Granny square happiness!

One day I decided to learn how to make a granny square. Well, I should say relearn, because I made a Christmas granny square throw for my great-grandma when I was about 10 years old. She displayed it on her living room hassock every December, and her praise for my work made me feel so special.

Fast forward 30 years, and here I am, getting back to my crafty roots. After a few months of following patterns and watching online tutorials, I decided to design my own granny square bag. I started with this:

Inspired, I grabbed some complementary colors and got to work!

Before I knew it, I had all of these. I had to find a way to put them together, so I threaded my neutral-colored yarn into an embroidery needle and used what I hoped was a basting stitch to turn a pile of little squares into the front of a bag.

With the front and back sewn together, I realized that I needed some sides. What to do? I finally went with a double crochet to make two long panels.

Then I attached the sides...

And realized I needed a bottom! Quickly I double crocheted a brown bottom and sewed it in! I discovered that creating a three-dimensional bag requires a fair amount of geometry, a weak subject for me. But somehow I managed, and the math worked!

Wow! A little more work, and I ended up with this:

I also made straps with long strips of double crochet panels much like the side panels. I encountered some problems with these, so I won't be sharing the final pics here.

There it is. My first design! I am thrilled beyond belief! My first success so inspired me that I have been designing and creating every day. I never realized how much joy and calm there is in crocheting and making something new.

Achieving the IMPOSSIBLE! I found the Impossible Project space in NYC!

You remember those old, yellow-y Polaroid photos from your childhood, don't you? The quality was sometimes terrible, never really good? But back in the 70s, they gave us instant gratification. What a thrill! Now we have digital, so who cares about Polaroids, right? Wrong. As any self-respecting hipster will tell you, instant is where it's at.

When Jesse and I planned our week-long trip to Manhattan in February, I put two must-see locations on my list: The Lomography Store in Greenwich Village and the Impossible Project Space in Soho. You may remember my previous Lomo blog, in which I gushed about the awesomeness of a WHOLE STORE devoted to analogue photography. I also broke my Diana Mini camera that day. Sort of sadly poetic, don't you think? One freezing, windy afternoon, I decided to track down the elusive Impossible Project, so hidden in Soho that it almost dares you to find it. (Clearly, they are going for that hipster vibe.) Well, I found it, and it was really something:

I climbed five looong flights of old, creaky stairs...

And found myself in instant lomo heaven!

I was amazed to see so many old cameras, once believed to be obsolete, in various stages of rebirth.

I spotted this beauty pointed out the window. I am not sure, but I suspect this may be for shooting 8x10 Polaroid film, a new, expensive release from the Impossible Project:

Naturally, I decided to peer out the windows to see the five-story view:

I found a beautiful example of my Spectra Camera, too! Of course, I paid $2.50 for mine, mint in the box, at an antique shop. Spoiler: I just shot some expired Spectra Image film last weekend, so watch this blog for the glorious, low-res results!

I was excited to see the new Polaroid films available to bring my thrift-store cameras to life, although the prices were a bit shocking.

It was really something to see a beautiful, bright space dedicated to reviving the lost art of Polaroid photography. Was it ever really an art, or is that just wishful thinking? At any rate, it inspired me to explore the possibilities of instant photography. Who knows what could happen?

Stay tuned for more instant beauty, courtesy of my awesome budget camera finds!

I opened my very own store on Etsy.com! For the past few months, I have been living my New Year's Resolution to create something new every day. For the first year ever, I have kept my resolution, and I am a much better person for it. I have a lot of exciting hobbies and experiments and plans going all at once, and I couldn't be happier!

As I mentioned back in December, I decided to relearn crocheting so I could express my creative side in a new way. I can't believe what I have learned and accomplished in just a few short months! I have been making amigurumi creatures, flowers, handbags, hats and more, and with each project I learn something new. I am so excited to catch up on this blog and share my adventures, but I am SO BUSY I can't find the time! (First World problems, right?)

For now, please visit my Etsy store and consider buying one of my precious new creations!

I am having a great life, and I hope you are, too!

Visiting the Lomography Store in NYC!

When I found out that we would be spending a week in New York City in February, I made a list of must-see spots around the city. The Lomography Gallery Store in Greenwich Village was at the top of my list, so we hit it on our first night.

I am a fan of what I like to call crap photography. I don't mean this in a derogatory way because I appreciate the art behind Lomography. I joke about the quality, but in truth I really love how Lomography film cameras encourage me to be creative. To say I was excited to visit the store is an understatement. I was like a kid in a candy shop! First stop was the Diana F+ display, where I drooled over the awesome little 120 film wonders.

I decided it would be fun to take pictures of the Diana mini display with my own Diana mini. Perhaps fortuitously, I managed to jam the film in my little Diana. The super nice counter guy unjammed my camera and sent my film to the LomoLab to be developed. The next day, I had a CD full of analog images! (More on that in a future post.)

The Lomography Gallery Store is more like a museum than a shop. Well, it is a museum that encourages you to pick things up and play. I touched almost every camera and accessory on the sales floor. It was lomo heaven!

Naturally, I couldn't leave without a new camera. I was happy to grab the Diana Baby 110, the tiniest of all the Lomography cameras! I also grabbed two 110 film cartridges to do some outside photo shooting in Soho!

I spent hours in Soho and the Financial District today, shooting 35mm and 110 film like I did when I was a kid. I can't wait to see the results!

My first trip to a real yarn shop!

My transformation into yarn addict is complete. I visited our local yarn shop, Stitch Your Art Out. It was absolute yarn eye candy. Everywhere. I could have died.

There's the sign! It seemed to beckon us inside, where we could browse the yarn in the warm cozy interior, sheltered from the bitter winter cold.

If my Pinterest adventures have taught me anything, it is that you aren't truly initiated until you've touched craft store yarns. My goal was to hold the legendary Noro in my hands. And I did. And it was GOOD.

There was more! Walls of yarn, as far as the eye could see! My daughter was so inspired she ran around taking pictures, going on and on about the things she would make (once she actually mastered crocheting, which is an ongoing struggle).

After much deliberation, I finally settled on 4 skeins of yarn - two of the planned Noro and two skeins of something I'd never heard of - Berroco Comfort Yarn. I was pleasantly surprised by its soft, smooth texture and gorgeous, vibrant colors. Now to start on my new project, these adorable owls! I thought these little guys would be a great way to stretch my fancy new yarns. I can't wait to see how they turn out!

With an important work deadline behind me, I have a few days to focus on creating pretty things. You just watch me run!

I made this hat, and I can't believe it!

For the first time I can remember, I am actually keeping my New Year's resolution. It is easy to do when you choose something you believe in. I promised to create something new every day of the new year. Over the past few weeks I have written, learned to sew, studied crochet tutorials, and curated quite a few Pinterest boards. I have organized a Thirty-One fundraiser to support a friend's effort to get a service dog for his daughter with autism. And I made a hat. And actual HAT.

There it is! I chose this pattern for a few important reasons:

The pattern was easy to understand

The pattern was accompanied by a video tutorial to help me understand the pattern shorthand that has always stymied me.

The project helps me learn

This project required the use of stitch markers to keep track of the round crocheting that has often troubled me. It incorporates a new stitch, the Front Post Back Post Double Crochet, and starts with the Magic Circle, an alternate way of starting crocheting in the round.

I get to create something I can use

I have always wanted a slouch hat and, since moving to a town with very cold winters, I needed a new hat to keep my head warm while walking around town.

I absolutely LOVE the pattern I used! I found a very helpful tutorial video created by crochet maven April Draven. She offers this pattern for free here, on her blog.

And the best part? It took me a few hours over two days, and I ended up with something I really, really love! These pictures, taken with my phone, don't do it justice, so hopefully I will soon be able to replace these with pics from my DSLR.

Oh, and this is meant to be a slouch hat, not a Dr. Seuss hat. I didn't have the nerve to model it for my blog, so more pics will have to wait for a better hair day.

Tomorrow I plan to share my progress making my first ever crocheted bag!

Happiness is making goals...and ACHIEVING Them!

I decided to let the new year inspire me in 2013. After all, I've made so many positive changes over the past year and a half, and I am very proud of what I've accomplished in my personal life. At the dawn of 2012 I didn't have any goals except to be happy. As often happens, my most important accomplishments arose from challenges. As life - and the people in my life - threw obstacles in my path, I was forced to summon the nerve to make tough choices and stand up for my family. It was difficult and painful at times, but the people I love held me up when I faltered. And here I am, beginning 2013 with the big obstacles behind me and the opportunity to design my future in front of me.

My year-long resolution for 2013 involves creating something new every day of the year. I will continue to redefine what it means to create as I learn and grow, and I am over the moon with excitement about my plan. This morning, as I pinned inspiration for my creative journey, I decided to take this one step further. After all, why should I have all the fun?

Enter Daughter. She thrives when she is organized and has a plan, so I decided to give her a New Year's assignment to inspire her creativity in 2013. Her instructions:

1) Make a list of 5 BIG THINGS she wants to accomplish in 2013.

2) Make a list of 3 things she wants to do in the month of January.

3) Make a list of new things she will need to learn to complete numbers one and two.

She is soooo excited! She grabbed her clipboard and has been writing furiously for the past hour. I can't wait to see what she comes up with!

So it looks like my precious daughter will be taking this journey with me! I am thrilled to travel this path with her, because everything is better when you share it with your kids!