Early last winter I found a great jacket at a thrift shop. It is a dark olive drab cordoroy styled similar to a jeans jacket. With a high collar, zipper closing, it hits just below the high hip. Looks wonderful on me.
Last spring, I started staring at it thinking that it needed some embellishing to make it truly mine. My original idea was to draw the swirls and trials of vapor -like steam off a coffee cup or smoke from the end of a cigarette- but turn these into harder geometric forms. Imagine smoke shaped by triangles.
Initial sketches and trials showed that the medium I had to work with was not right for this more delicate design. Dark cordoroy is not the best format for delicate shapes. It's still in my book. But I like triangular shapes, so I've stuck with concept in part of work.
Last fall, I started stitching.
I quickly came to realize that this jacket will require a whole lot of time to get to my final vision. A. Whole. Lot. Of. Time. The fabric isn't the best to be working with. Cordoroy is tightly woven but very fluffy. The tight weave wants fine threads to easy work through; the thick top wants chunky yarns to stand above the fabric.
I'm adapting my materials and techniques as I go along. Delicate stitching now will be done on other fabrics, cut, fused, and the stitched to the jacket. Chunkier yarns are tacked into place.
I've added a couple fun embellishments to the front.
The way I see it, if I get a bit more stitching done, the jacket will be to a point where I can pack a small amount of the work in a pocket. Wear the jacket somewhere, pull the supplies out and begin working on the jacket wherever I am. Then wear it home.
It's going to be like a master project on stitchery. A travelling, wearable master project. One that I continue to add to until the fabric completely disintegrates.
One thing I've come to expect when reading crafting blogs, is openness and honesty from the bloggers. Sometimes the honesty is sad, occasionally it's hard to read, and sometimes it just plain silly. I love these takes of other people's lives examined.
My workspace... I have thought about showing my area all clean and tidy. But let's be real - that won't happen so quickly. After listening to another crafty podcast on Craftsanity where the blogger chatted about people not being real and only showing the clean snippets of life in their photos and text. Or only sharing the good times and not the bad, I thought it was about time I 'fess up.
Art Junk Girl is reexamining her work and describing growing pains:
Ok, so, yesterday, it occurred to me that I must be going through a growing pain again. Something inside is telling me to stretch. Lately I've been sketching and doing things in which I feel like I am a fish out of water. I painted on a collaged canvas, I sketched, I used a new journal to make character's in. I looked at all of it and thought, this is CRAP! And you know what? It is. But that is OK, because I am growing. I am learning. I am stretching. It's like exercising while being "out of shape". It takes time to built up stamina, skill, etc. You have to make lots of mistakes. You have to make ugly stuff to find what you like to make that is beautiful.
I need balance and focus to be a part of my life. And if you are up for it, I hope to share my path with you as I take this journey. If you are a scanner, I imagine your path might be similar.
After gettin' jiggy with the glue gun last week, nothing around here is safe from being ribbon-ized or trim-ificated. How 'bout clothes pins?!
I've mentioned this before, but I love having a clothes line in my studio space over my sewing machine and/or drawing table. I clip all kinds of things up there like magazine pages, swatches, parts of projects I'm working on, etc. When I was tidying up the space last week I got to thinking about jazzing up those clothes pins with ribbon scraps.
Finally, in the fun that is meme, Girl is Crafty participated in the 30 things meme.
Found this how-to on YouTube and think it's wonderful. Imagine taking a pearl necklace (perhaps an inexpensive broken one?) and restringing it to make a pretty pearl head band.
Happy New Year! While 2008 cannot disappear into the review mirror fast enough, it brought some challenges to the world that are going to show up, I'm sure, in 2009 New Year's Resolutions. The poor economy and lost jobs will encourage "belt-tighting" moves for many. When it comes to crafters, I'm betting lots of us are making serious pledges to work more out of generous stashes.
What does it mean to bust your stash? For many crafters, it means using what you have whenever possible without comprosing design principles. JudyL at Patchwork Times explained:
I will not spend hours trying to make something work that isn’t working just because I’m insisting on using the stash. I will not run low on something and feel stymied due to not having what I want to work with.
What I will do is try my best to use what I have here. There have been occasions when I’ve started out wanting to use a blue accent fabric and despite pulling dozens of fabric, nothing worked. I might’ve switched to a red accent fabric and still couldn’t pull it together; and then switched to brown and it all fell into place. That’s the kind of things I will try to do in 2009.
Judy has invited quilters everywhere to join her in stash busting this year. She has a pledge you can download to state your own goals, plus links to other stashbusters you can contact for support.
AllenQuilts has been stashbusting for an entire year. This past December she posted progress photos of the change in her "supply closet":
Last year, I posted pics of my stash, when I first started this stash-busting venture with Judy. I really can’t say you can tell a lot of difference yet. Maybe by this time next year, I will have more space on my shelf for thread. I hope so. I also hope someone straightens up those bottom shelves, and the floor.
In the comments, Vickie Welch admitted to stashing about 85 yards this year, but admits: "I’m figuring that it was about 1%!
Barbara from Mainely Stitching put her philosophy for stash busting right out there when she wrote: begin as you intend to continue. Great advice. Begin the year by choosing a big project we've intended to work on. Choose something challenging and rewarding that you've been putting off.
When knitting, it's often imperative to find patterns that use small amounts of yarn. Thus allows us to use the remaining yard from larger finished projects or that single skein or two we just had to pick up at a YS sometime. SmarieK Knits has a number of free knitting patterns to download which take advantage of small supplies of yarn to create projects.
For myself, I started my stashbusting in December when I took two skeins of a Koigu handpainted wool out of my yarn drawer where they've dwelt for several years. I was never going to make them into socks for me (woe is me, wool socks are still too itchy!) and the yarn was too expensive to make socks for someone else. Instead I improvised a very simple fingerless glove pattern. Finished it up in just a couple weeks of knitting in my spare time (I am a very slow knitter). There is likely enough yarn left to make a second pair of these that I can swap or sell or use as a present. So the yarn isn't completely busted from my stash, but it's well on its way.
Have you taken a oath to bust some stash this year? Have you blogged this intention? Is so, please include a link in the comments. To encourage us and give us the excitement of sharing our accomplishments with friends, I've set up a Flickr group to share our stash busting efforts. Share projects in progress, projects as you finish them, items you've given up and given away. Anything that qualifies as part of your stash busting.
Happy New Year! While 2008 cannot disappear into the review mirror fast enough, it brought some challenges to the world that are going to show up, I'm sure, in 2009 New Year's Resolutions. The poor economy and lost jobs will encourage "belt-tighting" moves for many. When it comes to crafters, I'm betting lots of us are making serious pledges to work more out of generous stashes.
What does it mean to bust your stash? For many crafters, it means using what you have whenever possible without comprosing design principles. JudyL at Patchwork Times explained:
I will not spend hours trying to make something work that isn’t working just because I’m insisting on using the stash. I will not run low on something and feel stymied due to not having what I want to work with.
What I will do is try my best to use what I have here. There have been occasions when I’ve started out wanting to use a blue accent fabric and despite pulling dozens of fabric, nothing worked. I might’ve switched to a red accent fabric and still couldn’t pull it together; and then switched to brown and it all fell into place. That’s the kind of things I will try to do in 2009.
Judy has invited quilters everywhere to join her in stash busting this year. She has a pledge you can download to state your own goals, plus links to other stashbusters you can contact for support.
AllenQuilts has been stashbusting for an entire year. This past December he posted progress photos of the change in his "supply closet":
Last year, I posted pics of my stash, when I first started this stash-busting venture with Judy. I really can’t say you can tell a lot of difference yet. Maybe by this time next year, I will have more space on my shelf for thread. I hope so. I also hope someone straightens up those bottom shelves, and the floor.
In the comments, Vickie Welch admitted to stashing about 85 yards this year, but admits: "I’m figuring that it was about 1%!" If her calculation is accurate, then her stash - at a low valuation of $5/yard- is worth $42,500. It is not earning interest until it sees the light of day as part of a project. Do any of us truly have this have kind of money to allow it to sit around?
Barbara from Mainely Stitching put her philosophy for stash busting right out there when she wrote: begin as you intend to continue. Great advice. Begin the year by choosing a big project we've intended to work on. Choose something challenging and rewarding that you've been putting off.
When knitting, it's often imperative to find patterns that use small amounts of yarn. Thus allows us to use the remaining yard from larger finished projects or that single skein or two we just had to pick up at a YS sometime. SmarieK Knits has a number of free knitting patterns to download which take advantage of small supplies of yarn to create projects.
For myself, I started my stashbusting in December when I took two skeins of a Koigu handpainted wool out of my yarn drawer where they've dwelt for several years. I was never going to make them into socks for me (woe is me, wool socks are still too itchy!) and the yarn was too expensive to make socks for someone else. Instead I improvised a very simple fingerless glove pattern. Finished it up in just a couple weeks of knitting in my spare time (I am a very slow knitter). There is likely enough yarn left to make a second pair of these that I can swap or sell or use as a present. So the yarn isn't completely busted from my stash, but it's well on its way.
Have you taken a oath to bust some stash this year? Have you blogged this intention? Is so, please include a link in the comments. To encourage us and give us the excitement of sharing our accomplishments with friends, I've set up a Flickr group to share our stash busting efforts. Share projects in progress, projects as you finish them, items you've given up and given away. Anything that qualifies as part of your stash busting.
This year, I'll mention a different idea to take in endeavoring to bust a stash every month. Look for it the 2nd Saturday of each month. What are some of your preferred stash-busting techniques?
Vision Boards. This year the New Year's discussions throughout the blogosphere and twitter has focused on the advantages of vision boards over traditional New Year's Resolution. While vision boards have been around for years, the concept has reached a tipping point in the general consciousness.
Assuming that I'm not the last person on the vision-board-bus, let's see what these things are, why they might be a more successful tool than New Year's resolutions, and how bloggers reacted to designing one.
A vision board (also called a Treasure Map or a Visual Explorer or Creativity Collage) is typically a poster board on which you paste or collage images that you’ve torn out from various magazines. It’s simple.
The idea behind this is that when you surround yourself with images of who you want to become, what you want to have, where you want to live, or where you want to vacation, your life changes to match those images and those desires.
With this positive take, it's plain to me right there why vision boards might be more popular than New Year's resolutions. Miriam Webster defines resolution as: something that is resolved (ie. to reach a firm decision about). There is something about that phrase "firm decision" that sounds just a bit restrictive to me. Like punishment or rules. It doesn't sound like it allows for change and growth and adaption.
I doubt that many make their New Year's resolutions with this firm intent. There often sounds like something tentative about most of these. Whether we state the wish to lose 20 pounds or exercise more, make more money or take a big vacation. I'll agree the hope is there; I don't believe the resolution necessarily exists.
Vision boards, on the other hand, seem like an adaptable method of planning the future.
1. Write your goals down 2. Look for visual representations of your goals in magazines or online 3. Make a collage with the visual representations 4. Put this in a frequently viewed area 5. Extra: put your written goals in the middle, so that the visuals are flowing outward from the actual original ideas.
Michelle at New Moon Journal asks: Who Says New Year's and Vision Boards Go Together? Because her blog focuses on astrology, she suggests that the best time to construct a vision board is in the spring. Yet she sees a value to beginning work on a board now. By beginning a vision board, now it can worked and tweaked over the next few months. My favorite of her suggestions:
Shadow Dancing: Listen for the inner voices-your mind chatter. Look for black and white thinking then seek to balance the negative self talk and doubt. Look for your issues with FEAR- fear of success, fear of failure are two biggies that dance with me.
To do this, I suggest you build a strong foundation on which to create your best life ever. That means looking at the things you gave your attention to last year and if need be, making a fresh start to get where you'd like to be this year. There is no point in building a vision of the future on a foundation muddied with unfinished business, unresolved issues, old hurts, deep resentments and feelings of regrets. If you drag this negativity into the New Year I assure you that your new vision will not be fully realized. Bringing in a New Year is a great time to let go of any attitude, project, relationship, or people, places and things that weighs us down or impedes our progress towards a more purposeful and joyful life.
Am going to use images from the internet which is free and put them in a collage or 'poster board' style using powerpoint. Then will get it printed and mounted as my own vision boards.
A4 pages on various topics, at the moment topics that relate to my intentions for 2009 (I never call them resolutions – that way they don’t sit there asking to be broken!), but as wishes, wants, thoughts and ideas change throughout the year, the images will multiply.
Last week, fellow BlogHer contributing editor Karen Walrond wrote about twists on New Year's resolutions. She closed that post by discussing making vision boards with her four year old daughter. She found it a great activity for a winter afternoon. After showing the (gorgeous) boards they had contructed, she interpreted Alex's for us:
judging from the images Alex chose, 2009 is the year she's going to be a princess, Tinkerbell, and an incontinent cat.
In case you're wondering, I have NOT made my vision board yet. In part, it's because I, too, lack magazines from which to tear images. I am writing down words and concepts that I want to embrace in 2009. While it's easy to imagine the image for white water rafter, I don't know how to image "take more risks" or "live more fearlessly" when I can't imagine what some of the risks and/or fears could be. How would you picture fearless?
I am committed to getting together with Leslie Madsen-Brooks next weekend to start constructing one. I am tempted to follow Michelle's advice above and let the process stew and develop until the astral year begins in Aries, but I fear (there's that word again!) that I'm just using it as another excuse to delay and avoid making a commitment to my future.
My last pair of fingerless gloves (or gauntlets) took me nearly a month to knit. They were fingering weight yarn and #1 needles (very small). Last night I started a second pair with an Extra Chunky yarn and #13 needles.
Ya think size doesn't matter? I finished the pair in about 2.5 hours.
Siel asked for the pattern for these. So I'm going to show you all how "improvisational" I get with my knitting. It will not be shocking to those who've worked any craft project with me, but the rest of you, enjoy:
For the chunky gauntlets, I used Lion Brand Wool-Ease Thick and Quick yarn and size 13 needles straight needles.
I cast on 17 stitches. Experiment. Some odd number that fits comfortably around your knuckles but not too loose.
Row 1: k1, p1 across Row 2: p1,k1 across Row 3: repeat row one.
Row 4: k across Row 5: repeat Row One.
Repeat 4, 5 until piece is long enough to reach from below wrist to first knuckle on thumb. (for me this was 14 rows total.). End with a Row 4.
Next row: Add Thumb hole, casting off. Determine center stitch of piece plus two stitches on either side. Continue pattern (k1,p1) until you reach that first stitch. For mine, I k,p'ed for 7 stitches. Bind off the next 3 stitches. Continue pattern to end of row.
Next row: Add Thumb hole, casting on. Knit the worked stitches until you come to the gap. Cast on 3 stitches. (I turned work to other side and did 3 knit-wise cast ons. It's not pretty but it works). Continue pattern to end of row. Anyone who can suggest a better method of casting on, I'd appreciate it.
Next row: k1,p1 to end of row. 17 stitches again.
Continue pattern until the gauntlet is long enough to cover first knuckles on your hand. For me, that was 7 rows.
Cast off. With last stitch, cut yarn leaving a long tail. Slip yarn through last stitch and pull tight, then using a tapestry needle sew the side closed. Weave in loose ends. Repeat for 2nd gauntlet and wear.
Starting this fantasizing while walking down to the coffee shop at the bottom of the hill for lunch.
If I had a:
Music blog, it would be Rockin' Roby.
Personal Finance? [Deb]It. (That one is genius!)
Food Blog? Yummy in my Tummy.
Beauty/Fashion/Shopping blog? Who am I kidding? Can you do a fashion blog about shopping at thrift stores?
Book blog it would a podcast where I'd read part of a book and a review to whet your appetite. Call it?
Sports/Fitness? is Weight for Deb.
Life blog? was Deb's Daily Distractions.
Travel blog? Where in the World Have I Plugged In My Laptop?
Not that I can could deal with another blog. But just the idea of thinking of some names was fun. Rather like the evening (at BlogHer??) where every great thought or line or idea became a dot something.
I bought 2 skeins of Koigu hand painted yarn several years ago. Kept waiting to be inspired to use them. This year I decided I wanted some wrist warmers (gauntlets, fingerless gloves.. whatever). I cast these on to one set of circular needles about Thanksgiving. Then knit them using the magic loop method. Bound them off on Christmas morning.
Ain't they grand?
Monday, December 22, 2008
Snippets: Small thoughts.
Snippet #1. With my dogs, I learn to distinguish between the sound of a dog padding around thinking which comfy place to sleep and the same dog padding around because it needs to go outside. Remarkably, the difference isn't the sound, it's where she's walking.
Snippet #2: Is there anything better to eat when it's cold outside than soup? Made myself some Thai Pumpkin soup last week to serve me for lunch the rest of the week. YUM. What does cold weather make you desire?
Snippet #3: I volunteer at the local Richmond Art Center for a couple hours a week (usually doing.. what else? computer work). Last week, I used a few spare to moment to shoot some impressions round the place. Enjoy. Those hand-thrown bowls are a center fund-raiser, sold at $8 each. Aren't they fabulous? Sometime try taking a close up look at your surroundings.
Snippet #4: Confession: When a really great song comes up on my Zen Stone (mp3 player), I dance or sing. I may "bench dance" at gym, "car dance" while I'm driving, dance dance around the house. Or - perhaps even worse for those around me - become another one of the band's back up singers. Do you have a silly confession to share?
Snippet #5: When I hear about all the snow being dumped around the country, I am so glad I live where I don't have to shovel it. Or drive in it. Yeah, we might have rain that makes me investigate the actual measure of a cubit.. but it usually goes down the storm drains (unless they're clogged).
Between cold stormy weekends and school ending soon for the holiday, this is a great time to have some crafty holiday projects that can engage the whole family in a few time-killing, charming decoration-making activities. What says "keeping the family busy" more than a some glue, scraps of paper, or other craft-store finds?
Knick Knacks and Ric Rac showed charming Gingerbread Heart Ornaments with a Pennsylvania Dutch feel. Brown felt, colorful ric rac flowers, craft store pom poms and chenille sticks (pipe cleaners) make these inexpensive and charming.
Christmas Decoration Tutorials were the topic of Lisa Tilse's The Red Thread December 1st post. She aimed these specifically as projects for kids, and I think her colorful baubles hit it out of the park! Styrofoam balls, brightly colored scraps of fabric or paper, LOTS of glue is a combination that guarantees some mistake-proof messy fun.
Lisa also pointed us to Zakka Life's Flower Garlands. Made from cutting up one of the many catalogs we receive in the mail every day, these garlands are a cheerful decoration you can keep up all year.
While Berroco suggests these miniature knitted sweaters could be quite cool holiday ornaments, I envision them as inspiration for gift tags. Giving a hand-knit sweater or scarf this year? Use some of the scrap yarn to make a tiny version. I'm not knitting this holiday season; I'm sewing aprons. But I now see teeny-tiny aprons fused to card stock as my gift tags!
This is such a quick and easy way to make Christmas Ornaments and the results are just beautiful! You can hang the ornaments on the tree, tie them onto gifts or even use them as place settings. Working with clay is great fun and this is the perfect project to get kids involved in.
In the true spirit of extending an object's life, Susan Beal, contributor for CraftStylish, took old glass ornaments that had lost much of their luster and glitzed them up by gluing sparkly craft-store gems onto them.
We can't decorate for the holidays without some hand made garlands. If you're not in the daisy-chain garland stage of your life, check out another CraftyStylish project: An Easy Crocheted Holiday Garland by Linda Permann.
That's all I have for now, though I'm positive that more crafty goodness will be popping up in the next couple weeks. Will I save those links for next year, or share a few last minute quickies with you?
And what are your favorite crafty holiday decorations? Hit me up in comments with those you'd like to share
It's the time of year for introspection and stuff which led me to:
If I Rules The World (Earworm of song for an additional cost):
1. Nobody would be hungry. Food production and distribution would allow everyone to have sufficient healthy food every day.
2. Fast Food Junk Nation would not exist. (I know at the moment it's a choice people make; a choice that is killing them. A choice they don't believe they can't not make. I believe otherwise). I'm not saying there would be no junk food, I thoroughly indulge in Fried Chicken or a donut once in while. I even eat a whole a bag of potato chips. Just don't do it often or believe that when I'm doing it it's a meal. Or good for me.
3. Nobody would be thirsty. There would be clean water for everyone.
4. Each person would recognize their worth to society as a whole and would contribute however best they could.
5. Each person would have a safe, dry, comfortable place to live. It might be that not everyone would live in McMansions, but everyone would have at least a room of their own.
6. Creative endeavors would be encouraged from an early age. We are all creative. We may not all be artists, sculptors, or writers but we are all creative. These practices should be fostered to continue throughout one's lifetime.
7. Laughing should come easy.
8. People should be able to choose working at what they love and great passion for and working longer hours. Or working a mind-numbing job they can leave without another thought, but working much fewer hours. This would enabling the worker to go on and participate in their passionate activities in the increased free time.
9. Music, art, science, math, sports would all be valued in our education process and in our daily lives. The well-rounded soul would be encouraged.
10. Celebrities would those individuals who exhibited the greatness of the human race. Today's "pop celebs" would be more the
I did not need to go the gym on Friday as planned; nor will I need to go on Saturday. That's because I spent 5 hours on Thursday volunteering for The Miracle of Pier 48. As a group, we provided food, personal care items, and toys to 5000 families in San Francisco.
Four of these hour I was among the army of volunteers directly working with the families. An individual, or perhaps a parent and child (or a couple adults) would be paired with 2 volunteers. We would walk them down the donation "gauntlet" picking up and carrying their goodies for them. This included:
2 bags of frozen chicken parts
a box filled with non-perishable food such as beans and peanut butter
a box filled with toiletries (toilet paper, etc.)
one toy (most were video games that hooked up to the tv)
a bag of goodies from Avon
a case a water.
By the time we got to the end of this gauntlet both volunteers would be carrying ~30 or so pounds of goodies. And this gauntlet was about 200 yards long. That's a lot of hauling!
What struck me about many of the people we talked with was these were the described "working poor." These people worked hard and still needed help. Yes, there were the ones who were looking for as much as they could get and more. Allowed 1 toy, they groused because they 4. Many, however, were truly thankful for everything they got - including the human power to carry it all.
After the first 2 hours, everything stopped for an hour (a major tactical error). Pallets of supplies were moved and re-organized while most of the volunteers were given a break; some standing around time where nothing seemed to be happening (and I sought out a cushier position handing out goodies rather than picking them up. Did. Not. Succeed.)
Finally were told they were holding a press conference and we were all invited into the back of the pier to witness it. Former SF mayor Willie Brown was the MC. He explained how the entire function came into being (wish I had taken notes). He introduced the founder of Feed of Children who supplied the food.
Then the president of the NBA Players Assoc. spoke. The players assoc. provided much of the money to cover the cost of the items that were given. Every professional basketball player is taxed a portion of his/her salary to support NBA Cares. Each player is also encouraged to personally participate in several community events each year. There were 6 of the Golden State Warriors then introduced at our event.
When the press coverage finally ended, 100 or so of the families were brought into the area where the press conference took place. The players each had a station where they handed out the goodies and lots of press photos were taken. The family we helped was so overwhelmed by the idea of what they were being given (and likely tired from standing waiting for close to 2 hours) that I'm not sure they even knew they were standing near the players.
But let me say from personal experience that 7 food tall (when you're 5'3") is REALLY TALL and we had 2 centers working the event! Also, the players -many of them a much more "normal" height - were all genuinely friendly and seemed to be honored to be there.
Unfortunately, this work stoppage meant that the line of waiting recipients grew extremely long. We worked as fast as we could to get families through the gauntlet and out onto the street. Still, many people showed up after picking up their children at school. The line extended back the entire length of the pier and out the door. A program that was meant to end close to 5 pm, was going to be going strong until much later. I lasted as long as I could but about 5:30 I pooped out. I still had close to a mile walk back to the closest BART station and my arms and legs were killing me.
It was close to 7 pm by the time I got home. Bone tired, hungry, a blister on my right foot and sore to my core. It was a great day and I'll definitely be back next year if it happens. But I think I'll bring my own hand truck.
The holiday season is a time for glitter and glitz, and often gifts themselves glisten. Jewelry and jeweled items are popular holiday gifts. But with economic factors meaning that many people are cutting back, does this mean an absence of jewelry this year? Not necessarily. Especially if you consider recycling jewelry.
Gifting What You Have:
Are there pieces of jewelry you own that you don't wear anymore? Consider passing them on a family member or friend. BlogHer fellow CE Elena Cantor twittered:
I love pins so if I were to regift pins to friends they would know I'm giving them something I really love. Share the backstory.
I love this idea! If you select an item to gift, include the story of the piece. How you came to own it, special places you might have worn it. Pass on object and keep it's history alive. Recycling Jewelry:
It's more likely that many of us would look through our jewelry boxes and find a number of items that are somewhat the worse for wear: necklaces in need of restringing, pins with broken clasps, bracelets that are out of style, earrings your tired of. How about taking these items and turn them into something completely new.
Here are a few suggestions:
Gather photos of you and a friend and print them out to make a 2009 calendar. Choose some of your earrings to dress up the photos.
Completely take apart jewelry pieces that aren't working, then:
If you have saved some chain (say from a broken necklace) turn it into a charm bracelet. Use a clasp you've salvaged and some of the dangles and beads from pieces. Attach them with jump rings.
Choose several necklace motifs and perhaps a few beads, wire wrap them onto plain napkin rings to make a set that looks like you spent a fortune.
String some beads and baubles together, then tie on the center of a piece of 10" ribbon. Tie the ribbon around a book to use as a bookmark.
Glue interesting piecing onto a picture frame to give it a customized look.
Kathy Cano-Murillo demonstrates making charm earrings in this video at MyLifetime. Recycle some of the baubles or charms from other pieces, or like her use scrapbbooking or other supplies to create your earrings.
Crafting a Green World's Juliet Ames gave instructions for a Junk Mail Jewelry. Turning junk mail into paper beads is a whole different way of thinking about recycled jewelry.
I've been taking the new med for almost 2 weeks now, and I think it's working. After a week of feeling and quiet and self-contained, then a few days of very low-level anxiety, I've found myself able to concentrate enough to read something more than a light fluffy novel. I've been able to plan several chores to do during the day and actually accomplish them.
It's a step in the right direction, and I'm glad to think I might be returning to my old self again soon.
A note to let you know I'm still here and OK. I know it's been a week (longer?) since I updated last; I have spent this week fairly quiet everywhere, not just here.
I have been quiet on my blogs. I have been quiet in my email. I have been quiet on Twitter (except for one day...). I have been quiet in real life. I have been quiet in my own mind.
I find myself being an observer on life. Simply sitting quiet and observing closing the life around me. The subtlety of emotions flowing over a friend's face. The interplay of light and shadow on the landscape. The rhythm of others lives.
I started new meds a week ago. I don't know if this quiet is part of the chemical balancing in my brain. If so, it will be temporary. Soon you will find a blog-orhea onslaught of news, links, and contemplation.
Mental conversations are beginning to return, which is the first step.
This is going around again. I think last time I saw it was about 3 years ago? Anywho.. feel free to play and post your sentence in the comments.
Rules: * Grab the book nearest you. Right now. * Turn to page 56. * Find the fifth sentence. * Post that sentence along with these instructions in a note to your wall. * Don't dig for your favorite book, the coolest, the most intellectual. Use the CLOSEST.
Mine: "In spite of its delicate appearance, this is a straightforward pattern to knit and incredibly rewarding to watch grow!" 2-at-a-time Socks by Melissa Morgan-Oakes
I had next to me as I checking the right way to cast on for 2 wrist warmers using the Magic Loop method.
I've spent a remarkable amount of time this week saving blog pages and webpages to my delicious page. All the the intention of eventually using these when I need help or inspiration on a crafty post. So I'm not going to say a whole lot about these links today.
Instead, simply enjoy:
1. KnitWiki explains the magic loop with links to other tutorials on doing it. Magic Loop is how I knit.
2. Holiday decorations are nicest when they're hand-made! Gingerbread Snowflakes's tutorial is based upon the Japanese Timari balls.
4. Continue with the idea of green crafts, wouldn't a bunch of MomsGoGreen Coffee Sleeves sewn from scraps in your stash be great stocking stuffers/hostess gifts?
8. One Pearl Button offered a tutorial on turning a cashmere sweater into long gloves and a cloche. If your best sweater has developed a small hole (darn moths!) this is a great way to save it.
9. On a different vein, how about making a DIY R-strap for your camera? I didn't know I wanted this until I saw it!
10. Little Hut wrote a fabulous tutorial on recycling your junk mail into charming paper trees. So beautiful
11. Thinking you'd like to try knitting socks this winter? Here is a basic sock pattern.
OK. So you do have favorite tutorial/instructional posts to share?
Today I am featuring Ursus Wehrli's talk on "Tidying Up Art." His observations are all about taking works of art and tidying them up. It's funny and thought provoking.
TED talks are always worth checking out. I will typically spend a Sunday every month just catching some inspiration. Enjoy.
As you might have noticed by quantity of my blogposts (a-hem)... I have had some issued over the last few many months that are interfering with my ability to put together cohesive and comprehensibly posts.
We won't talk about the computer problems plaguing me lately. My laptop was returned to the shop yesterday for another 2-3 week stay while replace the motherboard they replaced 3 weeks ago. Yes, 6 out of 9 weeks my perfectly set-up, all the programs I want just as I want them, everything customized and organized to my personal whims laptop has been gone. I've working on borrowed -and therefore not optimized for my personal tastes- laptops. Yesterday, when I took my laptop back, I just broke down and bought a new one. I'm working on getting it all perfect, but I think I need my old laptop back to compare notes, share files, and have them both looking/working the same. Then a weekly swap of data etc., and I should ready the next time something dies.
I digress.. we were talking about my not being productive.
Over these past many months I've had hundreds of starts; thank your stars these efforts hit the trashcan before I hit publish. Compelling? NO. Understandable? Not really. Readable? Not quite.
Between my chronic insomnia and the drugs I take to sleep, I've lost something of myself. Today I am finally seeing a doctor (a specialist) to help me find the way to being me, both outside and inside. I've been waiting 3 months to see this guy. While it is a very long time, it let me do some of the work on my own that we likely would have done together, so the time was not a waste. (fyi: there are drugs you must wean yourself off of slowly. Molasses in winter slowly. No matter how quickly you might wish to be switching to something else. I believe that work is done. Yay!)
Now I am of the "I want things to change, I want them to change RIGHT NOW!"
Part of me is thinking, I've already waited 3 months, when I return from this (very first getting to know us) visit I want a plan for the future outlined in detail steps 1-20 with a clearly stated outcome. I want to sleep tonight, wake up feeling good tomorrow, have my mind clear by Monday, and be able to remember shit like words and concentrate for longer than 30 seconds by the end of next week. (yeah, if I were clearer headed, I would re-write this sentence into something grammatical. Instead, I'm admitting my flaws and living with it).
I know I'm setting my standards too high.
So I'm wanting all those things, but realistically willing to settle for something less. Like a 5 step plan that ends with checking back with him in a couple weeks or a month. Maybe a blood test ordered (could all this be hormonal?), probably just the skeleton outline of a plan.
It's a step in the right direction,.
(just got a call from dr. office. He's out sick. Everything delayed until Tuesday night. I think this whole process is supposed to teach me something about patience. I'm hitting publish anyway.)
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.
