Over the past couple of years, I've commented about the focus on teens and a lack of library service to young adults--which by my definition is people over 18.
Following the discussions I had with people at ALA last summer, I kept editing and working on a draft about what kind of programs to offer, what focuses I saw missing, and this general issue of a lack of outreach to a big part of our tax base.
This morning I had the chance to express my feelings on a broader level. I entered the LISNews Essay Competition with the following: Don't Forget About Us.
I wrote that essay for myself, for the Blonde and the Brunette, for AudioGirl, My Friend the Lawyer, LibraryChic, Sibling-the-Elder and Younger, and the other friends who look at me like I'm crazy when I suggest that they use their local public library. It's sad when my friends will call me--two time zones away--rather than reach out to their local resources. Not that I don't appreciate the validation that they think I'll be able to find the impossible, but they have free resources closer to home.
Showing posts with label AudioGirl. Show all posts
Showing posts with label AudioGirl. Show all posts
Monday, February 15, 2010
Friday, January 08, 2010
Photo Break Friday
Since you suffered through my nearly 1700 word diatribe, I figured you'd bear with me for a couple of completely non-library related images.
Over Christmas, Gypsy got to watch "Cat TV" at the Incredibly-Patient-Mother's house. There were a ton of birds hanging out in the backyard and three very healthy and acrobatic squirrels. I'm told this is the "skinny" one. Squirrel sandwich anyone?
On the way home she met AudioGirl's Dinah. They spent the night hissing at each other.
But Gypsy has settled in nicely since we got home (she was happy to be back here). She found which chair gets the most sunlight for her battery recharging naps.
She's located a wonderful supply of "celery" (that's what it sounds like she's eating).
She's figured out if she gets in between me and the monitor that I HAVE to pay attention to her. (Yes, my desk is a disaster)
And she continues to be stunningly beautiful.
I'm having "Cat Warming" tomorrow night so she can meet some of my LPL coworkers. And I've arranged for the RefQueen's daughter to cat sit for my next long trip.
Over Christmas, Gypsy got to watch "Cat TV" at the Incredibly-Patient-Mother's house. There were a ton of birds hanging out in the backyard and three very healthy and acrobatic squirrels. I'm told this is the "skinny" one. Squirrel sandwich anyone?
On the way home she met AudioGirl's Dinah. They spent the night hissing at each other.
But Gypsy has settled in nicely since we got home (she was happy to be back here). She found which chair gets the most sunlight for her battery recharging naps.
She's located a wonderful supply of "celery" (that's what it sounds like she's eating).
She's figured out if she gets in between me and the monitor that I HAVE to pay attention to her. (Yes, my desk is a disaster)
And she continues to be stunningly beautiful.
I'm having "Cat Warming" tomorrow night so she can meet some of my LPL coworkers. And I've arranged for the RefQueen's daughter to cat sit for my next long trip.
Friday, July 31, 2009
But Wait? There was Monday!!
Okay, so I didn't leave the ALA Conference Sunday afternoon and come flying back the La Crosse, I did see some of my friends from Chicago.
Following the library, AudioGirl and adjourned to a used bookstore for new-to-us knitting books and then to a large city park to bask in sunshine and soak up a lovely summer day with a friend. It was amusing to see from the bookstore markings how short a time good knitting books last. Both of the books we purchased had come into the store less than two weeks before and while they had shelves upon shelves of cookbooks, there was only one wee half shelf of knitting books. I finally replaced my copy of Stitch and Bitch, my other copy having gone to live with the Brunette.
Tuesday morning was breakfast and then back to La Crosse. The day was overcast, which actually helped. Driving back during the day puts me directly in the sun's path and I didn't really need my left arm to get completely burnt. I've done that once already, it's not fun. I pulled into La Crosse just after 4 p.m. and was on desk by five.
*Note: Have since spoken to Madame Director about online payments and how it might be possible without the money disappearing into city coffers. We're getting credit/debit payments, which is a significant start.
Sunday night, I hung out with the Brunette's brother. He and I have an amazing ability to miss each other's phone calls. It's kind of uncanny. He'd leave a message, I wouldn't get it until three hours later and too late to meet up. I'd let him know of plans, he'd call back the next day or sometime in the following week. Repeat for the entire 14 months I 
But here, we managed to coordinate not only phone calls, but locations! Who knew? We wandered over to West Fest and then to Old Town, trading stories at ridiculous speeds. Yes, I even took a picture to prove the occasion actually happened. Well, I didn't take it, but I handed off the camera for appropriate snapping of pictures.
Monday, AudioGirl and I set off for breakfast and then her local branch. To our mutual surprise and dismay, her library won't allow you to place holds on materials if you have a fine on your card. Nor will they allow online payments so that if you want to place a hold and have a fine, you could discharge it from home. No, you have to go to the branch to pay. Her suggestion: "Make me pay when I pick up the book, hold THAT book hostage, at least you know I want it and will come for it!"*
Despite being a large and relatively new building, walking into AudioGirl's branch felt like running a gauntlet. Yes, I know putting a desk where you walk in directs people to staff but it felt unwelcoming--this HUGE expanse of desk and nowhere to go but down a corridor past it into the computer area and be judged if we were worthy of using the materials. I suppose it was relatively similar at my old branch but at least there one could see books and seating area. Here it was all computer desks and it felt cramped.
I failed in the "are you worthy to enter" category. I had a covered cup of iced tea with me. I hadn't slurped it at high speed because we weren't actually using the library, we were never going past the gauntlet. But I got asked to leave with it anyway while AudioGirl paid a 60 cent fine and forgot to place the hold. We finally did put it on hold back at her house.
Following the library, AudioGirl and adjourned to a used bookstore for new-to-us knitting books and then to a large city park to bask in sunshine and soak up a lovely summer day with a friend. It was amusing to see from the bookstore markings how short a time good knitting books last. Both of the books we purchased had come into the store less than two weeks before and while they had shelves upon shelves of cookbooks, there was only one wee half shelf of knitting books. I finally replaced my copy of Stitch and Bitch, my other copy having gone to live with the Brunette.
Tuesday morning was breakfast and then back to La Crosse. The day was overcast, which actually helped. Driving back during the day puts me directly in the sun's path and I didn't really need my left arm to get completely burnt. I've done that once already, it's not fun. I pulled into La Crosse just after 4 p.m. and was on desk by five.
*Note: Have since spoken to Madame Director about online payments and how it might be possible without the money disappearing into city coffers. We're getting credit/debit payments, which is a significant start.
Monday, July 27, 2009
ALA 2009: Thursday and Friday
Finally, it's time for an ALA Recap. This might take a couple of posts, so I don't completely overwhelm you--but won't you come along for the review and ride?
Thursday, after a rousing day at work and an emergency appt at the orthodontist to stop one of the wires from slicing up my mouth, I headed out of LPL at 1 p.m. It was home to finish packing, take a meeting with New York, and clean several pounds of strawberries that were languishing in the refrigerator. I didn’t do the greatest cleaning job, nor freezing. The 4-H judges would have been stunned to see my flinging of the strawberries into Tupperware without flat freezing first. Sorry. I decided it was more important to get the berries frozen rather than meet Alton Brown's standards of acceptably frozen fruit. They'll still go well with champagne, pancakes, and smoothies.
I drove down, and it was a perfect day for the drive. I'd not been on a long drive on my own for some time and the sky, road and temperature were perfect. It was incredibly cathartic to relax back in my seat, turn up loud summer anthems, and try to keep the speedometer in an acceptable range. I pulled in to AudioGirl's a little later than planned and spent far more time than usual finding parking. We agreed that I had bad parking karma. AudioGirl, her boyfriend, and I went for tapas and sangria and to discuss what young adults (not teens, people in their 20s) would use a library for and what types of programs would bring them into public libraries.
Friday morning brought an early start, I had to get across town and down to the Chicago Hilton (not the Palmer) for Unconference by 9 a.m. Armed with Starbucks, I hopped on the Blue Line. Have I mentioned how much I desperately miss regular public transportation? Once downtown I walked to Michigan, but the humidity was to a level that I found unacceptable--so it was onto the bus. And I spotted my first conference go-er (well, maybe not my first but my first painfully obvious one). If the purple hair hadn't given it away, the yellow lanyard with name badge did.
When I finally figured out how to get downstairs at the Hilton, I walked into a busy room--of friends. There were about 80 of us in the room, and I knew a surprisingly large number of them. It was an unusual and amazing experience, one that I'd repeat over the weekend, of "meeting" people I already knew. Introductions weren't really necessary and we went immediately from "Yes, of course I know who you are" to continuing conversations from days, weeks, and months before. The "longest-known-never-met" award went to Brian Gray, who I've known for the better part of five years.
And then, armed with coffee and muffin, we settled in for Unconference. Organized by Michelle Boule and Meredith Farkas, we charged into two sets of 15 minute presentations, interspersed with discussion sessions. It wasn't quite what some would consider a "true" Unconference, in that we had chosen the presentations and discussion sessions in advance, but as most of us were traveling quite a distance, this preperatory planning was understandable and the ladies, despite both having newborns, did a magnificent job.
I won't go into a detailed schedule of the presentations, you can find that here, including a number of the slide decks used. Matt Hamilton, I think, won the most awesome slide deck award of the day.
Things that really stood out for me:
* Jason Griffey pointed out that 2.3 sms messages were sent last year. And not all of them were teenagers saying "OMGWTFBBQ!" Cell phones, cell service, and texting is here and infiltrating our world. Some countries have more cell phones than people. If our local coffee shops can send us texts with offers for the week (though we wish they'd just send out the soup or donut list), why not libraries?
* Rachel Vacek talked about using mobile applications as a way to reach out to your users. Many of them are already using some kind of mobile app, how can you meet them? She mentioned asking your users to create an app for you--I wonder if we could get one of the local uni computer science profs interested in that as a practical application project? Hmmmmm.
The presentations moved quickly--only fifteen minutes was allowed, including a question period. It was the goal to get us thinking and we did. Questions flew fast and furious and there were obvious times we could have stopped and talked for hours--but our time keepers kept us going, which helped us keep things going without getting bogged down or into arguments.
We had discussion periods. I talked with several librarians about how we're using social networks to reach our patrons and no one really had best practices. We discussed making sure it's a Library presence rather than a specific librarian's presence, how to pull users back to your site, concerns about patron privacy if they ask a reference question on a social networking site that's going to retain that information, and how often to update the Twitter feed. I did feel that the word "widget" was overused in some cases, but that could be a personal hang up.
I had my discussion topic picked!! Granted, I mostly talked to people in passing about the subject, but there is definitely interest in how to get people back into libraries after they graduate from high school or college and how to continue to be relevant to our TAX BASE. More on that in another blog post.
By the end of the day my brain was full and I was wiped. Brimming with ideas and new/old friends and conversation, a small cluster of us swept out to walk to the Palmer for the LITA Happy Hour. And in some kind of odd musical theater way, we kept adding to the cluster. I think we left the Hilton with four people and arrived at the other Hilton with about ten. Here I got to "meet" Tombrarian, Iris, Dorothea, Walt, the girl who works with my former cohort Patrick at Yale (sorry, I can't find your Moo card!!). Another round of "yes, I already know you!!"
Then it was back to AudioGirl's, where we su
(Photo of Aaron, Iris and Tom at LITA Happy Hour)
Tuesday, July 21, 2009
In Defense of What I Read
I read romance novels.
This potentially embarrassing statement, which comes as little shock to anyone who has known me for more than six months, ever seen my bookshelves, or watched me check stuff out at work, puts me in a category that is about as stereotyped as my current profession.
Let's see if I remember it right. I read romances therefore I
a) have unrealistic expectations about relationships
b) am waiting for my rich sheik to show up
c) am sexually repressed
d) have some odd fascination with sex scenes that are full of euphemisms
e) can't find anyone willing to date poor pathetic little me
f) hate men
g) don't ever read anything else (yes, AudioGirl's boyfriend once said this to me when I was carrying around a copy of Everything is Miscellaneous)
h) spend my days dreaming about getting married and taken away from it all
To add insult to injury of the wounds of those "forced" to notice that yes, I have a 350 page paperback with a woman in a pretty dress or a half-dressed man on the front, I read historical/regency romances and paranormal, so obviously
i) I have huge issues with dealing with the real world
j) I'm waiting for a vampire to come and take me away from it all. Or werewolf, we won't be too picky.
*clearing of throat*
Now, I won't pretend that romance is not a lovely, brief escape from the every day. If it weren't, I'm not sure I'd read it as much as I do and/or have in the past. But, as AudioGirl and I have discussed, it's my television. Other than Bones, which I'm only watching one season at a time (I'm almost up for a glut of Season 3), my television watching is pretty much restricted to the occasional Alton Brown, What Not to Wear, Iron Chef and Clean House. Assuming that under all the dust there is still a television. These tales, mostly about relationships, capture me, take me away, and let me imagine a world where dukes or nice vampires trip down the street at every turn. (Seriously, where DO they find all these titled men?)
Romance has been described as a red-headed stepchild, something to be embarrased about, I've even called it a guilty pleasure. But I would consider it certainly nothing to be more upset about than an obsession with a television show. Same premise, right? Situation that needs to be handled and tied up, preferably in a punish bad guys, reward good guys way within a set period of time. TV can handle crimes, romances, friendships, and everything else in approximately 22 or 40 minute chunks, why assume books can do anything less in 100-350 pages?
And it's interesting to see how romance--the most widely read genre in the world and the one area of publishing that seems to really be thriving and growing even in the current economy--is starting to get recognition. I was pleased to see an article featuring two authors I really enjoy: Eloisa James and Julia Quinn, both of whom are Ivy-League educated women as well as on the New York Times Best Sellers lists for their witty, funny and thoughtful novels.
I had the pleasure of hearing James speak at ALA. I think I'd really enjoy to have her as a professor (her "other life" as a tenured professor at Fordham). She has an interesting sense of humor and, as she described, she writes about couples who will end up in an ultimately healthy respectful relationship. Yes, there are problems, but, like sitcoms, they're solved by the end of the book.
So I'll keep on with my "sitcoms" which, nicely, don't come with commercials, and need not be dvr'd.
This potentially embarrassing statement, which comes as little shock to anyone who has known me for more than six months, ever seen my bookshelves, or watched me check stuff out at work, puts me in a category that is about as stereotyped as my current profession.
Let's see if I remember it right. I read romances therefore I
a) have unrealistic expectations about relationships
b) am waiting for my rich sheik to show up
c) am sexually repressed
d) have some odd fascination with sex scenes that are full of euphemisms
e) can't find anyone willing to date poor pathetic little me
f) hate men
g) don't ever read anything else (yes, AudioGirl's boyfriend once said this to me when I was carrying around a copy of Everything is Miscellaneous)
h) spend my days dreaming about getting married and taken away from it all
To add insult to injury of the wounds of those "forced" to notice that yes, I have a 350 page paperback with a woman in a pretty dress or a half-dressed man on the front, I read historical/regency romances and paranormal, so obviously
i) I have huge issues with dealing with the real world
j) I'm waiting for a vampire to come and take me away from it all. Or werewolf, we won't be too picky.
*clearing of throat*
Now, I won't pretend that romance is not a lovely, brief escape from the every day. If it weren't, I'm not sure I'd read it as much as I do and/or have in the past. But, as AudioGirl and I have discussed, it's my television. Other than Bones, which I'm only watching one season at a time (I'm almost up for a glut of Season 3), my television watching is pretty much restricted to the occasional Alton Brown, What Not to Wear, Iron Chef and Clean House. Assuming that under all the dust there is still a television. These tales, mostly about relationships, capture me, take me away, and let me imagine a world where dukes or nice vampires trip down the street at every turn. (Seriously, where DO they find all these titled men?)
Romance has been described as a red-headed stepchild, something to be embarrased about, I've even called it a guilty pleasure. But I would consider it certainly nothing to be more upset about than an obsession with a television show. Same premise, right? Situation that needs to be handled and tied up, preferably in a punish bad guys, reward good guys way within a set period of time. TV can handle crimes, romances, friendships, and everything else in approximately 22 or 40 minute chunks, why assume books can do anything less in 100-350 pages?
And it's interesting to see how romance--the most widely read genre in the world and the one area of publishing that seems to really be thriving and growing even in the current economy--is starting to get recognition. I was pleased to see an article featuring two authors I really enjoy: Eloisa James and Julia Quinn, both of whom are Ivy-League educated women as well as on the New York Times Best Sellers lists for their witty, funny and thoughtful novels.
I had the pleasure of hearing James speak at ALA. I think I'd really enjoy to have her as a professor (her "other life" as a tenured professor at Fordham). She has an interesting sense of humor and, as she described, she writes about couples who will end up in an ultimately healthy respectful relationship. Yes, there are problems, but, like sitcoms, they're solved by the end of the book.
So I'll keep on with my "sitcoms" which, nicely, don't come with commercials, and need not be dvr'd.
Sunday, May 31, 2009
Mending in Action
I was prepared this particular trip to New York: I packed five pair of shoes. That this meant that I came home with somewhere around 8 blisters per foot should mean nothing. Really, someday my feet will re-adapt to hiking around a concrete jungle.
Three weekends ago I had company, AudioGirl came up to spend a weekend, and then I dashed off for the Brunette's 30th birthday. In between I hustled myself in to work, whisking through piles of paperwork as quickly as possible so I wouldn't be behind at the end of May and my frolicking about elsewhere. My desk doesn't look too bad.
My knee, on the other hand, has started turning shades of cranberry. We're none of us really sure how I acquired this spectacular beauty, though popular theory is that I slammed into one of the tables at Kush.
Day After
Today
Having AudioGirl here was delightful. We explored little restaurants, found a breakfast place no one had ever mentioned (a good one!!), and shopped. Somehow, between Sunday and Monday, it was decided I was buying a table we'd come across in the Antique Center downtown. I'd never considered "real" furniture an impulse buy, but when one finds such a fabulous wood table at half the cost of a similar laminate table at the nearby furniture store well..... The added bonus of someone to carry it up the stairs and wiggle it in and out of the car with me was there too.
And then a trip home. I spent a night out with the Blonde and ended up having a mini-college reunion while doing Karaoke. I blame my song choice of the evening on the pollen in the air, I didn't have anything like my usual voice and talked my way through a piece by one of the current pop princesses.
We went out for the Brunette's birthday and I spent the Memorial Day with Dee, reliving the last three years at high speed in front of a very confused and somewhat intrigued waiter. I don't think he had previously fathomed that we could maintain the rapidity of speech we held up for the entire meal. Why yes, everything's lovely and we'd adore another cup of tea.....
The only delay was coming home, Chicago was under heavy downpour, and I spent that portion of trip fully immersed in the only knitting project I'd taken with me.
In the course of the weekend I went through
2 mp3 players (forgot the battery charger, glad I took both!)
5 books (which meant I ran out of reading material on Monday)
1 journal (had to wait til I got home and dug out a new blank book)
2 editing projects (helps when you're out of reading material)
Many bandaids
As I kept muttering to myself while sitting on the plane from CHI to LSE--had I run out of yarn, someone would have been in trouble.
Can you believe tomorrow is June?
Three weekends ago I had company, AudioGirl came up to spend a weekend, and then I dashed off for the Brunette's 30th birthday. In between I hustled myself in to work, whisking through piles of paperwork as quickly as possible so I wouldn't be behind at the end of May and my frolicking about elsewhere. My desk doesn't look too bad.
My knee, on the other hand, has started turning shades of cranberry. We're none of us really sure how I acquired this spectacular beauty, though popular theory is that I slammed into one of the tables at Kush.
Day After
Today
Having AudioGirl here was delightful. We explored little restaurants, found a breakfast place no one had ever mentioned (a good one!!), and shopped. Somehow, between Sunday and Monday, it was decided I was buying a table we'd come across in the Antique Center downtown. I'd never considered "real" furniture an impulse buy, but when one finds such a fabulous wood table at half the cost of a similar laminate table at the nearby furniture store well..... The added bonus of someone to carry it up the stairs and wiggle it in and out of the car with me was there too.
And then a trip home. I spent a night out with the Blonde and ended up having a mini-college reunion while doing Karaoke. I blame my song choice of the evening on the pollen in the air, I didn't have anything like my usual voice and talked my way through a piece by one of the current pop princesses.
We went out for the Brunette's birthday and I spent the Memorial Day with Dee, reliving the last three years at high speed in front of a very confused and somewhat intrigued waiter. I don't think he had previously fathomed that we could maintain the rapidity of speech we held up for the entire meal. Why yes, everything's lovely and we'd adore another cup of tea.....
The only delay was coming home, Chicago was under heavy downpour, and I spent that portion of trip fully immersed in the only knitting project I'd taken with me.
In the course of the weekend I went through
2 mp3 players (forgot the battery charger, glad I took both!)
5 books (which meant I ran out of reading material on Monday)
1 journal (had to wait til I got home and dug out a new blank book)
2 editing projects (helps when you're out of reading material)
Many bandaids
As I kept muttering to myself while sitting on the plane from CHI to LSE--had I run out of yarn, someone would have been in trouble.
Can you believe tomorrow is June?
Monday, January 05, 2009
Evaluating Passion
It's one of those things that strikes you while spending an hour working on an incredibly simple scarf or staring out the window at the grey winter sky. You wonder at the passion in your life: for your work, for your craft, for life and what you're doing. Is it enough? Are you living or just existing? If the former, are you making the most of your living? If the latter, then what's wrong with you that you're not living?
Winter brings on a lot of reflection, especially when faced with my solitude and my own company for more than 24 hours. I'm a nocturnal creature but these days where the light lasts a scant nine hours (at least that I'm conscious) are draining. Without the foliage to think upon as I stare somewhat blankly out my balcony, instead I look at my own internal branches and shrubberies. Am I doing enough in my profession? Am I happy in my chosen career? Am I creative enough in my craft? Should I be reaching out to other crafts and projects? Am I missing something for lack of experimentation?
A million questions, all swirling through my head as I work row after row of knitting. It's not a project that is probably the most valuable use of my limited knitting time, but it is just enough to keep my hands busy. And perhaps that is the problem--I don't really have to think about my knitting and so my mind takes off.
I'm sure we all question our chosen career paths at times. Was it the right decision? Was it the best use of our talents and skills? Could we make a different decision five, ten, or twenty years before (although--making career decisions in 2nd grade might have been a bad idea), would we have made better one? In the past year I've really seen an expansion of my use of social networking technology to coordinate with other like minds and this is both encouraging and depressing. I'm caught somewhere beyond the veriest beginner and the expert. I'm capable of figuring out new tools, able to see their applications, and have moved through blogs, wikis, chat formats and Twitter.
I've written a couple of articles, gotten rejections for a few more, and wondered why it is I just can't bring myself to hop up and down with glee at the idea of submitting dry research for peer reviewed journals that don't seem to be read very often except in limited academic circles. Those authors writing for tenure, I beg your indulgence, I've not yet faced the prospect of tenure and considering the current trend of libraries and the open condescension I've encountered from a few hiring academic libraries, it seems it may be a while yet before someone is willing to take a risk on a current children's librarian who might not want to be one her entire career. Baffling idea, no? Add to that the recent kerfuffle over at the Journal of Access Services (an entire issue written by an unnamed acerbic blogger) and one wonders the efficacy of article proposals.
I've not yet presented at conferences, mostly for financial reasons as well as trying to figure out what it is I'd present two years in the future. By then I expect to have new tools and tricks--and you'd ask me to speak on what I'm doing now in early 2009? Now is two years old by then and heaven help us in this fast paced online world if those coming for their spray of knowledge (single spray versus steady trickle or stream idea of learning) are only catching up to two years ago.
It's not only professional, it's personal too. Listening to podcasts, reading blogs and participating in social networks for knitters, I often wonder if I'm stunted in some way. I knit. End of story. I don't spin, dye, weave, do much more than the basics of crochet, paint, blend perfumes, bake, art journal...any of those things. I can sew, and do on occasion but mostly the sewing machine the Incredibly-Patient-Mother got me for my birthday has been waiting for me these past few months. My last project was altering a hoodie-lined jacket for a friend of mine Christmas 2008. I need to hem a tablecloth for my kitchen table, repair a bag, hem some jeans and make some new flannel/satin pajama pants. All of these combined would take one afternoon, two at the most. Instead, garter stitch squares and one row scarves get turned out. To listen to the creative minds on the intertubes, I'm a major slacker. I should be balancing at least three crafts, two of which I sell on at least an etsy store level, as well as a full time job, three children, two pets, one husband and moving houses.
But here there's just me, and my stash. Simple projects that Audio Girl teases I should be moving on from but it's nice to have control over the little things. The one row scarf that doesn't require checking a pattern every ten minutes would definitely be a nice little thing.
Do I then lack the correct passion? Should I be doing three times what I am now? Obviously I'm feeling a bit of stagnation or it wouldn't bother me to the degree that I keep returning to this blog post. Looking ahead to the new year, facing two freelance contracts finishing and not really sure what comes next I'm wondering what 2009 will bring. Renewed enthusiasm? Continued stagnation? More vague confusion?
I will continue to reach out professionally--it's what one does to advance in this field and it provides variety. If I can get my resume fluffed, I need to volunteer to wile away the hours reading books it's likely I'd not have picked up otherwise and about which I may/may not care very much. One of the articles that was rejected needs to still be written. I don't know whether or not it'll get submitted but the LSW seems to be a nice venue for such things. And ALA Annual is coming up fast. Maybe this time I won't feel like such an outsider. After all, I do have "librarian" in my job title this time.
As for the crafting? Well, I've resolved to knit for myself this year. So at least maybe I'll get some warm woolly things out of it.
Winter brings on a lot of reflection, especially when faced with my solitude and my own company for more than 24 hours. I'm a nocturnal creature but these days where the light lasts a scant nine hours (at least that I'm conscious) are draining. Without the foliage to think upon as I stare somewhat blankly out my balcony, instead I look at my own internal branches and shrubberies. Am I doing enough in my profession? Am I happy in my chosen career? Am I creative enough in my craft? Should I be reaching out to other crafts and projects? Am I missing something for lack of experimentation?
A million questions, all swirling through my head as I work row after row of knitting. It's not a project that is probably the most valuable use of my limited knitting time, but it is just enough to keep my hands busy. And perhaps that is the problem--I don't really have to think about my knitting and so my mind takes off.
I'm sure we all question our chosen career paths at times. Was it the right decision? Was it the best use of our talents and skills? Could we make a different decision five, ten, or twenty years before (although--making career decisions in 2nd grade might have been a bad idea), would we have made better one? In the past year I've really seen an expansion of my use of social networking technology to coordinate with other like minds and this is both encouraging and depressing. I'm caught somewhere beyond the veriest beginner and the expert. I'm capable of figuring out new tools, able to see their applications, and have moved through blogs, wikis, chat formats and Twitter.
I've written a couple of articles, gotten rejections for a few more, and wondered why it is I just can't bring myself to hop up and down with glee at the idea of submitting dry research for peer reviewed journals that don't seem to be read very often except in limited academic circles. Those authors writing for tenure, I beg your indulgence, I've not yet faced the prospect of tenure and considering the current trend of libraries and the open condescension I've encountered from a few hiring academic libraries, it seems it may be a while yet before someone is willing to take a risk on a current children's librarian who might not want to be one her entire career. Baffling idea, no? Add to that the recent kerfuffle over at the Journal of Access Services (an entire issue written by an unnamed acerbic blogger) and one wonders the efficacy of article proposals.
I've not yet presented at conferences, mostly for financial reasons as well as trying to figure out what it is I'd present two years in the future. By then I expect to have new tools and tricks--and you'd ask me to speak on what I'm doing now in early 2009? Now is two years old by then and heaven help us in this fast paced online world if those coming for their spray of knowledge (single spray versus steady trickle or stream idea of learning) are only catching up to two years ago.
It's not only professional, it's personal too. Listening to podcasts, reading blogs and participating in social networks for knitters, I often wonder if I'm stunted in some way. I knit. End of story. I don't spin, dye, weave, do much more than the basics of crochet, paint, blend perfumes, bake, art journal...any of those things. I can sew, and do on occasion but mostly the sewing machine the Incredibly-Patient-Mother got me for my birthday has been waiting for me these past few months. My last project was altering a hoodie-lined jacket for a friend of mine Christmas 2008. I need to hem a tablecloth for my kitchen table, repair a bag, hem some jeans and make some new flannel/satin pajama pants. All of these combined would take one afternoon, two at the most. Instead, garter stitch squares and one row scarves get turned out. To listen to the creative minds on the intertubes, I'm a major slacker. I should be balancing at least three crafts, two of which I sell on at least an etsy store level, as well as a full time job, three children, two pets, one husband and moving houses.
But here there's just me, and my stash. Simple projects that Audio Girl teases I should be moving on from but it's nice to have control over the little things. The one row scarf that doesn't require checking a pattern every ten minutes would definitely be a nice little thing.
Do I then lack the correct passion? Should I be doing three times what I am now? Obviously I'm feeling a bit of stagnation or it wouldn't bother me to the degree that I keep returning to this blog post. Looking ahead to the new year, facing two freelance contracts finishing and not really sure what comes next I'm wondering what 2009 will bring. Renewed enthusiasm? Continued stagnation? More vague confusion?
I will continue to reach out professionally--it's what one does to advance in this field and it provides variety. If I can get my resume fluffed, I need to volunteer to wile away the hours reading books it's likely I'd not have picked up otherwise and about which I may/may not care very much. One of the articles that was rejected needs to still be written. I don't know whether or not it'll get submitted but the LSW seems to be a nice venue for such things. And ALA Annual is coming up fast. Maybe this time I won't feel like such an outsider. After all, I do have "librarian" in my job title this time.
As for the crafting? Well, I've resolved to knit for myself this year. So at least maybe I'll get some warm woolly things out of it.
Thursday, January 01, 2009
Facing a Fresh Landscape
There's a fresh layer of snow dusting over the older snow outside for the new year. While, if at all possible, I have absolutely no intention of leaving the building today, it is a good time for a bit of reflection and planning.
Last year was in two pretty distinct sections:
Before August
After August
Before August was mostly focused here in La Crosse and on work. I orchestrated our Knitting in Public Day, started a kids knitting group, went to PLA, did summer reading in La Crosse, worked on my databases and went to Sibling-the-Younger's graduation. I went on two different yarn diets. I made one flying trip out to New York and a couple down to Chicago to hang out with the Kickers and AudioGirl, but beyond that it was a pretty mellow spring.
And then August hit. My immediate supervisor retired, I flew to New York for a wedding shower and then flew out to Colorado to spend a week with the Tech Sergeant. I came back, drove to the Incredibly-Patient-Mother's for a dress alteration, flew back to New York for a wedding, took on the care and feeding of the chapter book collection, went back to Chicago and caught up with a lot of people I see only sporadically. I started NaNoWriMo though I didn't finish, got braces, and cut a foot off my hair. I flew to Atlanta and bought a tea and coffee pot, knitted until my hands nearly fell off, and went back to the Incredibly-Patient-Mother's for a week at the holidays.
This year lies before me with a lot of potential. Certainly today is not all that different from yesterday but with a new January ahead of me, there seems to be many fresh options.
Goals for 2009:
1) Use things -- I have tea, yarn, books...so many things that are here waiting for me. When they start feeling like clutter rather than things I enjoy, it's time to use up or get rid of rather than hold on indefinitely.
2) Knit for myself. I talk a lot about knitting but almost always it's for other people. Call it selfish but I want some warm woolly things for me.
3) Write for more than just my blog audience. I need a better collection of rejection emails and letters and possibly some acceptances too.
4) Scrapbook old papers. Not the incredibly matted, decorated, and beribboned, just the "here's a paper, here's something from junior high" with some notes on the side about why I kept it.
5) Survive braces....20 months to go.
6) Get my books into LibraryThing.
I wish you big and conquerable goals in 2009 and good health for the new year. With hugs, best wishes and a clean but already filling calendar,
Happy 2009
Abigail
Last year was in two pretty distinct sections:
Before August
After August
Before August was mostly focused here in La Crosse and on work. I orchestrated our Knitting in Public Day, started a kids knitting group, went to PLA, did summer reading in La Crosse, worked on my databases and went to Sibling-the-Younger's graduation. I went on two different yarn diets. I made one flying trip out to New York and a couple down to Chicago to hang out with the Kickers and AudioGirl, but beyond that it was a pretty mellow spring.
And then August hit. My immediate supervisor retired, I flew to New York for a wedding shower and then flew out to Colorado to spend a week with the Tech Sergeant. I came back, drove to the Incredibly-Patient-Mother's for a dress alteration, flew back to New York for a wedding, took on the care and feeding of the chapter book collection, went back to Chicago and caught up with a lot of people I see only sporadically. I started NaNoWriMo though I didn't finish, got braces, and cut a foot off my hair. I flew to Atlanta and bought a tea and coffee pot, knitted until my hands nearly fell off, and went back to the Incredibly-Patient-Mother's for a week at the holidays.
This year lies before me with a lot of potential. Certainly today is not all that different from yesterday but with a new January ahead of me, there seems to be many fresh options.
Goals for 2009:
1) Use things -- I have tea, yarn, books...so many things that are here waiting for me. When they start feeling like clutter rather than things I enjoy, it's time to use up or get rid of rather than hold on indefinitely.
2) Knit for myself. I talk a lot about knitting but almost always it's for other people. Call it selfish but I want some warm woolly things for me.
3) Write for more than just my blog audience. I need a better collection of rejection emails and letters and possibly some acceptances too.
4) Scrapbook old papers. Not the incredibly matted, decorated, and beribboned, just the "here's a paper, here's something from junior high" with some notes on the side about why I kept it.
5) Survive braces....20 months to go.
6) Get my books into LibraryThing.
I wish you big and conquerable goals in 2009 and good health for the new year. With hugs, best wishes and a clean but already filling calendar,
Happy 2009
Abigail
Sunday, June 08, 2008
Take a Moment to Remember Your Creativity
Though AudioGirl might disagree on the exact timeline, I would pin my current level of creativity kicking back into high gear some time early-mid last summer. It was then I resumed most actively work with pen and needles.
First and foremost, I am a writer. This is as true a description of me at age six as it is now. Granted, I usually try to write in slightly more complete and grammatical sentences but if you were to abscond with my journal, you'd probably find the same true and raw emotions as expressed by a six year old as you might now. But my writing took a nosedive about three years ago and waned to nearly nonexistent. Some of my best writing comes from high and low emotions and certainly the past three years has been a period of my life when I was experiencing all kinds of drama. But for nearly two years I didn't write about it. A box of journals will attest to my self-chronicling and seeing myself go months at a time without an entry was pretty freaky.
At that same time last summer, my yarn and needle obsession seriously turned upwards. Certainly it didn't hurt that it was at this point that I gained access to Ravelry and suddenly had thousands of new friends to promote this craft to me. And certainly I was knitting and acquiring yarn before that, but not with my current passion.
It will surprise few that this re-emergence of my creative self coincided with the termination of a long term relationship. It was a point of concern within the relationship that I did not write--for without that documentation, where was the preservation of the relationship? Without resetting the scene and stage for myself, other memories soon take over and take precedence and those two years are banished further into hazy past.
During that relationship my creative self took back seat and was shuttered into very specific outlets. Sunday nights saw its strongest emergence as I would leave my apartment and head to a friend's for band practice. I wasn't in the band but I was always welcome to curl up in the corner, a giant afghan in progress on my lap, to listen and sing along. It was the truest to myself that I would be for nearly two years. For while they did not understand my fascination with pointy sticks and gray acrylic, I was among friends and musicians.
And now, no longer hampered, I find myself fully absorbed again into my creative self. I'm happy to stay up again until 5 a.m., debating as I sit in my not-quite-a-rocking-chair whether I should just wait up until sunrise or if sunrise will even be visible through all the recent rain. I can justify to myself the hours needed to create a work of yarn art and eagerly anticipate the next row, even if it's just the same stitch over and over.
I appeal to you to take a moment to think about your current creativity. Take a step back this week and ask: what is my craft? Am I knitting, am I writing, am I being myself? For if a band full of young men with absolutely no fiber art interest can understand why I'm now on my 283rd row, so must there be others who understand. In this ever increasingly small world, find those who inspire you, encourage you, and want you to embrace the art that is your own.
And to the AudioGirl, the Brunette, the Blonde, and the members of Cylus Wood, thank you for always appreciating and encouraging my particular insanity.
First and foremost, I am a writer. This is as true a description of me at age six as it is now. Granted, I usually try to write in slightly more complete and grammatical sentences but if you were to abscond with my journal, you'd probably find the same true and raw emotions as expressed by a six year old as you might now. But my writing took a nosedive about three years ago and waned to nearly nonexistent. Some of my best writing comes from high and low emotions and certainly the past three years has been a period of my life when I was experiencing all kinds of drama. But for nearly two years I didn't write about it. A box of journals will attest to my self-chronicling and seeing myself go months at a time without an entry was pretty freaky.
At that same time last summer, my yarn and needle obsession seriously turned upwards. Certainly it didn't hurt that it was at this point that I gained access to Ravelry and suddenly had thousands of new friends to promote this craft to me. And certainly I was knitting and acquiring yarn before that, but not with my current passion.
It will surprise few that this re-emergence of my creative self coincided with the termination of a long term relationship. It was a point of concern within the relationship that I did not write--for without that documentation, where was the preservation of the relationship? Without resetting the scene and stage for myself, other memories soon take over and take precedence and those two years are banished further into hazy past.
During that relationship my creative self took back seat and was shuttered into very specific outlets. Sunday nights saw its strongest emergence as I would leave my apartment and head to a friend's for band practice. I wasn't in the band but I was always welcome to curl up in the corner, a giant afghan in progress on my lap, to listen and sing along. It was the truest to myself that I would be for nearly two years. For while they did not understand my fascination with pointy sticks and gray acrylic, I was among friends and musicians.
And now, no longer hampered, I find myself fully absorbed again into my creative self. I'm happy to stay up again until 5 a.m., debating as I sit in my not-quite-a-rocking-chair whether I should just wait up until sunrise or if sunrise will even be visible through all the recent rain. I can justify to myself the hours needed to create a work of yarn art and eagerly anticipate the next row, even if it's just the same stitch over and over.
I appeal to you to take a moment to think about your current creativity. Take a step back this week and ask: what is my craft? Am I knitting, am I writing, am I being myself? For if a band full of young men with absolutely no fiber art interest can understand why I'm now on my 283rd row, so must there be others who understand. In this ever increasingly small world, find those who inspire you, encourage you, and want you to embrace the art that is your own.
And to the AudioGirl, the Brunette, the Blonde, and the members of Cylus Wood, thank you for always appreciating and encouraging my particular insanity.
Thursday, May 29, 2008
In Which I Again Diet in the Yarn Sense
It was time for another yarn diet, she sadly realized, staring around her living room. For, gentle reader, the yarn had not only taken over a wall of the den where it was supposed to live but it was launching an unorganized invasion of the living room.
There was yarn in sorted boxes, which had been cataloged and organized and posted with full admission of stash to Ravelry. That yarn hadn't even been touched since said posting because, well, it was sorted and who wants to mess up something already neatly tucked away. But in a heap was the yarn that followed her home from when her sister came to visit in the first week of April. The yarn that was supposed to have been knitted up promptly into baby gifts and sent out again. And in the purchase bags and tissue paper was the yarn from her last two trips to Chicago where she summarily hauled a patient friend in as she squeaked over the new colors and then returned only a couple of weeks later for just one more skein--or 10. On the coffee table lounged the gorgeous skeins from the online independent dealer who has such wonderful colorways. The cone of lace weight sat beside the laptop being ignored now that half of it had gone to live with AudioGirl. The newly started lace scarf and the drop stitch shawl that had to be finished for a rapidly approaching birthday flopped inelegantly beside the futon. Three pairs of mitts that just needed thumbs were scattered throughout the current projects basket, the new yarn, and everywhere else.
There were just so many colors and types of yarn and so much potential.
And she realized yet again she was compensating. As other girls bought clothes and magazines to fit in, she was buying yarn, looking to be just a little bit further into a "cool crowd." Some would scoff at the notion of the use of knitting and cool in the same sentence but it was her sanity--that simple repetitive habit that created so many beautiful objects. Did she really need the latest sock yarn update? No...and she'd managed to stop buying a week or so before. But something more formal need to be negotiated with her stash.
Summer Reading was starting soon, could she make it to the end of that without yarn purchases? That would get her through the hottest part of the year without more wool warming up the apartment. It would keep her from binging on silk on days when she just couldn't sing another round of Itsy Bitsy Spider. It might prevent the wholesale buying of pounds of dishcloth cotton (maybe). This sounded reasonable.
And how much would be her goal to knit up? For those babies were going to be born and grow whether the yarn get knitted or not--and she bought it with those babies in mind. But the goal for these summer months would be three pounds of yarn. That would at least get the equivalent of her last purchase out the door so her stash would stay at an "even" level. Sort of. Any more than that would just be deserving of a very large banana split--assuming she could find somewhere in small town USA that made most excellent banana splits. It would not get a yarn reward because, well...wasn't the point to use up some of this yarn?
She would, however, start a spreadsheet of things that look yarntabulous to buy. At the end of the summer that could be revisited to see a) if still available in the color wanted b) do I really have a project in mind or just binge wool buying c) had I had a bit much of the sock yarn Koolaid. Considering she doesn't at present knit or wear hand knit socks.....
In the week preceding up to summer reading kick off stash must be photographed and organized--the rest of it so that she could fully admit how much she owned. And projects needed to be ziplocked and prepared.
Oh...and the rest of life needed to be seen to also.
There was yarn in sorted boxes, which had been cataloged and organized and posted with full admission of stash to Ravelry. That yarn hadn't even been touched since said posting because, well, it was sorted and who wants to mess up something already neatly tucked away. But in a heap was the yarn that followed her home from when her sister came to visit in the first week of April. The yarn that was supposed to have been knitted up promptly into baby gifts and sent out again. And in the purchase bags and tissue paper was the yarn from her last two trips to Chicago where she summarily hauled a patient friend in as she squeaked over the new colors and then returned only a couple of weeks later for just one more skein--or 10. On the coffee table lounged the gorgeous skeins from the online independent dealer who has such wonderful colorways. The cone of lace weight sat beside the laptop being ignored now that half of it had gone to live with AudioGirl. The newly started lace scarf and the drop stitch shawl that had to be finished for a rapidly approaching birthday flopped inelegantly beside the futon. Three pairs of mitts that just needed thumbs were scattered throughout the current projects basket, the new yarn, and everywhere else.
There were just so many colors and types of yarn and so much potential.
And she realized yet again she was compensating. As other girls bought clothes and magazines to fit in, she was buying yarn, looking to be just a little bit further into a "cool crowd." Some would scoff at the notion of the use of knitting and cool in the same sentence but it was her sanity--that simple repetitive habit that created so many beautiful objects. Did she really need the latest sock yarn update? No...and she'd managed to stop buying a week or so before. But something more formal need to be negotiated with her stash.
Summer Reading was starting soon, could she make it to the end of that without yarn purchases? That would get her through the hottest part of the year without more wool warming up the apartment. It would keep her from binging on silk on days when she just couldn't sing another round of Itsy Bitsy Spider. It might prevent the wholesale buying of pounds of dishcloth cotton (maybe). This sounded reasonable.
And how much would be her goal to knit up? For those babies were going to be born and grow whether the yarn get knitted or not--and she bought it with those babies in mind. But the goal for these summer months would be three pounds of yarn. That would at least get the equivalent of her last purchase out the door so her stash would stay at an "even" level. Sort of. Any more than that would just be deserving of a very large banana split--assuming she could find somewhere in small town USA that made most excellent banana splits. It would not get a yarn reward because, well...wasn't the point to use up some of this yarn?
She would, however, start a spreadsheet of things that look yarntabulous to buy. At the end of the summer that could be revisited to see a) if still available in the color wanted b) do I really have a project in mind or just binge wool buying c) had I had a bit much of the sock yarn Koolaid. Considering she doesn't at present knit or wear hand knit socks.....
In the week preceding up to summer reading kick off stash must be photographed and organized--the rest of it so that she could fully admit how much she owned. And projects needed to be ziplocked and prepared.
Oh...and the rest of life needed to be seen to also.
Wednesday, April 30, 2008
101 in 1001
I may be coming a little late to the boat on this, but I recently stumbled across 101 in 1001.
The concept is to make a list of 101 things that you will do in 1001 days. You can choose your own tasks so they can be as outlandish or minute as you'd like. The tasks should help you grow and be clearly defined. Although it was supposed to start January 1, 2008, I think it could be a useful project to start anytime--as long as you're goal focused and make yourself work on your tasks.
I thought it was an interesting idea and so I started making a list. As you can imagine, there is some knitting to be done on that list--various things that I've never done before. (Socks, anyone?) And usually, I'm a decent list maker. I'm always stumbling across old grocery lists (forgotten when I went to the store), to do lists (at least one item didn't get done and now no longer matters), and there's the ever updated Amazon wish list. But here, I've run into a stumbling block.
I'm not sure I can think of 101 things I'd like to do in the next 3 years which I consider to help me grow. I know they don't have to be huge things but here's me...staring at a spreadsheet, a little over a third of the necessary entries written down, wondering...hmmm, now what?
I'm a little disappointed in myself; I thought I had more goals and creativity going than that. I'm not sure if I'm missing a lot of things that are on my mental to do list or if I'm trying to make the goals too huge or what...
So far I have
1) Writing goals (Write a, send a proposal for...)
2) Knitting goals (Knit socks and something with gauge for AudioGirl)
3) Cleaning goals (go through and get rid of...)
4) Organizational goals (Books, pictures, yarn)
5) Educational goals (take a class in)
And I have a wopping 36.
I could include completely outrageous things: become the next pop star, grow another three inches, --but I really have no aspirations to be the next Hollywood poptart and I think my body has pretty much finished in the vertical growing portion of life.
So, I'm going to really try to think about this one this week and revisit next week--and see if I've managed to get the creative juices going.
Is anyone else participating in this?
The concept is to make a list of 101 things that you will do in 1001 days. You can choose your own tasks so they can be as outlandish or minute as you'd like. The tasks should help you grow and be clearly defined. Although it was supposed to start January 1, 2008, I think it could be a useful project to start anytime--as long as you're goal focused and make yourself work on your tasks.
I thought it was an interesting idea and so I started making a list. As you can imagine, there is some knitting to be done on that list--various things that I've never done before. (Socks, anyone?) And usually, I'm a decent list maker. I'm always stumbling across old grocery lists (forgotten when I went to the store), to do lists (at least one item didn't get done and now no longer matters), and there's the ever updated Amazon wish list. But here, I've run into a stumbling block.
I'm not sure I can think of 101 things I'd like to do in the next 3 years which I consider to help me grow. I know they don't have to be huge things but here's me...staring at a spreadsheet, a little over a third of the necessary entries written down, wondering...hmmm, now what?
I'm a little disappointed in myself; I thought I had more goals and creativity going than that. I'm not sure if I'm missing a lot of things that are on my mental to do list or if I'm trying to make the goals too huge or what...
So far I have
1) Writing goals (Write a, send a proposal for...)
2) Knitting goals (Knit socks and something with gauge for AudioGirl)
3) Cleaning goals (go through and get rid of...)
4) Organizational goals (Books, pictures, yarn)
5) Educational goals (take a class in)
And I have a wopping 36.
I could include completely outrageous things: become the next pop star, grow another three inches, --but I really have no aspirations to be the next Hollywood poptart and I think my body has pretty much finished in the vertical growing portion of life.
So, I'm going to really try to think about this one this week and revisit next week--and see if I've managed to get the creative juices going.
Is anyone else participating in this?
Sunday, April 20, 2008
Hedgehogs In the News: PygmyPets
Our news today comes from AudioGirl's BF, who thoughtfully forwarded this link.
Pygmy hedgehogs are now a popular new pet in the UK. If it weren't that I'm planning a lot of travel, I'd be awfully tempted to see in investing in one here. One thing the Incredibly-Patient-Mother found out though when inquiring about possibility of my own live hedgehog was that they recommend you be near an unusual animal veterinarian (wrong title--but you get the idea). The closest one is three hours away and that might not be good for a sick hoglette.
Something to keep an eye on, I can only imagine they'd cause less allergic reactions than a cat.
Pygmy hedgehogs are now a popular new pet in the UK. If it weren't that I'm planning a lot of travel, I'd be awfully tempted to see in investing in one here. One thing the Incredibly-Patient-Mother found out though when inquiring about possibility of my own live hedgehog was that they recommend you be near an unusual animal veterinarian (wrong title--but you get the idea). The closest one is three hours away and that might not be good for a sick hoglette.
Something to keep an eye on, I can only imagine they'd cause less allergic reactions than a cat.
Monday, April 07, 2008
Home Decor for the Those with a No Paint Clause
While several of my friends have very lenient landlords or their own home, a bunch of us are still in rental property. I know "now is a great time to buy" but I'm not quite ready for home ownership and knowing one isn't ready is more important than the housing market.
As a result of renting, trying to make a place one's own can be a bit of a challenge. Many landlords don't allow tenants to paint--even if the tenant knows they'll have to paint it back to white upon moving out. While this is understandable (the landlord doesn't want 10 coats of paint on the wall), nothing but dull white walls can make for a very depressing atmosphere.
A few years a friend was contemplating such a problem and, with a little help from the Incredibly-Patient-Mother, the idea of starching fabric to the walls was devised. Simply explained you soak lengths of cotton or a light polyester fabric in liquid starch (available in the detergent aisle of the grocery) and hang it on the wall like wallpaper. Pre-measuring, a knife to trim edges after it's dried, and extra fabric is recommended. When you're ready to move out, simply pull the fabric off the wall, wash the remaining starch off the walls and you're back to white walls. I recommend washing the fabric beforehand so there is less chance of dye bleeding and staining the wall, particularly if one is using a dark fabric (we used dark red for Mr. Green's room). Lighter colored fabric is probably not a bad idea, and it's a fun way to use prints besides throw pillows and curtains.
Another option AudioGirl* pointed out to me today: decals. She's decorating a new apartment and looking for functional options to provide some color to her new, white kitchen. Considering the bright and varied palette of the apartment we used to share, I can imagine all white walls are a bit tedious for her. She found funky and fun designs at Blik that aren't your average window cling. As she and I were the masterminds behind Mr. Green's room, I imagine she'll have some great ideas in her new place.
And me? I'm just doing a lower panel of one kitchen wall. But it'll be different!
*AudioGirl = Formerly-Known-As-Roomie. It's been six months, time to re-nickname.
As a result of renting, trying to make a place one's own can be a bit of a challenge. Many landlords don't allow tenants to paint--even if the tenant knows they'll have to paint it back to white upon moving out. While this is understandable (the landlord doesn't want 10 coats of paint on the wall), nothing but dull white walls can make for a very depressing atmosphere.
A few years a friend was contemplating such a problem and, with a little help from the Incredibly-Patient-Mother, the idea of starching fabric to the walls was devised. Simply explained you soak lengths of cotton or a light polyester fabric in liquid starch (available in the detergent aisle of the grocery) and hang it on the wall like wallpaper. Pre-measuring, a knife to trim edges after it's dried, and extra fabric is recommended. When you're ready to move out, simply pull the fabric off the wall, wash the remaining starch off the walls and you're back to white walls. I recommend washing the fabric beforehand so there is less chance of dye bleeding and staining the wall, particularly if one is using a dark fabric (we used dark red for Mr. Green's room). Lighter colored fabric is probably not a bad idea, and it's a fun way to use prints besides throw pillows and curtains.
Another option AudioGirl* pointed out to me today: decals. She's decorating a new apartment and looking for functional options to provide some color to her new, white kitchen. Considering the bright and varied palette of the apartment we used to share, I can imagine all white walls are a bit tedious for her. She found funky and fun designs at Blik that aren't your average window cling. As she and I were the masterminds behind Mr. Green's room, I imagine she'll have some great ideas in her new place.
And me? I'm just doing a lower panel of one kitchen wall. But it'll be different!
*AudioGirl = Formerly-Known-As-Roomie. It's been six months, time to re-nickname.
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