Heroes and Villains

Well, it was another boring, but on task day. I've opted to ramp up the child's schooling to full days even though I technically have another week until school officially begins. This keeps me much busier in the morning away from tatting, but having the extra work done gives us an invaluable cushion should anything arise over the year that takes us away from schooling or if she hits a tough spot with anything.

I did get three more superhero inspired colorways worked up though. The first batch of them also got listed. It was quite odd to take pictures for four pieces at the same time, but it certainly resulted in consistent images for them. The new pieces reside in a new 'Heroes and Villains' section in the shop. This new batch will get listed later this morning as well. I know they deviate a lot from my usual style, but I really am enjoying all the color I rarely work with. Don't worry, this doesn't mean that I have any intention of abandoning black. This is merely a sideshow and once I have finished all the characters that are currently running about in my head I will let go of the brightly hued combinations. Oh, if you were wondering these ones represent X-Men, Fantastic Four and The Joker.

I finally had someone return to purchase something they had requested, so today belongs to making a mask. I'm fairly certain that will be the whole of the day, but if I get some extra time, I think I'll make up that charm necklace I said I was going to make yesterday. I also have a ton of cleaning to do in anticipation of a get together we're hosting this weekend. I'm trying to clean a little at a time so it doesn't get overwhelming, but the children are determined to undo such small progress in record time. Oh well, it'll get done one way or another even if that other way is a mas cleaning marathon on Friday, which it will most likely be.

Interwoven Insanity

I am so the biggest liar ever. Ok, that might be a slight exaggeration, but that motif which I soundly put to bed as useless Friday morning...well, it wasn't. Apparently I just need to sleep on it because when I laid eyes on the piece later that morning not only did the solution appear, but it avalanched into a weekend long love affair. After the black version came alive, I decided that the three separate motifs would be best served by color variations. The first here is two shades of purple, a Lizbeth and a flora and black. Since the motifs themselves are so simple they work up quick until the finishing bits, but even those are just a little fiddly.

On Saturday I went to my old standby, the sepia tones. Yes, fancy browns. These ones are all Lizbeth...I had just gotten a new thread order in the mail in the morning. I was quite enjoying the graduated tones when I asked facebook what other color combinations they would like. One response was, 'bright colors'. You know I'm not usually drawn to the bright ones and when I am, outside the confines of a custom order, they rarely sell, but I was having a good time making so I went with it.

I chose primary colors and when I was about halfway through I couldn't help but think of Superman...or Wonder Woman. You might not be aware of this, but I am a bit of a comic book geek married to a way bigger comic book geek, so the idea of superheroes and villains represented in colored lace, well it grabbed hold quick. Soon, I had a second one done in honor of Batman and then I mentioned my project to the husband...he approved. Then he began relentlessly providing color combinations for a long list of characters and start lamenting my lack of speed to complete them all.

None of the new ones have been properly photographed nor listed as I just put down one and started another. Feel free to guess who they represent, but if you stop by my facebook page, the guessing has already been done and was quite an amusing romp for me. Yes, there are more waiting to be made and put into a  new 'Heroes and Villains' section in the shop. I'm currently having another run of custom inquiries that lead nowhere so I suppose I'll keep on these for a spell. There's also just one last key to put onto a charm necklace too, so I might get that done today as well.

I shall leave you today when a bit of wisdom I had to remember the hard way last night. If the other person drinking a strong bottle of wine with you over dinner doesn't like the wine...don't take upon yourself to finish the bottle after eating only a couple of slices of pizza. Sure, I'm fine this morning and the kids thought I was funny, but it really was not my best idea. I just thought I'd put that out as a 'see how awesomely stupid I can be' moment to start your week with a bit of a laugh. Did it work?

What's That Then?

We're reaching my boring phase again. I got things remade yesterday and I got pictures of the sorta new piece to update the listing. Yes, I went the lazy route and just took a couple of them and still used the modeled photos from before updating the listing to point out which version was currently for sale. This leaves about six more pieces currently living on the remake list, but I think there are a couple more that I have listed as custom pieces that I really should put on there as well. nothing new, nothing interesting, just tatting much of the day.

I do have a funny little thing to show you though. Every month me and mu husband go out and visit our comic book shop in the evening with a bunch of other...we'll call them aficionados. We look through the new listings in the Previews catalog to see what we are all interested in for the coming months and we talk comics. Yes, this is what passes for going out and I actually enjoy it. Anyway, we're perusing the titles when we run across this cover image.

Wait, just look in the corners or click on it to see it bigger...yeah, see it now? That's right, comics and tatting collide. Sure, I imagine the artist just found the image, cloned it and set it about not having any idea what sort of doily they had there, but it stopped me for a minute and I announced it to the group who could totally care less. I was excited. Just in case you're interested, this is the Empowered Special #2: Questions For The Maidman. No, I don't read the book, so I have no idea, something about a broom wielding superhero, but look, it's tatting right there on the cover...behind the chick with the disintegrating costume.

So, it's just back to remaking again today.Well that and breaking in my new patent leather flats I got in the post yesterday to replace the comfy ones that are literally falling apart. The new ones hurt, but they fit and they're cute and I will conquer them. No, you didn't need to know that, but it will be what I am doing all day, so there you have it.

Comic Timing

I thought I'd take a break today and do a little review. I love comic books, no really, I do. I've been an avid collector for more than a decade now. Every Saturday the whole family heads to the comic book store and we all leave with a little something to read. I have a hard time getting around to reading my books though, the baby likes to tear and that makes her an extreme comic liability. When I found Jim8ball on etsy selling cute little mini comics, I thought those I can read.

The first batch I purchased included the first three issues of the "Tale of Samurai Cat" and and cute little story called "Little Frank". Just last month I picked up the 4th installment of Samurai as well as "Robert the Robot Conquers the World" and "Giant Robot Attack". So I thought I'd take a minute to tell you what I think about about Jim Coon's little comic empire.

First off the art is adorable and consistently good. The colors are vivid and the lettering clear and fun to read. The stories run the gamut from sweet in "Little Frank" to hilarious and a little twisted in the robot books. The Samurai story is an adventurous epic with just a touch of dark comedy. While each story hits a sour note from time to time, they are generally well written and consistently entertaining. I can easily see "Little Frank" as a timeless children's book and the Samurai story lines seems tailor made for an Japanese animated style movie. The robot books are probably best left to the midnight hours on Comedy Central, but man did I laugh.

The best part of these mini comics, besides the fact that they are the perfect length to read before the 1 year old can waddle over to destroy them, is the price. They are just a dollar each. At that price you can snatch up a whole bunch at once and give yourself an entertaining break in the day. I highly recommend these great little comics, Jim has written a story for just about everyone.

Check them out at Jim8ball.etsy.com