I have always loved Japanese handcrafts. I'm not sure if it's because I grew up in a home surrounded by Japanese art or maybe it's just because Japanese crafters are so prolific. Whatever the reason, my interest in Japanese handcrafts and my obsession with crochet led me to discover what I believe is the awesomest pop art to come out of Japan in recent years: Amigurumi. Well lots of awesome pop art comes out of Japan, but it's not crocheted. Anyway, Amigurumi is a particular style of crochet that is worked all in spirals without turning your work. This gives your fabric a very smooth, uniform look. Usually Amigurumi are little, insanely cute, stuffed creatures. They can be animals, monsters(cute monsters mind you), food, plants or any other inanimate object with cute faces. I"ve made bunnies, mushrooms, monkeys, I even made a Zen monkey(wish I'd taken apicture of it).
The possibilities are endless. My latest endeavor isn't strictly Amigurumi, because it's not a stuffed doll, but I have been wanting to make crocheted rag rugs for a while out of old sheets I have collected from work or free boxes. I thought that the crochet technique used in Amigurumi would look really nice in a rug. Because the crocheted fabric is smooth and uniform it feels a lot nicer to walk on than a traditional crocheted rag rug and it looks nicer, too.
I usually use sheets to make these rugs, but you can used any kind of fabric you like. It's a great way to recycle old fabric. You can even dye the fabric if you like, either before or after crocheting the rug. I like to find interesting patterns and colors to mix together for a really unique rug. This one is going to end up on the bedroom floor. I made it so Lasaya doesn't have to play on the cold floor in the middle of winter.
Now that I am going to nursing school I don't have much time for working on projects. It might take me another year to finish this rug. Maybe I should make a crafting challenge to finish it by summer. That might be ambitious. Well it's always good to set goals for yourself even if they are unattainable, or in this case difficult. As long as you try your best and don't get too attached to the out come there is no harm in it. I was reading something the other day about the goallessness of Zen. It said that in Zen there is no goal, but sometimes I wonder about that. I mean maybe ideally there is not suppose to be a goal, but it seems like most people have one. Maybe it's because we are not quite as enlightened as the people who are telling us we are not supposed to have a goal, but it seems like a goal is not necessarily a bad thing as long as you don't obsessed about it or get too attach to the outcome.
That reminds me of a Jataka tale I like to read to my daughter. The short version goes something like this: Buddha, in a previous incarnation, is on a boat that sinks. So he is stuck there treading water. The Goddess of the ocean is off partying and having a good time and not doing her job of watching the ocean and saving people who don't deserve to drowned. After seven days she looks down and sees Buddha swimming in vain towards the shore. She knows he's been there for seven days and that he can't even see the shore. She also knows she's in deep shit because she's let someone as awesome as the Buddha nearly drowned, but she is intrigued. Why would he keep swimming in the face of such insurmountable circumstances. There is no way he will ever make it to the shore, but he doesn't give up. So she goes down and asks him," Why have you not given up yet. You will never make it to the shore, so why do you keep trying?" The Buddha said something like, "It's not reaching the goal that is important. The act of striving for it, of never giving up, is in itself the reward." Of course his speech was longer, more meaningful, and more profound, but you get the picture. I don't know maybe I don't understand the meaning of no goal or maybe it's that I don't understand the meaning of goal.
My poor neglected blog. Summer is just too much fun. Well nothing is more inspiring to write about than chickens. That's right we finally defied the landlord and got chickens. They are so sweet and so cute. We named them Peep and Mellow. Peep is a Buff Orpington and Mellow is a Rhode Island Red. Both good layers. They haven't actually started laying yet, but we are hoping they will soon.
Getting chickens gave me the opportunity to take on a building project. Something I have never tried before. I have always been kind of girly and afraid of power tools, but I figure since I am working to overcome my fears and hangups it was time to tackle this one. I looked at a bunch of plans and pictures of 
So I drew it all out in a less than skillful sketch that brought up memories of 9th grade shop class(which I barely passed, by the way) and headed out to the hardware store. Everyone at the hardware store was very helpful and interested in my project, none of them had ever heard of a chicken tractor before. Oh and just a heads up for any newbies looking to take on this kind of project, most of the big hardware stores will cut your lumber for you, so you don't have to make a big investment in equipment to get started. I didn't get all of my lumber cut at the hardware store though. With some encouragement from my 
One thing I have noticed is that chickens are fun to watch. They have a calming effect, kind of like watching fish swimming in a fish bowl. Well it's time to put the chickens to bed.