Because John is the man!

I know that it's a little late to be blogging about father's day but I will anyway. John and I are going to be new parents soon and I thought he deserved a little shout out on father's day too. He is going to be a great dad. Why? Because of the SUMO doll! The little drawing above is a sketch he did for me because I wanted to crochet little sumo wrestlers. They turned out great and are selling really well on my etsy shop.




Mayumi is going to have lots of crazy dolls designed by her dad to be. If you know John, he just loves to do things like this. He's got tons of energy for anything creative and is the most fun person I know, hands down. I married him just so I don't have to watch TV. Very supportive too. I've done so many crazy (not in a good way) things with my career but he's always been encouraging. Can you imagine him coming home from a 16 hour work day and me saying, "Hey, I think I want to sell crocheted creatures online to make money?". I mean you have to have a pretty good sense of humor to take that in stride. Instead of lecturing me on how we need to find a more stable, steady source of income to pay mortgage, bills and baby expenses, he starts to draw things for me to make. I am truly lucky and I know Mayumi is too.

So John, have a chocodile (or two)!



Yup, that's what I got John for father's day. Chocodiles. It's been on his wish list for awhile. I guess you can't find it here in Portland. If anybody knows of a local store that carries them, let me know. It would make my hubby so happy.

Anyhow, for a fun link, try the search engine gizoogle. It'll bring the gangsta out of everybody. Try searching for a website that you already go to on a regular basis and see what happens to the site description. Check it! It's fo' real.

Peace out!

Diana

Mr.H and other things.

So today, I've decided to do something other than crocheting. I think me and my cats need a break from each other. I was having some wrist pains yesterday on my right wrist and it scared me a little since that is also where my mouse clicking hand is located. I wish I was ambidextrous.

A little while back, I bought some old sweaters from goodwill to felt (thanks, betz, for the wonderful tutorial) and John has been having fun with them lately. The photo above is Mr. H, the second doll from John's new felted collection. He is made from scraps of felt made from the sweaters. I love the colors on him and the big hole in the middle for his mouth. I think I want to keep this one for myself but will ask John if he wants it up on etsy. I love being married to an artsy, craftsy guy.

I organized my button collection last night. That was fun. I am an organizing freak! It's funny though because I'm so into every little minutia of everything that it makes it so difficult to categorize. I end up with a bigger mess than when I started. I have to remember to generalize and then go from there. I've decided to go by color first since that is the first thing I think about when designing things. It'll do for now.

Finally got started on a knitting project! I miss knitting. I've decided to try and write a simple wrap sweater pattern for myself. No fancy stitches, I'm just gonna try and focus on construction first. Here are some pics of my progress with sketches and the yarn I'm planning to use. Will keep everybody posted on the progress but be warned, I've been known to take half a year finishing some projects. Wish me luck!



Before I go, does anybody know of a good cooking blog?

Late,
Diana

Creatures.

I love the weekend. It's especially nice when the weather cooperates. I feel like its been forever since we've had a nice sunny day in Portland. So I am sipping my ice tea while writing this blog entry. Simple pleasures. Yummy.

Yesterday was very productive. John worked on digging up the backyard some more. I worked on completing some custom orders and worked on some prototypes which is what you see in this picture.

The little fat bird was actually a prototype for the buddha that I am trying to make for John but it didn't turn out quite the way I wanted it to. I didn't want to waste the blob shape thing so I made it into a bird which turned out quite cute. I have it up on my etsy shop. I love the little bunny cutie! I still have to work on making her stand up on her own.

I also got a package from Dawn last Friday. I was so happy when I got it. This is Killer the Dog and he is even better looking in real life than in the pictures. The little red dots on his head are actually sock grippers. I could tell that the this little dog was the product of careful planning and meticulous execution. So check out her shop. Everything is worth your money.

Thanks for the little bird too, Dawn! You are awesome!

We went to see a movie called "The Proposition" which is a cowboy movie set in Australia around the 1880s. It was a very sad movie but I liked it. If you don't like a lot of violence though, this movie is not for you. I'm not talking Kill Bill violence, I'm talking The Schindler's List type violence, the kind that pulls on your gut. The screenplay was written by Nick Cave so that's another reason to go see it (the music is actually pretty good too). Also, John says he's never seen so many flies in a movie before and I say that cowboys are definitely dirty folk (dirty like very low on the hygiene category).

We're also showing one of John's friends around town since he and his girlfriend are going to move here. It almost seemed like the city was selling herself to us, everything was perfect. The weather, the greenery, the fair downtown, and the people, they all looked great. Sometimes I forget why I love this city, it's good to have someone to show around so I can rediscover. I don't know what the vibe is ... healthy?... I'm not sure if that's quite the word but Portland just makes me feel great and young.

Anyway, I think I'm in the mood to munch on some watermelon so I will see you folks later.

Later,
Diana

Busy, Busy, Busy

I have a lot of projects that I really, really want to start but can't because I have a dozen or so that I'm in the middle of. Sometimes I wish my hands would work as fast as my brain but no, I will probably have arthritis at the age of 35.

John is trying to learn Tagalog (Filipino dialect) and it's fun to listen to him practice his lessons. He can now count to 10 in filipino! I'm so excited for him. I tried teaching him to count last summer by singing this filipino nursery rhyme about counting. It didn't work. It must be my singing.

Since we are on the subject of filipino things, have you ever heard of Sudden Unexpected Nocturnal Death Syndrome. It is a freaky
cause of death where you just go to sleep, have really scary nightmares (this part might be legend) and never wake up. It occurs mostly to Southeast Asian Men around 23-35 years of age. Why am I talking about this? I was over at my parent's house and they were watching this old movie that a young actor played in who died of this cause. It just gives me the creeps. I mean the guy was completely healthy and young and then he just never woke up. People that were close to him when he died said that he was talking in his sleep. Ooooh ... just freaky, X-filey stuff.

Anyhow, do you dig my bunny? We found it at the goodwill and he looks good enough to be in a Mark Ryden painting. I love him. He collects old dolls and toys from thrift stores and uses them for models in his paintings. Very cool.

I have to go now and try to crochet a buddha. Will let you know how that turns out.

Ooops, also we went out to dinner last night and I got this for a takeout container! So appropriate.


XOXO,
Diana

Nesting.

John and I are nesting (new term learned from countless pregnant lady literature). We are spending more time at home than we ever have. EVER! Even before we were married, we were always out doing things. I think the longest time that we've spent, either at his place or mine, was 5 hours straight (this is awake time). So we are saving tons of money from not having to fill up on gas, parking, on food and shopping (only to find that we will have to use all the savings up for diapers). We've decided that we better get used to it since we will be stuck "indoors" for a little bit while the little one and us are getting to know each other. It is actually pretty fun and very comfy and cozy...

We started some home projects (see John digging up the backyard). I am excused from digging duty since I'm pregnant (the perks! oh, the perks!) and I wouldn't be much of a help anyway. I did pull out some weeds though. He is so sweet! He won't even let me do house chores but I do them anyway because he works so much already. I am trying to knit and crochet like crazy because I know that it will be a luxury to me when Mayumi is born.

Speaking of knitting/crocheting... Wouldn't you want to meet this guy?



He is the Black Ninja Tabi Amigurumi Kat! He is the result of another John and Diana collaboration. John is so good at sketching out interesting little creatures. This ninja was also his brainchild. We are going to take pictures of him with action shots and everything. Did I mention that he comes with throwing stars too!? Yes, he is for sale, come visit my shop.



John also made me this "hooter hider" for breast feeding. He chose a really nice patterned flannel fabric and it came out really great and usable. He is like Mcgyver to me.



I have a lot packages going out today so if you bought something from me this last week, it is coming! The cats are selling like crazy. It seems like all I've been making are cats but I love making them so I'm not whining or anything. Thank you so much to all those people who loved them enough to want one for their own. It is so fulfilling to sell something that you made.

Oh, yes, you want to visit my shop to find out what these cuties are...



XO,
Diana

Counterfeit, Fake, Knockoff

I've done it! I just finished my counterfeit Dior yesterday. I think I like mine better than the real thing. The Original: "Lady Dior Quilted East/West Bag" is valued at $1,150.00 and mine is absolutely priceless! It crocheted this by eye meaning I just kind of went along by looking at the pictures (no pattern). It was a lot like drawing. My first love will always be knitting but crocheting was fun because it is so easy to improvise shape and texture. I think I will send this to Stephanie since she can probably take better pictures than me. Here are more detailed shots:




I was reading the paper this morning (but I think it was from yesterday) and I'm not a huge entertainment fanatic but I came accross this one article analyzing the chosen name for Angelina Jolie's baby. Her name is apparently Shiloh and that means "messiah" and I forget her other name but apparently it means "new". And so they are making a big deal about naming the kid "new messiah" like it's a weird thing. It brings to mind the whole hoopla about Katie Holmes baby being named "Suri" and how it really doesn't mean princess but the closest thing that it could possibly mean is a breed of rare alpacas (which is nothing to be ashamed of in my book). So why am I wasting precious blogging time writing about this? I just think that the press should leave them alone and let them name their kids whatever they want to name them. I mean talk about ruining special moments. I swear, when I give birth and someone starts to analyze the name I chose for my baby, I will strangle them with the umbilical chord. Don't they have better things to report about?

Since we're on the whole birthing thing. My brother-in-law and his wife are scheduled to have their very first baby today (scheduled meaning a C-section) and so I am very excited for them and am wishing the mother-to-be (!) a very comfortable and problem-free delivery. Can't wait to see our new nephew!

And also, my two moms (biological and by marriage) celebrated their birthdays yesterday. I think it's so cool that they share the same birthday, it makes it easier to remember. You guys are awesome!

I sold all of the kitties at the shop (I am so excited about that!) so I am off to make more.

XO,
Diana