"...Small Things with Great Love"

Whenever I find myself on campus with a few minutes to spare, I often stop by at the thrift store across the way from Center Hall. Most people don't know about it, but it's a wonderful place with very low prices. It may be small, but Friends Resale has blessed me with rain jackets on unexpected rainy days, great costumes for beer pong tournaments, yarn (!!!), sewing patterns, and yes, even my very first fanny pack.

One day at the beginning of the quarter, I happened to be on campus a little earlier than necessary to get to class on time, so per usual I stopped by the thrift store. There, I bumped into my acting TA (whom I had only seen maybe twice since it was so early in the quarter). She was admiring a crocheted baby's jacket and said it was too bad that jacket was too small for her son, who is 4 years old. I agreed with her since it was such a nice jacket, and then we parted ways.

Later on, I couldn't help but think about that jacket and the kid it could have gone to. I love to crochet, so what better thing to do than to make something someone else would actually love to wear? It didn't take me too much time as the pattern was incredibly simple (and inspired by Quibs' many great hats that I've seen her knit!). It's hard to explain, but in no way was I trying to be some kind of teacher's pet or suck up to her. I just had this desire to make a little kid happy with something that already brought me joy to make.



Since making the hat, I've looked more into charitable opportunities for crochet and decided to take part in Australia's Save the Children campaign called Knit One, Save One. They are collecting thousands of knit/crocheted squares to make into blankets for children in need abroad. My goal is to make one blanket (16 squares) in collaboration with friends, family, and whoever else wants to get involved. I'll teach anyone who wants to learn and will be going to Michaels tomorrow to get the wool! So stoked. I'll update on the progress of the blanket throughout the summer.

<3

24 Consecutive Hours of Meditation

Malcolm Gladwell came up with the 10,000 hours rule and often references it in his book, "Outliers". You should look it up. I know this is only 24 hours, but I honestly crochet a whole lot. I wonder if I'm getting anywhere near 10,000.


I completed this piece on a Friday after Week 1 during Winter Quarter. Each color represents a different hour in the project, and the work starts from the very middle. I used www.time.gov to get the official US time, so each color change coincided exactly with each hour passed. I used whatever crochet pattern came to mind, and generally stuck with that pattern for the duration of the hour/color. To make it easier to compare one hour to the next, I made a rule with myself to complete one round of crochet around the entire piece before deviating. This also creates rings in the piece that are similar to the rings of a tree-- an intentional reference as the rings of a tree trunk also connote the passage of time.

I stayed awake by eating food for energy and surrounding myself with amazing company in the form of friends and teammates. No, I did not drink coffee, nor did I need it. We watched movies, talked, hung out, and more. Spipit even came over with her dog, Emmitt, and we simultaneously crafted. Later in the day, others visited to play drinking games and what not while I sat downstairs on the couch, crocheting away. Karishma fed me. Jane baked food for me. Everyone was absolutely the best.


In recent works, I have been exploring the archival properties of yarn and crafts as crocheted and knitted pieces often remind people of the past as the texture of yarn often creates the experience of nostalgia. While thinking about archive, time, and crochet, I decided that a durational piece would be interesting as the end result of time and crochet would lead to a sculptural piece. Originally, I planned this performance not only as an opportunity to create something that would be representative of time, but also as an exploration of my personal limits in crochet. I said something in passing like, "if I could, I would crochet all day, I love it so much." That immediately gave me an idea-- what if I did? I assumed I could do it, but that I would end up getting so sick of it that I'd stop crocheting for a while after finishing the piece. I was wrong. I would have crocheted for longer, but I didn't want to ruin the perfect number of 24 hours.

It sounds absurd, but there is something about crochet that makes it so easy for me to do, even for long periods of time. It is a passion of mine, and I can't quite explain why it is. People find it boring to watch, tiring to learn about, and confusing to get better at, but I completely disagree. For me, crochet is something I love doing, even at inappropriate times or places, like at a movie theater, during class, or at the beach. Older people have approached me with smiles saying things like, "I didn't think anyone your age did that anymore!" I may look like a grandmother when I am carrying yarn around everywhere, but I could care less. I actually find crocheting to be fun. What did I do when I finished my 24-hour piece? Well, aside from fighting the urge to want to continue, I took a really long nap. And yes, I used it as a blanket, but only for that one time!


Many people have asked me if I would do it again. Judging from how often I crochet, I think I could, and I am pretty sure I would.

Cake to Celebrate

This probably should be posted on our food blog, but that hasn't been updated for ages. I think I may re-post there with more details about recipes and such, but for now I'll just share yummy pictures and talk about how great holiday/celebratory cakes are.

There are a few reasons why cakes are wonderful for celebrating.
1) Since a great cake is time consuming to make and sometimes requires specialty ingredients, most people don't make them regularly, thus making them perfect for special occasions.
2) Cakes offer a canvas for an unlimited amount of decorations or ingredients!
3) If people aren't too uptight about strict diets and what not, they are easily enjoyable by everyone at practically any get together. Think about it-- in a dinner scenario, cake is a great dessert, and at a birthday party, drunk people are always down to munch on good eats.


For St. Patrick's Day, I baked this chocolate-Guinness cake with cream cheese frosting and green sprinkles. Sprinkles are always appropriate and having this with beer was the best! I think this cake made a festive use of ingredients and was quite delectable.


In no way do I want to take credit for making this cake! I just wanted to include this cheetah cake that was made for Zeta as a birthday/goodbye cake because she was going to Namibia to work with cheetahs. I believe Simon and Nala (and maybe Jean??) made this cake for her. Anyhow, it was amazing especially because of its decorations. The fact that it was absolutely delicious didn't hurt it, either.

Now in terms of future cakes, I don't know what to make! There is always, of course, the typical Independence Day cake:

A layer of pound cake followed by a layer of jell-O and blueberries, topped by whipped cream and fresh fruit. There are also cheesecake versions of this.

Or, maybe I can be more creative and celebrate other upcoming events like Gay Pride in both San Francisco and San Diego with rainbow cakes.

The above picture is from the internet, but Jean and I have made a similar rainbow cake that was less organized and more tie-dye-esque:


Oh and of course, there are the really elaborate and customized cakes that require lots of detail work and are made so carefully, it's a shame they are ever eaten. This specific cake reminds me of Jane. It might be me, but there's something about that shade of green:


Regardless of what I end up making this summer, I think I will stick to a few rules. The most important thing is that I hope the cake is delicious. That means I will probably focus more on recipes than on fluff and looks. Even though that is the case, I also aim to make sure the cake is still presentable! Maybe I should just make a summer explosion cake with beer, rainbows, and patriotic colors. We'll see.