Saturday, November 01, 2008

Allison's Search For Meaning

Check out those SWEET Descendents Vans! They're old enough now I can wear them to river banks and other muddy spots. You know you're jealous.

I have decided to put Squaresville on sabbatical for the next year or so. The constant craft fairs and sewing and fabric overload have killed my love of pot holders and oven mitts....for now.
So, hop on over to my Etsy shop and pick up some early holiday presents. All oven mitts, pot holder sets and grocery bags are just $10.00. The initial pot holders are $5! And, I still have a ton of items to photograph and upload!
These new prices will be in effect at the Rock and Roll Craft Show and at the Green Living Expo in December. I will be making some obligatory holiday-themed goodies, but not too many. Actually, right now, "holiday" looks like "Christmas", as I haven't found any tasteful Hanukah prints....yet....

I'm strangely relieved to be sabbatical-ing Squaresville. I don't want to look at my heavy-ass craft fair tent for quite a while.
What will I be doing instead?

1. Culling and culling and culling my fabric hoard.

2. Making some clothes for myself. This means cutting into the precious red-with-silver-flecks wool and the wonderful vintage green-on-cream nubby plaid wool. Shrunken blazers, ahoy!
Also, the emerald green bathrobe my brother bought me in Saudi Arabia will be repurposed, as I don't wear a bathrobe. If my hoosier neighbors happen to catch a glimpse of my lovely lady lumps, too bad. I doubt they will, though. The blind in their window has been crooked for MONTHS and they never open the curtain. They haven't mowed their yard since August and a phone book has been laying on their stoop since phone books were delivered this year.

3. Finish t-shirt quilt.

4. Quilt Chinese Coins quilt and Maple Leaf quilt.

5. Make wonderful things for my friends and their babies. Oh yeah, Miss Olive, I've got something planned for you :)

6. Paint our porch. Paint Laurene's porch.

7. Experiment with tea towels, bunting and boxer shorts.

8. Rip out all the overgrown garden and start prepping next year's corn patch.

9. Knit?

10. I don't know.

Today was a weird First Day of Not Sewing. I went to the wake and funeral of one of my last year's students. He was 14 and died from leukemia. It was very sad, but gave me closure after a godawful week of parent-teacher conferences until 8 pm on Monday and Wednesday combined with trying not to cry during class. It was a nice ceremony, if not a little...culturally different. Lots of testifying and hallelujahs.
When I came home, I messed around in the garden, did laundry and took a nap. Now? I'm about to Google "Repairing chipped china", since I nicked one of my dear Blue Dandelion plates. Damn, damn, damn! Any ideas?

6 comments:

Anonymous said...

I've got a porch that needs painting, too! Or, you know, you could just come sit on it and drink beer and knit.

So sorry about the former student. There is nothing sadder.

Elizabeth Frick said...

1. I am honored to have you potentially making something for Olive! So curious... and did I mention honored?
2. I am so very sorry about the student you lost this week. That's so stressful as both a person and a teacher. (Not that teachers aren't people. You know what I mean)
3. I am extremely excited for your sabbatical. I hope it refreshes you!!! And won't it be fun to sew for yourself?! Go Allison!!!

Unknown said...

Oh, Allison, I'm sorry about the student.

And a sabbatical! Just watch it -- it's hard to get back into the groove. :)

Anonymous said...

Sooo...are you sabbaticalizing the blog too?

Knitting is awesome. It's my work avoidance methodology. I'd be knitting right now except that reading blogs is another form of work avoidance. I'm putting together my teaching portfolio, writing up lesson plans in a formal, kinda nutty, university format, plus my cooperating teacher is making me WORK on finding my artistic VOICE! Pleh!

Lotta work to avoid. So I should have a whole store full of knit hats here soon.

Allison said...

1. Mmmm...beer and knitting....if I remember how to knit, that is.

2. Finding your creative voice? Who wants to do that??

3. My work avoidance is poking around in the garden, which will come to a screeching halt in a few months :) Until then, there's grasshoppers to observe, a leaf bin to fill up, and enriching my future corn patch.

4. Thanks for your condolences. Michael was an awesome kid, even though I did see a lot of his underwear, as he was a frequent "sagger". I'm just glad he's not in pain anymore and that the hospital bills won't keep going up. Wouldn't it be great to live in a country where children's medical care is free or reduced?

5. Stay curious, E...I will tell you it isn't a quilt. That would be too obvious :)

Anonymous said...

i feel your sabbatical glory. after rock n roll, i'm right there with ya. as long as you keep blogging, all will be right in my eyes.