Month: May 2012

Coraline: Three years late, but I’m looking forward to the movie…

Aynaria 9 Comments

CoralineMommy, will you order Coraline from the library, please?”

Is what my daughter asked me yesterday.

If I’d thought about it, I wouldn’t have told her I ordered it from Blockbuster video, and let it be a surprise for this Friday.

Movies aren’t allowed during weekdays, since she’s still in school.

When I’m not working on the crocheted Coraline amigurumi, my daughter has been carrying it around. I was able to find my well-worn copy of Coraline, and she’s been devouring it, during her spare time.

The crocheted Coraline doll is about 65% completed. I still have to finish the legs, create the boots, arms, and fingers. Oh, and I must trim Coraline’s hair…

But Coraline’s starting to come together, and my daughter is excited by her progress; and so am I.

 

Although I don’t watch too many movies, part of my fascination has always been checking out the behind the scenes clips of the effort made to bring a movie together…

There’s so many people behind the scenes that are needed to make these movies happen. I don’t forget about them…

And for the past few days I’ve been watching a few Coraline movie clips on YouTube.

Costumes in movies have always appealed to me, perhaps because I’ve designed clothing (on a much smaller scale; of course). But I’m aware of the amount of time that can go into creating the “perfect costume.”

I really enjoyed Coraline, in book form, and would be disappointed if it were drastically changed to make it “appealing” to a larger audience.

Regardless, I’m looking forward to watching Coraline the movie at the house. And for once, my hooks will be set to the side, so my full attention can be given to the movie.

You’ve come a long way, baby…

Aynaria 8 Comments

Perhaps I’m dating myself with the above title, but it’s true…

My crochet skill has come a long way, and that makes me feel great!

I started crocheting in December 2011, it didn’t come easily for me. That was frustrating. With crafts picking up a new hobby (sewing, cross-stitch, knitting, jewelry making) has always been easy, so going full speed ahead was rarely an issue.

Not so with crochet…

My first few weeks of crochet were frustrating!I was struggling with the hand placement, my single crochet stitches were too tight, or too loose! sighs

There were many occasions when I wanted to pull out my dreadlocks, or just abandon crochet, and I did for a few days, but I always returned. I’m stubborn after all, also I had inspiration from gorgeous crochet creations I’ve seen, and the helpful crochet video tutorials made those first weeks a bit easier. But I’m persistent, and kept practicing, and in time my crochet improved.

Crochet Amigurumi Octopus 2

Amigurumi crochet octopus

Now I’m at the point where I can make quick crochet projects such as this amigurumi crochet octopus above. It took about thirty minutes to make. My daughter was thrilled, when she awoke this morning, and saw this amigurumi.

I attached it to her backpacks zipper, using a simple chain stitch, I then added slipstitched that entire row; to make it sturdy.

The facial expressions were embroidered before stuffing the amigurumi crochet octopus. I didn’t use a pattern, I’ve seen many pictures of these adorable critters and decided to create my own.

I still have a long way to go; after all there’s seems to be hundreds of crochet stitches to learn; and yes some of the new stitches I’m learning now. Like the shell stitch and broomstick lace…

If you’re new to crochet, don’t get discouraged, keep practicing, if you know someone who crochets, ask them for pointers, or check out videos on how to crochet. The videos I link to in my how to crochet post, were the ones I used when learning how to crochet. I enjoyed the fact, that Teresa does part of each video in slow-motion; perfect when learning something new.

You’ve come  long way baby, was an ad campaign for Virginia Slims cigarettes. It was created by the Phillip Morris company. It began in the late 1960s, and I believe it continued into the 1980s.

I (vaguely) remember seeing the ads in magazines during the late 1970s. The target group was young was professional women. Although I’ve never smoked cigarettes, I remember that slogan.

Crochet Amigurumi: Coraline update

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The Other Mother Coraline

The Other Mother, is a character that I’ve enjoyed in Coraline, sometimes I forget and refer to the book as “The Other Mother,” since that character was seared into my brain.

Over time, Coraline and The Other Mother have occasionally swapped roles when it comes to my favorite character from Neil Gamon’s book… The Other Mother was a bit off the rails with her approach, and she’s definitely evil, but even with those glaring flaws, I found her appealing.

With my old site; VeganMomma. I knew a blogger who went by the same name; The Other Mother. Of course… she was also a Neil Gamon fan, and as I recall, it’s something I asked when I first made a comment at her virtual home. By that time, I’d read many of Neil Gamon’s books. And so began our online friendship.  We visited one another’s blog, chatted via email, and clued each other on various authors during the time we corresponded; but that came to a halt, and I never knew what happened to her.

I wish I could remember her real name, but I can’t. I do know she lived in New Orleans, and I know her blog became silent shortly before Hurricane Katrina swept through Louisiana.

Whenever I think of  the book Coraline, or the character, The Other Mother, I do think of my blogging pal and wonder if she, her son, and her husband are fine. Some didn’t survive.

Amigurumi Crochet Coraline unfinished face 2

Crochet Coraline head

This afternoon, I had a chance to work on my amigurumi crochet Coraline; I didn’t get to improvise as I’d like, since the first Coraline that I’m crocheting, is being made for my daughter.  “Mommy, I want you make it just like Ms. Sharon’s!”

As mentioned in my earlier post, Sharon Ojala of Homemade Obsessions is the one who created this free pattern. So yes, with this first crocheted Coraline, there won’t be too much deviation.

I’ve always liked to root dolls hair, but this is my first time rooting a crochet amigurumi doll. The technique used is similar to what I’ve done in the past. I used a crochet hook to attach the “hair aka yarn.”

Amigurumi Crochet Coraline unfinished face 1

Crocheted Coraline: rooting Coraline’s hair

The face, is always the fun part for me, because I get to add a bit of personality to my crochet amigurumis through their facial expressions.

I really enjoyed embroidering the eyebrows and the nose.

It’s a shame you can’t really see the detail of the nose. I worked on that to make it look like a normal nose. I wanted to embroider Coraline’s eyes, but my daughter wanted them to be, “just like the pattern!”  So we used buttons. No worries, I’ll be making my own crochet Coraline, very soon.

Next up is embroidering the mouth, I’ll print out a few photos taken from Coraline the movie, and see whether any additional features need to be added before I start stuffing Coraline’s head.

Resource: Free coraline crochet pattern by Sharon Ojala of Homemade Obsessions

Am I attending Maryland Sheep and Wool Festival 2012; not this year

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I was looking forward to attending the Maryland Sheep and Wool festival 2012, but that won’t be happening, since I’m a bit busy.

Earlier this week, I learned there’s going to be a multi-cultural discussion held at my Lutheran church later today; One of our pastors recommended me. I’m guessing, the pastor suggested my name, since I’m already active with the homeless shelter ministry, food pantry, and the quilting group.

I was thinking that if I go, my chances of attending the festival are slim. There was hope for Sunday, and I was planning on attending the festival immediately after church. We attend the early morning service, so it’s over by 10:15. Turns out they are having a catered luncheon for those involved in the church’s music ministry. Since my daughter sings on one of the children’s choirs, we’ll be attending the luncheon. It’ll be catered, and they have a DJ also, so it should be a good time.

Naturally, I’m a bit disappointed that I won’t be attending the Maryland Sheep and Wool festival. I was looking forward to seeing all the vendors, and perhaps meeting people I’ve chatted with from the various online communities that I frequent, but there will be other years.

Am I disappointed, yes! But I do believe I made the right choices, and I’m looking forward to the activities I’ll be participating in this weekend.

Today, is gorgeous, and so I’ll be gardening when my daughter and I return to the house this afternoon.

Also, the evening will be spent hanging with my daughter and perhaps I’ll have a chance to crochet Coraline.

Amigurumi: Crocheted Coraline

Aynaria 5 Comments

Coraline will be my first crocheted amigurumi doll. It seems appropriate, after all, I’m a huge fan of Neil Gamon’s work,  and have read Coraline many times.

Coraline Neil Gamon

When my daughter was five-years old, I read Coraline to her. It’s a children’s book.  Part creepy/part goth, with a twisted adventure that kept me consuming the pages, until I reached the end.

By the time I’d read Coraline, I’d already read many of Neil Gamon’s adult books. I was pleased that I enjoyed this “children’s book” so much.  What’s funny is, even though parts of the book scared her, she still wanted to hear the story. She’s definitely my daughter, she already loves horror,  and loves Stephen King’s books.

Speaking of King, I read my first Stephen King book, The Shining, when I was seven or eight-years old. I purchased it at a local five and dime store, tucked it safely in my book bag, and brought it home. I still remember the price; it cost me 0.25! The year was 1977 or 1978; and that was a lot of money for someone who received a meager allowance. But even at that age, spending my allowance on books was worth every penny!

And so began my fascination with horror, and I read through countless stacks of horror, along with other genres throughout my life. It didn’t take long for me to become jaded, and horror books or movies no longer scared me, but that still hasn’t stopped me from reading them.

But back to Coraline…

Last evening, I’ve printed the free crocheted Coraline pattern from Sharon Ojala website; Homemade Obsessions. If you crochet, you should check it out. Go on… it’s free!

When my daughter saw Sharon’s free pattern, she got excited and asked (quite nicely, I might add) if I would start working on her, and I did. I didn’t have any peach colored yarn, so I used white.

Amigurumi Crochet Coraline unfinished head

As you can see, Coraline’s head is almost complete.

I’m doing things a bit differently than Sharon, since my next step is to add her facial features; eyes, nose, and mouth. That’s always the fun part, for me, since I get to embroider. Perhaps, I’ll add the hair too, instead of waiting. I’ll be rooting the yarn, to Coraline’s crochet head. Just like I’d root for a regular doll. I was pleased to see that Sharon uses this technique too. After that’s completed, I’ll start working on the body. Who knows, I might have my crocheted Coraline completed before the weekend is over.

I wonder if any Neil Gamon fans read this site, at some point, perhaps a Coraline doll would make a nice giveaway?

Mother’s Day is not this Sunday…

Aynaria 4 Comments

It’s such a relief to learn that Mother’s Day is not this Sunday.

Early yesterday, I was “hooking my fingers to the bone” since I thought it was.

That all came to a halt, when I chatted with my mother…

“Mother’s Day is always the second Sunday in May!” Naturally, I felt a bit silly, rushing Mother’s Day, but also I was relieved. Since, it means that my crochet hooks aren’t top priority in my downtime.

At church this Sunday, my daughter children’s choir, is performing a few songs; for mothers. Which made me think, “Oh, Mother’s Day!”

These children have come a long way this school year, and are starting to sound like a children’s choir. The majority of that credit goes to their choir director, who just happens to be my daughter’s piano teacher, and she’s also the director of Traditional music, at our church. This amazing lady has a lot of responsibilities, but makes it look easy.

 Since, I was making it top priority to complete the gifts by this weekend, my Mother’s Day gifts are almost complete.

For my mother, I’m making jewelry. When it’s complete, perhaps I’ll post a few photos on Celebrate Life. I’ll make a card to accompany the gift.

Also on the list is my daughter’s third grade schoolteacher. She’s not your “traditional mother” since she doesn’t have children of her own, but she does an excellent job mothering her third grade class. She’s amazing with them, and so I want to make her something also. Beaded bookmarks, facial scrubbies, and perhaps a few more items are on the list for my daughter’s teacher. I know she’ll love them, she loves to read, but the bookmarks she has are bits of paper, time to upgrade her to something proper, right? 

Then, there’s a lady I used to work with, Mrs. L. She’s the other type of mother too. No… not the Neil Gamon type found in Coraline. She’s 73, which is a year younger than my dad, and she has filled the role of mother throughout her adult life. I’m working on a crocheted/beaded bracelet. It looks lovely, and in some of her favorite colors.  Crocheting amigurumi mice are also on the list. She has two cats, and I don’t want her babies to be left out.

One thing all these ladies has in common is an appreciation of handmade gifts. Of course, I’ve spent hours working on various crafts; crochet, jewelry making, and card making, to ensure the gifts I’ve made are nice.  Since I know what they like, I know these gifts will be appreciated.

Planting and grass cutting on hold; too much rain

Aynaria 1 Comment

Rose 1 05 03 12

Up until this week, they main thing keeping me from doing any serious garden planting was the weather.

It was too cold for many of the plants to survive the mid 30F temperatures we were experiencing throughout most of April; parts of Maryland also received snow, last month.

The weather is becoming warmer, this week. It reached 80F a few days ago, but… we’ve also been receiving a lot of rain.  I guess I could plant in the rain, right? But, I think I’ll pass on the grass cutting.

The plants that are in the garden, are appreciating the rain we’ve been receiving.

But it’s all good, there’s still plenty of work, inside, that will keep me busy.

Let’s see…

My daughters room looks like a hurricane has hit it (again) and my recent yarn purchases has my temporary yarn bags overflowing, and so I need to put them in a suitable spot.

My daughter has been begging for chapati, and so I do believe I’ll make some type of Indian dish to accompany that. Later today, I’ll be volunteering at the food closet. Regardless of how much I’d love to be outdoors, there’s plenty of work inside to keep me occupied.

Here’s hoping my part of Maryland, receives some dry days… soon!

The above photo was taken earlier this morning.