Days 26-30: Sweat and blood, but mostly blood.

Creative Clock: On schedule with many hours over the weekend and about an hour a day during the week so far.

Listening to: "Dancing on My Own" by Robyn (warning: not an awesome music video)

Watching: Girls (and quite obsessed with it)

So this week has been a bit more productive - or at least memorable - than last week. The reason it has been memorable is because nearly every project (except knitting - sweet, gentle knitting) has left me wounded. Hey, you know the saying; "crafting is pain" (right?). And so....a weekend of bloodshed began with a baking project. The challenge? These "simple" muffins. The ingredients? Cake mix, pumpkin, and water. I added quick oats to suck up some of the moisture. 

What could possibly go wrong, right?  THIS is what goes wrong:

Oh, I suppose when you only have three key incredients it should be a piece of cake (no pun intended). But when you live in a home where both the can openers in the kitchen drawer have been busted since before you even moved in, you're setting yourself up for failure. And pain. Thank goodness we have a very basic tool set so that I was able to use pliers to pull back the "lid" after I stabbed it heartily enough. And PRESTO! Muffins!!



Next up on the itinerary was to get to work actually sewing the first few blocks of my long-anticipated t-shirt quilt (I am pretty sure I am the only person who has long anticipated this project so don't feel *too* guilty if you didn't know. It's forgivable.). Unfortunately, I'm still terrified of cutting a few much-beloved shirts and so I foresee some long-term delays in this project. Still, it was nice to lay things out and even sew a few things together. Nacho helped, as always.

And for the first time, I sliced myself with my rotary cutter. All the lovely old ladies in all the quilting shows my mom has Tivo-ed for me are clucking about what a failure I am, but I supposed in some ways it's a rite of passage, no?

And anyway, I had THE PERFECT band-aid to save the day.

Additionally, this week, apart from knitting two skeins-worth of my orange afghan (scroll to bottom of post), I also decided it was time to trim the bangs. They were having a fight with the goggles, plus it was a stressful week personally, and as you may know about me, safe "self-mutilation" is my solution to stress. So snip snip!

Ta-da!

Not included is a photo of the middle finger that I also nipped with the scissors. So to conclude, always be careful with sharp objects, kids.

In other news, in case you're not following my really important life on Facebook, I wrapped up physical therapy today. For the first time since my accident, I feel like I am not in constant pain or discomfort. I feel like I am in control of my pain management. I feel like I am moving into a new chapter of my life. It is truly an unexpected blessing for which I am inexpressibly thankful. Thankful to God, but also thankful to you, my friends and family, who have put up with much moaning and complaining over the years, but have also provided much concern and comfort, always finding me the chair with back support, always offering to carry my bag or sit down to rest with me or simply asking me how I am doing. I don't think I have done much to deserve such love, but I am grateful that you have taken me into your lives and cared for me so.

So there! Meow!

Days Um...Shoot...through 25: It's Curtains for You, Buster!

Creative Clock: Ruh Roh...

Listening to: Townes Van Zandt

I confess, I have been slipping in keeping track of my creative time, which means I honestly can't remember what I did this week! I think I knit, but I'm not sure if there's much evidence of it! Turns out this was a really busy and stressful week at work and I have started physical therapy and saw a personal trainer and had lots of special dates and friend times and not that those are excuses, but in looking back on this week, I can hardly remember a thing!

In an effort to remedy this backsliding, I am going to try to post more regularly. Blogging seems to be the only thing truly keeping me somewhat accountable to this project. Also Shelly, my inspiration for this blog, who posts everyday. How does she do it?!

So that being said, yesterday I took the day off work to catch up on some sleep, enjoy some Hot Doug's, and take care of some crafting. My roommate bought fabric ages ago to make curtains for our dining room, so I finally volunteered to sew some up. This should have taken approximately five minutes, but ended up taking like two hours when you factor in all the folding, unfolding, ironing, refolding, thinking, worrying, fear of cutting, confusion about squaring up edges, calling Mom for advice, researching DIY curtain patterns (not that you really need a lesson on sewing a seam straight across a rectangle), etc. etc. etc. But after an unnecessarily long process, we've got curtains!

 

Sorry the reveal photo has terrible lighting. I am still figuring out indoor photography and felt the important thing here was that you see how lovely Nacho can be when he chooses to model for you. Can you tell me how to take an indoor photo looking out the window while actually achieving good lighting instead of something super dark and shadowy?

Days 15-21 - The First Amendments

Crafting Clock: Okay, so I haven't been keeping the greatest track of the exact number of minutes, but I am almost certain it has been at least an hour each day, and I know it has sometimes been over 3 hours, so I think it all evens out and we are still on track!
Listening to: Swim by Caribou
Reading: Almanac of the Dead by Leslie Marmon Silko

Well, it has been an interesting week in the Land of Creativity. Not in that I've done something extra creative (in fact, most of that has been pretty un-imaginative), but because I have been thinking a lot about how I do want to define "creative" in order to meet my goal. As I mentioned in my first post about this New Year's resolution, I don't want to get too bogged down with what it means for the purpose of this endeavor. However, I was recently shamed by someone (oh, I won't name names) who said that reading isn't a creative activity, and so I was pushing myself to do things other than open a book. But then I realized that I wasn't reading anymore, and that made me very sad indeed. So reading is back in the game! I think it is creative in a way because it calls on use of your imagination to draw up scenes in your mind. I might not be creating the plot, but I am creating the theater in my mind, and that's enough for me. **What do you think? Is reading creative or a cop-out?**

I have also decided that cooking pretty much anything counts as something creative for me because it requires me to overcome the same combination of laziness and fear of failure that inhibits me from taking up my needles or sitting down at my sewing machine. And much in the same way that both crafting and cooking make me drag my feet at first, they also both bring me so so much joy and such a sense of accomplishment when I actually finish preparing something.

Tonight I made fried rice, which I know sounds about as complicated as chewing bubble gum to some of you out there, but believe it or not, not everyone is as competent and capable of using as a rice cooker as you. Bless her faith in my abilities, my roommate let me borrow her rice cooker tonight with the simple instructions of "Pour the rice in and add twice the amount of water. And turn it on." That made sense when she said it (I even got cocky and gently mocked her for reminding me turn it on! ho! ho!), but then I pulled out the rice cooker and about three million questions. Put the rice in first and then turn it on? Let it heat up and then put the rice in? Let the water boil and then add rice? What is the switch for? What is warm vs. cook? How do I know when it's done? How long does it take? What planet does rice come from anyway? Too bad she had already run to catch a bus by then. Luckily, there's this magical place called "the Internet" where they have all the answers to every secret about your specific rice cooker. THANK GOD. And look! Half a bottle of soy sauce later and we've got dinner!

Another amendment I'd like to push myself toward given that reading and cooking may seem a bit like steps backward is to try to do one creative activity each week that I'm not used to...in other words something that isn't knitting. This week, best buddy and I made shrinky-dink earrings! They didn't really work so great because they curled up into boils in the oven, but it was fun all the same.

leafy leaf shrinky dinks. she also tried making purple bunnies, but one slipped through the cracks of the oven and broiled in a fiery death. RIP purple bunny pal.

shapes!

i shouldn't have shrunk these cuties...

...because now they look like they're about to poop out something rather uncomfortable.

Besides the usual puffs (of which I now have made 21...so that's nice and slow), I also bit the bullet and returned to an afghan that I started a few years ago, but gave up on when I made some mistake in a row and was too irritated to try and figure it out. Turns out that was only a 20 minute puzzle which means I am back on track to knitting something quite snuggly.

So there's some give and take in this challenge, and I admit I feel the need to justify myself to you (whomever you are), but also...I'm really awesome, so you can eat my feet if you don't like how I'm playing. Just see if I make you something, critical readership, you! 

dayz 9-14: signing a record deal...no big deal

Crafting Clock: Pretty much an hour a day all week!
Listening to: Myself! (Read on!)
Watching: Downton Abbey Season 3

So first of all...Downton Abbey....whew! I don't know if I am relieved or mortified. It somehow is both less and more of a soap opera than last season. I've basically finished the season save one episode. It has complimented my creative times puff-tasticly! Look at all the puffs I've made!

 

17 COMPLETED puffs! I'm basically just around the corner from a king-sized quilt!

Also! I have been weaving...maybe? Stuart gave me a potentially really cool beginner's hand loom for Christmas, but unfortunately the instructions that came with it were drawn with someone's foot so it's kind of hard to know if I'm doing things correctly. We *think* I'm doing it correctly, but I guess we'll only truly know when I take the piece off the loom and it either crumbles like a little cookie or ENduREs tHE TeSTs of TiME!!!! But really, most likely, it will do the crumbly cookie thing.

I also made another workout t-shirt for my lovely friend Natalie. Modeled here:

She is so ready to run all her important crazy races now!

And finally, but certainly not least awkward of all...I recorded some banjo muzik! Yes, as the wise Zach Clark pointed out, there is an entire genre of awkward hipster white girls recording music, so I guess there is nothing new and exciting about this. But I thought you might enjoy both a preview version (be warned, it's a REALLY loud recording) and a real version (not as loud a recording for no explicable reason) of me playing as awkwardly as can be. If you only listen to one, I recommend the preview version, which is astronomically more thrilling. This is how Nacho felt about it: 

Days 7 & 8: Tee to Tank in 60 Minutes

Creative Clock: Maybe 40 minutes on Day 7.  60 minutes on Day 8.

Day 7 was a lesson for the books. I forgot/misplaced my crochet hook, which is needed to finish off one beekeeper's quilt puff in order to move on to the next. That meant that I didn't have enough to do for my commuting craft and I fell short of my daily dose of creativity. That's the story I'm going with. In reality, Stuart and I were going to go on a nighttime photography adventure, but we ate lots of Thai food and I completely wussed out by opting for a night on the couch watching Perks of Being a Wallflower (surprisingly good!) instead.  Waa waa. I think those lazy moods are going to be the hardest thing to combat during this year's challenge. Gotta learn to fight!

But today, Day 8, I stepped a bit out of my knitting comfort zone, and transformed a t-shirt into....a tank top! As you may know, I've been going to the gym a bunch lately, and it turns out it's a good idea to have more than one tank top to workout in. Who knew how stinky you (I) can get! So it was either buy a new shirt or bring a big ole baggy tee. Unfortunately, I joined one of those gyms where everyone looks like a gazelle, so normal humans like me must compensate by looking cute and stylin'...as much as you can when your life is flashing before you and your body is trying to save you by pouring gallons of sweat out of every pore.

SO ANYWAY, I found lots of simple and similar DIY tutorials on converting t-shirts to workout tanks like this one and this one too! So I took an old shirt - crab critter screen-printed by an ex-boyfriend - and decided to give it a little TLC.

Voila!

I'm pretty pleased with it, although I'll be curious to see just how functional it is when I'm trying to do all my crazy core exercises on my back with that wrappy razorback bump.

Do you have any old t-shirts you'd like to donate to my crafting projects? There are so many fun t-shirt DIYs like necklaces, scarfy things, galaxy shirts, braided collars, rugs, reusable bags and more! Miraculously, I don't think I own enough t-shirts to make all the things, so if YOU would like a t-shirt craft, simply provide me with a tee (the bigger the better), and tell me what you'd like me to [try to] create! YAY!

Days 4-6: Mystery Gift Revealed!

Crafting Clock: 1 hr Thursday night, 3 hrs Friday, 2-3 hrs Saturday, Sunday....hmm.

Today is my dad's birthday. Happy birthday, Dad!

To celebrate, we had brunch at Lula's yesterday! We were particularly satisfied with our brunch because 1) one of the waiters had on a *vintage* Channel 11 WTTW shirt (where my mom works) so she's basically an uber-hipster by association. And 2) Dad LOVED his french toast. I didn't see him shake any spoons (signature Dad move indicating great gastronomical pleasure) but when it was placed before him, he did do this.

Reason numero 3 that I was satisfied with brunch was because I gave Dad my delight knit MYSTERY gift. Were you able to guess it's identity? Hint: It is NOT a cat.














A knit balloon animal bunny, you say? How did you know!?!? That's right here is mah buhnee frrrend for yoooou to luuuurv!

Here's the Ravelry link to pattern in case you want to tackle it yourself. You do have to register on Lion Brand's website to access it. I modified the pattern by knitting in the round rather than across and then seaming, which made it much quicker at first. However, I felt abusive trying to twist and pinch my little bunny into place, and ultimately, I think he could have benefited from a few more knots pinching his limbs into submission. (Yikes! Sounds like ancient foot-binding practices!) He doesn't quite sit up on his own, and Dad had a mildly difficult time figuring out which side was "up" but overall, I am pleased with how he turned out, aaand I wouldn't *not* recommend the project to someone else!

So yesterday (Sunday), rather than doing something explicitly creative, I did some creativity preparation. Or even creativity "nesting" if you will. I went out and bought a couple new storage boxes for fabric, projects, and notions. I deep-cleaned our hallway closet to make space for project supplies (like all that yarn I dyed in Peru as well as an obscene amount of stuffing for my puffs). I ALSO cleaned out our pantry/cupboard/cat bathroom so that I could fit some crafting items in there if need be. I am very pleased with all the new crafting space and feel like organizing is not that far off from creativity so it's cool!

ALSO I found THIS while cleaning out our coat closet:

Oh, that's right. It's a Yamaha keyboard left behind a couple roommates ago in my apartment where tenants rotate in and out. My roommate didn't even know we had it! Major score! It has already been suggested that Nacho perform as Keyboard Cat, and I can't say it's out of the question...

Day 3 - Mystery Gift Knit

Crafting Clock: 20 minutes on the train (a partial puff!) + 90ish minutes at home with Nacho
Listening to: Chairlift - I Belong In Your Arms

I went to the gym today for the first time in um....huh, since before I moved to Peru! It was so so fun to put on gym shoes again and lift weights and grunt and sweat and feel all healthy. So glad to finally be in a physical state healthy enough to, well, improve my physical state.

Tonight I started a little gifty gift for my dad (or Pops B as some lovingly call him).

You'll never guess what it is!

Gross, it is not THAT. No really, you will never guess what it is. Looks like you'll just have to wait until I give it to him on Sunnnday!!!!

Days 1 & 2 - Stuff Those Puffs!

Creating Clock: 40 minutes on the train + 60 minutes at home
Watching: Downton Abbey, Season 1 (amping up for Season 3!)
Listening to: First Aid Kit - The Lion's Roar (OBSESSED WITH THIS SONG)
Consuming: Rooibos tea, orange juice, and ciabatta rolls from Mariano's Fresh Market (um, healthy dieting wasn't a new year's resolution of mine, but I did join a gym and the timing of it is by sheer coincidence because I am finally cleared to pump iron/restore my back to a level of strength where I can wash dishes without clutching the sink with one hand. Good times.)

I decided to start the year off with something simple...you know...ease my way into the whole adventure. So I took up my needles and busted my stash - of yarn. I decided last summer to begin the beekeeper's quilt pattern, which apparently myself and about 4800 other knitters decided we could tackle. Like fools.

The goal is to knit these little "hexipuffs" into a giant delightful puffy quilt of wonder.

Ha! I'm clocking in at 45 minutes per puff, which means that 45 min x 650 puffs = 1 bazillion years to make all the puffs, not to mention weave in all the loose ends and sew all the puffsters together. I AM AN IDIOT.

Oh well, it's a great commuting project, so that's a plus.

Do you have any projects you'd like me to create for you this year?* What is a craft that you think I should try to pick up during this challenge?




*Seriously. I'd relish the opportunity to make something for (or with!) you. My only condition is that you pay for the materials. Need a new cardigan? Want a table runner? Interested in commissioning my first-ever screen prints? Just let me know!

2013 - The Year I Embrace "Creationism"

happy new year!!!!

so i'm not really one for new year's resolutions, mostly because i am generally incapable of doing anything for very long without giving up because i've gotten hooked on some new tv series that demands ALL of my attention but! this year. THIS YEAR! i have a goal. this year, my new year's resolution is to do something creative every single day for at least an hour.

i know what you're thinking. EVERY day? every SINGLE day? kaitlyn, that's 365 DAYS. well, i have proof that it is possible. enter shelly, a lovely and incredibly inspiring friend of mine from college. shelly reads like it's an addiction and crafts like it's a piece o' cake. in 2012, shelly took it upon herself to do something creative everyday, and i unabashedly give her all credit for this wonderful idea. thanks, shelly, for being so amazing and creative and inspiring!

ground rules and qualifiers?
guys, i'm not going to lose sleep over what it means to be creative. it could mean knitting a mitten and it could mean reading a chapter of a book. maybe it will also entail the occasional break to post some interesting links or blogs or whatever that has *sparked* my creativity. i'm going to be generous with the definition of "creative" because i am not looking to be legalistic but in fact gracious. i don't want to feel bound by rules and the potential for failure, but rather i want the potential of unlocking unknown abilities and interests to be the only thing worth focusing on here.

i want my life to has some semblance of structure, and what better way to structure that structure than through creativity? for all my tooting of my "i'm so crafty" horn, i certainly don't produce much besides a few notes here and there...certainly not a complete melody's-worth of craft tooting! so starting today, i will be doing something creative. all the days. yay!

sub-goals

i think the best way to stay motivated is to have some project goals to push toward. so here are some things i would like to conquer this year:

1. knitting. remember that amazing, filthy yarn i bought in cusco? i still have not knit it into the cardigan that i've dreamed of ever since that day in the barratillo. so this year it shall be done!

2. screen-printing. back in the lyndale days zach clark gave me a brief tutorial on how to make screen prints out of your suitcase. my goal is to undertake this project myself right here on belden ave.

3. quilting. i will finish my bear claw quilt! i will finish (or even start) my t-shirt quilt inspired by this pattern!

4. sewinggg. i am going to make a garment! a skirt! a purse! a pillow!
5. photography. i will learn how to take an indoor photo without it looking orange and fuzzy. i will take pictures of friends (very helpful article on friends found here)! and they won't hate me for it! (true, some goals are a little out of my control)

let's start there....

so creative thing for day 1: ummm creating a list of creative projects? or....knit some puffs!