Happy Halloween!

TTC Knitalong: the Halloween edition

I finally took part in the TTC Knitalong, and what a great event! Knitters I already knew, and a bunch I'd never met before. Tara and I didn't think getting to the 9am checkpoint on a rainy Saturday morning was a smart idea at all, so we hooked up with the knitting rowdies a bit later. Here's the lovely team we joined:

All the knitalong teams congregated at the Red Room at the end of the day for the awards ceremony and general revelry. This gal won the prize for wearing the best knitted item, she knit her Elvis wig!

I got some nice green sock yarn, with my new + improved attitude toward impulse craft stash shopping (only buy stuff I'm sure I will use soon). Some of the knitters did a whole lot of stash expansion and are now on yarn diets. Sunday was CanZine, I spent way more money there than at the knitalong.

FO - pretend zine exhibit

Firstly, happy birthday today to the late Tommy Douglas!

I finally remembered to pick up an assignment I did last year in library school. The project was to make a catalogue for a book exhibit of my own imagination. I did "Zinesters for a Handmade Life" and my exhibit had zines about crafts, cooking and anything else domestic. Had fun doing it, got a good mark. The note from the prof said 'why did you focus so much on vegan cooking zines and knitting zines?' tee hee. Obviously my personal bias came through, but also there just happens to be a lot of zinesters who are vegans and knitters, thankfully!

celebrity sighting

I met Basil!

(edited to add link in case you don't know who he is)

30 something peer swap

Thanks to Kelly for the fantastic handmade treats!! The 30 something swap means the swappers are all in our 30s (not swapping 30 items).

A necklace with a pink fimo pendant (blurry, oops):














I love the CBC and she quilted me this bag with some polka dotted fabric and some DNTO swag. How did she know that DNTO is my favourite show? Lucky me!!

















































And she knit a nice soft pretty bag. It's not as wrinkly as it looks, it's a spherical shape so it folded over like that when I set it down.















To match with the bag, a double-knitted checkerboard in pretty colours!! Holy lots of work, grrl!! She made the checkers out of fimo, one team is strawberries, the other team is grapfruit slices!! How cute is that!!!! Thanks Kelly!

plan on getting lucky

Do you have friggatriskaidekaphobia? Not me, I'm counting on getting lucky in many ways this Friday the 13th. Just went back to the pottery sale, got a few more pieces and am feeling lucky already!

Necklace with a ceramic heart pendant:


And this bowl for me, me, me, with imprints of butterflies and bugs:

back from Quebec

This is Boo. She's a wild cat that lives out in the country and sometimes hangs around my parents' yard. She's so pretty!


I decorated cupcakes with my nieces and nephew, they're meant to look like pumpkins. See the stems (stick pretzels) and leaves (gumdrops)?


Whaaaaa? It's a huge plastic bag that looks like a cob of corn, stuffed with hay. It looked so funny I had to take a picture.

My nieces and nephew went at mini pumpkins with Sharpie markers.


My Mom, bless her, went all out and made lots of vegan things for me. Like pumpkin pie, pumpkin muffins, tofu-nut loaf and chocolate cake. I love fall food, like mashed turnips and tofu-nut loaf with homemade cranberry sauce. Thanks, Mom, yer the best.


I went to a pottery sale yesterday and actually got started on my Christmas shopping! Wowee! No pictures in case the intended recipient peeks in here. And last night I made pumpkin pie.

Have you seen the new BSS video? Lots of Amy in there, she's still my fave.

veggie snail mail crafty swap

Some gals are organizing a Vegan Pal Swap. Check it out! It's kinda like those "secret pal" swaps all the knitters are doing. Check it out, join in! (you don't have to be vegan)


Here's my questionnaire:

1.) What is your craft, & how long have you been doing it?
Knit, sew, papercrafts, bead, cook -- since ages ago but I'm not a pro at any of them

2.) Are you a vegan, vegetarian, veg-curious, veg-friendly or other?
Vegan

3.) What is your favorite color(s)? Do you particularly dislike a color(s)?
Pink and purple are lovely, and I like all colours

4.) Do you have any allergies (such as pets, foods or cigarette smoke)?
No

5.) Do you have any companion animals? If so, names and types?
No

6.) Do you collect anything?
Zines, hearts, pink kitchen things, tea towels, Lisa Simpson, anatomy images, librarian images, 1" buttons, fancy paper

7.) Do you have a favorite vegan food, snack or dish? If no fav that's vegan (for those who aren't vegan), what's your favorite food? (Hopefully your pal can find a vegan version!)
Any vegan candy or chocolate would be a nice treat. I love pad thai best, but you can't mail that!

8.) What tools/supplies/accessories for your craft(s) are you wishing you had but don't? Also, what do you have TOO many of? (basically a wish and anti-wish list)
Plastic or wood knitting needles of any size (no aluminum please), paper punch with fun shape, rubber stamps, stitch markers

9.) What type of handmade item would tickle your fancy? What don't you like? (Keep in mind this swap is open to all types of crafters.)
Earrings, stationary, mixed CD, zines, Christmas tree ornament, whatever!

10.) Is there anything else you would like your pal to know about you?
That's all!

let's spend the night together

Last night was the inugual Nuit Blanche in Toronto and it rocked! Loads of people were out and having a nice time. All the museums and artists and businesses were great hosts. I've had it in ink on my calendar since about May. I was surprised at how....mainstream? it was, meaning that there were soo many people there, who weren't necessarily part of the Toronto art elite or Toronto art subcultures. Museums, galleries and odd spots for art were open, with no admission charge, til 7am! I gave in about 3am but managed to hit several spots in each zone.



Supplies: Luna bars, pink glow sticks, gloves, hat and transit day pass
















It was rainy (Nuit Mouille?) but that didn't seem to slow anything down
















Wishes hanging from trees near UofT
















Outside the ROM















My vegan co-reveller at OCAD






























Note to the federal Conservative govt who might wonder why they don't have many seats in Ontario: cutting billions in museum funding last week didn't help matters at all. Last night was strong evidence of how much we value cultural institutions.

la la laaaaa!

Today is UNESCO's International Music Day, so sing a glad song, make a joyful noise and all that. I'm celebrating later at the CBC Radio 3 + Bandepart show.