the water heater of creativity

last week, i had the opportunity to discuss the mysteries of creativity for an entire afternoon. and i got to pick the brain of a very creative person. who hates to be called that. because there's so much pressure in it, isn't there? and while you can generally be creative, you often don't really have that much control over it. much of what we discussed was about creativity and creative people's place in business and i'll be writing about that elsewhere. but something he said stuck in my head...he said he felt that creativity was like the hot water tap. when you turn on cold water, it's always there, but when you turn on hot, it's there, but eventually it runs out and has to be replenished.

from the great jacabunny photoshoot - by sabin

but the difficulty is in finding one's own inner water heater, isn't it? what is it that recharges you? i watch sabin, who seems to be able to be endlessly and spontaneously creative, all the time. she sees the creative potential in everything around her...from the box the veggies come in to some bits of fabric scraps, to simply taking 1335 (not kidding) photos of our growing kit lane jacabob collection. and she seemingly never needs to stop and recharge.

my inner water heater functions best when i have a change of scenery. i can get very bogged down if i remain in the same physical space for too long. even if that space is home, which is filled with people and cats and bunnies and things i love.  i don't need to go far, i just need to get out. and get new impulses, see new things, eat new food, breathe new air.  last week's winter holiday was just what i needed.

a new work in progress

i can always tell that the hot water of creativity will flow again when i wake up with pictures in my head of things i want to create, or when i can scarcely fall asleep because so many exciting ideas are going through my mind. these last two photos are a hint of the picture that was in my head when i awoke yesterday.

the space ships are coming!

i'm looking for a way to combine the things i love...photography and fabric. there are many, many pretty pictures out there now that everyone has a digital camera, so it's difficult to stand out from the crowd on etsy or big cartel. i think sometimes that the pictures are too pretty in their glossy perfection once you've had them printed, so i wanted to break the integrity of the photo down a little bit. i'm still working on it, but i'll back back later to show you what i mean...i've got to keep going while the water's still hot.

sunday sewing (plus a little on monday)

it's cold outside and i'm feeling a need for spring, so i got out fabrics old and new and traced off several patterns from my latest japanese pattern book acquisition. i hadn't made anything for myself since last year at precisely this time, so i traced off two dresses and got everything all cut out.

lila helped

 the cat was very helpful when i was trying to cut out the pieces.

i chose a rather upholstery-weight, rich and beautiful, jewel-toned fabric that i bought several years ago for the dress (see mom, it IS ok to buy fabric with no purpose in mind - the purpose will come). it's super simple and will look great with a pair of bright tights and some fab heels i bought in manila - as soon as the snow melts.

i'm going to adjust the pattern for finishing the armholes and i have yet to hem it, but here it is so far. i'm madly in love with this fabric.  and i love the rather retro a-line style.

with the tunic dress, i got a bit fancy and made a patchwork fabric for the bottom part - using the wonderful mid-century modern reprints from the victoria & albert museum collection. i hope to wear it at the market that i'll be selling handmade goods at (with elizabeth and jude) in sønderborg april 9. because you should wear handmade when you're selling it, right?

it can be a little bit difficult to find your way at first, but this tutorial really helps and because the drawings are so good, you'll soon be sewing merrily along even if you don't know japanese. i usually make one size bigger than i think i should because the japanese patterns tend to run small, but i have to say that i wish i'd made the large and not the extra large, especially on the dress below. so if you should be tempted to acquire this everyday clothing book too, just go ahead and make it in your regular size, as the sizes are much more generous than they usually are. i maybe would have realized that if i'd measured, but instead, i decided to just wing it.

here's the patchwork dress in its finished state:

it looks less like scrubs on top when you actually have it on, i assure you.

sunset on another vinterferie

this was tonight's actual sunset.

sabin remarked today that she couldn't believe she already had to go back to school tomorrow. the week of winter holiday went by so quickly. we spent four days of it in copenhagen and a few days relaxing at home. but holidays have a way of going too fast. the weekend was sunny, but very cold, so tho' we keep being lured outside by the sunshine, we quickly found our way back inside to warm pots of tea and freshly-baked bread and rich dishes of veal parmesan.

a week of fun with friends, good food, new experiences and a bit of sleeping in and relaxing and sewing and wearing pajamas all day long - it was just what we needed. and although it would be nice if it went on and on, i think we're all recharged and ready to jump into a new week.

if i were (revisited)...

i did this exercise in "if i were..." about a year ago and i though it would be fun to see how many of my answers matched what i said then....

if i were a month i’d be september

if i were a day i’d be friday the thirteenth

if i were a time of day i’d be midnight

if i were a font i’d be garamond

if i were a sea animal i’d be a dolphin

if i were a direction i’d be left

if i were a piece of furniture i’d be arne jakobsen's egg

if i were a liquid i’d be a crisp south african chenin blanc

if i were a gemstone i’d be a garnet

if i were a tree i’d be a birch

if i were a tool i’d be a crowbar

if i were a flower i’d be a lilac

if i were an element of weather i’d be a thunderstorm

if i were a musical instrument i’d be a a saxophone

if i were a colour i’d be teal

if i were an emotion i’d be unsettled

if i were a fruit i’d be a papaya

if i were a sound i’d be loud

if i were an element i’d be fire

if i were a car i’d be a vintage mustang

if i were a food i’d be a very spicy curry

if i were a place i’d be a prairie

if i were material i’d be linen

if i were a taste i’d be chili

if i were a scent i’d be lilac

if i were a body part i’d be an eye

if i were a song i’d be sung by Sheryl Crow

if i were a bird i’d be a nightengale

if i were a gift i’d be something you'd never of dream of re-gifting

if i were a city i’d be seattle

if i were a door i wouldn't have a lock

if i were a pair of shoes i’d be converse all stars

if i were a poem i’d be ithaca by cavafy

i guess we grow and change, because not that many of my answers are the same...

what would happen if you were....come on, you know you want to play along!

quietly zen saturday

from yesterday's jacabunny photoshoot

it's saturday morning, the laundry is underway, the dishes done, the living room is rearranged. the bird feeder is full and the birds are swarming it. bunnies and kitties are fed. there's a fresh pot of tea steeping.

tho' the t.v. is tuned to discovery travel & living in the other room and i keep hearing that ad for the show about women who didn't know they were pregnant 'til they were giving birth (really?! really?!) and the constant click of the camera as sabin stages a photoshoot with our kit lane jacabunnies (apparently the 472 pictures she took yesterday weren't enough), it feels quiet and calm around here.

i have a strong suspicion that the cat, in her catch-and-release program, has released a mouse under the shelf just to the right of my desk. she's spending an inordinate amount of time swiping a paw under there and she doesn't usually do that.

but i'm feeling quite zen about the whole thing.  calm and settled.

it's good to be home after a few whirlwind days in copenhagen with bloggy goddess gwen (you may remember her from woman on the verge and not really) and her kids. we had so much fun and so much food and we all bought legwarmers.

i feel a bit of time out of the house always settles me down. i need experiences that are outside the norm in order to appreciate those that are the norm. like a steaming cup of tea and a calm saturday morning.

streets of copenhagen - how i love thee

tho' it was a grey, cold day, the streets of copenhagen still looked very fetching.

"my new home"

fabulous old specs on an optician

converse love

the window of the jackpot store.
i love the dark blue that's in for spring.
but can totally do without all the peach that i saw (but didn't photograph).

part two on købmagergade

the store i will have some day will be a bit like this.

my kinda shop - colorful!

books

love the simplicity of those houses

happy weekend, one and all...hope you can find a little beauty, even if it's grey and cold where you are!

be back soon

it's the winter holiday and we've had visitors...but i'll be back soon, with much to tell...