Dalek in Black and Red

I've gotten to the shoulders on my niece's Dalek (Red on Black) and the dwindling amount of black yarn is worrying me. After a little pondering, I have decided to base the shoulders on the "Doctor Who and the Daleks" version as it will allow me to use red and preserve the black for the Head.

You can see some Blender Models of the Movie Daleks- both "Dpctpr Who and the Daleks" and "The Dalek Invasion of Earth 2150 AD" versions- on the Blender Who site.

Here's the Movie Poster:

Oh, 1960s, your movie posters are always lolarious.

If that isn't amusing enough, here's the associated action figure:

(If you have decided that you really, really want one of these, DoctorWhoCollector.com has them for 33.99 GBP, or approx $49.18 USD. Because nothing says geek like spending $50 on a toy you will never take out of the box.)

I did have to frog this thing once already, but I'm far enough that frogging it again would lead to tears. (Also: bobbles are not a friend to my hands in even the most remote of considerations. OW.)

Long time without a post!

Hey guys! I know I haven't posted in a year, but that doesn't mean I haven't been crafting! I had a lot of things happen this year that had me focusing on what I was doing without having enery left to broadcast what I was doing. I didn't even get around to announcing the opening ofAutism Women's Network on my advo blog!

Some of What I've been crafting, and what I'm doing now:

1 & 2. Pinstripe Baby Pants

Even though my niece was slightly too big by the time I finished them, I made two pairs of pinstripe baby pants. One is Brown with Red Stripes, the other Blue with grey stripes. They were inspired by the Tenth Doctor's outfits. (Doctor Who; Ten)

Brown, with grey butt

Blue, with draw

3 & 4. Stuffed Daleks

Yes, of all the things to make, I have started the stuffed Dalek. The pattern is available on the Entrophy House website for free as "Extermaknit." Actually, I'm almost finished with the first one, in Classic colors. That is, Blue on Grey. All I need to do is stuff it and close up the bottom.

I had reached the point shown in the photos when I got to a mother's day celebration. My Niece, who is a year and a half now, thought it was THE BEST THING IN THE WORLD. So Now I am making one for her in black and red, since her favorite color

EX-TER-MI-NATE~!

Happy Dalek TARDIS Song, activate!

(determined by listing colors, which she repeats back, and then asking which one- "RAHD!!!") is red. The Classic "extra" prop- that is, one of the props from the movies from the '60s that got reused as in later Doctor Who filmings- are Black on Red with gold detailing. In the interest of cost, I'm just going to do the detailing according to my Pattern with red, and in interest of my eyes every time I watch my niece, going with Red on Black instead. (If you want pictures of the different Dalek designs over the ages, here's a Guide to Classic Daleks.)

I am in DC this week, so I went to the DC Stitch shop (It's in the "Eastern Market" area of the Hill; They have a blog that announces classes, knit a longs, and so on, too.) and picked up some soft cuddly yarn for the nieclette's cuddle-y Dalek of doom. I'm worried I didn't get enough, though. If I need more, I guess I can always e-mail the shop and ask about how to go about acquiring it. To the Left are the pictures of the Yarn (Aurora 8) that the manufacturer, Karabella, have on their website. To see a close up, click on the image. I lost the tag for the Red's number, so the one on there is a guess.

Comments about the Yarn to come once the Red and Black Dalek is done.

Speaking of things I got at DC Stitch. . .

5. Stuffed Tardis

I Also picked up some Blue (color 41, see left) with which I am going to attempt the Stuffed Tardis, also by Entrophy House. Should be interesting! And don't worry, it looks darker in real life; also, link above, click the picture to see up close.

6 & 7. Mother's Day Gifts

For mother's day, I made two things. A flower (Clymatis) for my mother, and a mouse cat toy for my cat. (I also modded the mouse pattern and made a friend a Goa'uld eye with eye stalk, but didn't take a picture.)

My cat has had two litters, so here's her mother's day gift.

And here's the purple and white Clymatis I made my mum.

And that is my update!

Tatting

I've started tatting. Tatting is a form of lacemaking. (wikipedia)I'm doing needle tatting, specifically, Using a darning needle and some yarn I bought for The Doctor Who Scarf but turned out to be too thin. It's a lot bigger than a lot of the stuff I see, but it's easier to learn on.

Lessons are offered online, and I'm KINDA taking those. I keep sleeping through them. *blush*

Today I learned chains, so I've done my first project!



It's a flower with a messed up leaf. kinda. It's really poor, but it's the first thing I've completed tatting wise, so I felt the need to post.

GETTING SO CLOSE (The Doctor Who Scarf)

That's right, I'm nearly 90% done with the Scarf! *BOUNCES*

Since I'll be going to CT this weekend, and it's like a 7 or 8 hour drive I'll be FINISHING the scarf this weekend! *does the happy dance* :D :D :D :D

Tekko and knitting

Tekko was fun, but I didn't get midori done in time to wear. oh, well.

The scarf, for an update is about 30% ish done.

Tekkoshocon (and cosplaying not anime)

So, I'm going to Tekkoshocon next weekend. I'm only playing one Anime character, though- Midori from Mai HiMe . Why? It's an easy throw together costume, and since I have to host a panel I don't have time to put together a good costume.

Midori is the one in cargos and a miniskirt

So what am I doing instead?

A little of this, a little of that. Maybe some Lolita-ish stuff from my closet, some normal eccentic wear (maybe some Gothic Aristocrat?), and. . .

That's right, I found Captain Jack's coat in my Basement. I just need to find a cap, and barrow some suspenders from my mum and I'll be going as Girl Jack for part of the day. Well. Or boy Jack in a skirt- I'm not too fond of pants unless I have a dress on top. XD










I will also be working on the scarf while at con. Hopefully I'll have some Doctor Who fans run into me? :D?





Speaking of which:

The Doctor Who Scarf, entry 1

Well, I've been working on the Doctor Who Season 12 Scarf!

My progress thus far!

Pretty nice going, huh? or, if you want a percentage graphic:


That's 133 rows.

Things that Help the time go:

• Podcasts This can of course be on anytopic- I know people on the Ravelry group on Sparkpeople listen to fitness/healthful visualization podcasts, Some people listen to books on tape or comic books on tape (Green Lantern one I heard was absurd!), or even Podfic. Heck, I know a couple of people who like to listen to political news and opinion podcasts or ones that are on their study topic- for example, iKnow allows you to import a padcast containing the words you've studied thus far!
• Streaming TV A lot of the Networks now stream their most popular shows on their sites. They get ad revenue and more preciese veiwing statistics. You get a LOT fewer ads, free veiwing, and the ability to watch ust about anytime you want! Don't procastinate too long though- after a month, the episodes are usually taken down and/or rotated. Even some cable shows are online- I've been watching Ru Paul's Drag Race to knit to since yesterday (finished though. . .) and I think you can watch a slightly edited version of the most recent episode of the L Word. . .
• Music Never underestimate your music collection! If you don't have one of your own, you can always sign up for the many wonderful music options online. Pandora is wonderful, though they don't have the range of international music (My favorite Jpop groups aren't on there). Of course, there's the option of last.fm which allows you to listen to a station based on a particular artist- I like La Grande Sophie radio or Bump of Chicken radio for my itnernational fix.
• News As obvious as it is, try watching the news. You can be up to date with the latest events in the world and get your project down without it being terribly boring. Especially good for begining knitting, as if you need to have a periodic visual you can, but if you don't look up you aren't missing too much. Many major news stations stream some content online now, too!
• Exercise I'm only speaking for myself and some others, But I don't find exercise terribly interesting. And yet, it's a part of our personal health maintenance that we need to work on! After you get to the point where you can do two things at once, try walking (not running) on the treadmill or someplace that doesn't require you to look where you are going. Alternatively, you could try it while you are on a stationary bike- just make sure it's set at enough resistance that you can still get a work out! I think this is really good for you, as it allows you to exercise your mind and your body at the same time. In high school, I'd do homework during my time in the fitness center, because I could read the assigned reading and keep my heart rate in the zone. Now might be a good time to invest in a heart rate monitor!

I've also found that the urge to mindlessly eat while watching TV is GONE, replaced by the need to knit. I think that this will have very good results. . .

I'll post further resources on these things in the comments. :)