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I recently had the imperative urge to make a wreath. I don’t know why. I’ve never made a wreath before. In fact, my lifestyle up to this point has been unconducive to entertaining whatever hidden forces compel people to adorn thresholds with festooned circles. I have owned exactly two wreaths my whole adult life – both were of the Christmas variety. Both were gifts. I have rarely managed to get them on the doors or take them off the doors during the proper seasons. When October swept in along came the need to stick a bunch of stuff in a circle. It was confusing to say the least.
But mine is not to reason why…I am a mere foot soldier in The War of Art.
When the battle horn sounded, the command rang out:
"Forward the Brigade! Charge the Salvation Army!"
Thus, into the Valley of Forsaken Things I blundered, Running with scissors and waving glue gun, While all the world held its breath and wondered, 'How dare this warrior woman fight so hard to have fun?' COVID to the right of me! COVID to the left of me! COVID in front of me! A cough and splutter ...eyes sealed and breath held tight against the potentially virulent cough cloud... ...and there...there in the distance ...buried in obscurity, came the small cry of a weak voice:
And I rescued the scarecrow from his Circle of Doom. May his golden years be spent in the garden watching the peas grow and giving the crows and hawk something to laugh about.
The circle was then restructured as such:
Keep fighting the good fight, Sweet Brigade of Light.
If we cannot love ourselves, we cannot fully open to our ability to love others or our potential to create.
John Lennon
~~~~@~~~~
Earlier this month, I received a special gift from a fellow yogi: a full 60-minute playlist of Beatles love songs to use in our Valentine’s Day class. This gift inspired a contest – whoever guessed the number of times the word “love” occurred in the lyrics during the class won a prize. It was SO much fun!
In appreciation for the playlist, I compiled a list of Beatles lyrics and quotes in the spirit of yoga wisdom. Each quote went down on a little decorated card and was placed inside a repurposed Altoids Tin.
(You know, because accessorizing is soooo important!)
Here’s a study showing home-made masks reduce exposure to respiratory infections to some degree: https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC2440799/
And here’s the tutorial I used:
I made a couple changes to the design to improve the comfort and aesthetic. I used a couple of soft pipe cleaners for fitting around the nose bridge. I used torn-up t-shirt material for the ear loops because they are more comfortable and durable than the elastic kind. Mine is also handsewn because machines are complicated and noisy.
Today I’m sharing another page from my yoga planning journal. This theme was inspired by the beauty of the season (of course), by the writings of Rainer Maria Rilke and Parker Palmer, and by my sister who has taught me interesting ways to work around mistakes.
Only three days in and my magical make-it month is starting to stress me out. I wish I was kidding.
Inspired by old family photographs that I confiscated from my dad and by the journals my sister makes, I started creating a Ukrainian-themed journal earlier this year.
Last night I worked on the inside cover (i.e., the gluey mess I alluded to in my last post) and my sister bound it for me. Today I set to work on the front cover. I decided to use the wedding photograph of my great-great grandparents…and…voila!
…when I finished cutting and inking and gluing and tweaking, I went to show it off, so very proud of myself….and that’s when I realized I had put it all on the back cover…
…upside down.
To cut myself some slack, I am going to blame it on the fact that I’m running a fever and there are 4 medications running through my system today. Back to the drawing board tomorrow.
If you’d like to see an fabulous example of a “junk journal” check out my sister’s page: RecycledbySkattur
My electronic archives have been neglected this year as I took a turn back to the old ways, to relish the dying art of handwriting and its ancient tools, and to savor the privacy, tangibility, focus and flow that these tools afford.
For some reason, this seems like a good time to share a gratuitous picture of a turtle I met this year. Or maybe she’s not so gratuitous. Maybe she was a little spirit companion meant to remind me the value of slowing down, grounding, and seeking solitude.
But I didn’t come here today to share turtle pictures. I wanted to show you one of my most prized possessions — a garden journal my sister made for me.
She calls it a “junk journal,” though I don’t think that’s a fitting description. Every single page is embellished with awesomeness.
There are all sorts of nooks and folds in which to tuck notes, thoughts, dreams, and ideas. And she stocked it with seeds, charms, a vial of dandelion fluff upon which to make wishes, and all sorts of magic.
And these pictures do not even begin to do it justice.
With this journal I am a garden wizard! Next year, I should be able to grow a beanstalk to climb to find the goose who lays golden eggs.
It makes me happy.
The video below is her doing a complete flip-through of the journal in case you’re interested:
And if you want to see the other journals she’s created (e.g., Murder on the Orient Express), here’s a link to her channel:
Recycled by Skattur
It has been an eventful week for SoKaN.
I invite you to visit our wonderful new website: isokan.com Skattur did an awesome job designing it and I am just ecstatic that there is now a picture me in my “boobhat” publically displayed on the Internet for all to see.
Last weekend’s Broad Avenue Art Walk and Art Bark was a blast. The weather was perfect, there was music in the air, “Pawcasso” pups running around in costume, and an abundance of interesting people doing interesting things.
This little Dali dog with his melting clock made my day…
An artist across the aisle captured a couple SoKaNers in his sketchbook.
Skattur added a little holiday flair to her display.
The KnitWits of the bunch are back in action for the season…
And here’s a random picture of a picture I took through the giant earhole of Jimmy “Tightpants,” who looked smashing in his polka dot dress.
Next week SoKaN will be at MEMFIX on Cleveland Street from 10 a.m.-10 p.m. We invite you to come come see us if you’re in the area!
If you’ve recently joined the adventures here at My Little Spacebook, I would first like to extend a warm welcome. Thank you for being here and sharing in this moment with me! Secondly, I’d like to introduce you to the Society of Knitters and Nutters (aka SoKaN). We’re a band of eccentric folks who get together and make stuff… jewelry, knits, garden art, birdhouses, quilts, fun, and memories. We’ve made so much stuff that we have to get together to sell it at times, so we can get together and make more stuff. We like making stuff and we like each other THAT much. 😀
We’ve reach a critical mass again, so this coming Saturday and Sunday the ladies of SoKaN will be selling stuff at The BIG One.
Here’s what’s been going on lately.
Skattur has been breathing new life into the artifacts that people leave behind. She takes cups, vases,and saucers that folks cast off and turns them into birdfeeders that pretty-up gardens. She also turns orphaned plates into art for the garden or the wall…
This one is mine, mine, mine! Skattur said so.
She’s really good at it…
…so the birds can eat in style
You’ll find more of her amazing work (as well as her story) on her Etsy page Recycled by Skattur and of course this weekend at “The Big One.”
The Beady Babes have been busily beading bodacious baubles. Beady Boop has been doing this new thing that takes her a really long time to do and to explain. So long and complicated was her explanation of the process that I really couldn’t work out any of the details in my head, but here’s the final results of her alchemy …
Pretty,
she made that pendant some how or other…
pretty!
She’s also been at work blinging up some ceiling fan pulls with her Kazuri Beads, which are handmade by families of the Kikuyu tribe in Kenya. The sale of these beads help promote fair trade in Africa. It’s her way of crafting with cause. You can read more about Kazuri Beads on their website here. Good stuff.
Our other Beady Babe, Elitist Jerk (who Skattur really thinks should change her name), has created dancing beady peep earrings. They’re really adorable.
She’s also created a line of bottle cap necklaces for kids….
They come in other styles besides peace…for example skull and crossbone if pirate is more your thing.
She’s also made beaded rings…but sadly the Archivist didn’t get a good picture. I guess you’ll just have to come to The BIG One this weekend to see them.
Ok, so what is The Big One? It’s the largest and most popular swap meet in the Mid-South, of course.
It’s held at:
Expo Center at Agricenter International
7777 Walnut Grove Road
Memphis, TN
If you’re in the area, stop by the SoKaN booth and say, “hi!”
Also, there was a great post today that made Freshly Pressed on crocheting….check it out:
http://thepickledhedgehog.com/2012/07/17/crocheting-to-change-the-planet/
Over the years I’ve found myself repeatedly standing in line at Hobby Lobby (or “Handy Dandy” as Mom refers to it), with my arms full of yarn, Styrofoam heads, and cinnamon Scripture Mints. As I wait, I entertain myself by scoping out what’s in other people’s baskets and imagining what they plan to do with the stuff. When I’ve exhausted those possibilities I scan the odd assortment of merchandise surrounding the checkout line. This inevitably leads to me finding David Green, founder and CEO of the company, staring at me from the cover of his book, More than a Hobby. By the time I start wondering what’s in his book and whether I should buy it, I’m usually checked out and on my way to do something crafty.
Last week when I found David Green staring out at me from his cover on a library bookshelf, I grabbed him up and checked him out because I really was interested in learning How a $600 Start-up Became America’s Home and Craft Superstore. Green is a likeable guy – the black sheep merchant from a family of ministers. In his book he details how he developed the idea of Hobby Lobby and how he runs the largest, privately owned arts and crafts retail business in the world.
Don’t expect to find discussions of theory or business buzzwords in his book. Green is a practical guy who tells stories from the trenches, so to speak. Chapter 4 “90% Off??” was the most interesting to me because it described some of the nuances and complexities involved in doing business in the global economy.
I enjoyed the book and the take-home message: You can run a successful business and still maintain your faith, integrity and family.
Jerk’s beady peeps were the big hit of the SoKaN booth!
Beady Boop brought feet to go with her souless sandals. (I thought she was kidding about the feet, but it turns out she wasn’t…)
The River City Balloons booth was fantastic and creative. They had balloon twisters, face painting artists, and cupcake bakers.
And there was sidewalk chalk art that was quite impressive….
My Little Spacebook 