Sugar House Review

Sugar House Review accepted two of my poems for the Spring/Summer 2011 issue (due out in April). Thanks, SHR!

Obi-Wan Kenobi - Mini Amigurumi

I've just finished my latest Star Wars amigurumi figure - Obi-Wan Kenobi. So far I've only done characters from the Original Trilogy, so I made a little mini version of old Ben Kenobi, complete with a brown hooded robe.

I'd forgotten, until I rewatched Episode IV, quite how much I liked the character, but Sir Alec Guinness did a great job, bringing a lot of class and gravity to the whole film, and he gets some great lines. When Ewan McGregor was cast in the prequels I was pleased, as he's a decent actor (who's very easy on the eye!), and he did a good impression of Guinness which helped connect the new films to the old. With that in mind, I thought I'd make his version of the character too. The pattern is written with just a few variations - old Obi-Wan wears a long robe whereas young Obi-Wan has a shorter one so you can see his trousers and boots, and obviously the hair colour is different.

I was very pleased with how the hooded robe turned out. Nearly all the crochet I do these days is amigurumi in the round, so it was a bit different making something in rows. I was worried that something so small would end up far too stiff, but it worked just fine. I might even try making a version of Yoda from the prequels with a little hooded robe.

The pattern, including both versions of Obi-Wan, is now available in my Etsy shop.

Poetry and Snow

A blizzard is on its way and I just learned that Weave Magazine has accepted two of my poems for the summer issue. It's a fantastic combination, imminent snow and forthcoming poems. I have lots of tea and a stack of new library books and there is Hopslam in the garage.

(I love the cover art on this current issue. David Pohl is the artist. When you go to his website, the snow in the picture is animated. Very cool...graceful and whimsical.)