The Hungry Crafter

Happy late summer! It’s been a busy one, but in the best way possible — there’s much to catch up on… For now, I’ll give you a brief overview of my summer by way of introduction to Project 365.

Project 365 is an uncomplicated idea: you take a picture a day for a year, with the goal of capturing the day-to-day details of life, living in the present moment, and, ostensibly, becoming a better photographer. I chose to do mine as an iPhone Project 365, — primarily out of convenience — so have been using my phone for my daily shots, leaning heavily on the Hipstamatic app (with an increasing dependence on Photoshop Express, which has instantly replaced Aviary as my photo editor of choice).

While I’m enjoying the process very much, I admit that I find the last goal of becoming a better photographer somewhat dubious…a better iPhone photographer, maybe, but I can’t help but feel like I’m cheating in some way. The phone as a camera is still hard for me to fully embrace, and the Hipstamatic tool and multiple photo editing apps even more so. It just feels gimmicky to me. As a friend on Facebook once quipped, “A crappy photo taken with Instagram is still a crappy photo…” I don’t disagree. But it’s certainly a cooler crappy photo.

Of course, I tend to be a perfectionist and an over-achiever, so I may be a little rigid in my rules. I’ve similarly struggled on the sewing front with feelings that I’m “cheating,” or can’t take creative credit for my projects, simply because I’m using a pattern. Or relying on the beauty of those designer fabrics I like to hoard, but most certainly didn’t design. And I suppose I will never fully feel like an accomplished cook until I have a trove of recipes that I developed from scratch myself. One of these days I will help birth a baby lamb, bottle feed her, shear her fuzzy new wool, card it, spin it, dye it, and weave it into a placemat of my own design, and feel that I am a true fiber artist. But I don’t expect that to happen anytime in the near future…

So for now, a look at the first three complete months of my Project 365 — and therefore my summer — complete with gimmicks, uninspired stretches, and a day or two where I forgot and cheated, alongside several wonderful memories, smiling faces (and tender paws) of my loved ones, and shots that I truly cherish. I’ll take the good with the bad. It’s what life is made of.

May brought dinners with friends, wedding dress shopping, a shower, a busy stretch at work, visits with my niece, the return of the Copley farmer’s market, a family beer brewing session, the MA Sheep & Woolcraft Fair, and a trip to Fenway…

June saw the bottling of aforementioned beer, visits with the in-laws, a surprise party in NYC, multiple birthday celebrations for my sweet 1-year old(!) niece, Maine Fiddle Camp, a sewing project, and an Iron Maiden show. And oh yeah, the discovery of my new all-time favorite cupcakes in Boston.

And in July we had a visit from my Mom, a small 4th of July barbeque and a big housewarming BBQ (recipes forthcoming), meeting a new little girl and an old Red Sox captain, and enjoying the bounty of summer foods, grilling, and flowers, with a big side helping of obligatory kitty snuggles.

If you’re interested in seeing any individual photos more clearly, they’re all available on my Flickr iPhone Project 365 set.