A bit disturbing

I don't even know where to begin.  I can't believe how brazen people are, but apparently very bold people exist.  If you've ever been to Deviant Art, then you know that the first page you encounter is a "stream" of new artwork that's been uploaded to the site.

I opened up my DA a few minutes ago only to be shown a stream of child pornography images.  Yes, there was child pornography on DA being shared as "art."  They weren't drawings.  They were actual pictures taken and shared to the website of kids engaged in the act.

That's not what you expect when you go to a site like that.  I can't get the images out of my head and I feel so disgusted by them.  I reported the account, so hopefully there's some sort of investigation or something done.

I know this is off my usual topic, but I had to vent somewhere.

Guess who I met! (kinda picture heavy)

So we had a visitor to our post yesterday because he's filming for his new television show.  We got to meet him,  He was very, very nice and my son even shook his hand.  He laughed at my daughter, you'll see why towards the end, but here are the pictures that were taken at the event:

The famous car.

Pulling in to the parking lot for the stage.

I adore this friggin' car.

This was actually before he even came to the stage.

Now, the next picture is of myself and my kids with him.  A word of warning, though, my daughter is less than pleased.  Observe:

LOOK AT THAT FACE!  Have you seen a more miserable child?  I have never seen any child so miserable to meet a celebrity...except maybe this one:

I did not take ANY of the photos, but I have permission to share them and if you would like to see ALL the pictures of Leno's visit to Fort Irwin, you can see them HERE.  The last picture was snagged from a Google image search, but I've seen it all over Facebook and the Obamas' faces make me laugh every time.

Still working on my Sophie's Universe blanket, got yarn to start ANOTHER one, I'm almost done with my son's blanket, I've started even another blanket, AND I'm working on two cross stitch projects all at once.  Tomorrow I will post WIPs on most of my stuff.  Happy stitching, everyone.

How to Train Your Dragon

My whole family is in love with the How to Train Your Dragon movies.  My husband especially.  So for Father's Day I've made him this:

That is a chibi Toothless the Dragon and I got the pattern HERE.  It was a very easy pattern to follow and a very fun amigurumi to make.  This is only my second amigurumi and I found him to be quite challenging as I'm not very good at sewing.

You'd think I would be okay considering my main craft is usually cross stitch, but no.

I have news, I'm moving!  We're packing up and going to Texas!  Not sure if I've mentioned that or not yet.  We're going to be moving to Fort Bliss soon (El Paso).

That's it.  Nothing exciting happening here.  Happy stitching, everyone!

Sophie's Universe Crochet Along and a Geisha WIP

I was perusing The Crochet Crowd's Facebook page a few days ago and I noticed that I keep seeing this really beautiful blanket being shared.  Everyone who's made it says that it was a fun, challenging project and every one of the color combinations that I've seen has been absolutely gorgeous.  So I decided to go hunting for the pattern and I came across the blog "Look At What I Made."

This blog is doing a crochet along of a pattern called "Sophie's Universe."  So I decided to try my hand at it.  I am only on the fifth week's pattern (the crochet along has been over for a week or two), but I am absolutely in love with my blanket so far.  So much so that I went to Hobby Lobby and bought yarn to make a second one with different colors.  This is what I have so far:

Page one's finish:

Page one was really week one's "clue" for the crochet along.  You can't tell from the picture, but the flower is kind of 3d.  I'm really loving the color choices.  

Page two's finish:

Looking more like a mandala at this point!

Page three's finish:

I almost stopped after page three because it was the exact size of my nightstand and I thought that it would look really nice on it.  But then I got antsy and decided that I need to make this a blanket.

Page four's finish:

I'm currently in the middle of page five and right now the row I'm on is tedious.  But it's okay because the row looks like tulips.  I have done so many stitches that I've never done before and I am absolutely in love with my color choices.  My next blanket (same pattern) is neutral colors and a bit more earthy looking.  I can't wait to make that one, too.

OH, BUT WAIT!  I have a Geisha WIP:

Once I'm done with the blue green I'll finally be...about halfway done -_-  This project is just so big.  I never realized how much work I was going to be putting into this one!  I'm planning on working on her tonight and hopefully finishing that last bit of her kimono.  Minus the back stitching of course.  

Mmkay, I suppose I'm going to go work on my blanket some more.  Happy stitching, everyone!

Finally finished

You know how a word that you've known your whole life can suddenly look funny when you write or type it?  "Finished" is that word for me today.  Not important, but I thought I would share.

Anyway I have finished my mystery afghan stitch a long.  The last three rounds were pretty easy and I've learned that I had been doing picots wrong.  Which really makes me feel silly because I don't know how I managed to do them so wrong.

Front

Back

I love the way this turned out!  It is kind of busy, yes, but oh my goodness I love it.  I'm sad that it's lapghan sized rather than something I could actually use on my bed, but my daughter has loved it since I started making it, so I guess she can have it.  I already bought more yarn so that I could make another one (different colors, double the size) for myself anyway.

I am almost done with the next part of my Geisha and I will probably be working on her tonight for a while.  Hopefully I'll have a WIP for you in the morning.

Happy belated Mother's Day and happy stitching, everyone.

Been kinda quiet

I haven't really posted much in the last month or so.  I've been really, really busy because my husband hasn't been home.  Good ol' Army training and what-not.  Basically I've been running the house on my own.  Not that I'm saying it's hard or anything, I've just been trying to keep my kids extra happy and distracted so they don't worry so much about their dad being gone.

I have been stitching on my Geisha and I started a smaller project because it's something I can work on while the kids are awake.  The Geisha not so much because it's a pretty big canvas, so if I need to get up quickly, it's kind of hard.  The small project I'm doing is only 5x5, so it's tiny.

Um...not much going on lately.  I've been playing Dark Souls II and am really enjoying it.  It's a pretty hard game and I would love to play it with others.  My PSN screen name is Mama_Fatty2 so if you need help or if you just want to add me, feel free.

I'm off to finish cooking dinner.  Happy stitching (and gaming!), everyone!

My first amigurumi

I had never made any amigurumi before.  Amigurumi is a crochet stuffed animal (or character).  I figured I'd go simple and make a ball, this is what I made:

It's a soot sprite!  I got this pattern from Etsy.  It was kind of hard at first, but once I started getting the feel for the fuzzy yarn, it went along quite smoothly.  I will say this, though:  I will probably never be making anything with that fuzzy stuff again.  It was soooo hard to keep it from tangling or getting too tight compared to the worsted weight yarn.

I have been working on my Geisha, but I haven't taken a picture of her.  I don't know why, I just haven't.  I've been frazzled lately for some reason, so hopefully I can get a picture of her up soon.

I have to pack my little sprite into a box with some little star candies and send him off to my sister.  Happy stitching, everyone!