I'm Almost Ashamed

I have so many finished objects that I wonder where I found the time to do it all. I have to admit it's because I end up spending about three hours a week on homework, as opposed to ten on yarn. But I do spend eight hours a day AT school, so presumably some education is osmosing into me. I haven't missed any assignments or classes or anything. So my projects, which I think I will post pictures of as they get finished rather than all at once, start with the Brave New Bra Top from he Interweave Knits Crochet issue, which bears the stigmata of being the only pattern I've ever actually bought. Wow. And, ironically, it is also a pattern I wouldn't recommend to anyone who doesn't already design clothing for a living (in which case you could make something more glorious anyway, so why bother?). This thing looks so smooth and cute in the picture, but when I finished it and put it on, it looked like I
stored about six walnuts in each bra cup for kicks. Lumpy? I looked deformed. The elephant boobitis syndrome. SO I sewed a dart up the middle of each cup. I haven't tried it on yet, but I really hope it helps...it was a lot of work, and I think a lot more difficult than it had to be. It was like the designer went to any lengths to avoid cutting and reattaching yarn, and sometimes you just have to break down and do that.

I'm also doing the Hug Shrug from Magknits, and I was absolutely stumped on my first two tries--I know how to do ribbing, and it wasn't working with the decreases. So I'm skipping the ribbing, using larger needles, and just doing it in stockinette. I'm using brown brushed acrylic, which I got a huge bag of from Ebay for $7. Mixed colors and I can pretend it's wool! I can if I want!*wipes tear*

Moulin Rouge corset: Almost done. Like four rows of crochet shells away. So that pattern I will put up as soon as I'm done, and it will be my very first knit crochet combo.
On that note, are all you crocheters mad at me for defecting to knitting? =) Hardly anyone comments any more. I swear I still like crocheting better! It's just that I had so many crocheted toys around that I wanted to try something else, and after long searching decided that crochet just isn't the best for clothing, because it doesn't stretch. So I'm just using knitting to make clothes.

My next big idea is actually going to be crochet--I want to try shrines. A pair of them, Fire and Water. I want to use all my Red Heart and free form to make them, and the Fire one will have my clay sculpture of Ganesha in it, (although I want to try crocheting him too)a sun, dandelions and books. The Water one will have a tree on each side of it, and a crocheted dryad inside.

I was sketching out my ideas for all this in Environmental biology this morning, because the teacher was talking about population and it was really getting to me. She said that if the human population continues to grow at the rate it is now, in 35 years the earth will have more people on it than it can actually support with its resources.So what are we supposed to do about that? Be like China and tell people they can't have families? Euthanasia? There doesn't seem to be a
solution here, at least not one I can accept. I felt like I had to do something to reaffirm that every human being is valuable and deserves a chance to exist...and the shrines will do that. Somehow. I can't explain it. Art for art's sake, I guess.
If anyone's reading this, (and I know you are) please tell what you think about this. It's really bothering me.

On a more cheerful subject, my brother made me a web button, so if you want to link to me, you can use it! It's at the bottom of the page..and that's a lucky cat in the corner, if you can't tell. It's so small, it's a little fuzzy.