If you are signed up to the Facebook page you might already know, but something super duper extra exciting happened over the weekend! The lovely folks over at Frankie Magazine featured The Shy Lion on their website!
Oh, look! That’s me! *ded* – clickity-clack to look at that –
If you’ve never feasted your lovely peepers on an issue of Frankie Magazine or their website, you truly are depriving yourself of some serious blissful stuff! I heart them so intensely and back in my poorer days I would forgo a meal to buy the next issue. Yes, I used to be that poor (and that in love with Frankie!) so for them to notice little ol’ me… well, suffice it to say that I’ll be shivering with wide-eyed glee like an overstimulated chihuahua for weeks to come.
They featured my Totoro iPhone case, which peeps seem to love so that’s very nice! If you’re new to The Shy Lion, or you missed it, you can see the finished product here, and get the free cross stitch chart here. Best of all, you can do anything with the chart, not just an iPhone case!
But, the excitement doesn’t stop there! The incomparable Pip Lincolne, the editor of JustB. has been so kind as to let me write an article for them! I’m totes stoked because it’s about my Mama, and I love her face off so much it’ll be hard to stick to a word limit! I’ll keep you posted on when it goes up.
The next goal? Get published in actual, physical, on-paper print! Hmm, we shall see. ^_~
What’re your fave publications to read? Sharezies!
Gentle reader, As promised, I’ve done up a fancy, clean, non-chicken-scratch version of the chart I made to do my Totoro iPhone case. Feel free to download and bring some crafty Ghibli love into your life, but – and I feel like a douche for saying this, but you can never be too careful – […]
You peeps and my pals on FB seem to have gone properly mental over my Totoro cross-stitch phone case! Y’all are crazy! And completely sweet, and I heart you all. So, not to disappoint, I’ve worked as fast as I can, and, now, I present to you my Toto-phone!
Mmm, shall I do a Cat-Bus one next?
I’m pretty happy with it. The case itself is a great, snug fit for my iPhone and I was glad to get rid of the stretchy, loose silicone one. The design itself turned out in the end; I did have to make a few slight changes to my original chart, but I’m pleased with him now. I will do up the chart and post it in case anyone is interested in doing their own cross-stich Totoro. ^_~
To recap, if you want to do your own cross-stich iPhone case, you can get yours online here or here, or you can buy them in store at Morris & Sons (Sydney and Melbourne).
If you could do one, what design would you go for? And if you actually do do one, you MUST share it with me! I’ll pretty much love you forever!
Do you have an iPhone? When you got your iPhone were you like me and obsessed about just. the. right. case? My gadgets are my children, and it just won’t do to put them in just any ol’ case. I bought a case that was designed to make my phone look like a green monster, and I loved it. But it was made of this stretchy silicone type stuff, and it’s since stretched a bit out of shape and I’m terrified of it slipping out and getting damaged. Eek!
Well, Morris & Sons – in their infinite wisdom – recently got this piece of awesomeness in the store, and it’s the answer to my prayers!
Image credit to Leese Design
It’s made by a Korean company called Leese Design, and you can buy them there or at Morris & Sons (for $25! That’s cheap for an iPhone case). The case is a snug fit, which is what I was after, and each case comes with the needle, a few threads, and a little design booklet. But, me being me, I had to do my own design, natch, and I don’t know if I’ve mentioned it before, but I’m faaaairly cray about My Neighbor Totoro.
I want a Totoro all of my own so I can hug him and pat him and love his face! So, I got out my graph paper and drew out a design and got to stitching! I’m using some floss from a cheap bulk pack that we got from somewhere, so I don’t know how it’ll turn out color-wise. If they turn out totes fug, I’ll drop back into Morris and gets some decent ones. I’m properly stoked with the chart though. I’ll do up a clean copy eventually and share it with y’all.
What’s your name? TOH! TOH! ROOOOOOOAAAARRRRR!!! ❤
I’ll have to keep my stretchy green monster for a bit longer until this one comes together. It’s perhaps a bit sad, but I can really see myself getting a few more of these treasures and doing a few different designs so I can switch them up on a whim. They’d also make really neat gifties for any Apple-fan peeps.
Look at his little face! ^_^
What phone do you have, and what case have you got? Share some gadget love. You can even go post pics of your funky cases over at the Facebook page!
Gentle reader, I’ve been a bit absent from my blog lately, but I come bearing updates on some of my projects, one of which being a finished object finally! I’ve felt very much like my attention has been divided. There are many cool things at the yarn shop that I’m working towards that have taken […]
As I had mentioned before, my craftiness had come to somewhat of an impasse. The koala didn’t get any more work – which no one seems to mind cuz it turns out heaps of other people hate koalas too; so pleased! – and my socks just had dribs and drabs here and there whilst on transport. I started a crochet sock; pulled it out. I started a beanie; pulled it out. I just wasn’t feeling it.
You wanna what I was doing though? Video games. I was definitely feeling that.
Sakura! Street Fighter IV for the win!
In the last month or so, I’ve finished Dante’s Inferno, Fable II, Mirror’s Edge, Bayonetta, and Devil May Cry 4. I wasn’t really sure what else to play, so I hooked up the Wii and started Legend of Zelda: Twilight Princess. Which was garbage. I mean, it might have been alright a few years ago, but on a pretty vast HD LCD screen, the graphics looked like dookie, the controls were clunky, and it was just. so. BORING. So, I was like “I’ma trade in some games, y’all!” And I did! I now have Street Fighter IV and Alan Wake for Xbox to get through. I’m so obsessed with SFIV; the art direction is so yummy, it’s totally seducing my eyeballs. The picture above is Sakura, one of my favorite characters! Sure, she’s a little Japanese school girl in a sailor-style uniform, but she’s not overtly sexualized like other game characters, and her personality is so happy and fun.
I know, I know, I’m bad. The thing is, when I finish a video game, I get the same sort of satisfaction as when I finish a crochet project, so I feel like I haven’t wasted my time. And in that sense I suppose I haven’t, I just don’t have anything to show for it. But there is good news for all of y’all who don’t care what I’m yammering about unless it’s something yarn-y. Cuz I’m back in the zone, y’all! First of all, I had earmarked some patterns on Rav to get my inspiration going, and I found these gorgeous Totoro mittens by Brella.
Totoro Mittens!
I cast them on with some Lincraft brand DK acrylic and another nameless acrylic that I had lying about. I’m not the most confident knitter yet, and stranded knitting might be a little ambitions, so I figured I’d start with some acrylic and if all goes well by the halfway point, I’ll start a proper pair in nice yarn
Kooky. Indeed.
Then, while I was at work on Monday, I was flipping through a book called Kooky Crochet by Linda Kopp. I use the word kooky all the time, partially because it’s so versatile, and, well, this book does use the term faaaairly liberally. However, a lot of the items are quite fun, and it’s just refreshing to find a crochet book that isn’t all blankets and tacky singlet tops. I might review it later, but I won’t go too much into it now. Anyhow, I asked my manager if I could make the Lucha Libre you can see on the cover for the section in our store we like to call “Manland”, and the chicks for Easter, as well as some cool felted fortune cookies; the answer was yes! I’m pretty excited. I’ve started the mask, but I won’t show you pics of that yet; it’s just a blue disc. I would definitely make some changes if I were making it for my own benefit, but since it’s a sample, I’ll just to the pattern to the letter for now.
Peaks Island Hood by Ysolda Teague ❤
And finally! I had made my Ma a beret for her birthday, but I was really unhappy with how it turned out. It was too late to make her something else in time, so I just gave it to her anyway. She said she loved it, but I guarantee she’ll never wear it. In fact, I hope she doesn’t. I’ve been determined to find something else to make her anyway, and I found this beautiful pattern from Ysolda Teague, who I absolutely adore. It’s called the Peaks Island Hood, and it’s a scarf that converts into a hood as well. I was umming and ahhing about it for a ages, but I finally bought it and today I bought some new needles and yarn and cast it on. I’m up to about row six I think, and I’m loving it so far.
I can already see a few mistakes I’ve made with twisted stitches and a few weird things, but nothing I’m concerned enough about to rip back. It’s a learning experience, and I’m just trying to accept that. It’s definitely making me think a lot more about the architecture of stitches and patterns, and that’s really great. I’m just frustrated that it’s not as easy for me as crochet, but I’ve been doing that for years, and I’m just picking up knitting for the first time since primary school. Just breathe, Raynor… chillax!
They featured my Totoro iPhone case, which peeps seem to love so that’s very nice! If you’re new to The Shy Lion, or you missed it, you can see the finished product here, and get the free cross stitch chart here. Best of all, you can do anything with the chart, not just an iPhone case!
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