Crafting Therapy

For people with ADD issues (like me) crafting can be therapeutic. I know I'm not the only person who thinks this (see Figure 1, a magnet I stumbled upon a month or so ago)...


Figure 1

...but I couldn't explain why until I read an article in O magazine last month called "A Stitch in Time." The writer, Meribeh Knight, talks about how sewing helped her out a depressive slump:

I may not have been able to figure out how to get from point A to point B in my professional and personal life, but I knew if I could take three yards of fabric, cut it, pin it, and sew it into a dress, then that day would be better than the one before."

This so exactly describes the way feel about knitting. Whenever I feel overwhelmed in my personal and/or professional life, I reach for a pair of knitting needles. I know that if I knit and purl over and over again, I can make a pair of mittens (or a hat or slippers or scarf, etc.) The ritual of doing it and the knowledge that I now have one thing in my life that I can control, quiets my mind.

Does that make sense?

Anyway, you can read the entire "Stitch in Time" article by clicking here. (Meribah links to it at the top of the page.) It's really wonderful, I encourage you to do so.

And PS - This might sound totally dorky, but I can't stress enough how much I love O magazine. I read every issue cover-to-cover each month and have for the past three years. I'm always enlightened by something I read inside. If you don't subscribe, you should!

UPDATE: Jackie in his Later 'Gator Mitts.







I made them for him for Christmas. You can find the pattern in the Stitch 'n Bitch Nation book.

A Lucky Little Girl

Every time I refill Beverly's water bowl I tell her how lucky she is, that a lot of dogs don't get fresh, clean water.

I know she doesn't have the capacity to understand this, but I think it's my duty to try and make her aware.



PS - Does anyone else see her sweet little heart-shaped face in this picture?

My New Home

I just got an email from Mark that said:

David said we could get this and you could move in the backyard!"

The "Blob" via Apartment Therapy...










As many of you know, I have dreams of moving into a winnebago or shed of some kind in their backyard. (See The Venturo Prefab from 1971.)

So, now, which one do I pick? The blob or the prefab?

Deep Thoughts

I don't want to die. Mostly because there are so many things in life that I haven't done yet.

Like, I'm watching this movie right now with Al Pacino and he's a really good detective in it. Like, Hilary Swank studied his detective work when she was at the academy. (She just told him that.)

I've never explored becoming a detective—what if I'm good at it? What if I'm better than all the other detectives out there but I don't know it because I've never tried it?

I'm going to become an actress when I'm 50. I'm going to play supporting roles in off-Broadway plays. I feel as if it's my eleventh calling. (I've had ten other callings already, in this order: teacher, veterinarian, interior designer, graphic artist, psychologist, marketing executive, television producer, writer, yarn store owner/operator, pet photographer.)

I know, I know. It's 2 AM, go to sleep already.

Subway Love

I took this last week at the West Fourth subway station.

I kind of want to email the guy and find out if he and Sylvia from Poland reconnected. I sure hope they did.

Sent via BlackBerry by AT&T

He Loves Me Wallhanging

By Suzanne Sharp for the Rug Company.


I love this one, too...



"Love Too" by Paul Smith for The Rug Company

Goonies Never Say Die

Cute tee, Ms. Hathaway.



I found it here.

Shoplifting from American Apparel

Has anyone read Shoplifting from American Apparel by Tao Lin?



It's a novella (which I tend to like reading because by the time I get bored they're over) and it received great reviews but I found it to be boring, boring, boring. It's very dry.

Just wondering if I missed something.

The Babette Blanket

Thank You Karyn!!, originally uploaded by Mark Koberg.

I made this blanket for Mark and David for Christmas! It's crocheted and it's called the Babette Blanket. You can read more about how to make it at The Purl Bee, the blog for a great yarn store in SoHo called Purl. And you can buy the pattern as a download from Interweave's website.

The pattern suggests you use Cascade 220 yarn, but I used Lorna's Laces Shepherd's Worsted instead because it's softer and it's hand-dyed so the colors are prettier.

If you know how to crochet, this blanket is really easy to make. The most difficult thing about it is not cursing when you're weaving in the ends when you're finishing it. I've been working on it on and off since June, but it's easy to pick up and put down (as well as take with you on the subway) because it's just made up of a bunch of separate squares.

Anyway, the best thing about me making this blanket is that I ACTUALLY FINISHED A PROJECT! (Further reading on this: The Laura's Slippers debacle of 2008-2009—she got them a year after I started making them and still hasn't gotten the hat.) I've really been working on trying to complete things and this finished blanket is a great way to start my year!

Bad Santa

My sister was watching the news yesterday with Nora and Jack within an earshot when the newscaster was like, "Santa has robbed a bank!"

Just as they showed this picture of Santa with a gun...



...Nora turned her head to see what was going on, but my sister changed the channel in time.

She never asked anything about it, but newscasters, YOU CAN'T DO THAT!

Ho Ho Ho - Love, Bev

Happy Holidays, originally uploaded by Karyn Bosnak.

She was frozen like this for five minutes while I fiddled with the camera because the sweater was so tight. (It fit her when she was a puppy but hers get chubby.)

UPDATE: Someone's comment made me think I should've titled this photo, "Fat guy in a little coat..."

Dear MOMA

Dear MOMA,

This is not art.




It's the top of a yogurt container stuck to the wall.




Also, this?



It's a shoebox.

Well, Hello Everybody

Thank you for your emails asking where I've been! I haven't completely disappeared. I've been twatting it up over at Twitter and I've been really active on my Facebook page. But, those two things aren't this blog, I understand...

When you've been blogging for seven years sometimes you need a bit of a break, but I'll be returning full-time after the new year.

PS - In case you're wondering what's on the schedule for today, I'm going to see the Tim Burton exhibit at MOMA with fellow authors Sarah Grace McCandless and Blake Nelson.

But before I do, I need to remove my air conditioner from the window ALL BY MYSELF because the top window keeps falling down and then cold air comes rushing into my apartment because it's FREEZING outside. If I close both windows and lock them, the top one will stay up.



I know, I know... it's these kinds of riveting stories that keep people coming back.

Snow!

Toilet Stuff

I just went to a little gift shop down the street and asked the Korean lady who owns it if she had any Twilight stuff. I'm going to see New Moon tonight with my neighbors (dorks) and would totally buy us some "Team Edward" shirts to wear if they had them.

"Toilet stuff, no," she said.

"No, Twilight stuff," I said again, because she doesn't speak or understand English very well.

"Yes," she said, like she knew what I meant. And then she squatted like she was taking a dump. "I say toilet stuff, no!"

So I don't think she understood me?