Daily Creative Practices

I was feeling a little down this week. I've been wanting to find time to do little paintings, but it seems like I keep running out of time once some of my more mandatory projects have been attended to. (School work, getting groceries, etc.) I thought about how I could "make time" when I realized that I have quite a few daily creative practices already. The more I thought about it, the more I realized I had reasons to celebrate.

The daily comic has been updating daily for a few months now, but behind the scenes, I'm still catching up on the backlog. This week, however, I finally finish editing Book 2. Hurray! I'm on to editing Book 3 and it feels like a big hurdle has been crossed because I am still drawing in Book 3. I'm looking forward to being entirely caught up, although to get there, I know I have to continue to make it a daily practice.

Related to editing the daily comic, I make it a practice to draw the daily comic daily. The goal is to never have a backlog. I finally found that I if I drew the comic while eating breakfast, I had more success. Now it just feels wrong not to draw it in the morning.

Another thing Connor and I have been keeping up on is writing with our non-dominant hand. We started in July as a way to prove that there is no such thing as talent. The idea was that talent is just a culmination of practice. Well, I'm not sure if either of us has seen much improvement in our non-dominate handwriting, but both of us have noticed that our left hands have felt much stronger. The experiment continues.

These three daily practices have required making a habit, but my last daily practice is one that I just can't help myself: knitting. Just about every day I've got knitting in my hands and a few more rounds find their way onto my current project. And let's face it, my current project is probably socks.

Does anyone else have a daily creative practice? Or is there something you'd like to make a daily creative practice?

If You Go Two Years In A Row, It's A Tradition

And like that, October is gone. I really enjoy the nights getting cooler, the leaves becoming crisp on ground, the curl of smoke coming out of chimneys. Our last few days of October were full of fun. Last year we went to Arata's Pumpkin Farm for the first time. Jackie, Connor, and I returned again this year.

We are responsible, serious adults

Arata's has an amazing hay bale maze. It's different each year.

It's really, really, really big

This year was colosseum-themed.

You can see the minotaur over Connor's shoulder

We went though twice, saving a group of people who had been stuck in there for two hours on our second run-through. Then we headed to the pumpkin patch to picked out our pumpkins. It's a careful selection each year. We want to be sure to choose shapes that best show off what we are going to carve into them.

The next day was pumpkin carving day. My brother joined us this year and the three of us decided on a Futurama theme. It was kind of funny how that came about; Connor and I decided we wanted to do Futurama, so I called up my brother to let him know and it turned out he had independently decided on the same theme. Jackie's pumpkin was going to live at her place, so she decided to break from theme and go with a classic Frankenstein's monster.

I had been really careful with my pumpkin. When you carve words, you want to be sure not to misspell anything. I showed everyone multiple times throughout the process. At the very end, I asked what everyone thought. Jackie and Christopher agreed that it looked really good. Connor gasped and said, "You spelled Plant Express, not Planet Express." I couldn't believe it! Luckily I had enough space on the pumpkin that I was able to turn the T into an E and add a T at the end. Crisis averted.

Left to right: Jackie's Frankeinstein's monster; Christopher's Bender; My Planet Express logo; Connor's Fry

Mum let us know that the pumpkins were admired by the trick-or-treaters who came by their place. It's always fun to carve our pumpkins. We are already discussing what next year's theme could be.

Must... Stripe... Evenly

Hello friends! Last week I talked all about the socks that were being knit over here. This week I'd like the share the neckwear. I finally finished my last Christmas knit, the Deep Sea Wanderer cowl for my brother.

Connor was kind enough to model it for me, but then he started making sounds about how nice it was and that maybe he'd like to have one at some point. I have a feeling this isn't my last dance with the pattern.

I also finished up weaving a University of Kentucky themed scarf. I used the fibonacci sequence as a starting point, but didn't stick to it 100%.

Meanwhile, I still love socks. I started my Christmas socks...

And promptly abandoned them in favor of finishing my Denature socks. I'm not sure how everyone else decided to get things done, but I check things off the list by what is bothering me the most. The Denature Socks have been on the needles since July and I'm ready to have them finished.

Connor and I watched Stranger Things and I was able to power through much of the leg of the second sock. Just last night I got to the heel and realized that my stripes were not going to match. Mismatched stripes are too much for my little knitter's heart to take, so I ripped back, got some spare grey that I had wound off the ball earlier, and made the grey stripe before the heel longer.

Although.... now that I'm typing this, I'm thinking that I might rip back again and make the green stripe before the final grey stripe a little longer so I can hide how thick the grey stripe is.

Something tells me the saga of this sock is not over. Is anyone else out there as obsessive about their knitting as me? Or you you more of a "No one will see that mistake" kind of knitter?

Sock Fever

I've seen people talking about a thing called "Socktober." I didn't know this existed. It sounds exciting, but honestly I don't need a specific month to motivate me to knit socks. I have a fever and the only thing that will cure it is knitting more socks!
Observe exhibit A. I have finished the socks for my mother-in-law. It's the Primavera Sock pattern knit up in Tosh Sock Shire color way.

Somebody is going to have toasty feet for Christmas

Then there are these beauties hot off the needles. I managed to finish my Halloween socks with time to spare. These are knit up with Stray Cat Socks' amazing Trick Or Treat color way.

I'm still working away on my Denature socks. This is also Stray Cat Socks, but in the Silver Star color way.

Of course getting all these socks off of the needles meant that I could treat myself to new yarn! Just kidding. I bought the yarn before I finished any socks. It may come as a surprise, but I treated myself to some more Stray Cat Socks. Left to right, the color ways are Blue Moon, Sherbet Fizz, and Hipster. Subtly hiding behind hipster is a mini skein of black to be my cuff/heel/toe for the Sherbet Fizz socks. I want them to be my CMYK socks.

Just one question. Now that my Halloween socks are done, is it too soon to work on Christmas socks?

If you guessed that this is Stray Cat Socks, then you would be right. It is the Joyeux Noel color way and a complimentary brown.

I Am A Shark Now

Last Halloween I wanted to be a shark. We couldn't find a costume that I liked and was in my size. A whole year has gone by and I couldn't shake that thought: I needed to be a shark.

Yesterday my yearlong dream came true. I am now a shark.

I think the costume brings out my eyes

It arrived on our doorstep and as soon as I could, I put it on and headed outside to take it for a test run. Our neighbors across the way saw me walking down our steps and started shouting, "It's a shark!" "Hi shark!" Both the kids and adults were laughing. These are people we don't really talk to. They have kids, we don't. All our lives are so busy. But for a moment, we were all friends and able to bond over how silly I looked. It was great.

Connor and I took some pictures before heading back up. Before we got through the door, our next door neighbors saw and had a good laugh. Then we started sending silly shark pictures to friends and family. In the space of an hour 13+ people had a laugh.

Connor says it looks like I'm having a graduation photo

It is a goofy costume, but I think I've figured out the source of everyone's amusement. The comedy in a shark costume is dependent on the knees. If the shark doesn't have knees, it clearly can't be funny.

I told Connor he is married to a shark now. I don't plan on coming out of the suit any time soon.

The List Is Long And Full Of Terrors

I'm sure we've all had a time or two in our lives where the list gets longer than a trip to the moon and you are about to crack. At the moment, I'm not sure if I've cracked or am about to, but the list has gotten rather long.

Indefinite Projects
*Drawing/ Editing/ Uploading the daily comic - This is a big time sink. It's hard to know if it is worth it, but at this point I've spent nearly half a year on all the editing, so I think I shall just keep going.
*Keeping the household relatively clean - (Haha.) When the mold in the shower starts to become sentient, I clean it.
*Blogging approximately once a week - This includes thinking of something to talk about and taking pictures. I do like keeping my writing skills polished, which was the reason I started the blog in the first place. It's also so that all the family members who don't see us all that often can discover what we've been up to.

I draw four comics per page in my sketchbook. When editing it for the internet, I crop out each comic so it can be posted individually.

Long Term Projects
*Souvenir Patch Quilt - While it is kind of an indefinite project because of the continual collection of patches, most of the work is embroidering the USA and quilting the rest of the of the quilt.
*School - Luckily I like what I'm learning, but I'm a little stressed out about deciding how far to take it. Do I want to just learn some things or do I want to go for another degree? For now my decision is to not make a decision.

It took me two and a half hours to embroider Maryland. I don't have positive feelings towards the state of Maryland at the moment.

Projects Where The Finish Line Is In The Distance
*Christmas knitting/ weaving - I don't usually do handmade gifts for more than one or two people, so this year is an anomaly.
*A thank-you woven scarf - There is someone who I can only thank with a handmade scarf. The only deadline I have is my personal guilt of not doing this sooner.

This is one of the last Christmas gifts left to do

Short Term Projects
*Most of these are the annoying things that come up to prevent me from finishing anything else. Things like a doctor visit, taking the car in to be looked at, and various other errands. All important, but I wish I didn't have to.

Projects On My Mind But On The Back Burner -
*Comic Stories - I have four distinct comic story ideas in mind. Unlike the daily comic, they all have a definite end. I've tried to forget about all of them, but all the ideas swirl around in my head, so I occasional write or draw a little thing about each one to stop it from bothering me.
*Other Book Ideas - I have three other book ideas. One a humorous depiction of Silicon Valley and two others that relate to business and creativity. I've been taking notes for them whenever inspiration strikes...which is usually in the bathroom.
*Painting - While I am taking a watercolor class (thank goodness, or there would be no time carved out) I really would love to have a little time to make a small painting or two to apply what I've learned in class and have a little creative release.

This is a quick color study for a much larger painting due my class

It's tough to know what to give up when it comes to all these lists. They all seem like personal projects, but at the same time there is limited payoff because either I'm not getting feedback or the project is starting to feel like a slog. My bad habit when all my projects aren't feeling like fun is to start a new one, but as this list is showing me (and maybe you) is that a new project is probably ill advised. So I'm not really sure what to do except lean into it and get some things off of the list. If anyone has any advise or commiseration, please do share. I'm sure many of you also have a list that is long and full of terrors!

Channel Islands National Park

Connor and I had been keeping a close eye on the weather around the Channel Islands for the last 8 months. There is a narrow window where the weather isn't too hot and the water isn't too rough. The weekend before last we saw that our time had come. Friday we jumped in the car and drove 6 hours (there was so much traffic...) to Ventura so that we could catch the morning ferry to Santa Cruz Island. It was worth the wait, the weather was glorious.

We took a morning kayak tour to see the different sea caves. Our guide, Mel, was lots of fun. We also made friends with the other people on the tour who were all pals from Quebec. Connor learned a new-to-him French phrase when one of the ladies jumped in the water: "C'est froid! C'est froid!" We already knew how cold the Pacific Ocean is around California, so we didn't jump in.

After kayaking, we opted to go for a hike to Potato Harbor. Along the way we saw one of the famous island foxes that is endemic to Santa Cruz island.

This fox was grooming itself rather vigorously. I got a picture when it came up for air.

It was good it wasn't too hot out because most of the five mile hike is exposed. But, being out there made us feel so free. On occasion we would pass someone, but for the most part we were alone on an island in the middle of nowhere.

Part of the hike is along the sea cliffs. Before we had gotten on the ferry, we picked up a patch. I thought it would be nice to get a picture of the patch that included the sea caves we had been in earlier.
There are whale tails on the patch, but we didn't have the pleasure of seeing one on the ferry ride to or from the island. They said that sometimes you can see a Blue Whale. I hope one day I'll get to even if it didn't work out to on this trip.

Once we made it to Potato Harbor, we sat and enjoyed the view. I thought about painting, but I opted to just take it all in instead. We live such busy lives, sometimes it is hard to remember to sit still and just be.

We ended up bumping into our Quebecois friends again on the trail and walked with them for a bit before splitting in different directions.

We timed our hike carefully. It's important that you make it to the dock in time for the ferry. They don't wait for anyone and if you are late, you get to camp. There isn't any food or water to be had on the island, so an unplanned camping trip is rather unpleasant. We got to the dock on time and found seats on the back of the boat. After such a big day, Connor couldn't help but nod off while I meditated on the day.

Funnily enough, we went out to dinner and bumped into our Quebecois friends again. Even though it was a quick trip, I'm glad we got to have it. The only regret I have is that we only had one day to explore. I hope that this isn't our last trip to Channel Islands National Park.