About twice a year I forget how much I hate knitting and I commit myself to a big project. My first big knit in 2014 was a shawl that doubled as a constellation map of the Northern Hemisphere. I learned enough new skills- chart reading, adding beads, edging- to keep myself going through even the most awful,boring, never ending parts and when it was done, I promptly gave it away.Happy Birthday Nico!
No craft defined my 2014 like the Punk Ass Book Jockey papercut. I made the first one in late January and it set off a string of my now kinda signature silhouettes, paid homage to my love of both Parks and Rec AND librarians and helped me figure out my drawing to draft to final product process. The Punk Ass Book Jockey evolved into it’s final form over the course of a few months, it was a hit on the internet, my number 1 Etsy seller and in November Buzzfeed even featured it in a listicle of 33 Parks and Rec items to Treat Yo’Self to. It was the best of times. That Buzzfeed article is also how it got on NBC legal’s radar and how I got hit with my very first cease and desist letter.
I grew up going to a lot of church camps. Like, a lot. And the most camp like church camp (and therefore the most fun) was Camp Glisson: 1 summer week sessions with, like, actual cabins and college kids as counselors and swimming pools and nature hikes and whatnot. At the end of each week the counselors would surround the campers and sing them a song. “My friend, I think of you daily” they sang as they promised to remember us, love us and pray for us from afar. It was an emotional moment, so much so that I can’t even watch youtube videos of much more recent Camp Glisson send-offs without tearing up a little. My favorite counselor from Camp Glisson grew up to become a pastor at my parent’s church and at the end of last year, she and her husband welcome their first baby, a beautiful girl and a future Camp Glisson camper.
When Sean and Larnie got married last year I made them 100 napkins. For their first anniversary I went with tradition and a paper gift- a papercut, featuring silhouettes with Sean’s signature hat and Larnie’s signature bun, and their first dance song. This one got there on time.
Yady Kates 