What could it BE?

I started this little ditty earlier in the week and actually completely finished it tonight. (This is odd because I usually wait at least a week or two or three before putting the finishing touches on any project.)

This is what it looked like right off the needles. Any guesses as to what it is?




How about from this angle?




Why, they're hyperbolic baby pants, of course! I got the pattern from issue 6 of Craft Magazine, and they got it from the book Making Mathematics with Needleworks (which I now desperately need :-)).

Here's the finished product from the front...




...and the back (with the awesome diaper bubble butt).

It's been a busy week

During this pregnancy I've been surprised at how my crafting mojo has come and gone, gone, gone. But when it's here, it demands my attention. My FULL attention.

This week alone, I've learned to do basic embroidery while taking advantage of the Daniel Johnston patterns I received at the Craftster party at SXSW this year. (Jenny Hart from Sublime Stitching was there to give away prizes to people who knew the secret word.)

I've also finished several projects that have been sitting in my living room, just begging for attention. Most just needed simple finishing to be completed, but then there was the Octopus Sweater that needed a bit more attention, as well as the alien hat that had me frightened to embroider on knitting. (My first attempt at that had me making a scary rabbit face for a baby's toy.)

But I decided that if I felt like crafting, by golly I was going to take full advantage of the energy. I tackled everything I could, and here are the pictures to prove it!

First up are the embroidered onesies. The repeat in pattern is on different sizes, and I still want to do another size with the muscle man pattern. I had hoped to do another baby-man onesie, but the transfer wouldn't work a second time.

The Austin Classic


The Baby-Man (That's what I call it anyway.)


Muscle Man


Good enough to do twice



And then we have the front of the alien bonnet. I knitted the body of this hat about a month ago, but, like I said, the embroidery had me frozen. Ultimately, it was easy. Go figure.


And the back. :-)



Here's a simple hat I knitted in no time (weeks ago), but I only sewed it up this week. I made it for a possible goofy Halloween option.



This is just a bobbly hat that I had completed awhile ago, but I thought I should go ahead and add the photo in this entry. (Taking pictures also lagged in my poopy state.)



This is a super soft and lovely blanket (about 30"x30") that I focused on early in the week. I had been puttering with it for weeks and wanted to finish the darn thing already! (Perhaps this completion spurred my craftmania.)

I started the blanket after being obsessed with socks for a bit of time, needing larger needles for my aching hands as well as a pattern that didn't need my attention. Simple garter stitch can be meditative and yet annoying after awhile, which is why the blanket took so long to finish.



Speaking of socks, here's the one pair that I completed during my obsesssion phase. I had started another before my hands told me to stop, so there's more to finish!



And the super fun project that had been sitting in a bag for about a month is the hilarious Octopus Sweater! Patrick had requested this geeky sweater, and I of course obliged. How could I not take on the challenge? Besides, I firmly believe that I'll only be able to dress this kid like a lunatic for so long. I must take advantage!



There's still more to do, but I may have pushed my energy too far. However, there is something I dearly love about crafting while watching the hockey playoffs (Go Hawks!). And there are weeks of playoffs to go! Maybe I'll finish the other blanket I've started, or the next pair of socks, or more Daniel Johnston onesies, or another project that I've yet to start!

And there's always the diaper bag that I have working in the sewing room. Or the maternity tank that needs altering.

So much to do!

MOON Gets a Trailer

One of my favorite films from SXSW this year finally gets an official trailer.

Holy Cow!

I totally forgot to add that, on top of all of today's geeky goodness, I saw a Beastie Boy!! I do love me some Beasties.

SXSW Days 1 & 2

The 2009 festival has begun, and I'm already trying to get enough sleep so that I won't get the Festival Sick Bug. Now I have to add Drink More Water because I've been seriously lacking in that "skill" for the past two days. But to the movies and panels!

I started the fest with Tim McCanlies' latest film, The 2 Bobs. Yeah. Prior to the screening, Tim told me that this wasn't his typical film, but it was him channeling Kevin Smith. (Sirens!!) I went anyway. Luckily, I got to sit with a friend whom I hadn't seen in awhile and meet another great guy whom I've wanted to for some time. That was the highlight. The film is filled with the lowest of lowest common denominator bad comedy. Not good. But part of me does kind of like that this was inside the same man who did Secondhand Lions. :-)

My second film was Ron Mann's latest documentary, Know Your Mushrooms. I love little gems like this film where there are fanatics about a certain subject who just don't undestand why everyone isn't as fascinated by the subject as they are! Granted, I did learn a hell of a lot about mushrooms (including how to recognize a Death Cap!), but the people were just plain fascinating. I'm not sure if the film will see the light of day, but it's worth catching if it does.

Today started with the I Love You, Man panel, as that was the official opening night film last night. I'd already seen it at BNAT, so I decided to at least catch the panel. It was fine, but too structured. I prefer comedy panels that somewhat self-destruct into the comedians riffing off one another until we're all in tears from laughter...especially with Paul Rudd as a panelist. This was no such panel. Oh well.

Next up was the Jeffrey Tambor panel on acting. I went to this panel last year and couldn't believe how amazing it was. There was no way I was missing it this year. This panel paid off in spades. The man is so very amazing and inciteful! The actors on stage, once again, were forced to tear apart the scene until something amazing and natural appeared. So fascinating while incredibly frightening for them. I took a lot from the panel again and just want to get out there and make more films!

The only movie I saw tonight was the highly anticipated (feature film) directorial debut of Duncan Jones (David Bowie's son), Moon. Wow, wow, wow! Afterwards, a friend said that he wasn't sure how the festival could get better than that film, and I have to agree. It's a hard science fiction film that basically is only Sam Rockwell (Love him!!) stuck on a moon base doing a three year job for an energy mining company. I can't say much more than that except that Rockwell can act and act and act. He remains, in my mind, one of the finest actors of our generation. Sony Classics picked up Moon, so everyone will get a chance to see the film soon. If you like sci-fi and aren't afraid of being lulled by a movie, check it out.

I should add my super geeky happy moment of the fest so far. Right after Moon, we were headed to a coffee shop to waste some time. We passed Rockwell on the sidewalk, and I was about to tell Patrick (who got in by buying a single ticket, woohoo!) how badly I wanted to get a picture with him, I realized that Rickwell was walking along side me with Duncan Jones directly behind him. Having one of those awesome festival moments, I just had to tell them how fantastic their film was. They both thanked me earnestly, and Jones added how great Rockwell is in it. At that I got to tell Rockwell how he's one of my very favorite actors and that I'd honestly see anything he was in. So, of course, Rockwell had to add that Jones did an amazing job with this film, and I had to agree and promise that I was going to spread the word on the film. It was a simple moment, but it made me giddy as hell. :-)

Now to figure out what tomorrow brings (perhaps the new Sam Raimi movie at midnight) and to sleeeeeeeep.

Greenling and Paqui

Once a week we get fresh, local, seasonal, organic produce delivered from Greenling. I order the "Local Box" and usually add on more products from their amazing variety. Here's a picture of this week's Local Box. When I opened it, the green made me happy.



I mentioned add-ons to my orders. I get local and organic meats, cheeses, other vegetables/fruits, and anything else you might think of. This service is amazing.

But there is one product that I must bring to everyone's attention. On a whim a few weeks ago I ordered Paqui Cilantro Tortillas. Wow, wow, wow! They were so amazing that I had to try out their roasted jalapeno tortillas. Droooooool. This week I added the buttermilk tortillas. Delicious!

I'm a major believer in the Central Market tortilla, but Paqui has taken all of my love. Seriously. They're thick, but not too thick or dense. They're unbelievably flavorful. And you can buy them at Whole Foods (and Greenling!). Try them. They'll convert you too. (And they're an Austin company right on West 6th.)

I gotta give a shout out to Graham who orginally pointed us in the direction of Greenling. It's the best! Thank you!

And if any of you want to try out the Greenling service, enter the coupon code TIFSUL470 in order to get 10% off your first order.

Film Festival Secrets

A friend of mine, Christopher Holland, wrote a great book about how to get your film into festivals (major pitfalls to avoid when making the film) and how to get people in the theater once the film is accepted.

It appears that some lovely filmmakers offered to make a few promos for the book, and here's the first hilarious installment.



If you're attending SXSW, Chris will be signing his book at the Convention Center's SXSW Bookstore on Sunday, March 15 from 1:30pm to 2pm.