Scarf Update

I have completed three scarves in a week. Two of them I did in one day each. I'm taking a break from crocheting. I have a couple of large posts in mind, but I'm not 100% up for writing a lot right now after working my fingers for so long!

Today on the news they were advertising a free spay and neteur clinic for feral cats in Scarborough. The aim of this campaign is for people to bring in stray cats roaming the GTA and help cut down the cat colony population. They stated many times during the promo that this clinic was NOT for anyone with a cat, but feral cats only. The operations were being provided for by donations and money from intrastructure.

It's a good start but it doesn't address the real problem with people not spaying or netuering their cats. The real reason behind the huge feral cat population in not only the GTA but every city in the world is that the cost for spaying an animal is way too expensive.

I know some people will say "If you can't afford to properly take care of the animal, including medical expenses, you are not responsible enough to own a pet" but people do anyways. Small animals like hamsters, rats and gerbils are cheap. You can pick them up for under 10 bucks. Why would anyone spend $100 for medication for these small animals when they get sick, when you can just get another animal for a cheaper price, especially when the life span of these animals is so short?

People will not justify paying $100 to alter small animals so they don't end up with accidental litters, which they then need to get rid of, or become over run with animals.

The fact is, pets are cheap. If you don't want to spend the money on a pedigree animals, you can pick up one cheap or for free on Kijiji or Craigslist. Anyone can pick up a kitten anywhere for free.

Back to the cat epidemic; there are way too many cats roaming the streets because people dump unwanted kittens after deciding it's way too expensive to spay Fluffy and she never goes outside anyways, so why spend the money, yet someone she escaped when someone left the door open too long. They dump them in the city, them dump them in the country. These cats then run around and breed, and it's a vicious cycle. Most of these cats in the country find homes at farms where they hunt for mice. Farmers are welcoming to have cats on the farm to protect the feed for their livestocks, but they aren't going to pay to get each one of those cats fixed. The barn cat population either naturally keeps itself in check, or it explodes. There are many reasons why the barn cat population can keep froming becoming an epidemic. There are many hazards for a barn cat. They are not vaccinated, they are not medicated when they get sick, they are prey to wild animals and they sometimes get kileld by farm equipment and machinery. If none of these factors are in place, then it can be over run by cats who will eventually starve unless they are humanely put down.

The news today reported that a spay or neteur can cost anywhere between $200 and $400. The cheapest I have heard for a spay is $95 which is slightly more reasonable than $200, but I still feel that even $95 is too much. I realize that vets need to make money, and that the drugs used in the surgery are part of the cost, but I think the price must be very inflated.

If Bob Barker wants us to take his advice, the vets need to lower the cost or else it's just going to continue, especially in this economy.

Crochetting

I'm going to another horse show this weekend, so I won't have time for some in depth posts. I want to write a little bit about my experience with Final Crisis and as a newbie in the comic world.

I am starting on my second scarf, using a real pattern this time! My goal is to make a finished scarf and if it looks decent, I'm going to make a few for the holiday season. Once I get scarf making down, I'll work on more difficult patterns.

New Comics!

I went to get my hair done, and stopped by my comic book store to pick up The Return of Bruce Wayne #4. I told one of the guys working there that I felt that I was missing part of the story when I first started reading #1. Why was Batman back in time? What was going on? What was this machine all about? He told me that Final Crisis was the series before RoBW. I decided for $20 I'd pick it up. So in the next few days, I think I'll review it.

To my surprise, they had The Last Unicorn #2 Cover A waiting there for me. Me being stupid, thought that the comic book store would have called me to notify I had comics in, but I remember the conversation we had awhile back that being on file meant they would save me a copy and I could come in at my leisure. However, while waiting for #1 of the series, I was told it was back ordered and I found out that #2 was sold out on IDW. When I talked to another guy who worked there, he said that there was a chance #2 was not ordered for me because I had not recieved the first issue. I asked today if I would get #3 and #4 and after causing much confusion to myself and frustration to him, it was determined that yes, they would be ordering #3 and #4 for me. Now, I've already placed my order for #3 and #4 from online, so I will have two copies of each. Maybe I will get a variant cover. Either way, I'm not too upset about it. Maybe I'll sell a copy if I get a double. If #3 and #4 comes to my local comic book shop just fine, I'll just get #5 and #6 from them instead of ordering online.

Also in my travels today I picked up more yarn (most of it free!), a free copy of X-Men Curse of the Mutants, Previews August 2010, an audio book of Good Omens by Neil Gaiman and Terry Pratchett for my up coming trip to Nova Scotia where I will be driving 5 hours so I thought I'd get something to listen to that wasn't just the radio, a do-it-yourself crochet book to help me with my techniques and recommended by my expert crochetter Sharyl, amd Michael Crichton's Congo. I want to hold off on Congo so I can read it on the plane but I doubt I will. I'd like to read more Crichton. I've read Jurassic Park, and I want to read Timeline (I had it from the library but took out way too many books and not enough time to read), Pirate Latitutes, and Next.

I am also borrowing a couple movies from my friend that I may or may not review depending on how I feel, haha.

For The Honour of Grayskull... the only costume I have ever made

My She-Ra costume started as a project in 2006 when I decided I would make a costume. I always wanted to make myself a costume but I lack the skills such as sewing, and over all creative thinking. I mean, I can draw but I have a hard time figuring out how to make something concrete. The hardest part of the costume was creating the head peice. This would have been easier if I was more crafty and maybe had a better grasp on materials that could be used instead.

I completed my costume around Hallowe'en which was my plan, but I sort of half assed the rest of it. At some point I would like to change some parts of the costume. I didn't wear it in 2006 because I never made it to any parties. I did end up wearing in 2009 at a party, and I recieved many compliments for it.

Here is what I did and how would change it in the future. I wish I took pictures of it as I made it, but oh well.

The first thing I did was buy a cheap white dress that somewhat was similar to She-Ra's costume. Her dress looks more like white bustier type top and a mini skirt. I found a white dress at Wal-Mart for $6.00. It had a halter like top with a cowl and an elastic band around the skirt.

I'm not much of a sewer but I was able to modify it. First I cut the skirt off and took out the elastic band. I sewed the skirt back onto the dress at a shorter length. I cut a slit at the top of the dress and sewed two bra cups in place to make it a more bustier like top. The bra cups were the kind you buy to stick on your boobs when you have a dress that you can't wear any bra type for. The helped shape the dress really well.

And while I am pretty bad at smiling, my breasts looked fanastic.

For the boots, I just spray painted an old pair of knee high boots gold.

I bought a square of gold fabric to construct the belt, the choker and the armlets. I used velcro on these items. The choker and armlets turned out okay, but I botched the belt, and used a gold coin belt my best friend bought for me at a yard sale. I think it worked out okay... a lot better than the belt I had crafted. If I wore this costume again, I would remake the belt and armlets, using real measurements. At the time, I half assed it. The belt wasn't thick enough, nor the right shape. It also wasn't very even.

I bought some flat foam and cut it out in the shape of the wings that are located on each side of the top of her dress. I spray painted them with cold paint and added the detail with a black felted marker.

The red cape needed to be either really long, or really short depending on the version of She-Ra you are using. I used She-Ra's cartoon version, and her cape is quite short. I used a red devil cape from a dog's halloween costume. I pinned it to the straps of the dress because the cape she wears does not tie up around the neck.

The sword was just a cheap plastic sword I bought in the Hallowe'en section, probably from Wal-Mart. I picked the most medieval looking sword.

I bought a couple of fake jewels, one red and one light blue, and some gold paint. I didn't do a very good job on the symbol. It's not as even as it should be. It kind of veers off a bit. I also think I made it slightly too big, or not big enough. I don't think it's too bad, but if I came across another cheap dress I could modify, I may re-do it.

The head piece was the hardest part, and the first thing I would re-do. I bought some wire and shaped it around my head. Then I shaped the wire into wings. I then attached rolled up newspaper around it to shape it. I used paper machie to cover the newspaper and then spray painted the whole thing using a can of gold spray paint, the same one I used for the boots. I gave it about two coats. I glued the red jewel on the helm and it was done. The problem though... the two wings didn't look exactly alike. And one bent more forward, and the other bent a little too far back. It's not perfect. But for my first try, I give myself some credit. I would probably re-make it with some lighter and less bulky material.

In the cartoon she appears to be wearing pink and purple eyeshadow, so I did my eye make up the same. I wore a bright red lipstick, and I straightened my hair.

Over all, it was a pretty cool experience. I felt accomplished that I made something, and now I know how I would approach it again. I know what needs to be improved, and even then, it was still a hit.