I am currently in St. Louis for my mother-in-law's 80th birthday surprise gathering. I think I counted that there will be 19 of us here this time. The house is already full -- I don't know what we're going to do this summer when everyone is here.
Which leads me to the next topic: I am thinking about getting a border collie. Last week I met a border collie named Ace who is in border collie rescue. He's such a great dog. Ever since I met him I can think of almost nothing but bringing Ace home. I really want a dog I can train and do agility training with. It would be so cool. Henry is a good dog, but he's such a maniac when I get him out of the house. He's a wonderful obedient dog indoors. I don't know how it will be having two dogs, but I think it will be fine.
Daniel is a bit skeptical. I had told him a week ago I wanted to get a border collie and I thought he was amenable. But when I told him I had actually found a dog, he acted like I had made the decision on my own. Anyway, I put off the decision until we get back from St. Louis. It's weird though, all I want to talk about is Ace.
Friday, May 13, 2005
Friday, March 04, 2005
You think you choose your craft...
I have been thinking a lot about color. I used to think about color when I was designing web pages and decorating my house. I told my artist friend Helen Klebesadel that I was always looking at color in the world, and that I could "see" it, and she said "You're an artist." I was an artist without a craft.
The problem with my stitching is that it isn't that creative in terms of design. It takes a lot of skill and time, but the designs come from other people, and that has frustrated me. I have toyed with creating my own designs, but so far haven't been able to find the right software. I did some of my own designs back in 2000 I think it was. I did it on graph paper. I have a picture of St. Francis that I designed, with a Celtic knotwork border.
Back then, I heard an artist being interviewed on TV, and he said, "We think we choose our craft, but the craft is choosing us." I think there is something mystical about art. I took that sentence and wrote it out in calligraphy, with an illuminated letter and some trees. I still have it.
Now that I have started with quilting classes and am learning about making scrapbooks, I am suddenly interested in color again. The fabric I chose for my quilt was very different than the fabric other people in the class were using. They were using conventional quilting fabric with bright colors. Mine is an Africa theme, browns, sepias and some green. I didn't pick it up in the quilting section. Of course this doesn't mean I am competent at quilting (quite the contrary, I was the slowest one in the class).
The scrapbooking folks tend to use color wheels. I don't need a color wheel -- I can see it. But I got interested in color wheels recently and did a lot of reading on the internet. I decided to buy myself a fairly elaborate color wheel, which I found on eBay new for $.50.
When I was growing up, I was more interested in art than in anything else. My parents gave me no support for it though. They didn't think it was important. Then one day, in junior high school, the art teacher told my mother that I was talented but wasn't working hard enough. True, I wasn't completing a lot of the things I started because I took so much time doing them. But one of my paintings was hanging in the school office (I still have it!). My mother got all over me about that. Still, no opportunity to gather skills. I was forced to play the flute instead.
So here I am, decades later, still looking for a craft.
The problem with my stitching is that it isn't that creative in terms of design. It takes a lot of skill and time, but the designs come from other people, and that has frustrated me. I have toyed with creating my own designs, but so far haven't been able to find the right software. I did some of my own designs back in 2000 I think it was. I did it on graph paper. I have a picture of St. Francis that I designed, with a Celtic knotwork border.
Back then, I heard an artist being interviewed on TV, and he said, "We think we choose our craft, but the craft is choosing us." I think there is something mystical about art. I took that sentence and wrote it out in calligraphy, with an illuminated letter and some trees. I still have it.
Now that I have started with quilting classes and am learning about making scrapbooks, I am suddenly interested in color again. The fabric I chose for my quilt was very different than the fabric other people in the class were using. They were using conventional quilting fabric with bright colors. Mine is an Africa theme, browns, sepias and some green. I didn't pick it up in the quilting section. Of course this doesn't mean I am competent at quilting (quite the contrary, I was the slowest one in the class).
The scrapbooking folks tend to use color wheels. I don't need a color wheel -- I can see it. But I got interested in color wheels recently and did a lot of reading on the internet. I decided to buy myself a fairly elaborate color wheel, which I found on eBay new for $.50.
When I was growing up, I was more interested in art than in anything else. My parents gave me no support for it though. They didn't think it was important. Then one day, in junior high school, the art teacher told my mother that I was talented but wasn't working hard enough. True, I wasn't completing a lot of the things I started because I took so much time doing them. But one of my paintings was hanging in the school office (I still have it!). My mother got all over me about that. Still, no opportunity to gather skills. I was forced to play the flute instead.
So here I am, decades later, still looking for a craft.
Thursday, March 03, 2005
My Mission: Creativity
After reading Michael Messer's article on Mission, Vision, Values, I wanted to define my own mission. I kept being drawn to the idea of being creative. Everything I pursue has a creative element to it. I was at a loss as to what to do with my commitment to family -- it didn't seem to fit in. But "creativity" also means to be productive, to participate in an act of "creation." In this sense, giving birth and raising children is "creative." Thus, "creativity" truly defines my mission.
I am really jazzed about having discovered this. Already, it is helping me to define my goals. I have already eliminated some things from my agenda because they don't fit in with my mission and long term goals (vision). I am starting to focus more.
It is amazing how powerful a single word can be.
I am really jazzed about having discovered this. Already, it is helping me to define my goals. I have already eliminated some things from my agenda because they don't fit in with my mission and long term goals (vision). I am starting to focus more.
It is amazing how powerful a single word can be.
Friday, February 25, 2005
Mission, Vision and Values, by Dr. Michael M. Messer
This is a very interesting and thought-provoking article written by my friend Mike Messer, a psychiatrist. I am publishing it here with his permission. I hope you are as inspired by it as I am! By the way, he would love comments.
MISSION, VISION, AND VALUES. On an individual basis, a mission, vision and values statement is a powerful tool to understand our own purpose in life. It also tends to reduce the randomness of efforts; and taken seriously, the process can yield significant results.
Let's look at each part. First, to understand your own mission the question to be answered is "Why am I here, what is my purpose for living?" Contained in this question is the belief that each life is unique and has a purpose. The question may create an existential crisis with queries such as "How is what I do any different from what other people do?" or "What value is my life to others?" For me, this took about a year and a half of wrestling with the question on and off and, for better or worse, writing to you is fulfilling part of that mission.
Vision is a trajectory question. By that, I mean that a personal vision statement is a declaration of what you see as a measure of ultimate success in your life. What is the goal or state of being that would describe ultimate success for you? In writing the values statement, it is better to have a goal that is a "stretch goal," one that takes you beyond what your own concept and capabilities can conceive of you doing today.
Let me pause here to describe one thing before we move into the development of a value statement. It is important to write out each of these statements. Why? To write them makes it much more concrete for our minds. The mission and vision statements should be succinct. They should be five words or less, and in reducing it to only a few words it will convey a richer meaning. For value statements, one to two words should suffice along with possibly an explanation of what the values mean to you. One psychologist who went through our program and developed her own mission, vision, and values said "You can't just think it, you have to ink it." Enough said.
When writing values, consider those aspects of your life that are most important, lifelong and unalterable principles that guide your life. What are these values for you? Begin by writing them down in a brainstorming process. The next step is to question the value back to its core. The way to do this is by continually asking the statement "why?," and repeatedly answering this question will lead you to core values.
Let me give you an example. One of the physicians in our program said that one of his values was that he wanted to fish more often with his family. He enjoyed fishing and he thought fishing more might be the answer to his family difficulties. Then we asked why? he wanted to fish more often and said he wanted to enjoy activities with his family. Then we asked why? he wanted to enjoy more activities with his family and he stated he wanted to have a close loving family. This became a core value for him. Interestingly, his initial statement was a potential minefield. For example, if his family did not want to fish, did that mean that he could not be close to them? Was fishing his only option to solve his desire to have a close family? To get to the core value broadens the options and produces more opportunities to live by your values.
Also in this example, the "goal" of fishing was actually changed to become a "value" of commitment to his family. Changing the goal to a value can be tricky at times but remember, values are concepts, and they are concepts that have worth in themselves, not leading to something else i.e. a goal.
The two books that I have listed are helpful in the process of understanding purpose. Leider's book and Palmer's book are very good and I would highly recommend both of them.
Pursuing purpose can be life changing. For some caregivers the process made significant changes in their life. One physician, for example, realized his calling was to be in academic medicine, another physician developed a trauma service, and another began retraining himself to be a triathelete.
The technique of using mission, vision, and values is a way to examine your life and, taken seriously, it can produce monumental changes.
The Power of Purpose: Creating Meaning in Your Life and Work. Richard J Leider. Barnett-Koehler Publishers, 1977.
Let Your Life Speak: Listening for the Voice of Vocation. Parker Palmer. Jossey-Buss. 1999.
MISSION, VISION, AND VALUES. On an individual basis, a mission, vision and values statement is a powerful tool to understand our own purpose in life. It also tends to reduce the randomness of efforts; and taken seriously, the process can yield significant results.
Let's look at each part. First, to understand your own mission the question to be answered is "Why am I here, what is my purpose for living?" Contained in this question is the belief that each life is unique and has a purpose. The question may create an existential crisis with queries such as "How is what I do any different from what other people do?" or "What value is my life to others?" For me, this took about a year and a half of wrestling with the question on and off and, for better or worse, writing to you is fulfilling part of that mission.
Vision is a trajectory question. By that, I mean that a personal vision statement is a declaration of what you see as a measure of ultimate success in your life. What is the goal or state of being that would describe ultimate success for you? In writing the values statement, it is better to have a goal that is a "stretch goal," one that takes you beyond what your own concept and capabilities can conceive of you doing today.
Let me pause here to describe one thing before we move into the development of a value statement. It is important to write out each of these statements. Why? To write them makes it much more concrete for our minds. The mission and vision statements should be succinct. They should be five words or less, and in reducing it to only a few words it will convey a richer meaning. For value statements, one to two words should suffice along with possibly an explanation of what the values mean to you. One psychologist who went through our program and developed her own mission, vision, and values said "You can't just think it, you have to ink it." Enough said.
When writing values, consider those aspects of your life that are most important, lifelong and unalterable principles that guide your life. What are these values for you? Begin by writing them down in a brainstorming process. The next step is to question the value back to its core. The way to do this is by continually asking the statement "why?," and repeatedly answering this question will lead you to core values.
Let me give you an example. One of the physicians in our program said that one of his values was that he wanted to fish more often with his family. He enjoyed fishing and he thought fishing more might be the answer to his family difficulties. Then we asked why? he wanted to fish more often and said he wanted to enjoy activities with his family. Then we asked why? he wanted to enjoy more activities with his family and he stated he wanted to have a close loving family. This became a core value for him. Interestingly, his initial statement was a potential minefield. For example, if his family did not want to fish, did that mean that he could not be close to them? Was fishing his only option to solve his desire to have a close family? To get to the core value broadens the options and produces more opportunities to live by your values.
Also in this example, the "goal" of fishing was actually changed to become a "value" of commitment to his family. Changing the goal to a value can be tricky at times but remember, values are concepts, and they are concepts that have worth in themselves, not leading to something else i.e. a goal.
The two books that I have listed are helpful in the process of understanding purpose. Leider's book and Palmer's book are very good and I would highly recommend both of them.
Pursuing purpose can be life changing. For some caregivers the process made significant changes in their life. One physician, for example, realized his calling was to be in academic medicine, another physician developed a trauma service, and another began retraining himself to be a triathelete.
The technique of using mission, vision, and values is a way to examine your life and, taken seriously, it can produce monumental changes.
The Power of Purpose: Creating Meaning in Your Life and Work. Richard J Leider. Barnett-Koehler Publishers, 1977.
Let Your Life Speak: Listening for the Voice of Vocation. Parker Palmer. Jossey-Buss. 1999.
Saturday, February 19, 2005
My First Scrapbook Page: Baden bei Wien
My first scrapbook page, about an August 1999 trip to Baden bei Wien, Austria, with my parents. Baden used to be the vacation home of my mother's family, before the property was taken by Nazis. This one is about our arrival in Baden.
Friday, February 18, 2005
Scrapbooking Baden
I am taking a free online scrapbooking class though Barnes & Noble University. I have since started my first page. I have picked nine pictures from my trip to Austria with my parents in 1999.
We took a side trip one day to a place called Baden bei Wien, which is a resort town 26 km from Vienna. It was where my mother's family had their vacation home. It was an interesting trip because Baden was so beautiful, both the town and the forest, but the property had been taken from them by the Nazis, so the trip was bittersweet. We went to the house and tried to take pictures outside the wall, but the residents slammed the automatic iron gate on us. Strangely, my mother wasn't angered by the trip, but I was broiling. How could this property be taken and not returned after the war? The restitution my grandfather got probably didn't even cover a part of it. I asked my mother how she could be so calm, and she said, "I'm used to it by now."
My scrapbook will tell the story of our trip to Baden and also some information about Baden itself. I have a picture of the gate.
We took a side trip one day to a place called Baden bei Wien, which is a resort town 26 km from Vienna. It was where my mother's family had their vacation home. It was an interesting trip because Baden was so beautiful, both the town and the forest, but the property had been taken from them by the Nazis, so the trip was bittersweet. We went to the house and tried to take pictures outside the wall, but the residents slammed the automatic iron gate on us. Strangely, my mother wasn't angered by the trip, but I was broiling. How could this property be taken and not returned after the war? The restitution my grandfather got probably didn't even cover a part of it. I asked my mother how she could be so calm, and she said, "I'm used to it by now."
My scrapbook will tell the story of our trip to Baden and also some information about Baden itself. I have a picture of the gate.
Sunday, February 13, 2005
My House
This is my house. We've been invited to be on a house tour in June. After very little cogitation, and some encouragement from my mother-in-law, I decided to do it. It is good incentive to work on the house. This will keep me very busy until June!
Saturday, February 05, 2005
Whiskers
My friend John's cat Whiskers had to be put down yesterday. Whiskers was 18 years old. He will be sorely missed.
Antiquing in St. Louis
I went antiquing in St. Louis last weekend with my mother-in-law. Did we ever hit the shops! We looked at dishes, linens, and antique needlework tools. There was a set of tools in a small kit and I could kick myself for not buying it. It was only $30. I might ask her to go back and get it for me. We did find a wonderful set of 12 damask dinner napkins. They are large -- 22" -- and have probably never been used. When we got back to the house, she gave me a tablecloth from her stash to match. I didn't care for any of the dishes. Those I am going to have to buy on my own.
Sunday night we are having a family dinner. Daniel is going to cook something special and I might make some soup in the crock pot. We are going to use the tablecloth and napkins for the first time. I just have to think of a nice centerpiece of the table.
Sunday night we are having a family dinner. Daniel is going to cook something special and I might make some soup in the crock pot. We are going to use the tablecloth and napkins for the first time. I just have to think of a nice centerpiece of the table.
The Quilting Class
My quilting class starts Monday, and I went out to buy my materials today. I got a rotary cutter, a cutting mat, thread and fabric. I still have to buy some rulers and a few odds and ends. It was an expensive venture at Hobby Lobby.
The fabric I got is really cool. It is African safari theme fabric -- tiger spots, a matching golden brown plain color, and for the border, a safari scene with lots of animals. I'm really excited about it.
I got my sewing machine back from the shop yesterday, and I got a 1/4" foot and a walking foot for it. The man who owns the shop said to me, "Somebody is going to do some quilting." I said, "I am taking my first class on Monday." It was quite an investment for one quilting class, but there are more classes coming up, and I am going to keep going with it until I have it under my fingers.
The fabric I got is really cool. It is African safari theme fabric -- tiger spots, a matching golden brown plain color, and for the border, a safari scene with lots of animals. I'm really excited about it.
I got my sewing machine back from the shop yesterday, and I got a 1/4" foot and a walking foot for it. The man who owns the shop said to me, "Somebody is going to do some quilting." I said, "I am taking my first class on Monday." It was quite an investment for one quilting class, but there are more classes coming up, and I am going to keep going with it until I have it under my fingers.
Current Projects
I am currently working on Millennium Cats for a round robin at RoundRobinCrazy. I have most of one kitty done and am going to work on the second kitty tomorrow. Millennium Cats is a freebie by Pamela Kellogg. It can be found at http://www.kittyandme.com/milcats.pdf. There are twelve kitties for each month plus a birthday kitty. There are six people in the RR and each one is stitching two kitties for each round.
I am doing the Millennium Cats on Silkweaver Tutti Fruitie. I am using 14 ct Aida. I have set them up two kitties across, six down. The month of December is going to be the birthday kitty because my daughter Camille's birthday is December 27. When Millennium Cats is done, it is going in her bedroom.
I counted 110 colors for the set -- I had most of them but had to go out and buy a few anyway. There are a lot of color changes and confetti stitches. Some of the neighboring colors are really difficult to tell apart when stitching. At least I am having somewhat of a hard time with it. But it's a fun stitch. I really enjoy it because it's interesting. All the color changes keep my mind busy!
I am also in a Margaret Sherry round robin, and I have decided to do the Cat Coasters as a single piece, three across, two down. There are six people in this RR, and each person will do one cat. I have until April 11 to set up my piece for this round robin and stitch the first cat. I haven't decided on my fabric yet.
In the meantime, Valerie, Eva and I are going to do a SAL (stitch-along) on Dragon Dreams' Why Hoard Chocolate. This project has a lot of Anchor Marlitt rayon thread so it should be interesting. I've never stitched with rayon thread, and I understand it is more slippery than regular DMC. I have already gotten my fabric -- Silkweaver's Inferno (one of the Expressions). I am doing it on 28 ct cashel linen. Silkweaver describes Inferno as "vibrant reds and corals reminiscent of smoldering embers." I thought that would be really cool behind a dragon! Besides, the colors look really great against it. Valerie, Eva and I are going to submit all three of ours to the Silkweaver competition when we're done. If we start this one mid-February I'll be done with it in time to work on the RRs.
I've also got a bookmark SAL set up for the Mike Vickery Cross Stitch Group. This is going to start in April. I don't know what bookmark I'm going to stitch for it. I'm probably going to pick an easy one since I have so much other stuff to do.
I've been stitching a lot and have speeded up my stitching, so I don't think any of this is going to be a problem, except maybe getting the bookmark squeezed in there. I think April is going to be really busy!
I am doing the Millennium Cats on Silkweaver Tutti Fruitie. I am using 14 ct Aida. I have set them up two kitties across, six down. The month of December is going to be the birthday kitty because my daughter Camille's birthday is December 27. When Millennium Cats is done, it is going in her bedroom.
I counted 110 colors for the set -- I had most of them but had to go out and buy a few anyway. There are a lot of color changes and confetti stitches. Some of the neighboring colors are really difficult to tell apart when stitching. At least I am having somewhat of a hard time with it. But it's a fun stitch. I really enjoy it because it's interesting. All the color changes keep my mind busy!
I am also in a Margaret Sherry round robin, and I have decided to do the Cat Coasters as a single piece, three across, two down. There are six people in this RR, and each person will do one cat. I have until April 11 to set up my piece for this round robin and stitch the first cat. I haven't decided on my fabric yet.
In the meantime, Valerie, Eva and I are going to do a SAL (stitch-along) on Dragon Dreams' Why Hoard Chocolate. This project has a lot of Anchor Marlitt rayon thread so it should be interesting. I've never stitched with rayon thread, and I understand it is more slippery than regular DMC. I have already gotten my fabric -- Silkweaver's Inferno (one of the Expressions). I am doing it on 28 ct cashel linen. Silkweaver describes Inferno as "vibrant reds and corals reminiscent of smoldering embers." I thought that would be really cool behind a dragon! Besides, the colors look really great against it. Valerie, Eva and I are going to submit all three of ours to the Silkweaver competition when we're done. If we start this one mid-February I'll be done with it in time to work on the RRs.
I've also got a bookmark SAL set up for the Mike Vickery Cross Stitch Group. This is going to start in April. I don't know what bookmark I'm going to stitch for it. I'm probably going to pick an easy one since I have so much other stuff to do.
I've been stitching a lot and have speeded up my stitching, so I don't think any of this is going to be a problem, except maybe getting the bookmark squeezed in there. I think April is going to be really busy!
Thursday, January 27, 2005
Sunday, January 23, 2005
Coming Out
I have been reading a book called Opening Up: The Healing Power of Expressing Emotions, by James W. Pennebaker. Actually, I just started reading it, and instead of starting at the beginning, I went right to a chapter called "The Social Price of Disclosure." The chapter starts out talking about bereaving parents, and how after a couple of months their social networks collapse because other people can't deal with the topic themselves. The bereaving parents then find themselves alone, with nobody to talk to, even if they need to talk. The author discusses how groups can help in this situation.
A lightbulb immediately went on over my head. I have a gay son. Although he came out when he was 17 and is now 21, I haven't been able to relate to many people about it. Perhaps it is more honest to say that I haven't really been able to talk about it on more than a surface level. The topic quickly changes. But I want to talk about what it's like having a gay son! It's not that I was ever traumatized by it. On the contrary, I suspected it and have been very supportive from the moment he told me. He is my son, and being gay is part of who he is. I love the whole package. I am proud of him.
I have been in virtual isolation about my son's homosexuality. For one, I don't want to "out" him to other people when he hasn't made that choice himself. Second, a conversation about it doesn't go anywhere. But aren't I outing him here? No, I'm outing myself. He isn't here and you don't know him.
I decided, at that moment when I was reading that chapter, that I needed to go to some PFLAG meetings. PFLAG is Parents, Family and Friends of Lesbians and Gays. I need a place to talk openly. When I realized there was a place to do that, I felt great relief.
My fear in writing this here is that I will be criticized for it. But what I've realized reading that chapter is that I need to "come out" about it too.
Why did I choose to read that chapter first? I think I knew, just like I knew that he was gay.
A lightbulb immediately went on over my head. I have a gay son. Although he came out when he was 17 and is now 21, I haven't been able to relate to many people about it. Perhaps it is more honest to say that I haven't really been able to talk about it on more than a surface level. The topic quickly changes. But I want to talk about what it's like having a gay son! It's not that I was ever traumatized by it. On the contrary, I suspected it and have been very supportive from the moment he told me. He is my son, and being gay is part of who he is. I love the whole package. I am proud of him.
I have been in virtual isolation about my son's homosexuality. For one, I don't want to "out" him to other people when he hasn't made that choice himself. Second, a conversation about it doesn't go anywhere. But aren't I outing him here? No, I'm outing myself. He isn't here and you don't know him.
I decided, at that moment when I was reading that chapter, that I needed to go to some PFLAG meetings. PFLAG is Parents, Family and Friends of Lesbians and Gays. I need a place to talk openly. When I realized there was a place to do that, I felt great relief.
My fear in writing this here is that I will be criticized for it. But what I've realized reading that chapter is that I need to "come out" about it too.
Why did I choose to read that chapter first? I think I knew, just like I knew that he was gay.
Friday, January 21, 2005
Blogs as Brain Dumps
In a previous post, Musings on Blog Musings (January 2), I wrote about bloggers who bare everything in their blogs. I said that I can't do that, that I have other places to share my innermost thoughts and feelings, and that here I keep it close to the chest. I don't feel comfortable sharing everything in such a public place. I keep a journal for my therapist, but I don't even share that with my family, let alone in my blog.
One woman left a comment on my blog. She said, "I think it's because we *don't* know the people who read our blogs that it is so easy to tell secrets. My hypothetical journal for my therapist would be much easier to share with the blogworld than with my family."
I think her comment is very astute. It got me thinking about blogs as "anonymous," despite the fact that names and pictures are often on them. My feelings about blogs were reinforced after I read an article called "Therapeutic Writing," by psychiatrist Michael Messer. He advocates a kind of writing that can act as a sort of "brain dump" where thoughts and feelings can be expressed and released. He discusses evidence that shows that therapeutic writing can have significant health benefits for quite a long time, and that illnesses such as asthma and arthritis have been shown to improve if therapeutic writing is used.
How do you do therapeutic writing? Dr. Messer says:
The directions for therapeutic writing are quite simple: Write for 20 minutes each day your deepest thoughts and feelings. Those are all the directions that you need. An additional direction I would like to add is that once you have completed your writing, this is not to be kept for posterity, and that each day the paper should be thrown away. Throwing away the paper ensures that you are completely honest with the expression and that you are not writing for any other audience than yourself.
Note that therapeutic writing is not a listing of activities that go on from day to day. Apparently there are no health benefits in that!
The one difference between Dr. Messer's instructions for therapeutic writing and blogging is that the paper should be thrown away (or deleted, in the case of writing on a computer). But if the blogger is writing for what she perceives as an anonymous audience, if what she writes in her blog allows her to tell secrets that she could not share even with her family, blogging is in one sense very similar to therapeutic writing. And the entry very quickly scrolls off the page into the archives.
What I am saying is that I think blogging can be a kind of "brain dump." If that is the case, people who bare all in their blogs may reap potiential health benefits and are providing themselves with, as Dr. Messer writes, "ongoing maintenance for the unconscious mind."
One woman left a comment on my blog. She said, "I think it's because we *don't* know the people who read our blogs that it is so easy to tell secrets. My hypothetical journal for my therapist would be much easier to share with the blogworld than with my family."
I think her comment is very astute. It got me thinking about blogs as "anonymous," despite the fact that names and pictures are often on them. My feelings about blogs were reinforced after I read an article called "Therapeutic Writing," by psychiatrist Michael Messer. He advocates a kind of writing that can act as a sort of "brain dump" where thoughts and feelings can be expressed and released. He discusses evidence that shows that therapeutic writing can have significant health benefits for quite a long time, and that illnesses such as asthma and arthritis have been shown to improve if therapeutic writing is used.
How do you do therapeutic writing? Dr. Messer says:
The directions for therapeutic writing are quite simple: Write for 20 minutes each day your deepest thoughts and feelings. Those are all the directions that you need. An additional direction I would like to add is that once you have completed your writing, this is not to be kept for posterity, and that each day the paper should be thrown away. Throwing away the paper ensures that you are completely honest with the expression and that you are not writing for any other audience than yourself.
Note that therapeutic writing is not a listing of activities that go on from day to day. Apparently there are no health benefits in that!
The one difference between Dr. Messer's instructions for therapeutic writing and blogging is that the paper should be thrown away (or deleted, in the case of writing on a computer). But if the blogger is writing for what she perceives as an anonymous audience, if what she writes in her blog allows her to tell secrets that she could not share even with her family, blogging is in one sense very similar to therapeutic writing. And the entry very quickly scrolls off the page into the archives.
What I am saying is that I think blogging can be a kind of "brain dump." If that is the case, people who bare all in their blogs may reap potiential health benefits and are providing themselves with, as Dr. Messer writes, "ongoing maintenance for the unconscious mind."
Thursday, January 20, 2005
Stitching Rewards!
I have a stitching reward deal with Roxi. She is going to make me a lap quilt and I am going to give her a Chatelaine chart. As I finish projects, she is going to make another piece of the quilt. I will send her the Chatelaine chart after she finishes six birds. Chatelaine designs are made by Martina Weber, a European designer who does beautiful mandalas. We have chosen Knotgarden.
I have been working on the same Christmas ornament for weeks now. My excuse is that it is boring. Well, it is. But it is so simple I ought to be able to get it done in a couple of hours. I am determined to finish it before I start another project. My next project is the Millennium Cats round robin. I need to hussle with the ornament if I am going to get the Millennium Cats done on time.
That ornament is my big procrastination issue. I have no idea why I can't finish it. I think it is a combination of fear of failure and fear of success. I am uptight about Millennium Cats -- what if I do it wrong? what if I can't get the gridding right? or if the gridding takes me forever? what if my instructions are too complex? what if I can't get my two kitties stitched by February 12? On the other side, what does it imply about me if I can get my fabric ready and my kitties stitched on time? I will have to adjust my opinion of myself.
I have been working on the same Christmas ornament for weeks now. My excuse is that it is boring. Well, it is. But it is so simple I ought to be able to get it done in a couple of hours. I am determined to finish it before I start another project. My next project is the Millennium Cats round robin. I need to hussle with the ornament if I am going to get the Millennium Cats done on time.
That ornament is my big procrastination issue. I have no idea why I can't finish it. I think it is a combination of fear of failure and fear of success. I am uptight about Millennium Cats -- what if I do it wrong? what if I can't get the gridding right? or if the gridding takes me forever? what if my instructions are too complex? what if I can't get my two kitties stitched by February 12? On the other side, what does it imply about me if I can get my fabric ready and my kitties stitched on time? I will have to adjust my opinion of myself.
Procrastination
I heard the word "procrastination" twice yesterday. The first time I had complained to my friend Mike that I was having a bad day, that I couldn't think clearly, and I just didn't feel like cleaning the house. He said, "procrastination's a bitch." I heard it the second time from Roxi, and inveterate procrastinator herself, while we were talking about putting off finishing our stitching projects. She told me I was procrastinating.
I decided to learn something about procrastination. I discovered that procrastination is caused by other underlying issues -- fear of failure, for example, or fear of success. Other causes are irrational beliefs, for example that everything must be perfect or done well, a need for control ("other people can't tell me what to do") or using procrastination to preseve a relationship or to prevent closeness. One author http://mentalhelp.net/psyhelp/chap4/chap4r.htm types procrastinators as follows:
...Sapadin and Maguire (1997) have also classified procrastinators into types: the "perfectionist" who dreads doing anything that is less than perfect, the "dreamer" who has great ideas but hates doing the details, the "worrier" who doesn't think things are right but fears that changes will make them worse, the "defier" who resists doing anything suggested or expected by someone else, the "crisis-maker" who manages to find or make a big problem in any project (often by starting too late), and the "over-doer" who takes on way too many tasks.
There are two types of procrastinators -- laid-back and tense. The laid-back procrastinator has irrational beliefs, such as "I can't do it because it's boring" or some other excuse. I am going to quote this author again:
The tense-afraid type of procrastinator is described by Fiore (1989) as feeling overwhelmed by pressures, unrealistic about time, uncertain about goals, dissatisfied with accomplishments, indecisive, blaming of others or circumstances for his/her failures, lacking in confidence and, sometimes, perfectionistic. Thus, the underlying fears are of failing, lacking ability, being imperfect, and falling short of overly demanding goals. This type thinks his/her worth is determined by what he/she does, which reflects his/her level of ability. He/she is afraid of being judged and found wanting. Thus, this kind of procrastinator will get over-stressed and over-worked until he/she escapes the pressure temporarily by trying to relax but any enjoyment gives rise to guilt and more apprehension.
Geesh, I see myself as both a laid-back procrastinator and a tense one! The point is, though, that procrastination must be addressed in two ways -- dealing with the problem(s) behind it, and establishing systems that prevent it. Some of these are:
1. Keeping schedules, to-do lists, and generally writing things down. These solutions are often short-lived because they don't address the underlying problems. It takes time to overcome procrastination.
2. Breaking tasks into small pieces, e.g. spending five minutes doing something.
3. Keeping a journal of feelings and thoughts about procrastination. What keeps you from getting going?
4. Dealing with why you hate work -- and other similar issues.
5. Getting cognitive behavioral therapy. It is clear from what I have read that procrastination is caused by irrational beliefs, something that cognitive behavioral therapy addresses. John Perry, in an article called Structured Procrastination argues that procrastination is a form of self-deception. In short, therapy helps.
Well, what about me? I think I have all these characteristics! I'm lucky though -- I have a cognitive behavioral therapist. But I think my friend Mike lit a fire under me when he said, "procrastination's a bitch." I promptly went downstairs and reorganized the entire kitchen. Now I have to get over being "bored" by the stitching project I'm supposed to be working on.
I decided to learn something about procrastination. I discovered that procrastination is caused by other underlying issues -- fear of failure, for example, or fear of success. Other causes are irrational beliefs, for example that everything must be perfect or done well, a need for control ("other people can't tell me what to do") or using procrastination to preseve a relationship or to prevent closeness. One author http://mentalhelp.net/psyhelp/chap4/chap4r.htm types procrastinators as follows:
...Sapadin and Maguire (1997) have also classified procrastinators into types: the "perfectionist" who dreads doing anything that is less than perfect, the "dreamer" who has great ideas but hates doing the details, the "worrier" who doesn't think things are right but fears that changes will make them worse, the "defier" who resists doing anything suggested or expected by someone else, the "crisis-maker" who manages to find or make a big problem in any project (often by starting too late), and the "over-doer" who takes on way too many tasks.
There are two types of procrastinators -- laid-back and tense. The laid-back procrastinator has irrational beliefs, such as "I can't do it because it's boring" or some other excuse. I am going to quote this author again:
The tense-afraid type of procrastinator is described by Fiore (1989) as feeling overwhelmed by pressures, unrealistic about time, uncertain about goals, dissatisfied with accomplishments, indecisive, blaming of others or circumstances for his/her failures, lacking in confidence and, sometimes, perfectionistic. Thus, the underlying fears are of failing, lacking ability, being imperfect, and falling short of overly demanding goals. This type thinks his/her worth is determined by what he/she does, which reflects his/her level of ability. He/she is afraid of being judged and found wanting. Thus, this kind of procrastinator will get over-stressed and over-worked until he/she escapes the pressure temporarily by trying to relax but any enjoyment gives rise to guilt and more apprehension.
Geesh, I see myself as both a laid-back procrastinator and a tense one! The point is, though, that procrastination must be addressed in two ways -- dealing with the problem(s) behind it, and establishing systems that prevent it. Some of these are:
1. Keeping schedules, to-do lists, and generally writing things down. These solutions are often short-lived because they don't address the underlying problems. It takes time to overcome procrastination.
2. Breaking tasks into small pieces, e.g. spending five minutes doing something.
3. Keeping a journal of feelings and thoughts about procrastination. What keeps you from getting going?
4. Dealing with why you hate work -- and other similar issues.
5. Getting cognitive behavioral therapy. It is clear from what I have read that procrastination is caused by irrational beliefs, something that cognitive behavioral therapy addresses. John Perry, in an article called Structured Procrastination argues that procrastination is a form of self-deception. In short, therapy helps.
Well, what about me? I think I have all these characteristics! I'm lucky though -- I have a cognitive behavioral therapist. But I think my friend Mike lit a fire under me when he said, "procrastination's a bitch." I promptly went downstairs and reorganized the entire kitchen. Now I have to get over being "bored" by the stitching project I'm supposed to be working on.
Tuesday, January 18, 2005
Wisconsin Stitching Group
I joined the Wisconsin Stitching Group on Yahoo in mid-December. Wisconsin Stitching is a group of cross stitch enthusiasts from Wisconsin. On December 15 there were three members. Today there are 10 members, most of whom joined in the last couple of days. I had posted a message to RoundRobinCrazy about the group, and Linda and Elaine joined from that, but (Kim, I swear) I was totally innocent about the rest. Linda is from Minnesota, but we let her in because she was close by and promised not to diss the Packers! Woohoo!-- there's even another member from Appleton! It's suddenly become a very popping group and I think it's going to be a lot of fun!
In Appleton it is currently 6 degrees F with a -7 wind chill. It was -25 degrees F in Door County last night. Cold! I can usually take Henry out without out donning my coat, but now I don't take him the few steps to his dog pen without it. The snow shimmers with ice. I haven't seen a rabbit all day. Apparently this cold weather comes from Alberta, Canada, swooping down into the U.S. upper midwest and leaving a heap of snow behind it. I can usually tolerate the cold to 10 degrees. I don't like this.
I wonder if all those Wisconsin stitchers (and that one poor soul from Minnesota) have come in from the cold and logged onto the internet, looking for kindred spirits bundled in sweaters and sensible shoes before their LCD screens -- and with the exception of that one poor soul from Minnesota -- are wondering why Brett Favre didn't lead the Packers to the superbowl. That is, if they care about football at all. I know one thing. They all care more about choosing between a size 26 needle and linen or evenweave, resisting the urge to shop for fabric on the internet and, if they manage to resist at all, have more patterns than they could possibly use in a lifetime. But oh well, it's winter. Might as well stitch.
Anyway, here's the website:
http://groups.yahoo.com/group/WisconsinStitching/
And no, Wisconsin is not the Cheesehead State. It's the Badger State.
{{{HUGS}}}
Candice in Appleton
In Appleton it is currently 6 degrees F with a -7 wind chill. It was -25 degrees F in Door County last night. Cold! I can usually take Henry out without out donning my coat, but now I don't take him the few steps to his dog pen without it. The snow shimmers with ice. I haven't seen a rabbit all day. Apparently this cold weather comes from Alberta, Canada, swooping down into the U.S. upper midwest and leaving a heap of snow behind it. I can usually tolerate the cold to 10 degrees. I don't like this.
I wonder if all those Wisconsin stitchers (and that one poor soul from Minnesota) have come in from the cold and logged onto the internet, looking for kindred spirits bundled in sweaters and sensible shoes before their LCD screens -- and with the exception of that one poor soul from Minnesota -- are wondering why Brett Favre didn't lead the Packers to the superbowl. That is, if they care about football at all. I know one thing. They all care more about choosing between a size 26 needle and linen or evenweave, resisting the urge to shop for fabric on the internet and, if they manage to resist at all, have more patterns than they could possibly use in a lifetime. But oh well, it's winter. Might as well stitch.
Anyway, here's the website:
http://groups.yahoo.com/group/WisconsinStitching/
And no, Wisconsin is not the Cheesehead State. It's the Badger State.
{{{HUGS}}}
Candice in Appleton
Monday, January 17, 2005
Arlo and Me
This is me and the amazing Arlo, my beloved dog, in the early 1970s. I was maybe 20 when that picture was taken. The photographer was my ex-whatever. I think I got involved with him because I loved his dog. When he and I split, he took Arlo. I have lots of pictures of Arlo. It was difficult to choose just one.
And This is Henry!
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This is Henry, who is a five year old Dalmatian-Australian Shepherd mix. We got him from the Humane Society when he was a pup. Henry is quite a character. In this picture he's wondering what the heck I'm doing with the camera (note his ears are submissively back and his tail is wagging). I did tell him to "stay" and he stayed. Henry has a non-stop smile on his face -- he's such a happy dog -- and a silly dog too. A real goof-ball. That sofa, by the way, is his.
The Writing Class
I am taking a a free, online writing course at Barnes & Noble University. The course is called "Writing Fiction with Gotham Writers' Workshop." The activity for the second lesson is as follows:
Make a list of everyone you have ever known, in any way. Include people you know well and people you have only seen from afar. Just list the names. Stop after you fill about two pages, listing the names in columns. If you don't know someone's name, put something like "the little girl who lives down the block." Everyone on your list is a possible inspiration for a character.
Well, I wrote down 132 names on my two pages and could have listed a lot more. As I was writing the names, I had pictures in my head of the people and remember certain things about them and their relationship to me. I was aware that each person could be a source of inspiration for a story. Each person was so full of life to me. It was an amazing exercise -- and it didn't take that long. I highly recommend it.
The second part of the activity was to take one person from the list and talk about how they inspired me. I chose my friend Cubic from the village in Kenya. Some day I will write a lot more about Cubic. I have tried to write about him in the past and it was difficult. I need to drag out my fieldnotes and read them. I am sure Cubic is all over them.
Make a list of everyone you have ever known, in any way. Include people you know well and people you have only seen from afar. Just list the names. Stop after you fill about two pages, listing the names in columns. If you don't know someone's name, put something like "the little girl who lives down the block." Everyone on your list is a possible inspiration for a character.
Well, I wrote down 132 names on my two pages and could have listed a lot more. As I was writing the names, I had pictures in my head of the people and remember certain things about them and their relationship to me. I was aware that each person could be a source of inspiration for a story. Each person was so full of life to me. It was an amazing exercise -- and it didn't take that long. I highly recommend it.
The second part of the activity was to take one person from the list and talk about how they inspired me. I chose my friend Cubic from the village in Kenya. Some day I will write a lot more about Cubic. I have tried to write about him in the past and it was difficult. I need to drag out my fieldnotes and read them. I am sure Cubic is all over them.
Nimue Design -- La Pipe
Nimue design -- The Pipe. Fee means fairy -- these are mostly designs featuring fairies. I think they are charming.
La Sylphide Toquee Design -- Boule de Neige
Design from La Sylphide Toquee -- Boule de Neige, which seemingly translates to "A Ball of Snow".
European Stitching Patterns
I've discovered a couple of French designers -- Nimue and La Sylphide Toquee. I have started to collect them. Both feature lovely delicate designs.
La Sylphide Toquee are whimsical designs in bright colors, some with French words. Apparently this is a new designer. Sylphid (in English) means a graceful woman or a being that inhabits the air. Toquee does not translate. Website for La Sylphide Toquee:
http://perso.wanadoo.fr/lasylphidetoquee/
Norden Crafts has pictures of a lot of La Sylphide Toquee patterns:
http://www.nordencrafts.com/CHARTS/LST/lstmain.html
Nimue is one of the names of the Lady of the Lake or Vivien in the Arthurian Legends. These patterns seem to be of nymphs and fairies. I can find no links to Nimue patterns online.
I have also collected some Dutch patterns -- mostly buildings such as houses of Amsterdam -- and some Russian ones.
The European designs seem to be quite different than the ones we have here in the U.S. They are both worth seeking out.
La Sylphide Toquee are whimsical designs in bright colors, some with French words. Apparently this is a new designer. Sylphid (in English) means a graceful woman or a being that inhabits the air. Toquee does not translate. Website for La Sylphide Toquee:
http://perso.wanadoo.fr/lasylphidetoquee/
Norden Crafts has pictures of a lot of La Sylphide Toquee patterns:
http://www.nordencrafts.com/CHARTS/LST/lstmain.html
Nimue is one of the names of the Lady of the Lake or Vivien in the Arthurian Legends. These patterns seem to be of nymphs and fairies. I can find no links to Nimue patterns online.
I have also collected some Dutch patterns -- mostly buildings such as houses of Amsterdam -- and some Russian ones.
The European designs seem to be quite different than the ones we have here in the U.S. They are both worth seeking out.
Tuesday, January 11, 2005
Of Rabbits and Computers
I love going outside on a night like this, with the snow on the ground, and the temperature right around freezing -- not so warm that the snow melts, but warm enough to be out for a few minutes without a jacket. It's been colder the last few days, but now I can feel a warm edge in the air. It's as though my body is looking for the warmth rather than the cold.
We have rabbits in our yard. They leave trails of pawprints wherever they go, and the snow is criss-crossed with evidence of where the rabbits have been. I usually only see two or three rabbits at a time, but the way the snow looks, I know there must be a lot more. They particularly like the area under the bird feeder where the seeds drop through.
Tonight I saw two rabbits chasing each other in the snow. I wondered if they were playing. When I had a rabbit in Zimbabwe, she used to play a game I called "prey and prey" -- she would approach me, and when she just within my reach, she would dash off. It is quite a different game than a dog or cat plays, both preditors. I had thought that gentle animals like rabbits enjoy evasion games rather than aggression games.
Today I must have spent ten hours at the computer. I have a kind of technological focus that makes time disappear. The computer has become a universe to me. I sink into it and don't emerge unless something pulls me out. Tonight it was the rabbits. I need to spend less time at the computer and more time outside, in nature.
We have rabbits in our yard. They leave trails of pawprints wherever they go, and the snow is criss-crossed with evidence of where the rabbits have been. I usually only see two or three rabbits at a time, but the way the snow looks, I know there must be a lot more. They particularly like the area under the bird feeder where the seeds drop through.
Tonight I saw two rabbits chasing each other in the snow. I wondered if they were playing. When I had a rabbit in Zimbabwe, she used to play a game I called "prey and prey" -- she would approach me, and when she just within my reach, she would dash off. It is quite a different game than a dog or cat plays, both preditors. I had thought that gentle animals like rabbits enjoy evasion games rather than aggression games.
Today I must have spent ten hours at the computer. I have a kind of technological focus that makes time disappear. The computer has become a universe to me. I sink into it and don't emerge unless something pulls me out. Tonight it was the rabbits. I need to spend less time at the computer and more time outside, in nature.
Monday, January 10, 2005
Making Napkins
I have been doing some research on how to make napkins.
In her book, The Simple Art of Napkin Folding, Linda Hetzer gives instructions for seven different kinds of napkins. They are:
1. Blanket stitch
2. Hand-rolled hems
3. Mitered corners
4. Machine-stitched hems
5. Fringed edges
6. Lace trim
7. Double-fold bias binding
Hetzer says that napkins can be made out of linen, cotton, polyester or any combination of those. Most napkins are made out of medium weight fabric, neither coarse nor sheer. Linen napkins usually have hand-rolled hems, machine-stitched edges, or mitered hems. Cotton and polyester fabrics are more casual and can be finished with fringed edges, embroidery, lace trim and binding. Napkins with fringed edges should be made out of coarser fabric.
All of the napkins are 20" x 20" square with added fabric for the hems. For eight napkins, you need 2 1/2 yards of 45" fabric. One source I read says that dinner napkins should be 20" x 20" and luncheon napkins 15" x 15".
I wish I could just scan Hetzer's pictures and instructions for each kind of napkin. Nevertheless, they are all pretty easy to do. Instead I have searched the internet for instructions. The following websites have instructions on making napkins:
HGTV: Making Napkins
How to make table napkins
Serger napkins
Hetzer's book is only $8.00 at Amazon.com. It's totally worth it for the two pages on how to make napkins, although the 94 napkin folds are very nicely illustrated and easy to do.
In her book, The Simple Art of Napkin Folding, Linda Hetzer gives instructions for seven different kinds of napkins. They are:
1. Blanket stitch
2. Hand-rolled hems
3. Mitered corners
4. Machine-stitched hems
5. Fringed edges
6. Lace trim
7. Double-fold bias binding
Hetzer says that napkins can be made out of linen, cotton, polyester or any combination of those. Most napkins are made out of medium weight fabric, neither coarse nor sheer. Linen napkins usually have hand-rolled hems, machine-stitched edges, or mitered hems. Cotton and polyester fabrics are more casual and can be finished with fringed edges, embroidery, lace trim and binding. Napkins with fringed edges should be made out of coarser fabric.
All of the napkins are 20" x 20" square with added fabric for the hems. For eight napkins, you need 2 1/2 yards of 45" fabric. One source I read says that dinner napkins should be 20" x 20" and luncheon napkins 15" x 15".
I wish I could just scan Hetzer's pictures and instructions for each kind of napkin. Nevertheless, they are all pretty easy to do. Instead I have searched the internet for instructions. The following websites have instructions on making napkins:
HGTV: Making Napkins
How to make table napkins
Serger napkins
Hetzer's book is only $8.00 at Amazon.com. It's totally worth it for the two pages on how to make napkins, although the 94 napkin folds are very nicely illustrated and easy to do.
Sunday, January 09, 2005
Cross Stitch Napkins
I have a dream of someday making 12 cross stitch napkins for my mother-in-law. My fantasy is that each napkin will have a different flower on it. So when Bonnie at RoundRobinCrazy asked for suggestions for round robins, I suggested napkins. There was a great response! A lot of people besides myself would like to make cross stitch napkins.
The only problem was finding napkins which are amenable to cross stitch. I hunted on the web (I've done this before) and couldn't find what I wanted. There was something in England, but they were too pricey. I decided I would ask 1-2-3 Stitch if they could find napkins for me -- they say on their website that they will try to get special requests. They found some cross stitch napkins by Crafters Pride, made of 14 Ct. SaLem fabric. They are washable, fringed, and come in white or ivory. They are a bit more casual than I had in mind, but I ordered 12 of them.
If I want more formal napkins, I will need to make them myself. I got a book on napkin folding -- The Simple Art of Napkin Folding: 94 Fancy Folds for Every Tabletop Occasion, by Linda Hetzer -- and it has two pages of instructions for making seven different kinds of napkins. I will need to figure a way to explain how to make these napkins in my blog, without plagerizing or violating copyright laws!
Napkin folding is interesting. Now I need some china and some Waterford glasses! My mother-in-law says there is a place in St. Louis that sells complete sets of china on consignment, stuff that other people no longer use. I would do that if the pieces were open stock. I don't know how I would get it home to Appleton though. But getting china is one of the things I would like to do. I have never had china. It would be wonderful to be able to set a formal table, with fancy folded, hand-made stitched napkins.
The only problem was finding napkins which are amenable to cross stitch. I hunted on the web (I've done this before) and couldn't find what I wanted. There was something in England, but they were too pricey. I decided I would ask 1-2-3 Stitch if they could find napkins for me -- they say on their website that they will try to get special requests. They found some cross stitch napkins by Crafters Pride, made of 14 Ct. SaLem fabric. They are washable, fringed, and come in white or ivory. They are a bit more casual than I had in mind, but I ordered 12 of them.
If I want more formal napkins, I will need to make them myself. I got a book on napkin folding -- The Simple Art of Napkin Folding: 94 Fancy Folds for Every Tabletop Occasion, by Linda Hetzer -- and it has two pages of instructions for making seven different kinds of napkins. I will need to figure a way to explain how to make these napkins in my blog, without plagerizing or violating copyright laws!
Napkin folding is interesting. Now I need some china and some Waterford glasses! My mother-in-law says there is a place in St. Louis that sells complete sets of china on consignment, stuff that other people no longer use. I would do that if the pieces were open stock. I don't know how I would get it home to Appleton though. But getting china is one of the things I would like to do. I have never had china. It would be wonderful to be able to set a formal table, with fancy folded, hand-made stitched napkins.
My Stitching Nook
My magnifying lamp got here Friday. Daniel set it up and it is now sitting next to my rocking chair in my room. It is so awesome! I can see every kind of fabric under it -- I tested them out! I am so excited to use it.
The problem was creating the stitching nook. The stitching nook is #1 on my list of stitching goals for 2005. I had to clear the fabric, projects, q-snaps, buttons, etc. off the rocking chair so I could use it. I sent Daniel to the store for some plastic file boxes and plastic see-through shoe boxes. The first thing I did was create a box for my fabric. I put the fabric in hanging file folders. Then I filled the two shoe boxes -- one with odds and ends (buttons, needles, floss cards), and the other with threads I haven't carded yet. But the box got awfully full awfully fast, so I am getting another two shoe boxes for just the floss -- one for DMC, and one for specialty threads. And I am also getting some more file boxes for my patterns.
The rocking chair is now empty and ready to use. There are boxes everywhere but I will find a place for them in the closet -- as soon as I get the closet cleaned out! That's the next step.
I am taking a online class at Barnes & Noble University on organizing from the inside out. It is a free class. I am hoping it will motivate me to clean my office/art room once and for all.
The problem was creating the stitching nook. The stitching nook is #1 on my list of stitching goals for 2005. I had to clear the fabric, projects, q-snaps, buttons, etc. off the rocking chair so I could use it. I sent Daniel to the store for some plastic file boxes and plastic see-through shoe boxes. The first thing I did was create a box for my fabric. I put the fabric in hanging file folders. Then I filled the two shoe boxes -- one with odds and ends (buttons, needles, floss cards), and the other with threads I haven't carded yet. But the box got awfully full awfully fast, so I am getting another two shoe boxes for just the floss -- one for DMC, and one for specialty threads. And I am also getting some more file boxes for my patterns.
The rocking chair is now empty and ready to use. There are boxes everywhere but I will find a place for them in the closet -- as soon as I get the closet cleaned out! That's the next step.
I am taking a online class at Barnes & Noble University on organizing from the inside out. It is a free class. I am hoping it will motivate me to clean my office/art room once and for all.
Sunday, January 02, 2005
Fabric Origami
I have discovered fabric origami. However, to say "fabric" origami is a bit of a contradiction. Origami means "to fold paper" in Japanese. However, the techniques of paper folding can be transferred to fabric. Some fabric folds are inspired by origami but depart from it. And other fabric folds, such as napkin and towel folding, aren't considered origami but are of interest to paper folders.
When I first heard of fabric origami, I thought it would be necessary to stiffen the fabric first. I found fabric stiffener at Hobby Lobby, thinking I would transfer directly to fabric what I know from doing origami. I shortly realized that origami made with fabric stiffener wouldn't survive a wash. It would be great for wall hangings, though, and for making origami ornaments ("kusudama" origami) out of fabric. There are some great examples of kusudama origami at a Brasilian website called Kusudama: Arte em Origami. Unfortunately it's in Portuguese, but the origami is beautiful. I have several books on kusudama origami and look forward to doing some fabric origami using fabric stiffener.
Rebecca Wat has some fabric folds for quilt squares in her book Fantasic Fabric Folding. These don't require anything but ordinary cotton fabric, finger-folded into shapes such as flowers, stars, and pinwheels. They hold together through washings and are merely tacked in a couple of places to keep them from losing their shape. These fabric folds are then incorporated into quilts the same as quilt blocks.
Kumiko Sudo's beautiful fabric origami folds are not strict origami folds like several of Wat's. They are folded fabric pieces that are sewn onto wall hangings or appliqued onto quilts. They will not hold their shape unless they are sewn, and most of the ones in her book Folded Flowers really do belong on wall hangings that will not be washed. They are, however, sensational. There are many more examples of Japanese quilt designs which employ fabric origami techniques.
Napkin folds aren't "strictly origami" but are based on the techniques of paper folding. They are made out of ordinary napkins instead of paper...although you could fold a paper napkin! (I've done it.) There are dozens of different napkin folds. For example, Linda Hetzer has a book of 94 napkin folds, and one of the reviewers at Amazon.com criticized her book for omitting some key folds.
Fabric yoyos are a bit like fabric origami (see post below on fabric yoyos). They are "folded" when the thread around the outside is pulled to form a circle half the size of the original fabric. Although fabric yoyos are often appliqued onto a quilt or other piece of fabric, I like the yoyos that are connected at the edges and are not foundation pieced. In other words, they are the quilt, not attached to the quilt. Yoyos are used as applique in a quilt called "Hurricane Party" by Amy Stewart Winsor. An example of a yoyo quilt is at http://www.quilterscache.com/images12/karrensyo2.jpg.
Right now cross stitching is my priority, but I hope I will find time to do some fabric origami in the near future. I'd like to do all kinds!
When I first heard of fabric origami, I thought it would be necessary to stiffen the fabric first. I found fabric stiffener at Hobby Lobby, thinking I would transfer directly to fabric what I know from doing origami. I shortly realized that origami made with fabric stiffener wouldn't survive a wash. It would be great for wall hangings, though, and for making origami ornaments ("kusudama" origami) out of fabric. There are some great examples of kusudama origami at a Brasilian website called Kusudama: Arte em Origami. Unfortunately it's in Portuguese, but the origami is beautiful. I have several books on kusudama origami and look forward to doing some fabric origami using fabric stiffener.
Rebecca Wat has some fabric folds for quilt squares in her book Fantasic Fabric Folding. These don't require anything but ordinary cotton fabric, finger-folded into shapes such as flowers, stars, and pinwheels. They hold together through washings and are merely tacked in a couple of places to keep them from losing their shape. These fabric folds are then incorporated into quilts the same as quilt blocks.
Kumiko Sudo's beautiful fabric origami folds are not strict origami folds like several of Wat's. They are folded fabric pieces that are sewn onto wall hangings or appliqued onto quilts. They will not hold their shape unless they are sewn, and most of the ones in her book Folded Flowers really do belong on wall hangings that will not be washed. They are, however, sensational. There are many more examples of Japanese quilt designs which employ fabric origami techniques.
Napkin folds aren't "strictly origami" but are based on the techniques of paper folding. They are made out of ordinary napkins instead of paper...although you could fold a paper napkin! (I've done it.) There are dozens of different napkin folds. For example, Linda Hetzer has a book of 94 napkin folds, and one of the reviewers at Amazon.com criticized her book for omitting some key folds.
Fabric yoyos are a bit like fabric origami (see post below on fabric yoyos). They are "folded" when the thread around the outside is pulled to form a circle half the size of the original fabric. Although fabric yoyos are often appliqued onto a quilt or other piece of fabric, I like the yoyos that are connected at the edges and are not foundation pieced. In other words, they are the quilt, not attached to the quilt. Yoyos are used as applique in a quilt called "Hurricane Party" by Amy Stewart Winsor. An example of a yoyo quilt is at http://www.quilterscache.com/images12/karrensyo2.jpg.
Right now cross stitching is my priority, but I hope I will find time to do some fabric origami in the near future. I'd like to do all kinds!
Musings on Blog Musings
I am always amazed at how open some bloggers are, how they write about the details of their lives, their emotions, their ups and downs. I can't be that open in this public a setting. I keep it close to the chest. I would be embarrassed.
I have other places to write some of these things. The About.com Cross Stitch forum is one of them. I know the people there, and I can talk rather openly in that setting. I have friends, too, with whom I share things -- Valerie, Roxi, Chris, Coby, Sandi, and Mike. I also keep a journal for my therapist. I can write just about anything in it. It's also not something I can share online, although I know that people do share such things in their blogs. But for me it's too intimate. I don't even share my personal journal with my family.
So I don't keep a blog with my daily musings in it. My blog is more topical. I like to post pictures. I write when I have something to say. But I have been branching out a bit from the subject of stitching. I now write about origami, and I have become interested in quilting. I'll probably write about that too. I am thinking about posting more about other things in my life, but I don't want to stray too far.
I have other places to write some of these things. The About.com Cross Stitch forum is one of them. I know the people there, and I can talk rather openly in that setting. I have friends, too, with whom I share things -- Valerie, Roxi, Chris, Coby, Sandi, and Mike. I also keep a journal for my therapist. I can write just about anything in it. It's also not something I can share online, although I know that people do share such things in their blogs. But for me it's too intimate. I don't even share my personal journal with my family.
So I don't keep a blog with my daily musings in it. My blog is more topical. I like to post pictures. I write when I have something to say. But I have been branching out a bit from the subject of stitching. I now write about origami, and I have become interested in quilting. I'll probably write about that too. I am thinking about posting more about other things in my life, but I don't want to stray too far.
Fabric Yoyos
The first time I saw a fabric yoyo was during the early 1970s when I was in college. One of the students had a vest made of yoyos. It was really cool -- and a little hippy-ish. I asked her how the vest was made, and she briefly explained to me how to make a fabric yoyo.
Apparently fabric yoyos have been around for at least 100 years. They may have come originally from the Philippines, but in the 1920s started to be used in quilts in the U.S. Here's a marvelous pdf file explaining the history of the fabric yoyo and how it is used in quilts:
http://www.museum.state.ak.us/QuiltExhibit/quiltspdf/YoYo.pdf
Yesterday I saw a cross-stitch pattern from Waxing Moon Designs with several fabric yoyo embellishments (thanks Eileen!). It's called "Take Thyme." If you find this pattern and don't have the embellishments, you can make them yourself. They are really easy. Here is a web page explaining how to make a fabric yoyo:
http://www.cddesigns.com/YoYo/how.htm
Now if I could find an origami yoyo my day would be complete!
Apparently fabric yoyos have been around for at least 100 years. They may have come originally from the Philippines, but in the 1920s started to be used in quilts in the U.S. Here's a marvelous pdf file explaining the history of the fabric yoyo and how it is used in quilts:
http://www.museum.state.ak.us/QuiltExhibit/quiltspdf/YoYo.pdf
Yesterday I saw a cross-stitch pattern from Waxing Moon Designs with several fabric yoyo embellishments (thanks Eileen!). It's called "Take Thyme." If you find this pattern and don't have the embellishments, you can make them yourself. They are really easy. Here is a web page explaining how to make a fabric yoyo:
http://www.cddesigns.com/YoYo/how.htm
Now if I could find an origami yoyo my day would be complete!
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