Tummy ache and bunnies revisited

There's been some progress on the jumper, as you can see above. It's now got sleeves, and all that's left is patching up the edges, but at the moment I'm lacking bias bindings and I don't have any pink stretch fabric at home that would do the trick, so I can't really fix that now. It's unbelievably soft, but so warm! I'll only be able to wear it when it's really cold or I'm in a cold place (like school or outdoors in spring), which was a bit of a miscalculation. But do admit...it is adorable. <3

On the slightly more miserable side, this day has plagued me with a tummy ache. Owwie. ;_; Despite painkillers and a hot wheat pillow it still hurts, which is quite a big downer as I'd been planning on working today. I've at most been able to sit down and write on the book I'm currently working on, which isn't really what I'd had in mind for today, unfortunately.

I hope I'll be able to make the wrist joint for my doll's hands today. I've been having troubles with it since it's so tiny, but I think I have a plan for a wrist joint that won't break. Stay tuned. :)

Bunnies and pigs

I usually never sew "normal" clothes - as I'm sure all of you know by now I almost never wear regular clothes - I mostly sew dresses or stuffed toys and when I do, it's mostly cotton or faux fur. A while back, though, I picked up this really adorable diamond fleece with pigs and bunnies on it...and then I was struck by the fact that I had ZERO ideas what to do with it.

I mean...it's really cute, but...! So it's been lying in my fabrics chest for ages, and I've been glaring at it because it's been annoyingly cute and annoyingly difficult to come up with anything to do with. So the other day I took a snap of it and let one of my social networks decide: what should I do with it?

They seemed pretty much agree between two choice: a cosy jumper or pyjamas.

It were very good ideas, actually! I'm a restless sleeper and I freeze easily, and can't sleep without a stuffed toy, so having a pyjamas in this super soft material sounds great! Then again...pyjamas is a bit too...well...regular for me. So I decided to take a Korean cut for the top, and then make bloomers for pants in another material. So the picture up there is the start of it, it will have long bell sleeves as well. So: a cosy jumper and pyjamas, in one! <3 (Though I do admit I'll probably wear it out of bed too...it's just too cute! <3)

Kanten

Yesterday, I decided to make Kanten, flavouring it with red currant for the sweet little pink cubes you see above. I'd never made Kanten before, so I found the texture rather tricky to work with. It was very prone to breaking, which was rather annoying. I don't think adding more powder would help, though. ^.^;

For you who don't know what Kanten is, it is known by another name in the rest of the world: agar (or agar-agar). It's a substance extracted from seaweed that has no odor, taste or colour, and that is a bit similar to gelatine - with the biggest differences being that agar is not bouncy and breaks easier, and that agar is plant-based. (I know vegetarians use this as a substitute for gelatine, but I wouldn't - it doesn't share any more properties than firming up into jelly.)

I stumbled over agar-agar powder in my favourite grocery store (a local one that sells tons of Asian stuff! <3), and as I'd encountered it before I decided to try. It was ridiculously easy to make and get to set - but quite difficult to flavour and cut, or even get out of the mould as it would split and break quite easily. (I don't know if there's a trick to it, but I'd be grateful if anyone knows an easy way to stop it from doing that.) The most different thing about it, as I found it, is texture. It doesn't correspond to anything I've ever eaten, which makes it interesting enough to keep experimenting with. It is light food, and as you know I like light foods much better than heavy ones, so this suits my taste well. <3

One the downside (I suppose) is that it's yet another zero calorie food I've come across, and I'm not so sure that's a good thing. I guess it would be good if you were trying to diet, but the problem as I see it is that eating things with zero calories (like this or Shirataki noodles), you most likely also get zero nutrition out of it, and that's not very good for the body. (It is said to have calcium and iron, though, but I have not been able to confirm this information.)

On the upside, Kanten is supposedly very good for your congestion as it's very high on fibers (just like Shirataki noodles), and it's also said to lower cholestrole and it absorbs glucose, bringing it with it out of the body. (If that was a bit difficult to understand, try this: it lowers the sugar levels in your body.) I'd say that it might be good as a complement to something else, and probably good if you are prone to eat (or drink) an excess of sugar. ^.~ <3

A word of caution before I go: Kanten (agar) absorbs water, so you have to drink enough water not to get dehydrated it you eat it. 

After Dark

(Babsan at the left, Christer Lindarw at the right, looking fabulous. <3)

I'm not sure if I ever mentioned it, but one of my Christmas presents were tickets to After Dark's ´new show in Gothenburg. <3 Why pick that up now, and what's After Dark, you say? Oh dear, you haven't read my previous blog posts about After Dark? But first things first: our tickets are for the show tomorrow. So tomorrow by this time I'll be in Gothenburg (and most likely without a computer), and ridiculously happy! <3

After Dark is Swedish most famous drag show, starring Christer Lindarw as the owner, only remaining member of the original crew and twice winner of the title 'Sweden's most beautiful woman' - quite a feat for a man. (And before you jump the gun: NO Christer is NOT transgendered or even a transvestite. He is a DRAG SHOW ARTIST, meaning he only dresses like a woman for work. I'm sorry I have to press it here, but there are tons of sites out there falsely saying he's transgendered, which is wrong.) After Dark has been around for over 30 years now, and I've been dying to see them live as they are famous for very entertaining (and a bit naughty) shows.

Oh, and on a side note: I bought the camcorder this morning! <3

Camcorder

I've been considering getting a camcorder for a while. Part of the reason is, because I'm not a very good photographer so I have great difficulties taking meaningful snap shots of my daily life, part because I want sound as well and not only a picture. I've also been thinking about making a videoblog, since I'm so hideously bad at updating this blog when I'm busy. The camera I've been considering is the one in the picture (pink, of course!). It's a cheap camera and probably not top-notch quality, but I think it's perfectly good for an amateur like me.

I think it would be quite fun to show you my projects and talk about them, as I do so many things it might be a bit interesting for you to see. I haven't actually ordered the camera yet, but I probably will soon, and see if I get along with it. I have (believe it or not...) improved when it comes to taking photos, much to the help of the system camera my mother let me borrow. I didn't get along with it as first, but after some tips and tricks from a friend that's a professional freelance photographer, I think I'm getting the hang of it. *laughs*

I specifically wanted a pink camera. And pink it is. Pretty, isn't it? <3

Restless Artists

I read an interview the other night, about a Swedish music artist (Yohio) who was talking about how much was going on and how little sleep he had. That he was exhausted but kept on writing songs, staying up all night. It got me thinking of something. You see, I'm one of those people who fall completely into what I do, and forget everything else. When I'm involved with something, I don't get hungry, I don't get tired and I forget all time and space. It's only when I go idle that hunger and fatigue kicks in, which isn't really a good thing. (I even put an alarm on, just to be sure I get the sleep I need.)

What I'm trying to say, is that artistic, creative people can't be idle. I can't handle having nothing to do, I go completely nutty. (Another reason why I'm called Sherlock by people... *deep sigh* At least I don't go painting on walls and shooting.) I walk back and forth like a restless horse and annoy people until I have something else to do, and then I'm all into it again. Boredom isn't my thing, laying down on the sofa to just watch tv isn't my thing, watching movies isn't my thing. I have to have something to work with, some kind of crafting. Weather it's creating things in clay, sewing, writing... I think that although I'm probably an extreme case, people who are as busy as some artists are simply can't handle having nothing to do. They hate being idle, and actually feel good being busy.

The problem with the whole thing, though, is that there's a difference between being busy and being busy. Being busy with something you like, something that interests you is much less straining than being busy with something you enjoy, that you chose yourself to do. It's also a lot easier to focus on the latter. I find it a bit funny that my 'nothing' is not the same as most people's 'nothing', because 'nothing' is 'something', but not with any artistic or educational value. Like playing a game. While I enjoy games, I don't get stuck with them for hours, and I still get restless. They keep me amused for a while, but not for long.

I wonder if this is how most creative people who get somewhere are...it'd make sense somehow, because we get so much done.