New adventures

I'm not sure if I've mentioned this before, but I've decided to try learning to crochet again. I got books out of the library that explain things considerably better than the booklet I own, and now I've done two swatches in leftover bits of grey-green Red Heart - one in single crochet, the other in double. I might make a scarf next, using oddballs of Patons Astra in poppy red and canary yellow.

Because of my new-found crafty addiction, I have put a number of crochet books on my Christmas list, and I'm looking at yarn scraps with a different perspective. For instance, when I finished my dc swatch last night, I had a long scrap of yarn leftover and said to my mom, "I think I'll keep this, because there's just enough here for using in a granny square." I usually hold onto long scraps like that, but before I'd keep them for working into knitting projects, like keeping bits of cotton for working into dishcloths. I actually got rid of a bunch of shorter scraps, because they were too short for knitting with. I probably could have kept them for crocheting, but then again, they weren't the most appealing scraps.

I think I might use crochet to use up yarn that I don't feel like knitting with. For example, I have three big skeins of dark green Red Heart Super Saver that's a bit too scratchy for a cardigan, but it would probably make a good, airy shawl. One of my favourite things in the world is the afghan that my mom crocheted for me when I was younger, and if I had a more portable version of this, I think I'd be in crafty heaven.

This isn't the only artistic passion I've had lately, either. Just this morning I was making a warm drink when I suddenly came up with lines of a potential song or poem. I had this feeling a few weeks ago, too, when I was listening to a lot of Evanescence - I thought about how their songs are usually written from personal experience (i.e. "Call Me When You're Sober", about Amy Lee's breakup with the guy from Seether), and I wrote down a couple of lines about one of my personal experiences. The same thing happened this morning, but it's less about a single experience and more about... well, an ongoing experience. I won't say more than that. Like novel-writing, I don't like to talk about my verse-writing too much.

Speaking of novel-writing... National Novel Writing Month is only two weeks away now. I'm excited. And also nervous. I'm worried that I'm drawing on too many influences, and I want my work to be original. I think I'll do okay, though. And anyway, it's only a basic, rough draft, intended to get the creative juices flowing. Even so... I think this year's draft will be my favourite.

And then there's another craft I want to learn: sewing. I've gotten many sewing books out of the library, and I don't know if it's because of my plans to write dystopian fiction, or because of my artistic passion, but I really want to start making my own clothes. I've been flipping through the sewing books I own, and saw a bunch of tops and dresses that I want to make. All this time I've been bitching and complaining (pardon my French) about store-bought clothes not always fitting me, when I could be making blouses to my measurements. It's the perfect solution, really. But first, I have to make my own pajama pants - I've had the flannel fabric for a long time, and it really should be stitched up into something that's wearable.

If that wasn't enough crafty-ness, I also want to get into scrapbooking. I've clipped pictures out of magazines for a while now, and after selling my Klutz scrapbook at the yard sale, I've felt guilty about not utilizing my clippings. I still have my mini-scrapbook kit, though, so all is not lost. I just wish I hadn't thrown out the pictures of Evanescence. They would've been to big for the mini-scrapbook, but I'm still disappointed in myself. At least I didn't get rid of the CDs, though. I'm glad I kept them.

I should probably close now, and do something constructive. Or eat. All I've had to eat and drink is biscuits, a cup of tea, and a cup of hot chocolate. And I should try to read more of The Hunger Games. It's getting exciting now that the build-up is done. I should probably study some Japanese as well.

Until the future...

Footie fever

I watched Japan's match against Denmark today, and they won 3-1!!! So now they advance to the Round of 16 :D

I'm thinking about doing a timeline post soon. I saw a post like that on one of my Ravelry friends' blogs and thought, hey, I should do one. After all, there are many karate and Girl Guides/Brownies/Sparks stories I haven't told.

I've been thinking about Guides lately. I was a Spark for one year, a Brownie for two, and a Guide for one. The only reason I didn't go back for my second year of Guides was because the group was very small and disorganized - it was hard to get any badge work approved by a leader, because they only did an organized badge work 'judging' once in a while. And if I had gone back for a second year, I wouldn't have joined karate and met Holly, so I'm glad I didn't go back.

I do want to work on putting the rest of my badges on my Brownie and Guide sashes, though. I still have a handful for each sash that haven't been sewn on yet, and I should practice sewing anyway. I have to look in my mom's sewing box for thread, though, because I don't have any spools of my own. Either that, or I'll go to Len's or Fabricland to get a few colours of thread - I imagine there may be a 'starter kit' of thread.

That's all. See ya!