Nails done, hair done, everything did

     I'm a late adopter for just about everything... Including the latest and greatest in social media, Pinterest. 
    Before I started pinning, my sister-in-law would e-mail me the pins she liked. Such as, the one to your left - the totally adorable headband/neckwarmer.
     "Can you make this?" she asked. 
     "Nope," I said.
     Because I couldn't. Until I learned how to do a yarn over, which for some reason seemed really hard for me. 
     After lots of practice (lots) (more than a normal person should have to do), I finally figured it out, and I was off! 
     My sister-in-law received the finished product as a gift for her birthday, which just so happened to be in the warmest winter ever. So, maybe she'll get to wear it next year. Or, this spring, which is shaping up to be a chilly one.
     The easy-to-follow pattern can be found here. 

There Is A Light That Shines

     The other day, I needed a little something to hold onto. Just something that I could look at when I needed to focus, stop my head from spinning, remember to breathe.
     I came across the meditation "May I dwell in the awakened heart," and it was perfect. To me, it meant, may I lift myself up out of this dark, fearful, tragic place that I'm going in my head and instead be in a warm, light place.
     I wrote it on a sticky note and put it on my desk. Throughout the day, when I would lose focus, my head starting to spin, I would look at my meditation.
     Although I did a nice job writing it on the sticky note and even drew a heart on the paper, I couldn't help but think, "Hey, this quote would make some awesome decoupage!" (That was after I was out of the dark, fearful, tragic place.)
     So, last night, I made my first decoupage project. I had been holding onto a small wooden heart for years, have a big container of Mod Podge, and also kind of hoard old "Whole Living" magazines, so I had my materials. 
     I used to collage a lot as a teenager. It was my primary form of self-expression. In fact, part of one of the walls of my bedroom was covered with my collages. Thinking back, I was such a cool kid. I wish I could have seen that then. 
     I would cut out words and phrases and pictures that meant something to me, that gave me something to hold onto. Back then, I did a pretty good job of dwelling in the awakened heart. I was so aware of all of my feelings and unafraid of most of them.
     I'm glad that there's still a part of me that wants to collage, to create something out of random scraps. And I love that my awakened heart can still be so creative.
 

Still Not a Player

I'm not a knitter, I just knit a lot.

        Seriously. I know how to do, like, six things with knitting needles. I know how to cast on, cast off, knit, purl, and in the past month, I've forced myself to learn how to do a yarn over - which means that you intentionally make holes in your knitting - and knitting increases, which you unintentionally do all the time when you are first learning to knit.
        So, maybe I should say, up until recently, I wasn't a knitter, I just knit a lot.
     It's a whole other world being a knitter - there's vocab to learn, abbreviations to figure out, and then you actually have to do the yo's and the kfb's.
     A few months ago, I learned how to do something different with knits and purls, which resulted in the lovely scarf you see a bit of above. Of course, I never posted about the scarf because, um, I wore it twice. Because we had the weirdest winter ever (80 degrees in March in Boston!).
     But, I loved making it with the pretty Noro self-striping yarn I bought on sale at a great shop in Boston (Stitch House in Dorchester), and I loved the truly shameless attitude of the pattern designer (her blog name is "Yarn Harlot" - how can you not love her!?) as she described what to do once you'd finished making the scarf:
     "Put it on, note how nicely it goes with your fall coat and go walk around Bloor West Village (or some neighbourhood near you if you don't live here) pretending to buy vegetables while waiting for someone to ask you where you bought your scarf. Gloat. (Nicely)"
     Happy to share it with you now, on April 1. Happy Spring!

Animal House

These little cuties were created in October, right around the last time I posted on this poor, lonely, neglected blog!

They were an anniversary gift for my sister-in-law and her husband - she loves monkeys and he loves owls (yes, the little felt friends are an owl (left) and a monkey (right)). 

You can't tell from the picture, but they are tiny - less than two inches at their widest points. And, they were a blast to make. (You also can't see that the monkey has a tail. What's more fun than a tail?)

I found the owl pattern for this pair months ago, so long ago that I've now forgotten the clever title of the book loaned to me by a friend. I had to search for a monkey pattern, and ended up creating my own based on a picture found online. 

Look for a couple more posts in quick succession - I have a lot of catching up to do!

Mo Money, Mo Problems?

I did it. I went to a bead shop, talked to the owner, and gave her a ton of my inventory. To sell. That's right. In a shop. My jewelry. That I made. On my living room floor. 

I've been talking about (or being talked to about) selling my jewelry for years. My friend has a wonderful online shop called Homegrown Judaica where a bunch of my pieces are featured. But, selling in a brick-and-mortar shop is another level, at least in my eyes. 

I love online shops, but I love real shops more. (Sorry, online shops! See, I even called them "real" shops.) I love being able to examine things a little before I buy them and experience the whole "shopping" experience - especially bead shops. I love being surrounded by all-sorts-of-potential creative materials just waiting to be made into something fabulous.

Who knows if I'll actually sell anything!? But, for now, I'm excited that it's possible for me to go into this shop next week and see my little red half-moon earrings in the display case.

Hey Baby, Drop It To the Floor

While many of my friends having babies are living in the Northeast, where hats are de rigueur, the baby-having has started spreading to warmer climes. A few months ago, when my friends in Atlanta had a baby, I knew I couldn't send a baby hat - the poor thing would never get to wear it. I found an adorable pattern (reminiscent of the felt birds that kicked off this blog) for a felt bunny. 

Sometimes I get to see the babies wearing the hats I've made, which is totally surreal. This may be admitting something weird, but I actually don't always imagine actual babies using the items I make. So, imagine my surprise when I was in Atlanta a couple of weeks ago and saw this baby playing with the bunny!

I had been told by the mom that the baby loves the bunny - its shape is perfect for her to hold. What mom hadn't shared with me is that it is perfect for her to hold on to while she - wait for it - teeths on it. It hadn't occurred to me that she would put the bunny in her mouth. Oy. 

Here's hoping that felt is non-toxic.  

One-Minute Creativity

For something close to three years, a friend of mine has, subtly and not-so-subtly, been trying to get me to try meditation. I've been reluctant to start primarily because I haven't felt that I had the time. I imagined sitting, for at least 5 minutes, and while the idea was appealing, the finding of the actual 5 minutes felt virtually impossible.

My friend really wants to help me, so today she sent me a video produced by this guy. 

What I experienced by following the simple (yet totally intimidating, but still do it!) instructions in the video shocked me. And, it inspired me to think a little differently about creativity.

As you may have noticed (or maybe not, that's okay), I haven't posted on the blog for almost two months. Nothing particularly bad has been going on that's kept me away from it (also, nothing particularly good, just sayin'). I've just been busy, haven't been creating much of anything that I want to show off, and haven't managed to find (or make) a minute to type up a post. I've been beating myself up about not crafting and not posting, which is really time-consuming, ha ha ha. But, after watching the video, I thought, "A minute isn't really that much time." 

Often, I think of the phrase owned by one of my favorite companies, The Paper Source. "Do something creative every day."

Talk about intimidating.

But. Maybe.

I'm not going to set a resolution to do something creative every day. I'm not even going to set a resolution to do a one-moment meditation every day. But, I will make an effort to cut myself some slack. It might even help me be more creative.

Does Your Chain Hang Low?

I'm excited to be part of a new online community for Jewish artists and people who love them (oh, and who love art, and Jewish art, too!). Homegrown Judaica is sort of an Etsy for Jewish artists. The artists featured on the site create Jewish art (ketubot, tallitot, Jewishly-themed visual art) as well as, well, just arts and crafts (photographs, jewelry, needlework).

I'm selling some of my handmade jewelry on the site, which is the first time I've made a concerted effort to sell. (I'm not counting the actually-really-successful "shows" I've done in the library at my office for my co-workers, which are probably completely illegal.)

I'm looking forward to this experiment - seeing how people respond to my jewelry, if the price is right, and what kind of response the site gets in general. If you're a Jewish artist and would like to feature our work on the site, there's information on how to do that there. Check me out!

Chan Luu, and Chan Luu, too

Apparently now I'm channeling world cultures. Tribal chic is taking the world by storm. Didn't you know? 

I found out on Rue La La, one of my favorite browsing (not shopping) subscription services. My inbox is flooded with these things. I don't always read them, but certain details catch my eye. Like finding out how much Rue La La is charging for Chan Luu bracelets.

Faithful readers will remember my affectionate nickname for the first wrap bracelet I made (F you, Chan Luu!). My friend Linda really, really wanted one of these bracelets, so we took a fun girly trip to Lexington a few weeks ago to buy the materials at the bead shop where I learned how to make them (Sweetbeads). 

Linda's bracelet is hott, as you can see. The best part? We're bartering. So, in exchange, I will be receiving an absolutely beautiful handmade shawl. 

Stay tuned for adventures in baby toys.

She's Crafty, and She's Just My Type

It's so great to have artsy-craftsy friends. They're inspirational and motivating. They keep me on my toes and value the time and effort that goes into handmade items.  

So many people who follow this blog are fellow crafters, artists, and artisans. Two are my friends Lindsey and Benjy. Lindsey is a jewelry artist. Benjy is a music promoter (sort of - hopefully he'll correct me). They are sweet people, in all the ways "sweet" can be connoted.

Lindsey asked me to make her a custom hat and scarf; Benjy snapped the photo for your enjoyment. I, of course, wanted to put Lindsey's hat and scarf on this blog, and she had the lovely idea of putting it on her business's blog. Lindsey is living every artist's dream and making a full-time go of it with her business ripegoods, so click on over and see the beautiful work she's creating.

Lucky for Lindsey, snow is predicted (still!) in Boston this weekend, so she'll have a few more days to wear her hat and scarf.

The Club Can't Even Handle Me Right Now

A couple Fridays ago, I got one of the best e-mails I've gotten in a long time. I was getting ready to go to a conference, and the e-mail was from the conference organizers. It said: "Please feel free to bring creative projects you may be working on currently... We invite you to select and bring a project with you that helps support creative thinking during our discussions and activities."

I was so excited, but I was already away from home and my collection of creative projects. (I'm not making it up - that part of the e-mail was bold in the original). Thankfully, I was with my Mom, and she has a huge collection of her own of stuff to make creative projects.  (With love, some might call this collection a "hoard.") I was able to find a couple of small skeins of yarn that, I swear, are older than I am. Knitting needles were not a problem - Mom has quite a few extras. Mom also provided great inspiration with the simplest idea: "Why don't you make felt bowls?"

Why don't I!? Because I don't have a clue how to knit in the round.

I also didn't have a clue how to knit stripes, and as you can see, I was able to figure that out. I still haven't figured out how to knit in the round (project for March, seriously), but I found a pattern online (awesome use of free wireless in the conference hotel!) and adapted it to be able to knit it on straight needles and stitch it up. Since you can't get a sense of the dimensions from the picture (and since a picture of the bowls from farther away wouldn't let you see the fun stripes!), the bowls are 3 1/2 inches in diameter.  

The felting was a fun Saturday evening for me and the hubby. They are very lightly felted (I was using a washing machine and kind of scared of causing a lot of irreparable damage, so only ran them through, like, um, 5 times), but I've been told that better results can be achieved through hand felting. 

Ice, Ice Baby

A few weeks ago, when the snowfall in Boston only reached Shaquille O'Neal's nether regions, my friend Leah and I took a class to learn how to make "designer wrap bracelets."

I affectionately call this bracelet my "f. u. Chan Luu" bracelet. Thanks, Chan Luu, for designing something that people like me will want to learn to replicate. Thanks for charging upwards of $150 for the real thing. Thanks for having more patience than I've ever, even in the more patient years of my life, had. Thanks for giving me arthritis.

The bracelet is really nice, and actually a little addictive to make. I've gotten a lot of compliments, which must mean that it's "real" jewelry (kind of like how the bags I make are "real" bags because people say that they're nice before they find out that I made them). I might make one for you if you pay me for the labor, and foot the bill for my physical therapy, too.

Where My Stitches At?

Just before Thanksgiving, I joined a new gym. I go often (so much that I don't blog anymore, apparently!). The gym has made it easy for me to go - it's a five minute walk from my apartment and they have yoga classes.

I started practicing yoga in college, if falling asleep as soon as we lay down counts as practicing. I managed to learn something, though, as I actually taught a room of 100 people downward dog just after college. It was very cool, and I felt very good at the yoga thing.

For the past few years, I've been practicing yoga regularly, not falling asleep anymore and continuing to feel very good at it. Until I joined this new gym.

For the first couple weeks, I was convinced the instructors were teaching some sort of yoga torture ("toes pose" cannot be a real pose, right?). But, I actually started to get better at it. The instructors grew on me. Especially one, who said to me, while I was in three-legged dog (which involves being upside down with one leg in the air), "Oh, look, your toenail polish matches your pants! How cute!"

Seriously, that moment was one of the best I've had in a while.

I like matchy-matchy, and I really like my nail polish color. At Thanksgiving, my sister gave me the chance to make something that matches my nail polish.

She had bought me two little skeins of yarn. She got them at Big Lots for $1 each, which I loved. One was the same color as my nail polish, and one was another of my faves - green! Each had little specks of the other, and I spent a week trying to think of something I could make that used both of them.

Infinity scarves are way in, which, of course, I learned from my mother-in-law. Someone she works with gave her one last winter and she gave it to me, because she didn't know what to do with it, but mostly because I was quite reluctant to give it back to her once she let me borrow it.


*Photo credit to my husband, who thought this picture wouldn't make it to the web. But it's good, so here it is. Also, I totally stole this post's title from a fabulous knit and crochet site called Ravelry.

Gimme a Sister, Can't Resist Her

My sister Jodi, pictured left, braved two craft shows with me this weekend. We've been bred for this kind of action. We, daughters of a consummate crafter, spent our childhood not just strolling the aisles of every craft show in the Washington, D.C. metro area, but often enough could be found with the cash box behind the booth, too.

We've done the church Christmas craft show and the synagogue Chanukah gift extravaganza. We've done Spartanfest and Sugarloaf. And now we've done Craftboston and SoWa.

Now, as an adult with a budding craft hobby, living in a world and with a husband that would like everything to be commodified, I walk through the shows with mixed emotions. My talkative little brain is asking: "Is my stuff as good as hers?" "How much is he charging for that?" "Why don't you get your act together and open an Etsy shop?" It's as stressful as it is fun, as inspirational as it is overwhelming.

We passed one artist who was selling what I call coffee cozies. Jodi's holding the one I made her for her birthday in the picture in this post. I said, "Hey, look, coffee cozies." And, Jodi, best sister ever, said, "Oh, those are nice, but I like the one you made me much better."

Superfreak

My mom is what Debbie Stoller, in her classic knitter's guide Stitch and Bitch, calls a "get your freak on" knitter. Says Stoller: "Throwing away their knitting magazines and relieving themselves of the shackles of a pattern, these knitters, also known as artsy-fartsy knitters, like to grab some yarn, grab some needles, and just make something up. Many of them are so busy expressing themselves that they can't be bothered with knitting rules or techniques. The sweaters they make are one-of-a-kind, gorgeous concoctions, though you might not be able to get your head through the collar."

Like many women, I have a deep-seated fear of becoming my mother. I've begun to confront that fear (read the original post on this blog, for instance). I'm trying to embrace the parts of myself that are like my mom, rather than run screaming in the opposite direction.

But, we've always been different sorts of crafters. I tend to like to follow a pattern, usually just choose one color or color scheme for completing any given project, and stick to the basics, not going too far astray from what anyone might call "normal." Sometimes my crafting is like what my mom says about my clothing choices: "Elana, do you ever wear any colors? I mean, it's always black and grey, grey and black." (That exchange happened a few years ago, but sadly it pretty much still holds true.)

For a few weeks, several of us in my office have had a knitting circle, preparing squares for the Pine Street Inn Knit-a-Thon (see more in this post). Our bunch has shown that knitting is a timeless activity - women have been doing it for years, probably because knitting together opens us up to share parts of our lives that we might not otherwise share. We now knit at lunch time, knit during monthly birthday parties, and some of us knit during conference calls (not me, of course!). So when I started working on my square to contribute to the project, I thought it would be a perfect project for me, an old-school knitter. A 9 inch by 9 inch square. What could be harder?

I had forgotten about genetics. I started knitting (see lovely sea of turquoise above) and got 80% of the way through my "square" before I realized it was a rectangle. An 11 inch by 8 inch rectangle. I knit one final inch, did the binding off, shed a tear/gave a huge sigh of relief, and threw it in the pile of squares created by my co-workers.

And the funniest thing happened. Everyone liked my "square." Even though it was freaky-big and didn't meet the Knit-a-Thon's "requirements." It's the same way I really like the square being created by my co-worker who's knitting for the first time. She's totally charmed me by saying "Elana brought her own sticks." I love that she calls needles sticks - I'm really not making fun. I also love that her knitting is super-tight, full of holes, and that she might drop a stitch, oh, for every five stitches she completes.

So, on this day before Thanksgiving, I'm giving thanks for imperfection, for beginnings, for freaks, and for breaking the rules. Get your freak on, knitters.

Crafter's Delight

A few weeks ago, I made a second Taxi Tote, a fraternal twin to the original much-complimented bag. I had been challenged by my sewing coach to make a second bag on my own, without her supervision. At the time, my life was a little messier than usual, and I needed something to look forward to at the end of the day.

I had been feeling restless and on edge for a couple of weeks already. I was a little nervous to start a relatively complicated project, given that I didn’t want to end each evening in tears, with pin-pricked fingers and covered in thread.

But I found myself smiling through each of the steps involved in creating something by hand - cutting and ironing fabric, seeing the piece take shape, screwing up and having to figure out how to hide a mistake, hand-sewing trim, and finally choosing and attaching the perfect button. Making the second Taxi Tote in something like 3 evenings was testament to my need to have something to hold on to.

I’d call what I experienced crafter’s delight. Crafting for mental health sounds too stodgy; crafter’s high sounds, well, incongruous. What I felt was tinged with enchantment and glee. I was able to make an entire bag on my own. It was a manageable challenge, resulting in a deep sense of satisfaction.

My life, no more and no less than the life of anyone else, is just full of stuff I don’t know how to fix, sometimes seemingly insurmountable challenges. Just as it would be amazing to wave a magic wand and make things better, magic bag-making powers would be pretty neat. I could wave my magic bag wand all day. But, it wouldn’t be nearly as satisfying, or as delightful, as crouching in a vintage shop searching through a basket of buttons, driving all over town looking for unique fabric, or seeing my Taxi Totes hanging together in my home.

Gettin' Knitty Wit It

It's been over 6 weeks since I last posted. I really hadn’t intended for that to happen. In that time, I’ve made some really cute hair accessories and another bag, which you’ll get to see soon. But, also in that time, my good friend Sherri took pictures of her little boy Pelé wearing - see!? - his Elanamade hat!

Also in the knitting realm, I’m going to submit a square to Pine Street Inn’s Knit-a-Thon. (Warning: Website may be seizure-inducing.) Though I’m 100% sure that handmade blankets will not wipe out homelessness (sort of like how I’m sure that greater “awareness” about any number of social, economic, or political conditions won’t fix the years of inequality, underfunding, and absolute disregard for humanity that got us into these messes), I do like knitting, and I think the idea of a formerly homeless person getting welcomed to their new home with a handmade blanket is lovely.

Baby Got Hat

Sometimes I think people who have babies are delusional. Yes, I’m aware of the gross generalization I’ve just made, and how I’ve now lost, hm, um, yes, every single friend I had. But, give me just a second. Maybe a couple seconds.

I have to imagine that having a baby by choice is an incredible experience - the anticipation of the little person who will be, the excitement of building a family, the welcoming into the world of someone that, often enough, you were a part of creating. But, I also have to imagine that, during the time one gestates said baby, meets with doctors in preparation for the delivery of the baby, and considers the miracle of life in general (and perhaps also the miracle of lycra), one has considered that this incredible little creature might not be born knowing how to sleep for 6-8 hours straight. It takes time, people, so much time that there are some of us who are still working on it!

I’m pretty much surrounded by people bearing or raising little ones, so I hear a lot of stories about the sleep they’re not getting. The one friend I have who has said that she loves being up, even in the middle of the night, with her baby has only been home with the baby for 3 days. I think she has another thing coming.

It might just be a baby hat.

I found a simple pattern for knitting a hat a few years ago, and recently, as, hm, um, yes, every single friend I have has had a baby, I quickly tired of the baby aisle in Target (sorry, Target you know I love you, but enough is enough) at about the same time that I came into a phenomenal bag of yarn that included several bright, variegated skeins perfect for knitting tiny hats. I decided, after I’d just about lost it in Target (which would totally have been a lot more embarrassing than blogging about how you think your friends are delusional!) that giving something handmade was far superior to continuing to go the store-bought route. Also, a lot more fun for me.

And, since this blog is all about me...

Some babies have already received their hats, and joyously ripped them off their heads immediately. (That was really just one baby, but she’s my favorite, so I forgive her.) I’m hoping some of the parents of the babies, while they’re up in the middle of the night, might send me a picture of the baby in the hat, nudge nudge. If your baby wants one, because baby hats are approximately 100,000 times easier to make than bags, just let me know.

Throw It In The Bag

My husband carries only a few things with him. He’s super low-maintenance, and I like him a lot for that. But, every once in a while, he’ll need some help carrying his stuff. And he’ll ask if I can put his cell phone, or keys, or whatever, in my bag.

Which is when I say to him:

What, you mean this bag?

Women and our bags. A force to be reckoned with, as many have discovered. The pursuit and purchase of the perfect bag is akin to finding a partner: complementary, not overshadowing, and fun, yet practical. Bags are objects of derision by some - though not all - male partners, who themselves having appropriate pockets in almost all of their clothing, do not understand the need for bags - until the time that they do. Which is when, ladies, I would suggest you implement the strategy outlined above.

The question, “Do you really need another bag?” comes not only from my husband, but from myself, as I constantly try to maintain a semblance of order at home. But, the opportunity to create my very own bag, sewn on my very own sewing machine (which was a gift from said husband’s family, so I should really stop making fun), was presented by a friend and fellow crafter. She coached me as I created this truly fabulous bag (the Taxi Tote from Seams to Me by Anna Maria Horner).

I knew this bag was a hit when my husband said it was a “real bag.”

Tiny Birdies Made of Felt

The tipping point for this blog - the thing that really pushed me to get my act together and share little tidbits of creativity with friends and family - was this project, and the support and engagement it inspired. So it seems like the right place to start.

I worked on these little cuties over a few days, sometimes even staying up past my bedtime to finish one more. When I complained about being tired, my husband's response was:

"You're still recovering from your raucous night making tiny felt birds."

Clearly, this will not be his last appearance on this blog.

The birds, as I brought them to be one by one, started integrating themselves into our daily existence. Husband clearance is essential to any craft project that might become a permanent fixture in our home, so it was essential that he loved the birds as much as I did. He has assured me that he does.

The pattern is a slight adaptation of one created by Lisa Jordan and showcased on Sew, Mama, Sew! Feel free to post a question in the comments if you're thinking about trying the pattern yourself.