Amulet #32 - Head Above Water

I had an email from my friend Itta who said she had stumbled across my blog and empathized strongly with Amulet #30, saying "I wonder what I am looking for, and if it really matters what I am looking for or what I will find, but I will find it, have to find it, so if I keep going it should appear somewhere, pop it's head out and say hello." Itta said that she would probably make her own version of the amulet to put in the pot plant on her desk to encourage herself to "keep looking".

I am really glad that these sentiments make sense to other people and this amulet is now winging its way to Itta, to help her keep her head above water and (as she puts it) to protect her from "the drowning effect of the too many questions my tutors will throw at me!"

I'm also very glad to report that Itta did create her own, very fine amulet and here is a picture of it...

Amulet #31 - Anti-rage device

Ok, so there are absolutely no excuses I could make that could justify the month-long hiatus I have had on this project. The MA deadlines just got too much for me, then I was away quite a lot, then I fell out of the habit slightly, then it was a month later... It is a shame really, as while I was doing my MA presentation in Celra, the amulets I just happened to have attached to various items of clothing had been attracting quite a lot of attention. I think there is something particularly 'useful' about the space created by these amulets - the excuse they provide for conversation and discussion of things to do with feeling protected.

Anyway, here is a long overdue and slightly out-of-focus photo of a special anti-rage device for my some-time fancyman, who needed something to signal his disapproval with others' behaviour on a hard day's park-rangering.

Amulet #30 - Don't give up just yet... part 2

My daily struggle with self-discipline continues! After staring at the blind that covers my shelves for far too long this morning in an attempt to delay getting out of bed, I though I might as well do something productive with the experience. Today's amulet is part of the "not giving up" theme that I am trying to think about this week and is also inspired by one of the 'encouraging banners' made as part of the Learning To Love You More project by Miranda July & Harrell Fletcher.

When I first saw a picture of the banner that said "You Will Find It", I didn't really respond to it but over the last few months it seems to be making a lot more sense. I think it has got something to do with not knowing exactly what you are looking for but knowing that it is out there somewhere, if you just keep looking.

Amulet #29 - Orchestrating Good Luck

I met with my friend Guy for coffee this afternoon and heard his fantastically positive retelling of his last few months, how he ended up going to Baltimore and will be co-presenting a paper with some kind of scientific expert in his field of research in Prague in a few months. He has obviously been doing a very good job of getting in touch with 'the right people' and telling them about what he is doing.

And what is his secret? He just writes to them or rings them up and tells them how interested he is in what they do and suggests that they should meet to discuss their mutual interests - good eh? So, I thought I would make this particular amulet as a reminder of the phrase he says he always keeps in the back of his mind (some words of wisdom from his Dad) - "Shy Bairns Get Nowt". I like it...

Now, there's just the simple matter of acting on it - I'll see what I can do!

Amulet #28 - Anti-hibernation

After two full days of not leaving the house (apart from a trip to the Co-op at the end of my road to get milk, cake and biscuits), I thought it was about time to make an amulet to remind me to "go outside", to leave the house more regularly and generally resist the temptation to hibernate! This is a very cute felt cuff I made while giving Amy's friend Julia some refresher knitting lessons yesterday evening.

All this computer-based stuff (preparing presentations, reading writing up etc) leads me to be far too sedentary and I'm sure I can't be alone in needing protection from this very specific type of harm.

Amulet #27 - Missing in action

This is an empty space where an amulet should be. I haven't made this amulet yet, due to sheer laziness (there is no excuse). Instead, I defrosted my freezer and watched 2 entire series of the mediocre (and yet, very watchable and quite addictive) TV series "The Book Club" on 4OD.

Amulet #26 - To combat crochet frustration

After yesterday's excellent CROCHET CLUB at Hannah's house, I was determined to make an anti-frustration amulet for my friend Maddy, who found herself a little susceptible to crochet rage! I think this also heralds the start of a self imposed 'not giving up' week in relation to this 100 Days project - it can be quite tough going making one of these everyday, but it is really satisfying when I manage it. I think the discipline of doing it is a very important part of my motivation for starting but I really need to work harder to not fall behind so regularly!

I also don't quite know how I am going to keep up when I head off again next weekend for 10 days away - maybe a series of travel related amulets? Or working with one specific format? Hmmm - all this thinking out loud could be bad for one...