The Month of June

In June, the plants always seem so small. Looking at the above photo makes me chuckle, since those zucchini plants are at least 5 times bigger now. Once again, I remind myself to plant things farther apart. There was a hail storm in June, which left large rips in many of the leaves, but the plants seem to be surviving, if not parched from lack of rain. The peas have been picked, lettuce and broccoli pulled, and beans planted in their place. 

I finished 2 crafty projects, first being the Willowfall Cowl. The lace pattern is beautiful and it I like how it grows from bottom to top. The sad fact is that when it is worn all bunched up, it's not going to be visible. Oh well, at least I'll know it's there. 

The second item I finished was a cover for my sewing machine. It was getting dusty and covered with cat hair (like everything else in this house), and the plastic cover it came with didn't sit well on it with thread on the thread holder. I improvised it as I went and did some free-motion quilting to add some shape. It's still a little floppy (should have added a layer of fabric on the back) but it does the job.

Other than that - the usual. Playing in the sprinkler and baby pool (not me, the kids), delivering snacks and cleaning up, always cleaning up, trying to work with shrieks in the background and being video-bombed by a toddler during work meetings. At night, painting and gardening and knitting. It's looking like I won't be back in the office until next year sometime, and who knows what first grade is going to look like for Mary. What I miss the most right now are browsing in the library and thrift stores. I have a rotation going of the same 5 t-shirts, which is showing how useless my closet full of work clothes is as the moment. I am searching for a middle ground between t-shirts and pants with buttons.

I hope everyone is staying safe out there! 

Life in the Time of Coronavirus: Week 11

I am going to have to start thinking of unique titles for my posts again, because it is increasingly looking like the time of coronavirus is going to be a very long time indeed. The good news is that nature got the message that it's the end of May, and it needs to be warm enough for short sleeves. We found a great new throwing rocks into water location, although it's a bit of a hike for a 2-year-old, so I always end up carrying her back. Two year olds are not light, but I suppose it's good conditioning should I ever go backpacking with a backpack that moves and also kicks me.

Last time I wrote about how I didn't have a good way of organizing my projects. In a serendipitous turn, I came across the latest episode of Inside Number 23 where Katie talks about this very topic. She queues up her sewing patterns (matches pattern to fabric) and only works on one knitting project at a time. I like this idea for knitting, although I think I need 2 projects going, a simple one (like a sock) plus a more complicated bigger project. I also need to apply this to books, as I have had about 6 at a time going, which means I forget what I have read and never seem to finish anything. So I am going to try out sticking to 3, an audiobook, a non-fiction book, and a fiction book.

Having my new office/craft room set up has made a big difference to my crafting productivity, because it is now a place I want to go, unsullied by kids' toys. The warmer weather always makes a difference as well, since when it's cold and dark I would much rather be under several layers of blankets. Another goal for this summer is to clean out some of the backlog of projects, like the shorts I was going to make out of an old bathrobe (done, but don't fit!) and the t-shirt quilt from shirts that are probably 15+ old at this point.

Life in the Time of Coronavirus: Week 7

Hello from day...... 47? Today is May, but it has been a cold, wet spring. Both my kids have decided they like hiking (or walking through mud and collecting rocks), and we have been out three times when it hasn't been too cold or rainy. The problem is that everyone else is out too! The solace of the woods is more like a highway these days.

My biggest project for the past few weeks has not been a craft, but a craft room. My craft room and office was previously located in a large room that is a landing by the stairs. It doesn't have a door, and screaming tends to drift upstairs. The room that you see above was an empty bedroom that had a 90s floral wallpaper border. For nearly 5 years I have ignored that wallpaper; it turns out being home every single day was the motivation I needed to finally get rid of it. It was the chore I suspected, but getting rid of it and painting the room completely changes everything. I moved in all my desks, so I can call into work meetings with the door closed, and all my sewing and painting stuff is now in one place. I still have some work to do putting stuff on the walls, which should be a good project for the next few weeks. The landing is now a second living room area, which I'll share photos of soon.

I have sewed a few masks, but it's not my favorite thing to do so I've not started a production line or anything. The perennial problem is that there are just too many things I want to make! I want to paint some art for the walls, use up yarn and fabric making Christmas gifts (it's never too early), and also #memademay is making me want to sew more of my own clothes. It's also gardening season: the tomatoes have been planted, but the rest of the garden will need to be done over the next couple of weeks. I had hoped to take some days off work to work on projects while the kids were in school, but now of course that won't be an option for quite some time.

How do you handle the backlog of projects you want to get done?

Life in the Time of Coronavirus, Week 4

Oh my, how is everyone doing? What was a first a fun stay-at-home adventure has now descending into drudgery where every day is pretty much the same. A few months ago, we put together a list of all the local-ish gardens and museums we wanted to visit, and now it's looking like those visits won't happen for some time.

The tulips I planted last fall are emerging; because tulips don't naturalize the way daffodils do, I planted them closely together in my garden and am just pulling up the bulbs when I pick them. It's not worth the real estate when only a small percentage will bloom a second year in a row. Tomatoes and flowers are emerging under the grow light in the basement, but it's still a few more weeks before it will be warm enough to start planting in earnest.

On the knitting front I am working on the Willowfall Cowl in Dream in Color Smooshy with Cashmere. I realize that when I wear it, it will be all bunched up and the lace pattern will be mostly lost. This is a good example of valuing the process, though. I also bought the yarn for the Darkwater sweater, which I have yet to swatch for. This was actually the second round of yarn, as the first came nowhere near gauge (22 sts = 4" with fingering, insanity!) It's a big undertaking and I don't think I'm mentally ready for it!

The needlepoint I was lucky to find pristine in a bin at a thrift store. It is from 1977 and the package was unopened. I have been enjoying the rhythm of pulling a needle in and out, and there is near-instant satisfaction of seeing progress.

The bottom doodle/art journal page was inspired by Jane Skates's #colortheworld100. (See this video for the process.) I feel kind of meh about the end result, but again, process and experimentation! I have no artistic "style", so I am just trying everything until I hit on what I like.

Finally, a link: Getting Through a Pandemic with Old-Fashioned Crafts. Crafting is hardly new to the pandemic, nor are crafts "old-fashioned", but I am forever thankful for my projects which progress forward while the world appears to be stalled.

Life in the Time of Cornavirus, Week 2

When I decided to revive the blog a few weeks ago, I did not see this coming; no one did, really. I've been seeing a lot of posts like "10 ways to clean your house while quarantined" or "shows to binge watch", but the reality is that working full time at home with 2 kids means a severe lack of free time. Gone are the audiobook-enriched commutes or lunchtime knit group at work. The pictures above are truly random, all taken on my non-fancy phone camera and completely unedited.

I've been deep in the world of aspirational crafting lately, daydreaming about all the clothes I'm going to sew, cross-stitch patterns I'm going to complete, or home renovations to start. The reality is hardly any of this will actually get done. So for the time being, I am going to prioritize exercising 3-4 days a week, and doing a creative activity for at least 45 minutes a day. This time comes at the end of the day while Mary has her screen time. I won't lie, the pull of my screen is strong, but there is only so much news you can read before it starts having a negative effect.

Here are a few bright spots I've encountered this week:

Pip from Meet Me at Mike's posted "Can making stuff admit the mayhem really improve our mental health?" (The source of this post was the article "How Craft is Good for our Health".)

There are many free online classes popping up. I've been following Sketchbook Revival, hosted by Karen Abend and Laura Horn's course Abstract Collage Creations. Alisa Burke is posting how-to videos on her YouTube channel. I've also been enjoying Lisa Congdon's Coronavirus Diaries she is posting to Instagram.

I hope everyone is hanging in there!

Revival

Soon after I began knitting, I discovered the concept of a "process knitter" versus a "product knitter." For most of my knitting years, I was firmly in the camp of product; I knit because I wanted the hat or sweater or shawl. This year marks 20 years of knitting, and I have more than outfit myself and my family in knitted accessories of all sorts. My sock drawer is at capacity, and even though I have slowed down my production somewhat, I have no plans to stop knitting.  Similarly, I have a closet full of handmade quilts that exceeds the number of potential beds and people to cover by quite a lot.

Now, I knit because I want to knit, and quilt if I want to quilt. I suppose that I'm slowly moving into the process camp; the act of making is more important than the product. I now choose projects based on what I want to achieve through the making. Sometimes, it's a plain sock to keep my hands busy, or because it's small and I'm traveling. Other times, I want more of a mental workout, and pick something with a chart or a technique I haven't tried before.

Yet, I'm still not there. I still follow patterns and don't take many risks. I still care if the finished project looks good enough to enter into the county fair or publish on Instagram. I need an output to prove that my time was not wasted. This is particularly true now, when I have so little "free" time.

Last summer I took an art journaling class. I hadn't taken an art class since college, and art journaling is something I've been interested in but never really started. The class itself was disappointing, since the instructor taught us how to reproduce her own work instead of encouraging us to develop our own style. But, it did spark something (and a minor hoarding of art supplies) and I have kept up with it. If anything, it has highlighted my tendency towards a usable (in this case, photogenic) finished product.

I have reached a point where I don't need anything, and I want to start experimenting. Part of this is embracing failure, and another is accepting that time spent playing is not wasted. I haven't fully realized what this means in practice, but it's something that I am keeping in mind as it gets warmer and I am motivated to get out from under my couch blanket.

This post will have a time stamp of March 17, 2020, and it would be odd not to mention that the world is in an unprecedented situation with the coronavirus. I am at home like most of the world, hoping that this all ends sooner rather than later, and eager to look back and reflect on how we all got through it. Making is an outlet for a lot of us during times of stress and I'm happy to have this coping mechanism!

Time Has Passed

Time has passed. You may have noticed the presence of an additional child in the picture above. I am far from the first to note this, but I miss blogs. Oh, I know blogs still exist, but the ones that peek into the lives of regular people, all over the world, are diminishing. I totally get it, hence the 3 year absence here. It's a lot of work, taking pictures, uploading them, writing, creating posts; and for many of us, that's on top of full-time jobs and bringing children endless amounts of snacks. I miss the creative community I can dip into while having spreadsheets open on my other screen. I certainly don't begrudge people who make a living from their blogs and websites, but there is a lack of authenticity and freedom there.

I recently finished Melanie Falick's Making a Life: Working by Hand and Discovering the Life You are Meant to Live. Misleading title aside - there is no mention of how to actually "discover the life you are mean to live" - I greatly enjoyed it. The book is profiles of many makers/artists, in mediums from pottery to leather to fabric. One of the featured artists is Tif Fussell of Dottie Angel. She explains how she created Dottie Angel as an alter ego, a part of her who could continue living her creative life while raising four small children. I love this idea, and hence, the revival of this blog.

Here is my alter ego, the part of me who wears handmade clothing out of adorably rumpled linen, who spends hours in the craft room without having to step out to clean up spills or find out why someone is screaming. The person who doesn't scroll on her phone at the end of the day, but picks up her artisan basket and dips outside to gather flowers from her organic garden.