crafty – Lauren Warnecke

A Lovely Evening

It’s taken me a long time to learn how to spend time by myself.

I guess I’m still learning, really.

After a year of working 60-80 hours a week, followed by a surprisingly hectic summer, followed by the hit to the face that comes with the first week of school, I was surprised to find myself with three days on my calendar that were actually…. blank.

Huh? What is this strange feeling of time off? The GF is traveling, which means football is off my radar, and I can’t figure out what people do with themselves when this phenomenon called days off occur for every 5 days. Um, well, I guess I’ll, well, polish up seven weeks of upcoming lectures and watch an equivalent 7 hours of Law and Order: SVU on Hulu.

And that’s exactly what happened yesterday.

tumblr_msh3mcTeVw1qmywbko1_500 — wine, jazz, and freezing string beans

I wanted today to be different. I wanted Sunday to be this productive day where I do this that I claim to be doing on my blog and Pinterest while I’m really sitting on the couch with Detective Tutuola. After a somewhat thorough cleaning of the kitchen and laundry-doing earlier today, I put on some jazz music, opened the windows and a bottle of wine, and got a bit crafty. It’s about time I lived up to my name.

So, I repurposed my mother’s old kitchen curtains into a sassy new apron, baked a pan of chicken for my lunches this week, and froze most of the vegetables that arrived in my CSA this morning – while wearing the new apron (naturally).

I’m sure you find this all very interesting, but now as I sit at my desk, listening to the sounds of the city out the window and rumbles of thunder as a storm approaches, Ella Fitzgerald humming softly on the stereo, sipping my glass of wine, feeling accomplished, I couldn’t ask for a more perfect evening. With all due respect, Detectives, you’ve been replaced (for now).

tumblr_msh5h2upkZ1qmywbko1_500 — A new apron, fashioned from Mother’s drapes.

Knitted Pot Holders (i.e. Sometimes I live up to my name…)

I know what you might be thinking…

I don’t get it. How come this Lauren chick calls herself crafty, and yet I never see her doing any crafts! What gives?

Life gets busy, you know? I excuse myself by saying that Crafty is a state of mind rather than a state of being. We all aspire to be as crafty as we perceive ourselves to be on Pinterest, but sometimes life gets in the way.

And then other times, on the rare occasion that you have a four day weekend and an emotional commitment to watch several hours of football, your fingers start twitching for something to do. I used to knit (like, a lot), but somehow let it fall by the wayside. Last weekend, however, I dug out my needles and scraps of yarn and it was just like coffee with an old friend.

I’ve started up again, but simply, by replacing a few grubby old potholders with this little beauty:

I once made the mistake of committing to an entire afghan in this pattern, seed, not realizing that it takes twice as long as most other patterns because you have to switch your yarn after each stitch. That blanket took my entire undergraduate college degree to finish. But, I’m at it again because, being the perfectionist that I am, it comes out so beautifully and those little tiny bubbles of yarn are going to keep my hand from burning on a fresh loaf of zucchini bread. Plus, you don’t have to count anything.

Seed Pattern (Knitting)

Cast on an odd number of stitches (I used 35 for this fairly generous-sized hot pad)
K1, P1 until the end of the row
Repeat
That’s it.

Disclaimer: The blanket underneath this work in progress was not made by me, but by my Great-Grandmother Cora. It was crocheted haphazardly (so she said) using scraps from her yarn basket and was gifted to me when I was about 10. It’s either been at the end of my bed or on the back of my sofa ever since.

True confessions of a bike commuter: Francesca Bourgault

It’s time again for another bike commuter…. today features the lovely Francesca Bourgault, the cheeriest lighting designer I ever did meet:

Francesca Bourgault is a lighting designer, technical director, dance teacher and crafter that bops around town constantly. The only regular parts of her schedule are the 4 tot dance classes I teach each week at Chase Park for Design Dance. In the evenings she design for enough dance companies that she’s always somewhere different and always trying to remember how to get there. When gear needs to be shuttled or the commute is too far, she drives, but only then does she leave her funked up bike locked at home.

Where do you live? The southeast corner of Ravenswood [a North-side Chicago neighborhood]

How long is your commute? Depending on the gig, it can be anywhere from a mile to 8 each way. If I get called to Oak Park, however, I typically choose to drive since it’s super far and usually a late night rehearsal or tech crew call.

red dress bike FDB — from Red Dress Run on the 4th of July 2009. Francesca uses her bike for exercise and dressing up in addition to commuting.

What kind of bike do you ride? Ha! My poor bike was probably stolen before it got to me. On Craig’s List it was labeled Arctic in color, purple and white. It’s had a lot of adjustments including a trade from Ram’s horn to straight handlebars and from green brake and gear lines to silver. I think it can be considered a hybrid but who knows anymore.

Do you wear work clothes on your bike, or wear bike clothes and change at work? Almost always I will bike in work clothes. The only exception is if I want to wear cute shoes for a show; then it’s all about the sneakers or boots for the commute.

How do you carry your stuff? Paniers? Messenger bag? Milk Crate? My partner donated a sweet, white basket to my cause that goes on my handlebars. I also have a rack on the back with bungee netting that holds the leftovers. Sometimes I even add my backpack but mostly I find a way to leave something at home if it seems like that may be necessary.

Fair-weather rider? The only things I won’t ride through are the slushy stuff on the side of the road and ice. I hate ice and have fallen on it too many times. My tires are not good for that sort of thing and I don’t trust my unbalanced bike.

Scariest moment on the bike: I don’t usually run into any funny business but recently, in Wrigleyville, of course, I got slowly cut off by a cab. Slowly meaning that he almost wasn’t past me when he started veering into the bike lane then off the road. He got a swift smack to the window for that one. No turn signal or anything. Sheesh! I must say that I’m pretty lucky for not having been doored ever or gotten thrown off by any humungous pot holes.

Tips for new riders: Make yourself do it. It’s easy to get into the habit of taking the bus/train or driving “because it’s easier” but in the end, it’s really not. It takes so much less time both in transit and pre/post ride due to parking plus the boost from cardio is a benefit we all can use.

Why you ride: I hate driving and parking and definitely hate missing the bus. My bike is so convenient and reminds me to move when I would otherwise be sedentary most of the day.

If you are a bike commuter and would like to be featured in this series, please send an email to lauren@artintercepts.org for consideration. Thanks!