A few updatey type things
It’s been rather rainy and chilly here lately, which I’m enjoying very much, although it seems like everyone else just wants warm, sunny weather. Despite the frostiness, spring is soon to arrive. As evidenced the pictures gracing this post, which I took while walking to work one day after a night when it froze and even snowed. Leaves were damaged, but the flowers were undeterred.
I think it’s worth noting that I actually sat down and messed with the stuff (sidebar, pages, settings, etc.) on this blog the other night. I think some things hadn’t been futzed with since June 2007 when I started this blog, and others have stayed static since the redesign in October 2007. I’d love to do another redesign, and restart the Index of Indie, but that will have to wait for available time, so I thought some tidying was in order. My blog’s making me feel a bit claustrophobic, it needs trimming. But I did like that I put the projects I’m working on in there.
Wesley graduated from the first round of obedience training last Monday. He is now an occasionally obedient dog. I’ve gotten mixed reactions about dog training – you all can rest assured, obedience training does not turn your dog into an automaton and there aren’t any choke collars involved. Our trainer Tara and co-trainer Amanda have been great, they love dogs, and they actually specialize in difficult, aggressive dogs, which Wesley is not. I love people who love animals, and don’t give up on them. Anyway, Wesley is still very much puppy-like and doggy. Just the other day he ate my wallet and license, the plastic on Jeff’s new tea mug, part of my shoe, the cheese crackers from a friend’s purse and an entire box of Kleenex. We are doing intermediate obedience training because Wesley enjoyed the classes so very, very much, him being an intelligent dog who likes people, activity and treats. I enjoy that he’s not chasing the poor cat as much, and that he’s ceased trying to dislocate my shoulder on walks.
I have sadly suffered cooking fail twice this week already, and it’s only Wednesday. On Valentine’s Day I did my usual and cooked Jeff dinner. The baked vegetable baklava turned out well, as did the saffron rice, however I … sort of melted the falafel. I used a recipe. I shouldn’t use recipes. The last time I made falafel I just invented it as I went and it turned out beautifully. Then tonight I tried to make red beans and rice – another recipe! – and burned the ever loving hell out of a dish I’m eminently familiar with and is only rice and beans, after all. I must be tired or something. I’m off my game.
I’ve been working really hard on my stack of crafting organizational items, and am proceeding quite satisfactorily. I’ll have some show-and-tell once I have some acceptable lighting. I am enjoying the time sewing very much. I should do this more often!
Found my sewing machine again
Since we moved, I’ve been sort of avoiding my sewing machine. It’s always a massive pain to move around my crafting stuff, and it always results in me sort of avoiding some craft or another until I finally get around to putting things together. But I finally did get to the sewing machine things and had previously unearthed the cutting mat (which has mysteriously and sadly become warped) for my papercut project.
On Monday I took the day off and decided to work on a new sewing project. It’s one I’ve been considering for a while due to all the hand sewing and crocheting I’ve done in the past year, and the handwork I expect to do this year. Over time I’ve gathered a collection of portable tools that currently reside in a motley collection of bags. Mostly, the bags are the result of the free samples that Clinique periodically gives out. This is not exactly ideal.
Plus, I’ve run out of room for all my hooks in the crochet hook roll I made myself. So the material there on the left is for making a new set of portable tool-holders and handwork helpers. I’ve been putting in an hour or so of work on it every night. Yes, it’s taking that much time! I’m planning 3 zippered bags, 2 pincushions, 2 crochet hook rolls and 2 more keepers of another sort, plus a long-awaited mat for my sewing machine and something for car crafting. I’m making up all the patterns – essentially refining the jury-rigged versions I have now.
Hey, it’s a lot of stuff, but if you’re going to do it, might as well go big, right? Plus, this way it will all match!
Tool talk always reminds me of chimpanzees. Back in some anthropology course I took sometime we talked about chimpanzees putting twigs into anthills, waiting for the ants to climb on, and then eating the ants off the twig. This was, apparently, very interesting because it’s a rare example of tool use by an animal. The use of tools seems to relate to learned behavior and intelligence, and humans are nearly unique in their adoption of tools.
In that case, with the immense quantity and variety of tools required to craft, that means crafters are be a pretty darn smart group of folks, right?
Why is it that I always end up choosing green and purple when free to choose any colors? In no other area of my life (clothing, crochet, etc.) do I choose green and purple. Yet it’s always my choice in sewing. Let’s review: many, many quilt designs, my sewing machine cover, and my crochet accessories holders, and stuff from pre-blog days: a pieced quilt top I made but never actually attached to a blanket, a chair cover, some pillows … all green and purple.
Ah well, I’m nattering on now. Should work on a hat or something …
An Awareness of Time Passing
At the beginning of this month (aww crap it’s already next month, nevermind) January I wrote out a sort of plan for production of creative things for the year. And already, I’m behind. I thought of time passing, about how I now have just 11 months to feel accomplished about my year!
And then I said no. I am not going to beat myself up about this. I know this happens. It is not a real problem and I am not actually upset. I think, in fact, that I’ve soldiered quite bravely on in the face of some disappointing problems that require fortitude to correct. You see, sometimes when I encounter a problem, I solve it by just getting rid of the problem. You have to admit, it is a type of solution. However, when the problem in question is something you’ve spent hours or days working on, it’s not so easy to just get rid of it. Actually, I think it would feel physically painful to try to throw something away like a sweater I crocheted.
The red sweater is a good example of this. After my last post, I sewed up the sides. As I suspected, the sweater does not fit – the arms are too small and it requires decreases in the yoke. I am going to have to rip out the entire yoke, detach the sleeves and start on this part again. I do not want to. It makes me want to throw a two-year-old’s tantrum. But I will finish. Later. When I’m not so irritated that just looking at the problem makes me feel a little, ok a lot stabby. It’s a long version of that “count to 10″ recommendation for people with tempers.
Then there is the case of Jeremy’s Mountain Hat.
First, I made a mountain crochet chart. The chart is awesome. Then I made a beanie crown. The crown was … meh. Then I started making the rest of the hat, and encountered HAT FAIL. (1) I didn’t like my color changes, and (2) somehow I lost 10 stitches around. That’s right. I went from 72 stitches around to 62. The yarn that I’m working with is bulky, and when you carry yarn, sometimes the stitch the color changes on ceases to look like a stitch, so I ended up accidentally skipping it in the next row. I thought I was losing my mind.
PLUS -(3) the crown color yarn is slightly less bulky than the other two yarns, and I’m using tapestry crochet (where you carry 2 strands of yarn) for the pattern part. Ergo – there’s a significant fabric difference between the Not-as-thick-single-strand-crochet of the crown and Thicker-two-strand-crochet of the pattern. It was not attractive.
So I frogged the whole thing.
I going to start over. And when I’m done, it will be a thing of joy and beauty.
Just you wait.
