Making Stuff

I just went downstairs to throw a load of laundry in the washing machine, and the next thing I know, I am in my studio with an armload of Christmas craft books to bring upstairs.  I unloaded them on to the table upstairs  - the one already covered with boxes of beads with the intent to finish up the projects I started working on last night.  That’s when it hit me. 

I have an extreme case of the WIPs. (I once thought to be an affliction only reserved for knitting.) 

The early signs:  It started innocently enough.  Working on a project and the need to go to the store for an additional skein of yarn, and then see all the other yarns on display.  Touch one skein.  And then another.  The colours draw me in; the texture of the yarn has my mind spinning with ideas.  (heh.  Spinning.  See what I did there?)  Before I can stop myself, I grab a basket while calculating the number of skeins needed for a sweater using size 8 needles.  “I can make this after I finish the other project,” I say to myself as I leave the store totally forgetting about the yarn needed to finish Project 1.  So when I get home and realize this, I just start on Project 2.

Then there are the warning signs: The WIPs are not only knitting-related.  There are beading projects, quilting, altered books (yes, plural), sewing (that jacket that the dress form has been ‘wearing’ for over a year), stained glass, silk floral designs, and the holiday projects that didn’t see it to completion last winter….The list goes on.  And on.

My Triggers for WIP Onset:  Any craft-related store will most likely instigate the next WIP.  The constant flow of coupons arriving in the mail; the need for that “one essential item” to finish a project necessitating a trip to the store; photographs, magazine articles and the internet that spark an idea (or 20); touching ANY craft-related item; and in severe cases, even while asleep I will dream about something that needs to be made. Anything can be a trigger for the next onslaught of WIPs.

So what am I going to do this weekend?  Finish some of those WIPs.  Knowing that in the process, I will make more. 

And I am ok with that.

Yesterday was frustrating.  My attempts at working with acrylic paint were disturbing dismal depressing not so good.  I have to give myself credit for making numerous attempts though.  I sketched for hours and used crayons to design a stained glass piece for the bathroom window.  Unfortunately, the crayons were no where near the colours of the glass that I intend to use (eventually).  So I broke out the brand new tubes of acrylic paint and decided to give it a go.  Yuck.  (rhymes with ‘suck’, which apparently describes my artistic ability when it comes to painting.  Unless it’s priming sheetrock or painting walls.)  Ended up making a cocktail (A is for Alcohol) and called it a night.

This morning I decided to go through my arsenal of craft books (yes, I have a lot) and go through the index of the general technique books to come up with a project that begins with “A”.  Applique?  nah.  Afghan?  Gave that one some consideration; went through the yarn stockpile; and decided it would take too long and I am not that fond of afghans anyway.  Some of my books from the 70s had Aprons.  Whoo boy.  Throw-back project.  Nope. 

Back to the computer and did a Google search for an alphabetical listing of craft techniques.  0_o  What do we have here?  Altered Books?  Hmmmm.  Never did that before.  Looks intriguing.  Checked a few websites on the how-to techniques and I think this may be IT! 

I just went to a library book sale a few weeks ago where on the last day, all books are free.  I picked up a copy of The Frugal Gourmet, since the copy I have been using for years is tattered and has stuff slopped on a lot of the pages.  It has nice clip art; it’s a hardcover; the topic of cooking is very close to my heart (and stomach); and the binding is sewn, which seems to be preferred for altering.  After looking at my old copy, I didn’t have the heart to rip it up and alter it.  It has notes and history, so I decided to use the new, free copy. 

So I am going to try this for my project.  Need to do the prep work and rip out some chunks of the book, then figure out what I want to do with it.  From the how-to instructions, I need to use gesso to give substance to some of the pages.  Here’s a first - a self-proclaimed craft supply hoarder with NO GESSO!  So before I start working on altering the book, I need to go to the craft store and get some.

Here’s hoping I will have better luck this time with “A”.

I have not had my creative mojo for a while, and today I thought I would try something to nudge force myself back into being creative again.  Usually, once I start a project, I get my mojo back.  It’s the starting part that I am stuck on.  So here’s what I came up with:

Alphabetical Craft Challenge

Each week, starting with the letter “A” and moving through the alphabet, I am going to either use something that begins with that letter (“acrylics” for example) or something that begins with that letter. (such as “abstract painting”).

I enjoy a lot of different crafts, so I will be all over the place.  Anybody else want to join me? 

Today is a good day to start!  I have a full-size freezer (EnergyStar that I got a discount on since it had a dent on the side) in my basement that needed to be defrosted & cleaned before the summer.  [summer = garden harvest and stuffing the freezer with goodies for the winter].  I have been using a lot of what was in there lately, and yesterday I unloaded the remaining food into the kitchen freezer/refrigerator.  I will wipe out the freezer with a mild bleach and warm water solution later today, but for now, it is off; defrosted; and the door is open.  I won’t turn it on again until I am ready to put food back into it -maybe in two weeks or more. 

I am going to work with what I have now - in the kitchen side-by-side freezer & refrigerator and what’s in the pantry.  Milk will be all that I buy in the next few weeks - unless I see an awesome deal that I can’t pass up.  I do this once a year to use up what I have; defrost the freezer; save some cash by not buying groceries; and to work on being a little bit more creative when I cook.

The first thing I thawed out was an 8 lb. whole chicken that I got on sale a month ago.  I stuffed and roasted it yesterday morning because my friend was coming to visit for the day.  I had a little bit of Pepperidge Farm stuffing in the freezer (I keep that, bread crumbs and all flours in the freezer), and added the last slice of bread that was leftover.  I dice celery and onions; toss in a few raisins; add those to the water and butter; and microwave before adding the dry stuffing.  We had chicken sandwiches for lunch.  For dessert, there was apple pie that I made and froze last month, so that was baked for about 20 minutes before serving - tasted like I just made it.  For coffee later, there was banana bread made that morning with 3 bananas that I had peeled and froze a few weeks ago.  Instead of adding the 1/2 cups of walnuts to the recipe, I substitute with 1/2 cup of wheat germ.  (I don’t like nuts, so this is my usual substitution.  And the wheat germ is kept refrigerated.)

Today, I finished carving the chicken; made gravy; and now I am making chicken stock with the carcass.  Instead of the normal mashed potatoes, I am going to have egg noodles with the chicken, stuffing and gravy for dinner.  [I am ‘saving’ the potatoes that are in the fridge to make potato salad next week.]  I have a ton of carrots in the fridge, so I will cook a lot of those tonight when I make dinner.  What is left of the chicken, stuffing, noodles, gravy & carrots after dinner tonight will get packed in containers for lunch or dinner for this week and into the soup pot.

Another lunch or two will be macaroni and tuna salad that I made yesterday morning.  There were a few dill pickles left in a jar in the fridge, so I diced those up and added them to the mac & tuna salad.  (That was an experiment that turned out well!)

I also thawed out three boneless porkchops.  I am going to stretch those by making sweet & sour pork served over rice - maybe tomorrow night or later today.  In the pantry, there is a can of bean sprouts and a can of baby corn that can get tossed in.  Also to be added: frozed diced green peppers, onion and some of those darn carrots I stocked up on!