.almost.

Almost done!! Just have to hand sew the top stitching along the hem. I can't find my hand sewing gear, though... I'm hoping it's at school.

They're really comfy and quite warm.

Notice my hair flying up at my part. This is due to a full day of wearing a hat. Nice, huh?

.woven.

Here is the final woven fabric, in all it's glory. I made enough to wear two cowls and three pairs of fingerless mittens! I might end up selling at least one pair of mittens and a cowl. I'll keep you all posted. I'm sitting down right now to sew together all three pairs of fingerless mittens. I'm not quite sure about how I'll approach the cowls, so I'll just do the mittens first.

Hope your Saturday afternoon is going well!

.winner.

Well, I just paid a visit to random.org and out popped number 8, Rebecca from The Clothes Horse. Now, if you don't already know Rebecca, you should. She has an awesome blog, where she showcases the well-put-together and often times whimsical clothes that she wears. She also lives in Washington (the state) and the settings where she photographs are always drop dead gorgeous. Go visit her, you won't be disappointed :)

Yay for Rebecca!

Everyone else, thank you so so much for stopping by and entering. I really loved reading all of your comments about art and craft. I might have to ask you questions more often!

.press.

Letterpress! I am so psyched for this class. It's starting really slowly, but hopefully it'll pick up and we'll make some great stuff. I have a pretty solid idea as to what I would like the theme of my letterpress adventures to be, but I'll update you more on that later. I'm printing my first poster next week, so I'll just let you see it. This post has to be very quick today. My thumb muscle on my right hand and the mid-forearm on my left arm are both killing me. Jerks.

Anyway, I'm the only person in my section of the class who isn't in Illustration. Intimidated? Uh, yeah. Buuuut... We just did cyanotypes today! So, I can use photography as an image, which is very relieving. Also, we'll be doing block carving, so I can carve blocks of my repeat patterns from last semester as well as images from photographs. I'm excited to see how the heck you translate a photo into a linoleum block.

Sadly, I had to leave my cyanotype at school to dry, so I have no image of it today. But, I can tell you that the first image I printed was the corn photo from Greenfield Village (looking over at you, Lisa!). Something to look forward to tomorrow, no?

I must stop functioning now.

I'm reading "Independence Days: A Guide to Sustainable Food Storage and Preservation" by Sharon Astyk. I'm only on the second chapter, but I'm in love. The points she makes are spot on, if not a little dramatic (she talks about preparing for emergencies a lot, which is relevant, but not quite to this degree, I think) and I really like the style of her writing. She doesn't talk down, she doesn't preach, it's like a conversation. I'm feeling so motivated right now! I think I'll even go down to the Ann Arbor farmer's market on Saturday, since I haven't gone all winter. I'm also going to join a CSA this year. I haven't decided on which one yet... If anyone in the area has any recommendations? Jen?

Don't forget about my giveaway for a pair of handwoven fingerless mittens! It's open til 7pm Friday night, so don't delay, my friends!

.hiatus.

Oh my goodness, I was gone forever. With school starting, time goes all wonky and I didn't even realize that it had been so long since I last posted. And in the middle of a giveaway. Geez. Speaking of which, my 300th blog post giveaway is still underway! You have until this Friday, Jan. 29 to enter. GO ENTER!! I just finished weaving the fabric last night and will wash it tomorrow. I'm so happy with how it turned out! My first foray into 8 harness weaving was officially a success. It's pretty much the same as 4 harnesses, but with more harnesses. Obvious, I know. I always kind of thought that maybe it was trickier or something. Nope. Just more setup! Silly me, right? And now, I must decide on my next project... I may do a rug, actually. I've always wanted to, and I definitely want to before I graduate and am on my own. I know that Mollie would always answer my questions if I emailed her, but I feel more comfortable tackling these things while still under her wing. Also, Susan and Angela are always so kind (and weave beautiful things!). I think that weaving will always be a part of my life. I badly hope that I will find the funds to purchase my own loom when I graduate. I want an eight harness Baby Wolf.

Sadly, pictures are going to have to wait until tomorrow, after I have washed the fabric. Can't wait to see it all fresh and clean!

And now, pictures:

Ashley (my sister) and I each made a batch of chili last Tuesday. It's so nice to cook together. It's like bringing some home to each other, kind of like we're channeling mom, but making our own way. In my little kitchen. One batch was made with venison that my dad harvested. I had a phase when I though it was terrible that he hunted the poor little deer. But, I'm more grown up now and I realize that his actions are so much more noble than the meat we eat from tortured, sick animals raised in CAFOs. If you haven't watched "Food, Inc." do so immediately. We all need to see the way that most of our food is made (manufactured is a better word), so that we can make more informed decisions. This summer, I will preserve so much more. I will cook all the time. I will volunteer at a local farm. I will truly participate in the creation of at least some of my food. I have started reading "Independence Days" by Sharon Astyk. I've only read the introduction, but I can tell I will love this book. She has already talked about how cooking and eating together is one of the biggest ways in which we can foster community and friendships. It's intimate. It's beautiful. Chelsea and I cook together a lot. It's wonderful. I love it. I wish we could do it more.

I feel like I'm going through an emotional and intellectual growth spurt this year. I keep seeing things I didn't see before, or ones I had but in a new light. I've talked to a couple of my friends about this already, and am still kind of seeing where I'm going with it all.

I also saw Chelsea and Grace last Tuesday. We didn't cook together, but we ate together. We ate food from a local deli called Simple Sandwich in Plymouth. Their sandwiches and soups are so good. They make them every day. They are awesome people. She is growing up so fast. I remember when she was much smaller and didn't even remember me between visits. Now, she runs to me and fills my heart with joy. As does her mother.

The incinerator was running the other day. I can't believe that it wasn't voted out when there was a chance. Such poison.

We got seeds for Rizzo. She lives on them now, instead of sand. She was eating the sand and it kept making her bloated. Suddenly, she would be really fat one day. Strange. I love the way the seeds look in there. So much texture. She is getting so big. I love the way her front legs look like a bulldog's. Bulldog Rizzo.

.more.

Because there is no such thing as too much Greenfield Village.

Thank you so much to those of you who have commented on my last post so far. I love hearing what you guys have to say about craft/art and agree with everyone!

Don't forget to weigh in on that post for a chance to win a pair of fingerless mittens that I am weaving right now. If you're a lurker, then now is the time to comment :)

You guys are so great.

.300.

Not the movie! Um, so, this is my 300th post. I know, right? How did this happen!

Anyway, this calls for celebration, no? Yes, I know we just celebrated eggs... Maybe we should celebrate something every day. I think we would be happy. So, I need to give someone something! A good, old-fashioned giveaway is in order, my friends. Some of you I've known for a long time (since the very beginning of my online adventures!) and some of you I've known for only a while. Either way, I always always appreciate it when you stop by. Those of you who don't comment (I know you're there), do it! I want to hear from you, let's be friends :)

Don't worry, I'll get back to the giveaway in a moment...

That photo right there (screenshot really) is the pattern draft for my first weaving project of the semester. Isn't it beautiful? I'm making two sets of matching-ish neckwarmer and fingerless mittens! I was very inspired by Susan of Avalanche Looms. I'm weaving these in a cotton/linen/rayon yarn, one of my favorites. The yarns on top of my loom in the bottom photo are the colors I'm using. The oatmeal is the background, while the Purple Mountain's Majesty and the Sagey Green will be the foreground colors. The red is just there because I like it...

I've decided, just a moment ago, that my 300th post giveaway item will be one of the sets of fingerless mittens! I know, exciting! Hooray!

To enter, I would like it if you told me one of the things you love about art/craft. Don't worry about picking your favorite, I would never be able to pick mine! Just something you really value about it, you know?

Thank you so much for visiting, you are the best!

.celebration.

this is not olga.

I am feeling majorly under the weather today. Suffice it so say that my head has somehow been filled with cement and my throat buffed with sandpaper. Bummer, right?

But, I didn't want to go without posting. What better topic than to celebrate a milestone for my dearest mum: Olga, her araucana chicken, has laid her first eggs!! I wish I was home to see (and eat) them. I can only hope (seriously) to celebrate this very thing sometime in my future. Mom, you're awesome and so are your chickens!!

p.s. That chicken, who is clearly not Olga, is a lone chicken who found me at, where else?, Greenfield Village some time ago. She, too, was a wonderful chicken.

Hope you are all feeling well :)

.stepping.

into Greenfield Village is magical. Simply being in the presence of things so old is just amazing. So many things in the past were made by hand, by the people who were going to use them. If you didn't make it, chances are you saw the face of the person who did. I hope that I can at least partially experience this kind of lifestyle someday. I dream of this kind of community, a collaboration.

I think that Greenfield Village is my favorite place to photograph. Especially with slide film, which is what I used to take these. The light and the subtle colors are captured perfectly.

.tea.

this is the delicious tea i just made.

.object.

i have been aware of the power of objects for quite some time. at least, the power they have over me. i have collected objects for pretty much as long as i can remember. when i was little, it was always rocks and shells. my family used to go camping at the same campground many times each summer. my sisters, our friends and i would spend so much time down at the water catching minnows and frogs, putting them in buckets for a while, then letting them go again. i did this for so much of my time there that on the drive home and all that day whenever i closed my eyes i saw minnows dancing, swimming. i loved this. like i could take a bit of that place home with me. my physical attempt was in the rocks and shells. especially rocks. i had so many. i think my mom got a big fed up with my attempts at amassing a collection. i just loved them.

i still feel the same way about objects. especially vintage or antique. the story they tell. with the rocks, it was my own story and the story of my favorite place. with vintage objects it's the story of the object's use, the people who valued it (or didn't), the places it's been.

i did not intend to go on like this. my original goal was to tell you how i felt about objects and the way the influence an experience. in this case, my new tea kettle (as opposed to my ugly, ucky old one), my beautiful double walled glass tumbler and the super yummy tea that i just made.

also, i got these books. i can't wait to expand my knowledge on preserving and gardening with the intention of eating and doing as much as i can with my own hands. here's to more jam and preserves and, this year i'm determined, pickling!

brittany

i always feel compelled to sing my name on these long posts...

.melting.

chelsea loves wendell berry. she introduced him to me and i, too, love him now. here is a poem of his to which she linked me a while ago:

Manifesto: The Mad Farmer Liberation Front

Love the quick profit, the annual raise,
vacation with pay. Want more
of everything ready-made. Be afraid
to know your neighbors and to die.
And you will have a window in your head.
Not even your future will be a mystery
any more. Your mind will be punched in a card
and shut away in a little drawer.
When they want you to buy something
they will call you. When they want you
to die for profit they will let you know.

So, friends, every day do something
that won't compute. Love the Lord.
Love the world. Work for nothing.
Take all that you have and be poor.
Love someone who does not deserve it.
Denounce the government and embrace
the flag. Hope to live in that free
republic for which it stands.
Give your approval to all you cannot
understand. Praise ignorance, for what man
has not encountered he has not destroyed.

Ask the questions that have no answers.
Invest in the millenium. Plant sequoias.
Say that your main crop is the forest
that you did not plant,
that you will not live to harvest.
Say that the leaves are harvested
when they have rotted into the mold.
Call that profit. Prophesy such returns.

Put your faith in the two inches of humus
that will build under the trees
every thousand years.
Listen to carrion - put your ear
close, and hear the faint chattering
of the songs that are to come.
Expect the end of the world. Laugh.
Laughter is immeasurable. Be joyful
though you have considered all the facts.
So long as women do not go cheap
for power, please women more than men.
Ask yourself: Will this satisfy
a woman satisfied to bear a child?
Will this disturb the sleep
of a woman near to giving birth?

Go with your love to the fields.
Lie down in the shade. Rest your head
in her lap. Swear allegiance
to what is nighest your thoughts.
As soon as the generals and the politicos
can predict the motions of your mind,
lose it. Leave it as a sign
to mark the false trail, the way
you didn't go. Be like the fox
who makes more tracks than necessary,
some in the wrong direction.
Practice resurrection.

this pushes back the cynical thoughts that i collect over the days, the weeks. brings back the hope on which i have to live if i am ever to do anything, to be anything, worth doing and being. it makes me feel like i will be able to fall asleep before 2:30 tonight.

the image is mine from the vegetable plot adventure

.oops.

hello again!

wow, that way-too-long blogging/flickr break was unexpected. i was still reading lots of blogs and leaving comments, but for reasons still unknown to me, i clearly was not posting. needless to say, i have missed this space and those of you who are kind enough to come visit me. with school starting on monday, i'll be posting a lot about what i'm working on and be more productive in general, so yay for that! while i greatly enjoy/need taking this break, i also get distressed about slacking.

news bulletin:

} i have been nominated by the head of my department (crafts) at school to apply for the windgate fellowship provided by the center for craft, creativity and design. basically, i have to write a proposal outlining what i will do with the money ($15,000) within 18 months of my graduation in may. i have just over two weeks left to write the proposal and i think i have a pretty good grasp on the bulk of it. the hardest part is simply deciding, and fairly definitively, on what the heck i want to do when i graduate! to give myself room for exploration, i'm focusing my grant money on building up studio supplies (the more portable or expensive ones, considering we'd like to move across the country) and attending fiber and general craft conferences, in order to familiarize myself even more with current craft issues and with the people in my field. i am also planning to do a lot of research that i think will inform my work (ooooh, i think i'll use that sentence in my proposal, sounds good, haha!). i'm still working this part out.... mostly research on entrepreneurship (taking classes if i can find relative ones) and issues that i would like to incorporate (i think my next focus will be on food systems).

} i had a really great christmas!! i took 5 whole days off work to go home and see my family. we had lots of fun and ate so very much good food. since my mom is awesome, i got a bunch of handmade gifts (including french press knit slippers!!). oh, and for new year's eve, eric and i headed out to chelsea's place in ypsilanti for the night. it was so nice to have a chill, but super-fun night. i almost never do anything exciting for new year's.... we played a lot of catchphrase and made fun of pop culture. is there anything better? oh yeah, bree made amazing chili. even better.

} speaking of chelsea (seriously go visit her blog, she has wonderful writing), we're talking about starting a weekly post together, which will be so much fun. hooray for collaboration!

} i'm really excited about the letterpress class i'm taking this semester. hooray!!

i suppose i'll leave you with these things. i promise i will not leave again, it made me quite sad. i missed you guys!