SELF PORTRAIT THURSDAY!

SELF PORTRAIT THURSDAY!
1.29.09

Music is lame right now. I barely listen to music I own anymore (notice the last update of that Last.fm thing I have on my blog…). I'm tired of it all.

Right now it's all about documentaries about serial killers. And reading all I can about them online.

But I know I'll probably just forget all about them by the time I get back from Portland on the 9th.
(Did I mention that I'm going to Oregon on the 1st to visit Andrea G.? No? Well, I am. I'm excited.)

SELF PORTRAIT THURSDAY! 1.29.09

And then there's a shot of me sitting on some old encylopedias in order to sew:

sitting on old encyclopedias

Max and Sarah are letting me use their sewing machine at the moment.
My table is too tall, though, so I have to sit on those books in order to reach the sewing foot raiser thing with my knee.
But even then, it's still a bit of a reach for my knee.

I feel like I'm about to mark my territory whenever I have to raise my leg (while sewing) to raise the sewing foot.

(Did any of that make sense?)

P.S.
I finally made myself that bright red hat I was talking about.
It's a ganomey hat à la Elizabeth Zimmerman.
It's kinda cute, I think.

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sweater undone (LAUGHTER FROM THE AUDIENCE)

RuffeoHeartsLilSnotty has been so kindly donating their fabric scraps to me so that I can continue making scrap fabric scarves.

But this morning while I was knitting, I got the urge to make a mask with them.

Didn't get around to doing it until this evening, but it's finished:

MASK

scrap fabric mask

scrap fabric mask

It's sorta inspired by Jason's bag mask in "Friday the 13th Part II".

Jason

I always thought his bagface was better than that hockey mask.

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HIP YOKE PIECE

Yesterday I said NO to Cubist Literature and decided to have a day just for myself.
I was still at Parachute, but instead of working on C.Lit-related activities, I worked on Craig-Hunter-related activities.

My main project was a two-part thing, but I'll set it all up for you:

See, I had bought this shirt in Houston a few weeks ago, and it had this really awesome beetle design on it—and it was sorta tie-dyed. (I like tie-dye.) But there was a problem: it was GIGANTIC. Like an XXL or an XXXL. And I couldn't just leave it at the store, so I bought it and took it back to NYC.

So, yesterday I took apart a shirt (size Adult Small) that I don't wear that much and layed out the pieces. I traced the pieces onto paper and made a shirt pattern.

Then I took apart the GIGANTIC shirt and such and laid out the pieces. I took the pattern I'd made and laid it on top of the larger pieces. I cut off the difference and then sewed it all up. Boss.

I think it came out pretty well:

BEETLES

side of shirt

wipe that nose.

Some parts are kinda awkward, though, because the original shirt was so large. And plus it was my first time working with a pattern.

I'm working my way up to starting on those pants I bought the fabric for. And last night I downloaded the pattern from BurdaStyle.com.

Layla D. (of LEDthread) is going to help me out since she's awesome and went to school for this sorta thing.

(She helped me take my measurements last night… According to her, I have a "big butt." Her words, not mine, cuz I don't like the word "butt". I prefer to use the word "ass".)

Here's another photo I took this morning of me exposing a screen:

exposing a screen

The screen didn't really work out, though, unfortunately.
Totally stressing me out. It's the second time I did something wrong. =/

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if you wanna

Of course I don't have a problem with singers with unique voices.

I just don't like Joanna Newsom's voice. It's annoying.

And yeah, I know that you can retort with "Like Corin Tucker's voice isn't…"
But I don't care.

I still don't like Joanna Newsom's voice.
Nor do I like her music.

Speaking of Sleater-Kinney…
I keep (KEEP) listening to this song.

03 Turn It On

Sleater-Kinney

You don't have to listen.
But I guess it'd give you an example of how Corin Tucker's voice can turn people off.

But Sleater-Kinney are totally hardcore.
I bet that was a fun band to be in.
Cuz they're pretty awesome.

In other news, I ran out of my special pills.
And I've got a big obese headache.

Here are some shirts I've made in the past couple days:

THE SUN WAS FREEZING TODAY

THE SUN WAS FREEZING TODAY

white on white

(The white-on-white shirt I actually have different sizes of. If you know what the shirt is a reference to without having to read the item description, then I'll love you forever. If you don't know already, then I'll just love you for a long time.)

my own best enemy

price seductions EQUAL REACTIONS

The rabbits aren't ever gonna go anywhere, I don't think.
The same goes with the ribcageivyLITTLEHEARTS! design.

They're just things that I'll always get a personal kick out of sewing onto clothing. They're so interesting to me for some reason.

And yeah, I know that they're just rabbits and hearts. Nothing too complicated.

But I really like simple ideas/designs.
I admire more complex designs and such.

But that's just not me.
I'm more into simplicity.

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ROLL WITH THE PUNCHES!

Do you ever suddenly realize what your name is?
(I mean, like REALLY realize.)

Today I (really) realized that my name is Craig.

And when it dawned on me, I thought it was so odd.

In other news, I guess my body was exhausted from the past while because I slept through my 915AM alarm and didn't wake up until 1230PM.

I didn't get to the studio til almost 3 cuz I needed to eat and shower.

I also wanted to be alone to screenprint (I'm shy when it comes to that) a few prints from this new screen I made the other day.

Would you like to see the patches/appliqués I made?
Of course you would.

the MALE gives birth to the CHILDREN

the MALE gives birth to the CHILDREN

The Juki (that sewing machine that almost made me cry yesterday) and I also made up this afternoon.

I realized that I was expecting too much from a machine that really just wants to go/be straight. It's not interested in the many turns involved in sewing an octopus appliqué.

With that said, I used the Juki to sew up this shirt because it's more straight-friendly:

GOODBYE SMALL HEART!

GOODBYE SMALL HEART!

 

So, I think today has been a good day.
Even IF I slept in disgustingly late.

xo
xo
xo

I'll be spending the night in Queens again.
It takes a fuckin' hour and a half to get out there.

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all those other ones

I was interviewed twice today: one was filmed—gosh, I've been all stopped up lately, so I'm probably gonna sound all nasal—and the other was for some German newspaper (the German equivalent of the NY Times, I think).

Actually it wasn't just me—my pal Chanel (aka owner of the awesome shop Junk Prints) was interviewed, too, but separately.

And then the former president (I THINK that was his position—it was either that or CEO or owner or something) of BMG music stopped by the studio space. I'm not really sure why, but I think because Matt Stinchcomb, head of Etsy's marketing team, knows him. (Matt used to be in that band the French Kicks. I never listened to them, but other people I know did.)

I didn't meet that BMG guy, though. I was knitting.
Besides, I'm sure he and Rob had certain things to discuss.
Who knows.
It's all so random.

Today's been weird.
I think it's because I've been in the studio all day long.
But this is going to be my life from now on.
If I want Cubist Literature to work—if I want to work for MYSELF and not some job I hate—then it's going to take some long hours, some sacrifices, some serious dedication, some babies, some beer (I hope!), some felt, some recycled/vintage/thriftstore clothes, some…

I'll stop.

But I've been busy all day long.
I went home for about an hour and a half so that I can eat some Chef Boyardee and do a crossword puzzle.

I fuckin' love crossword puzzles, even if I can't ever finish them.

I REALLY love doing those puzzles with a friend.
(Lillian G. (aka Lazy Susan) and I did a couple on the subways when she was here. We finished them both. Holler.)

Okay, here's a photo list of the things I made today:

BLUE COLLAR CHILDREN

I GOT MORE FACES

HEAVY CROWN

And I'd already listed this cuff in the shop, but I had more of the yarn left over, so I decided to knit a couple more.

im not in yr room

I REALLY love that yarn so much. It's handspun, but I'm not sure by whom.
I unraveled the yarn from a hat that I got—not for me to wear, but the hat was just donated/given to me because the owner didn't want it anymore. I guess.

I'm really excited about these next six months.
I hope that I have what it takes to run some sort of legit/substantial/consistent business.
I'm really nervous about the sacrifices, though, of course.

I'm not looking forward to $1/day budgets for food.

I'm getting the impression that I'll need a partner.
So, I think I'm currently looking for one. I'd prefer another guy to work with. And who's good at sewing and knitting and being awesome and original.

I'm just thinking out loud.
I'll stop RIIIIIIGHT now.

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DEAR DAIRY

I'm proud of myself because the basic web designing that I do has gotten to be a bit easier.
I redesigned my website yesterday afternoon and evening. And it didn't take 10-13 hours like I thought it would.
It only took about 3-5 hours. Maybe more.

I still don't understand a lot about coding and web design—obviously—but I only teach myself how to do/make things that I want to do/make.

(Like yeah… I COULD do the fancy knitting techniques and such—I am positive I could—I just don't want to.)

Anyway, here is the new site.
HERE.
CLICK.

In other news, here is one of the shirts I made today:

EXECUTE DESTROY

EXECUTE DESTROY

It's that octopus again.

I forgot my tripod at my apartment, so in order to take the photo of the shirt, I had to stack up all the books I have here, put my camera on top of that, and then I had to stand/kneel RILLY awkward to model the shirt.

The moral of the story, you guys, is this:
NEVER FORGET YOUR TRIPOD AT HOME.

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LET’S RUN

Well, Windy, my younger sister, left yesterday. And I wasn't expecting this, but I got so sad after I said goodbye that I started crying as I was walking in the airport. I was so homesick the rest of the day that I had to go to the bathroom a couple times to bury my face in my towel and cry like a baby.

But I guess it's just one of those things.
I feel a lot better today.

Here are some photos of me being an NYC tourist with my sister:

brother and sister!

(At the top of the Empire State Building.)

Me

(Grand Central.)

Windy in Times Square.

It also snowed about five to seven inches the other day while she was here. I was really happy that she got to see real snow. (We're from Houston, so getting snow is almost unheard of.)

trees

Windy in Central Park

Windy

me

That scarf that she's wearing is a belated Christmas gift I finished after she got here. I made her model it for me the other day:

sister

sister

Windy, mouth.

It's really long—over 70".
And it's a foot wide.

She told me she wanted it this one time we were waiting at the Coach store. This lady walked in with a similar scarf, and Windy said, "That's the scarf I want. So, you better get on it.'

I'm not good with deadlines.
I'm also worse when I have no deadlines.

So, yeah.
That's that.

Here are a few other random photos of some shirts I've sewn since yesterday. And other stuff.

TWIDDLES WOULD KEEP

CONTRARY MOTION

dancing in your head.

fogged out Statue of Liberty

Chrysler Building

Oh, and here's this photo of me when I had this REALLY bad hangover.
(I couldn't stay in bed all day long like I wanted to, though. I had to keep on truckin' and take Windy shopping…)

Me

I got sorta belligerent the night before…

K sorry for all the photos, but I missed you, friends!
x
craig-hunter

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rediscovering the russian avant-garde.

The time I'd given myself a really (REALLY) bad haircut and admitted on film that I think about Pacman more than Hitler:

pacman and hitler

I don't know why I just thought about this.
Like JUST now while I was brushing my teeth.

I recently made a list of my biggest fears:
(These aren't in any particular order.)

1. Becoming horribly disfigured/scarred.
2. Being stuck leading a boring/monotonous life, being aware/conscious of this fact, and not being able to do anything about it.
3. Having my teeth shatter and/or fall out.
4. Living and having to survive in a post-apocalyptic world. (I'm talking about being one of the few survivors after a comet collision or zombie outbreak.)
5.

I forget what #5 is.
I'll report back later about that.

(But maybe there is no #5. Who knows. Just assume there is.)

Desira let me use her sewing machine this afternoon. I forgot how much quicker it is to appliqué something by machine than by hand. Stupid hands.

young teenagers talk sex

OH!
This is what I really wanted to tell you:

Well, I use vintage spools of thread to do my sewing just cuz a large quantity one day fell into my hands. Anyway, as I was trying to put the thread on top of the machine there was some resistance. Then out comes this little piece of plastic from the spool hole-thing.

I take the plastic out from the spool completely and look closer at it to see that it's actually a little plastic baggie (sp?)—a little plastic baggie containing a little amount of vintage coke!

I didn't know how to feel about that mostly because most of the sewing supplies I use used to belong to my (Mormon) great-grandmother. But did this one spool belong to her, too? Or did I obtain it from somewhere else?

Was my great-grandmother a coke head?

Questions, questions…

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human being

You are an artist.
"No, I'm just a talented amateur."

I'm eagerly awaiting the arrival of these boxer briefs that I bought late last night from Backwards.

Il_fullxfull.16221203

Il_fullxfull.16221211

I like her shop.
She's mostly got panties (I hate that word) made in the same style, but recently she started selling mens underwear.

I can't wait til I get my serger fixed so that I can start making my own underwear and short shorts.
Of course I'll still support my fellow artists/crafters/pals like Backwards.

I'll keep you posted.

I'm downloading iTunes right now.
I'm gonna try it out.
Usually I listen to music on Windows Media Player.

I'm pretty sure they're the same thing and do the same things, though.

It feels nice outside today.
I took a walk.

I really want to be in a band again.
I want to call it MotherCake.

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