July. July.

We had an amazing time in Massachusetts. Amazing. Our second year at Solid Sound was phenomenal (even drenched) and I've developed a deep love for Thurston Moore's solo work. Also, a deep love for Western Mass. Surprise, surprise, I took tons of photos of decay and rust and chickens and people, and came back ready to make stuff again (I was a little worn out.)

One of the things I love best about rural Massachusetts? People don't ask what you do. In the DC area, within the first five minutes, most conversations wind up at "Where do you work? What do you do?" There, I asked people twice, but no one ever asked me. Refreshing, especially since I always feel like a fish out of water. It's hard to explain what I do, beyond "I make stuff". I think that if you aren't constantly trying to validate your position, it's a lot easier to get on with actually doing. I aim to find out.

And I want to figure out how to cobble together some sort of career that I don't need to explain to anyone. That's my new goal. Also, I want a pony. Or a really big dog.

Thing-A-Day 2011...It's Alive!

Well, February 1st is here, and you know what that means...it's Thing-A-Day! I'll be posting links to my projects over there on the right, but you really should go to the main site and take a look at all the cool things that people are doing. It's definitely an inspiration.

Today, I was a little lazy -- just detail on the sweater I was already working on. Actually, I don't think "lazy" describes my state, so much as exhausted. I spent a few hours with Paul's fourth grade class today (Teacher Appreciation Day), and knitting a few inches is really all I have left in me. Honestly, I don't know how Miss Hall does it day in and day out.

Things I learned about 4th graders today:

1. The boys and the girls do not sit together at lunch. Duh.

2. The girls coordinate their tag day (out of uniform) outfits. It entails a lot of discussion.

3. No one wants to sing. Again, duh.

Curse you, Martha Stewart.

Dangit. Why do I get that newsletter? Why do I ever go to that site? Why? Why? Why?!

Okay, now that the MarthaHaters (or MHers) have moved on to another blog, I have a confession to make: I really like Martha Stewart's staff, even if they scare me a bit (not intimidate. Scare.) A lot of it is over the top, and frankly, Martha is never going to do the kind of bedroom I'll love (I get a kick out of the subject line in the emails, though, so thanks for that.) There are some fantastic recipes and great crafts for all levels of craft expertise, and I've picked up a lot of basic ideas and tooled them into something I like even more. And, to her credit, she published my all-time favorite kid's magazine. (Which is now defunct. Bad choice, Martha. Body & Soul totally could have gone.) Also, my friend Scott (of Eat With Me) won her cookie contest a few years ago, so the woman obviously knows something.

Niceties aside, I hate that the site loads ridiculously slowly. (Why do you seem to hate photo optimization, friend?) I hate that her face is on my tool bar when I visit the site. (Logo, okay. Face, not okay.) I hate the tone of writing on that site. They do a very good job of capturing her voice, which grates. (A lot.)

This is a real love/hate/love thing.

Spring...Sprung!

This photo brought to you by new beginnings and a farewell to the bad decisions of the weekend. The new week is a clean slate...let's see how long it takes me to muck it up. Start your watches!

Thing-a-day Is Coming!

Are you a artsy fartsy sort of person? Creative? Do you like a challenge? February is thing-a-day 2009 month.Each day during the month of February, I pledge to make one new thing, and this year I'm planning to try silk screening, metal work and quilting (in addition to knitting, painting, decoupage, cooking, baking, candy-making, sewing, embroidery and whatever else I can think of). Everyone chronicles what we produce on thing-a-day, and I'll be posting updates here as well. Last year was great -- and a real challenge. See some of the cool things that participants created last year on the flickr site.

So...anybody else in?

Blogs I love...

This morning while waiting for a bunch of photos to upload to flickr (a bunch meaning 144), I was catching up on a few of my favorite websites. One of those is craftzine, and I don't think I've ever left that site without sending a link to someone or being inspired to try something new. It's a goldmine. Today I really struck gold. And inspiration. Elsa Mora makes beautiful things. And I love her writing -- simple, honest, self-aware and occasionally funny. She did a great project with her mom using a blank book. Reading through the thread, I found two fantastic quotes:

"We make a living by what we get, but we make a life by what we give".Winston Churchill.
We cannot all do great things, but we can do small things with great love.” Mother Teresa of Calcutta.

You know how sometimes something really obvious hits you over the head? Elsa's writing did that for me this morning. (Okay, okay, it may also have something to do with the weird lovey feeling I have because our house is full of peaches, tomatoes, sunflowers, and other fantastic things from a day spent at the Cheverly Community Market and Clagett Farm. Also, I made salsa at 10:00pm last night and our house smells great!)