happy Halloween ... Day

Hey a day late and a dollar short is my motto. Not just pretty words, after all.

As much as I love Halloween, I rather spaced on doing anything crafty - well except for this bracelet:

Hallo'een Bangle

That was fun. The creamy green beads reminded me of green cartoon Frankenstein creatures - neck bolts, zippery stitches and all. So the bracelet was always going to be panels of Halloween colors stitched together in crochet. The original vision failed miserably and I spared myself (and anyone else clinically sensitive to exposure from crochet disasters) the photography of it. Let's just say - wanted stitchy bustier style chains got weird bowed and buckled circle of Pringle-like crochet inclusions. Anyway, I found something I liked and the thing is fun to wear.

However, I couldn't let the day pass without a cat tribute, so true to form I spent the entire day making this orange-eyed kitty (been really into beads lately) and ... da da da dah! (phonetically spelled drumroll, please):

Orange-Eyed Kitty


And for some extra fun:

Great Pumpkin Kitty !


Although I don't know how sincere a corn syrup pumpkin patch can be...

:-)

Hoping y'all had the happiest of Halloweens!

Hook on!
C

Tuesday, October 20, 2009

Borrow, Alter, Repeat

Welcome to my definition of "inspiration" or is that "copyright infringement"?

A peek into my "creative process":

I love "Horton Hears a Who". Loved it as a young kid. Love it as a geriatric kid.

While meandering online one day, I came across this neat little project at about.com:



My fevered little brain started spinning,

"ooo. That's cool. But the stem is supposed to be a swirl of 2 shades of green. Wonder if I can make a crocheted version. How do you make pom-poms again? Oh look, something shiny. Have I checked my Ravelry account today? Hmmm. Let's see....."

and I was off on another webby tangent.

A few days later, on an unrelated amble through e-space, this caught my eye:



More mental shenanigans,

"So cool. Hmm. Wonder what it would look like in the Horton colors with the little speck and all. The band could be 2-tone swirly and the pom-pom stuck on - ooo ooo ooo - how about if the head band is some normal drug store, super thin plastic, hair color matching band and I crochet a 2-tone stem and "clover" that attaches to the band in a curve like it's falling onto the person's head? "Clover"? What's that about. Dandelions are puffy, clovers are... leaves, aren't they? I wonder. Need to find a pic. Where did I put that Google images bookmark...."

and thus ended another episode of "Short Attention Span Theater". But things like this linger in the back of my head. Growing, flexing, festering and most of all, plotting to take over the world - or at least my head which is often swollen enough to be mistaken for a world. ;-)

Random thoughts occured,

"But what about something for Horton. He was always holding the clover. Hmm still haven't looked up clover at google pix yet. Eah. Later."

"Maybe the headband part could be gray in honor of Horton's trunk?"

"why am I thinking headband? That's so simple and dull and already done. I never want to just re-paint the wheel. What have I been working on that would look cool with a pom-pom. OH! The swirly hats I posted at Ravelry."

So I looked up the pattern I had worked up for a 2-color swirl beanie, skull-cap, whatever.

Swirly Caps


and to amuse myself I revisited:
Me and the Kilroy crochet bear

To quote Vlad (not Vlad the cute little cookie baking bunny), "Easy peasy, bro."

Quick yarn run to the craft store, switch out colors on the spirals, add kicky little ribbed band in a shiny pachydermy gray, struggle through how to make and attach a big ass pom-pom and ta-da:

Horton Hears a What cap

The pom-pom is horrible and not well attached. Shaggy and floppy - terror-ific combination of looks. But for the picture, with my hand holding onto the pom from the inside, it is exactly what I wanted to make. It's me - odd, unique, quirky, unusual, uneven, loud, and fun.

Now what? Am I going to sell it? the pattern? Will I do anything at all with it?

Nah.

Sometimes I just need to get an idea out of my head before it declares complete martial law on my brain function.

Maybe someday something marketable will germinate in my head. Until then, I will waste resources and time having fun and staying out of the booby hatch.

Huh? What do you mean there's some people outside with a big butterfly net? Oopsie. Gotta go.

Hook on!
C

Tuesday, October 6, 2009

Measure once, cut twice

or is that the other way around?

Doesn't seem to matter much to me, because I evidently enjoy doing things the most difficult way possible. Especially when a deadline is involved. Like for contests. I get so excited about the challenge of a topic that I start on the fun part and then end up having to push and pull and prod at the end project until it meets entry criteria.

It's a rather harrowing way to live and I look craggy enough without the addition of stress fractures furrowing my brow.

So when I heard about the "Wish You Were Here" fabric postcard challenge at Tohono Chul park in Arizona earlier this year, I decided to be terribly clever and approach the project logically.

Went well... for a while. Hit Google images hard for pictures of and info about Arizona and Tohono Chul. Developed an idea, sketched out a background at full size and even crocheted it first! Then I let myself start on the fun stuff - the figures that would populate my little postcard.

The largest and center-most figure was to be a ghostly Kokopelli figure, caught mid-dance and playing his flute. I started free forming the figure in paranormal- suggestive white thread and forgot all about checking the size against the background. You guessed it - too dog-gone big. Start over... and over... and over until I finally got the right size - and the figure was too solid to convey the idea of "spirit". To heck with it and switched to a cut out tracing of the final crocheted figure in tulle.

So I wound up with:

Kokopellis on parade!

Outlining the tulle in white looked like poo. I wanted shine damn you! Had plenty of the copper metallic embroidery thread left so tried that and the stuff got all bitchy with me as multi-strand floss tends to do when I'm in a rush. Added bonus - it blended in too much with the Copper Mist I used for the desert sand:

Evolution of Kokopelli


Think I did better with the desert animals?

"Puny humans! Critters smash!"


So this was three days before desperate, expensive, overnight-mail deadline and I was tempted to simply include a note saying that the setting sun was a nuclear event that Godzilla-ed the creatures instead of the derivation of the Arizona State flag that it obviously was. But, what the hey, I technically had three days left. Plenty of time! Plenty! Besides, didn't I have some silver metallic sewing thread somewhere?

End result:

Arizona Night Song


I know, I hate the title too but the alternatives were no better: Critters of the Night, Disco Feral, Hootenanny, Primal Pachanga, Things That Go Disco in the Night... my snarky flair for titling had abandoned me. sigh

Oh well, 20/20 hindsight. Done, sent, accepted, in the catalog. It doesn't even matter that everything was accepted and that participants had to purchase a copy of the catalog to see their own narcissistic names in print. It's over. And I learned a valuable lesson in planning, timing and responsible making.

Yeah.

Sure.

Always
Cecinatrix

Friday, October 2, 2009

Caption Chihuahua

Poor little doggie. Never saw the glue gun coming.

Crafty Chica caption contest - just had to try some things out:


The Sighuahua

The Tacohuahua

The Tequilahuahua

tee hee.
Hook on and stuff.

Wednesday, September 30, 2009

Basket Flashback

I've heard tell that LSD is the gift that keeps giving, unsolicited-trip wise. Of course, that is only what I've heard... It would have to be as all my brain malfunctions have much less illicit sources: microwaves, bad perms, a tour through post-graduate education...

My point?

Oh! yeah... I think attending public school actually gouges its mark deeper into the brain than any silly pharmaceutical ever could - no matter how groovy. (Please, stop mentally referring to me as Grandma - the correct term is "Geezer-tina, the square".)

Anybody remember these?

Photo lifted from http://www.flickr.com/photos/24337417@N07/3551598758/

Seems like a lot of people do, and apparently with some sort of wistful sense of nostalgia. I've seen them appear in magazines and vendor sites being touted as the coolest new/old organizational tool. Even to the extent that there are shiny spanking new reproductions being made to catch the imagination of the retro-chic set that don't want to deal with rust or metal labels. Hey, more power to you all.

Me? I must be the only person in the world that snapped a tendon from the force of the knee jerk upon seeing their return. Wire locker baskets!

It was one little article about how to tame your fabric stash with kitschy fun storage solutions. Never has it been clearer that one person's gentle fond memories of school gym time past can be another person's hard, sharp smack to the back of the head... memories of school gym time past.

The term "un-athletic" couldn't even begin to describe me during those far distant days of grade school. Physical Education class was a special treat. In a time before the term "athletics" PC-ed "PE" from the vernacular, I had gym class. Fifties-era styling in an off-campus remote location. Dank, dark locker rooms. The smell of wet hay that I now know to be the unmistakable aroma of aging sweat and damp concrete floors. I'm pretty sure the locker room wasn't quite the medieval cave I remember, but then again, it was in a part of the country that is still today in the grip of cute and cuddly McCarthyism. Just because no photos exist of a rack or iron maiden doesn't mean they weren't there.

So what is my point anyway?

Nothing really. I just had some post-traumatic behavior to stave off and I find whining to be cathartic.

Still and all, I always kind of liked the metal label system on the baskets. Very ... well, uhm, organized.

Oh well, crazy is as crazy does and the dichotomy of melodramatic tendencies reigns supreme.

Hook on!
C

Sunday, September 20, 2009

Two-Color Swirlies

Wow. That could be the intro to something pretty disgusting. Relax. It's wholesome.



Ok, so maybe it's a little unsettling. ;-)

I believe I've mentioned before that I love Halloween. I may have also mentioned that I greatly enjoy crocheting spirals. But something that may not be known about me is that I like to animate stuffed animals... and now it is caught on film. yikes

I thought I'd post the pattern for the hats just in case anyone else might like to play dress up with someone small and accommodating.

Enjoy


Two-Color Swirly Cap
CA Lira 2009

*Also available with chart at Ravelry*



Yarn: Sugar n Cream - hot orange, black,1 ball each (completes both hats)
Hook: size G/6, 4.25 mm
Gauge: 16dc = 4” = 7 rows
Notions: 2 stitch markers of different colors or styles
Abbreviations: chain (ch), single crochet (sc), half double crochet (hdc), double crochet (dc), stitch (st), back loop only (blo)


Adult

Circumference: 21” - but stretchy
Height (crown to base): 8” - fits to just above eyebrows

Worked in back loop only unless otherwise specified
Worked in continuous rounds without joining
Either color can go first – just stay consistent

1) With A, ch 2, work sc, hdc, dc into 2nd chain from hook, place “A-marker” into front loop of last st worked, pull long loop, remove hook

2) With B, in same ch as step 1, work sc, hdc, dc, place “B-marker” into front loop of last st worked, pull long loop, remove hook

3) Return hook to long loop of A, adjust loop to fit around hook, work 2 dc in back loop only (blo) of next 2 stitches (of color B), pull long loop, remove hook

4) Return hook to long loop of B, adjust loop to fit around hook, work 2 dc in blo of next 6 stitches (of color A), move B-marker into front loop of last st worked, pull long loop, remove hook

5) Return hook to long loop of A, adjust loop to fit around hook, work 2 dc in blo of next 10 stitches (of color B), move A-marker into front loop of last st worked, pull long loop, remove hook

6) Repeat step 4

7) Return hook to long loop of A, adjust loop to fit around hook, work [1 dc in next st, 2 dc in following st (of color B)} 12 6 times, move A-marker into front loop of last st worked, pull long loop, remove hook

8) Return hook to long loop of B, adjust loop to fit around hook, work [1 dc in next st, 2 dc in following st (of color A)} 12 6 times, move B-marker into front loop of last st worked, pull long loop, remove hook

9) Return hook to long loop of A, adjust loop to fit around hook, work [1 dc into each of next 2 sts, 2 dc in following st (of color B) 18 6 times, move A-marker into front loop of last st worked, pull long loop, remove hook

10) Return hook to long loop of B, adjust loop to fit around hook, work [1 dc into each of next 2 sts, 2 dc in following st (of color B)} 18 6 times, move B-marker into front loop of last st worked, pull long loop, remove hook

11) Return hook to long loop of A, adjust loop to fit around hook, work [1 dc into each of next 3 sts, 2 dc in following st (of both colors)} 24 6 times, move A-marker into front loop of last st worked, pull long loop, remove hook

12) Return hook to long loop of B, adjust loop to fit around hook, work [1 dc into each of next 3 sts, 2 dc in following st (of both colors)} 24 6 times, move B-marker into front loop of last st worked, pull long loop, remove hook

13) Return hook to long loop of A, adjust loop to fit around hook, work [1 dc into each of next 4 sts, 2 dc in following st (of both colors)} 30 6 times, move A-marker into front loop of last st worked, pull long loop, remove hook

14) Return hook to long loop of B, adjust loop to fit around hook, work [1 dc into each of next 4 sts, 2 dc in following st (of both colors)} 30 6 times, move B-marker into front loop of last st worked, pull long loop, remove hook

15) Return hook to long loop of A, adjust loop to fit around hook, work 1 dc into each of next 36 sts, move A-marker into front loop of last st worked, pull long loop, remove hook

16) Return hook to long loop of B, adjust loop to fit around hook, work 1 dc into each of next 36 sts, move B-marker into front loop of last st worked, pull long loop, remove hook

17) Repeat step 15

18) Repeat step 16

19) Repeat step 15

20) Repeat step 16

21) Repeat step 15

22) Repeat step 16

23) Return hook to long loop of A, adjust loop to fit around hook, work 1 hdc into each of next 3 sts, 1 sc into each of next 3 sts, slst to next st, end off

24) Return hook to long loop of B, adjust loop to fit around hook, work 1 hdc into each of next 3 sts, 1 sc into each of next 3 sts, slst to next st, end off, weave in all loose ends




Child

Circumference: 19” - but stretchy
Height (of sides): 5 ½” – fits to just above eyebrows

Worked in back loop only unless otherwise specified
Worked in continuous rounds
Either color can go first – just stay consistent
Work same as adult size up to and including step 12

13) Return hook to long loop of A, adjust loop to fit around hook, work 1 dc into each of next 30 sts, move A-marker into front loop of last st worked, pull long loop, remove hook

14) Return hook to long loop of B, adjust loop to fit around hook, work 1 dc into each of next 30 sts, move B-marker into front loop of last st worked, pull long loop, remove hook

15) Repeat step 13

16) Repeat step 14

17) Return hook to long loop of A, adjust loop to fit around hook, work 1 hdc into each of next 3 sts, 1 sc into each of next 3 sts, slst to next st, end off

18) Return hook to long loop of B, adjust loop to fit around hook, work 1 hdc into each of next 3 sts, 1 sc into each of next 3 sts, slst to next st, end off, weave in all loose ends

19) Repeat step 15

20) Repeat step 16

21) Repeat step 15

22) Repeat step 16

23) Return hook to long loop of A, adjust loop to fit around hook, work 1 hdc into each of next 3 sts, 1 sc into each of next 3 sts, slst to next st, end off

24) Return hook to long loop of B, adjust loop to fit around hook, work 1 hdc into each of next 3 sts, 1 sc into each of next 3 sts, slst to next st, end off, weave in all loose ends.

Monday, May 11, 2009

Interconnected Leaves

The International Fiber Collaborative are my kind of fiber folk - they promote fiber art, encourage amateur and professional alike to co-mingle as equals, care about the world and people in general and they "tag" responsibly having gained permission to make the big statements.

Their first project culled volunteers from everywhere to make a fiber cozy for an abandoned gas station. Love that. Totally missed that it was happening but love it all the same.

Their current project is a giant tree exploring human interconnection where the individual leaves are made by... well... individuals. A community of individuals. How great is that?!

The call for volunteers asked for a leaf shape made in some form of fiber and just about any technique as long as it is 5x7" in size. Leaves are always a fun motif to explore and since I am working hard to make my own stubborn statement in this world by only producing crocheted art, my leaf is a lacy, open-work crochet kind of thing.

Here is my leaf for the tree project in green thread featuring stick figure people holding hands as the leaf veins. I blocked the living daylights out of it with undiluted fabric stiffener straight from the bottle.



I even got a little carried away decorating the mailer:




Hmm. Would have looked brighter on a white envelope in a room with sunlight. ;-) Probably should invest in some white mailers since this isn't the first time I've doodled on a package.

Anyway, to see my humble little leaf posted at the website (always a treat for me -maybe less so for other people?) just click on over. I'm seven down in gallery 11.

Do yourself a favor and make sure you check out the other galleries of leaves. Incredible work on display.

The assembly photos are mind-blowing. So many volunteers and craftspeople working so hard together.

Good causes and public messages make me happy. (hum to the tune of John Denver)

Hook on!
C

Wednesday, May 6, 2009

Fiber Postcard Book

Many, many moons ago (but not quite a millennium ago) a challenge was presented in the pages of Quilting Arts magazine to make a book of fiber postcards.

Oooooo. You don't know how much fun that sounds to someone who loves to crochet little vignettes. Then again, maybe you do. One shouldn't assume. ;-)

I started on the project and between fits of giggling with glee I started increasing the level of detail in the cards to the point that I managed to zoom past the deadline date without really noticing. After that, enthusiasm waned a tad, but I kept at it - honestly I did.

For a while anyway. :-}

Things came up, hurricanes came down, and finishing the postcard book came across as perpetual back burner material.

Until now!

Dum-da-da-daaa!

"Postcards from Home"



Even went insane and decorated the spine...festively.



Fluorescent orange dingle balls. ahhhh.

I'm not your sugar skull wearing, chalupa-image jewelry creating type gal, but I love that kind of stuff. Especially the chandelier drops. You know, the kinds of things that a self respecting Tex-Mex maiden and modern Latina is told she should be embarrassed to admit she has draped on her festive inner child. My response to that simply has to be, "My head, you get out of it!"

So a mere 3 years later, my fiber postcard book is done.

Now to other pursuits. Maybe some of these postcards will be revisited as prints and/or larger stand alone works. The possibilities. Squeal. A dignified squeal, but a squeal nonetheless.

Answering a challenge is always a good source of inspiration as well as a fantastic chance to grow as an artist. Even if deadlines still elude you (ahem), challenges are no pressure, no risk and always fun.

And that's why a stubborn, stead-fast crochet maven that owns the dustiest sewing machine in creation subscribes to a quilting magazine.

Expand the borders, explode the possibilities!

Hook on!
C

Friday, May 1, 2009

Window Cat Family - revised for humans to follow

I keep forgetting that people just can't read my mind. Thank you to KittyDobson for pointing out the confusion inherent to the instructions for the window cats posted here previously.

Yikes!

Apologies, y'all. It was one of my first attempts at writing things down and I'm still figuring out how to do it smoothly and with some elegance... or at least not littered with editor foibles.

I am always open to questions and editing suggestions. Seriously. Please let me know.

Here's the revised version: (free PDF availabe at my section of the Ravelry store)



Window Cats

C. A. Lira 2008 (rev 2009)

Note: crochet thread size 10
hook size 9 (1.75mm) (1.25mm)  oops - apologies

Wider Window Cat - finished height 1 3/8”
1) ch3, slst into 2nd ch from hook, hdc in 1st ch worked, ch5, slst into 2nd ch
from hook, hdc sc into next ch (3rd ch of ch5) , ch2 t   yet another correction thanx KAT
2) sc in sc of previous row, sc in each of next 2 sts, 2sc in next st, ch2 t
3) skip 1st sc, sc in next 4 sts, sc in turning chain of previous row, ch2 t
4) scdec (include 1st sc), sc in next 2sts , scdec (include turning ch of
previous row), ch2 t
5) sk 1st st, (scdec) twice (include turning chain in 2nd dec), ch2 t
6) sc in each of 1st 2sts (including 1st sc), 2sc in next st, ch2 t
7) sc in each of 1st 3sts (including 1st sc) , 2sc in next st, ch2 t
8) sc in 1st 5sts (including 1st sc), 2sc in turning ch, ch2 t
9) sc in 1st 7sts (including 1st sc), 2sc in turning ch, ch2 t
10) sc in 1st 8sts (including 1st sc), 2sc in turning ch, ch2 t
11) sk 1st sc, sc in next 8sts, ch2 t
12) scdec (include turning ch), sc in each of next 5sts, scdec, sk turning ch of
prev row, ch2 t
13) sk turning ch, scdec, sc in each of next 3sts, scdec (include turning ch),
do not turn
14) ch12, hdc in 2nd ch from hook, sc in next ch, 2sc in next ch, sc in each of
next 7 chs, going up toward head sk last 2 Rows of body, slst to next st
on side of body, end off

Rounded Window Cat - finished height 1 ¼”
1) ch3, slst into 2nd ch from hook, hdc in 1st ch worked, ch5, slst into 2nd ch
from hook, hdc into next ch (3rd ch of ch5), ch2 t
2) sc in sc of previous row, sc in each of next 2 sts, 2sc in next st, ch2 t
3) skip 1st sc, sc in next 4 sts, sc in turning chain of previous row, ch2 t
4) scdec (include 1st sc), sc in next 2sts , scdec (include turning ch of
previous row), ch2 t
5) sk 1st st, (scdec) twice (include turning chain in 2nd dec), ch2 t
6) sc in each of 1st 2sts (including 1st sc), 2sc in next st, ch2 t
7) sc in each of 1st 3sts (including 1st sc) , 2sc in next st, ch2 t
8) sc in 1st 5sts (including 1st sc), 2sc in turning ch, ch2
9) sc in 1st 7sts (including 1st sc), 2sc in turning ch, ch2 t
10) sc in 1st 8sts, 2sc in turning ch, ch2 t
11) sk 1st sc, scdec, sc ineach of next 5sts, scdec, sk turning ch of prev row,
ch2 t
12) sk 1st sc, scdec, sc in each of next 3sts, scdec (include turning ch), ch2 t
13) sk 1st sc, scdec, sc in next st, scdec (including turning ch), do not turn
14) ch12, hdc in 2nd ch from hook, sc in next ch, 2sc in next ch, sc in each of
next 7chs, working up toward head sk last 2 Rows of body, slst to side of
next Row on body, end off

Window Kitten Kitty - finished height 1 ½”
1) ch3, slst in 2nd ch from hook, sc in next ch (first ch worked), ch5, slst in
2nd ch from hook, sc in next ch (3rd ch of ch5), ch2 t
2) sc in 1st sc of previous row, sc in each of next 2sts, 2sc in next st, ch2 t
3) sk 1st sc, sc in each of next 5sts, ch2 t
4) sk turning ch of previous row, scdec, sc in each of next 2sts, scdec
(include turning ch of previous row), ch2 t
5) sk1st sc, (scdec) twice (include turning ch in 2nd dec), ch2 t
6) sc in each of next 2 sts, 2sc in turning ch, ch2 t
7) sc in 1st 3 sts, 2sc in next st, sk turning ch, ch2 t
8) sk turning ch, sc in each of next 6sts (include turning ch), ch2 t
9) sk 1st st, sc in each of next 6 sts, do not turn
10) ch12, sk 1st ch, 2sc in each of next 3chs, sc in each of next 7chs, slst to
body at end of Row 9, end off



Enjoy
Cecinatrix

Friday, April 24, 2009

Tying knots and the burger as art.

I can't believe that this is the way my brain works.

My cousin owns and operates this fantastic burger joint. The Litty Bitty Burger Barn. Check it out if you're in Houston - really. This isn't just a case of familia shilling for the blood. Place has crazy mad good reviews from all media.

Anyway, commercial aside, this past Christmas I was inserting the little crochet motif/ ornament that I put in my outgoing X-mas cards and when I got to the one earmarked for them (not him and the burgers - him and his partner) I realized that they must have a logo that I could play with. Always on the edge of being bored = always looking for a new challenge. I checked the site and stole acquired a copy of the logo.



Hell. Easy peasy. So I thought.

It was already too late to finish one for Christmas (yeah yeah yeah last minute as usual - do you mind? - I'm telling a story here!) but maybe New Year's Day?

Well turns out crocheting decent looking siding with a star-accommodating hole in the middle of it takes me forever. Got it done though and in time for Jan 1st thank you very much (yes,of this year!)


Of course, I probably should neglect to mention that I only just sent it to them right before Easter but who am I trying to impress by hiding my flaws?

Anyway again, I like the way it turned out, modest woman that I am, and didn't even notice it was crooked until I looked at the picture just now. Got so tired of trying to make the cursive slipstitch embroidery legible that I put the thing in an envelope as soon as it was finished all those months ago and never looked at it again. That is until Easter snuck up on me and a surprise Auntie visit reminded me.

Still constantly lingering on the edge of the abyss that is boredom and still desiring a challenge-ette or two, I thought maybe I'd try making a 3D one. Just the idea of stuffing a little burger into a little barn makes my problem solving mental machinery start to grind its way back to life.

No. Haven't done it yet. It's on my list of fiction fantasy projects that someday I will do dagnabit! But it started me thinking about the burger as sculptural fiber art.

Ed Bing Lee is a fiber artist that uses a modified macrame technique to make the most amazing art. His super-sized burger was the piece that introduced me to his work and style:


From edbinglee.com, ahem, unofficially.

Fantastic ain't it? The topic, the mastery of technique, the colors - love it all. After enjoying its aesthetic and the warm creative place it has landed in my heart I noticed that this burger is art with the capital letters in the curly font. Craft art, fiber art depending on which of the seminal industry magazines you peruse, but art nonetheless.

Yet if you spend any time on line looking up crocheted items, you see the ubiquitous crocheted-burger-as-toy. Not art, but crafty toy. That's craft - with the small be-thou-ashamed-to-say-elsewise lower case letters in puny subservient font. You know, craft as dirty word. Don't necessarily know why, so I looked online for some examples I could pilfer (gotta love the google) for a compare and contrast.

Uhm. Okay. I get some of the lack of love. There are some fairly un-burger looking crocheted burgers out there. (But then again, there are also a lot of un-news posts out there too - un-news in the sense that they are not even remotely true.) I'm not going to steal and paste any example photos of the Nessie burgers - freedom of speech, self-esteem, sharing - all good things, Martha. But there are some really well done crocheted items for view that I am going to talk about.

Big burger of technical delight:


Photo lifted from Steph Chows.blogspot.com
(cyber-neighbor of complete stranger variety)


the teeny tiny burger of awesomeness:




and the art to wear burger of mind-blowing-dom:





What is the difference, art v. craft wise?

Is it the genre?

Sculpture beats art garment and firm beats soft sculpture?

The time commitment?

Tying a bazillion knots in waxed linen thread by hand certainly takes an excruciatingly longer amount of time than tying knots in yarn with a crochet hook.

Material?

Waxed linen thread has a sleek firm texture with a gently reflective quality. Yarn (even the industrial acrylics that are so very affordable) has a matte surface that imparts a fuzzy tactile squishiness on the finished objects.

Complexity?

Knots are knots, but more (lots more) does equal harder.

Name? Gallery representation? Publications? Personal aesthetic? Intention? Commentary? Social impact?

Probably.

But when the day ends and I lay snuggly in my bed, it doesn't matter what the world calls my work or my art genre. As long as I can close my eyes and dream dreams of juggling knots on a hook, I know I'll have spent another day actually alive. That is more than enough to keep me going. Uncharacteristically, there is nothing more I have to say on the subject.

...today.

Hook on!
C

Sunday, March 29, 2009

Notebook antics.

I was in my notebook attaching the rejection letter to the first project page (yet another attempt at keeping things organized) when I saw the sketches that started the whole thing. It sounds arrogant, but I sometimes really like the sketches. It just isn't all that easy to reproduce them in thread. I thought it would be fun to see how things progressed:

Call for entry topic was: "With or Without Water".

First idea that came to me:

A "water is life" thing.

I envisioned a river-scape teeming with behind the curly stylized wave side of the figure and the sered, cracked fissures of a dried lake bed under the stylized skeleton half. Didn't draw it in because I couldn't figure out how to make the dry lake bed look like it was approaching the horizon (remember - no art training at all). So I started on the figure to see if I could at least get her to where I wanted.



So the skeleton is more of an outline than an empty cage form butI liked it. So much so that I didn't want to ruin it with color work on the waves. So I made another one.



This second thread sketch/prototype, as I like to refer to them, also served to see if I could repeat the figure satisfactorily. Ever have trouble making the same thing look the same way twice? sigh. I do.

I make my prototypes out of white thread so I can see all the stitches clearly (never try to use black or navy for this purpose unless you have a police-grade search light in your working space). Usually I then switch to another color for the final product and for this one I was going to use a blue body. I tried several variations on small test swatches and didn't like any of them. The white body made the blues in the curls pop. So I stuck with white. Glad I did. When it came time to make the heart/wings the white makes the figure stand out better against all that green.

The skeleton half of the body could have been made of that linen brown color that was used for the heart/wing background loops. I didn't think that the black lines alone wouldn't stand out enough. So white it was for that half too.

Next choice was black or white background for the photograph?

Dramatic but hard to see the edges of the wings/heart.

or


see the edges but loose the "haunty" feel.

Ah, White is more of a standard for these things (I think) so that's what went in despite the crap-tastic-ness of the photo quality. I know better, but I did it anyway. I swear by everything that isn't blurry; next time, professional photographer!

So that's how a faint little sketch becomes a final crocheted project in my little corner of the universe. This was fun. No one ever hears about how the design decisions happen along the way. Only my cats if I happen to be talking aloud. Hmm. Who knew?

Hook On!
C

Rejection, thy sweet sting.

I'm still feeling my way around the life in artistry and this entails wanting to enter competitions but missing the deadlines due to that old insidious subconscious saboteur "lack of confidence". Usually I just refer to it as sloth. But is it really being lazy if I complete an item and just not mail it in?

"Life Blood" - CALira '08

Well, no more! I finally applied on time to an actual hang-stuff-on-the-wall type competition. An international one to boot - the IX Triennial of Mini-Textiles in Angers, France. Dream big baby.

Good news! I learned how to say "No way, Josephine" in French!



and the fates have chosen to screw with me psychologically:


This is the fortune that was in my cookie/dessert received after the Chinese feast my brother and I had to celebrate my good news from overseas. Ooooo. Irony.

No I'm not some sugar coated optimistic junkie of a Pollyanna, this rejection was good news because it meant that my piece was at least submitted to be reviewed in the jury process. I thought for certain that they would simply chuck my file and send me a "Wrong venue, nimrod!" email of shame.

As you may know, I work fairly exclusively in crochet and both live for and relish the opportunity to cram crochet-as-art down people's throats. Uhh. I mean "to promote crochet as art at every possible opportunity". :-) The call for entries specifically said that the object must be made entirely of thread and be no larger than 4" square. I use crochet thread and work very small. Perfect! Right? I refer you to the photo above of the letter of "get-lost".

Once I got over the initial disappointment, I started to enjoy my attempt at subversion and the acknowledgment-by-review that I choose to see in all this.

First rejection out of the way. So many more to go.

Hook On!
C