information overload

You know how you put something off so long, not because you dread it but just because, but it's so long overdue that you begin to dread it, which makes you put it off more and dread it more? That's what this post is like. I miss you all so much though that I've decided to face the dread and do it. Here's a glimpse of what the past 2 weeks have held for me:

• A trip to Kewanee for my cousin's funeral. Thanks for your prayers, all.


• My birthday! I'm 23 now, which feels very in-between, both old and young. Mixed feelings about that.





• As a part of the birthday celebrations, I and some friends went to see Penelope. SUCH a good movie. I think I enjoyed the design as much or more than the story line - Penelope looks like she lives in Anthropologie. The story was great too, though. And James McAvoy? swoon.


• One of my dearest friends was in town last weekend. We didn't get done half the things we wanted, but the stolen moments were sweet.


• Spent a week being sick with 3 different things. Blah.





• Had the first two rehearsals for a play I'm directing and costuming with my youth group. Directing is new to me, but I'm enjoying it. After only two rehearsals, the kids have grown so much, which is really exciting. Tonight we have our first costume meeting, which is even MORE exciting!


• Collecting beautiful images and dreaming up some designs. I'd love to make some clothing this summer, but everything is so up in the air that I can't promise anything.





• Sighing hopelessly over Martha's spring-cleaning sale. Sigh.


• Neglecting my sewing. Sigh.


• Read My Name is Asher Lev (a birthday gift), which gave lot to think and ponder on concerning art and the life of the artist. Hang tight, quotes may be forthcoming.

And other things, like applications and cover letters, but I won't bore you with the sordid details. The upcoming week is also very full - my sister's spring break, more rehearsals, babysitting for the first half of the week, and another friend coming in at the end of the week. So don't be surprised if you don't hear from me - I'm way behind on checking blogs, too. Nonetheless, take care, all!

I had a post all planned on how I was going to thank you all for your lovely bits of encouragement, whine talk about my lonely-hearts Valentine's Day, and share some links of courageous creativity.

But then earlier this week we got a call about a sudden death in my family, a cousin of mine. It's come as a shock, and I'd appreciate your prayers for his family and ours. In the meantime, I'll be taking a bit of a break. Take care all.

courage and creativity

"But courage and creativity are linked, for all serious creation requires intellectual courage. It is frightening to enter your workroom early in the morning and face an empty canvas, a blank sheet of paper, or a score sheet, knowing that must inscribe the marks of a completely original work. The fact that you have done it before helps, if only in the sense that you know you can do it. But this never quite removes the fear."

~Paul Johnson, Creators

Bugger. I had already written this quote to post today when I got some discouraging news. The play for which I was hoping to intern (in costumes) this summer was cancelled. I'm not sure where that leaves me - I'll have to email my contact and see if they'd still be needing an intern. I hadn't even filled out the aps yet, but I've been looking forward to it for some time so it's discouraging nonetheless.

On a happier note, thank you all for the ENcouraging comments on my latest dress. Some people expressed interest in techniques for sewing with knits, so I may post that soon. Take care all!

catching up

Thanks everyone for your sweet words on the Lady Susan dress! And thanks especially for all the advice on cleaning the machine - I'll definitely be trying your ideas!

It feels somewhat ridiculous starting a new year playing catch-up, but heh - story of my life. Here's a glimpse of what I've been up to:

Christmas here was quiet, but lovely. Spent at home with the few family members still in the area - and plenty of long-distance phone calls! Many lovely gifts were received by all, including some books and a new camera for me (whee!).

My sister's birthday. She's a jazz musician (vocals and guitar), so I made her an Irving-Berlin-themed bangle which I love, and I hope she does too. Made with Casey's tutorial and an old music theatre encyclopedia - it was too much fun picking out all our favorite Berlin tunes and finding space for them! (More pictures here.)

Lots of outings, movies, and theatre. Our parents took us to see Wicked, which was very entertaining (and talk about getting a soundtrack stuck one's head!). Hephaestus was, like everything Lookingglass does, fantastic. It was more circus than play - think Cirque du Soliel woven into a story, and happening only 20 feet away (often closer). Excellent choice, using circus arts to tell the story of the exiled cripple god . . .

And here I am, left only slightly dazed and confused after all the activity and inspiration of the past weeks. There's a lot of work I've been neglecting - organization and paperwork stuff, business stuff, portfolio stuff. I'm slightly daunted but energized for the work ahead, ready to get down to business. Happy new year, all!

happy thanksgiving

A few of the many, many things I am grateful for this year:

• an agile mind, a creative eye and able hands
• a family that loves and encourages me
• dear friends, spread around the world, but a delight to the heart
• new friends, willing to work past the kinks of first acquaintances
• realized goals
• the promise of tomorrow
• cranberry sauce. and pumpkin cheesecake.

What are you thankful for just now? Even if you didn't celebrate this American tradition with cranberry sauce today, what reasons do you have to be grateful?

scheming

Thanks everyone for your comments, emails, and phone calls of encouragement! My first day of substitute teaching went well, with very little to report. Each of the two teachers I subbed for had scheduled tests or quizzes for the day. So it was essentially like babysitting, just bigger kids and less to do. Highlights of the day: the student who said she liked my scarf and the young man in the faculty lounge that initiated conversation during lunch.

So what do you do sitting at the front of a classroom for an hour with nothing to do but tell teenagers to be quiet? If you're me, your make lists. And at this time of year, most of my lists involve - Christmas gifts! Here are some links to get you ready for the season:

• Sew, Mama, Sew is hosting Handmade Holidays: 100+ sewing tutorials compiled and presented over the 30 days of November. I've already found ideas for people on my list . . . better start crafting!
• Creature Comforts' Holiday Gift Guide. Her blog is already proof of her excellent taste - now she lets us in on her sources!
• As long as you're making/buying all these handmade items, why not take the Handmade Pledge? (Unfortunately, I'm not taking the pledge myself - there are too many bibliophiles in my family to make that feasible!)

And while we're on the subject of handmade, I'm thinking (hoping?dreaming?deluding?) of opening my own handmade shop by the holidays! I'm going to see how much I get done this week and update you by the end of it! (I may also be asking some opinion polls, so start getting opinionated!)

P.S. I'd like to apologize to my mother, whose favorite holiday is Thanksgiving and who (with me, actually) hates to see the Christmas hype starting earlier and earlier each year. Sorry, Mom.

nerves

Well, I went in to apply for subbing at the local high school yesterday, and today, they called me! (Random reason #152 that I'm glad I didn't go to the public high school: They don't even ask for references from their subs! I mean, they fingerprint you, yes, but still . . . not a single one.) Anywho, I go in tomorrow for my first full day of substitute teaching . . .

So I'm a little nervous, but I'm trying to get all my nerves out tonight. At least it's an English class, not physics or philosophy or P.E. In the words of a friend (and former teacher) of mine, "It's like being around rabid animals: you can't let them see that you're afraid." Still (and as always), I appreciate your support!

ode to an elm

I've always found it rather interesting that, as an artist, one is regularly called upon to renounce and reduce what one loves most, the subject and media of one's art. A collagist must literally cut his papers and collected items to arrange a new item of beauty. An author must reduce his word count for that which he keeps to deliver force. A photographer must eliminate items from his composition. An aroborist must prune in order for a tree to flower and produce to its utmost.

In recent weeks, we have had to cut down one of our trees. The lovely, ginormous, multi-trunked elm tree that graced the view outside my window, specifically. Now, I'm not a tree-hugger, per se. Still, I'm a lot like my dad, a landscaper/arborist whose love for trees is insane. (Family vacations are regularly occupied with him taking pictures of trees, with the rest of us posed underneath for scale.) And really, what artist can help but love the beautiful textures of natural wood, the cragged roughness of its bark, the swirling vortexes of its grain?

Yet even with his crazy love for trees, he knows what they need. So when our lovely, ginormous, multi-trunked elm tree succumbed to Dutch elm disease, he did what needed to be done, no turning back.

Now not even the stump remains.

Renunciation—is a piercing Virtue—
The letting go
A Presence—for an Expectation—
Not now—
The putting out of Eyes—
Just Sunrise—
Lest Day—
Day's Great Progenitor—
Outvie
Renunciation—is the Choosing
Against itself—
Itself to justify
Unto itself—
When larger function—
Make that appear—
Smaller—that Covered Vision—Here—

~Emily Dickinson, #782

things are looking up

Although I've been AWOL for some time, it isn't entirely my fault. For the past week, I've been playing mommy to a beautiful 14-month-old little girl. The family for which I babysit went to DisneyWorld and, understandably, left the baby behind.

Things I'm glad to be done with from the week:

• Receiving suspicious glances and intrusive questions every time we left the house
• Being asked by a woman in the grocery store to join her mommy-baby workout group
• Watching TiVo-ed episodes of "What Not to Wear" (a show with which I have quite the love-hate relationship) during naptime
• Being bitten by a small homo sapiens for the first time since I was 6

What I'll miss from the week:

• Getting that adorable, sleep-eyed smile everytime I went ot pick her up out of her crib, and the soft droning chorus of da-da-da-da-da (the only syllable she can pronounce with any coherence or fluency) following me wherever I went

*sigh* It was a good week.

autumnal equations

one rainy weekend + purusing Fitted Knits + Real Simple's fall fashion preview = I'm completely ready for fall

It amazes me sometimes how much the change of the seasons affects our moods and inspirations. For me this is true never more so than in spring and fall. I suppose it's those transitional periods that get me so excited, the anticipation of novelty.

That said, transition and anticipation often take their toll. And I've got a lot of both in my life just now. I'll be taking a brief hiatus over the next week or so while (it's not as though I post regularly, but so you know). Anticipate progress and pictures upon my return.

The above vintage pattern is one I thrifted over the summer. The girl on the right reminds me of Audrey Hepburn in How to Steal a Million - give me a white helmet and moon glasses and I'm set!