My Year in Projects

I think I may have writer’s block. I got discouraged by some unsolicited feedback over the summer, and I am really struggling to shrug it off. I know that is part of it. Being in grad school and writing papers that take a lot of time but don’t leave much scope for creativity doesn’t help, either. But it is bugging me that the comments I got about my writing are still bugging me, four + months later. I am 47 years old. Why do I still allow other people to control the way I see myself? When will I finally grow some tougher skin that can rebuff the shit that will inevitably come my way? When I’m 50?

Seems like some good questions that I could explore in a blog post. Of course, that I would mean I have to actually sit down and write. That could possibly help me carve a little chunk out of that writer’s block that is obstructing my path, and that could be nice. Maybe in January.

Today I just want to share a few photos of the projects I finished this year. Starting with this baby blanket I made for my great niece who was born in the spring, who is the freaking cutest!

I love this pattern by Nicola Taylor because it is reversible without being boring. I used Malabrigio Rios, but I can’t remember what shade. Maybe Aries? Or maybe I just think that because my baby niece is an Aries? I don’t know; I’m old. Old enough to be a great aunt, anyway!

Next, my hubby and stepson helped me make some quail yard sculptures. I thought they would have fun if we only made a few and they didn’t have a chance to get bored, but they had so much fun that we made four adults and nine babies.

We formed them out of paper and masking tape and then covered them with calico clay.

Once they were formed we poked holes for eyes so that the air could circulate through in the bisque firing. The paper burned away in the kiln and left just the clay.

We glazed them in the summer and then put them in the yard. I want to get a photo of them with our live quail poking around next to them, but I haven’t managed it yet. The live quail scare too easily.

In my last post I mentioned that I wanted to make a large jar to hold my kitchen utensils. I made that happen with the help of many yoga classes and pushups. I started with 15 lbs to clay, the most I have ever centered.

Even after it shrunk in the firing, it still holds all my spoons and whisks. It is so fun to make something and then use it on a daily basis. One of my studio mates told me she made dinnerware that she uses all the time. I’m considering making that a new project goal.

I did make these bowls that we have been using since soup weather arrived. I’m thinking about making some matching plates.

Last year, I went to Boston for the first time. I bought a pair of earrings shaped like teacups at the Boston Tea Party Museum. I thought they were adorable and I wanted to see if I could replicate them with mugs. I made two pairs of miniature mugs to tests the idea. They turned out okay… I don’t love them but I did a slapdash job. I wasn’t sure if I could make something that small. I know now that I can, so next time I’ll make them a little nicer and glaze them more carefully.

Finally, I made this pair of socks. I find that knitting anything that isn’t a rectangular or square shape is a challenge, so making socks was a stretch for my skills.

I got the pattern from Annie’s Kit Clubs. The yarn is Knit Picks Hawthorne Multi Fingering Weight Sock Yarn, and the color is Hayden.

I am a dozen stitches away from being done. But I’ve forgotten how to do the Kitchener stitch since I finished the first sock. So I am atleast one YouTube video and a dozen stitches away from completing them.

There are two weeks left in the year. Totally doable. I think.