Holiday Cheer yarn bomb

I am happy to announce that I was able to participate in another yarn bombing project for Yarn Bombing Los Angeles. Their "Alone Together: a socially distant public art project" encourages yarn bombers to create public art installations while practicing social distancing. I was delighted to see that fellow yarn bombers have been able to flaunt their creations even during the pandemic. Here is the blurb I wrote for the Yarn Bombing Los Angeles website: "For this yarn bomb, I crocheted five tree ornaments. I installed them on a tree in my front yard, where passersby can see them. I hope my yarn bomb will bring a little bit of cheer in this otherwise rough year." What has brought you happiness lately?

a gloomy October day

Today is the third day in a row of dark, rainy weather. This kind of weather makes my pain and fatigue worse. Thus, today has been a rough day. However, I was able to run some errands and make some postcards. Tonight, my dad and I will take the two newest chicks out of the nest box. Their parents have stopped feeding them. So, I will stay up tonight to feed them. I'm thinking I'll be able to make more mail art and crochet during the night tonight. Speaking of crochet, did you know I have an Etsy shop? The shop is called Green Owl Crochet. I also accept crochet commissions! In the comments below, please tell me your favorite way to spend a rainy day. 

Happy September!

Ahoy! I hope you all are doing well. My dad's parrots recently had two chicks. One chick hatched on August 30th and the other on September 3rd. We feel blessed! I have been crocheting a lot lately and doing some writing. I was also able to have a painting session a little while ago. I sat at the Ridgewood Duck Pond the other day and wrote some letters and took some pictures using my Fujifilm Instax camera. How is your September going? What are some of your goals for fall?

painting on cardboard August 2020

still-life photography August 2020

our two newest chicks!

close-up of a cat bed I crocheted

writing letters are the park September 2020

The Things They Carry

     A little while ago, it was trendy for people on YouTube to make a video about what they carry in their purse, bag, backpack, etc. I am not a YouTube vlogger (at least, not yet!). Nonetheless, I would like to share with you the things I carry in my purse and my backpack. 
     I always carry my purse when I leave the house. My purse is a large, brown, fake leather purse from Antik Kraft. I bought it a couple of weeks ago at TJ Maxx. It was on clearance for 22 USD. You have got to love a good bargain! The purse is high quality despite its low price. I use my purse to carry my wallet, my iPhone, my Kindle Fire tablet, and other essentials like lip balm and hand cream. My favorite feature about this purse is that it has both traditional purse handles and a shoulder strap.

     In addition to this purse, I often carry around a back pack. This back pack is a gray, floral back pack from Jansport. I bought this back pack at Marshall's a month or so ago. Marshall's is selling this line of back packs for 24.99 USD each. I normally would have waited until their back packs went on clearance. However, I love the floral print so much that I decided to buy the back pack at 24.99 USD. Jansport back packs come with a lifetime guarantee, which is great! The only feature I did not like about the back pack is it's lack of water bottle holder on the sides. I use the back pack to carry my less-essential, but still important, items. Right now, this back pack holds the following:

• my journal
• a library book called The Passion of Dolssa by Julie Berry
• the book No Plot? No Problem! by Chris Baty
• a pouch of pencils and pens
• a pouch of some street art and creativity items, like blank index cards
• a miniature desk set with staples, tape, etc
• my inhaler
• bug spray
• a sun hat
• a protein bar
• my set of crochet hooks and other crochet accessories
• my laptop

What do you carry around with you? Please leave me a comment below.

sweet dreams are made of these

     I have often had weird, vivid dreams that seem to last for a long time. I frequently write down my dreams in my journal. If my journal is not handy or if I am stuck in bed, I will write my dreams on any available paper or type it out on my smart phone. On occasion, I will have a short dream or a dream I consider insignificant. I rarely record the details of such dreams. However, my dreams are usually as odd and complex as the one I will share with you all later on in this post.

     One of my friends, Joshua, is doing a project involving dreams. They posted a Google form the other day. The Google form asks you to share details of the dream you had the night before, like the characters, the plot, etc. This is the dream I shared with Joshua. 

"I was at an amusement park. I went on a ride that went through a house of some sort. I then went on a ride that somehow took you through Japan. This ride led to me being in an airborne contraption. We were in the contraption for a long time. This woman (I got the feeling she was an employee of the amusement park) was attempting to sexually assault the other passengers, but I somehow was able to manage not being attacked by her. We finally landed. It was a relief. I was then in a fast food restaurant with my dad, Rachel Z (a former classmate of mine from high school), and two employees of the restaurant. There was a snow storm and we were trapped in the restaurant. The lights went off and one of the employees went to go get help while my dad slept. Rachel and I ate cherry cheesecake."

What kind of dreams do you have? Do you ever use your dreams as a starting point for art and/or writing projects? 

something is better than nothing

I have gotten four orders for various crocheted items in the past six weeks. Because of this, I have been busy crocheting. However, in addition to crocheting for my Etsy shop, Green Owl Crochet, I have been writing letters, making a few pieces of art, writing a few poems, making some postcards, and writing in my journal. Yesterday, I woke up feeling like I  wanted to make some art. I knew I didn't have much time or energy to spend on it, but I still wanted to make something. I ended up completing the front page and working on a two-page spread of a small booklet I made. Voila! Small bursts of creativity are great!

Fun Things for Homebound Folks to Enjoy

Ahoy, mateys! I have extensive experience with being stuck at home. I would like to share my (unfortunate) expertise with you all, in hopes that these thirteen tips will help you stay content while homebound. 

1.) read a book!

2.) create a collage
In addition to more traditional, paper-based collages, you can make sound collages. I learned about sound collages via Keri Smith. You basically make a list of all the sounds you hear within a minute. 

3.) follow an exercise video
yoga, Pilates, aerobics? Whatever you'd like!

4.) write in a journal
If you do not have access to a bound journal, you can always write your entries on loose sheets of paper and bind them at a later time using staples or whatnot.

5.) doodle

6.) comment on your favorite blogs
I love it when people comment on my blog, and I'm sure other bloggers do, too!

7.) try a new recipe
I recently made this yummy fruit salsa using a recipe from Gimme Some Oven. 

8.) knit or crochet
You can learn to knit and/or crochet using free tutorials on YouTube or pay for a class on Bluprint.

9.) watch TV or a movie
I have been loving Anne with an E on NetFlix! If you do not have a TV, you can watch free content on YouTube or from Open Culture. I love watching yarn hauls, crochet vlogs, and more on YouTube. Try it!

10.) coloring
There are many free coloring pages online, as long as you have a working printer. Grab some colored pencils and color your heart out!

11.) take an online class
Try Coursera, Udemy, Skillshare, or another online platform.

12.) write poetry or flash fiction
For an example of a flash fiction story, please see my post for The Bowl.

13.) make still-life photographs
Staging and taking still-life photographs is fun! Give it a try. This is an example of one of my still-life photographs, called Pain and Hope.

What are you looking forward to doing at home?

Stay well, all!

Caron Cotton Cakes review

     Hi, all! I hope everyone is doing well despite the pandemic. Here in northern New Jersey, our grocery stores are running out of supplies like toilet paper, bananas, laundry detergent, etc. On the bright side, I got a commission via my Etsy shop, Green Owl Crochet, for a granny square lap blanket. The customer wanted an acrylic and cotton yarn. I chose to use Caron Cotton Cakes. I love this yarn so much that I wanted to write a review about it. 
    I bought two skeins of Caron Cotton Cakes for a commission. The customer wanted a soft, acrylic/cotton yarn. I went to Michaels (the craft store) and they had a lot of a yarn called Caron Cotton Cakes. I love Caron Cakes, so I figured I would enjoy using their Cotton Cakes. Sure enough, I love them! This yarn is 60% cotton and 40% acrylic. It comes in 8.8 ounce (530 yard) skeins. It is a worsted weight yarn and Caron recommends that you use a size H/8 (5.0 mm) hook with which to crochet this yarn. The yarn is soft and luxurious-feeling. I usually dislike cotton yarns, but again, Caron Cotton Cakes is soft and lovely to work up. 
    I bought two skeins of Caron Cotton Cakes in the colorway Fruit Tropics. Later on, I bought one skein of the colorway Blue Hawaiian. I am not sure what I will do with the skein of Blue Hawaiian. However, as I previously mentioned, I am using the two skeins of the Caron Cotton Cakes in colorway Fruit Tropics to crochet a granny square lap blanket. I am using a size K/10.5 (6.5 mm) hook to work up the lap blanket. 
     Have you ever worked with Caron Cotton Cakes? If so, how do you like it?

the granny square lap blanket I am working on

Fruit Tropics (left) and Blue Hawaiian (right)

another view of Blue Hawaiian

in like a lion

In the past month, I have been crocheting a lot, and writing and making a few pieces of art. My friend, Pepe, commented on a painting I made. He said that it "looks like [Joan] Miro". What a compliment! In terms of my crochet, I made a lap blanket for a friend of mine, Lindsay, and I finished about half of another lap blanket. I am making the latter lap blanket with various scrap yarns. Please do not forget to check out my Etsy shop, Green Owl Crochet. Until next time... Ciao!

"Just Play #1"

close-up of scrap blanket

close-up of rainbow lap blanket

my cat, Callie, models the scrap blanket

rainy day in January

Howdy! It has been dark and rainy all day today. Boo hoo. I dislike rainy days. Do you? I worked on crocheting a hat for an order I received via my Etsy shop, Green Owl Crochet. I took a break to make some collages. I will share one of the collages below, along with a close-up picture of a cat bed I made and another collage I made last week. How do you like to spend rainy days? Ciao!

close-up of cat bed

Owl Doodle January 2020

Rainy Day Blues January 2020

winter update 2020

Happy New Year! I hope your year is full of wonderful goodness. I have been busy crocheting some orders for my Etsy shop, Green Owl Crochet. I have also been making some paintings and collages. Do you have any goals for the new year? Or any wishes? Please let me know in the comments. Ciao!

Blue Mood/Winter Blue

December 2019

One of our hyacinth macaw babies!

Feather Blitz

January 2020