I turned my clocks back Saturday night, resigning myself to the too-soon-dark evenings that are a daily reminder that winter is here. With these darker nights come more time snuggled on the couch knitting, crocheting or embroidering. And the perfect item to work on at the beginning of winter?
HATS.
Hats can dress up a dreary winter outfit, change the look of a too-often worn coat, and keep your head warm and dry. A pretty hand-made hat is also a great way to show one's crafty skills. So lets take a look at winter hats:
Making a great winter hat
When I found the Jayne Cobb hat pattern on Ravelry, I had to laugh! As a fan of Firefly, the idea of making and wearing this is especially endearing. Something I could crochet in an evening makes it doubly appealling. But the best thing about this pattern? It pointed me to the magic adjustable ring instructions which will make any project that begins with a crocheted circle easier in the future, even granny squares! Grumperina's niece, Sarit, is one lucky little girl. She gets a uniquely designed hat, loses it, and her aunt designs another one. So far Sarit has received: Odessa (requires a ravelry sign-in) and a Black Sea hat. Sarit's third hat is under construct: purple, beads, and an interesting cable pattern.
I know Chloe Nightingale calls her pattern The Bobble Headband but, as shown, wouldn't it make a nice hat for a long-haired gal? Or are those multiple layered headbands? Either way, it requires just a bit of yarn and almost no time.
Kevin and Nichole McIain offered directions for knitting a baby hat on a round knifty knitter! I don't own one (dare I say yet?), but these would be great for my friends' many grandbabies sprouting up!
Want something completely different? Craftster held a Felt-Along for needle felting a hat over a 3D form! These are similar to the gorgeous wool felt hats you find in boutiques and fancy department stores! Instructions even include how to make your own hat form.
I'm sure we can felt an old sweater, then cut it up and make a great hat, but I haven't found this exactly as a tutorial. Curiously Crafty, though, as a fantastic tutorial on sewing a hat with 3 free PDF downloadable patterns; startng with felted sweater is just an (unstated) option. And ThreadBanger gave instructions for turning a non-felted sweater this brimmed beanie. Maybe you'd rather buy a hand-made hat?
Have you taken the Handmade Pledge? All it takes is a quick trip to Etsy to find crafters selling warm and wonderful hats!
TillyJane.net offers the charming "newsboy" styled Faith hats, each made from recycled sweaters and available for toddlers, children and adults. (I knew someone else would think of this!)
Monica Burnett offers a variety of knit hat styles for sale. I love her jasmine turban, with the buttons and beads trim!
FunnyFinn asks (rightly): Who knew hats could be so much fun? when she shows her fleece "neck-warming helmet." It's just one example of her whimsical fleece children's hats. Makes me wish I were a child again.
Winter is sexy. No really: Clouds of breath, ice-skating hand in hand, peeling off cozy layers, making up after snowball fights. ... This hat will fill the bill on two of those counts, at least.
Interested in hats for charity?
Warm Up,America! joined up with Save The Children for their "Knit one, Save One" initiative:
Save the Children's Knit One, Save One initiative is asking knitters and crocheters to take three steps before December 31, 2008: 1) knit or crochet A baby cap; 2) write one personal note to the new President asking him to lead the way to save millions of babies globally; and 3) if possible, donate $10 towards a "Newborn Care Kit" to help parents better care for newborns.
We encourage each of you to knit one or two or a few chemocaps and donate them to a cancer treatment center in the area where you live. It's neighbors helping neighbors one chemocap at a time and yes it does make a difference!
They offer a variety of chemo cap patterns.. including patterns you can use for men going through chemo.
This is a start on the warm wonderful ways we can warm our heads. What are some of your favorites? Share them in the comments.
For the first time in over 8 years, I am proud to be an American. The election of Barack Obama as our 44th President fills me with hope.
However, the work has just begun. We cannot wipe our hands clean, sit back, and rest on our laurels. Wresting the Presidency away from people who used divisive techniques, force and swagger to promote their agenda is just the starting point.
Now we have to learn how to grow as a UNITED nation again. Put away the "us" and "them" in favor of the "we".
In the next several months and years, we must work together to solve our economic problems, to find a workable plan to our energy future, to educate our population, to fight the growing epidemic of obesity.
These are just a few of the problems WE have to solve. Which means each of us needs to examine our personal priorities and commit to continue working forward with the same (or more) energy than was expended in this political battle.
What ISSUE are you willing to commit your time and voice to in the future?
This time of year and in the spring, everyone complains about the time change. We hate the disruption that change brings. Yet many people declare that they LOVE Standard time.
Me? Not so much.
In case you're confused about which we have when, we are now in Standard time. Back in the 1800s when time standards were being adopted around the world, Standard time showed the relationship between local time and time anywhere in the world. It was mainly adopted to make train schedules work.
During WWI, many countries began adopting Daylight Savings time to save energy and increase productivity. At the moment, the US government has declared that -for most of the US- daylight savings time is in force roughly 7.5 months of the year (mid-March through end of October). Standard time rules during the winter months when increased darkness does little to effect energy savings.
Beside the disruption in sleep patterns (and I understand major confusion among animals), most people really have little problem with one time or the other. I say this because at BOTH time changes people complain about hating Daylight Savings Time and, I'm sorry, but you can only hate it at one change. If you really hate DST, then you spent the last weekend celebrating the clocks move.
I, however, truly hate standard time and was sorry to see last Saturday come.
See, like many animals, I have a set circadian rhythm. My body wakes up at its own same inner-clock time and does not fall back to sleep. I could lie in bed more, but I will get no additional rest. During DST, I awake within 10 minutes of 7 am; a decent time to get up considering I go to bed at 11 pm. Close to the eight hours sleep I need.
You see where this is going, right? During ST, I wake up at 6 am. Even if I went to bed at 11 pm. Even if I'm still tired. Even if it's dark.
My body doesn't recognize the time change and there is no way to train it to stay asleep an hour longer. I wish I could.
So I hate Standard Time and my lost one hour of sleep every night. I wish could accept it as the chance to be more productive for an hour, but that doesn't seem to happen. The extended dark doesn't lend itself to more productivity.
Those who love Standard time and hate DST, please tell me why?
I collect quotes as I wander around the internet. Quotes that speak to me or make me think of a friend who should hear these words. I save these in an draft post to keep them on hand.
But why not share these? Why hoard them to myself? I thought tonight that sharing some of these with you would be a positive step in a world full of less-than-positive. Here's 10 I've collected. Enjoy and please share a quote or two of your own in comments.
======================== “When we don’t turn away from pain, we open our hearts and are more able to connect to the best part of ourselves and others–because every human being knows pain. I’m not sure what enlightenment is, but I’m sure it has something to do with turning pain into love.” –Myriam Greenspan, from “On Moving from Grief to Gratitude” in the January 2008 edition of Sun Magazine. ========================= The soul won't invest in a compromise" Christine Kane's blog ========================= “Worry often gives a small thing a big shadow.” - Swedish proverb =========================
I must not fear.
Fear is the mind-killer.
Fear is the little-death that brings total obliteration.
I will face my fear.
I will permit it to pass over me and through me.
And when it has gone past I will turn the inner eye to see its path.
"The bulk of mankind are schoolboys through life." Thomas Jefferson ================================ Before something happens in the world, it must happen in your mind. CS Lewis ================================ "You can have anything you want if you will give up the belief that you can't have it." ~ Robert Anthony ================================ It’s the action, not the fruit of the action, that’s important. You have to do the right thing. It may not be in your power, may not be in your time, that there’ll be any fruit. But that doesn’t mean you stop doing the right thing. You may never know what results come from your action. But if you do nothing, there will be no results. Gandhi ================================ “They say a person needs just three things to be truly happy in this world. Someone to love, something to do, and something to hope for.” – Tom Bodett ================================ "We must use time creatively . . . and forever realize that the time is always ripe to do great things.” Martin Luther King, Jr. ===============================
I wonder if we all have a true life ghost story? I do. Mine's a little different.
When I 20, my father bought a used car from a guy he worked with whose wife had originally purchased it. It was a 1970 AMC Hornet SST. It was determined that when I graduated from college, this car would be mine. And so it was.
Her name was Persephone. For the first several years we owned her, she would run like a dream until the first cold hints of winter blew in. Then she'd go to hell. Finding her name was the saving grace; a gentle little talk with her, an encouraging word, and she ran like as reliably as my current German-engineered car, but in a time when "running reliably" was not used with any automobile.
Most of the time, then and now, I drive in my cars alone. In Persephone, though, I never alone.
There was a palable spirit that resided in the back seat. A blur in the rear-view mirror that disappeared if I looked in its direction. A feeling of a protective soul watching out for me. A Back-Seat Driver. I could feel it (him? It always felt like a him) sitting just behind my right shoulder. Late at night, stopping at a drive-through for some kind of nosh, I'd always offer my protector of bite. He never took one.
I wondered if was me, comforting myself by creating this feeling of a protective spirit in the car. But why only in the car? If I created this spirit, I'd want it with me any time I was alone and needing protection: walking through a parking garage (still creeps me out); down a dark street; in a distantly located public restroom; along a quiet and deserted hallway.
OK, those places all STILL give me the heebee-jeebees! And I don't sense any ghost-protector.
It was only that car. When she was totalled in an accident and had to be replaced, at first I reveled in the sense of freedom I felt. No more spirit backseat driver looking over my shoulder. I have, however, come to miss that sense of companionship I felt; that never-being-alone-even-when-alone.
My computer is back home. HP had to replace the defective fan (a common issue for HP laptops), and the fried mother board. Fortunately, my hard drive is was in tact. (exhales breathe I'd been holding for 2 weeks).
Using a borrowed computer meant it was always easy to save/share websites, but that doesn't mean I didn't find them:
Are you reading Creativity Prompt? This blog provides memes, writing themes, and journal making instructions to encourage you to "seduce your creativity." I like the early post on making your own hard-bound journal.
Live in the bay area? There is new fabric store in the city: WhizBang Fabrics.
Also, The Church of Craft is re-organizing, and has found a new home: Rock, Paper, Scissors Collective in Oakland. I haven't made it down to this place, yet, but a trip is definitely in my future.
Last week I received a CD from my brother with about 250 photos from childhood. I've begun to process these and upload to my Flickr stream. I think I'll organize them online by the decade (1950s, 1960s, etc.), though I'll admit that some of the dates will be a guess.
One thing struck me while working on these. I have photos of both of sets of grandparents, taken about the time I was born, which means my grandparents are about my current age.
They look old.
It's not just that I don't look as old as them, it's that nobody my age looks as old as grandparents do in these photos. I don't think it's hair color or hair style or glass frame. It might be weight, but I doubt it. Somehow in 2 generations, we've all found a fountain of youth that has us looking about 10-20 years younger than our grandparents did.
Genetically that can't happen in 2 generations.
What has caused the change? Is it better medicine keeping us healthy? I don't think so; my grandparents -with the except of one with type-1 diabetes - were quite healthy at this time. They had not had heart attacks or episodes of cardiac problems that occurred later.
Could the nutritional improvements that occurred when we young have such a dramatic effect that we are physically aging more slowly than previous generations? If so, what does that mean for our children and grandchildren who are consuming a hugely processed diet? Will we be an anomaly blip on the genetic chart? THE generation that somehow got it right?
If it isn't nutrition or health care, what else could it be? I can't imagine. But I'm curious...
I've been attracted by simple baker's aprons/market aprons as a way to use some of my stashed 1 yard pieces of fabric. These aprons are easy to wear, simple to sew, and useful gifts to have on hand.
I used a finished apron for my pattern, then forgot to add seam allowances when I traced the design. This left me with a finished apron that was just that much too short, too short-waisted.
Darn. A creative solution is called for.
I was always planning on using a contract fabric for the trims and straps on these aprons. So I simply cut them in half and created a "contrast fabric" waist that puts everything back where it belongs. In the case of the market aprons (those with a pocket running along the bottom), the contrasting fabric is also used there.
I like the way these aprons are turning out. They are cute, fast and great way to use some stashed fabric that I'm not sure what I intended to do with.
I'm working on a short tutorial for this, but there are a couple reasons that this post must remain photo-less. I'm having a problem with yahoo/flickr and I'm temporarily blocked out of my account (AAAAHH!). Also, my computer is at the shop getting a new motherboard. I'm using a borrowed computer and trying not to do things such as upload my photos here (instead of my own computer). Have no fear, though the pictures are being shot, the tutorial is being written and Yahoo and I are working on my proving to them that I'm who I say I am.
The photos are coming. The aprons are coming. I'm sewing again.
Life is returning to good.
Sorry, no photos with this post. I'm having trouble with Yahoo and Flickr that need to be worked out before I can get back to my photos. Als
Dear Best Friends I’ve Had In the World (and you know who you are).
There are lots of things that I love about you gals. I love the way you know one member can’t digest nuts, so bake batches of cookies both with and without nuts in them.
I love that you know some gals are allergic to shrimp or shellfish, so you only make paella when they are not in town.
I love that you except that one member FREAKS OUT BIG TIME at the smell of tumeric or the word “curry” so you try to keep both away when she’s around.
I love that we know one girl grew up with too many beans begin forced down her gullet, so we don’t bring those to dinners and watch squirm(though that squirm is funny!)
I love that on trips we occasionallly stop at a restaurant because one member approves of the tea they serve (black, plain, brewed, not mixed with the coffee brewing system).
I really love that one of you who is allergic to strawberries drove all around the county to get me strawberry pie for my 50th birthday, because THAT'S what "birthday cake" means to me.
BUT when do I finally get equal treatment?
It’s been over 20 years that I’ve known I have an allergy to cow’s milk. While it’s true, if I’m healthy and the dosage is small, all that will happen is a slight cough. No trip to the ER or anything. Greater exposure and I’m hit with allergic bronchitis which can be treated by Mucinex and allergy pills. During the winter months, or if I’ve already gotten a cold? the dairy will require me to take these meds for 4-6 weeks. Twice a day. Just because I’ve eaten some cow milk.
This one isn’t new - to me or you - yet you never seem to remember that OH YEAH, DEB IS ALLERGIC TO COW’S MILK, SO LET’S PLAN SOME FOODS THAT DON’T HAVE IT IN. A couple of you actually sound offended when I questioned last week why so many of the foods we had at a party contained cow’s milk. We will travel to a retreat together, go out for a tea or celebration - plan what sounds - to me - like a safe menu and then you change it to challenge what I can eat. And you complain when I express my frustration.
Worse is when you ask me to “just eat a salad”. Like I don’t deserve warm/hot food like everyone else because I’m being “difficult” with my food choices. Because my allergy only means difficulty breathing not an epi pen episode. Because it’s easy for you to cook with milk and cow’s milk cheese and you don’t want to change. Ya know, they make some might fine cheeses from goat and sheep milk, and you can even find them at Trader Joe’s!
While we’re talking, I’ve discovered something important these past 2 years. For years I lived on TUMS to fight heart burn. TUMS all day (even if I said I was using it because I don’t consume cow’s milk and need the calcium).. TUMS for the heart burn.
I’ve discovered that if I limit - or eliminate - wheat from my diet, I don’t need to take the TUMS. Hmm. Wheat = heart burn. It’s a recent discovery. I haven’t shared it with you all because you look at me like a 2-headed freak for not using cow’s milk; if I start talking wheat, too, I figure it’s all over. Although you accommodate a lot of other strange food requirements, these two may land me in “never invite anywhere, she’s too whacky” list.
There are many fine grains grown in the world: oats and rice are common, spelt, quinoa (yuck), ya want to list a couple dozen more?
So do think it might be possible once in a while to plan meals we share together - or consider restaurantswe visit- to accomodate the person who is trying to avoid wheat and cow’s milk. That isn’t that difficult: choose an Asian restaurant and I’m probably golden. Most Asian diets do not use cow’s milk and much prefer rice to wheat. They tend to be fairly safe on the bean issue (except perhaps for edamame) and I’m sure they can brew tea by the pot any way the drinker prefers.
Think about it. Afterall I thought I was one of your very bestest friends in the world, too.
Monday evening my girlfriends and watched this movie as part of a memorial/birthday celebration. You want to see this too! It makes you young and hopeful and happy.
The Skooba DIY Laptop Bag at the MAKER SHED is SCREAMING to become the basis of an art/craft challenge, isn't it??
Now who? how? to go about organizing it?
From the MakerShed page (photo from the same page):
This blank canvas sleeve is instantly ready to make a one of a kind work of art using permanent markers, fabric paints, glued-on decorations, sparkles, stenclis, pens, airbrush, needlework/embroidery or other medias*
(believe it or not, I am close to returning to insane crafty goodness on this blog. Just a little longer...)
I am a strong person. I speak not about physical strength. When the chips are down, I am the one that people lean on; the one who doesn't crumble; the one who stands for the weak.
I am a strong person.
I do not know how much of this is a natural part of my personality and how much is a part of my environment. I have felt emotionally responsible for myself since I was a very small girl (ah the joys of child abuse! It makes you strong quick.) Still, my personality lends itself to being a strong reliable soul. A woman warrior.
A couple years ago, a young friend, himself a strong soul, mentioned a wish to me. He wished that there were times that the weak could pick up the burden for a while, be strong for him, let him - just for moment - be weak.
I stood beside him and wrapped an arm around him. I did not speak. The words I would have said might have hurt him more as the truth is:
We who are strong will NEVER TRUST another to be strong for us. The MOST we can hope for is that another strong soul will stand beside us, giving support, standing strong with us.
Clicking out to new links, then back to the home space. Click, move, read, move, click, click, click. I'm always anxious and become more anxious in the movement. It's compulsion in medium high gear. It's obsession and hunger and anxiety and emptiness.
I have always thought that it's me saying FEED ME. Entertain Me. Engage Me. Notice Me.
I just figured out that it's really me looking for the inspiration to engage myself. What I'm compulsively looking for isn't anything external. It's not the latest viral video or piece of gossip. It's not a a new friend. It's myself.
I'm trying to escape having to deal with myself.
Those are the times when I need to be blogging. My concentration is down to mere milliseconds, but I need to take a deep cleansing breath, open my editor and begin to discover what I'm running away from in my soul.
The Crafty Chica has posted a neat video over at LifetimeTV on how to craft your own mask from plaster tape. She's then decorated hers (of course) as sugar skulls for Dia de la Muerte.
I surprised myself Thursday evening and shared a couple secrets with a friend by email. NOT little secrets like what I'm making a friend for a xmas present. BIG secrets. Secrets that I'm sure I've shared with others at times. In the past, however, they were not quick, not unplanned, not just spilling them out like every-day news.
Last night, I shared these secrets the same way I share what I ate for dinner or what I did yesterday.
In the past, they were shared in whispers or in tears. They were shared with shame. Last night they were sent without any of at. Matter of fact. This is what's happened to me. It's formed me; it's informed me; it's part of who I am. Felt that maybe today this friend needs to know this about another human being: me.
My friend didn't ask for them, doesn't expect them. I wonder what the reaction to reading these will be.
I don't know why they suddenly came out in an email. Or why, when given the breath to consider and delete the message (my normal way of dealing), I instead hit send.
Something is changing about me; I'm starting to accept who I am secrets and all. And I'm starting to expect others to accept me and my secrets too.
But, hey, I'm just starting.. you notice I kept a lot of secrets in this post, now, didn't I?
Did you see that CRAFT IN AMERICA, the PBS special from last spring that bloggers RAVED about was nominated for anEmmy this year? This after winning the Peabody award for television excellence last spring! Will have to watch the press releases in about 10 days to see if it won this second award.
If you have forgotten, the producer emailed me last spring, and I blogged about on BlogHer:
(me) I saw a large number of bloggers writing about the program before it aired. I'm certain that the ratings can and should be attributed to ALL the bloggers spreading the word. Congrats to us all!! We made a difference, it was noticed, and we shall reap the reward: More Programs! (though a thank you in the form of a complimentary DVD would have nice... I'll take more programs!)
A belated thank you for the wonderful coverage Craft In America received May 29, 2007 on BlogHer. The response from your readers must be considered when we look at the ratings for the series, which were excellent. Over 2.3 million households tuned into the first airing of the series on May 30th!
On the strength of the ratings and because they had a very positive personal reaction to the first three episodes, two of our supporters have decided to support future programs. This is especially good news because there is still so much of the story that remains to be told.
Hopefully we can look forward to a couple episodes this coming spring. If you missed the series first time around, check out this preview video. Sorry, there is no way for me to embed that video here.
So instead, I share a preview for a documentary that hasn't premiered yet. Faythe Levine's Handmade Nation:
This is my friend Erin Kotecki Vest (aka Queen of Spain) interviewing presidential candidate Barack Obama. The BlogHer community compiled a set of questions and approached each and every candidate before the primaries ended, requesting that they sit for an interview or atlest answer these questions.
Obama was the only one who took up the request.
Most candidates offered to let BlogHer speak with their wives; I'm not sure what the Clinton camp said, as I wasn't paying that close attention. Granted, this is a couple months old; I just found it on YouTube. (I'm way behind on finding stuff I want on YouTube...)
OK. You have 10 minutes to get the phone call and the photo sent for them to show up together. Looks like I missed that time slot. The picture is above, the audio is here.
It's Saturday, the weather is returning to it's normal pleasantness after several days of HEAT, it's a holiday weekend, and I'm alone. It's all cool.
I'm spending the afternoon in Oakland at Art And Soul. Music, Food, Art in the outdoors for a reasonable cost. How can I NOT go? I'm getting used to attending these things by myself; often I end up running into someone I know (which makes it even more pleasant). I'm taking my camera, and my phone and will try to remember to send an update or two here through Utterz.
Oh, and my tarot card for the day? The Twelve of Bats (extra innings). The Play: Adventures. Pursuing an interest. Putting out extra effort to get waht you want. Off-the-cuff action. Feeling vibrantly alive. Courage. Daring. Willingness to throw yourself into things.
Seems like a great card to pull with the day planned!
Some of you might not know: on Wednesday afternoon my MIL suffered a brain bleed that slowly resulted in her death on Thursday. My husband in town visiting her (a blessing), and will stay there through the funeral and closing up her rooms in her assisted living residency.
At his request, I am staying here in California keeping life "normal" back home.
I've been cleaning my studio, including going through lots of old papers. I found my morning pages from when i did TAW 6 years ago (around the time of my 50th birthday), and was surprised to see myself writing about the same kinds of things I wrote about Tuesday: feeling isolated and wondering at that time if it was healing or fear. Feeling a need to get myself back out in the world. And lots of fear.
I've been working in this area for a long time, but I finally feel like I'm MOVING beyond mere contemplation toward ACTION.
At that time I was also pulling a Tarot card each card to answer the simple question: what should I remember (how do I focus, what is the key) today? I use my Baseball Tarot cards because I love baseball so, and I find baseball a great metaphor for life.
My card today: The Ace of Mitts (Internal Beginnings). This card represents beginnings in the areas of life associated with emotion, intuition, receptivity, relationships, spirituality and love.
Eating scrambled eggs and bacon on whole wheat with a cuppa joe. This is a hangout for the locals: police and Highway Patrol, merchants, etc. Nice vibe.
Decided maybe it's the right time to come clean with a number of you. Things have changed on this blog; the tone, the frequency, the passion. It's different.
I'm telling you all a secret I've been hiding for almost 2 years.
I'm fighting a battle with anxiety and (coming up from behind like that proverbial one-two punch) depression. The anxiety has been a constant companion since 12/15/06. I can't give you the exact time, but I pinpoint the moment.
My spouse said: When I retire, all I need from life is you and the dogs.
I haven't slept a night without drugs since that moment. Because in my life I need 95% more than I can get from this man and my dogs. I don't want to be responsible for his whole life and I don't want to limit myself to his life decisions. It all feels quite small.
I spent a lot of time trying to work out this condundrum. We've been married almost 25 years. Probably the first 3-5 were good; most of the time since then has been living by rote and habit. But it's A LOT OF TIME.
This year the anxiety has grown to the point where it's sometime overwhelming. Yes, I'm taking some meds to control it, I'm seeing a psychologist to give me someone to talk to. I'm working on it. The shrink says that the anxiety is the pent up energy from not acting on life and the fear of change; acting will eventually give this energy a source to expend and it will decrease.
I've made the clear intentional decision that if I am unhappy and dying in the life I'm living, it is my responsibility alone to change things. To work toward living a live that feels more authentic and more real. To get out in the world more; which necessarily means getting away from the safety net that is this lonely empty house and the interwebs for times each day.
It means building a life for me that IS much bigger than my spouse and our dogs.
I will be looking for work that gets me involved in helping people. I'm good at that. I will be looking for volunteer opportunities that feed my creative spirit; it's almost completely buried under the fear and loathing and fear that I battle every day.
I don't know how my life is going to change in the next few years, but it needs to change. I fear deep in my soul that a lack of change now means that I will follow my grandmother and mother who both gave up on the idea of living their lives.. and lost themselves to Alzheimers disease at ages just a few more than my current age.
My spouse? He will have to make his own decisions. Change, remain the same, move on, or die. It's his life for him to be responsible for not me.
Honestly, this is all very hard and the energy to write this and the energy to live it takes away from the power to do much more.
Let me say that I feel the support from many of you even when you knew what I what was doing. Before the first comment hits the page (or the private email hits my box), I know you stand beside me holding me to my best intentions.
Thank you for this. It means the world.
Now excuse me while I head out into the light of the world and breathe some fresh air.
I was reading a piece somewhere about our astrological signs and our creativity. While it all seemed true, aren't these things written to sound true?
Creativity is giving birth to your unique vision. It's expressing truths, filtering these truths through your perception and sharing these with the world.
Ultimately, being creative (in some manner) means realizing your full potential and manifesting the life of your dreams.
yada, yada, yada.
So for me, I need a space that clean and uncluttered (gee, no wonder I walk into my studio and immediately run out).
I tend to analyze my emotions instead of feeling them. Breathe deep and simply feel. (yeah.. that's an easy one... but OK, I'll work on it).
And then I hit this passage:
Like the Crab who periodically sheds her shell, your creative risk is to let go of what you have outgrown n order to move toward what you really want. When you hold on to anything that has outlived its purpose - beliefs, possessions, habits, jobs, relationships - your creativity suffers. Your acute intuition tells you when it's time to let go. Although you may fear losing security and safety by releasing the old, the creative energy that rushes in when you take that risk actually provides greater internal security in the long run.
Wow.
I have been hanging on to LOTS of things that I've outgrown: fabrics and materials, ideas of who I am as a creative spirit, my habitualize living, and several relationships. There is a lot there that can be blocking my creativity.
No wonder I feel my soul stir and it quickly seems to be buried beneath a heavy weight. I need to let go of so much. I need to make room for good things to come into my life. I need breathing room and the time to sit and breathe.
This is going to be a journey. Do you want to follow me through it?
It's been a while since I've done written about the refashionistas, those creative, frugal fashion crafters who take older, unworn clothes and thrift-store finds, cut, paint, sew, style, and design great new functional items from them. A gold-mine of ideas for used jeans can be found at WiseBread's post: Twenty-five Things to Do With Old Jeans by Myscha Theriault.
Let's examine some of her ideas:
2. Cool Quilts. Theriault and I are fan of these jeans quilts. Simple but heavy, these are great picnic quilts and dorm rooms quilts. You can find a discussion on making them written by Susan Druding at the equilters forum, with links to insturctions by some of the makers. There is also an inspring forum on jean's quilt photos.
4. Pocket books and backpacks. Jeans, with their already constructed pockets and installed zippers are a natural for cutting up and making purses and backpacks. CraftBits offers simple instructions for a "no sew" denim bag. My experience with gluing as she suggested, is that the purse will fall apart quickly and usually at the most inappropriate moment. Crossing a busy street, maybe?
WikiHow has great instructions for sewing a similar purse. If you're more of a needle-artist, Crochetnmore offered directions for turning a leg from jeans into a purse with a crocheted top.
5. Patches. Using denim as the base for little art patches is the brilliant idea by B. Original. I don't think I've seen this before, but I'll be playing this idea later this weekend.
6. Embellish. While Simplicity offers an article on embellishing jeans, I'll admit that I would want these fused embellishments stitched down, or at least have the edges painted over (painted fabric embellishments. Doesn't that sound too 1980s for today?) Unless you cut open the inside seams, however, you'r limited to awkward hand sewing. I like the suggestion of checking at local bead shops for classes; that should give you a more modern look!
7.. Pimp Your Jeans! The link to Thread Heads Coffee stained jeans is fabulous! After all , who doesn't love a Thread Heads video??
10. I LOVE the idea of an electronic gadget pocket from old jeans. Something to keep my phone and car key together no matter which bag or purse I'm using? The Instructable How-to by sage femme is complete, even to this warning:
Denim is strong - I broke two needles, a pair of scissors and a seam ripper making just two of these little pocket pals. That taught me some lessons I'll pass on to you: Don't force anything and Always cut through the thinnest area possible.
13. Ofcourse recycling jeans into a crazy quilt jacket has been around perhaps as long as either individual skill. The piece by Magpie Mumblings appears to include some nice embroidery, traditional piecing, and maybe a furry collar?
14. Demin Vest. Turning jeans upside down and using them for the basis of a vest? It's another old idea. But is it old enough that a whole new generation might be ready to adopt it? I can't judge! (that old, "if you wore it the first time, don't the second time around" rule keeps screaming in my ears!). You tell me.
17. Coffee cozies. An office/club small gift idea whose time has come? I like the ones by two straight lines with the little button detail, but pink milk and fairycakes published a whole tutorial on flickr.
18. My favorite idea of the bunch is this custom camera case from Evil Mad Scientist. Maybe because it was designed for my camera, so I don't have to go changing a thing?
OK. I ran through the list, adding a few links and pointing out some of my favorite ideas. Now it's your turn. Which of these ideas are you itching to get to started on? Do you have any other big ideas for used jeans? One idea I didn't see mentioned (again, it may be one whose time has come and gone) is cutting your jeans into strips, joining them together and making a braided rug from old jeans. Should I be wearing my "I survived the 60s/70s/80s crafts movements" Tshirt to even suggest that?
Let me know in the comments.
And a big ole beef-jerky hat tip to the fabulous MizFit for pointing this link out in the first place.
Yeah, things have been a lot quiet here. Prep for BlogHer, the flu and some personal things have zapped my brain of any energy possible to put together a readable blog post. I'm tired of putting up crap just to have something here. It lessens my value and it dishonors you.
I'm taking a short sabbatical from blogging here. It may be a week, it may be month. Wish I could say more.
In the meantime, for those friends who check here just to know if I'm ok and what I'm doing. I will install a twitter widget on my sidebar. While I cannot think in full sentences and paragraphs, I am capable of something approaching 140 characters. and I promise to twitter atleast once a day. Kind of like microblogging checking in.
This year, when you talk to a knitter with any kind of online presence, they mention Ravelry. I can't remember a time when an online community developed such strength and following as quickly. I've talked with a number of crafters who speak wistfully about the hope of building a similar community that might include other activities. A site like Ravelry for quilters, jewelry makers or all those paper crafts.
While I cannot suggest an exact duplicate, I have found a crafting community for you to explore that might satisfy your community seeking: CraftStylish and one that just started in beta is CraftyNation.
A Magazine With More Online
Craft Stylish is a quarterly "special edition" magazine from Taunton Press (the same people who publish Threads magazine and number of wonderful craft books). It is also a community site that brings all the crafting knowledge of the publisher online and invited each reader to get involved. The website provides the choice to discover which articles exist on the website, share your own projects through a photo gallery and the ability to create a profile and write your own posts for the site.
I found a number of wonderful how-to articles including Know Your Hand Sewing Needles. This article was written by Diane Gilleland, (aka Sister Diane from the Church of Craft) and will help you recognize your sharps from the straws and everything between.
The website currently running the The Tote-ally Crafty Bag Challenge (you have until 7/31/08 to enter). Looking through the gallery, there are a number of creative entries already.
This site is new, and while it does not let you share stash or search for patterns like Ravelry does, there is the beginning of a sense of community building and the opportunity to blog your projects there might make it more appealling to some of us who never find the time to photograph our entire yarn inventory.
One of the best things about finding a good craft blog, whether it's someone using yarn, fabric, paper, tin, or plastic, is seeing the photographs of a person's work. When an item is well-photographed, the hand of the creator can be seen in the work. It's almost like touching the product.
However, taking a great photograph is not the easiest thing to do.
Getting good digital images of textiles is a struggle on a good day but throw anything shiny like metallic thread or paint or damask fabric into the mix and be prepared for hair pulling, crude cursing and lots of sweat.
Part of my problem is not being able to decide if I want the digital image of the work to highlight the basic elements of the design - the shapes, colors, lines and energy of each piece, to speak first and loudest, or do I want the textures of the fabric and the textures created by the stitching to have an equal voice.
Like her commentors, I think the piece taken in natural light, highlighting all the stitching she's put into the piece, is the better of the two. What's your opinion.
Natural light is your friend! Always use natural light, if at all possible, to take your photos. This means turn your flash off, folks.
Riffing off some of her other advice, here's some of my own suggestions for great shots:
Outdoor light in direct sun might be too harsh. Find a spot with dappled shade, or an indoor area close to a window.
Use or make a tripod. It limits the possible blur of the photograph.
Get even with your subject. If you place a softie on a table to shoot, bend down to the table's height instead of standing above it and shooting at an angle. Square flat pieces can start to look like parallellograms when shot at an angle. (there is a technical term for this, someone tell me? The edges begin to drift off the to horizon point?...)
Take more than one picture. Take pictures from different angles, different sides, if you can different speeds and aperatures. With digital cameras, you have nothign to lose. Then pick the best 2-3, edit them, and publish the very best one or two.
Style your photo. Nobody wants to see yesterday's dirty dishes piled in the sink in the background of your photo. See you can include objects to help "tell the story" of the craft.
Come in close. Some of the best pictures I've seen have been super-close ups. These allow us to see the fineness of the stitching, the detail of the work. They pull us in and make us want to stay there.
Crop. Crop everything out of your photo that isn't perfectly relavent to the subject. Don't be afraid to leave part of the picture go beyond the frame.
Consider building a photo studio. It might be a box you place objects in to get a good bouncy light; or a a stage that consistently lets you fold a nice piece of knitting. To take a good series of "how-to" photos, I built a custom boom (photo above) to attach to my tripod. It allows the camera to hang over the work surface, I do a project as I normally would (well, I try to do it with a little less mess), reach up and snap a photo at regular intervals. It took all of $5, a trip to the hardware store and about half hour of fitting nuts and bolts.
The author of Vikatikkeja understand the challenges of lighting crafts. Living in Finland, she has very dark winters.Ph On January 1st, she wrote:
I haven't blogged much recently, but that doesn't mean that I haven been busy with needles. I've knitted lots of basic socks and mittens for kids and four pairs of Kerttu-socks, and few Minttumaari-scarfs. Here in the north is so little daylight at this time of the year, that photographing crafts is almost impossible.
Normally I read all my blogs through BlogLines, but I have a list of favorite crafters who I make a point of visiting because of their photographs. Yes, BlogLines now pulls in the photos, but it still doesn't feel like the same thing. Who are your favorite craft photographers? And what tips would you share?
I managed to keep my blog rolling through the 4 days of BlogHer, but coming home and getting sick?? Completely did me in. So I'm giving up on the idea of NaBloPoMo for the future. Instead, I'm personally aiming for 3-4 quality posts a week about what I'm reading, what I'm doing.
I sit here feeling sorry for myself because I'm coughing and tired and lonely and sick and I hate it. Until Sunday afternoon, I was surrounded by positive energy and lots of love. Now I'm home alone with nobody with whom to interact. No energy to draw from. No discussions of how lives are similar or different.
I really miss the energy.
I'm thinking I need to find a job as much for the interaction as for the income. I miss that positive flow. I missed it last year, but this year feels very different mainly because BlogHerbola has drained so much energy from me.
If I could, I'd go back in time a week and change things. Drink more water, make better food choices, use the hand sterilizer they gave us more religiously. Enjoy each moment more. Be present more.
I'd still feel down and depressed this week, but I'd the energy to start going about changing things to bring that power toward me more often.
I could get there by BART. Walking the 2.5 blocks up Geary wasn't hard, and my whole transportation bill was about $10.
My room was one floor above the conference. I left my computer set up on the desk, and would just pop up there and check Twitter and email.
Free wifi (after the guy on the phone spelled the password).
A decadantly comfortable bed.
A bathtub longer than I am high.
Hugs and smiles and seeing folk I have seen in a while, or ever.
The Community Keynote Speech was worth the entire weekend.
Break-out Sessions! If the panel I was in wasn't what I expected, I just used the law of 2 feet, and headed over to the break-out session (bird of a feather, etc.). Didn't feel rude leaving or sliding into a panel at the half-way mark.
Playing Wii. Almost makes me want to buy one.
Laurie, Genie, Erin, Maria, Genie, Liz, Kaliya, Lisa, Kalyn, Virginia, Kerry, Shannon, Jane, Jane, Jane, Dana, Elizabeth, Catherine, Liz, Minnie, Liz and Minnie's Mom, Catherine's mom, Heather, and whoever I forgot.
Getting to wear my totally cute nearly sleeveless dress for an entire evening! Swirly-girly fun! I'm sure there's a pix of it somewhere.
The Less than Good
The ambient noise level. I must investigate noise-cancelling earphones before the next conference. Not only was it painful, but I could not hear most of the key notes because the constant chatter in the room drowned out the speakers.
The cold mezzanine floor (I mean it was chilly whenever I had to spend time there). I don't think they were ever successful at keeping it a temperature that was comfortable.
The carbo-pallooza catered food. The words protein or vegetable seldom crossed the caterer's lips. White flour, however, was in abundant supply.
Dropping my second Green-tini. It was delish.. and my last drink ticket.
Getting a frakkin' cold from the weekend.
Whatever
I am just jaded, or was the swag just not that exciting this year? There was a lot of it, but was most of it worth bringing home? I think not.
I'm continuing to go through some of my hand-written recipes off grease-stained pieces of scrap paper. I'm not sure how long I've had this one, but it's a favorite goodie on a cool day.
Apple Cake
This is a simple snack cake, not to be confused with the type of cake that one would frost.
Beat 2 eggs. Add 1 C sugar and beat again. Sift together, then add to egg/sugar and beat:
2 tsp. each of baking powder and baking soda 2/3 C. flour 1/2 tsp. salt
Fold into this: 2 Cups diced apples 1 tsp. vanilla 1 Cup nuts chopped 1/4 tsp. cinnamon
Spoon this mix into a greased square cake pan. Bake at 350F for 40-45 minutes. The cake will be lumpy and moist and there is no great way to test for doneness. It more resembles a baked apple fritter than the traditional idea of a cake. You may wish to dust the finished squares with a little powdered sugar.
A couple summers ago an online friend was bemoaning the fact that she could not be a good wife. "The sign of a good wife," she sighed, "is making a good lemon bar." And her lemon bars were far less than good.
I sent her my recipe, sure that the problem was with her ingredients not her technique. When I heard back from her later, she confirmed that one ingredient change did make all the difference. She can, indeed, now proudly call herself a good wife. Wish I remembered who it was, but the recipe has been changed to:
Good Wife Lemon Bars
1-1/4 Cups of all purpose flour 1 Cup of sugar 1/3 cup of butter, softened 2 eggs or 1/2 cup egg substitute 3 TBS. Minute Made Premium Lemon Juice (found in the freezer case) or fresh. Confectioner's sugar
Combine 1 C. flour and 1/4C sugarp cut in butter until mixtue resembles course crmbs. Press mixture onto bottom of 8x8x2 pan. Bake at 350F for 15 minutes or until lightly browned.
Blend eggs, lemon juice, and remaining flour and sugar; pour over pastry crust. Bake 15 minutes more or until set. Cool slight; sprinkle with confection's sugar if desired (it is desired!). Cool completely; cut into 1x2" bars.
makes 32 bars (if you can cut accurately. Mine are somewhat less) Prep Time: 25 minutes Total Time: 55 minutes.
Now the secret to these bars is the lemon juice (well, duh!) If you are tempted to use the reconstituted stuff in the big green bottle, be prepared to fail in the "good wife" area. That stuff is foul and should not be touched. It will ruin your lemon bars. If you are unable to get fresh juice, take the time to search out the Minute Made stuff. You will be glad you did.
Y'all know I'm actively participating in BlogHerCon this weekend, right? Can I say thank goodness for the publish in the future feature on Blogger? It let's me keep up with my great Friday linky lovin'!
So on with it:
Science Daily reported on a University of Missouri study comparing Weight Watchers to gym membership weight loss programs. While the WW participants lost about 5% body weight, this was mostly comprised of lean muscle mass. The gym participants, in contrast, did not lose much weight, but did lose significant amounts of intra-abdominal fat. While this makes the gym program sound more successful, they researchers also found that without support, the gym participants quit, while the support of meetings from WW kept it's participants in the program.
“These results imply that overweight, sedentary women joining a fitness center with the intent of weight loss or body fat change will likely fail without support and without altering their diets,” Ball said. “Nearly 50 percent of people who start an exercise program will quit within six months.”
“This study attempted to discover what takes place in the real world when overweight women attempt to lose weight.” Ball said. “I think the outcome of the study speaks volumes about the necessity for a multi-pronged approach in order to lose weight, body fat and gain health benefits. I hope that this will be the first in a series of studies investigating commercial weight-loss programs.”
Ok, so it's 11:30 pm on Thursday night, and I've finally gotten online at our hotel. Only17 emails, so I'm lucky.
I started talking about 5 pm, and lost my voice by 10.
The hotel management must think that we BlogHers are smokin' hot, because the AC on the meeting levels was turning me into an icicle. A really cute icicile, but still...
