Hi, welcome to my blog! I’m Kathleen, and I like real
things. I like my toys made out of wood and fabric, my food made out of butter,
wine, organic produce and fresh herbs, and my clothing custom made from natural
fibers. Because of this, I tend to just make things myself. I find great
satisfaction and peace in making things with my own two hands, using only the
finest real components. However, I’m also a realist, and to be honest, there’s
a lot of plastic in my life, both literal and figurative. I’m not totally
hardcore – I make my own deodorant and toothpaste, but I use shampoo and
shaving cream. And that’s OK.
Now that you know a bit about me, I’d like to introduce you
to my friend Bob. Bob sits on my couch and sleeps in my bed and rides in the
passenger seat of my car. He is very clever, and he gives me a lot of advice,
since he knows so many things. For example, he knows that if I spent less money
on fabric and crafting supplies that I’m probably not going to get around to
using, maybe we could afford a bigger house. However, a bigger house would be a
bad idea because I’m such a lousy housekeeper. And since I’m such a lousy
housekeeper, I shouldn’t be wasting my time on sewing, quilting, knitting and
all those other things, I should be doing a better job of what’s important, like
exercising and eating right so I can be a valuable attractive person whose body
shows no signs of age or the bearing of seven children. But he also knows that
that will never happen, because I am a fat and worthless slob who isn’t very
good at making things anyway, and I may as well give in, and eat chocolate in
my messy house and play video games instead of doing anything “productive”
(productive of what, anyway? Silly homemade stuff that no one wants?).
See, Bob is my depression. His voice is very different from
my voice, but sometimes he talks so loud I get confused. So I gave him a name
to help me distinguish him from me. Now I’m working on ending our relationship.
I knew it had gone too far when I didn’t want to make things any more. Every
time I thought of making something, I was filled with… nothing. Apathy.
Sluggishness. Anything but inspiration (and I’m a total slave to my muse – more
on that later). So, to be quite blunt, I shoved myself into therapy and started
taking drugs. And now, I’m going to help myself save myself by turning back to
my beautiful things.
I named this blog after the ancient Silk Road trading route,
a long, arduous and dangerous journey that people took to obtain and trade
beautiful things. (Well, and money too, but I’m not focusing on that.) I like
the idea that beautiful things are worth pursuing. I also believe in the saving
power of work. Making things for my family is better than buying things for my
family because making things is a labor of love. (OK, Shopping is labor too,
but I grumble the whole time, so there goes the redemptive power.) So, here is
a place for me to share my work, delight in beauty, talk about depression, and
maybe inspire and get inspired along the way.
This is probably the most personal I’ll ever get. I hope you
enjoy my work.
Kathleen, I am really looking forward to reading your posts! =) You are a fantastic woman (yes, I am lavishing some love upon you because YOU TOTALLY DESERVE IT!!!) and I have always been a huge admirer of all the many things you have done and are still doing. =) Far too often I forget to tell people how much they inspire me and so that's what prompted me to write you this note. You, are AWESOME!
ReplyDeleteKathleen! This is awesome. So happy you are blogging!
ReplyDeleteI'm on board!
ReplyDeleteI am looking forward to this blog -- for a number of reasons. And I won't lie but one of them is because I gave up fb for Lent and I need to read something by people I like to read about. :)
ReplyDeleteThis is wonderful!! I found that one of the ways out of depression for me was making music again. I'm looking forward to reading more from you.
ReplyDeleteGreat idea! I am really looking forward to seeing your projects and cheering you on.
ReplyDeleteYou are all too kind. over 400 page views in a week is definitely more enthusiasm than I was expecting! Thanks, I hope I can keep you coming back!
ReplyDeleteOh my gosh, we are twins. Only I only have four children. But I recognized myself in everything you've written here. I am really looking forward to reading more. PS: I am a real-life friend of Kate F.
ReplyDeleteWelcome, Grace! Kate F is one of my dearest friends, even though we barely ever contact each other.
ReplyDelete