In a recent trawl, I came across one particular thing which stuck out as being totally non-crappy and fantastic, and I had to share - Christmas Goods Gift Claim Tags. I love these and what they are about, and if I had my own big family gathering to attend, I would snap them up (but I’ll probably make up an excuse to get them anyway). They are such a great take on the big gifting ceremonies of Xmas morn, which I remember so fondly from the olden days.

+ This amputee panda USB hub is at the top of my terrifyingly cute Xmas list.

+ Also helping get me through this tiresome month: Dita, Cascade Green, Simpkins Barley Sugar, and Worcestershire Sauce. Oh yes, and air conditioning.

This is Torquil, the Earth Knight.

The pattern came from a book I received as a gift: Creepy Cute Crochet, by Christen Haden. This book was awesome: apart from the super cute patterns, I learned some invaluable lessons from the incredible attention to detail, the neatness and stitch choices within some of the more advanced patterns, and especially the exquisite finishing touches. This is not a book for absolute beginners, there are some real challenges here, but I would recommend it to anyone who likes crocheting small, cute, and occasionally creepy (though I’d be more inclined to call them geeky, not that I mind) amigurumi.

Craft wise, the usual ebb and flow has occurred. I finally completed what was once my secret Christmas project for Nick somewhere between then and now, which was… a crochet Cerberus! This project was ambitious in many ways, and as usual, slowed to an extra crawl in the construction stages, but I made it! Cerberus was dubbed by his new owner: “Allen”.

Big props to MrsThallium for sharing her wondrous pattern, and Suncatcher Eyes, well, for the eyes.

Post Cerberus, I spent our mild winter making winter woollies for various people. I became obsessed with variegated yarn for a short while, since it makes things look more interesting than they really are, and the changing colours and textures kept my attention span in check. I have been particularly digging on tweed yarn, of which I originally bought a skein of the most hideous colours I could find for some hobo gloves for my brother. I then actually realised that it is gorgeous to work with, and can look very cool in the right context. A beanie for each of us followed, though I finished my own in the last week of “cold” weather we had, so didn’t actually get a wear in. Whoops.

I’ve more recently fallen back into amigurumi, and taken the daunting step into using purely my own patterns, rather than the splicing together of all the wonderful patterns out there. Who knows how it will end (or if it ever will).

I have spent the days since in denial, weeping into my keyboard, having no idea what to do. I have been off work sick for two days, so you would have thought I might have had the time to look into it, but it all just seemed too hard and I had no clue where to start, since I had no admin access.

About 10 minutes ago I decided to face up to this embarassing little problem, and some light digging brought me to the most likely solution. Then, 2 minutes later, it was fixed. Who knew it would be so simple? I certainly didn’t. To all wise computer geeks, this web luddite salutes you.

Crafternoons were absent from my life for a lot of this time, after a minor case of burnout after so much Xmas pressure, and also due to the growth of my niece, and her new level of mobility, curiousity and tactile fascination, along with the increased ability to distract via cuteness. One of my Xmas projects still remains unfinished, but I am aiming to get it completed before next Xmas. I wouldn’t want to set an unachievable goal. Here are a few of my Xmas projects which were completed and gifted on the due date.

Recently, however, I have been easing back into it, with the return of Winter, and the help of a few friends and keen greenhorns, and have been enjoying the deadline-free element to the crafternoon. It begins again…

So, our plans for change and excitement have been postponed due to unfortunate global circumstances. However, to dwell on the fact would be to invite melancholy into this post, so I won’t.

I turn 30 next month. I am quite unconcerned about this, and am taking the fresh approach of looking forward to it, and using it to make some much needed changes here and there. The one thing I did promise myself, and phrased it as such knowing the unpredictable nature of things, is that I would not be in Brisbane for my birthday. Thanks to this promise, and the freeing up of some savings from the aforementioned plan changes, we are heading to Japan for 11 days! This is the most excitement we have seen in a while, and is keeping us occupied with planning and the making of many lists - one of my favourite things to do, of course.

I did a lot of research, and ended up splicing parts together from various patterns (most notably, this one), and adjusting as I went along. The actual crochet part was a breeze, and especially rewarding when I finished the boring cream colour.

However, it was the assembly part which turned out to be much more laborious than I had anticipated. I’d estimate total assembly time at about 4 hours, over a few nights (including time for head-scratching and getting another glass of wine). This is mainly because I am such a greenhorn, but also because I didn’t want it to be crap, or to disfigure myself with the hot glue gun in my haste. So he’s not perfect, but I feel he is good enough to prevent me from dramatically throwing myself from a window (admittedly, this would only be about a 2 metre fall, but the sentiment is there).

It has recently enjoyed a resurgence in my life. It began with a common need between Melissa and I to get back to our crafting roots. Melissa was dreaming of quilting, and I was coveting amigurumi. I already knew how to crochet, and Melissa knew how to sew, so we could skip the boring part and get straight into it. Thus began what may go down in history as our most prolific and enriching crafternoon period yet.

You probably already know what amigurumi is. If not, in short, it is the Japanese craft of making knitted or crocheted toys. To me, amigurumi means taking an animal, character, inanimate object, or something you just made up, and translating it in crochet to look super cute. Already super cute? Make it ridiculously cute! It’s simple, really.

So allow me to take time out from creating more amigurumi, thinking about amigurumi, and generally being consumed by amigurumi, to post about my first amigurumi. His purpose was to teach, and he succeeded. Now I can look at him and see all my mistakes, and things I could have improved. He is a great source of pride to me, being not only my first amigurumi, but the first project of any kind I have actually finished in ages (unfinished projects are a hobby in themselves). So, in all his flawed glory, I present to you, King Dingus!

The crafternoons are continuing, and more people are being infected. More projects will follow here, at a delay anyway, since many cannot be unveiled until after Xmas, and also, I’m lazy. I hope to get some pictures of Melissa’s quilt for the record too, and maybe the projects of the other infected crafters.

A tremendous boon from our crafternoons is that I also get to spend time with my delightful neice. So if you will excuse me, I need to go and get ready - I don’t think I need to spell out where I am going this afternoon…

+ Several weeks ago now, a headline on the front of a magazine aimed at the vapid teenage girl, asked: ‘Are you a binge thinker?’.

+ A young badass fellow at the train station, wearing a skeleton hoodie, complete with matching gloves, enjoying a pink creaming soda.

+ The recent addition to the rotation of buskers in the subway, who adjusts his small repertoire to suit his surroundings, for example, when in the dim, dank tunnel under the street, keeps it low key and depressing, yet when in the square, steps it up a bit with of ‘Calendar Girl’, and such. A sticking point is that he doesn’t know the lyrics to ‘Living Doll’. How can he call himself a busker? It’s not going to last.

+ An old lady wearing a G-Unit t-shirt.

+ Links can also make it look like I have written more:

Those golden rays, or, ravioli of the sea. I know, this was ages ago now.

At last, Alice in Wonderland in Ascii form! I know it’s awesome, but why?

A keyboard so pretty and frivolous it makes my hair curl

The Dandy Warhols are coming to Brisbane on November 5. Ticket price is steep, but I get morose at the thought of missing it.

I got my hands on this little beauty, by the inimitable Joe Ledbetter, and have also put my hand up for the sketchbook. While these two things bring me great joy, they also serve to help me try to forget this.

Not willing to shell out for something which would potentially end up a product of yet another neglected cockamamie plan, I got my hands on an old bike in the family, which now that I think about it, dates back to the late 90s. It was in a most ghetto condition (despite advice that “she’ll be right”, though a quick inspection showed that the brakes didn’t even work, let alone much else), so we took it to the local bikery to get a service.

The potential futility of this idea became evident, as we struggled to disassemble the rusted parts to get the bike in the car, our reservations growing upon arrival, as the airless tyres squelched noisily across the carpark. The salesman (well, salesboy) diplomatically kept his laughter to a minimum, but it was clear that it was going to be no small feat to get it even barely rideable. It was going to cost a considerable amount more than just a normal service, but still, compared to the cost of a new bike, I decided it was preferable for my needs. That was a week ago, and I haven’t heard anything since.

Anyway, my point is (yes, I do have one), last night, Phil Collins visited me in a dream, and told me that it was going to cost $540 to fix my bike, which is several times the amount I expected to pay. I was shocked, and explained to him that I could just go and buy a new bike for less than that. He just shrugged and took a drag from his cigarette “You could do that, I suppose”. Then he pushed up his sleeves, slung his sports jacket over his shoulder and walked off.

Thanks, Phil.