Silent Auction Results

A few weeks ago I showed readers the items I had stitched and the awesome bag that my crafty friend Lisa stitched for this year's Can't Stop the Serenity screening in Vancouver.

The screening took place last Saturday and was a wonderful success. There were these delicious cupcakes...I'm sorry I don't have any left to share with you, but you can check out C&C Cakery's description of them and even pick up the recipe for the Kaylee cupcake. Though I have to confess I only tried the Vera, but it was so good I went back for seconds!

Cupcake talk aside, I'm also happy to report that our crafty donations did quite well in the auction. They didn't raise as much money individually this year as last year, but overall the silent auction raised more than it did last year, so that's pretty exciting news. Of our crafty donations Lisa's Big Damn Heroes tote bag was the top seller, bringing in a donation of $65 for Equality Now and the BC Women's Hospital & Health Centre Foundation.

Next up was my Wash and Zoe piece which brought in $50, the Big Damn Heroes full cast stitching at $40, the mini-stitching of Kaylee in her Shindig dress at $35, and the Jayne mini-stitching brought in $30. (Can't picture the pieces I'm talking about? Maybe this will jog your memory.) I also contributed a mini-stitching of Mal and a cross stitched Jayne bookmark that were combined into larger gift packs, that also did quite well in the auction.

That means a grand total of just over $220 was raised for our chosen charities through our crafty endeavours. Shiny!

Considering most of these pieces took only a couple of hours or a couple of weeks to stitch, I think it was well worth the effort. I like to share the totals here so that I can stress, it really is the handmade items that help bring in the donations at a silent auction. I'm sure that's true not just with Browncoats, but with any charity-minded geek (and non-geek) group. So if you're a crafty type, why not put something together for a Can't Stop the Serenity Screening in your area next year or some other cause that's important to you?

Pretty Cunning Cross Stitch, Don't Ya Think?

With Can't Stop the Serenity screenings happening world-wide this weekend I can't think of a better excuse to feature another wonderful Firefly inspired stitching. This one comes from Craftster user silentblair. Check out the tiny pompoms on top of those hats, pretty cunning!

And in case you haven't heard, tonight is the Joss Whedon Birthday Firefly Watch Party:

“What can we do to convince Netflix that the ‘verse is worth their while? What can we do to prove that Neilsen ratings arent the be-all and end-all?” Well, how about this- let’s just have the largest on-demand watch party ever! Let’s get the most people ever streaming the same show at the same time from Netflix- 4 episodes of Firefly – and show them its worth a few hundred million to invest in it! Not that they are required to respond, hell, they’re Netflix! But perhaps if we show them that the overwhelming horde of Browncoats worldwide would pay more to see firefly… well, maybe they’ll think twice.

Pencil in June 23rd, 2011, 8pm EST – Midnight EST(5pm-9pm PST) to celebrate Joss Whedon’s birthday by sending the signal further than it’s ever gone before. How many Browncoats can we get on Netflix for four wonderful hours of awesome? -- Courtesy of Firefly Watch.

So if you don't have anything else going on tonight fire up the Netflix, make some popcorn and spend some time in the 'verse!

Cross Stitch Firefly Tote Bag!

Now this is an awesome way to repurpose a project! My crafty friend Lisa took what was intended to be a monogramed tote bag, courtesy of Martha Stewart, and converted it into this adorable Big Damn Heroes bag. She's donating this to our local Can't Stop the Serenity Screening's silent auction. Personally I think it's going to be a great seller!

Cross stitching on the canvas bag was doable, but it isn't as straight and easy to work with as an aida cloth or linen, so Lisa had to make a few alterations to the patterns. More specifically, all the 1/4 and 3/4 stitches had to be taken out because it was impossible to make them on the bag. It also took longer to stitch on than your average piece of aida cloth and I'm pretty sure Lisa is going to be having nightmare's about River's hair for many nights to come.

Despite the challenges I think this turned out wonderfully. I think that items that are not just geeky, but also useable are the most appealing when it comes to the silent auction.

Below is the Martha Stewart Tote - Monogram - Embroidery Kit used as it was originally intended. The straight stitches of the monogram would be easier to stitch, but I like Lisa's repurposing of the bag much better.

You can pick up these bags via the link I've given. However, we actually found them on the clearance shelf at our local Michael's store for just $12.99. If you're interested in stitching one yourself, you may want to shop around a bit and see if you can find a bargain. The Firefly character patterns are available for free here on Cthulhu Crochet and Cousins under the My Free Patterns heading in the left sidebar.

Did you see the items I'm donating to this year's Can't Stop the Serenity? Check out my Firefly inspired stitching here.

Doing the Impossible - Six Years Running

It's been nine years since the TV series Firefly came out and was abruptly cancelled. And it's been six years since Firefly fans began showing their appreciation for the series and creator Joss Whedon by hosting Can't Stop the Serenity screenings worldwide. Not only do the screenings allow fans to see the Firefly-inspired movie Serenity on the big screen, they also raise money for Joss Whedon's favourite charity, Equality Now.

To date the Can't Stop the Serenity screenings have raised $557,867.47 for the charity, which works to protect and promote the human rights of women around the world. At our local screening in Vancouver we raised approximately $3,550 for Equality Now and an additional $900 for the BC Women's Hospital and Health Centre Foundation last year. I was happy to help contribute to that total with my Firefly character cross stitches which were sold during the screening's silent auction.

I'm excited to be helping out again this year and have been working on my contributions for the past couple of weeks. I'm still using the same characters I designed last year, but I wanted to make sure that the pieces looked different. I felt that if I used the same layouts as last time then it would take away from the uniqueness of those prizes and I didn't want to do that.

The piece that you see in the top left-hand corner is the only one I made with all the characters, and it measures 8 X 8 inches. It was stitched on an a 16 count aida cloth, and I'm really happy with how it turned out. The characters take about 1-2 hours each to stitch so this was the most time-consuming piece. I ended up rewatching all of of Angel season 4 while making these cross stitches. Last year I think I was on a Buffy kick while stitching.

It took me a long time to decide what I would make for my second piece. I eventually decided to do another design with the "Leaf on the Wind" quote because it was the best selling of the smaller cross stitches I made last year. Wash seems to be the fan favorite, at least at our local screening, and I'm hoping that adding Zoe to the picture will make it extra appealing. This piece was stitched on the same aida cloth, but it's smaller, measuring 5 X 5 inches.

Finally, I wanted to find a way to use up some of the leftover scraps of cross stitch fabric that I had from other projects, so I came up with these Firefly minis. The hoops measure 2.5 inches in diameter and are made of rubber, although they look like wood from a distance. I made the pattern for Kaylee in her Shindig dress last year, but I had never stitched it. I was excited to give it a try and I'm really happy with how she turned out. You can't see it in the picture, but I used pearl Krenik blending filament on the pink and peach parts of the dress to make it sparkle.

Can't Stop the Serenity will take place Sat. June 25 in Vancouver this year. The two framed cross stitches I made will be available during the silent auction. The smaller pieces I'm going to be giving to our organizer to use however she sees fit, possibly as door prizes or in grab bags. You can keep tabs on news about the Vancouver screening here, or check out the official Can't Stop the Serenity site to find a screening near you.

Handmade Whedon and Firefly themed items are always popular sellers at the screenings, so if you have some time and you're feeling crafty, you may want to contact your local organizer about donating some pieces to help with the fundraising. And if you have the cross stitching bug, all of my Firefly characters are available under the My Free Patterns tab on the left side of the blog.

Firefly Fundraising Success!

Readers may recall that I was donating some of my Firefly cross stitch pieces to various Can't Stop the Serenity screenings throughout Canada.

After successful screenings in Vancouver, Edmonton and Toronto, I can now happily announce that my cross stitches raised a grand total of $438 for Equality Now and the other sponsored charities in each city.

To say I'm overwhelmed by this total would be an understatement. I'm in awe of how generous my fellow Browncoats were in their bidding and really pleased that my cross stitch pieces were able to bring in this much money for our charities.

The Big Damn Heroes cross stitch above was the highest seller. It was in the auction at our Vancouver screening and went for $110.

Also at the Vancouver screening, this Wash piece sold for $85 and the River one went for $63.

Here in Vancouver Jayne was paired with a Jayne Hat tea cozy and sold for a total of $60. The Jayne cross stitch that I sent to Toronto was included in their Jayne package which also contained a Jayne Hat pin and Blue Sun T-shirt. That package sold for $80.

Edmonton had a smaller screening than the other two cities, with just under 100 people in attendance. They were pleased to raise $40 through the sale of this 3 character Big Damn Heroes cross stitch.

I wanted to share how well each piece did in case there are any other crafty Browncoats out there who were thinking of making something for a screening in their area later this year or even next year.

In general supplies for each piece cost me under $15 each and all the pieces I made earned far more than what I put out on supplies and shipping. As to the time I spent stitching and framing, I consider that my donation to the cause.

So if anyone is on the fence about making something like this for their own charity screening, I highly recommend it. All three organizers told me that the unique homemade items are always a high seller at their auctions.

In closing, another big thank you to everyone who bid on these pieces and to everyone who provided me with feedback about the designs through the blog, on Craftster or in person at the Vancouver screening. To anyone interested, the patterns for cross stitching the Firefly cast members are all available free on the blog under the My Free Patterns heading.

Enjoy and stay shiny!

Can't Stop the Serenity Donations, and a free pattern!

If you're attending this year's Can't Stop the Serenity events in Edmonton or Toronto you'll have a chance to win one my Firefly cross stitches. I stitched up this first piece with three of our favourite heroes as a donation for the Serenity Charity Screening in Edmonton. Click the link to learn more about that event, which is taking place Sunday, June 27. The second piece with Jayne attired in his cunning hat I've made as a donation for the Toronto screening, taking place Saturday June 26.

Of course this is in addition to the 4 pieces that will be available in the silent auction or as prizes at our own Can't Stop the Serenity event in Vancouver on June 26. These include individual cross stitches of Jayne, Wash and River as well as the big group shot of the entire cast in stitchy goodness.

After the events are over I'll do another post letting everyone know how much was money was raised for Equality Now with these pieces. I'm excited to find out myself.

And now folks, my fingers are tired. Of course, if anyone else would like a Firefly cross stitch or two for their Can't Stop the Serenity event I remind you that all the character patterns are available in the left sidebar under the My Free Patterns heading. Please feel free to make use of them. I'm confident that most Browncoat groups have a cross stitcher or two in their midst.

I'll even get you started with this free pattern for a bookmark that would likely only take a couple hours to stitch up. Note: Mal should be cross stitched, I just did the outline here so you could see where he's positioned. Refer to his pattern for full cross stitch details.

Enjoy, and as always, post a comment if you have any questions about the pattern.

Firefly Character Cross Stitch!

I promise I will write out my patterns for these characters and post them soon. For now, I'm just so pleased with how this turned out that I had to share some pictures. Inspired by Needle Noodles Creepy Cute Cross Stitch, Lego Star Wars (could you imagine if there was a Lego Firefly, wouldn't that be amazing?) and this Jayne's Hat cross stitch I decided to try my hand at creating some Firefly related cross stitches. I spent last week creating the character designs and then much of the last seven days stitching it all together. The lettering was borrowed from 2001 Cross Stitch Designs, with some modifications (I really don't know why that book doesn't believe in half stitches.).

This piece is going to be donated to the B.C. Browncoats for the silent auction they'll be holding during this year's Can't Stop the Serenity screening, where proceeds go to Joss Whedon's favourite charity, Equality Now.

And now on to more pictures. Please feel free to offer some feedback, I'm still thinking of tweaking the designs a bit before I make final copies. I realize Mal is missing a row, making him a bit shorter than everyone else. Must fix that. Anyways, I'd love to hear what others think...

**Update: My cross stitch patterns for the men and women of Firefly have now been posted. Enjoy!

Attention Joss Whedon!

A couple weeks ago while being interviewed on the Wired blog Joss Whedon had the following exchange:

Wired.com: To what do you attribute the far-flung coverage and buzz about Dr. Horrible, considering there's been little to no press for the series?

Whedon: Fact is, there's been some buzz, but it hasn't reached the places it would normally. Where's our write-up in Crocheting Monthly? (I did a very sexy shoot for that one.)

Joss was joking and meant his comments in good fun. As a result Crochet Me has been inspired to unite crafty Whedon fans to show Joss just how much love he has in the crochet world and in the craftyverse in general. They're also hoping to snag an interview with the man himself so he can see how devoted and fun (and not scary!) we crocheters can be. You can read their detailed plan here and also learn what you can do to help. Among their suggstions: blog about the situation to help spread the word (done!), tell people you know who know people who know Joss, (working on it!) and show off your own crochet and other crafty projects that have been inspired by Joss's work (done!)

Currently I don't have to much Whedon related crafting to show off. I knitted a Jayne hat once, but I don't have any pictures of it. Pictured here is my Browncoat Snowman that was one of my first amigurumi projects. The idea was that he'd be something geeky I could put out at Christmas with all the more traditional holiday decorations, but truth be told, he's so cute he actually sits out all year round. Way back when I posted him on Craftster some people were actually a bit confused. Was there an episode of Firefly that they had missed in which the crew builds a snowman? Sadly, no. There's no secret missing episode that only I have access too. A girl can dream...

Anyways, I love the work of Joss Whedon and I think this a great little project that Crochet Me has going on. Joss may have made the comment jokingly, but I think he actually does get a lot of publicity (and admiration) from crocheters. I'm certainly not above using this blog to promote Joss's favourite charity or his latest amazingly, brilliant creation, Dr.Horrible. Seriously, this thing is great, if you haven't seen it yet, check it out. It's well worth the couple of dollars you'll have to spend on iTunes, I promise.

Galactica Hat!

When I was at the Serenity charity screening this past weekend one of our Vancouver Browncoat members was sporting this Battlestar Galactica hat knit for her by a fellow member of the group. About a year back our Browncoats spun off a separate meetup for Battlestar Galactica events. It seems only fitting when you consider that Zoic Studios, which originally provided special effects for Firefly, went on to provide them for Galactica and Joss Whedon frequently lists BSG as one of his favorite shows.

The hat is based on the Mandala that Starbuck has been seen painting throughout the series. After seeing it I was wondering if there was a pattern available. Eureka! After a few minutes of searching I found that the hat had been created by QuirkyKnitGirl and the pattern is available on her blog. Unfortunately, the lighting was too poor at the screening to get a picture of the hat there, but I assure you it looked like this one pictured with the pattern.

Even if this didn't have the added bonus of being science fiction related, I'd still be impressed by the design. Very cool!

Big Damn Heroes Go Amigurumi!

Mal: "Well, look at this! Appears we got here just in the nick of time. Whaddya suppose that makes us?"
Zoe: "Big damn heroes, sir."
Mal: "Ain't we just!"


I know that a lot of the people that frequent Cthulhu Crochet and Cousins are also familiar with Geek Central Station, but just in case you've missed it I wanted to let everyone know that the awesome folks over there have turned their talents to the cast of Firefly this week. Visit their site, or the Firefly set they've posted on flickr to the see the amazing work and detail they've put into Zoe, River, Wash and the rest of the crew.

This also gives me another opportunity to remind everyone about the charity screenings of Serenity that are taking place around the world this month in honour of Firefly creator Joss Whedon's birthday and to raise money for his favourite charity Equality Now. Click here to learn more.


Jayne: "Do you know what the chain of command is here? It's the chain I go get and beat you with to show you who's in command."

Can't Stop the Serenity!

"There are two ways to fight a battle like ours. One is to whisper in the ear of the masses, try subtlely and gradually to change the gender expectations and mythic structures of our culture. That's me. The other is to step up and confront the thousands of atrocities that are taking place around the world on an immediate, one-by-one basis. That's a great deal harder, and that's Equality Now. It's not about politics; it's about basic human decency." -- Joss Whedon

I'm taking a detour from the usual crochet and crafty talk to tell you a little about a charity event that's very important to me. Each June, on or near Joss Whedon's birthday, thousands of fans gather in movie theaters around the world to watch a little movie Joss made called Serenity. Proceeds from the day's screening go to Equality Now, Joss Whedon's charity of choice. In 2006, Can't Stop the Serenity raised over $65,000 for Equality Now. In 2007, that number went up to $114,000. This year the goal is to raise $155,000 and host events in 55 cities globally.

If you're a fan of the projects that I feature on this site then I'm guessing that you're probably also a fan of something Joss has done whether it's Buffy the Vampire Slayer, Angel, Firefly or his recent work in the comics Astonishing X-Men or Runaways. Attending a Can't Stop the Serenity screening is a way to give a little something back for all the wonderful things Joss has given us. Plus, you get to see Serenity on the big screen again. How cool is that?

I will be attending the screening that's taking place on June 22 in Vancouver. To keep up with the planning and order tickets for that screening visit the Vancouver Charity Screening of "Serenity" blog. To find out where else in the 'verse screenings are taking place in 2008 or how you can help host an event in your area, visit Can't Stop the Serenity.

Need a little more incentive to get out of the house and meet fellow Joss fans? Take a few minutes to check out Equality Now and the amazing work they do throughout the world or go to YouTube and watch Joss Whedon's Equality Now Speech. It's only 8 minutes and I guarantee it will make you laugh at least once. It may also inspire you to act. Attend a screening. Make a donation to Equality Now. Tell others about the event.



Want the Pattern?

Finally, I'd hate to send anyone off to a screening underdressed. You can make your own knit Jayne Hat using this free pattern available on Craftster that was created by Emisanboo or this one that's available through the Vancouver/Firefly Serenity Meetup Group.

See, it always comes back to crafty stuff in the end!