Winter Reviews

It's going to be a slow week on the crafting front with so much holiday goodness coming up. God knows I'm not going to use my days off on embarking on some seriously creative project (besides last minute present-making and potluck-dish-baking). So here I give you my reviews on some things that are keeping me happy this winter (all awesome)


"I like you: Hospitality under the Influence" by Amy Sedaris

Quite simply the most enjoyable and useful homemaking book you will ever pick up! A humourous advice book as well as dead useful when you need to prepare food for a funeral in hurry, Sedaris teaches the masses what she does best with dry wit and endless flair. A slightly disorganized layout and relatively limited variety of recipes doesn't put this at the top of the list for reference tomes, but there are some mighty solid gems and major crowd-pleasers among these recipes- and it's entertaining enough to curl up with and read cover to cover!
The recipes are simple as hell- which might bore the chef looking for a challenge- but that is also the beauty of it: completely foolproof instructions and the use of full-fat, no-holds-barred flavorful ingrediants guarantees each dish to be delicious. Sure, some of them seem like no-brainers ("Root Beer Float"? "Baked Chicken Wings"?) - but for those of us who never actually learned how to cook, this book is an invaluable tool that actually makes cooking, entertaining and homemaking fun.
(ps: the amazing Li'l Smokey cheeseball present at the Haliblogospheremagonianmas2008 party was a recipe from this book- 'nuff said)

knit. 1 magazine

Search results describe this as a "knitting magazine targeting hip 18-35 year-old knitters" and boy, does it succeed. Not too cutesy or country-style like many craft magazines, and not as complex as Vogue knitting (gorgeous, but impossible) Knit.1 hits just the right combination of challenging and simple patterns. Hip, trendy items like funky hats and stockings clash with classic cabled sweaters and lacy shawls in every issue. There are always a few fun, fast-knit items that can be tried right away (instant gratification knitting!) and of course, there is the major advantage of a new issue every season! Perfect for those of us with a short attention span, and valuable reference material to collect to build up your pattern hoard.

Asumiko Nakamura

Okay, this is a person- a mangaka (manga artist) and illustration artist to be exact. She has only been published in Japan thus far and has very little online presence so it is difficult to expose others to her work. Her manga published in Kera magazine (a crazy/weird teen subculture fashion magazine made available to me by parents living overseas that would otherwise be an extravagant import) is where I first saw her.
Just when I thought manga art couldn't impress me anymore, Asumiko comes along to raise the bar! Her style is very flat and consists of extremely delicate ink lines, with particular attention to eye-catching pattern and embellishment. She also has a strong eye for fashion and seems to relish elongated, exaggerated forms and of course- super concentrated detail. Everything about her drawing screams the perfect fashion illustration for me.

Bitch be Late wit the Update

Aw shit. Late update.

I will unabashedly blame this failing on the fact that my "permanent boyfriend" and I decided on a wedding date.... a few days after my last post, actually.

So- why almost a month late on the update?
Because I'm going to DIY this bitch. I've always known it- I'm gonna plan the whole muthafuckin' wedding.

the look on my face says it all.

Just typing it gives me the tremors. Just realising that I would be married in about a year's time effectively launched me through kubler-ross model of grieving/tragedy, progressing quickly through denial, anger, bargaining, depression and then finally acceptance-- in about a week. Every so often I have a quick relapse. However, letting someone else take charge would bother me more than having a mental breakdown from stress. Us creative control type freaks wouldn't have it any other way. It will definately be a learning experience in delegating tasks, however- if I don't, I will definately die.
Things to be DIY'ed include the invitations, favors, and um... basically all of the decorations. (Fabricville, Michael's and Loomis will be my second homes, the desktop printer and gluegun my very best friends.)
Things NOT to be attempted are my dress (NO- I never considered making my dress... although buying a plain one and then beading and embroidering the whole thing- yes), food, furniture and dishes.

I don't want to go on too much as it makes me icky to my stomach. That seems to bode ill for this celebratory union but really- it's a happy-and-excited-but-trying-not-to-obsess-too-much kind of sick. Don't worry about this being turned into some kind of wedding blog (sick and wrong)- I will treat it as any other DIY project- and update here about any significant progress.

Meanwhile, there is this hat.

A hat-and-scarf combination hat! Pure mastery of design in cold and windy/rainy Halifax weather.
The scarf secures the hat to your head and protects your ears, neck, and chest all at once! Not even a ski mask does that so well- and this is even much nicer and less detrimental to your hair. And of course, it can be used as a scarf only- the hat portion becoming a cute sort of hood at the back of your neck.
And yes, it is as insanely warm as it looks.

There is a distinctly middle-eastern look about it when it is worn all wrapped up- but those arabs really know what they're about when it comes to wind protection. Myself, I started out disliking the extremely textured pattern I knitted the hat with, until I realized its resemblance to the knot-like hairstyle depicted on certain enlightened prophets.

Ethnic crossovers abound- all for the sake of staying warm during Canadian winter.