Words + Projects + Stuff I Like
I mean…
The Olympics were a bright spot until they weren’t. The men’s hockey team can rot in hell.
Time to get my crystals:
Better yet, time to find something lovely to think about or make. As this icon says, “My eyes are starving for beauty!”
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Fifteen months after thinking about it and thirteen months after starting it, my Rainbow Brite/Gap 1999 crazy stripe sweater is DONE. Even better? It’s not itchy!!
I love this SO MUCH. I haven’t made a sweater since before my mom died, when I realized I can’t wear wool. The yarn I used for this is mostly cotton with some alpaca and is just lovely.
I didn’t get gauge with the yarn, though, and had to do size math. I ended up knitting the largest size and I think the fit is exactly as intended. It’s a little tighter across the biceps than I wanted but that’s what I get for being so swole.
I love how refined the back neck and shoulder shaping are; I’m a big fan of PetiteKnit patterns because the finishing details are just so nice. 
Anyway, I love this. It might be the favorite thing I’ve knit in decades.
(Why did it take so long? We’re long out of the habit of watching anything at night, so this was all Sunday family visit and work meeting knitting–an hour or two a week vs. an hour or two a day. Except now I’m so excited I made a sweater that fits and isn’t itchy, I want to make MORE, so maybe I’ll get back into movies.)
We got a big storm last week and some of it was still around even in the lower elevations, which made the hike yesterday feel much more right. (This is the worst snow year since Utah started keeping records in 1980.) The sun was warm, though; I bet the snow will be mostly melted by next Sunday.
1 . Work is unnecessarily stressful right now and I think I’m going to do this today: 
2. Some good eye candy: The CalArts poster archive.
3. Exactly what it says on the tin:
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I saved the actual quote the minute I saw it a couple weeks ago but now I don’t remember the source. But wow does it feel relevant: “How to describe that contradiction, and how to survive it.”
“Every day I watch the terror grow and every day I have to work, run errands, do chores — how to describe that contradiction, and how to survive it.
Germany has declared war on Russia. Swimming in the afternoon.”
—Franz Kafka’s diary entry, August 2, 1914
Much like this video, I decided we needed more throw pillows in all the rooms. I got two done over the long weekend and have two more cut out.
This one is for the basement and has a nice IKEA feather-and-down insert so it gets that good “chop.” Fabric is from the local Design Company, a weird place that has some really nice stuff if you dig.
This one is for the old couch in my new office and uses a pillow form I had and some stash Kaffe Fassett quilting cotton. I mis-cut the fabric so the cover’s a little snug but it works, even if it’s giving off hot dog vibes.
I don’t think sewing saves one a ton of money EXCEPT in the case of home decor. Nothing like getting two pillows with removable zip covers for about $30.
I got a long weekend and did all sorts of house things: Painted the old office, visualized what a 6-foot felt board would look like in my new office, and even did some sewing in the new basement (!). Who needs to leave the house?
1. Hamilton Nolan sent an excellent newsletter this week: Remove Your Ring Camera With a Claw Hammer.
I get it. People are worried that they may be victims of a home invasion. Is your dad Charles Lindbergh? If not, you will not be kidnapped as you sleep. I guarantee it. In fact, I am so confident of this that I am willing to bet one thousand dollars, right now, that it won’t happen to you. That’s how I got the big vault of gold I have: positive thinking, and basic statistical literacy.
2. Perhaps thematically relevant to The Times We’re In: a dictionary of demons.
3. An American in China times a hospital and pharmacy visit. “It doesn’t matter if you’re living here or what kind of visa you’re on, anybody can go to a Chinese public hospital.” And you can just show up without an appointment?? (Cries jealously in American.)
@internationalsidequest 19 minutes. ???? Slightly chaos but worth it #fyp #healthcare ♬ original sound – Jen’s Side Quests
It’s a stressful week! Everything is terrible!! But I keep watching this video of lil sandpipers that someone used as musical notes and just smiling:
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I also have to remember this: 
And remember my Didion:
Here’s an essay from last summer from designer and writer Mike Monteiro this week, which popped into my head because of that terrifying Ring Superbowl ad. The whole thing is heartening, but the ending here is the pull quote I saved:
Our current dystopia is built on fear. Fear of our neighbors. Fear of our communities. Fear of others. Fear that they will eventually come for you, so why not offer them someone else in your place. It’s easy to fall for this and let dystopia wash over you. You literally have to do nothing. You can sit there, thinking that it’s all too big to fix, because it is very very big. And it is very very bad.
Dystopia is easy. You take what people are afraid of and tell them it’s right outside their door. The cure is to open the door and see the truth for yourself. What’s on the other side of the door is your neighbors, and some of them brought donuts.
There is hope. As long as you are here, and I am here, and we are here there is hope. It may not be a lot, but with every hopeful step you take there’s a little more.