Musing on a list of things I "should" or "could" work on, October drawing, and intertwined stories about patches and stickers. A sticker bomb journal is on tap.
Wow. Lots to absorb. I can relate to the varied needlework hobbies- I used to fear I’d die with all these partially stitched canvases. I quit knitting but often wish for the comforting rhythm of knitting. Never really liked how my finished pieces looked.
Stickers! I love them so much. I use composition books for all of my daily writings and journaling and I add stickers as I come across them to the front cover. It's another way of keeping the memory of each journal's little window of time. It's very haphazard, not a sticker bomb approach. I want each sticker to be seen and visible. Sometimes the front cover fills up and I move to the back cover, sometimes there are only a handful on the front.
I also have a couple of stickers on my ukelele. It's one of the reasons I was so excited to find the clear plastic uke! I also have a couple in my water bottle.
I am a sticker person.
As you know, I'm also working on a project with patches. I'm just ironing, sewing is not my thing. But I love the jacket so much. Most of the patches on it have some meaning for me, but a few are just cool ones I found at antique stores. I guess I'm a patch person, too.
Again, the irony of our “patches” posts in the same timeframe is just so bizarre, but I love it. You will have to show us your jacket at some point. I love hearing about the stickers and the patches…. And seeing the authenticity is part of it. Composition books for the win — but where do you happen upon these stickers that mark the time? And on the uke, too, oh my! Even on my uke, I could never do it. But the guitar is a definite no. Lol. Thanks so much for commenting.
If you're looking, there are always stickers! Some I buy, but only if it's something I really want to remember. For example, when I was in vacation I bought a sticker when we were on the island in Canada, and I bought one at this enormous pet store I went to. I never pay more than a couple of bucks. The Amazon catalog that just came in the mail has a sheet of stickers. Plus, I know all the places around town that have stickers for kids and I'm not shy about asking for them! 😁
Every week when I read your Sunday post, I have so many things to say, ask, share, that I feel like I could write a whole Substack post with my half of the conversation. I could share pictures of stickers on my car, on my iPad, on my journal covers. Pictures of the bags of stickers on my desk. I would suggest we swap our extras, because I don’t really need 100 frog stickers.
I could share that our lives are so similar, that my world shrinks and shrinks until my only “friends” work the mcdonald’s drive through. That I am both always alone, and never alone.
The light in my room this morning looks a little like fall. There is definitely less feeling like I’m standing on the surface of the sun. I have huge oak trees on my front yard that provide both shade and protection from the outside world. I’m sure my neighbors, in their fancy new houses, would love me to trim them up, but would much prefer to be the house where the weird lady lives.
Unicorns dance across my laptop, my iPad, my rear window, and my file cabinet, but gargoyles lurk in my closet.
Stickers definitely, patches for sure if I could find a way to display them. Even pins if they didn’t fall off all of the time. I had the brilliant idea to cover my Timbuk 2 messenger bag with patches, but that fabric is designed to withstand assault.
While the stickers on my journals and file cabinet are more superficial. The stickers on my car and my iPad are more about who I am, and how I hope my people will find me.
I have a pile of stickers ready to add to my car, but I have been hesitating. I worry that a sticker that goes against the supercilious (see what I did there), conservative, white, cis, het, Christian majority in this town might make me a target. On the other hand, when I see another car with a rebellious sticker, I want to get out of my car and go introduce myself. I think, I’m not the only one. I’d love to be that for someone else who feels like they have to hide.
After drawing and reading, I have a lot of fiber hobbies. I have tried crochet, knitting, quilting (a long time dream but I’m horrible at it), embroidery, felting, weaving, cross stitch, sewing clothes, and sewing dolls and stuffed monsters. Of all of these, I have had the most success with crochet and making creatures. My sewing machine and serger sit abandoned on my shelf. I even have a machine I won that is still in the box. I blame lack of space, but I could probably make it work if I really wanted to.
See, no need to worry about long posts with me! I love to read what you write, and respond with a bazillion words of my own.
I thought it would be nice to make stickers from some of my own art. But then I have no it done it!
Like you I am alone but not alone and my local grocery store where staff knew me by name and I knew them and we shared bits of our lives is closing after 37 years. It will leave a hole in the area in more ways than one can express. So many of us get a daily connection and joy and food and flowers from that store.
We could certainly write substacks back to back and in exchange. I love a good epistolary. I agree, there are overlaps, and you’ve said many things here I definitely understand and appreciate and admire. I don’t do stickers on cars either, but I do often notice them on cars. The calling card and the invitation are powerful ways to think about it. I love the “how I hope people will find me” thought. (I do understand the very real hesitation as well. I’m also glad for the oak trees.) This line…. So great: “Unicorns dance across my laptop, my iPad, my rear window, and my file cabinet, but gargoyles lurk in my closet.” Thank you for taking time to respond!
I love stickers but I'm a gargoyle when it comes to my stuff. I use them inside my journal. I've thought about putting some on the cover but I figure they'll eventually start peeling and I'll get annoyed. You've got me thinking about it though. :-) I also have an ungodly amount of washi tape,mostly unused, but it's so pretty and I keep telling myself I'll use it for something. Lol.
I am constantly starting on things and losing steam, sometimes losing enthusiasm. I have more hobbies than anyone I know. I can't stand to be BORED. I always have to be thinking of something, learning something, creating something, finding inspiration and new ideas. I feel restless in my own skin if I'm not, and depressed. Truth be told, I've wondered if I have adhd or autism like my son. I have a lot of traits. I love art and journaling, writing, reading singing, piano, cooking, photography. I've made my own journals, done bookbinding, crochet, some knitting. Charcoal drawing. I always think I'm going to learn guitar someday too. Watercolors. Woodworking. And on and on.
The light these days is a little dreary here. I dread cold weather coming. Dreary, muddy winters. Ugh. If my circumstances and energy would allow it I'd be somewhere sunny, always catching the sunrise with my camera ready.
A gargoyle, yes! I hear you. I have never understood people who don’t have hobbies…. So I think you are in good company here with a string of interests. As for washi…. I know people use it in wonderful ways, but taping the edges of journal pages is the only really good thing I’ve ever done with it. I do like that look though - it’s a great New Year’s Eve project, lol. I am sorry the advance of cooler weather is dreary. I love the light in November and December best of all! Thank you for reading and for the S words.
Yes, excellent suggestion. I’ve never been a thimble person, but this may be the time. I was using a book cover as leverage to push the needle through on the last one I did.
Serendipitous that you mentioned stickers today. I was attending a writer’s conference and one of the presenters had her computer covered in stickers, which I might not have noticed if I hadn’t read this post this morning. The presentation explores ways to make time to write and one of the attendees mentioned how they found it helpful to track their writing progress using stickers on a calendar. I also bought my youngest kid a booklet of blank sticker shapes - it’s fun to use markers or pens design the sticker yourself before putting it on something - nice for collage art, too.
As always, thanks for sharing what’s on your mind.
This weekend has been full of many creative voices and teed up possibilities re: how I’ll be spending my October and November, from a creative perspective. Now I need to reflect a bit and select a path.
So, my S-words :
Serendipity.
Sharing.
Selecting (making creative choices with one’s time).
What a wonderful moment of connection, Rachel. Seeing things like laptops covered was a surprise to me, and now I realize it really is a current “thing” people do. It’s can look pretty cool. Stickers for tracking is mostly the kind of stickers I think of… so popular in the planning community (in bullet journals, etc.). Nice that someone mentioned using those today. I’m glad it sounds like it was a good conference!
I wrote a long post and the battery on my laptop died so it disappeared. Your writing always rings true with me.
I have 3 stickers on my laptop. The laptop is also covered in paint splatters like most of my clothing. I bought 4 more wonderful but tasteful stickers on the ferry ride when we went to pick up my daughter’s pup. I love ferry gift shops, airport gift shops and hospital ones!
Thinking I will stick them on my Dad’s old VW camper van. But then it is not mine. It belongs to my eldest daughter.
My kids , now in their 40’s, both had massive sticker collections in books and one stuck stickers all over her childhood dresser.
I use stickers in some of my journals. My grandkids asked why I had stickers on my laptop!
My daughter has sewn amazing patches on her 2 kid’s denim jackets. My fingers ached just looking at her doing it. I hated sewing on brownie badges for her. My fingers have always ached it seems. This year her son only wants to wear Adidas jackets.
I think we were meant to hibernate in October but now with global warming it seems like summer. I have little to inspire me and have been skipping my daily walks. Having a dog would help but then I would really have to walk and might resent it. I think I need to go earlier in the day. I can become occupied with other things and time slips away. And no I am not working!
My daughter’s visit made me sort out my messy little art space. This was a good thing. Having her here and travelling with her for the day reminded me of the times when she was a teenager.
I am not feeling very inspired to do much art. I look for the little things I can sketch. I was inspired by some of Tamara Laporte’s taster offerings. I try very hard NOT to pick up any new hobbies or creative endeavours. I have done most things but being in a smaller space it is better to have paper takes up less room!
I like Rachel’s S words… I need to time to come up with a few on my own.
Spider is one for me! Made a spider wreath for the door and found a huge gross red and black spider on my ceiling that appeared to come from a delicious bunch of green grapes. My 43 year old daughter got pretty freaked out over that one. She made me throw the grapes away.
As always I enjoy and appreciate your amazing posts. I only wish I could express myself in writing as you do.
Thanksgiving here in Canada and both kids and grandkids are away. I am used to having my own. I hosted for years and I am glad I do not need to do Hallmark holidays anymore.
Gail, thank you for reading and commenting. I always think you make so much art, and wonderful. I think I’m surprised to hear you have stickers on your laptop, and that’s a great thing! Your spider decorations made me laugh. I probably would have reacted the same as your daughter did. I love hearing about the jackets she made the kids. I hope someday they treasure those even if they outgrow them now. Happy Thanksgiving tomorrow! I hope you enjoy the day in ways that are meaningful to you, including a walk.
I have more projects than I will ever finish, but daily, I see something else that I think I should try. Yesterday it was origami stars out of pages from a paperback book! Haven’t done much with stickers lately other than in my calendar, but would love to see your notebook when you cover it.!
I think those stars must be like the ones we tried last year. Just say no! Lol. I think it would be so nice to only enjoy one thing. Thanks for reading.
There’s a funny SNL skit with someone impersonating Sean Connery as a jeopardy contestant: “I’ll take SWORDs for 100” -- “that’s S words Sean” I’m a sticker user. If I have one I am going to find something to stick it on, but rarely something I value.
Love that Jeopardy/SNL moment. Very funny. As for the stickers..... not on something of value. Ahhh.... there it is! Thanks for reading, Lauren. I'm loving your October series.
What a nice surprise to find my Oreo memory at the end of your writing this week, Amy! I’m so glad you enjoyed reading it, and thank you for reminding me of one of those little glimmers of childhood.
I don’t buy many stickers as an adult, but I do love them and I still have stickers I would like to find from my childhood. Some puffy Smurf stickers, long sheets of little fuzzy animal stickers like frogs and puppies and ladybugs… and then there were those hologram ones that looked like a 3-d object was stuck inside. And stickers filled bluish greenish gold gel liquid…the colors would change when you pressed your fingers against them, but it would also leak out if it go a hole in it (and who knows what that substance actually was!?) Oh now you’ve given me the urge to start looking up vintage stickers on Etsy again… hello rabbit hole!
And for the record, I love your delightfully long posts!
Thank you, Erin. I know you had mentioned stickers recently, and I love hearing some of these specifics. Smurfs :) -- And thank you for sharing the oreo memory. I think I neglected to comment on your comment -- I saw it just as I was working on this post and immediately wanted to pull it in. Thank you for your continued warm support.
I just recently added one sticker to my laptop. Somehow, there was a corroded spot on the laptop cover---I think I put a lid of a nail polish remover on it? I’m not even sure, but it was unsightly. It was there for months, a white c shape on my gray laptop. I don’t usually do this, but while on vacation this summer, I bought a sticker at Wind Cave National Park in South Dakota, a buffalo shape with both the caves and the above ground terrain in blue within the outline. It’s pretty! I covered the spot with the port buffalo. 🦬
I was in a small town from 5th grade on, and during my 1980s sticker phase, we’d go to the Books on the Square and buy little stickers off the rolls they had there. I think I regarded them as too precious to use! I do remember trading with friends at school.
I never finished sewing my daughter’s patches on her Girl Scout vest. I have always felt bad about it.
This year I’m on a HUGE reading kick. I’ve never read more. I’m up to 41 books this year. I’m loving that hobby. I need two more authors to compile an author-last-name-ABC challenge. Letters N and U.
I have tons of unfinished knitting projects, and a few crochet. I’m a real beginner in both areas, but I do love it. I like doing washcloths because the finish line is easier to get to!
It’s an overcast, fading, evening light. Gray with a hint of blue.
Sweet
Stardust
Soft
I enjoyed reading the post this week, and feel connections with much of it. I hope you have a wonderful week.
I just read the “notes” to the Substack post and realized I have a sticker from a coffee shop that I adore. It’s got a roller skate on it, which I was doing a year or so ago! My roller skating pal (also around 50 yo) stopped because she injured her back and I just can’t go alone. I wish I could honestly say that was still a hobby I was doing because it fills me with joy to get my skates on. I made sure I went to that coffee shop that one specific day to get that specific sticker, and a Chai. I have it pinned to a cork board by my desk. Again, it’s too precious to stick on anything! I suppose I could put it by my buffalo.
What a coincidence about the buffalo sticker you recently added! That's funny - but a good use! Thank you for the S words and a description of your light. Two last name starts with N authors that come to mind, if you haven't already thought about these: Audrey Niffenegger and Celeste Ng. That sounds like quite a challenge - and a lot of reading this year. That's great!
I love Yuletide Tarot. Best to buy it directly from Llewellyn, rather than Amazon. I was afraid it would be too cutesy, but the images are perfect. Thanks, Erin.
Amy, this post is just too dense. I understand all your flailing about with knitting and quilting. I have the same issues. I don’t have a full-time job; I just have full-time MS. Writing for Substack and trying to get some reading done seem to take all of my time. OK, maybe I do get out in my power chair. I love to ride the bus.
Maybe you need a density vacation. A few days with only sewing, say. Oh, that reminds me. If you are going to be sewing things that are really tough, use a hemostat (locking scissors) to pull the needle through. Also, I hand piece. It’s easier to get points to align. You can do that while your machine is being tuned.
I'll start with light. Externally, everything is lit with the softer sun of fall at midmorning. I slept nearly 12 hours, an unheard of achievement following a long journey and days of monkey brain-inflicted deprivation before and during the trip. Internally, I'm filled with bright appreciation for family and friends who come together and enjoy the experience. That doesn't happen all the time, and I'm aware of how special that is.
🦄 -- sort of. I don't much love my reusable water bottle, so unlike most of my pals, I have been reluctant to sticker that. But, I recently added a collection to a vintage Thermos I acquired when my mom died, and I have a new one from my trip that I will add soon. Your reference to Brownie patches made me smile. I still have my Girl Scout sash, and speaking of my mom, it was mostly she who stitched them all on.
S words -- Satiety (the pronunciation always makes me grin!), sage (both the plants and the wise people), stresslessness (because saying it repeatedly seems to have that effect)
I'll end with the feelings of overwhelm, insufficient energy, and too much work. How I relate to this! There is so much I want to do, plenty that I need to do, too much that I have to do, much of which doesn't bring the same joy as I imagine the first two will bring. I have to focus on what's working, where I'm gaining energy, what's feeding me -- and do that when I can, even if it feels I can't or dont do it often enough. I don't know where you live, Amy, or whether this idea will feel accessible, but when I'm at my least enthusiastic about - well, everything - I go outside barefoot. Sometimes, I sit wrapped in blankets with a cup of hot tea, feet buried in damp leaves. Sometimes I stand on a patch of moss. Sometimes I walk. Sometimes, I spray my toes with water. It's the connection of skin to earth that I'm after. It can be hands, too, if you like digging in dirt. It helps me. It really does.
Thanks, as always, for sharing your true self, your amazingly detailed and provocative drawings, your process.
Thank you for your words, Elizabeth, all of them, including the S ones. I read your recent post about the travel/meetup. It is wonderful to have connections that are strong enough to support that. I loved the fortune cookie deep dive, too. Thank you for sharing the water bottle thought process. I am surprised if you don't like it (and if you are surrounded by stickered ones) that stickers weren't a strategy for covering it and revitalizing it. My reusable one is (soft) rainbow, I have to admit, an oddity in my "mostly black" approach. But it's old and the color has started flaking from the bottom. Also not really a sticker candidate. The soft color makes me smile though, and I really like the cool slick feel of the unadorned bottle anyway. Having said that.... I think your vintage Thermos sounds cool.... love the sentimental connection. That you picked up a sticker on the recent trip.... serendipitous. :) (Thanks for the sailmaker kit mention!)
This is beautiful - and I love knowing there are people like you who do these things! " Sometimes, I sit wrapped in blankets with a cup of hot tea, feet buried in damp leaves. Sometimes I stand on a patch of moss." Thank you.
Wow, I read it all and I can relate to so much of everything you said, I kept thinking "how did someone get in my head and feel all my feelings"!
Stickers - I kid you not, I just recently ordered a bunch of stickers, mostly to use inside my creative journal.
Patches - I'm not into them. My daughter was in Scouts, all I remember is the pain of sewing those things one, (I also don't glue), and now, years later we sit with clothing covered in these patches and no one wants to keep the clothing and yet I also don't want to get rid of them because of the patches, but there is no way I am going to try and get those patches off!
My next favourite hobby is crocheting! It comes easier to me than knitting, I can crochet much faster, and it makes me think of my Gran.
The light right now is gloomy and grey.
My S words are silly, simple and stupid. No really, I have to be in a deep state of reflection for meaningful and interesting vocabulary to come out of my head.
Wow. Lots to absorb. I can relate to the varied needlework hobbies- I used to fear I’d die with all these partially stitched canvases. I quit knitting but often wish for the comforting rhythm of knitting. Never really liked how my finished pieces looked.
I’m a No sticker person- might be age related.
S words: firstly, I love the word stultifying
Syrupy, succulent
Thanks for opening up your process
So many unfinished things we will probably all leave behind! Thank you for commenting, and for the excellent S words.
Stickers! I love them so much. I use composition books for all of my daily writings and journaling and I add stickers as I come across them to the front cover. It's another way of keeping the memory of each journal's little window of time. It's very haphazard, not a sticker bomb approach. I want each sticker to be seen and visible. Sometimes the front cover fills up and I move to the back cover, sometimes there are only a handful on the front.
I also have a couple of stickers on my ukelele. It's one of the reasons I was so excited to find the clear plastic uke! I also have a couple in my water bottle.
I am a sticker person.
As you know, I'm also working on a project with patches. I'm just ironing, sewing is not my thing. But I love the jacket so much. Most of the patches on it have some meaning for me, but a few are just cool ones I found at antique stores. I guess I'm a patch person, too.
As always, thanks so much for sharing. 🩷❤️💜💕
Again, the irony of our “patches” posts in the same timeframe is just so bizarre, but I love it. You will have to show us your jacket at some point. I love hearing about the stickers and the patches…. And seeing the authenticity is part of it. Composition books for the win — but where do you happen upon these stickers that mark the time? And on the uke, too, oh my! Even on my uke, I could never do it. But the guitar is a definite no. Lol. Thanks so much for commenting.
If you're looking, there are always stickers! Some I buy, but only if it's something I really want to remember. For example, when I was in vacation I bought a sticker when we were on the island in Canada, and I bought one at this enormous pet store I went to. I never pay more than a couple of bucks. The Amazon catalog that just came in the mail has a sheet of stickers. Plus, I know all the places around town that have stickers for kids and I'm not shy about asking for them! 😁
Every week when I read your Sunday post, I have so many things to say, ask, share, that I feel like I could write a whole Substack post with my half of the conversation. I could share pictures of stickers on my car, on my iPad, on my journal covers. Pictures of the bags of stickers on my desk. I would suggest we swap our extras, because I don’t really need 100 frog stickers.
I could share that our lives are so similar, that my world shrinks and shrinks until my only “friends” work the mcdonald’s drive through. That I am both always alone, and never alone.
The light in my room this morning looks a little like fall. There is definitely less feeling like I’m standing on the surface of the sun. I have huge oak trees on my front yard that provide both shade and protection from the outside world. I’m sure my neighbors, in their fancy new houses, would love me to trim them up, but would much prefer to be the house where the weird lady lives.
Unicorns dance across my laptop, my iPad, my rear window, and my file cabinet, but gargoyles lurk in my closet.
Stickers definitely, patches for sure if I could find a way to display them. Even pins if they didn’t fall off all of the time. I had the brilliant idea to cover my Timbuk 2 messenger bag with patches, but that fabric is designed to withstand assault.
While the stickers on my journals and file cabinet are more superficial. The stickers on my car and my iPad are more about who I am, and how I hope my people will find me.
I have a pile of stickers ready to add to my car, but I have been hesitating. I worry that a sticker that goes against the supercilious (see what I did there), conservative, white, cis, het, Christian majority in this town might make me a target. On the other hand, when I see another car with a rebellious sticker, I want to get out of my car and go introduce myself. I think, I’m not the only one. I’d love to be that for someone else who feels like they have to hide.
After drawing and reading, I have a lot of fiber hobbies. I have tried crochet, knitting, quilting (a long time dream but I’m horrible at it), embroidery, felting, weaving, cross stitch, sewing clothes, and sewing dolls and stuffed monsters. Of all of these, I have had the most success with crochet and making creatures. My sewing machine and serger sit abandoned on my shelf. I even have a machine I won that is still in the box. I blame lack of space, but I could probably make it work if I really wanted to.
See, no need to worry about long posts with me! I love to read what you write, and respond with a bazillion words of my own.
I thought it would be nice to make stickers from some of my own art. But then I have no it done it!
Like you I am alone but not alone and my local grocery store where staff knew me by name and I knew them and we shared bits of our lives is closing after 37 years. It will leave a hole in the area in more ways than one can express. So many of us get a daily connection and joy and food and flowers from that store.
We could certainly write substacks back to back and in exchange. I love a good epistolary. I agree, there are overlaps, and you’ve said many things here I definitely understand and appreciate and admire. I don’t do stickers on cars either, but I do often notice them on cars. The calling card and the invitation are powerful ways to think about it. I love the “how I hope people will find me” thought. (I do understand the very real hesitation as well. I’m also glad for the oak trees.) This line…. So great: “Unicorns dance across my laptop, my iPad, my rear window, and my file cabinet, but gargoyles lurk in my closet.” Thank you for taking time to respond!
Unicorn - but only on my insulated tumblers. And they have to be correlating to something I’m interested in.
I’ve got too many “other” hobbies to list. Lol
Stretch, strange, stardust
I should have had you show more closely what stickers were on the things you held up today in our call! Thank you for the S words.
I love stickers but I'm a gargoyle when it comes to my stuff. I use them inside my journal. I've thought about putting some on the cover but I figure they'll eventually start peeling and I'll get annoyed. You've got me thinking about it though. :-) I also have an ungodly amount of washi tape,mostly unused, but it's so pretty and I keep telling myself I'll use it for something. Lol.
I am constantly starting on things and losing steam, sometimes losing enthusiasm. I have more hobbies than anyone I know. I can't stand to be BORED. I always have to be thinking of something, learning something, creating something, finding inspiration and new ideas. I feel restless in my own skin if I'm not, and depressed. Truth be told, I've wondered if I have adhd or autism like my son. I have a lot of traits. I love art and journaling, writing, reading singing, piano, cooking, photography. I've made my own journals, done bookbinding, crochet, some knitting. Charcoal drawing. I always think I'm going to learn guitar someday too. Watercolors. Woodworking. And on and on.
The light these days is a little dreary here. I dread cold weather coming. Dreary, muddy winters. Ugh. If my circumstances and energy would allow it I'd be somewhere sunny, always catching the sunrise with my camera ready.
S words: sunrise, spirit, and strength.
A gargoyle, yes! I hear you. I have never understood people who don’t have hobbies…. So I think you are in good company here with a string of interests. As for washi…. I know people use it in wonderful ways, but taping the edges of journal pages is the only really good thing I’ve ever done with it. I do like that look though - it’s a great New Year’s Eve project, lol. I am sorry the advance of cooler weather is dreary. I love the light in November and December best of all! Thank you for reading and for the S words.
About sewing on the patches: try wearing a thimble on the finger that pushes the needle.
I have my grandmother’s thimble but it is way to small for my fingers! I do love having it.
Yes, excellent suggestion. I’ve never been a thimble person, but this may be the time. I was using a book cover as leverage to push the needle through on the last one I did.
Serendipitous that you mentioned stickers today. I was attending a writer’s conference and one of the presenters had her computer covered in stickers, which I might not have noticed if I hadn’t read this post this morning. The presentation explores ways to make time to write and one of the attendees mentioned how they found it helpful to track their writing progress using stickers on a calendar. I also bought my youngest kid a booklet of blank sticker shapes - it’s fun to use markers or pens design the sticker yourself before putting it on something - nice for collage art, too.
As always, thanks for sharing what’s on your mind.
This weekend has been full of many creative voices and teed up possibilities re: how I’ll be spending my October and November, from a creative perspective. Now I need to reflect a bit and select a path.
So, my S-words :
Serendipity.
Sharing.
Selecting (making creative choices with one’s time).
What a wonderful moment of connection, Rachel. Seeing things like laptops covered was a surprise to me, and now I realize it really is a current “thing” people do. It’s can look pretty cool. Stickers for tracking is mostly the kind of stickers I think of… so popular in the planning community (in bullet journals, etc.). Nice that someone mentioned using those today. I’m glad it sounds like it was a good conference!
I wrote a long post and the battery on my laptop died so it disappeared. Your writing always rings true with me.
I have 3 stickers on my laptop. The laptop is also covered in paint splatters like most of my clothing. I bought 4 more wonderful but tasteful stickers on the ferry ride when we went to pick up my daughter’s pup. I love ferry gift shops, airport gift shops and hospital ones!
Thinking I will stick them on my Dad’s old VW camper van. But then it is not mine. It belongs to my eldest daughter.
My kids , now in their 40’s, both had massive sticker collections in books and one stuck stickers all over her childhood dresser.
I use stickers in some of my journals. My grandkids asked why I had stickers on my laptop!
My daughter has sewn amazing patches on her 2 kid’s denim jackets. My fingers ached just looking at her doing it. I hated sewing on brownie badges for her. My fingers have always ached it seems. This year her son only wants to wear Adidas jackets.
I think we were meant to hibernate in October but now with global warming it seems like summer. I have little to inspire me and have been skipping my daily walks. Having a dog would help but then I would really have to walk and might resent it. I think I need to go earlier in the day. I can become occupied with other things and time slips away. And no I am not working!
My daughter’s visit made me sort out my messy little art space. This was a good thing. Having her here and travelling with her for the day reminded me of the times when she was a teenager.
I am not feeling very inspired to do much art. I look for the little things I can sketch. I was inspired by some of Tamara Laporte’s taster offerings. I try very hard NOT to pick up any new hobbies or creative endeavours. I have done most things but being in a smaller space it is better to have paper takes up less room!
I like Rachel’s S words… I need to time to come up with a few on my own.
Spider is one for me! Made a spider wreath for the door and found a huge gross red and black spider on my ceiling that appeared to come from a delicious bunch of green grapes. My 43 year old daughter got pretty freaked out over that one. She made me throw the grapes away.
As always I enjoy and appreciate your amazing posts. I only wish I could express myself in writing as you do.
Thanksgiving here in Canada and both kids and grandkids are away. I am used to having my own. I hosted for years and I am glad I do not need to do Hallmark holidays anymore.
Have a good week Amy!
Gail, thank you for reading and commenting. I always think you make so much art, and wonderful. I think I’m surprised to hear you have stickers on your laptop, and that’s a great thing! Your spider decorations made me laugh. I probably would have reacted the same as your daughter did. I love hearing about the jackets she made the kids. I hope someday they treasure those even if they outgrow them now. Happy Thanksgiving tomorrow! I hope you enjoy the day in ways that are meaningful to you, including a walk.
I have more projects than I will ever finish, but daily, I see something else that I think I should try. Yesterday it was origami stars out of pages from a paperback book! Haven’t done much with stickers lately other than in my calendar, but would love to see your notebook when you cover it.!
I think those stars must be like the ones we tried last year. Just say no! Lol. I think it would be so nice to only enjoy one thing. Thanks for reading.
There’s a funny SNL skit with someone impersonating Sean Connery as a jeopardy contestant: “I’ll take SWORDs for 100” -- “that’s S words Sean” I’m a sticker user. If I have one I am going to find something to stick it on, but rarely something I value.
Love that Jeopardy/SNL moment. Very funny. As for the stickers..... not on something of value. Ahhh.... there it is! Thanks for reading, Lauren. I'm loving your October series.
What a nice surprise to find my Oreo memory at the end of your writing this week, Amy! I’m so glad you enjoyed reading it, and thank you for reminding me of one of those little glimmers of childhood.
I don’t buy many stickers as an adult, but I do love them and I still have stickers I would like to find from my childhood. Some puffy Smurf stickers, long sheets of little fuzzy animal stickers like frogs and puppies and ladybugs… and then there were those hologram ones that looked like a 3-d object was stuck inside. And stickers filled bluish greenish gold gel liquid…the colors would change when you pressed your fingers against them, but it would also leak out if it go a hole in it (and who knows what that substance actually was!?) Oh now you’ve given me the urge to start looking up vintage stickers on Etsy again… hello rabbit hole!
And for the record, I love your delightfully long posts!
Thank you, Erin. I know you had mentioned stickers recently, and I love hearing some of these specifics. Smurfs :) -- And thank you for sharing the oreo memory. I think I neglected to comment on your comment -- I saw it just as I was working on this post and immediately wanted to pull it in. Thank you for your continued warm support.
I just recently added one sticker to my laptop. Somehow, there was a corroded spot on the laptop cover---I think I put a lid of a nail polish remover on it? I’m not even sure, but it was unsightly. It was there for months, a white c shape on my gray laptop. I don’t usually do this, but while on vacation this summer, I bought a sticker at Wind Cave National Park in South Dakota, a buffalo shape with both the caves and the above ground terrain in blue within the outline. It’s pretty! I covered the spot with the port buffalo. 🦬
I was in a small town from 5th grade on, and during my 1980s sticker phase, we’d go to the Books on the Square and buy little stickers off the rolls they had there. I think I regarded them as too precious to use! I do remember trading with friends at school.
I never finished sewing my daughter’s patches on her Girl Scout vest. I have always felt bad about it.
This year I’m on a HUGE reading kick. I’ve never read more. I’m up to 41 books this year. I’m loving that hobby. I need two more authors to compile an author-last-name-ABC challenge. Letters N and U.
I have tons of unfinished knitting projects, and a few crochet. I’m a real beginner in both areas, but I do love it. I like doing washcloths because the finish line is easier to get to!
It’s an overcast, fading, evening light. Gray with a hint of blue.
Sweet
Stardust
Soft
I enjoyed reading the post this week, and feel connections with much of it. I hope you have a wonderful week.
I just read the “notes” to the Substack post and realized I have a sticker from a coffee shop that I adore. It’s got a roller skate on it, which I was doing a year or so ago! My roller skating pal (also around 50 yo) stopped because she injured her back and I just can’t go alone. I wish I could honestly say that was still a hobby I was doing because it fills me with joy to get my skates on. I made sure I went to that coffee shop that one specific day to get that specific sticker, and a Chai. I have it pinned to a cork board by my desk. Again, it’s too precious to stick on anything! I suppose I could put it by my buffalo.
Love this about the skating sticker - and the skating itself! Sounds like a good match for the buffalo, a reminder you would see often.
What a coincidence about the buffalo sticker you recently added! That's funny - but a good use! Thank you for the S words and a description of your light. Two last name starts with N authors that come to mind, if you haven't already thought about these: Audrey Niffenegger and Celeste Ng. That sounds like quite a challenge - and a lot of reading this year. That's great!
I love Yuletide Tarot. Best to buy it directly from Llewellyn, rather than Amazon. I was afraid it would be too cutesy, but the images are perfect. Thanks, Erin.
Amy, this post is just too dense. I understand all your flailing about with knitting and quilting. I have the same issues. I don’t have a full-time job; I just have full-time MS. Writing for Substack and trying to get some reading done seem to take all of my time. OK, maybe I do get out in my power chair. I love to ride the bus.
Maybe you need a density vacation. A few days with only sewing, say. Oh, that reminds me. If you are going to be sewing things that are really tough, use a hemostat (locking scissors) to pull the needle through. Also, I hand piece. It’s easier to get points to align. You can do that while your machine is being tuned.
Thank you for your comments, Fran. The hemostats are a great suggestion, too.
I'll start with light. Externally, everything is lit with the softer sun of fall at midmorning. I slept nearly 12 hours, an unheard of achievement following a long journey and days of monkey brain-inflicted deprivation before and during the trip. Internally, I'm filled with bright appreciation for family and friends who come together and enjoy the experience. That doesn't happen all the time, and I'm aware of how special that is.
🦄 -- sort of. I don't much love my reusable water bottle, so unlike most of my pals, I have been reluctant to sticker that. But, I recently added a collection to a vintage Thermos I acquired when my mom died, and I have a new one from my trip that I will add soon. Your reference to Brownie patches made me smile. I still have my Girl Scout sash, and speaking of my mom, it was mostly she who stitched them all on.
🧵 -- I wonder if a sailmaker's repair kit would help you with your patch projects? I think the palm and waxed thread might make the work less arduous. https://jimmygreen.com/sail-sewing/13922-sailmaker-repair-kit
S words -- Satiety (the pronunciation always makes me grin!), sage (both the plants and the wise people), stresslessness (because saying it repeatedly seems to have that effect)
I'll end with the feelings of overwhelm, insufficient energy, and too much work. How I relate to this! There is so much I want to do, plenty that I need to do, too much that I have to do, much of which doesn't bring the same joy as I imagine the first two will bring. I have to focus on what's working, where I'm gaining energy, what's feeding me -- and do that when I can, even if it feels I can't or dont do it often enough. I don't know where you live, Amy, or whether this idea will feel accessible, but when I'm at my least enthusiastic about - well, everything - I go outside barefoot. Sometimes, I sit wrapped in blankets with a cup of hot tea, feet buried in damp leaves. Sometimes I stand on a patch of moss. Sometimes I walk. Sometimes, I spray my toes with water. It's the connection of skin to earth that I'm after. It can be hands, too, if you like digging in dirt. It helps me. It really does.
Thanks, as always, for sharing your true self, your amazingly detailed and provocative drawings, your process.
Thank you for your words, Elizabeth, all of them, including the S ones. I read your recent post about the travel/meetup. It is wonderful to have connections that are strong enough to support that. I loved the fortune cookie deep dive, too. Thank you for sharing the water bottle thought process. I am surprised if you don't like it (and if you are surrounded by stickered ones) that stickers weren't a strategy for covering it and revitalizing it. My reusable one is (soft) rainbow, I have to admit, an oddity in my "mostly black" approach. But it's old and the color has started flaking from the bottom. Also not really a sticker candidate. The soft color makes me smile though, and I really like the cool slick feel of the unadorned bottle anyway. Having said that.... I think your vintage Thermos sounds cool.... love the sentimental connection. That you picked up a sticker on the recent trip.... serendipitous. :) (Thanks for the sailmaker kit mention!)
This is beautiful - and I love knowing there are people like you who do these things! " Sometimes, I sit wrapped in blankets with a cup of hot tea, feet buried in damp leaves. Sometimes I stand on a patch of moss." Thank you.
...I didn't want to lose the stickers when I found the right next water bottle. Not that stickers are irreplaceable, but it seemed unfair to them. 😅
Ahhh... now that I understand!
Wow, I read it all and I can relate to so much of everything you said, I kept thinking "how did someone get in my head and feel all my feelings"!
Stickers - I kid you not, I just recently ordered a bunch of stickers, mostly to use inside my creative journal.
Patches - I'm not into them. My daughter was in Scouts, all I remember is the pain of sewing those things one, (I also don't glue), and now, years later we sit with clothing covered in these patches and no one wants to keep the clothing and yet I also don't want to get rid of them because of the patches, but there is no way I am going to try and get those patches off!
My next favourite hobby is crocheting! It comes easier to me than knitting, I can crochet much faster, and it makes me think of my Gran.
The light right now is gloomy and grey.
My S words are silly, simple and stupid. No really, I have to be in a deep state of reflection for meaningful and interesting vocabulary to come out of my head.
Thank you for sharing all these thoughts.