A Gamer's Wife

Top 9 Pros and Cons of Working at Home with Your Spouse

noreply@blogger.com (Anne G. White) — Mon, 30 Jan 2012 18:13:00 +0000

K has been working on his top-secret creative project with his brother for the past 2-3 months, and most of it involves crunching on a laptop either in the living room or Starbucks. Not only is that a huge life change, but our cash flow has suddenly gone from a game developer's salary to an entrepreneur's salary when you're first starting out (aka ≤ $0). With K being a huge extrovert and a lover of video games and HeroClix, being stuck at home all the time been hard on him/us, and we sometimes find ourselves doubting if we're hearing God's direction correctly. But He's gotten us out of sticker messes before, so we continue to trust in His plan and timing (Isaiah 55:8-9). ^_^

Anyway, I had a lot of fun making my little image map last week, so here's my creative way of listing my top 9 likes and dislikes (yes, I mixed them together) of working at home with my husband. See if you can guess what each image means, then scroll your mouse over each box to view the answer.

Question:

If you have a significant other, are you two always glued to the hip or do you tend to make some time away from each other?

Happy Year of the Dragon!

noreply@blogger.com (Anne G. White) — Thu, 26 Jan 2012 06:40:00 +0000

During a Chinese New Year party with friends, I found out that apparently Chinese parents will deliberately wait till the year of the dragon to have kids because it's considered the luckiest of all the zodiac animals. Wow, I guess that means we're going to have a little dragon baby on our hands... maybe I should make a little dragon plushie in preparation? Unlike my search for geeky baby outfits, I found tons of amigurumi patterns on Ravelry to make. They're all so cute! I may have to make a trio of them, one zodiac animal for each family member. :) Of course, that would be after I finish the doggy black dress and the Link costume and... yeah.

(click the image to view each pattern)

Question:
Any guesses on whether we're going to have a dragon boy or a dragon girl? (K's family had all boys, while my family had one of each.)

The Gift of Shame

noreply@blogger.com (Anne G. White) — Mon, 23 Jan 2012 13:00:00 +0000

Ever have one of those crafts that, as you saw the pattern, you were immediately inspired to make it for someone because it's perfect for him? And in your excitement, you tell said friend in front of other related friends about your plans to make the craft as a Christmas gift. Then once you begin the project, you run into some snags. Ravelry commenters say the pattern has some sizing flaws, your yarn size isn't perfectly matched, and your knitting gauge has always been fairly wonky compared to standard instructions.

But it's ok, right? You can do this. Crocheter for 3 years, knitter for 2, and comfortable with a certain degree of improvisation. So you measure your wonky gauge using the wrong sized yarn and compensate the best you can. But by the time you are 80% done with making the seemingly awesome Space Invaders hat, you realize that it looks more like a head accessory for a Conehead than a human. You've gone too far to undo the whole thing (or rather, are unwilling to give up all that work), so in a last ditch effort, you attempt to decrease the diameter of the hat in half the number of rows, creating some kind of wrinkly, stumpy crown. Great.

K says it looks fine, but I know better. I have a really high standard for myself, and it just looks so... homemade! I want it to appear store-bought, meticulously manufactured... flat out spectacular. But I guess I shouldn't be so hard on myself because that's the charm of getting something made by hand. It does have mistakes and character and, well, heartfelt love and affection behind it. So yeah, it's not my best work (I still struggle with stranding), but it's functional, well-meaning and, best of all, geeky. :)

Question:
Have you ever been so embarrassed of a finished project that you didn't want to give it to the intended receiver? Did you end up giving it anyway?

Finally, A Friend!

noreply@blogger.com (Anne G. White) — Thu, 19 Jan 2012 13:00:00 +0000

After over 1.5 years since moving to K's hometown, I am finally going my first date... with a female friend! Not a double date, not a family function, but a real, live outing all by myself with someone of the same gender who enjoys my company. ^_____^ I don't know what's up with this city, but back in my hometown, they had a little something called "Southern hospitality" and boy, do I miss it. K and I have tried everything from baking cookies for neighbors to joining Bible studies for married couples to attending local community events, but it's like everyone's dance card is already full and no one is interested in taking the step beyond small talk.

So how did friendship #1 come into development? Well, most of the guy friends that K knew before moving away seem to be stuck in perpetual singleness, but one of them happened to pick up this energetic firecracker of a woman and we totally connected! After several group events, K kept encouraging me to invite her to coffee and hang out with her one-on-one, but then everyone got caught up with Christmas activities so I decided to bide my time till after New Year's. Lo and behold, I find out that K's friend had broken up with her over the holidays! O_O Not to be deterred, I emailed her anyway and asked if she wanted to talk over lunch and she said yes! YAAAYYY! (Hehe, I totally know how guys feel now when they ask girls on dates. ^_~)

Anyway, firecracker woman (let's call her Cindy) has two little Chihuahuas that she loves to dress up so I decided to make her the "Little Black Dress With Pearls" Dog Sweater. Sorry, it's not a very geeky craft, but Cindy's a very girly-girl. She's very enthused about going maternity clothing shopping with me (eww, shopping), but I'll unfortunately have to break it to her at some point that I already bought my entire pregnancy wardrobe on Craigslist for less than $100. ^_^;;

Property of savannahkay

Ideas for Geeky Baby Outfits

noreply@blogger.com (Anne G. White) — Mon, 16 Jan 2012 13:00:00 +0000

With K out of work, I've been researching "bargain baby budget" articles and trying to buy things secondhand whenever possible. However, I had almost forgotten that, as a yarn crafter, there are some items that I can actually make myself. Mittens, booties, etc. When I asked K if he had any requests, he immediately thought of the Futurama brain slug hat I'd made for Sara's first kiddo:

Mmm, baby brains...

That got me thinking about if there were any other geeky baby patterns out there, specifically for clothing or outfits. Surprisingly, I didn't actually find that many in Ravelry, but here's a smattering of creations that caught my attention and got the creative juices flowing. (Click on the images to view the pattern.)

My absolute favorite pattern so far has got to be The Legend of Baby Link, which uses both knitting and crochet! As much as I hate the monotony of stockinette stitch, I think I may have to make this, no matter what gender the baby turns out to be.

Question:
Any suggestions what kind of geeky "coming home" outfit I should make? I might be willing to design something new...

Resisting the Urge to Correct My Karate Sensei

noreply@blogger.com (Anne G. White) — Thu, 12 Jan 2012 13:00:00 +0000

The first karate kata, or set of forms, I got to learn as a white belt was the pinan ninan, and one of the very last moves is ma shomen nekoashi dachi, or front facing cat stance. "Neko," or cat, is a fairly common word in Japanese anime, so I was surprised when my sensei called it "nikoashi dashi." To be fair, Sensei is not Japanese by birth and learned karate as a kid here in the United States. And... he probably doesn't watch anime in his free time either, so it's forgivable. I decided not to correct him because I didn't want to openly admit to viewing foreign animated cartoons. ^_^;;

To be fair, it's not like I'm the expert on all things Japan either. After 2 months of coming to class, Sensei pulled me aside one day and said, "Your gi (uniform) should be worn left side over right. The reverse way you have it right now is only worn by the dead." Awesome! I've been practicing zombie karate. ^_~

Anyway, I'm reminiscing about these little stories because my doctor said no more hand-to-hand combat after the first trimester. When I emailed my sensei about it, he wrote back, "Please let me know when you would like to come back, as I would love for you to join us again. Someone with your energy is always nice to have." I think that's his gentle way of saying I'm a tad more... excitable than his average student. ^_^;;

"Shrinking" AllAboutAmi's Teddy Ornaments

noreply@blogger.com (Anne G. White) — Mon, 09 Jan 2012 13:00:00 +0000

If you like to knit or crochet amigurumi, you know there's a severe lacking in yarn color choices. It's so hard to match that exact shade of Pac-Man ghost #3, but throughout the years, I've settled on Red Heart Super Saver as my cheap and readily available default. Which means I have tons and tons of random leftover Red Heart yarn scraps in my collection.

So whenever I come upon an amigurumi pattern that calls for non-worsted weight yarn, I can either a) buy new yarn (no way, I need to use up my stash!), b) make the pattern as is, gauge be darned, or c) alter the pattern to keep the original size. Normally I choose option B, but for AllAboutAmi's Teddy Ornament pattern, I went with option C because well, I didn't want the bears to become super-giant-sized compared to the rest of my Christmas ornaments. Here are my edits in case you're interested!

Yarn: Red Heart Super Saver (worsted)
Hook Size: 3.25 mm (D)

HEAD/BODY

Complete Rows 1-6 of the instructions (36 sts).
Skip to Row 9. Sc around for 8 rows. (If you’re creating the panda, switch colors after completing 2 rows of sc around.) When finished, skip to Row 23 of the instructions and finish the rest as written.

SCARF (I shortened the # of chains and used sc only, no hdc.)

Chain 51 instead of 62. Try this length out by wrapping it loosely around the bear.
Row 1: Starting in second chain from hook, sc 50 (not hdc). Fasten off.
Row 2: Join new color to the first stitch. Ch 1 and sc 50. Fasten off.
Row 3: Join original color (from Row 1) to the first stitch. Ch 1 and sc 50. Fasten off.
Follow rest of scarf instructions on attaching fringe, etc.

TEDDY & PANDA EARS (I never made the koala ears, but it's probably similar.)

Row 1: 5 sc in magic ring.
Row 2: *Sc 1, 2 sc in next sc* 2 times and sc 1 in the last stitch for a total of 7 sts.
Row 3: Sc around (7 sts).
Do not make Row 4. Follow rest of ear instructions.

TIPS & TRICKS
To best hide all the loose ends, I made the teddy ornaments in this order:

Make the head/body up to Row 23 or 24 and pause (do not fasten off).
For the panda and koala, cut the eye patches out of felt.
Place the eyes (and felt pieces) on the ornament without snapping the washer on. Embroider the noise and mouth. If satisfied with the positioning of the face, snap the eye washers on.
Make the scarf and glue/sew it to the bear just below the mouth.
Make the ears and sew them on the head.
Attach the loop to the top of the bear's head.
Finally, begin stuffing the head and complete the rest of the head/body instructions. You're done!

Since only the outside of the amigurumi is visible, I just knotted the loose ends inside the bear and didn't worry about tucking them in neatly. Some people don't like the "feel" of the knots, but it's packed full of stuffing so I can't really tell.

New Year's Resolutions (or Not)

noreply@blogger.com (Anne G. White) — Thu, 05 Jan 2012 13:00:00 +0000

K doesn't believe in making New Year's Resolutions because, well, if you really want to change, you should just start as soon as possible instead of only at a certain time of the year (and then ignoring it a month later). I never made resolutions because my family didn't make a big deal out of New Year's Day. That being said, I do have an ongoing list of "Things I Want to Do Before I Die" (aka my Bucket List). It was originally my "Things I Want to Do When I Grow Up" list that I started in college. I would dream of all these cool pursuits I could follow once I was making money and no longer had to do homework/studying in my free time.

Then I discovered a website called 43things.com, where you can record, share, and conquer your Bucket List with other fellow adventurers. Here's a sampling of what I've got so far:

Completed

Take acting lessons - I've determined I suck at playing angry people
Learn martial arts - yay karate!
Write a novel - yay NaNoWriMo!
Share the gospel with someone

Given Up

Go scuba diving - I live in a landlocked state and K doesn't prefer beaches
Run a marathon - I trained up to about 12-13 miles and decided running is too boring

Things to Do

Read the entire Bible - this is my "unofficial" 2012 New Year's resolution!
Have a kid - almost there!
Do the splits
Visit Japan
Take voice lessons
etc...

Question:

Do you believe in making New Year's resolutions? If so, what are yours for 2012?

New Year, New Baby :)

noreply@blogger.com (Anne G. White) — Mon, 02 Jan 2012 17:15:00 +0000

So we're officially announcing it! After 6 months of trying, God has blessed us with a little bundle of joy. I've seen lots of friends post their sonogram on Facebook to share the news, so we decided to do something a little different...

Yes, that would be a little baby Mario if you're wondering. And yes, I digitally erased my actual baby to make this picture. ^_^;; I still like my announcement idea better than K's though, which was to take a picture of my hands around his tummy with the caption "We're pregnant!"

Given that this is our first kiddo, I'd like to say how woefully misinformed I was about this whole pregnancy process. First off, the only symptom I ever heard about was the infamous morning sickness. Not so! It's the extreme fatigue is what gets me. As a type A-er, it's frustrating to no longer have the energy to complete basic chores around the house. Oh, and the crying! I can't stand the hair-trigger tears that seem to spring to my eyes at the slightest provocation. One time I started bawling because K said "ho ho ho" one too many times (don't ask).

Anyway, just wanted to share the good news with you all so you can keep me, K, and our baby geek in your prayers. If you have any baby-related advice to share for us newbie parents, please let me know in the Comments!

Question:
What was the thing you least expected after having children?

K's Favorite Posts of 2011

noreply@blogger.com (Anne G. White) — Thu, 29 Dec 2011 13:00:00 +0000

I wouldn't be a gamer's wife without my wonderful husband K, so to cap off the year, I asked him to pick out his favorite posts of 2011:

I tried to limit him to 3 choices, but he snuck another one in there in the end titled Merry Belated Christmas! (How timely too. ^_~) This year, we didn't ~~torture~~ dress up Chairman Meow in the full Santa suit, but K couldn't resist buying a little something to help her get into the Christmas spirit...

"I will murder you all in your sleep..."

Thank you to everyone for reading my blog and inspiring me to write more! God willing, I plan to stick to my schedule of posting 2x a week, and I hope my "voice" will continue to grow stronger and funnier with every passing year. May the Lord bless you and your families in 2012!

Caught Up with "A Song of Ice and Fire"

noreply@blogger.com (Anne G. White) — Mon, 26 Dec 2011 13:00:00 +0000

I finally finished reading A Dance with Dragons, George R. R. Martin's latest book in the "Game of Thrones" series. The reason why it has taken me so long is because a) I was in the middle of another book, so b) K got to read it first, but then c) I decided to reread the previous book A Feast for Crows to have all the details fresh in my brain. Having read the two books back to back, I actually feel like A Feast for Crows was better. Not that I didn't enjoy A Dance with Dragons, but usually when I read this series, there are some character plots I look forward to and others I don't, and in this book, it seems like there were more characters I didn't really care about. My favorite story line by far is Arya Stark's; I looove hearing about all the different things this kid is learning and am anxious to see what kind of person she'll become.

Arya Stark, the ever-changing chameleon

Note: I am not recommending this series for everyone because it most certainly has a mature rating. Nuff said.

Last Minute Geek Gifts

noreply@blogger.com (Anne G. White) — Fri, 23 Dec 2011 05:33:00 +0000

Whew, almost didn't get this post out by the end of Thursday! Sorry, dealing with a little bit of holiday craziness, so haven't had time to think or write. But at least I managed to finish all my Christmas craft gifts in time, including a batch for my anime watching group. 2 of the guys are really into Dungeons & Dragons, which K absolutely abhors. He's never been into pen and paper games in the first place, but his last last job was working on a dungeon crawler game that required him to read every D&D manual in existence, so now he really hates it. My anime friends like to poke at this weakness by constantly asking him, "What's your armor class, K?"

So how does D&D relate to geek gifts? For their Christmas presents, I decided to crank out a pair of dice bags, since different types of dice are commonly used to play D&D. What do ya think?

Every D&D geek I know has an automatic fascination with Cthulhu, so can't go wrong there.

One of the guys is creeped out by anything to do with eyeballs, so of course I had to address his "phobia." ;)

For K, I'll totally admit I copped out and bought him a geeky t-shirt online. Will let you what he thinks. Hope all of you have a very merry Christmas, void of stress and instead filled with God's peace and joy! ^_^

Greener Pastures

noreply@blogger.com (Anne G. White) — Mon, 19 Dec 2011 13:00:00 +0000

Ahh, I had something like 8 posts built up and pre-scheduled and now I'm totally out. The reason why the drop in blogging/social media is because of several major events all train-crashing at the same time. Sound familiar? Just a year and half later after moving to another state because of K's new job, he's once again looking for work. In this case, the entire studio was abruptly shut down, with management giving the reason that not enough profit was made on their latest release. Honestly, it wasn't a big surprise, with all the bad choices made by the higher ups and the long 5-year development time (similar to what happened with L.A. Noire).

Layoffs are of course nothing new for us. However, given that this is the 4th company K's worked for in the 4 years we've been married... it's getting a little old. The video game industry is so immature in many ways, squeezing all the life out of kids right out of school (aka cheap labor) and then having the attitude that "you should be so lucky to make games for a living" when you complain about the long working hours. No wonder the median age for developers is around 25.

K has always wanted to have his own business and make money being his own boss, since it's been pretty discouraging investing so much of your life in an industry that will literally get rid of you at any time. That being said, entrepreneurship has its own risks and I'll admit, I'm scared! Gahhh, I know God swept us off our feet during our last major decision making crisis, single-handedly providing us both new jobs and moving us 1000 miles across the country. I just have a huge problem with letting go of control and trusting Him to know best (stupid, right?). I was raised not to expect anything and to just roll with the punches. Yet, during last week's sermon about weathering life's storms, the pastor said, "You must have faith with expectation." He gave the example of the centurion in Matthew 8:5-13 who asked Jesus to heal his paralyzed servant, yet knew that Jesus didn't even have to come into the house but just say the word. I need to truly believe, in my worrisome heart and not just in my brain, that the Lord will provide and will work "for the good of those who love him" (Romans 8:28), even if it may not be my limited idea of "good." ^_^;;;

Anyway, please pray for us. K is totally at peace about all this. He's working on a creative venture with his brother right now until the severance pay runs out and then... we'll see!

Princess Peach Quilt

noreply@blogger.com (Anne G. White) — Thu, 15 Dec 2011 13:00:00 +0000

Congratulations to Ben and Sara on the birth of their second child! If you remember, they had designed a Mario-themed nursery for their first kiddo, complete with Mario quilt and all. So if you find out you're going to have a little girl next, what do you do? Make a matching Princess Peach quilt!

I don't want to know how many squares that is...

...but it was totally worth the final result!

Not only did Sara make this beautiful geek girl blanket, but she also crocheted an awesome "coming home" outfit for her new daughter. Congratulations on the latest addition to your family, Ben and Sara!!

Do Women "Choose" To Make Less Money Than Men?

noreply@blogger.com (Anne G. White) — Mon, 12 Dec 2011 13:00:00 +0000

When I wrote my post on It's a Man's World (Or Is It?), I was trying to do some research on the ratio of men to women in marketing. Instead, I found an interesting article called Majors by Gender: Is It Bias or the Major that Determines Future Pay? The US Census shows a gender wage gap of a woman getting paid about 77 cents for every 1 dollar a man is paid. However, according to their studies, females tend to make less than males is because they choose majors (and thus jobs) that pay a lower national median income. And these particular majors pay less to both men and women. Common majors for females include public relations, elementary education, and nursing, while common majors for men include engineering, finance, and sports management. Hmm, even with those six example jobs, the latter three careers already seem to be higher paying.

Check out the full article for more data, but I was interested in the why behind women choosing lower paying majors and jobs. The hypothesis: men place more emphasis on salary and will select dangerous jobs or even majors they don't even like just for the money. Economists at the New York Federal Reserve found that "men tend to care more about money and income potential when choosing a major, while women place a higher importance on non-pecuniary aspects (e.g. work schedule, enjoying coursework, gaining parents' approval, etc.)." I totally agree. I personally would much rather stay in a job I liked, have a flexible schedule, and work from home than make the big bucks that my master's degree says I deserve. And yes, if I searched long and hard enough, I could probably find another company that provided all four benefits, but I'm just not as driven to rock the status quo. Unlike K, I suppose, but more on that later...

The Social Media Monster

noreply@blogger.com (Anne G. White) — Thu, 08 Dec 2011 13:00:00 +0000

Most blog writers maintain social media sites, and I'm wondering if I should do the same (beyond just the occasional dabbling). My main reason for balking is because I don't know if I would have the bandwidth to keep it up besides have new blog posts show up automatically. But a lot of people use Facebook and Twitter to get blog update notifications, instead of email or RSS feeds. What do you think?

Question:
Should I get more serious about social media? If so, which one do you prefer?

It's A Man's World (Or Is It?)

noreply@blogger.com (Anne G. White) — Mon, 05 Dec 2011 13:00:00 +0000

In my new job, I work for a small marketing firm, and every single one of the employees is a woman. I suppose this may be common in the marketing industry, but for me, it's extremely strange. I went to an engineering college with a 4:1 ratio of males to females, and at my previous company, I was the only girl on my team for 3 years straight.

Climbing the corporate ladder, er, stairs

At first I really missed being surrounded by techies who know how to use a FTP server and love good ol' Windows PCs (what is it with marketing people and Apple?), but now that I've been out of that environment for over a year, I do have to admit something. At the engineering company, I worked in a man's world. Not that people treat me with equality and respect and whatever, but... I found it very hard to make friends and that was detrimental. During work, all the guys on my technical marketing team would talk about sports and cars and other "manly things" that I had no interest or experience in. And after work, they would hang out socially and became fast friends. As a married woman, I just felt weird inviting some male coworker over for dinner. Maybe if I were bolder, I would have regularly hosted parties for my entire team, but I'm a closet introvert at heart. And to be honest, I've always connected more with the R&D team because all the marketing guys just seemed... a little too polished, not as genuine.

Anyway, all that is to say that friendships at work get you promoted, and at my past company, I was hitting a glass ceiling. However, I can't say that it was because of gender differences, but rather my shyness at work. Honestly, it all comes down to likeability and networking because K has the same problem. Every time he joins a new company with existing cliques, he has a tough time breaking in and even finding people to go out to lunch with. We both don't tend to make friends at work easily, and it can have devastating results if not dealt with promptly. So in a way, I'm glad I got a second chance with my new company and have no problems relating to my new coworkers. Too bad we all work from home and in different states. ^_~

New Avatar to Keep You Guessing

noreply@blogger.com (Anne G. White) — Thu, 01 Dec 2011 13:00:00 +0000

While going through 31 Days to Finding Your Blogging Mojo, it was suggested that you put a professional headshot on the front page to engage your first time visitors. Hmm, anonymous* blog = not showing my face. So what's a budding blogger to do? Use an avatar face maker!

If you know me in real life, you're probably thinking "That looks nothing like you, A." Call it a creative re-imagining, if you will. ^_~ I think K's avatar is much closer though, similar to the look he had a couple of years ago.

I've actually been told repeatedly (most recently by my pastor last week) that I have a very expressive face that shows my emotions like an open book. I've even been told that I speak like an anime character, with extreme pitch variation, punctuated sound effects, and lots of squealing. So maybe this is a better representation of what I really look like:

Question:
Do you have an avatar you're proud of? Show it to me by leaving a comment!

* If you're curious why I maintain anonymity, check out the newly re-vamped About page!

Fwd: So You Want to Be a Producer

noreply@blogger.com (Anne G. White) — Mon, 28 Nov 2011 13:00:00 +0000

A while back, I posted a video from Extra Credits about how to become a video game designer. While not all of their content interests me, they did create a new video about becoming a producer. K often gets asked "What's the easiest way to work for a video game studio if I don't have many specialized skills?" and becoming a producer ranks high up there right under being a QA (quality assurance) tester. It's basically like doing project management for any R&D (research and development) company. As Wikipedia puts it, the producer is not the "boss" of the people on the game development team, but the "boss" of the game in terms of its timely delivery and final quality.

What does a producer do? According to Extra Credits, a producer is:

A mediator/facilitator between teams (e.g. art, design, and tech), not the decision maker for what goes in the game.
The schedule master, who is responsible for making sure the game ships, even if it's not perfect and requires slashing features.

Check out the clip below for more details. Interestingly, I found that K personally dislikes Extra Credits because of the gimmicky, high-pitched narrator's voice and because he finds their outlook on the video game industry "ridiculously idealistic."

Fwd: Goldfish's "We Come Together" Music Video

noreply@blogger.com (Anne G. White) — Thu, 24 Nov 2011 13:00:00 +0000

Given that it's Thanksgiving, let's have another Forward. I found this hidden gem of a music video that pays massive tribute to classic video games and random geek culture references. Besides having automatic awesomeness from being made entirely in retro pixelated style, it's got a nice catchy beat to it as well. Enjoy and have a happy turkey day!

My 2011 Christmas Charity Project

noreply@blogger.com (Anne G. White) — Mon, 21 Nov 2011 16:37:00 +0000

Last year my boss emailed everyone asking what charities we volunteer for so that she could write a warm and fuzzy holiday season blog post. Um, what charity? Whoops. Given that we had just moved to a new state, I hadn't gotten involved in anything yet, so I was scrambling to find an answer. Why not use my handy-dandy crafting skills? I ended up selecting The Ships Project to make hats for our overseas soldiers and used K as my "head" model for proper sizing.

This year I doubt we're doing the same write-up, but I wanted to continue the tradition of making knitted and crocheted gifts for charity around Christmas. So right after finishing the Halloween decorations, I started making mittens for the Mitten Commitment. Here's what I've finished so far:

You probably can't tell, but they're a pair of Owlet mittens that I found for free on Ravelry. I purposely didn't post a straight-on shot of them because my stranding technique is just terrible looking (always comes out lumpy and uneven). Hopefully the person who receives them won't mind. ^_^;; For the next pair, I'm thinking of continuing the animal theme with these crocheted Shark mittens. :)

Question:
What charities do you like to knit or crochet for?

Expanded Chart for Sweet Bluebells Baby Dress

noreply@blogger.com (Anne G. White) — Thu, 17 Nov 2011 13:00:00 +0000

Now that Sara's baby shower for her upcoming daughter is over, I can finally post the detailed chart I made for her Sweet Bluebells Baby Dress.

The comments all suggested that this pattern was hard to figure out, and they were right. Not even LilBean’s version was entirely correct. So after restarting the darn thing seven times, I decided to write out an expanded, extremely detailed, everything-spelled-out-for-you chart to help everyone else. It's really quite a wonderful (and fairly easy) project with the misfortune of having terrible instructions, so I hope you'll give it a go with my new instructions.

Helpful Hints:

Row 9 is the wrong side (WS) of the work, so you should be purling most of it. On the very last stitch of row 9, purl together the last st with the first st of the next row to start working in the round. Then flip the dress to the right side (RS) of the work, and begin knitting for row 10. From now on, you will be knitting in the round with the RS of the work always facing you.
For the button hole, I just crocheted a short chain stitch and sewed it to one side of the back split. The dress folds funny if you create a button hole in the pattern.

Best of luck! Oh and if you're curious, Sara is indeed making a Princess Peach quilt to match the existing Mario nursery. Will post pictures once she's done. :)

Top 3 Reasons Why K No Longer Buys Video Games (As Much)

noreply@blogger.com (Anne G. White) — Mon, 14 Nov 2011 13:00:00 +0000

As a bachelor with disposable income, K used to visit GameStop every Tuesday to "browse" the latest releases (and inevitably take a few home). Any time he was stressed out or in a bad mood, a new video game or movie DVD from Best Buy was sure to cheer him up. And besides, playing a wide range of games helps him design better games, riiight? ^_~ However, in the past few years, I've noticed that K has been buying fewer and fewer video games, so I decided to confront him about this interesting trend and here's what he said:

1) A Waste of Time
I know this might be controversial to say, but it's true: video games (VGs) are not the best use of time. No need to get defensive on me; I can extol the virtues of VGs all day long, but come on, there have to be some negatives and one is that they take time. The older I get, the more I realize how little time we have on Earth, and I could be using those VG-playing hours to actually accomplish something. How about actually making my own VG or writing a book or fila movie? It really hit me when I listened to a podcast by one of my favorite fantasy authors, Brandon Sanderson, who said he used to play 8 hours of VGs a day. But he ultimately decided he needed to give them up in order to pursue his dream of writing books for a living. That story really resonated with me because I would rather be making my own stories than playing others' stories.

2) Finite Waking Hours
It also seems like the older I get, the busier I am. I just don't have tons of free time on my hands like I used to in my 20's. Gaming is a big time commitment, so with the number of games I buy, I can't spend 30 to 40 hours per title. And then there's no good way to "pause" in the middle of playing a game; if you put it down for a while, you completely forget what you were doing when you try to pick it up again (Oblivion, anyone?). So why not just buy fewer games? As a designer, I really need have more breadth than depth in gaming experience. I can't stand VG developers who don't play games (more on that later). So I find myself downloading a lot of demos or choosing to go deeper with a particular game to figure how a system works.

3) The Methadone Factor
In the past, my game-buying habit mostly involved VGs for handheld consoles because, well, no hardcore gamer can be without a system for long. However, ever since getting a smart phone, I find myself only rarely buying new retail portable titles. With all the gaming apps out there, they satisfy my need for bite-sized entertainment. The quality isn't as good but it's cheap and readily available, so unfortunately I end up settling for it because of the convenience factor of always having my phone on me. If an anticipated portable game comes along (like Super Mario 3D Land), then I'll take the extra effort to carry around my handheld again. As much as I dread it, they'll eventually solve the control issues on smart phones, making handhelds as obsolete as standalone GPS devices.

In summary, it's totally an age thing. In my 20's, I thought nothing of putting in long gaming hours. But when you have more responsibilities, like a wife and kids, there's no point in buying games if they just end up staying in the original shrinkwrap. Time is precious; you can either spend your time in other people's creations or you can make your own. And I'm the kind of person that isn't satisfied with the former.

So You Wanna Learn Martial Arts?

noreply@blogger.com (Anne G. White) — Thu, 10 Nov 2011 13:00:00 +0000

Speaking of karate, some of you may be wondering, "Is A taking Japanese martial arts because she's a crazed anime fan who loves everything about Japan?" Actually, when I was in college, I started making a "When I Grow Up" list of all the things I wanted to do once I graduated, and learning martial arts was one of the items.

But what kind of fighting style? When I thought of martial arts, Bruce Lee and Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles came to mind. In fact, it was because I had recently watched Ip Man on Netflix that I remembered my goal from long ago. But after talking to my brother LDK, I found out there are a gazillion kinds of martial arts out there, so he recommended that I first figure out my reasons for pursuing the sport in the first place. Umm, because it's freaking cool? ^_^;;

According to LDK, if you want something very practical for self-defense in a real-world fight, you might consider Krav Maga, Jiu-Jitsu, or some form of mixed martial arts. Hmm, I'd rather carry a gun (see bonus section). My main goals are just to have fun and get exercise. (Much like my hobbies, I have "exercise ADHD" as well and can't stand monotonous sports like running, etc.)

Location is also important. Much like a gym, if the facility is too far away from home, I'm not going to be as motivated to attend. So all my research was trashed because Google Maps says the closest place is a Japanese karate dojo, so I signed up for a trial period and have stuck with it ever since.

Question:
Have you ever been inspired to do something because of a movie?

If You're Looking for a Wedding Gift for Your Karate Teacher...

noreply@blogger.com (Anne G. White) — Mon, 07 Nov 2011 18:24:00 +0000

...then look no more! Ok ok, background story: I started taking karate a few months ago, and I found out that a) my sensei is my age and b) he's getting married at the end of the year. So even though I don't know him very well yet, I decided to make him a wedding gift because, well, random gifts made of yarn are my specialty. Introducing... the Ninja Bride and Groom!

If you're looking to make your own wedded ninja set, follow my steps by mashing together these two patterns:

Ninja from Bigú Osuna's Ninja amigurumi
Hat and veil from the Skeleton bride and groom in Creepy Cute Crochet

Question:
What's one of the coolest mash-up projects you've ever made?