mellowbeing - crafty, geeky and a new yorker.

Subscribe to new blog!

2010-02-02T15:24:00.002-05:00

Something happened when I switched from Blogger to Wordpress.

please subscribe to the new feed and you won't miss out on any new content!

Thanks :)

Thing-a-Day (still time to join!)

2010-02-01T18:20:00.003-05:00

From the thing-a-day blog:

"Want to join thing-a-day and spend 30 minutes a day working out your creativity in February?

For those of you not signed-up yes, the instructions for registration are here.
You will need to create a Posterous account first and then fill out our thing-a-day form. Once this is done, you'll be posting to the blog through email!

Registration closes on February 1st at midnight!"

Purchased Item: Love Gnome from SewnNatural @ Etsy

2010-02-01T14:03:00.000-05:00

I recently bought something from SewnNatural. Not only did I receive this adorable felt love gnome but also a gift - a felt heart!

The workmanship is amazing and the cute gift makes this whole experience even more awesome. I'm pretty sure the Valentine's day recipient will love this :D

Gift Swap & Meeting w/ TheNewNew

2010-01-31T09:34:00.000-05:00

Hung out with the NewNew Etsy crew last weekend. It was a blast! We had a productive meeting with brainstorming and good news on the horizon, a gift swap and karaoke night.

I was lucky enough to get a My Name is Mud mug (who had hosted the meeting at her studio space). Isn't it awesome?! I'm a little worried to use it because it's just so cool heh. The colors are great and swirls are always good in my book :) (isn't that right, Missu?)

Purchased Item: Knit Knit Leaf Necklace

2010-01-30T09:15:00.001-05:00

I recently purchased my very own KnitKnit "Little Leaf Necklace" and I'm so happy to have done so! It's just the right size so it's noticeable enough while being subtle. I really have a penchant for leafy themed items and the lime green immediately caught my eye. It's the second time I've worn it this week and look forward to getting a lot of use out of it :)

Knit Tie for Kevin

2010-01-29T09:13:00.001-05:00

One of our coworkers, Kevin, stopped working at our office a little while ago and now he's pursuing his job interviewing in Washington, D.C. As a gag going away gift, I knit him this blue tie so he can wear it on his interviews. It was well received :)

I was pretty happy with it too. It didn't come out too shabby for something I knit without a pattern and in one go in a day. I literally just borrowed our HR guy's tie, made a quick technical sketch with dimensions and went from there. I'm thinking of making others in different colors. Who knows what the future holds?

Snowy Day

2010-01-28T19:29:00.002-05:00

In Queens, NYC.

East Village, NYC.

And yet, by the middle of the day, it was quite sunny and not windy. Ah, what a day in this city..

FO: Mushroom Hat!

2010-01-19T17:18:00.002-05:00

The crafty resolution list is getting shorter already and it's only mid-January. It's great getting the little projects out of the way. First finished object of the year...

... the Mushroom Hat!

It's a little larger than I'd like it to be but it fits well and is super comfy and warm so I guess that's what counts. It was good using circulars and DPNs again. While making it, I came up with another possible rendition of this - black with black shiny beads at each 'corner' in the pattern design. It'd come out nicely, me thinks. This version is 100% wool but a more 'fashionable' version could be a silk blend for more drapiness.

All in all, a good project to start the year off :)

2010 Crafty Resolutions

2010-01-10T13:08:00.002-05:00

I was looking to link to my 2009 resolution post and it turns out I didn't write one last year. That's so surprising since it was an incredibly productive year. I wonder if these lists help?

In any case, I will make a list for 2010 of the things I fully intend and realistically expect to complete:

- Second sweater*. Either the Rusted Root (first pattern I fell for) or the Cowl Sweater
- First hat* (in progress!). Mushroom Hat pattern from PurlSoho
- First lace project*. This will be Knitty.com's Branching Out Scarf
- 1 cable project**. Might make a smaller item to make it go by faster and have it actually finished
- Make 2 softies**. Making the crochet bumble bee was a lot of fun and I now have actual poly-stuffing so it'd be good to make a couple more. I have ideas for a gift and one to keep.
- 2 Gadget cozies for friends*
- 1 pair of Pirate wristwarmers for friend*
- 1 scarf for friend**

Ongoing projects to finish:
- Laptop bag***
- Crochet blanket***

* Would be awesome to finally have these done!
** Would be nice if I got this done this year
*** Okay, I *finally* got it over with...

This sounds like a lot.. but I'll make sure to get through them in order of priority. Here's to hoping for the best.

Shop Updates: New Wristwarmers!

2009-12-15T12:06:00.003-05:00

Check them out in the shop.

More Buttons from a Fellow NewNewer

2009-11-30T09:00:00.002-05:00

For about a year now, I've been a member of a NY Etsy Team: {The New New}

Through my membership, I've met a few crafters who share the love of accumulating tons of amazing crafty things. One such team member is Karen from Karen's Monsters. She was awesome enough to give me an *entire* jar of buttons!

Thanks again :)

FO: First Sweater - The Buttony

2009-11-29T22:18:00.003-05:00

Lo and behold! The first finished sweater in the Mellowbeing collection of handmade sweaters. I'd never made a sweater before and even though this project spanned almost 10 months, it was a pretty easy pattern to tackle. It just got a little tedious at times so I'd start and finish other smaller projects here and there.

You can view the Stretchy Button Sweater page on Ravelry for more details on the pattern and my personal changes to it. I'm just glad it's finished and wearable. Now, to find a second sweater pattern to work on...

Thailand Purchases

2009-11-28T23:27:00.002-05:00

As some of you may know, a few friends and I were in Southeast Asia last month - Thailand and Cambodia to be exact.

It was a blast! Everything was an adventure and the weather was hot and humid and yet I miss it.

While there, we went to Bangkok and stopped by Chinatown. And what kind of trip would it be if it didn't involve some craftiness?! Behold, BUTTONS! :)

Shop Update: Neckwarmers

2009-04-08T16:00:00.004-04:00

Hello guys and gals!
New to the shop...
neckwarmers!
Perfect for chilly spring weather...
...and bringing a splash of color to your outfit.
More styles to come.
Feast your eyes on these for now :)

Check out the shop for more photos and descriptions.

Three by Three Scarf

2009-03-23T18:24:00.007-04:00

I recently "published" a pattern on Ravelry called Eton's Scarf. It's free of charge and uses a simple basketweave pattern.

Since then, I have modified the pattern to have a more defined "weave" look with a nice border. The original was a 2x2 basketweave w/ no borders. This is a 3x3 basketweave with a 3 stitch garter border.

I want to share this new simple pattern as well. It's really classic so it's easily adaptable for guys and girls (use solid, darker colors for the dudes and you can get away with brighter colors for the dudettes).

Pattern:

Yarn: Classic by Ella Rae (100% wool yarn; worsted/10 ply; also a cheaper alternative to Cascade 220)
Needles: Size 8
Dimensions of finished scarf: Appox 5' long and 6" wide.

Cast on 36 stitches. (You can make it narrower/shorter by using another number divisible by 6)

Rows 1-4: K36

Rows 5, 6, 7: K3, (K3, P3) 5x, K3
Rows 8, 9, 10: K3, (P3, K3) 5x, K3

Repeat these 6 rows til happy with length of scarf.

Last 4 rows: K36

You can find it on Ravelry under "Three by Three Scarf".

Butterflies in Love

2009-03-23T10:15:00.004-04:00

This photo was highlighted by PZ Meyers from the Pharyngula blog. Butterflies in love.. or courting.. either way.

Don't Keep Calm and Carry On...

2009-03-23T10:12:00.004-04:00

Good morning guys and gals. Thought I'd start off the week with some uplifting imagery. The first to grace our eyes is this motivational poster which is the anti-thesis of the "Keep Calm and Carry On" well-known British poster.

It was highlighted by Merlin Mann at 43 Folders. The original image is here by Matt Jones.

Mellowbeing Takes Over DUMBO

2009-02-28T17:00:00.004-05:00

... or rather, Mellowbeing will be in the Brooklyn Flea DUMBO Market!

Sunday, March 1st.
Come by and say hi. I'll be showing for the first time my new line of neckwarmers.

The Cycle

2009-02-26T22:08:00.001-05:00

Thing-a-Day NewNew Style

2009-02-10T21:08:00.005-05:00

Thing-a-Day 2009 is now in full swing! If you are not familiar, it started as a class project at NYU's ITP [where I happen to have my masters :) ]. The gist of the project is for each participant to create one thing each day for one month. In order to make it an achievable goal, February was chosen since it's the shortest month and each 'thing' should take sometime between 30 and 60 minutes to complete.

It's quite amazing to see what people make in such a short amount of time. My favorite part is seeing how people break out of their 'usual' crafts. Several of our very own NewNew members are taking part in this challenge. Check out their thing-a-day pages for more projects!

Mermade ACEO by DeafDog (DeafDog.etsy.com)

Adorable heart soaps by Groundsel (Groundsel.etsy.com)

Felted heart by Ikyoto (Ikyoto.etsy.com)

Cute flower earrings by Mirela Jazdzewska (Jantar.etsy.com)

Cashmere scarf by Joyella (Joyella.etsy.com)

Felt cluster necklace by knitknit (knitknit.etsy.com)

Felted person by lookcloselypress (lookcloselypress.etsy.com)

Dandelion drawing by mellowbeing (mellowbeing.etsy.com)

Silver bead necklace by persuede (persuede.etsy.com)

Daily custom typography By My Coney (Prismpop.etsy.com)

Bolsa de Bodega by redbridgestudio (redbridgestudio.etsy.com)

Stylish earrings by ladylulu (Thecraftarium.etsy.com)

Decoupage necklace by wabisabi brooklyn (Wabisabibrooklyn.etsy.com)

Thing 4: Sketch of Dandelions and Clocks

2009-02-04T08:06:00.003-05:00

Read more about this sketch on Thing-a-Day.

Thing #3: Single Dandelion

2009-02-03T20:34:00.001-05:00

Thing #2: Upclose Daffodil

2009-02-03T20:33:00.003-05:00

Thing #1

2009-02-03T15:50:00.000-05:00

My goal with these daily exercises is to finalize an idea for a 4 panel painting I want to create in March. I originally wanted dandelions.. then daffodils.. and then other objects. Through these daily compositions, I can hopefully find 4 that I can “run with” and paint something I won’t hate after a week

First “sketch” via Photoshop to play with sizing, composition and color:

111th Post: Decisions

2009-02-02T19:51:00.002-05:00

From the Indexed blog.

Thing-a-Day 3 posts coming soon.

Book Review: Picture Perfect Knits

2008-11-28T00:25:00.002-05:00

Picture Perfect Knits, originally uploaded by mellowbeing.

About 2 months ago, CraftyPod held a giveaway for 2 copies of "Picture Perfect Knits". Til then, I hadn't won a single online contest... but this time..

I won!!! I want to say THANK YOU (again and again) for the book! It's got some awesome projects I want to tackle soon. I've got my eye on the cupcake pillow case and the argyle vest.

Sorry it took me so long to update about this book. I was hoping to actually start a project and report on how it was going but considering holiday knitting projects, that won't be happening soon... I give it a couple of months..

FO: Eton's Light Grey Scarf

2008-11-27T23:53:00.006-05:00

Gray Scarf: Front View, originally uploaded by mellowbeing.

I've been working on this scarf for nearly a month now (has it been that long?!) It's a very simple pattern - I like how it's classic, clean and yet still stylish.

Pattern:

Yarn: Cascade 220 (100% wool yarn; worsted/10 ply)
Needles: Size 8
Dimensions of finished scarf: Appox 5' long and 6" wide.

Cast on 36 stitches. (You can make it narrower/wider by using another number divisible by 4)

Row 1&2: (K2, P2) 9x
Row 3&4: (P2, K2) 9x

Repeat til happy with length of scarf.

Pretty simple, eh? It makes for some great train knitting while listening to music and/or podcasts.

P.S. Thank you to everyone out there who's been reading my blog this year. You guys definitely keep me writing - it's nice to know you're not writing into the ether...

Happy Thanksgiving!

Addendum: It took me a month to finish this scarf since I put it down and picked it up several times. Otherwise, it should take no longer than a week or two - depends on your knitting speed.

Fake July 4, 2009 New York Times

2008-11-12T10:31:00.003-05:00

Fake July 4, 2009 New York Times being handed out on the street. Very well done, originally uploaded by fredwilson.

I got one of these walking to work this morning. It's a really well planned out prank. Amazing work!

Finished Objects: Wristwarmers & Neckwarmer

2008-11-11T23:58:00.003-05:00

I kind of fell off the knitting wagon for a while there. But I am back! And with full force.

A custom pair of wristwarmers in a two-tone fashion. These are made of 100% alpaca yarn with bronze buttons. They are definitely one of my favorite pairs of all time that I've made so far. *And* I knit them from my current stash.

This was an experiment using size 17 knitting needles with double strands of worsted yarn. It's acrylic but incredibly warm.

I've already gotten compliments on this!

I have a 3rd project I've finished but I can't show it since I know the gift recipient reads this blog ;)

Election Day Victory!

2008-11-05T14:58:00.003-05:00

For the first time in my voting experience, I feel that my vote counted. I'm happy to say that I voted in 2008.

It's a new start for America. And hell, it's a great birthday present! (My birthday was Nov 3rd).

I'm still in semi-shock and semi-speechless so more to come later.

Craft & Politics Collide: Candidate Finger Puppets!

2008-10-03T16:41:00.003-04:00

(Photo courtesy of (How About Orange)

Check out folduscandidate.com and make your own candidate. I find it to be a humorous way to grab people's attention about the upcoming election. If you make one, let me know! I may give it a go this weekend.

And don't forget to register and vote on November 4th. This is going to be, as Senator Joe Biden said at last night's VP debate, "the most important election you'll ever vote in your entire life".

Hope you guys have a good weekend! Until later.

How to Blog: Merlin Mann Style

2008-09-30T21:32:00.003-04:00

Why does Merlin Mann absolutely rock? Because he does. Not to mention, he writes amazingly profound bits of advice such as the one above. It is concise, motivating while not being preachy, douchebaggy "motivational speak", funny and Twitter friendly - under 140 characters!

I feel like just the first and last bits "Find Your Obsession / Get better" are the perfect pair to apply to life in general. I'm currently working on being more efficient, getting my priorities straight and having things set to prepare myself for a good future and an enjoyable today that allows for the madness that everyday life brings.

Watch the entire talk he gives on "How to Blog". The man is quite the genius when it comes to getting things done.

More crafty programming coming after the break.

Finished Object: Scarf from Ukranian Mohair

2008-09-29T07:09:00.005-04:00

A few months ago, my friend Kat returned from the Ukraine after visiting her family. As a souvenir, she gave me the most beautiful multi-colored skein of authentic Ukrainian mohair yarn. It was so soft and wispy and I had to come up with just the right project for it.

What could I come up with that would use up one skein? That would show off the yarn's details and colors just in the right way?
At my local knitting group, I was patiently taught how to double and triple crochet and I quickly put the new skills to good use. This is using the same pattern as the previous scarf I posted. This scarf is using a 3c and 1c in rows whereas the other used it the long way to create columns. I actually finished this one first but photographed the other one quicker since I had to give it away and therefore had to get a photo-op in.
This was a superfluous artsy shot. Isn't it purdy? I love how it looks as if you are walking in the clouds, looking up at the sky...

Hope you're all having a great beginning to the week! (Despite the economic turmoil lately..)

Urban Dictionary Addition

2008-09-27T23:17:00.003-04:00

A few months ago, I decided to test Urban Dictionary and see if I could get "mellowbeing" added as a word to their database. The approval process takes longer than a couple of days so it sort of dropped from my immediate attention span. While doing a Google search today, I found out that the entry had been added! Talk about a double whammy on one day :)

mellowbeing on Urban Dictionary.

P.S. Hope all you New Yorkers out there are staying dry this weekend. It's a bit misty out there.

Celebrity Status: Etsy Front Page!

2008-09-27T21:42:00.002-04:00

So I went to check my Etsy shop this morning and noticed something odd..

The listing for the Olive Wristwarmers went from having 40 views to 347 views and 35 people favoriting it!!!

After asking around the Etsy forums, katrinbird told me that my wristwarmers had indeed made the front page and found a screenshot on Copabananas Flickr account. Whoo! I'm SO flattered :D

TV Show: History Hackers

2008-09-26T17:51:00.003-04:00

Bre Pettis from Etsy/Make has a new show pilot out:

"The pilot is all about Nikola Tesla and the war of the currents between Tesla and Edison. In the show I learn how to blow a neon tube, explore wireless electricity and build an AC generator from a bike. I also go to Boston to visit an MIT space lab to see how the principles that Tesla pioneered are being applied to space propulsion."

Sounds like an amazing show. Check it out tonight on the History Channel at 8pm and midnight.

And don't forget to spread the word! Read more on Bre's blog.

FO: Birthday Present

2008-09-21T19:08:00.002-04:00

After thinking of what to get my friend Pam for her birthday, I decided that I'd get her 2 somethings - 1 something small that was bought and 1 handmade something.
Voila! It was received with much appreciation. All in all a good out come :)

Shop Update: Notecards!

2008-09-06T04:59:00.005-04:00

Yummy Cupcake Cards

Never too early for holiday cards

The flower notecards make a comeback.

Sweet! Shop is just about done. You may have noticed that there is a Scarves section now too. The next shop update will bring something new to your eyes.. mini-scarves! And plenty of more wristwarmers. It's going to be a cozy Fall season.

Shop Update: Wristwarmers!

2008-09-03T21:10:00.002-04:00

Check them out.

17BFB: Gladiator Edition

2008-09-03T16:49:00.002-04:00

A great little fashion blog called 17 Blocks from Barneys is now in print version. Kara, its editor, has decided to venture into the offline world and make a zine for all to enjoy. Being a New Yorker at heart and a fashionista, she does a great job at writing about recent trends with a sense of humor and spunk. Just my cup of tea :)

Other fashion blogs that I've been reading are The Sartorialist, Altamira NYC, and Flying Saucer. It's a nice mix: what's happening across New York City, Paris, Florence and the UK in different styles. Each blogger offers his/her audience a distinctive perspective, commentary and tips.

I'm looking forward to the fall. It's all about wooly knits and tweed - which means.. plenty knitting in store ;)

Sneak Peek: Wristwarmers

2008-09-01T22:57:00.003-04:00

These and many more coming to the shop soon...

Shop Update: Cozies!

2008-09-01T22:53:00.000-04:00

iPhone Cozy?

2008-08-27T15:10:00.005-04:00

I've been dabbling with the idea of making more crochet phone pouches for the new shop.. then I started to think, why not iPhone cozies? Would these be useful? This is the first prototype mockup - call it v 1.0. It's still up for improvements.. any feedback?

And as I said earlier to BananaBoy since this is still under wraps, "Don't go leaking this to Gizmodo." ;)

Atheist Symbol

2008-08-21T10:43:00.002-04:00

Atheists now have a logo to represent themselves - sweet!

UPDATE: Logo is the official version that was voted on recently. Read more here.

Why I Started to Drink

2008-08-18T18:08:00.004-04:00

"This is a story all about how I started drinking."

Another reason why I say I *must* meet Randall Munroe at some point. He just reads my mind.

C'est Moi a la Anime

2008-08-14T16:17:00.004-04:00

This is the closest to a photo of myself with my new haircut. Make your own.

Shop Update: Pins!

2008-08-11T00:11:00.003-04:00

Instead of launching the entire site all at once, I've decided to put up merchandise in stages.

Today, I present to you - PINS!

On a Reading Streak

2008-08-08T00:39:00.001-04:00

And in today's episode of the MellowBeing show, we're here to talk about books and the joys of reading. Yep, this post is non-craft, non-NYC and non-geek related. Oh, the surprises I have for you guys sometimes..

(please forgive the obvious over-Photoshopping on this image.. I had a bit too much fun with it)

The reading streak started when my coworkers and I rediscovered GoodReads and started to obsessively add all the books we've ever read to the list. I mentioned to EchantedDroppings that I'd be hitting the triple digits of books read by year's end. So far, so good.

A few weeks after declaring this, I was reading on BoingBoing an article about how Art Garfunkel has read over 1000 books since 1968. I looked at the detailed list he has listed on his site.. pretty impressive, I must say. I then stumbled onto the list of "1001 books you must read before you die" and quickly found a group on GoodReads which is dedicated to accomplishing just this.

I wanted to end the post by showing a photograph of the amazing bookmark that Jessica from LostButtonStudios had made me during a bookmark swap but I recently lost it :( I feel pretty awful about it - I lost it in the most ridiculous way and it was such a one-of-a-kind item customized for myself. Sigh.. I will be posting later on the gorgeous earrings she included in her package as a separate entry.

Well, that is all in this episode. Stay tuned for more!

Green Wristwarmers

2008-07-14T11:24:00.003-04:00

Several months ago, I made a custom pair of wristwarmers for Enchanted Droppings. It's my first pair which are textured and long with buttons.

Here they are posing with Mang's pig stapler:
And here they are being modeled by Enchanted Droppings herself!
It's a bit too warm in the office lately to wear them around here.. guess next time, I'll finish them before summer is around the corner ;)

Owl-E

2008-07-11T15:27:00.005-04:00

A little while ago (read: a long time ago) I wrote about my part of the Crafty Daisies Swap I had participated in. It took quite a while for my softie to come in the mail. My swap partner Lusterbee was getting worried that it had been 2 weeks since she'd sent out the package and I still hadn't gotten it. In the end, I did get it! The box looked like it had been stepped on, thrown about and punched at. It was a pretty amazing sight.. The USPS had carefully put the beat up box in a plastic bag with a message of "We're sorry. Blah blah blah. We apologize for the inconvenience.."

In any case, here is the Owl-E! I've kept him at the office so I thought it'd be appropriate to take the photos while at my desk. (not to mention that it was a summer Friday yesterday and I had some time to kill before heading out).

Isn't my little owl adorable?! I love the handsewn beak and the button eyes the best. It's all very cute. The note that came with it - figured you guys might want to check out the blog and tutoria l it came from. Lusterbee is a pretty cool chick and we've kept in touch. This has been a great experience. I think I'll be participating in more swaps now :)

FO: Silver Silk Neckerchief

2008-06-07T17:50:00.003-04:00

Voila! Sewed in the edges. A quick 90+ degree photoshoot in the backyard. And now the neckerchief is ready to be seen by the world.

(details: easiest. project. evar. CO 4 stitches with size 10.5 needles. Increase one stitch at beginning of row every 2 rows. Then do the reverse on the way back and create a wide triangle. Could easily be adapted for a large shawl and the garter stitch looks beautiful in its simplicity with silk and large loops.)

Busy Bee

2008-06-06T10:48:00.014-04:00

This bumble bee softie was made as part of the recent Softie Swap from the Crafty Daisies blog for my swap partner, Lusterbee. She got it and loves it. Now I want to make another bee!

WIP: Silk Neckerchief

2008-05-14T07:35:00.000-04:00

This project was to be a Mother's Day gift for my mom.. She's a big fan of neckerchiefs and silk ones at that. I had bought 2 skeins of silk yarn while in Argentina with the intention of making her a shawl. But I noticed.. she doesn't wear shawls. She has a few dozen mini scarves and can't seem to get enough of them. Not to mention that I couldn't work on this project on the train considering only my size 5 circulars and size 8 flat needles were train friendly and I'd be needing size 10s... so I figured a small project would do just fine.

This in its early stages at about 35% done:
This was after the second attempt. I should've known that using metal needles + silk yarn was going to be troublesome - it makes for some very fast knitting.. but.. one of the stitches slipped off at one point. I tried undoing rows and picking the stitches up but silk is VERY slippery! The whole thing became undone.. le sigh..

More to come when it's finished and blocked.

Podcast Review

2008-05-13T10:52:00.004-04:00

I mentioned in an earlier post that I'd do a quick podcast review. This ties into "spending less time online".

Really, what does it come down to? Being efficient.

And nothing's more efficient than a podcast that will catch you up with the latest industry news in a few minutes to an hour.

The podcasts mentioned below are my current favorites. They range from general news to tech news to randomness to craftiness
(listed counterclockwise):

Sticks & Strings
a knitting podcast by an Australian bloke

You Look Nice Today
Journal of Emotional Hygiene with Merlin Mann as one of the 3 main guests

Knitters Uncensored
Hilarious trio based in Germany. Definitely uncensored.

This American Life
There's a theme to each episode, and a variety of stories on that theme. It's mostly true stories of everyday people, though not always.

Craft.Rock.Live.
Vickie Howell's podcast which lasted for one season. She has an interview with Greenday's lead singer's wife as well as other crafty divas.

NYTimes Podcast
News on the go: Front page news, NYT Tech Talk, Political Points: On The Presidential Campaign, Science Times, Only in New York

This Week in Tech: TWiT
Join Leo Laporte, Patrick Norton, John C. Dvorak, and other tech luminaries in a roundtable discussion of the latest trends in high tech

That is all folks! Check out these podcasts when you have a chance. Let me know if you've converted to any of them :)

Future of Internet Talk

2008-05-12T13:14:00.004-04:00

I attended this talk last month. Below is the description. The questions are what I jotted down. This is just food for thought. Enjoy!

Sponsored by the NYU Information Law Institute, Free Culture @ NYU, and ISOC-NY

What will come of the next decade on the Internet? We often take for granted the state of the net today, but there's no guarantee that it will remain this way. Will the digital future be dystopian, or is there a brighter outlook ahead than some may believe? Our panelists - thinkers and net visionaries, with backgrounds ranging from art, law, technology, politics, media, culture, and entrepreneurship - provided their perspectives on the future of the net, and engaged with members of the audience to further the exploration of what lies ahead.

Panelists:
Lauren Cornell, Executive Director, Rhizome
Clay Shirky, Adjunct Professor, NYU ITP
Jimmy Wales, Founder, Wikipedia and Wikia
Tim Wu, Professor, Columbia Law School
Jonathan Zittrain, Professor, Oxford University, Visiting Professor, NYU Law

Questions Discussed:
Is it a bright or bleak future for the Internet?
With the advent of user generated content, how do we manage to bring out the best information?
Is Wikipedia just a happy accident?
Does mob rule lead to a productive and useful knowledge base?

View the video archive here.

WIP: Buttony Sweater

2008-05-11T23:00:00.001-04:00

I've begun my first sweater! I started this last Sunday when I was trying to calm down the day before my thesis presentation. It's a very relaxing knit since it's a basic pattern and it's constructed all in one piece (meaning - no seaming). If you've kept up to date with the blog here, you probably remember that I was going to start Zephyr's Rusted Root sweater first. After two tries at it, I figured that maybe I should start simple and work my way up to more complex patterns with lace involved.
And so, I chose the Buttony Sweater which is pretty ideal for a beginner's project. So far, so good. I wanted to wear the sweater I first constructed as soon as I had finished it. Since I'm working on this in May, it's a short sleeved sweater made out of a cotton yarn. I'm a bit worried that I made it too small. Ah well.. we'll see how it turns out after the first wash. I'll add more details later about the project itself. For now, I'll just provide a progress shot!

Dali-esque

2008-05-11T22:37:00.002-04:00

I found this while looking for Dali paintings last night. I only saw the b&w version and figured it might be fun to play around with it and add some color..

Original:

Blue Version:

Brown/Red version

It's always amazing to me how just changing colors can change the entire mood of a piece.

Cupcake Laptop

2008-05-03T12:39:00.004-04:00

A lot of classmates of mine have customized their Mac laptops to hide the Apple logo. This is primarily due to the fact that 98% of my department uses all of 2 laptop models so there needs to be a way to differentiate amongst the sea of Mac Books and Mac Book Pros.

I have an XPS laptop from Dell which is pretty rare considering the Apple fan kids surrounding me. I figured I'd give the logo hiding a try for kicks. A few pieces of felt, lots of white glue and scissors and about half an hour later:

Upclose shot:
Crafts and technology collide!

WIP: Laptop Cozy

2008-04-29T02:25:00.007-04:00

Instrumentals

2008-04-24T17:39:00.003-04:00

This is going to be a really quick post. I just discovered these and they are some amazing guitar/instrumental songs...

Django Reinhardt - Dark Eyes

Se Ela Perguntar (valsa)

Django Reinhardt - Minor Swing

Chanson d' hiver

Enjoy!

Happy Thursday everyone :)

The Mellow List

2008-04-16T10:51:00.006-04:00

A couple of months ago, I downloaded the PHPList installation files. A few weeks ago, I noticed I still had the folder with said files on my desktop. I had been avoiding installing the mailing list software for no particular reason. I kept telling myself it was just procrastination but in fact - fear. Do you ever not do something because you're afraid of screwing it up? But then you think to yourself, really - what's the worst that can happen? In this case, sure I could screw up a database and mess up the installation but would that bring down the Internet? Would the tubes be compromised?! No.. I just needed to dedicate an hour or two to reading the instructions, following through and if it did go terribly wrong..well, I could just delete the mailing list directory and start all over.

All in all, I can say my site is still well and alive as you can tell :) And if you haven't noticed already, there's a link on the left hand column so you can join my mailing list. If you want to stay up to date and would like to find out when I'll be reopening the shop, sign up. I'll probably send out an introductory coupon of sorts for the new shop so it won't hurt.

And the moral of the story kids is - don't be afraid of screwing up. You can't get anywhere if you don't start and try. You just need to DO IT.

Crafty Update: Wristwarmers!

2008-04-02T01:36:00.003-04:00

While I've been writing, coding, sketching and Photoshopping away this past month, I have actually done some crafty stuff.
When it's late and I can barely keep my eyes open on the train ride back home from school, it's nice to find a skein of yarn and some needles to entertain me.
I've also started to use the mp3 player my friends got me for my birthday more frequently. Yes, I'm actually using it. More than once a month. Surprising, isn't it?
I've found it useful for keeping up to date with my favorite podcasts. Now I can listen, crochet/knit and head to places - talk about multitasking. (note to self: gotta write about podcasts next..)

In any case, here are some photos of the stuff I've been making.
I'm trying out different techniques with the two new stitches I've learned - decreasing and yarn overs. In layman's terms - I'm making holes.
I figure it's a long way until it gets cold again in the states so I'll be keeping these "in stock" for the shop opening. If you're in Australia or another country where the weather is now starting to get chilly and you'd like a pair, drop me a line!
Several of these are still in the works - they just need to have the ends sewn in, buttons sewn on and they will then be ready to be tucked away where they can stay nice and cozy until it's time to make their debut.

Announcement: Christian Dior Exclusive Retailer of Mellowbeing's Merchandise

2008-04-01T13:00:00.003-04:00

Slacker SXSW Review: Monday

2008-03-31T23:25:00.002-04:00

Panel: Browser Wars: Representatives from Internet Explorer, Firefox and Opera discuss why the hell they can't get along and figure out a standard.. or something like that
- IE8 will have Javascript debugging
- The Firefox founder created Javascript
- Javascript 2.0 will be coming out soon!
- There is no word if there will ever be a standard for having padding and margins be the same across browsers.. hopefully, it'll happen someday (IE8? maybe?)

Panel: Your Mom 2.0: Discussing how to make mom friendly websites
- Their generation asks "how?" We ask "why?"
- Basically, make your site understandable by anyone. This should hold true if you're a good designer to begin with. No one wants to go through several layers of links to get to the information they're looking for. And there's no need to "dumb it down" for a prior generation.

Went to the trade show and got lots of goodies. Talked to a few reps. Went to get dinner on the outskirts of Austin and saw the sunset while eating good ole Tex Mex. Afterwards saw the comedy show. Went to sleep far too late and had the most drowsy Tuesday..
All in all, visit Austin if you get the chance!! If you do, you *must* visit Magnolia Cafe. Ask for the breakfast burritos.

This is the conclusion of the SXSW reviews. Whew! That was quite a bit to catch up on.. if you want to read a highly distinguished review, go over to the Banana Boy Productions blog to get the other side of the story :)

Slacker SXSW Review: Sunday

2008-03-31T11:54:00.003-04:00

(photo from Wired.com)

Panel: Keynote with Mark Zuckerberg
My notes: "Sucked"
All I remember from this talk was Zuckerberg saying "platform, efficient, community" and Lacy just crossing and uncrossing her legs while twirling her hair. I left 15 minutes before the end. Apparently, the crowd went a bit crazy when it was Q&A time towards the end. The best part was when it as mob rule and they gave her a lashing. Ah well.

Panel: Human Rights in Virtual Worlds: discussion about whether or not you own what you make in a virtual game
- there is no such thing as group rights as of now. There's still work being done for individual rights online
- ULAs (User Licence Agreements) are not always as liberal as marketed

Should you own what you make? If it's on their server, perhaps it doesn't fall into "your" possession. Curious what the gamers in the audience think of this one.

Panel: Icanhascheezburger
We were promised free burgers. While we were inside the room, passersby ate our burgers :( I still can't believe the company staffs 9 full time employees - all off ad-based revenue from funny cat pictures!

Sunday was the most partied out night of all of them. Went to a pre-party for the Adobe Web Awards. Then the awards show hosted by Eugene Mirman. Lots of laughs. The 'ask a ninja' guy came out to receive awards for participants not present. Went to the Etsy/Threadless/Moo party - which sucked. It was crowded, hot and no movement space since there were 3 pool tables with active games going on at the time. Gawker party at Emo's: Met John Coulton who sings "Code Monkey". Bumped into Eugene Mirman there who let us know of his comedy show the following night. Then went to Blogger party and met Cheeseburger from Icanhascheezburger. Partied hard.

Most memorable moment at the Blogger party: Met an Irishman and asked where I should go when I visit Ireland some day. Instead of the usual way of making a list, he drew out an accurate map of Ireland's coastline and pin pointed the cities I should see. I love the geek way and not the 'normal' way :)

Slacker SXSW Review: Saturday

2008-03-30T23:37:00.005-04:00

All in all, it was a great set of panels. Learned quite a bit here and there. Oh and there was Bloghaus which housed free beer, brownies, fruits and veggies all day at the conference. That may have been my favorite room there.

I don't want to bore you with all the details and I'm sure you can find long, well written explanations of the panels on professional blogs. Here, I'll just note what I found interesting from the ones I attended.

In true slacker fashion, I will write up the first day. More to come.

Panel: Horrible Ads: A panel with Jeff Jarvis and others discussing last year's worst advertising campaigns
- Rules #101 : When making an ad, make sure your audience can remember your brand name
- Don't mess with Wikipedia because you will be found out
- Don't make up socialibility where it doesn't exist (The Cisco "human networking" example)
- Vespa: Started a blog and let it die after a few entries. If you start it, finish it!
- Whole Foods CEO: Don't lie about your competition
- Whatever you do, don't insult your audience's intelligence

Panel: Steven Johnson & Henry Jenkins: An optimistic view on collective intelligence
- How is it that people find the time and devotion to fan sites?
- Most pink collar workers need high levels of expertise to get the job. Once they have it, they are only required to use a small portion of their knowledge at work. They then seek out respect and a reputation outside of the office - this is possible in an online space. Hence, the motivation for hours spent creating online communities
- Harry Potter has enabled kids to seek out larger text to read as well as learn about the legal process and fair trade when they try to publish their own works.
- There's a shift from "I" to "We"
- A large reason why Barack Obama is popular amongst younger voters: he is the stub in the Wikipedia entry and we are all filling out the entry together (interesting wording that caught my attention)

Panel: Voting
- "miracle of aggregation"
- In a betting market, there is a cost to be wrong. If there's something at stake, does a voter with a 'wrong' vote stay quiet?
- If you don't know enough about a subject, don't vote! (brings up the question of how informed are we as a society about the current issues and our presidential candidates' take on them)

Panel: Worst. Website. Ever: A complete riot. Some of the most hilarious moments at SXSW. Loved it.
- What makes a horrible website? It is: Inane. Derivative. Evil.
(derivative example: Facebook for Senior Citizens. Threadless for Pants - Pantless)
Sites presented: Presca.st, Flockd Up, HappyNetBox, Sickr, Mmomerce, PeopleIPO.

After this, we'd gone to Spaghetti warehouse. Because where do you eat the best Italian food? In Texas, of course. And how do you know it's the best? Your food has a tiny plastic Italian flag on it to remind you of the cuisine in case you'd forgotten.

Good times on 6th street afterwards. Got a cowgirl hat. :)

Slacker SXSW Review: Animoto

2008-03-25T15:54:00.006-04:00

Since these posts are coming in very slowly... I've decided to rename them as "Slacker Reviews". Very appropriate.

In any case, it seems that SXSW is following me even at the entrance of my workplace. I walked out this morning to get some late morning coffee and I see two girls handing out fliers for Animoto. I had seen their presentation at SXSW's Trade Show. I grabbed a few dozen fliers of theirs and decided to join the site. Here's my little experiment -

It's not a bad process. Takes about 15 minutes total and is much quicker if you have your photos hosted on Flickr or another hosting site. I may use it later in the future. If you make your own slideshow, let me know. Mine was kinda a starter :)

SXSW Interactive 2008: The Comedians

2008-03-21T18:30:00.003-04:00

Okay, so the comedians weren't even part of the official line up for SXSW. And their performances weren't necessarily tech related.. although, they are geeks and we love them even more for it :)

I got to see 2 great comedians, Eugene Mirman and Mike Birbiglia, on Monday night at Emo's on Red River Street in Austin. They were so funny that I nearly peed myself and my friend laughed so hard that he felt his dinner coming up. Such great times.

This was a clip Mirman showed the crowd:

And after much chanting for it, Birbiglia did the "Cracka" skit:

Notes on the panels, parties and sites coming next! :)

Wowza, Readers from 13 Countries, 26 US States?!

2008-03-21T00:54:00.003-04:00

I hadn't thought this day would come so soon. I just checked the Google Analytics account I have set up for this website and learned that I have visitors from 13 countries! What took me by an even bigger surprise is that I have readership from over half of the U.S. states! I also have 4 GoogleReader subscribers.. Now I'm *really* curious who these lurkers are. So come out, come out, will ya?

I did wonder how updating the blog more often had created a larger conversation with more readers. I just had *no* idea it was this many more. I'm shocked and very flattered :) So thank you for reading!

I now have just that much more motivation to get inspired and write some meaningful and hopefully interesting content. I'm hoping to get my SXSW notes typed up before the weekend is over..

Happy Pi Day

2008-03-14T06:57:00.007-04:00

From me, to you.

Back to Work

2008-03-12T16:15:00.003-04:00

I'm back from SXSW Interactive - it was a blast! I had such a great time with my friends Ben and Josh as well as catching up with ITP classmates.

This is what was waiting for me when I got back to my desk Wednesday morning... thanks Ulina for the cute welcome :)

Upcoming posts:
- A "best moments of Austin SXSW 2008"
- Podcasts review
- Lifehacking: cutting down on time spent online. (in response to Haasome's latest post)
- who knows what else.. stay tuned!

SXSW & Yarn: Banners

2008-03-06T19:28:00.006-05:00

It's a few hours before liftoff and I just got my luggage out. Talk about last minute packing, eh? There's something very calming about doing it at 3am. It gives you a little quiet time to think, write, and perhaps write a post ;)
This upcoming trip brings me back to Austin, TX. I'm not all about finding a cowboy this time though (wasn't very successful at that the first time hah). Last visit was for Maker Faire. This time it's SXSW - South by Southwest. A huge music, film and interactive conference. Considering I have limited vacation days due to say oh.. work and a thing called thesis.. I had to cut my trip down to 4 days and will be seeing the Interactive portion. I'm pretty psyched about it. It's one huge geek fest + lots of booze + partying. What could be better?!
I hear BUST magazine will be there and hosting a day long crafting + relaxing booth. I won't ramble too much now and will fill in details as the days progress.

Btw, I've never bought KnitPicks yarns but this ad from Ravelry is making me both hungry and craving something sweet.. like a yummy shade of alpaca yarn.. :-p

Catch ya soon dudes and dudettes.

Ultimate Craft Site..

2008-03-04T16:17:00.001-05:00

Heya,

I'm currently working on a thesis project for my graduate degree. I'm basing it on creating a site where the crafty community can come together as one. Somewhere that would serve as a learning and community tool. This would work in conjunction with Etsy if anything, in no way is it competition. I love Etsy far too much :)

I just want to ask you guys a couple of questions.. I'd love to hear from crafters and lovers of crafty things alike (so either you make stuff and/or you like to receive/buy handmade goods)

Mini survey:

1) What's the ONE thing you'd LOVE to see on a crafty site?

2) And.. what's the ONE thing you HATE about current crafty websites?

Be as brutally honest as you can be. (email me at mellowbeing[!at]gmail.com directly if you don't want to publicly post your reply in the blog)

Thanks and I really, really appreciate any input!

Jen

Last thing a day: Desktop Download - Daffodils

2008-02-29T11:58:00.004-05:00

I created this desktop image yesterday. I have a love for blue and green color combinations and daffodils. I figured, why not make something that makes my desktop space happy? Here it is in all its glory for your viewing and downloading pleasure (resolution: 1680x1050). I hope you guys like it - let me know if you're using it (I just wanna know if anyone likes it as much as I do :)

Site Very Much Under Construction

2008-02-29T01:33:00.004-05:00

As you may have noticed, the site is currently heavily under construction. Currently, the existing sections are: About, Links, Blog(!), FAQs and Web Development. This was so at least you'd have something other than the blog to read as well as opening up the channel for freelance web work.

Since the shop is officially closed for the time being, it would make sense for the sections to be empty. When I do reopen, it shall be on this here site rather than on Etsy. I'm hoping to reveal a surprise by end of summer concerning the shop portion of the site.. but I don't want to spoil it.

Oh and if you haven't noticed already, the site is *not* IE6/IE7 compliant. If you're having issues, please download the Firefox browser ASAP - you will be forever grateful.

Button Collection

2008-02-29T01:21:00.003-05:00

I just read about an ongoing contest over at Life With...Sarah 's blog. I figured if I don't win, I'll at least have an interesting photo of my button collection. I've been playing with masks in Photoshop lately. I made a "button" out of the many, many buttons I own. They are sorted by color mainly but some are by materials (silver, metal buttons) vs. mixed materials such as gold metal buttons with black plastic centers. These are obviously very different and are then sorted in their respective baggies. (yes, very obvious to.. me heh). All in all, a fun exercise.

Thing a Day #.. oh, who am I kidding?

2008-02-26T23:57:00.005-05:00

I've completely last track of the Thing a Day challenge. It's been one incredibly long month so I'm going to just cut my losses and say I did try. I have been knitting on an almost daily basis this month even if it is for 15 minutes or so. It doesn't lend itself to showing off great daily projects.. just about a handful of them.
What I am hoping to accomplish within the month's end is lining up the peach clutch and documenting that here. Otherwise, I'm hoping to be further along with the laptop bag but I won't make any illusions of actually finishing it in a few days.

The only challenge I had with this was opening my great tote bag of yarns and deciding on colors. I just knew it had to be acrylic (since wool may affect the electronics) and I had to have enough of the main color. It's hard to tell from this "in progress" photo but it will soon look *something* like the pillow case from yarnstorm's post - the first photo is of her pillow. I've changed the colors, textures and diamond shapes to fit a laptop instead of a pillow... but it continues to be my inspiration since it is the original (and it looks so great!). Hopefully, the end product's back will look something like this:
Here's to hoping..

Thing a Day: 19, ..., 22

2008-02-22T08:59:00.005-05:00

This'll be a quick post. I decided to dive into Rusted Root and start swatching - this is the first using the circulars as flat needles. I'll be swatching another piece that's made in the circular fashion to compare stitch gauge.A crochet blanket I've been working on for some time. I've completed about two dozen squares and now I'm 'seaming' them together. Since it's all done in double crochet, I've decided to just crochet onto the existing squares. While creating the 'new' squares, I'm stitching onto the existing completed squares to seam it together. It's very improvised.. so far.. not so bad.. these are the 4 colors I'll be using - they'll be put together at random.

Thing a Day: 18

2008-02-18T17:01:00.003-05:00

At the beginning of this year, I joined the Stash Knit Down group on Ravelry. Major goal of this year: knit down half my current stash before buying any new yarn. Of course, this may have been defeated early on in January when I headed out to Argentina and stumbled upon some very cheap yarn which I couldn't resist. And so I digress..
I had just finished a custom order early in January and had a half a skein left over from it. I figured, well, I should finish off the skein! Throughout the week, I decided to work on these wristwarmers. I got so excited that I didn't realize I may not have enough for 2 whole pairs of wristwarmers out of just *one* skein. After nearly finishing the second warmer ( I only had 1" left! ), did I realize that I wouldn't have enough yarn for these. And so I decided to try to finish off another teensy skein of some bright fuschia bamboo yarn I had leftover from another project. I had to undo the first wristwarmer and add the fuschia trim but I do think they came out to be a pretty pair. I *still* have some bamboo yarn left over.. it's as if the skein won't come to an end...

... is it just me or do some skeins finish far too quickly and some just keep going and going even when you swear you have a few yards of it left?

Thing a Day 8, ...,17

2008-02-17T23:04:00.003-05:00

It's been quite a while since I've updated. This past week was just deadly - 14 hour days every day for 8 days straight. More than half of it was a combination of important things and then there were the days when I just went out to have some fun.

Some highlights from the "fun" stuff this week:
A friend and I went to see the SIGGRAPH 2007 Movies Screening at FIT (Fashion Institute of Technology). It was alright - there were some amazing short films, behind the scenes footage of how ILM created scenes from Pirates of the Caribbean 3, several other short films and of course, a Pixar film. All in all, a decent way to spend 2 hours - 3D magic always makes me giddy.

Apparently Absinthe is now legal in the U.S. In order to commemorate this new knowledge, some friends and I headed down to the Lower East Side (L.E.S.) on Valentine's Day to attend a free absinthe tasting (when's a better time?). It's very strong - I would recommend adding ice instead of trying to be cool and just have it with sugar like I opted to do.

And lastly, some friends and I went to see a Beatles cover band on Friday night. Out of the 3 sets, the last one was the best. The first two were mainly 60s Beatles - when they were just another boy band with catchy tunes. The last set was filled with the good stuff - Something, Revolution, Here Comes the Sun, Oh Darling! and it ended with Hey Jude. The best song they performed was While My Guitar Gently Sleeps - the synchronization of the guitars was incredible. The most fun part of evening was when an *original* Temptation was invited to sing "Mustang Sally". The house went wild.. everyone was singing.. good times had by all.

This is starting to be a bit of a long post so I'll get to the knitting and the Thing a Day challenge now! (before you daze out and fall asleep..)

Considering my long week, I only managed to complete the following 3 projects:
*Almost* complete: Finished crocheting the edges and sewed in the remaining yarn. Add the 2 silver buttons. All that it needs now is the lining.. but I'm almost convincing myself that the lining isn't necessary. It isn't, right? Yeah? Okay not really so I'll add the lining this week.. I already have the piece of fabric picked out for it. A white cloth with cute little red flowers on it.

Complete! I sewed in all 30948234 hanging yarn ends.. (okay, there may have been only 28 total). Wore them out already and got a few compliments :D

Completed! Finally.. this has been in my stash for quite a while.. it may be almost a year actually. I worked so diligently on knitting this up (it's a dream to knit with) but never got around to sewing in the buttons. Voila! I'm loving these buttons.. they're so perfect and modern.

That is all. Til next time.

Thing a Day: 7

2008-02-07T21:57:00.000-05:00

It's been a week into the Thing a Day challenge and so far, I've completed 2 entire items... and one on its way to being almost ready to be worn and shown off. These projects have been all knitting oriented thus far. Considering that knitting is a time consuming craft, I think it's been a very productive week in making things. The third item, pictured above, is about 1" away from being completed - the first one of these wristwarmers took about a month to get through. It's amazing how much can be accomplished if you just break up a larger task into persistent 15 minutes to 1 hour mini tasks. A lot can get done..

So, you wonder.. what's this 2nd project you've finished? Since you ask, these wristwarmers were knit up in less than a week (was trying to get them in for a last minute Christmas gift..) but I never got around to actually seeming them. They were binded off fairly quickly and ever since then, just been staring at me while sitting on a corner of my desk. (If you've kept count, that's 2 pairs of lounging wristwarmers on my desk.. you can see why these are the first few to be on the list of projects). Alas, got this done in about 15 minutes yesterday evening:Still need to sew in the loose ends.. The tan & baby blue ones are further along than in the photo.. got a bit done on the train this evening. It's great beating rush hour and getting two seats to yourself. I'm pretty sure that I'll have them bound off and ready to wear by Saturday. I had predicted finishing them over the weekend, hopefully before Sunday and I've surpassed this goal! I'm feeling good about this.. it's nice to finally get things done.

Thing a Day: 2, 3, 4, ?

2008-02-04T07:27:00.002-05:00

Nope, I have not already given up on the Thing a Day challenge. I've just had a really long weekend and excuses, excuses.. kidding! Well I did have a very eventful weekend. Some friends and I went to an Obama fundraising party on Saturday and on Sunday well.. Go Giants!

On Saturday morning, I organized my 'current projects' bin which meant untangling about 10 skeins of yarn from each other. There were several in progress projects whose skeins had been caught up in the huge mess but somehow or other (with much patience) I managed to free all my projects. I decided to start on the projects I can finish up now and still wear them while it's cold out. And so I picked up once again the dreaded the 4 double pointed needles project. It's not difficult at all but I still can't get very comfortable holding all the needles so it takes me a lot longer to make progress on it. That and I don't like taking this project on the train since it's not all too comfortable. Considering most of my knitting happens on the train, you can see why it's been over a year and I only had 1 wristwarmer done until this weekend. On Saturday, I picked up the needles and went to work on the 2nd one. I've worked on it quite a bit - listened to a podcast and some music and yet.. it's about 4 inches on its way.

Hopefully this will take a week to complete.. hopefully. Anyone have tips on how to make working with dpns a little easier?

Thing-A-Day: #1

2008-02-02T00:43:00.000-05:00

Alright, and so we're off! I decided to start with finishing up my remaining knitting projects that I have lying around. Several of them require a few minutes to about an hour (or maybe a little more) to get them done. I figure I can leave the ones that take longer for the weekend and that way, just continue making, making, making with no breaks.

The first one up was the pair of wristwarmers that have been lying around my desk for the last month or so. You'd think I would've finished them by now but nope, I just let them stay on the needles forever. I've been slowly but surely working on them this week so I actually had more than just a few rows done. Proud to say that there is a completed pair now sitting on my desk. The following is a photo of one of them since the other hand is occupied taking the photo :) I need to sew in the edges and add a button (there is a button hole near the cuff) but I figure I'll leave that for later when I figure out what I'll do with this pair. Not sure why I started them either. Perhaps really, really, really early Christmas knitting? Perhaps.. maybe I'll have a giveaway on this here blog. You'll find out soon enough.

Now I'm off to check out what's up on the thing-a-day.com site...

Flickr Flash Browser

2008-02-01T15:52:00.002-05:00

Just testing out Pictobrowser which I just discovered..

.. if you view the last page, you'll a photo of Avani, myself and Vickie Howell! I was so stoked to have met her in person. Not sure if she was creeped out that I nearly followed her for a minute to get a picture haha.

Thing-a-Day on Ravelry!

2008-01-28T23:43:00.002-05:00

I’ve set up a “Thing-a-Day” group on Ravelry - a knitting & crochet site.

Anyone can join so do so if you’re a member on there.

Can't wait til February comes around :)

Thing a Day

2008-01-27T15:22:00.002-05:00

I registered myself already and have alerted several friends about the project. Basically, create something new every day. It's a nice little project that only takes up a month - not as daunting as the 365 day project. Anywho, will be posting here about it. Stay tuned!

Dudesim

2008-01-24T12:03:00.001-05:00

"While Dudeism in its official form has been organized as a religion only recently, it has existed down through the ages in one form or another. Probably the earliest form of Dudeism was the original form of Chinese Taoism, before it went all weird with magic tricks and body fluids. The originator of Taoism, Lao Tzu, basically said "smoke 'em if you got 'em" and "mellow out, man" although he said this in ancient Chinese so something may have been lost in the translation."

I was recently named the "Very cute dudette" on the 'official' Dudeism group on Facebook.

And I've just been awarded (read: filled out a quick web form) a Certificate of Ordination as seen below:

Oh, it's a mellow day indeed :)

Closing Shop

2008-01-11T13:11:00.001-05:00

After 2 years or so of selling on Etsy, I've decided to close my shop. Thesis is starting this semester and I figure I should focus on that. Might be kinda important ;) Also, after having made all those Christmas gifts, I've become acquainted again with making stuff for my loved ones and it felt really good to do that. Also, I'd love to finish some projects for myself. I feel like more and more I've purchased yarn to work on something for the shop rather than a project for myself or someone I know. It'll be nice to take the time to get back into updating the blog and I hope to now use it as a more personal blog rather than a method of advertising latest stuff for the shop.. I'm sure you guys don't mind it one bit heh.

Although, I may or may not reopen the shop in the Fall.. not entirely sure where my crafty adventures will be taking me this year. I've also wanted to start making more things with felt and making funky little toys rather than just gloves. I also was thinking of making matching scarflettes for the gloves but maybe I'll start by making a set for me :) My latest temptation to go off course is to model a crochet toy after Marvin from Hitchhiker's Guide -

isn't he adorable?! I can only imagine him being fuzzy and miniature standing on my desk. Well thats what's going on in my little nook in the world. Hope you guys have a fantastic weekend :)

Resolutions for the New Year

2008-01-07T23:43:00.002-05:00

As the New Year starts, I have to write the mandatory blog post about what I'll be hoping to accomplish these next 365 or so days (a bit late on that.. so, first thing to add to list: Less Procrastation. ha!)

Projects I want to finish (finally!) in 2008 which I started in '07..

- Green/pink wristwarmers: add buttons
- Fuschia/light pink wristwarmers: finish second and sew in ends
- Crochet orange clutch: need to add lining and clean border with other color
- ~~Purple scarflette: add silver buttons so I can wear it~~
- ~~First DPN project: make the second blue/tan wristwarmer~~
- Laptop bag: modeled after yarnstorm's jelly bean cushions (50% done with solid color, need to start adding the other colors)
- Crochet "grannie" blanket: goal is to use up all the free Lion Brand yarn I scored while at Maker Faire in October 2007
- Begin and finish my very first clothing project. It's the first pattern I've purchased (pictured above) - Rusted Root - which is so beautiful but I'm incredibly scared since it involves a lace leaf pattern.. should take a while as well since it involves size 5 needles mostly. I bought this very pretty medium blue cotton yarn for it a few months ago.. need to get started on that!

Major goal of 2008:

Oh and the major aim of this year is to knit at least 1/2 of my stash so I'll have more space in my room.. it'd be nice to have more floor space once again.

Photos stronger than words update?

2008-01-05T23:57:00.001-05:00

Happy New Year's one and all! A quick update to show ya what I've been up to lately (rather than writing a bit too much about the last month or so..)

In order: Christmas Eve, small dinner at my house where I finally used tips from Lifehacker's blog on how to fold napkins prettily, handmade Christmas gifts for friends - crochet peeling banana doll wearing the official "B.a.G." badge (spell it out), ninja plushie doll, 3 sets of jewelry for 3 lovely girls and my recently decorated room with several posters and postcards. I believe that brings us up to date?

25 = 5^2

2007-10-30T23:11:00.001-04:00

I love playing with numbers.. and guess what 25 means? Quarter of a century.. another '82 baby turns 25 this year. Oh the horror!

My 25th birthday is this November 3rd, a Saturday (oh yeahhh).

In order to make the process a little less dramatic (ha) I wanted to create a small giveaway on my blog. Just leave a comment and you just might be the lucky winner of 3 pins from my shop - your choice! (You can view the pin select here). I figure I'll write down the names of the commenters and pick one at random from a hat.

I'll post the winner on Monday! Good luck :o)

It's been a long, long time

2007-10-25T00:12:00.001-04:00

Hello folks,

Finally, the major shop update is here! I've put up a whopping 9 new pairs of wristwarmers in the shop. I was severely influenced by the good weather we've had this summer and early Fall so there are no dark colors here.. mostly bright and sunny yellows, pinks, greens and blues. Definitely make the dreary cold days a little less bleak. Well, without further ado, here are some photos of my finished creations:

You can find these in my shop along with several other new pairs. Enjoy!

Howdy from Texas!

2007-10-21T18:58:00.001-04:00

Just a quick "hey" while I'm on the road..

42nd Post

2007-10-17T22:06:00.000-04:00

Ah, the significance of 42! Now may I have the pleasure of telling you that 42 is the Answer to Life, the Universe and Everything? Okay, if you know me - you've heard that one a few dozen times by now.. otherwise, it's in reference to Hitchhiker's Guide by Douglas Adams.

It's too bad this post is significant in number and yet the content isn't all too eventful.

Some things of note:
- New blog look! I've *finally* integrated my blog with the new site look.. and you can even now navigate through the incomplete (not launched) site. You may notice it's located at craftic.com/mb which is where I'm temporarily hosting my files until I finish everything and move it over to mellowbeing.com. All in due time.. (or rather, I'm aiming for Nov 1st launch date. 2 days before my birthday! whoohoo!)

- I'm off to MAKER FAIRE!! I will be in Austin, TX. Hellz yeah! I may be bringing back some cowboy stuff.. like a cowgirl hat, some boots and maybe an actual cowboy ;)

I seriously need to stop procrastinating and start packing for it.. bringing my camera, laptop, sunblock (it's 90 there now.. how crazy..) aaaand business cards because you just never know.

Will post a ton of pictures when I get back. This blog has been photo-less for a while now so it's time to remedy that.

See ya soon!

Hey there

2007-10-04T22:26:00.001-04:00

So you may be wondering, 'whatever happened to mellowbeing's blog?' Well, there are quite a bit of reasons for why it hasn't been updated in a very long time.

Primarily, I've been quite the busy reader of *other* blogs! It all started out with getting hooked on yarnstorm's blog and finding myself going backwards in her posts and finally wondering, well what else could I have missed? So I went to the very first post in her blog and..read all the way to current day. Its very interesting reading when you read a blog that way. You get a nice sense of what the author(s) is/are trying to communicate to their audience. You start noticing trends like certain topics and concerns that keep popping up and it helps you learn several things in that manner.

I could blame it on a little case of OCD when it comes to these things but hey, keeps it all the more fun right? So nowadays, I usually read a few of these 'blogs' at a time. I get through several of them a day and by the end of the week, I've caught up with most of them. (there are really a lot of interesting posts somedays that I can't seem to skim over...)

I highly recommend the following:

ArsTechnica - tech - amazing insight into current legal/technical issues, etc.
BoingBoing - ??? - absolutely random but cool stories/finds
CatBishop - crafty - photo blog about some great handmade sculptures
CRAFT Magazine - crafty - all crafts, all the time
Crafty Daisies - crafty - awesome tutorials on embroidery, crochet, etc.
Eggman Studios - crafty - lovely fellow craftster who makes beautiful paintings and polymer jewelry
Engadget - tech - all about the latest/craziest gadgets coming out
futuregirl - crafty - creates the cutest crochet purses and other crafty goodness
Granny Along - crafty - progress with granny squares (this is more for future reference for me.. who knows when I'll get to one of my own)
Haasome - crafty - fellow craftsperson who makes cutest aprons, bags, etc.
Huffington Post - politics - left wing news source
Inkberryblue - crafty - crochet projects w/photos, tutorials, etc.
Jared In Kansas - crafty - gorgeous photography
Lifehacker - tech - all you want to know about being a more effective, productive geek
NYTimes - news - for the new yorker ;)
Slashdot - tech - news for geeks; a little bit of everything
Tigergirl - crafty - coolest jewelry around
Whamodyne - crafty - all about the puttering and making cool things with cement, light bulbs and D&D dice ;)
Yarnstorm - crafty - passionate about knitting, chocolate, gardening

So here's my list of 'blogs' that I like to read ( although a few of them aren't considered weblogs ) . Are there any you highly recommend me reading? I'd love to know what others are reading out there - I may have space to add a few more ;) I hope I've encouraged ya to read something new too - it's great spreading the love. Btw, i you aren't using it already, Google Reader rocks and you should start using it ASAP.

User Generated: A Cookbook

2007-09-21T14:12:00.001-04:00

As known in the crafty world, Yarnstorm is a very popular blogger who writes about wine, chocolate, baking, crafts, etc. Based on her 'template' look of how she sets up a blog entry, I've based the following on this entry of hers.

A little while ago, I received this beautifully illustrated package from Michelle from Eggman Studios while at the office. It made a nice little break from the work day in a the windowless room.

(to cover up my address, I've used a work in progress of mine.. call it a sneak preview ;)

The tree stump print is a great piece of artwork - it was going on my wall as soon as I could figure out how to show it off properly. Now, what kind of craft geek would I be if I didn't turn this gift into a project? Welp, I was on a mission to recreate the white frame Michelle uses in her listings.
I was a bit too eager to begin the project so I didn't get a shot of the print itself but I shall provide the one "borrowed" off her blog:
And so, the crafty afternoon began by trying to figure out which materials to use. I started off by choosing:
- some rich yellow felt
- cardboard from an embroidery kit I apparently have
- the necessary pencil and a sheet of 8"x11" graph paper.
I was hoping to draw freehand the shape of the frame but in the end, I was getting very anal about the project and started to obsessively erase curves because they were too wide or tall on some sides. Best solution? Pick one corner you like best and just use that four ways. As shown here:
The graph paper ended up being smaller than the cardboard paper so I had to draw it and redraw a larger version onto the felt that was about 3/4" wider. I kind of liked the edge once I looked at it longer but a hand drawn black edge looked a bit messy. Now, my knitting was sitting next to me.. so.. I had to incorporate it :)
With my newly acquired embroidery skills so patiently taught to me by Haasome at Etsy's Cupcake Crafts Day, I was on my way to embroidering the green yarn onto the felt. Btw, is it just me or is this post really color coordinated? The pink from the knitting matches the postage stamp, the pencil matches the felt and the green brings out the grass in the painting. Hmm..

I was contemplating whether to mix it up and place the print next to my smaller postcards or to give it its own special area. In the end, I figured this will have to go in its own little nook above my crafty stash. Without my further ado, voila!

A Quick Note

2007-09-02T10:11:00.001-04:00

I hope someone is still reading as I haven't updated in quite a while. The summer has come and gone and with it there were several hurdles to overcome. I managed to take an entire year of classes - 2 in the Fall, 2 in the Spring and 2 in the Summer all with about about 4 days to a few weeks in between. All the while maintaining a full time job and of course, the crafty bit with the small business and now blog. It's really quite a bit for one person to handle and it's very overwhelming to the point where it becomes a question of sleeping or spending time with friends because you haven't done either in a while. And as usual, hanging out with friends is always a pleasure so that has taken a toll on my sleeping schedule and several other things.

Now the Fall semester is upon me - it is starting up tomorrow. It's my last year of grad school and as much as I'd like to say that I've taken grad school seriously these past two years, I really haven't given it my all. It seems that it's always easier to take the simpler route and kind of skim the surface on things. This being the last year of my academic studies for a while, I figure I should completely put all my effort into it and not do it half-assed, pardon my French ;) I think that perhaps sometime down the road, I will either get another Masters or a PhD but I know I definitely need a break before I start up another degree.

My biggest concern is that once the year is over, I will be graduating and as much as I should know by now, I don't actually have a clear idea of what I'd like to do the next several years after graduation. As much as I love crafting, it's not my true calling and I don't intend to do it as a side business for much longer. Trust me, you will see *plenty* of new items popping up in the shop in the next few months. I've created quite a bit this summer in times of stress and I always look forward to a few hours of mindless knitting after having a hard day and having too many other thoughts that I'm trying to clear. I've had quite a bit of fun coming up with cool color combinations, finding cute buttons to match things and meeting the nicest people along the way :) You've no idea how your friendship has helped me get through some difficult times this past year and even though I won't go into details, I want to say Thanks to everyone who's been reading and been so wonderful.

I also want to take up reading again - funny to say that. I used to be a huge bookworm as a kid and all throughout my undergraduate years but now with reading the newspaper in the morning and taking up the rest of the time to knit, I feel like I've lost my way. I used to imagine being able to walk in Barnes & Noble and saying I've read an entire bookshelf but with the way it's going, it'll be surprising if I have read as much as one set of books in the entire store. I have this massive "History of the World" book I bought a long time ago and I haven't cracked the cover. Isn't that sad? I don't like having abandoned books.

Anywho, I will be finishing up mellowbeing.com in the upcoming weeks and set everything up to make a more official store front. I always dreamed of creating my own crafty business when I was a child and I can now say that I've really done that and it's something more to check off my "what to do before 30" list. I can see this year being the height of that and I will try my best to pull off providing good service and maybe even some new items. There are also several personal projects I want to work on such as the infamous laptop sleeve I keep talking about but am only a third way done. So much to do, so little time! And there are still ideas brewing up in my head such as new brooches for shop. Hah.. but I need to stop before driving myself to complete madness.

This feels like a long letter somehow but I suppose that's what a blog entry is, a personal message from writer to reader. I just thought I'd throw out there how things are going and perhaps why I've taken a bit of an absence from the blogging. If you're still reading up to this point, you're very brave :)

Oh btw, I'm will be at the Artists & Fleas today from 12pm to 8pm. If youre in the Williamsburg area, stop by. Not sure when/if I'll do another show so yeah, come on by!

Pretty Red Nails

2007-08-16T01:51:00.001-04:00

Considering I'd be at work a lot this week (read: about 10 hours every day.) I figured with all that typing, my nails should look ready to do the job. I'm not a huge fan of red nail polish on myself although a nice subdued shade on others looks great. I'm more of a dark fuchsia girl myself. So I ventured out to Ricky's and Duane Reade searching for Essie nail polish in that shade and although I had my pedicure in the color, it wasn't possible to find it in regular commercial stores. I was getting a bit antsy and settled on a Maybelline shade which surprisingly enough was only $3 a bottle!

Anywho, here's an upclose. The dark brown really makes the color pop, eh? Now I have pretty typing fingertips.

And before he bites my head off, I'd like to officially thank Boris for inspiring this post :)

This is only a test

2007-08-15T07:03:00.000-04:00

of the Mellowbeing Emergency broadcast/rss system.

Something's up with my blog ever since I reverted it to classic template and now have it land on http://mellowbeing.com/blog. Technorati doesn't update as well and the RSS feed didn't seem to pick up my last post. Anyone experienced this?

So this is just a test.

When in Philly..

2007-08-08T23:36:00.001-04:00

instead of "When in Rome..."

If you'll be in the Philadelphia area this Saturday, make a stop by the 40th Street Summer Series' Alternative Craft & Art Fair! This will be the BIG finale to the summer series so expect lots of good things such as food, poetry readings, face painting and more.

Yours truly will be showing off her latest wristwarmers, pins, cozies, notecards and maybe even brooches.. sharing a booth with Haasome and her adorable pouches, aprons, wallets and I've heard - wristlets! So stop by and say hello :) If you mention that you read this blog entry, then maybe you'll get a little freebie ;)

I think there are still openings for artists - it's a bit last minute but totally worth it. We were at the Brooklyn one a few months ago and it was a good time for all.

Stay mellow,
Jen