Pomp and Circumstance

To be honest I completely forgot today was the big day for Wills and Kate. I only figured it all out when my dear ma and pa showed up tonight with some fish and chips to watch the live broadcast. I kept half an eye on the procedings while the rest of me focused on plotting out my next project. I didn't get nearly enough time on night shift to work on my crocomire which was a bit of a shame. We had a few very busy nights and broke a new record I believe with 5 deaths on the ward within 24 hours! All were expected but it kept us on our toes. Whoever thought night shift is for sitting around relaxing (and doing cross stitch) was a mad person! Glad to be back in to the land of the living now. I'll spend a bit of time on it tomorrow and post another pic soon of any work I do get done :S

The image to the left is a free cross stitch pattern from the Subversive Cross Stitch page available HERE for those who feel inclined to whip up a bit of memorabilia.

And my next big project? Well of course I can't settle for half a dozen on the go, I WANT MORE! When I came across sprite stitch forum user Siva's Scott Pilgrim collage I went slightly bananas and wanted to get started straight away. I didn't....but I did go out and buy a metre of aida for a start. This is the first time I've purchased aida in bulk, it's pretty expensive down here, most craft shops are independantly owned and charge up to $20 extra for the same product. I'd toyed with ordering some off ebay but when I want something I often want it right there and then :P The original image looks like this - >

Siva spent 6 hours working on putting all the sprites together and I can't be more wowed with result (sorry my picture quality isn't great but you get the idea). The pattern is available HERE. Just note that the second pattern posted is the one to go for as it's been rejigged to add a missing nose into the action!

Alright that should about do it from me. It's time to relax now the parents have headed home and watch the latest installment from Harry Potter :P

Night Shift Shuffle

Happy Easter everyone! I realise I'm a bit late by Australian times but ahh well, have a picture anyway of what I believe is a clapping bunny! As my post title suggests I'm on night shift at the moment which can mean a few things. Firstly, I'm likely to be extremely cranky until Friday and should be kept far away from family and friends to avoid permanent damage. Secondly on a more positive note, I have packed my cross stitch and might actually have a chance to muck around with it a bit. Still working on crocomire at the moment, he's coming along nicely in a scary lava monster way. I really would like to learn how to crochet so in an attempt to make this a reality I purchased a small amigurumi set with the promise of 'full step by step instructions enclosed'. Unfortunately it worked on the premise you had half a clue which I sadly lack...I'm trying to find some good online tutorials with pictures and video. I'll get there!

Crocomire Update II

Made a start on the head, it's coming along very slowly! Yesterday was one of my days off and I was determined to do a bit of work on it (the weather was so nasty there was very little else to be doing) but I ended up snoozing away most of the day. I think all of the ridiculous hours I've been keeping caught up! Today is a different story though, the weather remains wet and cold which is the perfect indoor craft environment. I'd better get cracking!

Super Metroid - Crocomire

Getting back into full time shift work and working my free time around the daily visits from the community nurses, I can be currently described as bloody exhausted! It seems lack of sleep and the building stress of trying to manage a feral ward has earnt me the title of 'cranky pants' amongst others that aren't fit to type. When is it time for another holiday?!

Despite it all there is always time to stitch in those few moments before bed and I've managed to make a start on Crocomire. Not really much to see yet at this stage, I'll work on the head for the next update so it's a bit more recognisable! He was my favourite mini boss in Super Metroid. It brings back great memories which makes me want to hook up the SNES and play it RIGHT NOW!!!

So it turns out...

That you can paint pixels as well. I'm a bit behind :/ I went to a reject shop a while back and picked up a bunch of ultra cheap canvases which have just been sitting there waiting for my inspiration to spark. Can I start by saying I suck at painting? I just don't have the patience or the eye for it...so of course I had to give painting a sprite a go which requires all that and more!

Still a work in progress. My grid is disgusting (I used a 15cm hello kitty ruler), the squares, if that's what you'd call them, are all over the place. The colours need to properly finished off, I was rushing and wanting to get it down to see how it would all work together. Next time I'll be more patient and use a set square :P

Had my first day back at work too. Thought it was going to be awful, woke up with no coffee in the house, knocked a box of 500 cotton buds off a shelf all over the place, bad hair unable to be tamed with straightener and didn't get to ride in because the weather was horrible. In reality though it was lovely to be back in amongst it. Cooperative patients, pleasant doctors, coffee here there and everywhere and time out to actually sit down and relax. Here's hoping the second day back is just as enjoyable. (famous....last....words......)

Various progress/completions

In no particular order here's a few little things I've finished/been working on the last couple of days. First up is Moss from the IT Crowd. I love Moss. Heaps. Enough said. Below is what I had originally started stitching so I could fashion some sort of banner out of it for this blog...but I'm not so sure now how it'd work out. Either way when it's done it will pretty much be a list of some of favourite things. One for the wall.

More fun with plastic canvas. I played Mega Man again recently and by gosh golly gee it's bloody hard. I have no idea how I was ever able to play these games as a kid without throwing the console out the window, so frustrating!

Aaaaand that's it. I'm not working on anything majorly epic at the moment. I would love to sink my mits into something huge but it's hard to get aida by the metre at the moment so I'm happy just plodding along with small projects. Plus if I buy anymore DMC I will drown, need to organise the stuff I've got, every surface in my house is covered!

My Little Cthulhu

As someone who grew up with My Little Pony I couldn't resist posting about this! Finland based artist Mari Kasurinen has sculpted an entire collection of my little pony friends and continues to add to them. Please go here to see the rest, I insist! Personal favourites include Cthulhu, David Bowie and Godzilla! Now to get back to my own stuff. I started the Crocomire today, only managed to stitch a claw so not worth taking a picture as yet. Also finished a few more plastic sprites, namely a green shell from mario 3 and an energy tank from mega man. Not sure whether to make them in to key rings, badges or magnets. Decisions. Only 2 more days of freedom before heading back to the ward too. Have to make them most of them as crafty business will probably become sparse when I get back into the full time shift work gig!