I hope you all had a lovely Thanksgiving.
As for me, my parents still go through heavy empty nest syndrome despite me not having lived at home until recently for the past 4 years. My mother has been horrified at the prospect of not being around for Christmas. That caused Christmas to be moved until Thanksgiving day. And in blogging tradition, this calls for a list of the booty.
-hiking backpack! This was really all I asked for. Check it out.
For anyone thinking of backpacking around Europe, I really want to recommend this backpack. You can find it for around $140. Obviously, that's not cheap but it's a sturdy well-made pack. It is also made out of recycled plastic bottles. It's designed specifically for women. It also has a detachable mini backpack. You can leave the huge pack at the hostel but still carry everything you need for the day. Annnnd it has a front open zipper. That means you don't have to repack as you can access everything! It expands to 48 liters which should be enough room unless you plan on bringing your whole closet.
-DVDs such as Juno, Kung Fu Panda, Wall-E and season 1 of Flight of the Conchords. Score! I have now made my family watch Wall-E and they approve.
-Merril hiking boots. Anyone who knows me knows I need some good shoes. I just didn't own any. Now I have one good solid pair to supplement my Birkenstocks.
-Books! The Whisperers: Private Life in Stalinist Russia because I'm still on my communist history kick. And 2001 Cross Stitch Designs which is awesome! It's 2000 small stock patterns that you can mix and match into any designs. The patterns are really great and some are even pretty! And that's hard to do as 95% of cross-stitch patterns are tacky as hell.
- Travel sized everything. My mother does not understand the concept of London not being in a 3rd world country. Therefore, I am stocked up on travel-size toothpaste, kleenex, and dryer sheets. My mom never ever lets me leave the country without kleenex. Yes, seriously.
-A tripod for my camera! I've always wanted a tripod to take cool photos but did not want one due to perceived dorkiness and general pain in the assness of carrying one around. Then, I found this thing. This tripod is even smaller than it looks and completely bendable. It's genius! I can even take it backpacking and now will be able to do fancy slow shutter time shots. Oooo.
-$55 in itunes, $25 for amazon.com, and $500 from an overly generous aunt. As my grandparents seem to think I will also be in a third world country without access to communication or mail service, I received small gifts for Christmas AND my birthday...in January. As for the $500, I'm envisioning a week in Scotland. I could put it towards student loans but that would be so boring.
-Although not technically a present, my mom also paid for 3 months of all that damn medication I take and am no longer covered for. And that's something I am ridiculously grateful for.
-And duh, I almost forgot! I got the cutest purse EVER. However, after deciding the color scheme was ridiculously cute but ridiculously impractical, I traded it in for the SECOND cutest purse EVER. Same purse, different color. Now it's gray. More matchable, more Londonish. Perfect! I may not always be into fashion but I will always be into purses. It's hereditary.
In other news, I will be finished up one more cross-stitch as well as posting some others I've fallen behind on. I also have to finish 3 mostly finished books before I leave! Oh...and that packing thing...
I'm dreading the flight as I was unable to procure any sleeping pills and I'm hoping I'm just imagining a cold coming on. Luckily, I've armed myself with 3 new cds from itunes and Twilight. Yes, I'm going to read a YA novel about vampires. Shun me if you will but suppressed teenage sexuality may just keep me interested enough to occupy me for an hour or two.
Oh thank god! The Roman Catholic Church has finally decided to forgive John Lennon for saying that the Beatles were more famous than Jesus. Kind of like 45 years late but whatevs. It seems like the quote may have hurt the pope's feelings but now has reconciled the fact that John Lennon wasn't an atheist but just an attention whore.
Today marks one week before I leave the country. Oh shit! I have a zillion things to do. I have to pack. I have to pray that my family acts a little bit sane about this. I have to try not to stress the fuck out. Oh wait, I'm doing that already.
Anything I should not forget to pack? I've added a few essentials that I did not bring to Denmark originally. My DVD collection is one of them. Also, any extra space in my baggage will be filled with macaroni and cheese, manwich, pancake mix, and peanut butter. I know the food won't suck as much as Denmark if it will at all. However, everyone needs an American fix every once and awhile and I'd rather it not be from McDonald's.
To anyone who has traveled, an important question. Have you ever noticed that foreign Coca-Cola tastes better? I don't really like it in the states but daaaaamn is it good in Europe. Someone told me that it's a slightly different recipe. I think it has to do with having the option to buy it in glass bottles. Or maybe I was just starved for good food in Denmark.
And for those who have been to the UK (ie the ONE person who reads this blog), what is one place out of London that I HAVE to go. I definitely won't miss Bath, Oxford, or Canterbury. I'd also like to take the ferry to France at some point but I don't know if that will work out.
To come later today, more cross-stitch. I've finished all the ones that I needed to and have just been spacing out the posts.
I hate to admit it, but I may start reading the Twilight series. Don't judge!!! Regardless, they are light kids fantasy books and I think they would make just perfect airplane reading. We shall see.
It's squirrels! Three of them to be exact. So, three people at my mom's jobs who work together a lot call each other squirrels. It's become this...thing. I don't know why. They probably don't know why. But now they each get a squirrel plaque. And no, I didn't design the squirrel myself. Big cross-stitch patterns like that are daunting.
These took me a really damn long time to do. They were also very boring because of row after row of brown stitches. Lame! But now they are done. Plus, a Hobby Lobby store just opened in my area. I'd never been to one before. They had a 50% off frame sale. So nice! So I got these awesome frames which just so happened to come in th colors of the cross-stitch I made for about $4 each.
Rat Bastard is a wonderful phrase. Very underused in my opinion. The phrase is featured in the Subversive Cross-Stitch book. The only thing I've kept from that pattern are the little rats. The font and the flower motif were available for free online.
I really have nothing more to say about this except...everyone should say "Rat bastard" more often.
Ooo this one might be my favorite of all the ones I've made in the past month. While I abhor country music and the actual phrase depicted here, some people think differently. My mom expected me to go with a nice country theme. Maybe some farm houses and traditional...things.
Instead, I played with a gothic looking font I found. I loved it! Of course, fonts don't just translate easily into cross stitch so this one I fiddled with a lot to get it just right. I realllly like it and would love to use it again. The little butterflies come from a free cross-stitch site that had a huge sampler of them. I chose two and picked out my own colors. Then, I outlined them in the super shiny expensive thread that I bought. So it's kind of gothic, kind of girly and kind of glittery. All good things!
In other news, I really hate the name of this blog. I only picked it because I had no idea what to name it. Sooo, have any neat suggestions? Something a bit catchier and maybe a little less self-depricating? But just a little.
And I leave for London in less than 2 weeks. Major freaking out and packing to occur soon. 6 days until my crappy job here is over! Yay!
Ok...I don't really. Well, maybe sometimes. When you work in retail or food service, people fucking suck. Seriously, stop being such bitches and I would be nice. Anyways, it's been a lifetime since I've posted any cross-stitch despite the fact that all I've been doing is stitching. Yes, I have no life at the moment. However, I have caught up on all the trashy shows on TV while doing the cross stitch. I only have 3 more to complete! And two more weeks to complete them!
Not gonna lie. In 10 minutes, it will be two weeks until I leave for England. And I'm freaked out as all hell. So let's forget about all that and post some cross stitch (and drink some vodka...yeeeep).
Awww...isn't it pretty? I think so! And I framed it too! Anyways, I used a simple font in MacStitch and tweaked it a little. The girls were a design I copied from a sampler I made previously. And I improvised on the men...not that hard really. Anyways, I think this one is pretty fun especially with the line of people clasping hands and being all cutesy. At the same time, one of the most straightforward designs and one we can all relate to at some point.
I have just finished my 3rd cross-stitch for the Christmas gifts I have been working on. This one is actually a pattern from the Subversive Cross-Stitch Book. I used the Please Kill Me pattern. I wasn't big on the border so I chose a simple border from her "Too Bad, So Sad" pattern. Then, I made it more cutesy with pink and purple pastels. Ah, classy. I've always wanted to do the pattern but never had gotten around to it. I just love the teddy bear.
On the theme of "please kill me," I saw the movie, Nights in Rodanthe, last night. Luckily, I saw this movie for the low price of $2 and was able to drink a 40 during it. Do not under any circumstances go see this movie while sober. It is terrible. As a comedy though, it's decent.
SPOILER ALERT: In case you never saw the Notebook, never heard anything about Nicholas Sparks, or live under a rock, guess what happens? Yep, he dies. Poor Richard Gere. Not that they explain it well but he had to die sometime in order for this to be a romance. But don't worry, there's wild horses. Pukerrific!
Here is my second piece in the series. Pretty straight forward, this person likes to say peace out all the time.
However, I'm oh so very proud of myself. See that peace sign hand? I drew it in the software program all by myself!!! After trying to import images into the program and the program repeatedly turning them into mush, I decided to free draw it while looking at another image. I know, for many people this is not hard. I should remind you I majored in art history, not studio art, and for good reason. In fact, if you look at art history professors, it's almost laughable at how bad one can draw and still have a PhD.
I even got to use my new shiny thread for the outline! In the future, I'll use two strands instead of one as it's a bit light. It's also a lot more visible in person.
Peace out!
There is something about fall that makes people obsessed with making things. My mom just started up her knitting and baking. And I went to Jo-Ann Fabrics and bought much more than I originally intended.
First off, I found really cool thread for cross-stitching. It's variegated rainbow thread that's metallic. Woah! It's also really expensive at $2.20 for a thing of it. But isn't it shiny and pretty?
As I said, I wouldn't be doing any jewelry making...but I looked anyway. Then, I had to buy beads. I've always liked Blue Moon beads though I rarely ever actually used them. They just didn't fit into my designs. Well, Blue Moon has a couple whole new lines which are AMAZING. Lost and Found is my fav. Enchanted Planet is another great new line they have.
They also make jewelry making super easy with beads with findings already attached. AND they have tons of chunky chains in a variety of styles. I love the chunky chain in the picture above. I plan on turning all these items into a necklace with matching earrings, hopefully by the end of the night. The best part of the Lost and Found stuff is that they use a variety of metals like copper for an antique-y look.
Oh and I bought these. They are tiny hollow circles which are perfect for some small Swarovski crystals to be run through the middle. Don't know quite what I'll do with them yet. Maybe a bracelet?
Oh, meet my cat. I disturbed him while taking pictures. He sleeps on my bed most of the day.
Today, I finished the first of about thirteen or fourteen new cross-stitch designs. These have all been "commissioned" by my mom. She's the boss of about 14 people and wanted to give them each a small Christmas present.
The first one "Dangit!" is for one of the people who has to work near actual clients. That means, no matter how stupid or obnoxious the person is or how much the situation warrants it, she has to restrain herself from all damns, fucks, and shits. Therefore, she has taken to saying "Dangit" about 10 times a minute.
So, for all the times it's inappropriate to voice what's really on your mind, this sampler will be there to remind you to say nice words!
I designed this is MacPro using Edwardian Script (I think). The flower pattern was adapted from one on about.com which was, in turn, pulled from a sampler from the early 20th century. Isn't it just precious?
All designs posted on this site are for sale! (Unless otherwise stated)
So how do I order?
Send me an email at purplehippodesigns@gmail.com. Each design is either available for immediate shipment or will be made to order. I will reply to your email with a price and approximate time for the order to be completed.
What about payment?
I am set up through paypal. I can accept online checks though they are really annoying and stupid. It will slow down your order. I suggest you use a credit card when using PayPal. Information on my Paypal account will be sent in an email when you show interest.
Wait...is this stuff expensive?
I make my designs for fun. They tend to accumulate so it's always nice to sell them off or have one commissioned. Plus, I like the thought of people showing off my stuff. It makes me feel cool. Most of my pieces will run in the $7-20 range + shipping. Cross-stitching is a time consuming process so I'm not really out to make a fortune on this.
Well, that design would be really cute if the colors weren't so ugly.
I can make anything to order. That means when you pick a design, just tell me to switch a few colors around.
But I like to cross-stitch, too! Can't I just have the pattern?
Of course you can! Any pattern can be emailed to you for $2. If you'd like a print-out shipped to you, just add $1 for shipping.
I present you with my first made up cross-stitch design. Tada!
Personally, I never ever read romance novels unless I am at work, bored, and have an audience to read aloud to. Call me immature but reading graphic cheesy sex scenes out loud is fucking hilarious.
However, I do realize that there are those who actually read such books for fun, for pleasure, for...eh. Sure, it's not *good* literature. But it *is* juicy and maybe even suspenseful. So the next time someone gives you a snotty look as you sit at the bookstore, on the bus, in your living room, show some pride in what you are reading. This lovely bookmark will show them that you are fully aware that you are reading smut and enjoying it, too.
I positioned the *smut* at the top so that, even when the book is closed, there's no question as to its content.
Process:
I pulled an image off of the internet of your basic blacked out stripper girl. Then, I loaded it into MacStitch. MacStitch is an awesome, yet expensive, cross-stitch design program. However, I downloaded the demo. You can't save or print from the program in demo mode, but you CAN take screenshots and avoid the whole problem.
This little bookmark took me way too long to finish. I did a lot of tweaking to the pattern and the blackwork takes a lifetime.
So now you know how I waste all my time.
Like it?
Send me an email at purplehippodesigns@gmail.com and this lovely piece of smut could be yours, today!
Why yes, I have unfortunately decided to start a new blog. I blame this mainly on a certain internet friend who goes by the name, substantial, because his blog is...supposedly...substantial.
Since my blog will not be serious, long, dense, or ridiculously Republican, I could only come to the conclusion that this blog would be very insubstantial. I am also incredibly uncreative when it comes to naming things. That being said, my blog should be infinitely more interesting to read. No long essays, no philosophy, and nothing that requires too much thinking. Actually, I like thinking. Just not when it comes to blogs.
About me you ask? I am a recent graduate of a hippie liberal vegan pot smoking school. Surprisingly, this has left me almost unemployed. Luckily, I have a lot of time on my hands while I procrastinate impending doom...um I mean, grad school applications.
While stuck at home, I do lots of crafty things. I've always loved cross-stitch and just recently got into designing my own things. If you've never been, please check out Subversive Cross-Stitch, who, without, I may have never realized that my obsession with cross-stitch could actually result in making cool things.
I also make jewelry. Except, right now I'm broke. Start up costs for cross stitch? Really low. For jewelry? Not so much, especially when you really like shiny, fun beads.
The other part of this blog will be about travel. I like to travel any chance I get. Since I'm practically unemployed and the economy is crashing around us, I decided to go work in a country that doesn't suck. So, soon I shall be flying off to London where I will be guaranteed full time work in a pub. Getting paid in pounds is so much better than dollars. Let's ignore the fact that our economy crashing is causing everyone else's to as well. At least I'm not going to Iceland, eh?
Anyways, wasn't that interesting? Now we shall see if anyone bothers to read it!
If you do, friend me. Or leave me comments. It will make me feel all warm and fuzzy inside.