Happy Inauguration Day!

I've got my chocolate-chip Obama pancakes, and I'm ready for a great speech and lots of pomp and circumstance!  Yay Obama!

***Edit!  After the event!***

SWOOON!  C'mon, you guys know you cried, too!  I lost it when Obama was coming onstage flanked by two women.  Swooooooon...  

Other Highlights:

Aretha Franklin's Hat!  Also, her singing, clearly.

Biden OFFICIALLY dethroning Cheney.  

Obama stumbling over the oath!  I had goosebumps, I can't even imagine Obama's nerves!   

Oh yeah, and NPR trying to convince us that the "overwhelming" amount of purple clothing in the crowd was a symbol of unity and bipartisanship.  (Get it?  Red AND blue??  Nice try, guys.)

Happy happy day!   I hope everyone gets to celebrate in their own special way!

Fun-A-Day: Halfway there!

Philadelphia loves Fun-a-day! Fun-a-day is a project sponsored by Philadelphia a collective, ArtClash, wherein anyone who is interested does something everyday for the whole month of January. Then, in the beginning of February, everyone brings their work, or documentation of their daily action, to a gallery and the show hangs for the rest of the month. Past fun-a-day projects have included things like: Piggy-back a day! My roommate Sarah got a piggy-back from a different person every day, or Mend Something Every Day! Apparently, the item mended was then drawn on adorable animals for the show installation. Amazing!

I was totally excited to engage in this project, but I completely forgot about it until the 1st of January, so instead of being able to organize some of my more elaborate fun-a-days (like: face a phobia every day... anyone got a pet spider I could, uhm, face?), I decided to go with something I've been thinking about for about a year; ever since my Baltimorean friends and I did animal combination drawings the summer before last.

Animal Combinations! Add a new animal every day! I started with a panda and have been selecting a new animal to add into the mix every morning. They're getting pretty... uhm... sci-fi? (Doesn't hurt that I've been watching the X-Files while drawing...)

Drawn on the 8th of January, this "Octospectahorned wandamanerookat" is the combination of panda, walrus, salamander, meerkat, spectacled bear, octopus, kangaroo and big horned sheep.

Gah! We'll see how the 30+ animal combo comes out... Halfway there! I can't believe we're already halfway through January...

2009: It's Gonna Be Fine

I. 2008: a year in review

Here's the list of goals/resolutions I made this time last year:

Ok, let's take stock: 1. No! I read, like, 34! Terrible... but I did manage to watch all 7 seasons of Buffy the Vampire Slayer. Oh, and I've been doing a lot of reading for the feminist discussion group that didn't make the list because they were only portions... 2. yes, no, and uhm... I knit one sock on two pairs of socks... does that count? 3. Nope. 4. Good god no! less financially independant than ever. 5. eh... I think it was bad for both them and me this year. 6. I got a driving tour of Providence the week before new years! "And the Requisites...": nope, yup, nope, no way, eh..., eeh gawd no, uhmm... no?, no how, absolutely not, and ... maybe? Who knows.

I did, despite what the resounding number of "no's" up there might suggest, get a few things done that weren't even on the list: I got my website up, I got my Etsy account up, I showed work in a number of shows, etc. All of which I feel great about!

SO! That, in the smallest of nutshells, was 2008. Onward and Upward!

II. Happy Blogiversary!

My blog is one year old this month! (They grow so fast...) So, 41 posts later, I'm still here- going strong. Yay continuity! I demand birthday presents and cards from all.

III. 2009: it's gonna be fine...

This year I'm going to try to chill out. (Not doing so well so far, I know...) My new mantra is "it's gonna be fine." Stuck in Northampton for new years when you're supposed to be at Make Yr Break in Philly? It's gonna be fine. Internet hasn't worked for 5 days and the verizon people are driving you up a freaking wall? Really, it's gonna be fine. EMS threatening to turn your ambulance bill over to a collection agency? No, seriously, it's gonna be fine.

Therefore, in the spirit of a general chilling out I'm not making any concrete resolutions in the hope that, for an entire year, I can refrain from Keeping Score. It's not about your score... it's about how much fun your having, right? Kind of a whole... redefinition of success. I mean, there are definitely things that I want to do... things to make, places to go, money to apply for... but I'm just going to dive in and keep trudging through instead of only getting things done because they're things I think I'm "supposed" to get done. We'll see how that all goes and if there is any shift in my general state of uptighted-ness.

Happy 2009, everyone!

Handmade Holiday!

I made a ton of stuff for holiday presents this year.  And, because of the depression, for once it didn't look cheap!  It looked thoughtful and resourceful!  Which is how I'VE thought about it for years, but... y'know.  Anyway,  here's what I made!

Stocking for my roommate, Raph!  She said she wanted something "christmassy, but purple.  And with reindeer."  Eh?  I did the best I could.

Bird ornaments!  I made 4 of these little friends:  one for each of my sibling's families, one for my parents and one for my friend Q!  Each one had the year embroidered on the side.  I got the pattern off of Spool's blog (www.spoolsewing.com/blog)  Downfall?  My dad says that now he expects a new ornament every year.  Gah! 

Turtles for the Babies!  I have 2 nephews under 3 years old, so I usually make them matching gifts.  Last year I made the mistake of making them hats.  Even though the hats were these SUPER ADORABLE valkyrie helmets (complete with bobble-spikes and horns) it turns out that babies just don't like wearing hats.  So, this year:  stuffed animals.  You have no excuse now, babies.  Love those turtles.  Love 'em.  Aren't they cute?  Their shells are like sweaters and come off for easy cleaning!

It turns out that my eldest nephew (who turns 7 today!) is a crazy knitter, as you will read in an upcoming blog entry (if blogger will ever load my photos.)  Anyway, I made him a case for his needles!  The "E" is for Eric!

There are 2 levels of pockets, one at 2" wide and one at 4".  And there's a zip pocket for little knitting accessories!  I stuffed it full of goodies:  a pair of travel scissors, some needle stoppers, tapestry needles, and a pair of circular needles ("the only thing" he wanted for Christmas.  Besides a goldfish.  Clearly.)

And then there were the projects that I didn't actually finish by my Christmas morning deadline.  I (almost) knit my mother a pair of socks!  I finished one, and included the second, half done, needles and all, in the package.  I'll post pics when they're done.  I've also still got to finish cotton arm warmers for Melanie!  Again... photos to come with.. y'know.. the knitting of the arm-warmers.

Oh yeah.  And then I made all of this crap to sell:

Whew!  Anyway, that's why I've been a little MIA lately.  But I'm back!  Come and play with me now!  Hope everyone else had a great holiday season and a fantastic new year!