I can hardly believe it, but this little necklace made it to the Etsy Front Page last night as part of this treasury! Of course I missed it, but a fellow member of the treasury managed to track down an archive and sent it to me. Check it out! Much thanks to NoelFales who makes some really killer stuff!
I've been working on coming up with some more cohesive groups of work, and this is part of my new collection called "Flora"
I have been SO busy lately. I hope to share some of the fruits of those labors with you soon! Stay tuned for new work and some exciting news!
When I first started selling my jewelry I didn't really think it would ever be something that I did full time. Even after completing my degree, it took a while for the reality to sink in. Jewelry. It's what I do. Somehow in five years it just crept up and became an all-encompassing part of my life.
The problem with starting a business so loosely is that there comes a time when you need to take a major step in order to optimize your time and energy spent branding, marketing, creating, and networking. The difficulty comes when you're not sure what that step is. Because my business has grown so organically over the past 5 years, it's hard to decipher exactly what I need to do next. I'm too close to it.
A friend of mine is starting up a new business (Stellar Sunshine Hoops) and I have a blast troubleshooting and coming up with ideas for her, but I can't always do that for myself. I really miss being at that stage where every step was a big one.
I mentioned earlier this week that one major project I have going on is my new website. It's finally much more in line with how I've always envisioned it but the research and development of it has led me to wonder about my focus. Up until now I've been sort of "throwing mud at a wall". Spread my work around and see who likes it, what sticks. This year has been especially experimental because I have so many new events going on and a lot of them have been complete failures.
What it comes down to is this. I have to finally ask the question "who is my target audience?" Who do I have something to say to? Who's life can I improve? Who's questions can I answer?
I need your help!
Why do you read my blog (or tweets, or facebook updates)?
You can e-mail me your answers (robinmsills [@] gmail [.] com), or leave them in the comments. I'd really appreciate it if you'd take a minute to get back to me on this.
Looking back, Argentina has had a profound impact on me. Some lessons have been forgotten, but I am left with a profound need to go back with awareness I have now and see what new lessons await me!
Last year I made it my mission to knit every gift I gave for Christmas, and I succeeded (baaaaaarely). The only exception was the goodybag you see above which I sewed for my Aunt and filled with a pattern she wanted, some gorgeous Jitterbug, and a set of batching stitch markers that I made. I would have knit her something too, but she loves to knit as much as I do (and we knitters always like knitting goodies*)! Having set the bar so high last year, I feel like there's no way I can back down from the challenge this year! My list has been made (and way overly ambitious) since January, but I haven't gotten much done in the way of knitting yet.
I know that the Yarn Harlot has her own special friend who makes her knitting schedule for her every holiday season. I think I'm going to try! I'm sure you all think I'm crazy for thinking about these things now, but just you wait! Of course I'm not going to tell you what I'm planning, both so that it'll be a surprise for the giftees and so that when I fail miserably there isn't any proof, but let me just say that it involves sweaters (yes! plural!) and vests (also plural!) and fairy wings..and on and on. I know I might sound like I'm complaining but I swear I'm not. I LOVE giving handmade gifts, in fact I'll go out of my way to come up with an excuse to gift. Onward with the knitting!
How soon do you start planning for Christmas? Do you like to make your own? Is anyone willing to talk me off the ledge when I'm about to commit Christmas Eve Knitter Harikari with my double pointed #5's?
This is a very special Music Monday! It's my first post from home! That's right, the trip has ended and I am back in New York. I would say the adventure has ended, but I have begun so many new friendships and I have changed so much that I know that Argentina is not done with me.
This song is a special one. Shindell's music has always struck me but I feel a closeness with those songs he writes from his experiences in Argentina. On my last day in the city I was running errands and walking through my old neighborhood, remembering. I came to an intersection and found two young men juggling pins in front of traffic. They finished their routine and I was happy to see the number of hands reaching out of car windows to offer change. I smiled, remembering this song. Two blocks later I came across another juggler who seemed to just be learning. He finished his routine too late, and the light turned before he could pass his hat. It occurred to me that there is an art to what they do, beyond their talent. On my way home I took the Subte and to my delight my favorite group of street actors just happened to be in my car. I gave them a smile and one last token. They don't know how much they light up my day, how much people appreciate the relief and amusement that they offer to the city.
I am thrilled to be home, and there were times that I felt strong resentment towards Buenos Aires but I am finding that all I can remember are the good things. I'm grateful for this song as a moment to recall the city I called home for those short but powerful five months. Want more Music Monday? Click here!
I think Michael Franti says it all. I'm leaving really really early tomorrow. I'm so sad to say goodbye to my new friends, but excited to make new ones! Ceci and my Argentine "Banana FoFana" family threw me a "surprise" party (the surprise had to be aborted when I made plans to go out this evening! As for Banana FoFana, I'll explain that another time!). I'm putting (parts of) Michael's lyrics below so you can read through them. I'm not packed, and I'm leaving in about 7 hours. I'm sorry this is late!
This video was filmed in Ireland. Pay special attention to 0:09 - 0:13. That blue and yellow flag? Boca Juniors, baby! Argentine soccer...what what!
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I don't need a passport To walk on this earth, Anywhere I go cause I was made of this earth Im born of this earth, I breath of this earth, And even with the pain I believe in this earth, So I wake Up every mornin and Im steppin on the floor, I wake up every mornin and Im stepping out the door I got faith in the sky, Faith in the one, Faith in the people rockin underneath the sun Cause every bit of land is a holy land and Every drop of water is a holy water and Every single child is a son or a daughter of the one Earth mama and the one Earth papa, So Don't tell a man that he can't come here cause he got brown eyes and a wavy kind of hair, And Don't tell a woman that she can't go there because she prays a little different to a God up there You say you're a Christian Cause God made you You say you're a Muslim Cause god made you You say you're a Hindu and the next man a Jew Then we all kill each other Cause God told us to NAH!
In the interest of full disclosure I loved this song for a long time with no clue that this was Richard Thompson's song*. The first time I heard this song was with my family when we saw Jim Henry perform it on stage with Tracy Grammer. He does a really great job, and we enjoyed it thoroughly. He's damn good on that guitar, and Tracy is stellar on harmony. (The video is down below.) A few months later I was driving home in a snowstorm at 5 in the morning and this song came on the radio. (Gotta love WKZE, they play weird music all day long, but in the early hours of the morning they play really great music. I actually enjoyed my early early morning drives...) In any case, I had to pull the car over because I was moved to tears. Every time I hear Thompson sing this song I cry. It always starts out ith goosebumps and I think I'm going to get by without crying, but the final verse in his incredible voice never fails.
*I also have to admit that I grew up listening to Fairport Convention, but had no idea that Richard Thompson was part of the group until a few months ago. I'm a really horrible music fan. This new addition to my blog has been really good for me in that regard.
Mandy Greer is a Seattle, WA based sculptor who's recent works are about "making visceral transitory states of the human emotional experience tangible through the overabundance of crocheted, knitted and sewn fabric." I can't recall how I stumbled across her blog (though I suspect that Ravelry was involved) but I'm incredibly drawn to her work!
This gorgeous image is a part of her newest process-based installation piece, Mater Matrix Mother and Medium. In this work Greer invites the public to take part in the creation of a 200ft fiber river, incorporating recycled yarns and fabrics, as a way of celebrating the urban streams and creeks of Seattle. She writes, "I want to make a space for dialogue, allowing people to tap into their emotional memories of water and their desires and frustrations concerning our relationship to the environment. Our hands will be knotting together ideas as we ask ourselves 'what has happened to our sense of the sacred quality of water?'"
I didn't become aware of these two until after Dave had passed away, and that saddens me deeply. I was thrilled when I came across this video of them performing live, because I had never seen him play before! Dave and Tracy are another way that I have kept myself close to home while traveling. Their music is so rich and emotional that it moves me to tears at times. When I need to feel close to my family, this is the music I turn to. My younger brother covers a good number of Dave and Tracy's songs, and we have a great time singing them together as a family. This year I'll miss Tracy's performance at Falcon Ridge Folk Festival, and I'm hoping that my family will sing extra loud for me!
If you would like to hear more from Tracy she has some really great songs up on her MySpace page! I urge you to support her. I can't think of an album of theirs (or her's alone) that I don't recommend!
I have to add a bonus, because I can't only share one song! This is another family favorite. I didn't make this video, it was made by another Dave and Tracy fan. I think it's great!
Usually Memorial Day is a family holiday, a day off, a day to spend with the people I love. This year it's different because I'm far away, in another country, and I've been thinking. I've gotten a range of reactions from people when I tell them that I'm from the US. Most of the positive ones are from people who think NYC is a magical place, and they imagine that I live there and ride around in a limo and drink champagne with supermodels. Not so. Most often I get sort of an awkward "ohhh". You really reflect on your own country when you leave it behind, even if it's temporary, because you have to learn to navigate in your new environment, with new cultural norms and new social laws.
I've been robbed twice now (as I've written about) and my initial reaction is rage. Rage at a government for not employing adequate security in a HUGE city, rage at an economic structure that causes so many people to exist with so little. After fuming and storming for a while I realized what I really feel is rage at this society in which so few people extend a hand, or a smile, much less any help. Two weeks ago I started buying cookies and juice for a family of children that sits at the corner near my Subte stop. I've made friends with the business owners on my street, the man in the hardware store, the guys in the produce market, the Chinese family that owns the supermarket, the woman from Peru who sells fruit in the market on Estado de Israel. Once a week or so I visit the used book vendors near my Subte stop at school to have a chat and see what they've got. To get robbed after making these connections, after finally building a little community for myself, was almost enough to make me pull back completely. It has occurred to me over the last few days that if I do that I'll only be perpetuating the problem here. I can't fix the economy, I can't make the city hire more police, but I can show people that I care, that I am interested in their stories. I can show them that I am human, and they are human, and we are all human together. We all have stories, in that we are all the same.
It was difficult to find a song that was appropriate for today because I wasn't sure how I was feeling about the day. I'm not a political blogger, and I'm grateful for that. I hesitate to share political views because so often they shut down opportunities for conversation, rather than opening them. I'm still an idealist. I support our troops as human beings, and because they protect the rights that I have as a citizen of the United States. I do not support the global social and political mindset in which guns and bombs are necessary to secure our beliefs. I do not support the decision to bowl through other countries on the basis that we know what is good for them, without allowing them to search for their own new way of life. I believe in human connections, regardless of how we name it in our churches and temples. I believe we should bring our troops home because if we really, truly respected them as human beings we would not ask them to die for us without first trying to resolve our problems in a human, non-violent way. We are distinct in the animal kingdom because we alone have the ability to chose how we arrive at our future. I believe we should exercise that ability and speak, in memory of all who have given their one, single, irreplaceable life.
Yum! There is nothing like second day soup! My journey of cooking for myself is ongoing, and this was my adventure last night. I set out to make this Broccoli, Onion, Garbanzo Bean soup from my new favorite food blog Farmgirl Fare but it veered off path pretty quickly. To start with, despite having about eight fresh produce shops and five supermarkets within three blocks of my house, no one had broccoli worth feeding to a chicken, if they had it at all! I subbed in some carrots instead.
I ended up using: 2 huge carrots 3 small yellow onions 4 medium cloves of garlic 1 can of garbanzos, rinsed 2 cans of water with three SA sized chicken bullion cubes (that means tiny, by the way) 1/4 tsp cayenne Salt and pepper 1/8th cup of cream
I cooked the onions and carrots in olive oil for a bit, added the garlic, then added the garbanzos, cayenne, water and bullion cubes, simmered for about 20 minutes, added salt and pepper and blasted it with the immersion blender (which I officially cannot live without.) I added the cream later when it had cooled a bit. I couldn't resist eating some last night when I finished making it, but most of it went in the fridge, and I just ate some now! I am really proud of myself. I've definitely had some failures in the past couple of months (and choked them down so as not to waste food) but this one I would actually feed to other people! Yay! It's simple and cheap and SO good. I garnished it with some Finlandia (it's like a really, really light cream cheese) diced red peppers, and tarragon.
Next time I'm going to add spinach to get some more iron in it, and roasted red peppers because they are delicious. Also, a little less cream.
Pattern: Toasty by Leslie Friend Size: CO 26st Materials: 60-70 yds Yanabey Lana Mecha Needles: #8, 5.0mm Start Date: May 9, 2009 Finish Date: May 15, 2009 On Ravelry
This is one of the simplest patterns ever, but it's effective! My hands have been freezing because my desk is right under a really drafty window, and the wind blows right in on me while I'm using my computer. I'm using this same yarn for my Quick 'n Dirty socks, and for those I'm using a size 9 needle. I may even go up to a 10 next time I use it. These mitts are really dense. They keep me warm, that's for sure!
I chose this color because our Project Spectrum color for these two months is yellow, and it reminded me of the deep gold color often worn by Zen Buddhist monks. I figure that reaction made it perfect for our direction!
Where have I been? Under a rock? How could I have possible missed this woman and her work!? I came across her on Cubist Literature!'s Flickr page and from there found SandraBacklund.com which you should ALL check out because it's fantastic! Her current collection is beautifully feminine, but has a strange floral/insect/sci-fi vibe to it.
I find it incredibly compelling both visually and technically. Each piece has its own structure and design that is completely unique to her work. I think that they are compelling images for any person, regardless of their level of fiber-obsession. (Who, me?) Personally I find that they lead my mind towards some sort of tribal armor, but not to the point that they're kitschy or obvious, just refreshing and powerful.
"My work is very personal to me. I improvise and allow myself to lose control and see what happens if I do not think so much about practical things." -Sandra Backlund
I made my flatmate laugh today...in Spanish. Through her I am beginning to find faith. Faith in the power of human connections that erase all barriers of language and culture and make all things possible for those who are willing to open their hearts and minds.
Since the first day I saw this pattern I KNEW I had to knit it. At least once.
It was originally part of the Christmas plan, but it was set aside for more immediate gifts. Instead it will be a gift for my homestay in Argentina (oh yes, we still need to discuss this, don't we?)
Jared Flood's Hemlock Ring is simply irresistible. Just look at the numbers! 2218?! Baaah. I'm proud to follow the flock on this one. It has been a joy to knit, so much in fact that when I cast on Christmas night (after 3 months of Christmas knitting, I was so excited to do something that wasn't on a list) I knit the first two thirds of it in about a week, which wreaked havoc on my right arm. I'm finally picking it back up again and slowly working my way through the last 9 rounds (440+ stitches a piece) and then I'll have to block it. I've never blocked something like this, so it'll definitely be a learning experience!
Every morning my classmates and I recited this verse, all through middle school. Every once in a while it comes up, and each time I come across it I am struck by the sense of purpose and connectedness I feel. A childhood friend of mine just recently returned from Cambodia and he wrote a piece for my school's newsletter about finally feeling the full purpose of these words. Thus they come into my life again and I am filled with a lightness and bubbling excitement that comes from feeling that all things are possible.
I look into the world In which the sun is shining, In which the stars are sparkling, In which the stones repose. Where living plants are growing, Where sentient beasts are living, Where man, soul gifted, Gives the spirit a dwelling place .
I look into my soul That lives within my being. The world creator moves, In sunlight and in soul light, In wide world space without, In soul depths here within. To thee, creator spirit I will now turn my heart, To ask that strength and blessing, To learn and work may grow, Within my inmost being.
I'm thoroughly infatuated with my Sociological and Philosophical Foundations of Education class (even if it is a mouthful). My professor is an exceptional guide, but I think also that as a whole my class is great! Our discussions are inquisitive, thoughtful and intense, and my professor is great about fielding our hard-to-answer questions, making clear distinctions between the times when what she says is fact, and when she's simply participating in the sharing of opinions. At this point in the semester we're exploring the struggle of racism and segregation in education. I absolutely LOVE that there is no right answer. I find myself mulling over possibilities, realities, actions and repercussions even outside of class, as I'm falling asleep or eating lunch. I love having the ground yanked out from under me in this way, forcing me to abandon opinions because there's simply no way to pin one down!
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