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Uggh, I was hit with a really bad cold for a couple of days there, but I'm back.
Artwork above by the gang at work. I'm at a bit of a loss to explain the device they used to create this, but it's a crazy adaptive bingo stamp holder. I'll have to take a picture of it for it to make sense.
Crocheting soon, when I've done some more of it. :)
A regular feature of etsy's on the Storque is the "Quit Your Day Job" section, where crafters explain how they managed to cast free their work lives and become full time crafters. This is presented as the ultimate dream of crafting and crafters everywhere.
Over the last few weeks, as we stare down the state budget crisis in Massachusetts, I've been thinking a lot about my Day Job. As I mention occasionally, I work with adults with developmental disabilities at a day habilitation service. We're funded by the state of Massachusetts, and our continued survival is still looking a little hairy (on a side note, if you're from Mass, write to your state senator!). It's certainly given me an opportunity to think about my Day Job as compared to my crocheting.
Facing the possibility of not having any continued employment, I realized something. I don't want to quit my day job.Yes, I do love to crochet, and maybe I would do it full time if forced to, but what I get out of my Day Job is more than medical insurance and a paycheck (although those are nice, and I would take more paychecks if they start giving them out).
My day job is challenging-- in fact, a little more than I would sometimes like. Designing activities that the group of individuals I am responsible for is incredibly challenging. These adults are faced with disability, age, vision issues, hearing loss, and in some cases years of living in institutional settings. It takes everything I have to come up with and adapt activities for them. I'm constantly picking the brains of anyone I come across for more ideas, and anyone who's met me for more than five minutes quickly learns all about my job as I pump them for ideas.
But when the ideas work, my job is rewarding. The triumphs are usually small by some standards, but they mean a lot to me. With the group of people I used to work with, I was pleased if they completed a craft activity start to finish by themselves. With my current group, I'm happy when people engage in activities. Today, for the first time, an individual that I've never been able to engage in an activity painted independently with a paintbrush taped to a 36" dowel (if you haven't tried this before, it's fun. Cover a wall with paper, then stand or sit 3 feet away and pain). We had a party. And I know I'm making a difference, if only a small one.
What can sometimes be just as important, though, is that I work with great people at my day job. As much as administration can drive us all insane, as much as we fight as though we're related, I work with an incredible bunch of people who are just as crazy as I am. I would miss them just as much as the individuals that I work with if we had to close down.
Someday, I may be at a different place in my life, and I may feel differently. I may burn out eventually, it's a tough field to stay in, and a lot of people do. But for right now, what I want most, career wise, is to see day habilitation keep being funded and to be able to get up and go to my Day Job every morning.
Argh, craziness at work. Yikes. Tomorrow is the big debate over the state budget. To manage stress, I'm working on a new cotton bag!
I would have posted a picture of the shortcake with strawberries on it, but we ate it too quickly. This is vanilla wheat shortcake-- 1/4c sugar, 1 c white flour, 1 c wheat flour, 2 tsp baking powder mixed together, creamed with 1 stick butter, then 2/3 c buttermilk, 1 egg, and 1 tsp vanilla stirred in, baked for 10m at 450. Delicious. I have some more left over for tonight, although I lack energy to hull the berries.
Here are a couple of donuts I've made, I'm working away on them, slowly. I've envisioned a pretty massive mobile. Well, not massive, but at least filled with donuts.
Today a proposed 115 million dollar budget cut was announced for day habilitation services in Massachusetts (it's what I do for a living) which would leave more than 20,000 adults with developmental disabilities without day services. We're all watching this with our breath held, as unlike the previous round of cuts, this would most certainly mean loss of services and jobs. Yikes! Hopefully they'll raise the sales tax in the state to make up for it, considering that our budget has been level-funded (increases only to match the level of inflation) for a long, long time... The Department of Mental Health, Mass Rehab Comission, and other agencies are also facing scary cuts.
Stemellina lists herself primarily as a needle felter, but what an incredible combination of needle felting and crochet! Although, granted, the brooch above doesn't contain any needle felting, it is an amazing use of crochet in a really different format. It's refreshing to see someone doing something this individual. Not to mention my major weakness, wonderful photography.
Her photographs are clear and carefully highlight the pieces. I also enjoy the creative use of macro focus on some of the pictures. Stemellina creates pieces with needle felted "beads" wrapped in crochet, which I haven't seen anyone else doing and is certainly lovely.
The level of craftsmanship is clear. Stemellina is doing some amazing work, and you should pay attention.
Actually got outside over the weekend. Here are some shots of various plants. I really had a good time experimenting with the new camera! This is something I never would have been able to pull off with the old camera, that's for sure! Currently working on a donut mobile, which is fun, and I have some other interesting ideas.
The pollen count pattern is finished and ready to go. I've added a download link here, and you can see more details about the pattern on the sidebar. Enjoy. At least these pollen grains won't give you the sniffles! :)
In homage to the pollen afflicting me and so many others, I'll be adding a free pattern to the site soon for various pollen grains. That would be grass pollen, pictured.
I've been waiting for Flickr to finish loading some images and reading through the storque, here's a post you may have missed that I think is important--it's about how the new optimized etsy search engine works.
Amigurumi Squid
