So, I started this blog thinking that, now that I was done with school, I had all this free time to work on the projects I've been wanting to tackle and to blog about them in an effort to keep myself accountable to actually finishing some. It turns out that that was not quite the case. Now, obviously "free time" means different things to different people and it's really a matter of where your priorities lie, so my definition of "free time" is probably considerably different than someone with, say, a family or a stressful job. In my defense, I spent the majority of 2011 doing nothing but school work (and occasionally babysitting my nephew), so the prospect of no longer having to write research papers and read 1100 page books felt like the end of a jail sentence.
Even though I knew in the back of my mind that graduating didn't mean that I was going to have 24/7 free time (I still had to find a job and then go to work), I thought, I'll still have my evenings free, I'll have plenty of time. And technically, I do.
It's no secret that my life revolves around television. It's my escape, and I couldn't be the geek that I am without it. Luckily, since it is no longer 1998, and dvr's are now a staple, I have the luxury of planning tv around my schedule instead of having to tell everyone "sorry I can't go out on Friday, Sliders is on." Also lucky for me, is that most of my projects can be done primarily on my coffee table. It does leave the area considerably cluttered (sorry, Jim), but it keeps me from having to make difficult decisions.
Don't worry, I know how sad this all sounds, and I don't have any excuses for my obsessions, but I will tell you this, we don't have children, and we're not extremely close with our families, so when our dog passed away a few months ago, tv and crafts were about the only things that got me out of bed in the morning. They kept my mind occupied so that I didn't spend all day being sad.
I got this sudden urge for things to be different. I couldn't put a finger on what exactly, but something needed to change. If we hadn't just renewed our lease, we probably would have moved. As it was, that was not an option. So I've spent the last few months making changes to our apartment/life, where they were possible and affordable. And I guess that is why I've been too busy/preoccupied to (a) finish many projects, (b) document any of it, and (c) clean up the mess the unfinished projects left behind.
So, first, the non-creative things I've changed... I got a new car, it was very anti-climactic, got new bedroom furniture (graduation present from Mom), and a couple weeks ago, we got a new puppy. But that is a whole other story.
And now I'm going to start what I hope will not become a regular piece on this blog:
Lost But Not Forgotten: The Abandoned Project Hall of Fame
Three guesses what the first inductee is. I bet you won't need them all.
Project: Yep, it's the stupid
blanket.
What it is: Ugh, I don't want to talk about it.
Why it was abandoned: Truthfully, when I started it a year ago, it was meant to be for a full sized bed. But we now have a queen sized bed (thank god!), so as it was almost finished, I realized that it was going to be too small. Fortunately, I didn't have to take anything apart, I did, however, have to go buy more yarn. More. Yarn. But things have come up and it's gotten tossed aside (literally). I'll finish it one day, it's just hard to stay motivated to finish an afghan in the summer in Florida.
What it is: This sounded like a great idea. The lazy-girl's scrap book, if you will. Everything you need to document your life without having to put in the effort to be ultra creative.
Why it was abandoned: I like to think that it hasn't quite been "abandoned" yet. Or at least my bank account does. It turns out you still have to take your own pictures and, like, write stuff. What?!?! Plus, I think I'm just not really in the habit of snapping shots and taking notes on my everyday life. I thought once I started it might become something that I remembered to do, but since I only made it two pictures into the first spread, it didn't really have time to become habit forming. I think maybe I'll just start over.
Project:
Plarn
What it is: Crocheting with yarn made out of plastic bags.
Why it was abandoned: This has always been one of those do-a-little-at-a-time projects. Mostly because after a while the plastic starts to hurt my fingers. You know, kinda like new jelly shoes, or cheap flip flops. So I have to take a break and come back to it when my fingers have recovered. This recovery period has just been a bit longer than most. Like months longer. I'm hoping to get a few things made this summer, but I'm not really sure where this falls on my to do list. Believe it or not, there are at least three half finished bags somewhere in this mess.
Project: Boxes
What it is: Boxes I've found, liked, and want save for some future use. Covering with sealant so the cardboard doesn't deteriorate.
Why it was abandoned: I realized that I've been collecting all these boxes, but have no use for them yet. So why bother?
Project: Beads
What it is: This isn't so much a project as something that I need to get done or throw away.
Why it was abandoned: I came across this box filled with smaller boxes of beads. Like tons of them. Most that I won't use anymore.So until I get around to packaging them, taking pictures and listing them on Etsy, they're really just taking up space. I'm trying to decide if it's worth the trouble.
However, I haven't been completely unproductive. I did decide that my living room needed a little more color, so this happened:
and this:
Details on those next time. I also tried unsuccessfully to make those pinata cookies that were going around on Pinterest. All that did was remind me of why I don't cook.
Also, since writing this, I've decided that I don't like the
Shag stuff, so that will be coming down soon. I guess it's back to Pinterest for wall art ideas!
