Kitsune from xxxHolic

Yet another project just completed. This is from a pattern off deviant art as well. It is a pipe fox (kitsune) from xxxHolic (the anime). It was pretty tough to make for something that looks so simple. I hand sewed the entire thing. (don't think I will next time though) It is made from one 40inch long tube that was stuffed with a second 40 inch long tube that contains the fluff and a strong beading wire so that it can be posed. Stuffing the thing was the hardest part. Basically I couldn't simply shove the stuffing tube into the other one since it was a tight fit and it was sooooo long, so I had to open the tail, insert a bent hanger, attach it to a hoop on the end of the tail of the inside stuffing tube and pull it through the outside body tube (like they do when putting wires underground). Then the head was sewn on. I really ended up liking the fabric i picked too, its not the same fur as the tutorial called for, but it's really soft and the back side of it is this suede brown so the underside of the ears is cute! He's my new favorite scarf!

Brain Slug Hat

I have been awful crafty of late... This is a good friend of mine modeling a new hat I created. I made a bunch of tiny crocheted brain slugs from a pattern off deviant art for my friends... this hat resulted from a request to make a large one that could eat your whole head. All I did was make the pattern really big and sized to fit. (And of course I left the bottom off so that it could go over ones head) Pretty cute. Sucks that most of the things I've made lately have been for others.

Socktopus

Socktopus is my latest completed project. Took me about a month total to crochet all parts of this toy. I saw a post somewhere on the internet about an octopus with socks on his feet. Its basically a good leftover yarn consuming project. Each leg has a different sock. And, No, there is no pattern for this because I made it up as I went along. Each leg I think is 10sc around except for where I decreased and increased to make it look like a sucker pad on the end of the legs... they are slightly different lengths, but you can't tell, at least I hope you cannot. After I did the first I simply held the rest next to it to get the length. I also found it was easier to stuff as I went along rather than try to shove fluff all the way down the tube. For the head I followed a sphere pattern I found online and doubled the sc until I felt it would be big enough. I did most of the circle stuffed it and then sewed the legs on with more of the same yarn around the hole at the bottom of the head sphere. Then after all the legs were on I began to crochet again, after stuffing it full, starting at the head then doing a couple crochets through a leg, then back into the head, then in a couple in the next leg... etc... all the way around. That way the legs and the head became more of one piece. After that, since this toy was given as a baby toy to a friend of mine, I decided to sew the legs and head together more just so the legs cant be too easily ripped off. In the end I think it turned out pretty well. And now of course I want one, so I guess another will be in order...eventually.

For Tor.com part 2

for Tor.com

Katy Dip

This is a dip recipe that my dear friend Katy made up. It's hearty and can be eaten for dinner if you want... I wanted to put it someplace I would remember and be able to find it again.


Katy Dip

Ingredients:
1 lb breakfast sausage (Jimmy Dean Mild or Owen's Mild)
2 bricks of Philadelphia Cream Cheese (I use one regular and one reduced fat to make it slightly less bad for you, but two regular is the original way.)
1 can of Rotel (Mild, unless you want it spicier)
(don't forget chips, they need to be thick and strong to pick this stuff up!)
(feeds about 6 if you eat this as dinner like I do sometimes, but its a good amount for a party)

Directions:
Open the breakfast sausage into a large nonstick pan. Mush it all up into small pieces and cook on a medium heat (you want this pieces to fit on a chip and be bite size if not smaller). As it cooks mashing it down will get easier. Make sure that all the little clumps are all the way cooked. Drain off most of the grease! Return to medium heat. Add the cream cheese. (Cutting the cream cheese into smaller pieces and adding them to the pan makes this step easier.) Stir it all together until the cream cheese has melted and coated everything. Open the Rotel. Drain out the water. Add to the pan and lower the heat, everything should be melted and cooked, this keeps it warm to make mixing easier. The Rotel and tomatoes will release more water and juices into the pan. This is ok! Keep stirring until it is all mixed to your liking. DONE!

Try it. It will look strange but it is tasty. :) If you are bringing this some place I suggest putting it in something that you can reheat many times in the microwave. Or even better a small crock pot kept on low. It will turn into a big chunk as it cools making scooping impossible.

Hope you like it!

Kenku

First nice thing I've tried to draw in a while. This is a race called the Kenku, for 4ed DnD. A friend of mine is running Thunderspire Labrynth for us and I'm a Kenku bard. Check out my sweet Harpitar! (songblade) Anyway there weren't many cool images to look at to get this right, but I think she turned out cute. I've got a full body finished and colored image at home, but no time to scan it. Perhaps later. Oh and stay tuned for images of my new project... the Socktopus!

Just a small blurb on Kenku, they are from Japanese mythology and are (clearly) a race of humanoid birds.