Saturday Book Talk:The Kept Man

It has temporarily stopped raining, but if a red sky in the morning is a portent of bad weather to come, I'll enjoy these colorful clouds for their drama but know that something big is still out there.

Just finished reading Jami Attenberg's newest book The Kept Man
a novel about Jarvis, a young woman whose husband, Martin, has spent the last 6 years in a vegetative state. His life suspended and supported by machinery; her life suspended with little support at all. She cannot make the choice to end his life and begin hers again.

When her washer breaks down, it forces Jarvis out onto the streets to find a local laundrymat. There she meets four men dependent on their successful wives for their own support. These men are like both Jarvis and Martin- kept almost in suspended animation - trying to appear as if they are living a full and complete life.

The story sways to earlier times and then back to the present where Jarvis is propelled to finally begin to reclaim a life for herself. Her four new friends in part instigate this change in Jarvis and maybe in themselves.

I found the story wonderfully written with a rhythm I could sink into. It was comfortable and a bit unsettling at the same time. Jarvis is complex whole person formed through her recollections from the past and her keen observations of the world around her. A world she more observes than participates in.

If you are looking for a read with some tooth to it, consider picking up this book. I'm glad I read it. Not sure if you'd be interested in reading this book? There is a wonderful video preview of the book here on YouTube.

I also blog at: Deb's Daily Distractions and BlogHer on Mondays and Saturdays.

ReDiscovering Deb

Who are you? What fills you passion? What makes you fulfilled? Before you answer, separate yourself from the roles you play in your life: mother, wife, lawyer, volunteer. I'm not curious about how you interact with the world. This is strictly: who are you when you are in the world?

Surround me with people and I am a happy, engaged soul who can spend hours observing the life around (I'm working on interacting with that life more). I love walking with two -or four-footed friends anywhere, singing in a choir, learning new things, taking photographs and videos, sharing food and it's preparation, working out, watching baseball. I now know I need these human interactions to give me energy and make me feel alive.

Leave me alone, and while I still have "demon days" that I try to overcome with strong connections online, I can also garden, knit, walk and eat alone in a strange city, visit a museum.

Before my year of fitness, I could not have answered this question the same way. I had lost my excitement for hobbies, I felt disconnected from the world. While outwardly I was a tired, overweight, out of shape middle-aged woman, inside I was worse. I was a dead husk. There was nothing inside to feed me or give me joy. Ask me who I was and I had no answer to give.

Then I started finding my body again in both in a physical and a spiritual sense. I was beginning to get a little stronger and gain the confidence that comes with that strength.

One day in early spring I found myself remembering goals and dreams I had once had: I used to white-water raft in West Virginia and Pennsylvania every year; quit doing that. I wanted to hike the Grand Canyon before I turned 40. Gave it up. I wanted to visit more museums and see more baseball games. Wouldn't do it if I could not convince someone to join me, and honestly believed that if I asked I would disappointed. Wanted to walk Bay to Breakers with my friend Linda in gaudy elegant "Fuck Cancer" costumes; stage 4 cancer meant she was never strong enough for us to actually design the costumes and walk 7.2 miles.

Slowly over the years I dropped my dreams, goals and wishes by the wayside and did nothing to replace them.

This spring day instead of only moving up and down my terraced garden space by the one set of steps, I didn't hesitate to use the railroad ties that formed the structure to move between levels. Stepping high, I trusted my legs and back to get me up. After I gloried in the easy movement, I began to feel these older dreams flowing back into my soul. Could I do more?

A week later I logged into the Bay-To-Breakers website and examined the race. It didn't sound hard; I'd been walking for decades, what's seven miles? I clicked the register page, filled out the information, hit send. I was officially registered for my first race ever. Over the next several weeks, I spoke to friends hoping to find someone who would walk with me. Someone to hold me accountable. Someone to keep me from canceling. That someone never materialized. This was MY walk and would have to do it alone.

Do you have demons? Voices in your head that encapsulate all the less-than-positive messages you've heard from family, authority figures or friends over the years? I do. Spring of '07 my demons were my constant companions, especially my father's spirit.

My father was a kind, nearly-unflappable man. Beat down by the world, his philosophy was always to settle for what came easily. "If you are not unhappy, don't work any harder in the hopes to become happy." I was half-way to my weight-loss goal, half-way to being accomplished. I wasn't unhappy. Nearly every moment of every day I heard him questioning why I still going to the gym and sweating, wasting money paying a trainer, throwing time and money away on this race? I am not going to win it, so why am I participating? Just stay home, say I tried, and settle.

I fought with his voice for weeks still determined to accomplish this task. When he alone was unsuccessful in beating down my determination, my mother (the Queen of Verbal Abuse) slipped her voice into my head. By the three days before the race, I had a head filled with every demon I know trying to make me miss this chance.

Still I was determined. I was emotionally shaken, feeling weak, but this one time I was going for something. I emailed a number of my friends and asked for support: please call me while I'm walking and keep me company. Even though I would be in a crowd, I was doing this alone and didn't want to feel alone.

That Sunday I made it to the race. A small victory.

As we turned onto 9th Street and headed for Hayes Street Hill, suddenly and unexpectedly, my demons disappeared. They didn't simply quiet themselves in my head, they shrank to dustless motes in the air and dropped completely away from me. They were defeated. I had won.

I felt that proverbial huge weight lift from my body. Light and bright and filled with pure energy I continued on. Those friends who got through to talk to me didn't want to hang up. They wanted to be part of the bright happy experience that was me that day. Well, me for about a week afterward.

I do not recall that complete a feeling of relaxed joy and satisfaction every before. It gave me hope for my future.

Bouyed with the memory of that day, I made the choice for additional adventures: July's red-eye flight into in Chicago so I could catch a White Sox game before BlogHer began; BarCampBlock when I was unsure that I'd know anywhere there; volunteering to help organize She's Geeky. Each time as the experience approached, demons would return, trying to convince me to quit.

I haven't. Instead I am continuing to plan to achieve dreams I had deferred. This June, I will white water raft for the first time in 20 years. I want to book a trip near my birthday so the adventure will be a present to me.

And in the spring of 2009, I hope to hike the Grand Canyon. The key thing that may cause me to defer this trip to another time? It isn't safe to do this alone; I need at least one person hiking with me?

So what are you doing in late March, 2009?

(republished from a special post at BlogHer)
I also blog at: Deb's Daily Distractions and BlogHer on Mondays and Saturdays.

The Artist's SocNet Toolbox. What should be in it?

Chris Brogan wrote a great article detailing a number of the social media tools available for us to use. He suggested that we all assemble our own toolkits based upon how we use the internet and what we wish to accomplish. I posted his list and tweaked it a bit to become my personal.

Then I realized that this list isn't necessarily that helpful for the artist/crafter. I know there are important tools that we need that did not make this list and tools on the list that are not that important to us:

pre-existing communities like those that exist in Ravelry and Craftster.

Commercial sales sites like Etsy.

Link accumulators (I suppose delicious would fit.. but is sk*rt better?

Other tools might be less helpful at the moment. Do we need mobile blogging and communications?

If you are an Artist or Crafter, what tools do you currently carry in your toolkit? Which tools are missing that you wish you had?

(early draft for an article on BlogHer)

I also blog at: Deb's Daily Distractions and BlogHer on Mondays and Saturdays.

KnitMap, helping the knitter on the go

(edited from a post on BlogHer)

BlogHer editor, sassymonkey, is headed to Europe soon, and like any true knitting nut, she queried her contacts on Twitter to ask: Are there any yarn stores I need to visit in Paris/Rome/Venice?

Alas, my new favorite knit-store finder only found chain stores in Paris and nothing in Italy. If you know where to find stores in these cities, will you please let Sassymonkey know? I'm hoping it's just a case of the website needing time. I mean, there MUST be great yarn shops in these cities, right? They just haven't been entered on the KnitMap.

What's that you say? What's KnitMap? It's a website that uses a Google Maps application to let you locate yarn shops anywhere. Yep, it can be that simple. Let's say you will be in Tulsa, Oklahoma, and want to know about shops in the area. Enter the city name, click "GO", and 2 shops pop up on the map. Click on the marker for either one will yield more information about the shop and the opportunity to get directions.

However, you can also try searching for stores with specific limiters. I entered "Oakland, CA." and asked for shops with wifi. There are three in the KnitMap database in the Bay Area!

Matt, the website developer, has also made it possible to have KnitMap on your IPhone.

If you're wondering how you missed knowing about KnitMap, the site just premiered in September and is dependent upon visitors entering shop details. Most large cities in the US seem to be well represented. Outside the US, however, results are more hit-or-miss. There are regular raffles of goodies for those who enter store data, so why not check to see if your LYS is on their list. If not, please enter it.

Especially if you know one in Paris, Rome or Venice.

What other bloggers are saying about KnitMaps:

Katewillknit used KnitMaps while planning a trip to Japan.

Crafting Morrighana is wondering Have You Seen My Yarnstore?

Crafter by Night listed the website as one of her favorite things from early January.

Kim Werker at CrochetMe thought I Must Live Under A Rock.

I also blog at: Deb's Daily Distractions and BlogHer on Mondays and Saturdays.

I will fear the prints no longer...

Would you find this top attractive on you? I thought NOT, but in truth it was fabulously cute when I tried it on.

I am home from 4 days spent in SoCal with my friend Del and her spouse Dennis. It was a fabulous time.. relaxing and restoring and educational.

Friday night, Del and I were watching What Not To Wear, and I admitted a fear of prints. When I've tried them in the past, I lost the me behind the print. They overwhelmed them. Saturday we spent a couple hours at a Kohl's trying on a 20 tops (no I didn't buy any.. though I wanted to)... to conquer my fear of the print.

What we learned. FOR ME:

• A lower neckline is a necessity. A print with a jewel neck chops off my head. (it's my low-contrast, light coloring).
• Plain banding along the neckline and across the waist help to anchor the clothes to my body and keep me from being overwhelmed.
• High contrast color only works with strong banding.
• The perfect neckline will come down to that high point along the sternum, but not down to being even with my nipples. All the tops we tried on in the Desert Hot Springs/Palm Springs area were the much lower cuts. (hello cougar!)

Photo of some the acceptable style tops. NO, none of these would be timeless fashions. These would be 1-2 year maximum styles. Still the concepts of how I can wear prints can be timeless;
Photos taken at Kohl's.

This was both a top and a dress. I really wanted to buy it, as I could layer the top over jeans, pants or a skirt, and even add a cami under it or a jacket over it. But it was not a real wrap, and was cut much too low. Cuter than cute, though.

This lower-color contrast pring worked even without a plain band at the neckline. Had it had a higher color contrast or a higher neck it wouldn't have. Came closest to buying this, but my bra still showed at the edges of the square.

I also blog at: Deb's Daily Distractions and BlogHer on Mondays and Saturdays.

Making It Count

(crossposted from BlogHer)

Caron Lage, from And Still Counting, had an idea last spring:

I can tell when I've hit upon a good idea in a couple of ways. Some ideas just won't leave me alone. They haunt me until I succumb to doing something. My favorite ideas also make me jump up and down and do a little dance. I don't realize I even do it.

This blog is going to be about is going to be about one of those jump up and down ideas that haunts me.

Not long ago, I was perusing the internet, when I came across some photos of a display at Reed College out in Portland Oregon. Flags had been placed in the lawn. A red flag for every American who has died in the war, and a white one for every six Iraqis. There were 3055 red flags, and 112,000 white flags. I was overwhelmed.

Caron decided that as a fiber artist she could create an art project that served as a visual record of these deaths. She knew it had to be quilt-like in nature (quilting being her preferred medium.. and an easy medium for people to work in). And then she clearly saw the concept:

A small quilt for each American who has died and on that quilt small french knots to represent each Iraqi. Using the numbers from the Reed display, that's 3055 little quilts with 212 french knots on each one. The quilts will be made and bound with solid color fabrics. Any color is fine, they represent the soldiers who repesent us and we are of every color and ethnicity. The 212 french knots will be made with black thread. I've been using 2 strands of embroidery floss, and starting in the center, make a spiral of french knots. Each little quilt will be connected to the next with small brass safety pins. I am putting a purple bead on the safety pin between the quilts to represent the wounded. It's no where near the actual number of wounded, nut, they need to be represented as well. .

I am going to need help.

Thus the collaborative War Memorial Quilt began.

In May, Caron posted a tutorial on making one square. And the squares began to pour in from around the world. Some collaborators were using seed beads instead of french knots; others were choosing different abstract patterns than the spiral. The project began to grow. Recnetly, another tutorial on efficiently cutting a number of blocks from 1-5/8 yard of fabric was also published.

In November, Caron shot the project SO FAR at a local park. Eight panels of 30 blocks each. With other blocks being assembled, she had a total of 300 blocks representing 300 American and 63,600 Iraqi deaths. She was also interviewed for Minnesota Public Radio.

Currently, the project is hanging at the White Bear Lake Unitarian Universalist Church. Check out this picture of this beautiful testament to war and death.

Other bloggers with bright ideas:

When Evil Mad Scientist Lenore Edman had an accident, the worst damage was to her messenger bag. The EMTs cut it off her body! She took this opportunity to repair it with a better, stronger, faster version using a seat belt buckle mechanism.

Rachael from All It Took Was Just One Stitch spins, knits, sews, and cooks. This past Saturday, she shared the instructions for sewing a Pyramid Door Stop (it's summer in Australia.. with those summer breezes...). We in the Northern hemisphere can start sewing these up in in anticipation of the soon-to-be warm spring winds.

I also blog at: Deb's Daily Distractions and BlogHer on Mondays and Saturdays.

Inspiration Makes Me Bitchy.. Please Deal.

I began today with not much emotion at all, which, I'm choosing to believe, means I was relatively happy. Not smiling like an idiot happy; but content and in need of little outside my control. Maybe content would be the better word, but I'm sticking with happy.

There was no big reason for my contented happiness. My clothes were soft and comfortable. My belly was fed. I had friends online I was in touch with. I have this idea. Life was simple and good and on a Sunday morning, that's about all I can ask of it.

Then I started thinking again.

Everywhere I look lately, people are talking about giving themselves a break, being kinder to themselves, trying to watch their negative self-talk. I blogged about his just the other day and inspired Maria Niles to wrote about it with BlogHer post: Putting Your Own Oxygen Mask on First. It's a good article. Go read it.

I have an idea to encourage folks to be kinder to themselves. And to share in a community with others. Get support and reinforcement.

It would require a website (or at first at least a new blog), a registered domain name, lots of online PR, some outlay of cash. Time. I don't have any understanding of the technical part and was feeling a bit frustrated about wanting this to happen now and not being able to do it myself. Also, I don't really feel like I can take the time learn (how?? is the big question...) without my losing passion for the idea and it passing the world by.

I don't want that to happen.

I want this happen RIGHT NOW. Not that I'm an impulsive, results-oriented control-freak person or anything! Well, I am, but I'm trying to learn about the journey...

This frustration manifested itself in me with a major case of the bitchies! Bitchies are not fun for myself or anyone around me, whether in real life or cyber life. They also don't get the work done. A hard work out at the gym didn't help either (I'm bitchier since coming home. So not what I wanted!)

However, I have a couple people are stepping in to provide some of the help I need. Now I'm not quite as stressed and bitchy as I was. I sometimes need to warn others and myself that I hold the world to high standards and am so disappointed when the world lets me down. When I let me down. When others let me down. I need to give the world a break, starting with me.

If you want to get involved, please email me and we can talk more.

I also blog at: Deb's Daily Distractions and BlogHer on Mondays and Saturdays.

Negative Inside, Nasty Out...

Last week I mentioned wearing my complaintFreeWorld bracelet, and changing part of the focus:

I'm adjusting the rules for me to add one BIG difference: when I think (instead of just say) something negative about myself, I'm switching the bracelet, too. 'Cause that negative talk has got to stop!

I was about to write a long essay about this when I remembered I can do better.



BTW, if you like this idea of quick little videos.. I have a couple invites to Seesmic that I can hand out. Simply email me. Come join the video conversation...

I also blog at: Deb's Daily Distractions and BlogHer on Mondays and Saturdays.

When I Believe...

I think y'all know I spent a huge amount of energy in '07 getting physically fit. I fell in love with free weights, lost 40# and made a good friend in my trainer.

The first quarter of '08, BlogHer is dedicating special posts to a Good-Health-A-Thon! Mental, physical, emotional and financial fitness are going to be tackled in the next three months. This month is all about that physical fitness, looking at both physical fitness and diet. I was thrilled when they emailed me to write two posts for this special topic. (shh.. don't tell them, I would have gone to the community blog and posted them anyway!)

The first article was published today. It's the story of my journey to physical fitness from the moment the Universe gave me what I needed through to today. It's partly a tribute to professional trainers (one in particular) but mainly the breakthrough that made the great change for me.

The article is: When I Believe, I Can.

I'm not going to republish it here or on Deb's Distractions. Just let it sit pretty where it lives today. But, please, go read it. And ignore the typos I keep finding in the piece. I swear I proofed it 5 times and have corrected typos several times since it published. I swear the html and the trickiness of Drupal are screwing my text.

The end of this month a companion piece will join it: Rediscovering Deb. More about the emotional changes that have taken place because of the physical changes.

I also blog at: Deb's Daily Distractions and BlogHer on Mondays and Saturdays.

(edited from an article on Blogher)

Wardrobe Refashion has begun a new round. Talk about New Year's Resolutions! Refashionistas take the pledge for 2 to 6 months, with the option of renewing their pledge when the time expires.

The rules of Wardrobe Refashioning are simple:

No buying new (handmade is excepted). All clothing must be Recycled, Renovated, Preloved, Thrifted or Handmade.

There is a "Get Out of Refashionista Jail Free" card can be used for emergency cases once every 2 months.

You must post on the Refashionista blog at least once a week to stay in the community. This keeps the participants productive and helps to build a sense of community.

You MUST be honest if you fall off the Refashionista wagon.

What does this really mean, though? This means that these pledgers will be taking the clothes they already own.. perhaps a dress
that isn't in style anymore. . .and re-work it to make something that is wearable today. That dress? They may:

• remove the collar and style a new neckline
• alter the shape or length of the sleeves
• turn it into a skirt or blouse]
• change the shape or length of the skirt
  
  
• embellish it with silk screening, beading, crochet, or embroidery
• cut it apart and use the fabric in a completely new way.

Clothes in their own closet are not their only supplies. They can take their fabric stash (or thrifted
fabrics) and use it make every-day wardrobe items. Simple tops and
skirts are popular items here. They often call for only 1-2 yards of
fabric, can be cut and sewn in a day, and often fill a gap in therefashioner's wardrobe. (Doesn't everybody need more cute tops?? I think the answer is yes!)

Items
from a thrift shop are eligible, too. The right sweater can be
purchased, unknitted and the yarn used to knit a sweater in a size and
style that suits the refashioner. Or a colorful wool sweater can be
felted into a beaded necklace.Jeans can be purchased and embellished with a bleached stencil, embroidery, or fabric insets, then tailored to fit their new owner like a designer pair!

Some of the Refashionistas and their work:

There is a Flickr group dedicated to The Refashionistas. Look at some of the wonderful things they've made.

Penny from Sew Take a Hike fashioned a really cute fabric shopping bag that folds up small enough to slip into her purse!

LuceLu aka scarlettquilts used one a Burda-style pattern to sew a cute day dress.

Suzy from floating world view is new to the pledge.. but skilled!!

Helpful Tools for the Refashionista:

We can all download the Garment Plan (PDF) from 62cherry. This sheet allows the refashionistas to make a plan for an item, note trims, fabrics, patrns, and gives space to make any notes. I think a sheet like this would be helpful to anyone who regularly sews clothes, home dec or crafty items. I'm making it part of my studio supplies!

AlterNation is not only a blog.. it's also a book authored by Shannon Okey (knitgrrl) and Alexandra Underhill (artofxan). With the subtitle: Transform, Embellish, Customize.. it should fit right into the refashioning world.

Craftster, Craft, Sewing.org, and Threads areare all websites that will provide tips and inspiration to the WR pledgers. There is one more resource that many may use: the Burda-Style Open-Source Sewing site. I'll be telling you more about the Burda site later this week.

I also blog at: Deb's Daily Distractions and BlogHer on Mondays and Saturdays.

Not complaining...

I ordered some of the ComplaintFreeWorld bracelets in December; and, as luck would have it, I received them on New Year's Eve. Putting my own on was an active resolution. The website makes this suggestion:

Begin to wear the bracelet, on either wrist.

When you catch yourself complaining, gossiping or criticizing (it’s ok, everyone does) move the bracelet to the other arm and begin again.

If you hear someone else who is wearing a bracelet complain, you may point out their need to switch the bracelet to the other arm; BUT if you’re going to do this, you must move your bracelet first!

Stay with it. It may take many months but when you reach 21 days you will find that your entire life is happier, more loving and more enjoyable.

Note: elsewhere they say that it takes most people up to 7 months to get 21 days on the same arm!

Let me tell ya, it's really easy to keep this bracelet on one arm when you rarely interact with people. I mean, if it only counts when I SAY it... Well, OK, I talk to myself occasionally. Still it's easier when you spend a lot of time alone. I'm adjusting the rules for me to add one BIG difference: when I think (instead of just say) something negative about myself, I'm switching the bracelet, too. 'Cause that negative talk has got to stop!

Today I spent a couple hours with friends visiting. I think I switched my bracelet more times in 2 hours than I did all this week! "Comfortable" conversational styles are definitely going to be challenged over the next few months.

I ordered a bunch of these and will be offering them to all my friends as I see them. Sunday all my Monday evening Pickle-pals are getting together. I'll offer it to them. I'm thinking the ones who could use it the most are the ones who will most quickly decline the offer. (Ok.. that deserves a bracelet switch...)

I also blog at: Deb's Daily Distractions and BlogHer on Mondays and Saturdays.

A Blessing. For the New Year

I found this on someone's blog a couple weeks ago. It resonates with me so deeply, that I have been making it a point to read it each morning, so I share it with you for the new year.

A Blessing

May the light of your soul guide you.
May the light of your soul bless the work that you do
with the secret love and warmth of your heart.
May you see in what you do the beauty of your own soul.
May the sacredness of your work bring healing, light
and renewal to those who work with you
and to those who see and receive your work.
May your work never weary you.
May it release within you wellsprings of
refreshment, inspiration and excitement.
May you be present in what you do.
May you never become lost in bland absences.
May the day never burden.
May dawn find you awake and alert,
approaching your new day with dreams, possibilities and promises.
May evening find you gracious and fulfilled.
May you go into the night blessed, sheltered and protected.
May your soul calm, console and renew you.

John O'Donoghue

I am particularly in love with the second sentence; the idea that my secret love blesses everything I do. The additional wish that we wake ready for the day, that we end the day fulfilled and rest in calm is so very hopefully.

Most important concept for me to remember:
May you be present in what you do. May you never become lost in bland absences. Gonna have to cut down on my Twitter time...

I also blog at: Deb's Daily Distractions and BlogHer on Mondays and Saturdays.

In 2008, Let's Reach For More!

(edited from a post at BlogHer)
This week everybody is writing about New Year's Resolutions this week; the crafty blogger is no exception. Like everyone else, the evaluations of last year's resolutions find us all lacking; and the list of resolutions for 2008 sound remarkably similar:

Finish projects that have been started and are idling;
Work more from our stash. (use what is on hand);
Limit our acquisitions in the new year;
Learn some new technique.

Yawn. No wonder people who make these resolutions fail.

What inspires about these points? What makes one anticipate New Year's Day because... Thank Goodness, I Get To Work On These Resolutions! How do these fire creativity? How do these inspire?

When I've found myself limited to writing crafty resolutions like these in the past, it's been because in reality I was so over that craft that I had to punish myself to keep working in the medium. To justify the time and money already invested in an activity that I just didn't have the heart for anymore. Or my taste and interests had outgrown the stash and projects from previous months or years, but my frugal nature wouldn't let me let these things go.

Because, really, is there anything about "finishing a project that I've given up on" that sounds positive?

BlogHer's word of the year is REACH. I am praying that each and every one of us can find some way to word our plans for 2008 to incorporate that spirit into our resolutions. Write hope and adventure; creativity and inspiration; learning and sharing.

Yes, if you must finish projects that keep your spirit tied to the earth, then finish them, by all means. But give yourself a time limit (say, finish projects by 3/30... or begin each month by working for one week on finishing a project). When you've hit your time limit, give yourself permission to enjoy!

Plan a play date with yourself. It needn't be long. Bring colored pencils and a sketch pad to work and spend one lunch hour playing with form and color. String a simple bead necklace to wear that afternoon. Grab a glue stick and make a collage from the oldest magazines in the office waiting room. Meet a friend for lunch and trip to a gallery, show or museum. Artists call it "filling the well" and it's the one sure way to insure that you'll be more happily working at the end of 2008 than you are now.

How I Hope to Reach Further in 2008:

1. I have been knitting the same pair of socks for over one year. I've had to tear them out and start over 3 times. And I'm doing no other knitting. I know it's because I only give myself permission to knit at night while watching TV and the light is not sufficient for me to comfortably work long with the fine sock yarn. In 2008, I promise that I push the laptop away for one hour at mid day, and spend my lunchtime knitting in the good light of day. I know I can knit a pair of socks in about 30 hours (I'm a very slow knitter); I have 1 pair to finish; and 2 pairs to start. Plus my first knit top. Should be starting that top about April 1st. You have permission to ask me about it then.

2. Not crafty, but crafty-like. Just built myself a sweet little photography rig (which I used for the painted shoes demo),and I'm working on doing video recording. I aim to publish one craft demonstration video, and one craft interview/tour/other video a month on my blog. Guess I better start learning how to do so.

3. I love my work in surface design. Just haven't wanted to then put it all into quilts (my background). In 2008, I will reach into new area. I will learn how to apply techniques to wearables and home design items. Then decide if I should teach these techniques, sell the products (on Etsy?) or some combination of the two.

4. Reach out to more of the great crafting bloggers. I still dream about a CraftCamp 2.0; I still imagine ways to meet, share, promote and enjoy all your exceptional work. Spend time face to face to face with you. Time to stop dreaming and start acting! Maybe find a way to tag along on the BlogHer Reach Out Tour?

5. Write. Sometimes I write these articles like my soul is on fire; sometimes like I'm sleep walking. Reaching for the fire isn't always easy... but the results always make me happier. I wonder if you can sense it, too? In 2008, I want to reach my soul's fire.

Now, don't these resolutions sound more inspiring than cleaning my studio and sewing off my stash??

Hah! Did you notice that I did not have the courage to place #2 in bold type. BlogHer astrologer, KT, says that Cancers like me must remember that not all change is painful! I'm not sure that learning to edit video and make good vlogs can really fall into that list.


I also blog at: Deb's Daily Distractions and BlogHer on Mondays and Saturdays.

About that Blogging MoJo...

So I went and bragged that I'd gotten my MoJo back. Posts regularly... original posts, even! Then I got hit with this plague/cold that's running across the country and my mojo took the first bus to Mexico. Deserting me when I need it most.

I'm trying to wrap up work from 2007 so that the new year comes in with a clean, fresh pallate (as it were), but it's not quite working. Yesterday, in a bit of a blue mood, I vowed to fold and organize the fabrics that I'm keeping in my stash. Could not get my heart or head wrapped around that task, however. In a move to honor being present in the moment, or completely lost in my work, I pulled out paper and did some sketching instead.

It's nothing totally original. We'd gotten these great tattooes at the Oakland Museum for the Day of the Dead. I'd used one as the inspiration for a paper cut-out and wanted to make a line drawing I could keep and refer back to. The more times I draw this out, the further away from the original I'll get. Eventually I'm going to have a unique skull drawing with my own fancy embellishments.

Anyway, totally lost myself in the work for an hour and feel better about that than having the fabric folded and sorted by color/theme/size/ or whatever qualifier I chose for the moment. Today I'll spend a little time doing the necessary work. But I've got to remember to spend time lost in creation, too.

What did you choose to do today that kept you lost in the present moment?

I also blog at: Deb's Daily Distractions and BlogHer on Mondays and Saturdays.

Everyone Just Back Away From The Holiday Madness

Jake, packed up, walking through Briones.

Let's remember that outside of Britain (or is it merely England?) today is NOT a holiday. It's merely another ordinary Wednesday. And let's keep it that way.

Yesterday, afternoon was perfect for our traditional hike around one of the regional parks. We took the dogs out to Briones for a short-ish 3 mile walk. LOTS of hill involved. Hill that in the past would get me cursing about insurance policies and people trying to kill me and make it look like an accident.

Hill that was challenging but more than do-able. Tangible proof that hitting the cardio machines hard is making me healthier.

Other than a nice walk and fine roasted duck for dinner, the day was quiet. I spent some time in my studio and much of the evening visiting with friends online. It matched or exceeded my expectations, so the day was good.

Today: back to reality. I need to figure out what I'm blogging about Saturday; anyone have something to say about BurdaStyle Open Source Sewing? With all the heavy articles and holiday stuff lately, I need some fluffy fiber chatter. Or would you like to mention what you think was a key art/craft happenin for '07? My year end roundup would welcome your input.



I also blog at: Deb's Daily Distractions and BlogHer on Mondays and Saturdays.

For Maria... and everyone

I also blog at: Deb's Daily Distractions and BlogHer on Mondays and Saturdays.

One of my hardest posts ever.

Last October I got several writing assignments for BlogHer's Holiday special. Two I didn't mind too much, but the last assignment, published Monday? Hard. Just plain hard.

Me, the non-shopper, non-gift-giver person had to write the gift guide for Kwanzaa. Now if you know anything about this 6 day celebration you know that it emphasizes a principle each day that the celebrants should focus upon. Oh, and gifts? Kwanzaa gifts should be meaningful, symbolic, personalized, ideally hand-made, and promote growth in the recipient.

Isn't this a writing assignment you'd give your eye teeth for? Suggesting items for a general population where the gifts should be personal.

Yeah. I knocked my head against my laptop for a long time while trying to cope with this. But a lot of thought and some help from friends yielded a post that I am now proud to attach my name to. Unless you find typo!

Won't be crossposting that one here. You'll have to go to the source to read all it's wonderfulness. Thank goodness on Saturday I hope to return to all the fluffy fiber fun I can find!

I also blog at: Deb's Daily Distractions and BlogHer on Mondays and Saturdays.

Slow Cloth/Slow Craft: Is This the Birth of a Movement?

(crossposted at BlogHer)

If you can't describe what you are doing as a process, you don't know what you're doing. W. Edwards Deming.

As I sit here writing, in the background morning news anchors are gluing "little plastic fake gems" onto styrofoam with Elmer's glue as "fast holiday decorations." Excuse me while I tune to something less nauseating, like maybe a death-cage match. May I please hear it for some real, slower crap craft than that?

Have you heard of The Slow Movement: a cultural shift toward slowing down life's pace and maintaining local and regional distinctions? This idea started being discussed in fiber art as Slow Cloth.. and is expanding into a discussion of Slow Craft that has captivated me all week.

As Elaine Lipson describes it:

Slow Cloth, as I imagine it, is indeed a movement (and possibly even an organization) and isn't about hand vs. machine, or even the time it takes to complete a project or a piece of art. It has more to do with identifying, protecting, and sharing/teaching about the world's incredibly rich textile heritage, whether techniques are executed traditionally or by contemporary artists in new ways. The idea of craftsmanship and artisanship is absolutely part of this. . . .Similarly, for me, a Slow Cloth artist has a knowledge and skill base that respects traditional craft techniques, whether it's shibori dyeing or quilting or embroidery. But the results can be traditional or new. So in my mind, both a traditional quilt and an art quilt and even a fabric postcard can all be Slow Cloth. It's more about intention, approach, quality, and a sense of connection.

When Elaine Lipson began Red Thread Studio blog on December 2nd, one it's primary goals was to discuss and educate us all about Slow Cloth, which she defines this way:

Slow Cloth: Global textile traditions and techniques, and textiles, fabric, and clothing design with a story and a history and a cultural identity; Indian embroidery, Japanese kimono, indigo dyeing, American quilts, Indonesian batik, Western wear. You get the idea; the ethnography and community of cloth. Every culture and every region of the world has a textile identity, and before we're all wearing identical, dirt-cheap Old Navy clothes, we should preserve, protect and celebrate these arts.

This idea was picked up by Sharon B., working on two hand-pieced quilts:

I have been thinking much about this notion of slowing down in order to have quality rather than quantity in life. The idea of a slow cloth made me think that perhaps we need a slow craft movement too. A philosophy that celebrates the hand made and dare I say it the craft process. Not projects that are marketed and sold as a thrown together weekend quick recreational activity but objects that are made with care and with the expectation that we have a relationship to them in other words they have meaning.

At the risk of sounding totally idealistic do you think we need a craft philosophy that celebrates the hand crafted object made with care and meaning without regard to time. What do you think? Mull it over, go away think about it slowly … come back and leave a comment I would love to hear what you think.

She received 35 comments.. all worth reading. Compelled by these comments, Sharon went on to explain HER take on Slow Cloth/Slow Craft (emphasis is mine):

I want to make it very clear that the type of projects I am objecting to are those that promise things like “make last minute gift in 15 minutes”. ...This “thoughtful” project advocated buying particular materials and gluing on this and that to produce something that was simply awful.

I wondered what was the point and an even more serious question popped into my head. Where does this philosophy take craft?I am not talking about a machine embroidery/quilting versus hand embroidery. I am talking about a multi million hobby industry that promises skill, design sense and a meaningful project without you having to invest time or emotional commitment. Any skill takes time to develop and the thing about craft work is that it is skillful. No matter if its made using a sewing machine or by hand the item has taken time, skill and thought to make it! That is the opposite of what is being promised in these 15 minute gift problem solvers!

Sharon goes further to explain how she envisions a Slow Cloth/Slow Craft movement. Her definition suggests honoring the age-old tradition of mastering techniques and applying individual creativity to work. In the comments of this piece, Neki Rivera wrote:

i think it is not about the 15 minutes it takes or hand vs machine, but the lack of thought and content, in other words the banalisation of crafts.

i’d love to see some philosophy which vertebrates crafts, i mean other than i’ts women’s stuff.(having typed that i realize that there are crafts studies now being offered in some sociology departments in major universities.)i mean something more mainstream that involves crafters, a manifesto perhaps?

Is there a need for a Slow Craft movement? A Manifesto? Or does it already exist?

Ulla-Maaria wrote a draft Craft Manifesto last year on her Hobby Princess blog that sounds like the manifesto that Neki suggested. I wrote about in BlogHer's "Is 'Craft' Uncool?" article a year and a half ago (a surprising article to revisit, even for me!) and a final draft was eventually published in MAKE. Ulla-Maaria was the first person I read who equated the current Art/Indie/Craft 2.0 movement to the Arts and Crafts Movement from just over a century ago. William Morris and his associates called for a return to the spirit of CRAFT in design. These practitioners advocated simplicity, quality materials, respect for the environment and honoring the classic principles of design. It does sound familiar, doesn't it?

Tying these two recent "hot" discussions together in reacting to Handmade 2.0, Craft Research's Mike Press wrote:

Craft 2.0 is the true inheritor of the Morris legacy. Unlike the professionalised 'art school' educated craft makers it has an ideological position which, while largely ill-defined and diverse, represents a constructive reaction to the inequities and politics of the market economy. It is clearly using the market economy as a means of developing sustainable livelihoods, but is bringing economic and cultural innovation to it. Above all it is dealing with the politics of work and consumption in ways that the professionalised sector cannot.

I sense that we could be perched on the brink of a formalized movement, but I doubt it will happen. As Walker mentioned in his article last week, when the Craft Congress met in Pittsburg there was much talk but no driving interesting in defining roles and rules. Perhaps the Indie aspect of this movement applies even to the movement itself; how can one call them "indie artist" if they follow others' rules?

I also blog at: Deb's Daily Distractions and BlogHer on Mondays and Saturdays.

Jenny Hart, the genius behind Sublime Stitching, is writing on Crafting a Business for VenusZine, a zine for emerging creativity. Jenny brings hip modern designs to hand embroidery reclaiming it from the bunnies, mushrooms and "cutesy" of the past.

Starting out in 2000, Sublime Stitching has grown. The website offers patterns, kits, tools and textiles for sale. You can also find easy instructions (titled Tattoo Your Towels, I love it!!) for the beginning embroiderer. There is also a Sublime Stitching forum on Craftster. Ofcourse there is a blog!!

But even if embroidery isn't your thing, you should read her article on beginning a crafty business. She honestly describes trying to a grow a DIY business in a way that both encourages me and still gives me that chill-in-the-pit-of-my-stomach feeling:

It still is scary. But the scary part is different now. Attempts at making bigger strides, having more demand than resources to meet those demands, managing money wisely, and trying to find financial backing and business people in the industry who get the DIY movement (psst … they don’t) to possibly partner with. I’ve often felt very much like running a successful business is discovering the emperor has no clothes. Only, you’re king at your own company, which means you’re the one feeling naked.

About encouraging others to take a similar risk:

I find myself struggling to come up with some snappy reply that is encouraging and informative without saying "Go for it! Work really hard and it will be everything you dreamed!" Unfortunately, that’s just not the whole story. But I will say this: If you don't do it, you'll never know. And once you start, you'll see the next step and take it. Then it will become easier, then harder again, then easier, then doubly harder, and you'll find you're on your way. Where are you headed? Well ...

It won't look like what you expected.

It won't go the way you planned.

If you can be OK with that, do it.

There's more in this article, the first of 5 on Crafting A Business. Part Two, from December 5th, is all about book deals.

(crossposted from BlogHer)

I also blog at: Deb's Daily Distractions and BlogHer on Mondays and Saturdays.

Technorati Tags: crafting, Jenny Hart, Sublime Stitching

GoodMail Day!

I commented yesterday (somewhere) that I had gotten my old blogging mojo back! I had posted for a couple days straight on both of my personal blogs, and was well on the way to completing my assignments for this weekend for BlogHer (big fat lie!) I was smokin'!

Yeah. Then reality hit today.

It was mid-afternoon, I was vacuuming up dog fur and mud (the perfect combination of mess), and trying to figure out WHAT I was going to blog about today. Mojo my big toe!!

Fortunately, the spouser was home and perfectly positioned to notice the mailman ringing the doorbell (the spouser was upstairs contemplating a nap... like I said, perfect position). Now friendly Mr. Mailman does not come knockin at the door without a purpose; our mailbox is at a "group home" at the other end of our court. (those who know my court, stop giggling!). He has to move his truck and walk to get to our doorway. So this was something special!

Indeed it was! A Royal looking box was sitting under all the appeals for charitable donations. And I could guess what this box held:


A Royal Box Appeared on my doorstep


Cookies! From the Queen of Spain!!

I might share the klotchy's (bowties) with the spouse... and I will definitely share the candy canes and xmas trees. (I am told that that is what the green things are were.

Now I have some xmas cookies to get me in the holiday spirit.. and I MUST bake the Russian TeaCakes I promised her. Tonight! Let the powdered sugar fly!

I also blog at: Deb's Daily Distractions and BlogHer on Mondays and Saturdays.