Making and Doing

Making: I've been working on growing my crochet toolbox lately. When I got a little burnt out on Tunisian, I taught myself to make granny squares and work in the round using various internet sources. I made a cute little sugar skull with some red cotton the other day that's just waiting for some eyes. I might try to size it up a little and make some wash clothes for my bathroom. I've been slowly redecorating my bathroom in skulls  and skeletons and I think that would be a nice touch. When I mentioned the idea to the spousey person, they suggested sizing it up even larger and making a bath mat or rug! I think that's a great idea and I think I could make it happen with some chunky cord or rope, or maybe even some recycled fabric. Currently, I'm working on a hat for the spousey. It's probably not even going to get cold enough to need it much more this year, but that's ok. They'll have if for next year. This is my first time attempting an entire hat in the round.  So far, so good!

The top of a hat!

I'm slowly starting to make progress on a large jewelry order my aunt put in for this summer. She's approved the prototype so now to get to cranking out product. I've been extremely concerned with keeping costs down while creating pieces that really stand out, and had been hugely concerned about the sheer amount of beads the project is going to take. I was, until I received a package in the mail from a dear friend who used to run a wonderful little shop here in town. She moved out of state and those of us who thought of her shop as home miss her dearly. She sent me the package as part of a "pay it forward" post on FB that involved sending people a random package some time over the course of the year. Her random gift to me was BEADS. No more worries about keeping the budget sensible on this order. I could not feel more blessed. Thank you, Universe. I needed that.

Doing: I've been keeping a Tarot Journal. I used the book Tarot Journaling by Corrine Kenner as a jumping off point. The book isn't quite what I thought it would be, but it's proved useful in getting the project off the ground. Tarot is an extremely useful tool for thinking about things in ways you might not otherwise and seeing situations from other perspectives. Whether you believe the source of the insight is divine, stems from the subconscious, or is all just random happenstance, doesn't actually matter. All the cards are there to do is introduce new ideas into your thought process and even if they are completely random and have no kind of mystical properties whatsoever, that can be an extremely useful tool when working through a difficult problem or experiencing a blocked thought pattern.

I've been using the Diaro app for Android and it's been extremely useful for keeping the project organized.  It lets me include photos in my entries, which is extremely handy for future referencing and so I don't have to try and transcribe blocks of texts from various reference books. I've been using the app for a while for my personal, private, journaling and to draft posts for other places. I'm using it right now to write to this post, as a matter of fact, after the lack of auto save in the Blogger app forced me to start all over from a much earlier version. I haven't used the website so I can't attest to its online presence, but the app itself it just wonerful.

Still using HabitRPG. I've created some useful habits and have learned a lot about how and why I do things by using it. Recently, I've joined a guild called "Challenge... Accepted?" and that's introduced me to some new things and encouraged me to do and try some things I wouldn't have, otherwise. All of the projects I've talked about in this entry are things that I log on the site in one way or another. I get points for crafting every day and more if I finish a project or meet one of my goals. I'll get points for writing and posting this blog post!  I am extremely grateful for being introduced to the site. It's a wonderful resource and I really can't talk it up enough. 

Time to close this post to go make and do other things (the dishes to start!) I'll leave you with the little skull still waiting for his button eyes.

Almost Sugar Skull

Autonomous Sensory Meridian Response

Story time! 
Once upon a time I went to a Transiberian Orchestra concert with my then roommate. It was amazing. It was the kind of amazing that was kind of spiritual and kept sending intense chills through my body. This intense sensation would wash over in me waves from time to time as I was listening when some chord or chorus particularly spoke to me on deeper level. After a while I noticed that every time I felt this intense sensation my roommate sitting next to me would shiver. I asked her what was wrong and she said she kept getting a cold draft. She thought she was sitting over a vent. I paid attention the next couple times it happened and the correlation became clear. Every time the intensity of the experience would wash over me, my roommate next to me would feel the energy washing through me as a cold sensation coming from my direction. I was the draft. It seems like a crazy story, but the correlation was very real.
Last week I learned about ASMR: Autonomous Sensory Meridian Response and that story instantly came to mind. I think what I was experiencing is similar, but this is a different thing, too. Do you get chills in the back of your head when someone brushes your hair or when you run your hands through a bowl of sand of a bag of rice? This is that. And there is an entire community around it on youtube and around the internet. Some of the videos are simple "trigger videos" of people brushing things on the microphone to cause that sensation in you, the viewer, or running their hands over different textures and whispering a story. Whispering is a big trigger for a lot of people, so it's a huge part of the community. Even if you don't experience what some refer to a "braingasm," the effect can be extremely relaxing. 
There are also videos, like the one I present to you here, that provide a kind of psychological release, as well. The video below is by a woman who refers to herself as Heather Feather. In the video she plays the role of a kind of brain maintenance professional and throughout the course of the video she unlocks compartments of your brain and cleans out the negative things she finds there such as guilt which she brushes away and negative thoughts she clips out. The video is binaural and much of the experience's magic is listening to it through headphones. She moves around various parts of your mind and you hear her in different areas as she's working. The video is for sleep and relaxation. I was awake until almost the very last moment, but so completely relaxed and in a wonderful state. The sleep I got afterwards was amazing.
I haven't listened to a lot of other vides, but on a site called ASMR Hub there is a lot of variety. I tried out a short Chakra Opening video that was nice and there are some MP3s with guided meditations and things. Every video isn't for every person and the whole concept isn't for everyone either, but if it seems like something that you might find relaxing, comforting, stimulatinng, or in any way useful, I encourage you to explore places like youtube and channel's like Heather's or spend some time browsing the Hub. I'm glad that I was turned on to this by a friend who recently discovered it. I look forward to discovering new ways to use it as a tool as I learn more about it and find more resources.