Here’s the most beautiful thing you will see today: Aoyama Hina‘s papercut art. I don’t understand how human fingers could make something so intricate. It makes my x-acto knife fumblings look downright pathetic. More here.
Author: Katy Kelleher
If I could go anywhere in the world, I would want to travel north. Maybe it’s from reading The Golden Compass one two many times as a kid, but I’ve always been fascinated with the coldest parts of the globe. The romantic poets got this. There’s something terrifically lonesome, beautiful, and downright sublime about all that snow and wilderness and wildness.
Since I can’t go feral anytime soon (though my desire to live in a Tumbleweed hasn’t been completely squashed by recent developments), I’ve been attempting to sublimate my wanderlust into looking at pretty, pretty pictures. I’ve collected a few photographers who capture the cold parts of the world really well, and I figured I would round them up in one place….
That Time.
This popped up on my Facebook newsfeed today. Normally, I consider the newsfeed the most terrible invention of our time; scrolling through it is a horrible mix of masochism and schadenfreude that leaves me feeling either dirty, depressed, incredibly useless, guilty, or all of the above. Seriously, it’s the devil.
But Edward Gorey is wonderful. And though I’ve decided not to take it as a sign (chances are I won’t get struck with an axe. I haven’t been camping in awhile, though now that I think about it, lumberjack weekend is coming up, so maybe beware? Anyway…) and instead use it as a prompt to share an injury story.
I’ve been listening to a lot of This American Life lately (Sara turned me on to it and it is the perfect thing to listen to while knitting, which I think makes me about 30,000 years old, but I digress) and the other day I heard a particularly awesome episode titled “Frenemies.” Though the whole show was great, the best part was contributor David Rakoff’s poem about an uncomfortable wedding toast. In it, a man named Nathan is invited to the wedding of his exgirlfriend and his former best friend, who (inexplicably) asked him to give a toast. It’s funny and touching and clever and cute. But the best part is at the end—it’s a surprisingly philosophical way of looking at wounds and anger and forgiveness (complete with some brilliant rhymes). Seriously, go listen to it—or read it, since I found the text and decided to post it here (after the jump! as they say)…
We Started an Etsy Store!
After almost a year of discussing it and planning it and generally procrastinating, Sara and I finally did it: We started an Etsy shop! We decided to call it “Getting Handsy.” Though we don’t have a ton of merchandise yet, it’s going to be a great excuse to continue our weekly (semi-obsessive) crafting sessions. It also gave me a chance to show up my new (elementary!) photoshop skills; I made the banner!
I haven’t been blogging much lately. Actually, I haven’t been blogging at all. I suppose it’s been the combination of a new job, new apartment, massive life changes, etc. that have made me stay away from my own website. But not anymore!
Because November is National Writing Month, and goshdarnit I’m gonna participate. To the absolute best of my ability. The first thing I did was pledge to complete NaNoWriMo. I won’t lie—I’m a bit behind. But I’ve also been writing at a breakneck pace to catch up, and I’m loving every minute of it. I’m writing a young adult fantasy novel (about a 16-year-old girl named Iphigenia who lives in the Hudson Valley!) and so far, things are going pretty well. Having never written a novel before, it’s all new and weird and scary, but it’s also been the best therapy I can imagine.
So while my blog will still probably get neglected in favor of the much bigger project, I do want to post more often. And in honor of that, here’s something wonderful I saw today: A stylized Smiths poster from Hunting Bears. It’s going on my Christmas gift list, though I have no idea who I would give it to (yet!). Even though the “good times for a change” line is terrifically applicable to my life right now, I am really crushing on this print. Too bad it’s sold out—it’s one of my favorite quotes from one of my favorite songs in my (current, because this changes daily) color. So much favoritism! Maybe when it comes back I can get one for my new walls.
Over the weekend, I bought a sewing machine, learned how to use it, and made myself a piece of clothing. Well, when I say “I” did these things, I mean I made my mom help me with every single step. But now that I know how to turn on/thread/stitch with my new piece of equipment, I think her work here is done(ish). I’m planning to do my next project totally without help, which means I’ll be choosing something easy, like an elastic waist skirt (for the love of god, nothing with zippers!).
Also shown here: My summer uniform. Plaid shirt, messy hair. Good thing I don’t have a “real job” to go to—people seem to expect bloggers to show up to everything in mumus or sweatpants, so I like to consider myself overdressed for most interviews. That’s totally a thing, right?
Places To Live.
I would like to live here. This amazing cabin is the work of Studio Weave. They’re also responsible for some urban design, and some really, really charming structures in the UK. Other than this adorable gazebo-shack, my favorite piece is the still-in-the-works Holm Hall. It’s so tactile—it looks just like someone knit the walls with Ent-sized knitting needles. I hope the finished project looks like a treehouse made of lace, because that’s how I imagine it. Lovely.
Book humor for feminists.
Brilliant marketing at the Harvard Square Book Store: A Q&A section in which books ask and answer timeless questions. Clever!
Katy Kelleher 