WIP -Works in Progress

I am pretty terrible about finishing things. Not because I am bad at finishing, but because I'm good at starting. I think of an idea while in the middle of another project and I just have to start right away for fear that I might forget my awesome new idea!

Kevin is just the opposite. He won't even THINK about starting a new project until the old one is finished.

And so because I neglect this poor little blog, I suggest to myself the following: Saturday will be Works in Progress day. A day to show off what isn't yet finished and as the weeks add up it will be a list of yet to be completed projects to gently remind myself what needs to be done.

BEHOLD:
Knitted Chainmail Inlay (in progress)
I was fascinated by chainmail inlay the first time I saw it, and immediately wanted to make something myself. I don't care for working with metal and I certainly don't have the tools. I love yarn and I can make rings out of yarn, so that's what I decided to use.

So far I'm thrilled with the results. I think the pattern is coming through clearly (and I hope you agree), and I'm having fun doing it.

Anyone who knows chainmail techniques will recognize this as a traditional European 4 in 1 speed knitting. Does anyone else find it incredibly appropriate that making maille is called knitting?

Maybe I should pick a day for finished projects too.

hmmm.

Maybe I should also remember to sign Amanda in rather than using Kevin's name. My bad.

The Bob and Larry Effect

First I should admit that this has nothing to do with craftiness; it's just something that's been on my mind for a while and Blogger seemed to be the best place to vent it.

I'm sure I'm not the only person to notice that in movies, televisions, and pretty much everywhere else (including real life), what I will call The Bob and Larry Effect turns up. It describes a pairing of people or fictional characters who are drastically different in physical appearance - one being tall and skinny and the other much shorter and a bit...well, let's say "not skinny." I personally call this The Bob and Larry Effect because I think the two main characters from the Veggie Tales series offer the most striking example:



Obviously they're not the original skinny-guy-and-shorter-stouter-guy combo, but I think it's perfect to use a cucumber next to a tomato when comparing any other pairing with a similar physical ratio. And while I bet the Veggie Tales intentionally chose those vegetables so as to give the buddies dynamically different appearances, they certainly weren't the first to have this idea.




Jim Henson and the other Muppet-makers seemed to be quite fond of the tall-skinny/short-round concept.




But of course even long before then, there were well-known human Bob-and-Larry-type pairs. An interesting case is with the characters of Sherlock Holmes and John Watson. The original books don't suggest that Watson is any shorter or rounder than Holmes, and older drawings and live-action portrayals seem to reflect this. But the more recent and more cartoony depictions tend to shorten and fatten Watson. Could Disney be to blame for this?


Feel free to uncover any clues that would prove this wrong. Incidentally, there has been a Veggie Tales video with Larry playing the part of "Sheerluck Holmes" and Bob as...well, "Watson."

Now, how about the non-fictional partners?

(*)

For either pairing, I wonder: Were they drawn to each other because of their outward differences? Did an outside force guide them together to create the aesthetically quirky combination? Were they just more entertaining and/or memorable than other golden-age comedy couples because of their size-based unevenness? Would the Bob-and-Larry-essque real-life double acts of the future be successful for any of these same reasons, or even because they would be unconsciously inspired by Laurel and Hardy and/or Abbott/Costello? Or am I just overthinking this, and that it's just a coincidence that this phenemon happens to show up once in a while? I'd like to hear what you think.










Do you have a favorite Tomato-and-Cucumber couple?





*Okay, so even if Oliver Hardy isn't shorter than Stan Laurel, their faces alone seem to follow the Bob and Larry Effect.

Peanut Butter Balls

I loved it back in the late eighties and early nineties when kids shows would occasionally have "very special shows" to teach kids about nutrition, exercise, school subjects, etc.

I happened to come across a cooking for kids episode recently and decided I ought to try making one of the easy kid-friendly recipes. I brought the treats into work and I have never had to write down a recipe so many times in such a short span of time. I repeat it once more thusly:

Peanut Butter Balls
1 cup granola (or granola cereal)
1 cup instant non-fat dry milk powder (Yes they really still sell it, check the baking aisle on a lower shelf.
1/2 cup raisins
1/2 cup brown sugar

Mix these four ingredients thoroughly (best utensil? clean hands) before adding...

2 cups peanut butter (if you use crunchy you might need a little extra)

Mix this in until the whole batch sticks together in one big blob. Using either your hands (beware it's very sticky!) or a pair of spoons, roll the mixture into approximately one inch balls. Roll each of the balls in a tasty coating. Try some of the following or use anything you might want to try:

Sesame seeds
Toasted coconut
Extra granola
Crushed nuts of any sort
Banana chips crushed up
Pretzel bits
Coat in chocolate

Chill for about 4 hours before serving for best texture and store in the fridge. They'll keep for about 2 weeks, but they're sure to be gone LONG before that.

Busy? Or just a bum.

Maybe I'm not cut out for this blogging thing. I always seem to have something to say, but I never remember to put it into text.

Today I was finally able to give blood again. My iron was high enough (and far higher than normal which for me is a good thing. I was interested to learn about this new program called Red Cross Racing. The Red Cross has always been rather generous to its donors in the past and it seems to me that they just keep giving and giving. I'm happy to donate whether there is reward in it or not, but it is kind of fun to have a little program that keeps track of your appearances.

I hope to earn enough points by January 2010 to get the cooler that you sit upon. It will match the duffel bag, 7 shirts, and lunch pail. Sometimes I try to turn them down, but those RC workers are insistent.

If you're able, and you're not needle squeamish, please donate!

Geeky Cross Stitch Project #1 (preview)

Hello! My name is Kevin. Earlier this year I took up cross stitching. Below is a preview of my first geeky project. This was taken a week and a half ago, but I've made significant progress since then.

Can you guess what it is?

Plarn Making, Version 2

Oh my, but I have been slacking in my posting! In any case, I've come into possession of a ridiculously large amount of plastic. Indeed it is the same plastic used to make the snowflakes in the previous post. However, these bags are really too slender for my preferred method of making plarn to be practical. Thus, I give you version 2. In reality, this method is far more common than the spiral method I use, but in case you haven't seen it, here it is.

Step 1- Once again, acquiring and flattening your plastic bags is the first step. This method is especially suited to slender bags such as those in which your newspaper is delivered. Flatten your bag and snip off the handles if there are any and the bottom most edge which is often fused. This way you will have an open cylinder of plastic.

Step 2- With the open edges at the right and left, fold your plastic over once or twice vertically to allow for quick efficient cutting.

Step 3- Cut strips. Straight through this time! Don't leave a strip at the top or stop short, but simply cut all the way through. When you open up this cut pieces you will have loops. I have had success with strips as thin as a half inch and as thick as two inches. There's every reason to experiment here!

Step 4- Make a chain a follows.
a) Begin with two loops.
b) The left loop will go inside the right loop.
c) Then the lower edge of the right loop will be pulled through the left.
d) Use the newly made chain as the left loop and a fresh loop as the right to continue this pattern from (b) until you have as much plarn as you wish to use.


Or you could just ask me for some. I think I have more plarn now than any human on the planet ever has.

Snowflakes

Here in Cleveland, the snow is just stopping and maybe in the next week or three we'll see less slush and mud and more grass. But in our apartment, it's going to look like winter all year round because i just can't stop making these plarn snowflakes! The qualities of plarn are perfect for these! They are stiff enough not to need starch, and yet they are flexible as well. Plus, the plastic's slight shininess makes these flakes almost sparkle.

So fun!