March is always a strange month weather-wise in Colorado. The week I'm writing this, the forecast calls for a couple of 60-degree days followed by snow. I find this weird mix is actually ideal for a creative business as it makes my week more balanced. I have sunny days for walks and messy/smelly art activities outside (like darkening copper) and indoor days for taxes and other computer work.
On My Work (Art) Table
I haven't been making much jewelry these days, but I did assemble some simple earrings and necklaces. These steel Colorado earrings say "Easily Distracted" on them!
In the Kitchen
Over the past few weeks, I've experimented more than normal in the kitchen. I tried the oven-baked sweet potato fries in the new Smitten Kitchen Keepers book that I checked out from the library. Delicious! I think next time I'll try to be more precise about cutting them so they cook more evenly and use a tiny bit less oil.
I also tried making buns for chicken sandwiches. I used this Beautiful Burger Buns recipe from King Arthur Baking Company. Next time I might proof the dough for an additional hour. The directions said 1-2 hours and I only did an hour. They came out a little bit darker than they look in the photo and some were definitely more round than others!
Tomorrow, and Tomorrow, and Tomorrow by Gabrielle Zevin was not my usual type of book, but I did find the characters intriguing. I also learned a lot about video game development! (On the author's website, you can play the poetry video game that is in the book.)
On My Library Hold List
Start Finishing: How to Go from Idea to Done by Charlie Gilkey. That title pretty much says it all, doesn't it?
Art I Admired
This chalk drawing of eggs in a Tiffany jewelry box was nicely done and funny! I'd love to figure out how to make those kinds of 3-D designs.
What I'm Watching
I enjoyed the romantic comedy The Lost City with Sandra Bullock. It's similar in plot to the movie Romancing the Stone, which I also liked.
What I'm Listening To
I don't listen to as many podcasts as I used to, probably because I'm currently doing more work that requires my full concentration. (I don't understand how people can listen to words spoken by other people while they are trying to write other words at the same time!) I did find the latest reader question episode on The Indicator podcast interesting, as one of the questions involved selling the work you made from a knitting or sewing pattern that you purchased.
Made Me Laugh
Larry the Cat celebrated his 12th year as Chief Mouser, outlasting many British politicians.
This local news article about Sophie Hill, a young indigenous jewelry maker, is serious, but if you watch the video, there's a funny bit where she talks about people in the distant future still finding random beads in her home long after she's left. Every beader I know can relate to that! (I recently dug out a bead from the grooves on the bottom of my tennis shoes.)
New in the Shop
I'm slowly reviewing my newest patterns designs for Spoonflower and posting them as they are ready. I've been experimenting with using different colorways and scales for the same patterns. It's always surprising how a little change can make a big difference!
Here's one example with the original brown fabric (left) and a second version in blue (right) with the same pattern at a smaller scale:
See you in April!