Returning, with an Un-Schedule

I had to take a break.  Its been a very weird and hard winter this year and rather than give crappy streams, I just walked away for a bit.  I re-evaluated my strategy and my schedule.  See, I'm going to admit something that I may have joked about in the past but its really something I struggle with.  I have Attention Deficit Disorder (ADD).  What that means for me is that novelty is key when I do anything.  As in, if its not new and interesting to me, I usually don't stick with it.  The fact that I've been streaming steadily, for the most part, since May 2017 is really quite miraculous.  The fact that I've been streaming Star Wars: The Old Republic almost exclusively since that time is a testament to how much I like that game.

But like a lot of people with ADD, burn-out is quite common.  So going back to the re-evaluation of the way I run my stream, I have come up with two solutions.  

First, I'm going to cut back on my hours even further to three days a week.  My goal is to make each stream a solid four hour block so that having less days during the week makes it worth it for you to have time to watch and enjoy yourselves!  

Second, I'm going hard core, folks.  Hard core variety!  With one exception I'll mention later, I'll basically be playing and streaming what I want!  I'll be the veritable box of chocolates - you'll never know if you're gonna get SWTOR, Hearthstone, Elder Scrolls Online, or Warframe, just to name a few.  I promise it will never be boring.  I love gaming and I'm still my dorky self.

Here's a few of games I plan on playing (though suggestions are always welcome!):

Star Wars: The Old Republic

Hearthstone

Elder Scrolls Online

Warframe

World of Warcraft

TERA

Everquest II

Creative

I have a few other fun things planned for the future, including parties (see below for information on St. Patrick's Day!) and concurrent gaming/writing project that some of you may find intriguing.

Right now the new weekly schedule will be Saturdays at 2pm MST, Sundays streaming for GirlStreamers playing Star Wars: The Old Republic exclusively at 8pm - 10pm MST, and Mondays at 8pm MST.  I reserve the right to surprise everyone with an extra stream or two besides these set points but these times/dates seem to fit the best with my family's schedule.  So watch out for my return this Saturday, Feb. 24 at 2pm MST.  Always check my Twitter for the most update to date streaming information! I hope to see you there!

The future is bright.  Even though one foot of snow was dumped on us in less than 72 hours, spring is on its way and my one year anniversary of streaming looms closer!

Also join me on March 16th at 8pm MST for my Day Before St. Patty's Day party!  As always,there will be prizes, games, song requests, and much fun to be had.  Everyone's Irish on St. Patrick's Day so join me for some orange and green fun!

Thank you all for your support and encouragement!

~~~~  Scrappywheelz  ~~~~~

Creative Sundays - My LIttle Pony Project

I'm so excited!  I love My Little Pony.  Yeah, Pinkie Pie can be a bit annoying at times but I love how it shows that different personality types can come together to be the best of friends.  That, and where one has a weakness there's a friend who can help with her strength.

The first steps in my project are to start on the body for Fluttershy and then fix Twilight Sparkle's dress.

A lot of the time I don't follow to pattern.  I may take someone's pattern and then adjust it for what I feel I need for a project at any given time.  Ultimately, what I end up making may look vastly different that what the original pattern called for.  Plus, I don't generally write down what changes I made.  I will go ahead and link the patterns I will use, but don't expect your project to turn out the same as mine.  Besides, I love giving hard working pattern makers a little virtual hug.

One Piece Doll Pattern

I've decided on a pattern by Vanja at amiguruibb.com. It is a doll done in one piece meaning there is very little sewing or attaching parts.  I love the shape and the fact that it would be virtually impossible to lose pieces, as I have done on an occasion or five.

The dresses will be different matter entirely.  My first attempt was off the cuff and it shows.  So I searched around for free doll dress patterns and/or pattern making instructions and found this instead.
Pinterest is my bestest friend.  Its measurements are for a girl's dress but as you can see the concept is so simple it could easily be reduced to a doll size.

Thank you for the idea, Stef at thegirlinspired.com! 

Also my real life best friend convinced me that I didn't need to reinvent the embroidery wheel, and so I'm going to cut out the star I already have and then fabric glue it to the new dress.  I'm also considering doing some kind of cute border to hid the rough edge.

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For those interested, the first part of the application process for Feel Better Friends is to use their pattern and make a doll similar to what I would be doing when I am assigned a child.  They encourage their applicants to find a sick child or just a child in need, and I have just the person.

My little 3 year old niece was camping when she tripped and partially fell into an active fire pit.  She avoided burns to most of her body but her poor cute foot was burned with 2nd and 3rd degree burns.  We're currently waiting to hear if she needs surgery or not to repair the 3rd degree part, but these last few weeks have been horrific for her and her poor mother.  Visits to the burn unit are not fun for anyone, let alone a toddler.  But we have some amazing staff out here at Primary Children's Medical Center so the visits are less traumtic than they could be.  I have a feeling that a dolly that looks JUST like my cutie pie would make those visits a little more palatable.  I will be doing that in my spare time but will keep you updated on the doll's progress.

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EDIT:  I am including the pattern that I used with Twilight Sparkle to make her head, body and arms. Be aware that having a basic knowledge of symbol patterns is very helpful -

http://www5a.biglobe.ne.jp/~mite/diagram/crochetedCat.html            
                  

~~~  Scrappywheelz  ~~~

New crochet project for August

I've had a project in mind for a couple of  years.  One of my favorite kid shows is the updated version of My Little Pony.  I also happened to love the alternate universe version of My Little Pony when they all became human-ish.  It gave me an idea for a project of a set of amigurumi dolls.  I managed to finish one of them, but did not like how her dress turned out.  And then I did heed the siren call of other projects and the MLP idea was shelved for a future date.  I've decided that dollmaking is much more fun than afghan making so I will go ahead and start up the project again.

This is Twilight Sparkle.  I love how her hair turned out, especially when they are in the ponytails.  But the dress did not fit like I wanted it to so I will have to redo not only the dress the embroidery I did on the fabric.

After Twilight Sparkle, the rest of the set will include Rainbow Dash, Pinkie Pie, Rarity, Fluttershy and Applejack.

And speaking of doll making, a long time ago I came across a charity that I have been meaning to help out but never got around to apply.  I am hoping that by September I will have been accpeted and given a doll to make.

Feel Better Friends is an organization that provides kids who are sick with handmade dolls made to look like them, as something to hold and love while they are going through sometimes painful and scary treatments.

Once I get approved, the rest of Creative Sundays will be dedicated to making the doll for the child I've been assigned.  As a kid who has known their fair share of hospital time, one of these dolls would have been such a nice thing to have.

I encourage everyone to either consider making a doll for this organzation or donating to help them keep this small thing that means big things going.  I'll keep everyone updated as to the status of my application.

~~~ Scrappywheelz ~~~

I have 50 Followers!

Thank you to everyone who help me achieve my first milestone on Twitch!  As much as I really like to play games, having the ability to play games AND share it with a whole community of like-minded people makes it that much more fun!  And I hope that you guys are in it for the long haul because I've only just started.

One of the main things I use as my touchstone is "What do I like about playing games?"  Because chances are if I like something about gaming, say transmog, then its pretty likely other people do too.  I don't worry if people don't like it because everyone has their 'thing'.  So if this person likes a 'thing' then someone else does too, and so on.  And on it goes until the whole community is one big circle of sharing our 'things'.  So for my part, I share the things I like and do it the best I can so that every time you tune into my channel, you find yourself enjoying your time and maybe encouraged to try something new or share something that people didn't know or think about before.

So without getting too heavy handed in my philosophies, I feel honored by your time, your comments, and your support.

I would also like to give special thanks to all my ladies in the Girl Streamers Community.  It's rare to find a group of people so open and welcoming.  And then add to that, people that are so free with helping hands and encouragement for no other reason than they want to be.  Thank you for including me and here's to a mutually beneficial arrangement in the future!

~~~~  Scrappywheelz ~~~

Crochet - Stormy Summer Afternoon Lapghan

I admit that I'm a bit of a cheapskate.  Part of it, I think comes from my perfectionism when it comes to my creations.  If its not really doing what I want it to do or look, then what's the point in paying all kinds of money for something I'm going to make it over in my own way anyway?  Now, this is not to say that I haven't bought patterns before, or that I discourage people from supporting the super creative people we find all around us.  I just like it the way I like it.  And it may not be the way the pattern calls for.  But I am more than happy to throw out kudos to where kudos are due for those amazingly smart and innovative folks who not only make beautiful pieces but have the wherewithal to actually write their patterns down.  In an understandable way.  Unlike me who makes stuff, says "I'm so awesome." and then can't remember how I got it to look so awesome.

So I present to you my lapghan project "Stormy Summer Afternoon".  I found a fun and easy pattern written by Heather Davidson from the UK.  I love how much the stripe and texture make a nice visual impact but its so easy a beginner shouldn't have a problem tackling this!

The List of Stuff:

Pattern:  http://patternsforcrochet.co.uk/lapghan-usa.html

Yarn Colors:  All yarn was Caron's Simply Soft
                       - Off White
                       - Light Country Blue
                       - Country Blue
                       - Grey Heather
                       - Charcoal Heather

Hook Size: I or 5.50mm

I don't list how many skeins you're going to need because this pattern is so versatile that you can make it as big or small as you want.

So far, I estimate I'm about halfway through the project.  Watch me on Twitch on Sundays for my Creative Day as I work on this project!  And I always need motivation to finish my projects!  Hang out, ask questions, talk about geekery and fun times will be had by all!  And don't forget to Follow!

~ Scrappywheelz ~

BTW:  Here is Heather's blog link - http://crochetncreate.com/