Spinalcat's Crafty Adventures

All the cool kids are doing it. There was an earthquake last night centered about 15 miles from us. I was standing in front of the fridge wrestling with a package of cheese. It seemed like I felt the floor I was standing on move side to side. I thought it was just me since I had felt really sleepy all day. Bryan finally pointed out to me that it was an earthquake, but we didn't feel anything else. For us, it just lasted for a couple of seconds and nothing even came close to falling over. The news coverage was hilarious. Some jars fell off the shelf at an Albertson's. Both the reporter and the store employee kept referring to them as pickles, but they were clearly olives!!! One tile fell off the ceiling at a Target, and apparently some alfredo sauce fell off the shelf at another grocery store. I didn't think there were any injuries, but I just read that one person fell down and got hurt.

Revision 10/26/07 : Fixed cuff rib directions. (should be K3, P2. used to say K3, P3) Hi everyone. I've finally finished photography and writing up for my first free pattern. The PDF version is on the sidebar, but I'm including the instructions in this post too. I'd love to get any feedback. Right now the pattern's written at a level assuming some knowledge of sock knitting, but I may add more info and links to basic technique tutorials, especially if requested. The Ravelry page is here . Men’s Sock Pattern By Amy Klimt http://spinalcat.blogspot.com spinalcat@gmail.com Send your favorite rude boy off to work in these subtly checkered socks knit from the top down with a heel flap. Finished Size : 9” foot circumference and 10 1/2” long (customizable) from heel to toe. To fit men’s US shoe size 10 1/2. Yarn : Knit Picks Risata (42% cotton, 39% superwash merino, 13% polyamide, 6% elastic; 196 yd/50g): ash, 3 balls. Needles : Size 1.5 ...

Finished BFL 3-Ply , originally uploaded by Buxtrosion .

Lizard Ridge Kureyon #95 , originally uploaded by Buxtrosion .

Wow! Check out these cupcakes from the VeganYumYum blog! They're topped with marzipan yarn balls and WIPs. There's even a tutorial for making the decorations. I'm definitely bookmarking this blog. Not only does the name make me laugh (my cat's name is Yum Yum), but all the recipes look awesome! The spectacular food photography doesn't hurt. If that's what vegans eat, I want to be vegan. :) (Except that I love honey wayyy too much. And freshly whipped cream. And fish. Oh, well.) We did eat veg tonight- yellow curry tofu with potatoes and carrots. Those little purple potatoes are the most awesome thing ever. And I did eat a vegan cookie at the movies the other night. The snack bar dude was like, "You know those are vegan, right?" as if I hadn't been standing there reading the packaging. I wonder if they had complaints or something. . .

Finished Shirt , originally uploaded by Buxtrosion . Here's a better pic of the finished shirt. The stencil templates are from the Saffron Revolution blog at http://saffronrevolutionworldwide.blogspot.com/ I was going to send in the link to my shirt after I posted this photo, but somebody beat me to it!

Supplies: your image on normal paper contact paper scalpel or exacto knife cutting surface scotch tape prewashed and dried t-shirt scrap cardboard fabric paint (like Tulip brand from craft store) sponge brush (very cheap at craft stores) Step 0: Print out your image. It's best if there aren't any islands. For example, you'll want to be careful with what fonts you use for text. Stencil fonts have a lovely DIY punk aesthetic for protest shirts, but I've also developed a freehand stencil-friendly text style I use for a daintier look. I'll be posting a pics of my t-shirt backlog shortly. You'll also want to consider the amount of detail in the image and the number of shirts you'll want to make. This method creates stencils that are good for one use only. It allows a pretty good amount of detail and crispness, but it's limited by your cutting ability. It doesn't work so well for things like math equations that have a lot of thin straight lines (ask...

Beaded Heavy Mesh Scarf , originally uploaded by Buxtrosion .

Heavy Mesh Scarf , originally uploaded by Buxtrosion . I finished the Colinette beaded scarf I made to match that dress with the koi. I didn't think I was going to add the silk ribbon fringe, but I realized I could buy it by the yard (only took 3). It was really fun to make. I forgot how great instant gratification projects are, especially when you get to use really nice yarn. This is a great use for single skeins of silk. Tao is supposedly only 126 yards per skein. I didn't quite use the whole skein because I ran out of beads, but after adding fringe my scarf was only a tad shorter than the store model. It's purely a fashion scarf, anyway. I'll be wearing it with a summer dress.

Lizard Ridge Strip , originally uploaded by Buxtrosion . Here's my Lizard Ridge progress so far. I'm using the entire ball so my "squares" are more like rectangles. Plus I'm working the strips in one piece to reduce the amount of seaming. This is Noro Kureyon colorway 116 and 153. Colorway 116 (on top) is my favorite colors, but it was a huge pain to get it to look good in this pattern. About half the skein is solid or mostly black. It seems that most Noro skeins are one long changing color sequence, but 116 seemed to go from black to red to white and back again to red and black. It looked like a big mess the first time I worked up the strip. Then I ripped it all out, cut the yarn at the middle, and reversed the orientation of half the skein. The result was a lot better, but still lacking definition toward the end. The 3rd and last time, I balled up the skein into chunks of color and deliberately used contrasting portions. Yes, it was worth it....

Toots Hibbert In San Francisco , originally uploaded by Buxtrosion . We went up to the city again last night to catch Toots & The Maytals at The Independent. It was awesome!! Toots Hibbert has been on the reggae scene since the 1960's, and is generally considered the originator of the term "reggay."

Friday I drove up to the city to join in a demonstration at the Chinese consulate organized by the Burmese American Democratic Alliance and the Buddhist Peace Fellowship (don't miss the amazing mural by Mona Caron). There's some video of local news coverage here . I urge you to find out more about the plight of Burma's people. If you are interested in taking action, here are some resources- Youth Solidarity of Burma, organized by two young Burmese women in Thailand, accepts donations at givetoburma.org. BADA accepts donations here . Buddhist Peace Fellowship has info on donations, volunteering, membership here. The Avaaz.org petition is here . And you can always write your congresspeople. This is not just a Burmese issue, or a Buddhist issue. Anyone who values human rights, nonviolence, democracy, and/or freedom of speech should be completely appalled by the current situation. For your crafty folks, there's a stencil template of marching monks on the Saffron Revol...