Haiku Friday

I am truly the
Luckiest employee, to
look out and see this:

(I really am the luckiest woman in the world, Readers, to be treated to this view every day!)

Moon Cosmic Snowflake! Make Up!

Readers (and fellow Moonies), if you really want to get into the nerd spirit of this snowflake, please play the music linked below. And feel free to sing along!

Readers, one of my favorite guilty pleasure TV shows has been digitally restored and put on Hulu.

While I don't count myself among the "Moonies", I will say that I have a very soft spot in my heart for Sailor Moon.

Growing up, I would joyfully set myself in front of the TV if I was lucky enough to catch the show before heading out for school (the show aired at 6:30 am where we were living), and partake in whatever fabulousness Serena (aka Usagi in the Japanese version) and her friends were up to. This was a rare treat, though; my mother wasn't exactly a fan of the show, so the channel would get routinely get changed to the morning news. She'd tolerate the show on a few rare occasions, but she'd never miss a chance to remind us that "this cartoon is the dumbest thing I've ever seen!"

Usagi, you are (and always will be!) my main animated girl, but my parents were right. You were dumb as hell. We still love you though! Image found here: http://sailormoon.wikia.com/wiki/Sailor_Moon_Wiki

Well, yes. Yes, it is dumb. Sailor Moon (at least the American version) is probably one of the dumbest shows ever put on television. But I love it anyway. It fills me full of nostalgic feels.

So, Sailor Moon wasn't a show that I got to watch all that often, along with Muppet Babies, Ren and Stimpy, Sonic the Hedgehog, Captain Planet; any show that annoyed either of my parents was generally avoided at our house. And if any of us whined enough to be allowed a temporary viewing, both of my parents would take every possible opportunity to remind us WHY they thought the show was beneath our family's dignity.

In Sailor Moon's case, my parents weren't necessarily bothered by the concept or characters (although my Dad would point out on more than one occasion that he thought Serena's Sailor Senshi outfit was stupid: "It doesn't even hide her face! It's not like she's hiding her identity! What kind of superhero is this?!"), more than anything else, it was the voice acting that set them over the edge.

Before any of you ask, yes, I'm talking about Cloverway's terrible English dub.

Anyways, my latest crochet snowflake is based around my favorite guilty-pleasure cartoon! The larger spokes are loosely based off of Usagi's Cosmic Heart Compact (I put more hearts on it), and the crescent moons are based off of her Moon Stick. To the Moonies reading this: I am well aware that Usagi never used the Moon Stick and the Cosmic Heart Compact at the same time. I just thought they looked nice together :-)  I hope you guys enjoy, Readers!

"Moon Cosmic Snowflake"

Materials: Size 10 crochet threat
Hook: 1.5 mm
12 smallish glass beads (optional)
white sewing thread (optional)
sewing needle (optional)

Special stitches: Crescent Moon
Ch 6, sl st in 2nd ch from hook and in next 2 ch. Sc in next 2 ch. Ch 6, sl st in 2nd ch from hook and in next 2 ch. Sc in next 2 ch and in next sc. Sl st in base of "moon".

Ch 7, form ring. 

Rd 1: Ch 3 (counts as first dc) 17 dc in ring. Join w/ slip stitch to first dc. 

Rd 2: *Ch 11, work 2 dc cluster in 3rd ch from hook. Ch 3, sl st in same ch as 2 dc cluster. Ch 16, sl st in same ch as 2dc cluster to form ring. In ring, work 3sc, 2hdc, 2dc, 4tr, dc, hdc, sc. Ch 6, dc in 3rd ch from hook and in next 2 ch. Ch 3, sl st in 2nd ch from hook. (ch 2, sl st in 2nd ch from hook) twice. sl st in first ch of previous ch 3 and in top of last dc worked. Ch 4, dc in 3rd ch from hook and in next ch. Ch in top of 3rd dc of 1st dc group made. 1 sl st in same ch as 3rd dc of first dc group and in next ch. In ring, work sc, hdc, dc, 4tr, 2dc, 2hdc, 3sc. Sl st in same ch as previous 2dc cluster. Ch 8, sk 2 dc, sc in next dc. Ch 8, work 2dc cluster in 3rd ch from hook. Work Crescent Moon. Ch 3, sl st in same ch as previous 2dc cluster. ch 5, sc in same st as previous sc, repeat from * around. join with sl st. 

If using beads, sew the beads in the middle of the crescent moons, and in the middle of the heart spokes. Starch using 6-point star. Stiffen using any method you like!

Crocheters, you know the drill! You can do whatever your hearts desire with the snowflakes you make from this pattern, but as for the pattern itself: Please don't change it, please don't sell it, but feel free to share it all you like!

Haiku Friday

Arrogance is the
plastic badge holder swinging,
besmirched coffee lid

Betrays the sharp dressed
hipster typing on his Mac
as the bus rumbles.

Child, your latte cost
twice what the man in grey is
asking you to pay.

Child, if you could buy
your double shot extra foam
Vanilla latte,

Then you could afford
Two dollars and fifty cents
fare to ride the bus.

(Pay your bus fares, people).

New snowflake coming soon!

A good evening to you all, my dear readers!

I'm putting the finishing touches on a new snowflake that I am VERY excited about.

Plus, I'm going to preemptively put out an uber Nerd Alert.

The flake itself is about halfway there (and it's probably one of the most convoluted snowflakes I've ever designed...so much for my mantra of "less is more"!), and should probably be ready to show in a week or so. But, here's a little hint of what you can expect:

Until next time!