Final puzzle drawings

Here's the final puzzle. Click on the image to see a larger version of it. I need to put some sort of protective coating over it, but other than that it's done!

Puzzle close-up 4

Puzzle close-up 3

Puzzle close-up 2

Puzzle close-up 1

Sean brought home a blank puzzle, and I decided to draw some creatures on it. Here are some close-up images of the creatures. There will be five columns of creatures, stacked seven high, and the puzzle is about 8.5"x11"

I'll put the final puzzle up when I finish it!

Snoring cat

Napping cat

Staring cat

Jumping cat

Tulips in a jar

Bones

Glass jar

Kisses

Spools of thread

Buttercup Ravioli

I had some friends in town the last few days, and made this buttercup squash/tofu ricotta ravioli one of the nights. It's topped with the last of the tomatoes from my garden, tomato sauce, caramelized onions, and served on a bed of steamed kale. That's a bowl of butternut squash soup on the side.

Sad ice cream painting: day 2

Here's the painting after the second day. I fixed the shape of the shoes and added a few more details.

Painted chest

I got this Ikea toy chest about 9 years ago, and always meant to paint it. When a tube of teal acrylic paint exploded the other day, I decided to use it to paint the panel rather than let it go to waste. I added some brown on top, and am planning to paint the other panels similarly and possibly stain the bare wood to a darker brown.

Sad ice cream painting

This painting is based mostly on a photo a friend of mine took of her adorable two and a half year-old, moping after being reprimanded for yelling in the car. I loved how expressive his body was, and decided it would make a great subject. To tell a bit more of a story, I'm planning to paint a dropped ice cream cone in front of him (a vegan one, of course!).

This a photo of the painting after day 1, so I'll post more progress shots as I continue to work on it.

I probably won't have another opportunity to post for awhile, but I'll be working on making stuff, so stay tuned for make-up posts when I'm back!

Ridiculous shocked crocheted monster

I can't decide whether this guy should have any limbs. What do you think? (Sorry for the blurry photo on this one.)

A little crocheted guy with big teeth

Charlie is helpful

Ok, so this isn't a creation, but I'm a little behind on my posts, so please enjoy this photo of Charlie "helping" us play Scrabble. By helping, I mean that he wanted to get involved in moving the tiles around himself, so we had to keep him consistently distracted by tossing him crumpled pieces of paper.

Autumn soup

I made a very yummy soup (if I do say so myself) using a buttercup squash, a head of cauliflower, vegetable boullion, and some onion, garlic, and herbs from the garden. It turned out rich, creamy, and less healthful-tasting than it was. Perfect for the fall!

Apple cake (again)

After a couple of less-than-stellar attempts at making apple cake, I think this might be the one! I'm going to try making it with spelt flour as well (this version used all-purpose), and trying it in muffin form.

I made a carrot

I planted a few carrots back in April, but they didn't do a whole lot of growing in the backyard. I guess they needed a little more sun. This was the largest of my carrot harvest. It tasted delicious, but was a little smaller than average. If you can't tell from the photo, it's about two or two and a half inches long.

Eeeevaaaa

I'm planning to make a pair of Eve and Wall-E crocheted dolls, and have completed Eve, the much simpler of the two. I've been putting off Wall-E because I haven't found any yarn that's quite the right color yet.

Crocheted pug

This is my first attempt at a crocheted pug, which is a project I've been meaning to try for awhile. My next version will use plastic safety eyes, which I think might give it a nice puggy touch. I just used black yarn in this version.

Man with a leaf

Birdman with teeth

Buttercup squash risotto

I've never been a big fan of risotto (I'll take orzo over rice if given the choice), but I figured I should try at least once to make it properly. I made a version with buttercup squash*, kale, herbs, and celery from the backyard, sun-dried tomatoes, and a few goodies from the farmer's market.

*It turns out that buttercup squash is fantastic, incredibly nutritious, and isn't that hard to cook if you just split it into two or four pieces and steam it (without trying to peel it). It's similar enough to the Japanese kabocha squash that they two names are sometimes used interchangeably. It is, however, very different from the butternut squash, which is more watery and less flavorful.

Deviled "egg" yolks, part 2

I tried a new angle with my deviled eggs, and I think I'm that much closer to getting the recipe down! Hooray! The yellow color is 100% natural, and I didn't even have to use turmeric this time. Still have to work on the whites, and I'm hoping the new chocolate egg mold I found on Amazon (just $2 with free shipping!) will help me out. Stay tuned for a final finished version.

Devilish creature

Knitted balaclava

I decided to take a break from crochet for a bit and knit myself a balaclava. I used a very easy pattern which can be found here on the blog Knitting in Color. I'd bought a couple of skeins of Mirasol H'api, which is a variable-width Peruvian super-soft cotton yarn (and fair-trade to boot), and it seemed perfect for this project, as I want something that'll keep me warm without being scratchy against my skin. I'm pleased with the way it turned out!