Guide to the unknown

For years, I've usually worked whenever the local MCC Relief sale was taking place. I've heard about the wonderful pies and cookies and other delicious treats; the unique crafts and products available from Ten Thousand Villages there. This year, I finally made it.

And it's a good thing I did, too... I remember my mom having this book around a lot when I was younger, but she says she never actually owned it - she just borrowed it from the library a lot. I knew the second I saw it hidden on one of the tables that not only did I need it, I had to have it.

The sticker on the cover says $6. By the time we had reached the books, the prices had all been slashed in half.

I paid $3 for this book. Three dollars.

Do I think it was worth it?

Um, perhaps.

Yeah, I guess.

I have a small booklet outlining some of the same stitches that are in the one I picked up today, but not with the detailed instructions like the new one has.

I've been interested in learning new needlecrafts since I started doing more embroidery. Smocking is one of the techniques I've seen finished a thousand times; and it seems way easier than I thought. Like simple. I say that now, but wait until I actually try it and cry in frustration every five minutes.

 I really like the tips and tricks that are included for people like me, who have been clipping corners very badly for months now. A pin to keep from clipping the threads? Genius!

The book covers embroidery, needlepoint, knitting, appliqué, quilting, patchwork, macramé, crochet, rug-making and lacework; each section goes beyond just those, like the lace section...

Goes into tatting. Like smocking, tatting is one of those techniques I've seen and admired but never thought about how one would go about creating it. My mom apparently knows how to do tatting, something I never knew. Huh.

That's Maddy's hand, helpfully pointing something out. She likes my new book, too... she keeps crying whenever I take it away from her.

One of the things I'm most excited about in this book is the section on weaving. I know the basic weaving techniques - back and forth, over and under, etc, etc, etc - but I've never quite understood how different colours are introduced or how patterns are made. Now, apparently, I can find out.

I've been doing a lot of embroidery lately, and this book is going to hopefully help me expand on my stitch repertoire. I can see doing a sampler in the near future so I can at least try out the stitches and narrow down which ones are doable and which ones turn out looking like rat's nests.

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Just a reminder that all stock in my shop is still 15% off.  Be sure to check it out if you're looking for early holiday gifts.

Taking missteps

Things are... progressing. Slowly, but surely... I'm having issues finishing anything I've started, usually because I get lost halfway through. This week, I've learned the benefits of reading - and following - instructions, SLOWLY, as well as trying to keep myself from becoming too overwhelmed. Of course, both of those lessons went in one ear (eye?) and right out the other. Yee. Haw.

I've started half a dozen projects this week and I think I could theoretically put on in my store. That's not only a lot of wasted time, but a lot of wasted material. I figure that within the last week, I spent close to 20 hours working just on these projects - that's just the cutting and sewing, keep that in mind. And I've got one semi-reasonable piece to put in my store. Yikes. At this rate, I'm going to have a lot - A LOT - of 'flawed' pieces to give away to family and friends.

But I'm trying to stay positive by looking at different designs and procedures that might make my job - or my attempt at it - a bit easier. I'm not a professional seamstress by any stretch - I'm a recreational one, if anything. But I know my limits and don't want to start thinking I can do things that are well beyond my abilities (which usually results in... that's right, wasted time and materials). There's also that risk of boredom if I stick with doing one thing, over and over again.

Which is why I was quite happy to find two books in Chapters' online store that I could finally use the $30 gift card I got for Christmas on.

Bags of Inspriation and Carry Me were the two books I ended up choosing. There were hundreds of others I may have liked, but these two seemed to be the ones that would (a) help me come up with some new ideas and (b) teach me some new techniques in the easiest and simplest ways possible.

 A few of the projects in Carry Me.

I haven't had much of a chance to really go through either of them, but from the brief glimpses I've had, these books are going to help me a lot. There are some things that I'm just not interested in in both books, but for the most part, they both are definitely worth the price (and Carry Me includes the pattern pieces for each project in the back... big, BIG help).

For the time being, I'm going to keep plugging away at what I've started to branch out into this week - wallets (not just for carrying cards anymore!), laptop sleeves and brush/pen rolls. I wish that I had more time - or at least more consecutive time - to do my work. The start-stop work pattern that exists for me is very, very challenging and I'm finding that my to-do list is just getting pushed back every day. It's a daily battle - work on projects or attempt to get some business stuff done?

Sigh... maybe sleep is overrated...

Judging the book by it's cover

I like notebooks. Well, more journals than notebooks, but that's beside the point.  If you ask my sister, she'll tell you how much I like journals.

Too much.

I have a stash of notebooks in a plastic tub in our crawlspace for two reasons: 1) I don't have room up here to store 10-15 books like that; and 2) I refuse to use them.

I know I'm not the only person who buys beautiful and unique notebooks and doesn't do a thing with them. I've moved them, looked at them, put them on display... but won't write in them. They're just too... precious, for lack of a better term. I have a lot I could put in them, but nope... just can't do it.

At least until last year.  I have 3 Moleskine Plain Cahier Journals that I picked up on eBay 5 or 6 years ago. It wasn't until I started seriously thinking about what I was going to do as a business that I finally broke down and used one. It wasn't as painful as I thought it was going to be... in fact, it was kind of liberating.

Once I decided what I was going to do for a living (or attempt to do for a living), there was only one notebook I could use.

I can't remember when - or where - I picked this notebook up. The cover is a soothing tan suede that is a bit rough, but I like it. The wraparound tie has broken twice since it became the notebook, but it's still long enough to do up. It sits open well, the binding is almost perfect and it takes ink quite well. (I use a Pilot Hi-Techpoint V7 Grip most of the time - in blue and black; the rest of the time it's whatever ballpoint I can find.) I love this book and should I ever find another one (or 5), I will definitely be picking it up.

Right now, I've got the tan notebook and two of the three Moleskines in use. I try to always have a book in whatever bag I'm carrying, too, for jotting down notes or quick sketches. I'm still working on a system for keeping pens and pencils attached to the books, which I'm hoping ends up as something that is not only functional but marketable. There's also an idea that's been bouncing around for a few days for a mini-messenger bag that would be able to hold a notebook - or even a netbook - some pens and maybe a pocket (or two) for clips or sticky notes...

And they said I wasn't creative in high school... pfft. 

Setting the table

One of the things I want to use this blog to do is highlight 'finds' - blogs, collections, photo galleries, individual pieces of creativity - that I come across. I have an iPod Touch (16GB) that rarely leaves my side. I've also got a 13-month old who I'm quite fond of and like to spend a lot of time with, but - and I'm not ashamed to admit this - when Handy Manny's on, I tend to drift away and use my iPod to check email, Facebook and check my favourite sites.

So, in keeping with the plan to post links to things I 'find', here's the first - AIGA Design Archives. I've come across collections from AIGA quite a lot over the years (thank you, StumbleUpon), but this is the first time I've seen their design archives. Astounding to say the least. I used to be (am still?) a graphic designer, working mainly in newsprint, building ads. This collection - Print Ads of the Year - is, by far, my favourite, if only because it shows how advertising has evolved so much in 30 years. And I'm a sucker for text-heavy ads.

I'm also reading The Age of Persuasion, by Terry O'Reilly and Mike Tennant, the two men behind the CBC radio show of the same name. Keith got it for Christmas, but I stole it almost immediately and have been chipping away at it, page by page, for a month or so now. It's an interesting look at the world of advertising and how it affects our lives (and influences) on a day-to-day basis. Great pull-quotes and info boxes sprinkled throughout, too.

I'm not sure how frequently I'll be able to post new 'finds' or even post anything, but I'm aiming for at least once a day. But I am a habitual procrastinator with a 13-month old and attempting to get a business off the ground... or maybe this blog will be one of those ways I can take a mental break and help spread the word about some amazing designs and works. Guess we'll find out ;)