Pens, Paper, & Ammo

Uh, moo?

I wasn’t tagged for this, but I’m have a sheep-like tendency to do whatever I see on other blogs.

1. Why did you start your blog?
I’m not completely sure. The Mechahubby had bought me a domain name and webhosting service for some reason, but that was years ago. I don’t believe I had ever envisioned PP&A as a blog at the beginning. At first it was a failed comic… but let’s not talk about that.

2. How did you come up with your blog name?
Wow, this should prove to be a story to expose my secret past as an uber-dork. In its first incarnation, Pens, Paper, and Ammo was a fansite for Laguna from Final Fantasy 8. Yeah. See, he was a journalist… who used a machine gun as a weapon. I was also 14 years old when I made that first site.

The name has stuck with me though - as has my love of video games. I am, however, a geek now, not a dork. There’s a big difference, trust me.

3. Do your friends and family know about your blog? What do they think of it?
I really don’t know how many of my friends have ever visited my blog. Most aren’t interested in knitting, though. I do know that my mother and mother-in-law visit from time to time – likely check for Nooblet-related posts.

4. How do you write posts?
It’s a very complicated process. I grab a Diet Coke (hey, I’m allowed one every once in a while!) and an apple-cinnamon rice cake slathered in peanut butter, sit down in front of my dated PC, and type some random words until something semi-coherent comes out. Then I scour my desktop and/or digital camera for a relevant picture and throw that in as well.

5. Have you ever had a troll or had to delete unkind comments?
Not yet. About 98% of any comments I do get are of the garbled spam variety.

6. Do you check your stats? Do you care how many people read your blog? If you do care, how do you increase traffic?
Out of curiosity, I check my little map thingy in the sidebar. I would like more people to stumble onto my blog, but I don’t exactly do anything to increase traffic.

7. What kind of blogs/posts interest you?
I read just about anything. I’m just a blog-addict. I love knitting blogs the most, obviously, but have found myself branching off to read more humor (by the way, go here: Wendi Aarons). I also have a thing for vegan blogs, even though I’m an omnivore.

8. What do you like and dislike about blogging?
I love seeing what projects other people have chosen. I especially love seeing the lovely photography that many of the blogs in my blogroll contain.

Personally, I enjoy blogging because it gives me a goal for my own projects. “Come on, if you finish that last row, you can post it on your blog!”, I tell myself even though I know in reality only one or two other people will see it. Still, the process of blogging has given me a chance to practice my writing and photography skills – both of which obviously need more work.

The only thing I dislike about blogging is that it can cause so much conflict. This is probably why I stay away from blogs with super-strong opinions about politics or religion. I’d really rather avoid the flame wars.

I guess I’m supposed to tag people for this, but I really don’t know who visits this site. That said, if you have found your way here and haven’t already done this survey, consider yourself tagged. If you do, let me know who you are! I love finding new blogs!

The Cerberus pattern is finally up for sale on Etsy! Check it out!

Peepscakes!

Also, the Cerberus pattern is finished. I’m just currently trying to make a PDF that will actually work. The pattern will be available on my Etsy page within a day or so.

The first day of Spring blew in with a gust of cool air… and so did allergy season. Sitting here, I find myself simultaneously alternating between states of stuffiness and sniffliness, wondering if my allergies are flaring up just for the very fact that today is the first day of spring or if it’s only a coincidence.

Seasonal complaints aside, I finished the Nooblet’s brown sweater last night and finally managed to drag out the camera for a couple of unimpressive shots.

The sleeves drove me insane.

Detail of the adorable buttons.

And, because almost every photoshoot eventually degrades into vying of attention by the kitty-boys, here is one final picture.

I bet Houdini would fit in that sweater…

I’ve had a fair number of requests on Ravelry for my Cerberus pattern. After far too much procrastination, I have finally found the determination to begin working on it. If all goes as hoped, I should have the pattern up by Saturday. Depending on the amount of time I have after the Nooblet is born, Cerberus might be the first in a line of mythology-inspired amigurumi that I may or may not sell on Etsy. It all depends on my competency in writing a pattern.

First of all, Happy St. Patrick’s Day! I don’t have any crafty St. Patty’s offerings, but here is a picture of some ugly green yarn I dyed recently.

Dyed with some ancient egg dyes. It’s ugly, but it’ll make some decent felt coasters.

This last weekend was a busy one. My mother and step-father came to visit and brought along a gift of a new crib, rocking chair, and changing table. It’s all starting to feel so real now. The Mechahubby and I finished putting the crib together last night and what was previously just a spare room is finally looking like a suitable room for the Nooblet. A lot of work still needs to be done. Decorating of any kind, for example.

This picture seems to be of especially bad quality. I blame Sergio.

In more crafty news, I attempted to dye some Fishermen’s Wool with Easter egg dyes. It didn’t go nearly as well as I had hoped. I think the natural yellowish tint to the wool makes the colors seem muddy.

Forgive the dirty window seal. It was the only well-lit place in the room.

The pink and blue are from a generic 3-year old package of egg dye and the purplish-blue-whatever sections are the result of using really old Wilton cake dye. I still don’t really know why the Wilton stuff always comes out all tye-dye for me. Suggestions?

I figured I might as well post this before I forget:

Favorite Color Swap Questionnaire

1. What are your top three favorite colors?

–Lime green and almost all shades of violet and blues

Examples!:

And I love this colorway from The Yarn Pirate:

2. What crafts do you really enjoy?

–I love knitting and crochet most of all, but I do a bit of scrapbooking on the side. Because of my super-short attention span, small projects are ideal.

3. What products do you really covet?

–Nothing specific. I do enjoy products from KnitPicks and nice, soft, baby-suitable yarns. I’ve also recently found myself hoarding bamboo yarns.

4. What other activities do you enjoy besides your favorite crafty things?

– I’m a pretty big video game geek. Right now, I’ve been playing a lot of Smash Bros. Brawl and I dabble in MMORPGS like World of Warcraft and Guild Wars from time to time. Other than that I enjoy watching a little TV in the evening while knitting. My current favorites are The Office, Lost, and Mythbusters. I have and will always love Mystery Science Theater 3000 dearly.  I also love taking long baths by candlelight.

5. Is there anything you collect?

–Rubber duckies, psychology/brain-related stuff, calla lilies, and Peeps things (the little beanbag stuffed animal ones they have out now are adorable!). I have odd tastes.  I also use candles at an alarming rate.

6. What is your zodiac sign and/or Chinese zodiac symbol?

–I’m a Cancer and Rat, as will be my daughter!

7.What are your favorite…

…scents/smells?

–Vanilla, cinnamon, chocolate, gingerbread… pretty much “food” scents. =)

…types of music and/or bands?

–I listen to just about anything on the public radio stations near Philly. I do enjoy The Beatles and disco-y type music.

…authors?

–Oliver Sacks, Augusten Burroughs, Terry Pratchett, J.K. Rowling… I’m pretty open to new authors though. I enjoy psychology-based books and/or real-life memoir-sy type stuff.

…animals?
I love my kitty-boys and have always found ducklings and rats to be adorable.

…places to shop?

–I’m really not a huge shopper, unless its for gifts. When I do get the desire, I usually find myself at “bargin” stores like Big Lots, book stores, or crafty places like A.C. Moore.

…season?
–I always have a hard time answering this one. I love autumn for the crisp weather and serenity it brings, but I can’t say I’m in love with the colors (at least not in yarn form and/or for clothing). Spring is a close second and I love the colors associated with it.

…yarn/fabric/paper/other craft supplies?
–I hate to admit it, but I use a lot of acrylic yarns (as long as it’s not eyelash or “novelty” yarn) for the washability. I do enjoy using (non-superwash) wool for diaper covers though. As far as other crafting supplies, I love the Jolee’s scrapbooking embellishments and stickers!

…candies or goodies?

–Oh, don’t even get me started! Because it’s near Easter, I must say that Cadbury eggs and Peeps have been at the top of my list. I enjoy a nice dark chocolate during the rest of the year and *love* sour and/or gummy candies! Chocolate mixed with peanut butter or coconut are also very high on the list. I know it’s not really candy… but I love, love, love Indian food. Mmm, vegetable curries…

8. Do you have any wish lists?

–I do have a few registries going for baby stuff, if anyone is interested:

Walmart registry

Nicki’s Diapers cloth diaper registry

9. Are you allergic to anything?

–Smoke makes my head stuffy, but I don’t have any other known allergies.

10. Do you have any pets? What are they?

–I have two 4-year old kitty-boys, Sergio (gray) and Houdini (orange). They’re mischievous, but I can’t imagine life without them.

11. Please include anything else you would like your secret pal to know about you- anything that would be helpful in finding you little gifts that you will really enjoy.

– My husband and I are expecting our first child in early July - a girl! I must say, I love receiving cute baby stuff! =)

Also, if you have a Ravelry ID, please include it here.

–Mrsthallium

I’m not one to ever repeat a project. I find it difficult enough to stay interested in it the first time around. That said, it surprises me that all my current in-progress projects are second-timers. After the slight issues with my first Star Afghan, I decided to give it a second try. The only difference is I’m using a slightly looser gauge. So far it seems to be going much more smoothly.

Additionally, I’ve given the sweater pattern from last time a second try as well. I even managed to count correctly this time! Amazing!

I really dislike the lighting in our apartment. Nothing ever looks right.

And here’s a picture of the younger kitty-boy, Sergio, just because he’s cute:

Ignore his kitty-dandruff.

I have fallen in love with crochet afghans. The ease of only needing one or two different stitches, the quickness of the projects, the fact that the patterns are relatively easily memorized… there are so many reasons to love crochet.

During one of my daily blog-wanderings, I found a picture of an adorable afghan shaped like a star. Being the Ravelry addict that I am, I immediately searched for it and printed the pattern. I drooled over the pictures of others’ finished objects and began searching the bedroom for soft yarn and a crochet hook.

A few days later, I had this:

Mmm, starilicious! The colors are prettier in real life, I assure you. Rainy days suck for pictures.

Here’s the pattern!  And here is a tutorial to explain the process - very useful!

Initially, I had intentions of making it about twice this size for the Nooblet. Ultimately, I decided to donate this blanket to the Pet Snuggles Project due to some minor mistakes (I missed one dc a couple rows back) that my OCD-like tendencies just won’t let me ignore. Also… for some reason, the orchid color of Simply Soft was a different texture than the other two colors. Just being able to feel the slight difference between the textures began to drive me mad. Luckily, I doubt a lonely and homeless kitten will mind these tiny mistakes. I’ll start another one for the Nooblet as soon as I can find enough yarn.