Abandoned Projects Project*

 Does every creative person have a pile of projects that were started but never finished tucked away in some unseen corner (or many corners)? Maybe it’s just a sign of a mind that’s always churning with ideas or with enthusiasm for the next new thing. Or maybe it’s undiagnosed ADHD, I don’t know. All I know for sure is that I recently decided I wanted to tackle the monumental task of cleaning and organizing my art and craft supplies and in doing so I came across several projects of that sort of my own. 

There’s a simultaneous feeling of both excited discovery and disappointment in myself whenever this happens. It’s one part “oh wow, I forgot about this one, can’t wait to get back to it!” and one part “damn, it’s been 3 years, Stephanie, where is your ability to see things through?” I think, overall, it’s better for my mental health to entertain the former sentiment and let go of the latter.

Regardless, I made a decision that I was going to make good on all my former starts and give them finishes. As an added bonus, doing so would give me content for both this blog and my Instagram account, which is something I’m giving in to lately and trying to view as just another creative endeavor.

I started by making a list of everything begun but not yet finished. I needed to decide whether I was going to include everything or if I would fully abandon some things that I knew didn’t really interest me anymore. I also needed to decide what constitutes “abandoned.” Does it have to have been actually started to be counted as abandoned? Or could the project have only lived in my head as an intention? What about things that aren’t really project projects, but would probably be more accurately regarded as tasks? Frankly, the answer to all of those questions was, “Include it all.” The more the merrier. 

So, what have I done so far? I stitched up a little hole that was in the side of my dog’s candy corn chew toy. That thing had been sitting on my shelf for a couple of years, I think, waiting for me to get around to it. And now, when seen next to the other two candy corn chew toys that came in the same package, one of them is noticeably cleaner and fluffier, from lack of dog mouth. So, that’s nice.

I also finished crocheting a scarf that I had started years ago and could barely remember beginning. Now, do I have a need for a scarf, living as I do, in the desert? Do I have a need for a scarf that is stitched completely in half double crochet, using chunky yarn that gives the scarf little to no drape, in unmatching color blocks that have no rhyme or reason to them? No, I do not. Will I most likely donate that scarf in the near future, all the while kidding myself that anyone would actually want it? Yes. But, I finished it, didn’t I?

In addition to those projects, I finished knitting a dishcloth (which will actually be used and I like it), made a tiny embroidered cherries bottlecap magnet (lives on the fridge where I can frequently admire it), and I finally finished mending a pair of fingerless gloves that I first knitted for my oldest 13 years ago (did a terrible job, but those will be sent off to Colorado to their original owner very soon).

Oh, and I keep forgetting this one, and I don't know why, but I also cut up an old tablecloth (that was originally a hand-me-down and went through an iteration as a curtain) and turned it into some cloth napkins. This one had me pulling out my sewing machine, which I hadn't touched since 2020, so that was nice.

All in all, this abandoned projects project has been really great for me. It feels like one small area of my life that I can grab the reins on and have some control over. It feels like a clearing out of both physical and mental clutter and that feels really good. 

Anyway, 6 projects down and however many to go!

*we are ignoring the fact that I haven't posted a blog post since January

Hello Neglected Blog!

 I think it's traditional to say how long it's been since you last posted whenever there's a long period between posts. It's been more than a year. I would apologize, but why?

I want to focus this entry on my art goals for the year and how things are going with that so far (one month in). But first, just to touch base with the last post I made, I am still in college at ASU (Online). I'm currently taking a Spanish class and a Creative Writing (non-fiction, sadly) class. I am on track to graduate at the end of this year, as long as the classes I need/want are available when I need them to be. So that's that.

For better or for worse I've kind of attached my art goals to Instagram posting. See, I've slacked off on posting to Instagram regularly every since I started back at school. Partly because school was keeping me busy but also because when it came to Instagram, I just wasn't feeling it. It felt like a losing game in too many ways. But I'm not entirely ready to give up on it, so I decided to try to rebuild things. But this time I want to make sure that my account firmly establishes itself as an art account, not just an embroidery art account. There's so much else I want to explore. I knew I couldn't keep up with posting consistently unless I planned things out in advance, so I decided to map out my posting schedule a month in advance. 

And in order to have art to post about, I made a modest goal of one hoop art piece, one block print, and one illustration (digital or otherwise) per month. I've also decided to document my efforts to create a daily or semi-daily sketchbook habit by making sure to fill in one page or spread per week (a bit each day or so) and then post the result. And I want to invest a little bit more in stickers this year because I love stickers, because I only have three available, and because they're an easy, inexpensive way to purchase art. And, lastly, I want to blog here more regularly (potentially putting it on Substack as well for email subscribing purposes).

So, how's it going so far? Pretty good! Here's my first hoop, which went up in my shop earlier this month.

I made this hoop because I wanted to play around with wavy, swirly lines. I made a hoop a while back in pink and yellow that I really loved. It, too, had lots of lovely swirly lines. I called it Pink Lemonade and put it in my shop, but there came a time when I was feeling discouraged and disheartened by the whole idea of having an online shop to sell my art in. I wrote this about it last year:

"I also struggled with whether or not to re-open my shop. In the end, I decided that I like selling pieces to people who appreciate them. That's a good feeling! So, I re-opened it, but with a few changes. One, I did not re-activate every piece. I started thinking about some of them and realized that I want to keep them. There are a few of my embroidery pieces that I love so much I don't know if I'm every going to feel okay with letting them go. So, onto my walls they will go and maybe someday I'll make new pieces that are similar that I am willing to part with."

The Pink Lemonade piece was one that I decided to keep. And I have since realized that it might not be so much that there are pieces that I love too much to let go of (although that can definitely be a factor for some), but that I had not been giving myself enough of an opportunity to just sit with my own art and appreciate it. I would make it and list it and stick it in a drawer to keep it safe until it sold. Sometimes I just want to admire my own work, you know? So, some of those things that I pulled from the shop might eventually come back, but actually the Pink Lemonade piece I am keeping. I just really wanted to explore some of the same things that had made me love it so much and I think I really did that with this new piece, even adding some new elements and explorations. For instance, I love, love, love the two-tone fabric background. The colors on this piece are so pleasing to me. Here's Pink Lemonade, by the way.

As for block-printing, I am still very much in the learning phase. I carved up some pink stuff and printed a few pages and overall it was not really that successful except in that I learned from my mistakes. I hope.

My illustration for January is this guy:

Overall I'm pleased with him, but I do think there are things I would do differently if I drew him over again. 

As for the sketchbook venture, it's going great! I've managed to draw almost every single day in January and have filled up four pages (two spreads). The drawings are by no means perfect, but that's not really the point. The point is to create a more regular habit of drawing and it's working, so I am pleased. 

As for the stickers, I did order some. I only bought a few because I don't have a ton of money to invest in this. The plan is to just get sample size orders every month or two to build up some inventory. I opted for this design, but as of this writing, they have not yet arrived.

And that's about it! I'm hoping to write here a couple of times per month instead of just once, but my Spanish class this session is kicking my butt. I did not anticipate the sheer amount of time it was going to take to get all the work done. I will be glad when it's done, but also, I have to take two more Spanish classes before I graduate.