beret beret!

if you read my recent post over on the threadbanger blog, beret brained!...you know i'm all about the beret at the moment. it's definitely a continuation of everything hat-centric i've been blabbering about for most of this year.
in recent weeks, i have been looking all around, high, low, here, and there for the perfect beret pattern. it has not been an easy task, for i wanted something easy, basic quick to make, pretty classic, not too slouchy, and worsted-weight yarn worthy. a tall order! though the lacy, oversized or chunky ones are lovely, they weren't *exactly* what i had in mind in my mind's eye.
i found some promising contenders around the ye olde world-wide-web (as evidenced by the round-up i linked to in the aforementioned post)...but like goldielocks and the three bears, none of them was quite right.
however, yesterday around 3pm a tiny crafty lightbulb flickered on on above my head, and shone brightly: i know where to find a pattern for the perfect beret! it's a pattern contained within a vintage copy of the reader's digest complete guide to needlework, a lovely classic craft tome i thrifted ages and ages ago.

i had attempted said beret yonks ago when i was first learning how to crochet (that would be way back in what, 2004??) but for some reason didn't complete it. i'm pretty well-versed with the crocheting now, natch, and usually don't use patterns, but now and again i like the ease of not having to work everything out myself. so armed with some super basic bright yellow wool yarn (cascade 220), i got to work. three short hours later, i had myself the beret of my "dreams".

easy peasy.
love projects like this! nearly instant gratification.

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(p.s. i am OBSESSED with yellow at the moment. orange still reigns supreme as my favorite color o' the past several years, but yellow is a recent fling with which i am having a torrid color affair. anyone else similarly smitten with yellow??)

creative to-do lists: what's yours look like?

i'm forever making creative to-do lists!
my creative to-do lists usually are comprised of the following sorts of items: specific creative projects i want to tackle, art of craft classes i'm yearning to take...things of that nature. sometimes they are centered upon a specific creative project, listing the items or tasks i need in order to bring that project to life. it's sort an adjunct to other brainstorming and organizational practices, like making a mood board (something i've gone on and on about here many times before).
simply getting these ideas and intentions out on paper, or typing them out into a computer program specifically like omni-outliner (an awesome outlining program my husband turned me on to long ago, which i use constantly) is immensely helpful because it allows me to braindump, organize the tasks and ideas i have and want to accomplish, and keeps me (somewhat!) accountable to actually getting those tasks accomplished and those ideas fulfilled.

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my current creative to-do list currently looks something like this:
-get personal business cards printed (finally!...i need them for like, everything?) -finish setting up my Etsy store (where i'll soon be selling some handmade wearable pieces and more (by me!), plus some choice vintage finds, so stay tuned!) -quilt and bind the quilt i made over the summer (got stuck on the quilting bit, need to research best way of quilting, from some resource that has good, thorough instructions!) -buy laminate board to serve as portable palette for silkscreening (maybe stop by scrap here in SF?) -take ceramics class (perhaps at the clay studio, which is one block from my house?) -take patternmaking classes (to get back into the swing of things and keep up with skills) -take drawing class! -just plain draw, as often as possible (got out of the habit due to uh, life, work, writing, etc.!) -improve my photography skills, master my DSLR/SLR. -knit or crochet a bright, sunshine yellow beret (searching around on ravelry for something suitable as i type this...but this one is rather nice, i must say!) -design a high-waisted, full skirt, softly gathered into the waist, perhaps make it out of some sort of black, crisp, stiff silk -design a simple drop sleeve blouse that i plan to fashion out of metallic gold lace (which i plan to wear under the metallic gold tank and gold leather skirt i thrifted many moons ago) -make more cocktail hats

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what about you? what is currently on your creative to-do list?
does keeping lists help you? do you find that writing things down keeps you on task and accountable? or do you write it down, and forget it and never get around to the things you want to do? :)
chime in, if you please!

my day (was colorful)

because i made this:

and saw this:

and this: