I wanted to write this post on Saturday, February 20th, because that was exactly one year ago when I launched my first video for my Youtube Channel, Ariane Zurcher ~ On the Other Hand!
Here it is! My first On the Other Hand video.
Since that day, just over one year ago today, I have made and posted 248 videos! Yesterday I did a livestream, where I’m obviously feeling quite a bit more comfortable filming and posting. I went from having 0 subscribers to 3,865 subscribers as of yesterday. I say this not to brag, but more as a mark of where I began with YouTube and where I am now. Because in this crazy time of the pandemic, when everything can feel really, really off and sad, I also want to remember some good, which means honoring my own personal little milestones.
Here in the United States we hit more than half a million dead from COVID19. It’s a grim reminder of the perilous and tragic times we find ourselves in; a time when so many of us have been unable to see those we love, whether that’s our aging parents or young grandchildren. It’s been a period marked by disconnect and fear and worry and yet, we have also made different kinds of connections. Zoom calls and classes have taken off. Who would have thought any of us would know our way around a Zoom meeting?!
Personally this has been a year of massive and intense learning. When I began my Youtube Channel I had no idea how to upload videos, make thumbnails, do livestreams or premiere a video. I also taught myself how to create a design from paper sketch, to computer, to downloadable PDF file, write instructions, and in the last 12 months I’ve posted 8 new designs in my Etsy Shop, conducted an 8-week Zoom Workshop, with another one in the planning stages, created a Facebook Group: Ariane Zurcher Stitching Circle (which has 1.2 thousand members) and a Patreon page!
And along the way I began to explore what I call Improvisational Stitching.
Olea: The first of my “improvisational” pieces.Perseverence
This has been the most intense year, both incredibly sad and scary globally, as well as exhilarating and exciting on a personal level. It’s been both. I have met thousands of new people from all over the world and for that I’m so, so grateful.
So, to all of you who’ve joined me during this truly bizarre time, thank you. Let’s keep laughing and stitching! ❤️
Some people use calendars, others just keep everything they need to do in their heads, I keep lists. You know the old fashion, hand written list made on a scrap of paper or if I’m being really organized, on a note pad, preferably letter or even legal sized, as my lists tend to be pretty long.
Lots of lists I even have them organized into Designs, YouTube Videos, Livestream, and then a general ToDo list. This one is the beginning of what will become a two pager, just so you know.
I’m a big believer in lists. Also unexpected things happen throughout the day that can intrude, thus derailing my list. It’s comforting to know my list is still there, ready for me to continue checking items off once the intrusion has been taken care of or passed on its own.
Yesterday my friend, Anna Bates, of Quilt Roadies, and I decided we were going to do a Facebook live video together. We fully expected that as we both know our way around Youtube, have done livestreaming, set up large groups on Facebook, and in Anna’s case, even done a FB live video before, how hard could it be? Right? So when Anna’s husband helpfully mused aloud that maybe we should do a trial run before just launching in, Anna did what I would have done, shrugged this advice off, because we’ve got this! All I can say is that Anna was so utterly demoralized by the whole experience, she went on to do another video, this time on Youtube, just to feel better. And she does redeem herself in that video. Me, not so much. Instead I’m just writing this post about it, you know, to reduce the trauma. Oh! And by the way, Anna isn’t the “intrusion” in this story, but our failed FB Live so derailed me, all I could do for the rest of the day was work on my mother’s Making Waves: A Drawstring Bag, which is the second to last item on my todo list.
Still, Anna and I are determined, and one little mishap isn’t enough to keep us down. SO this Friday, February 19th at 10am PST, 1pm EST we are going to attempt another Facebook live video, this time, together! We even tested it out, as per G.’s helpful suggestion, and we’re good to go. This time (we are hoping) there will be a split screen with Anna on the west coast and me on the east coast chatting together about our stitching and all that we love. Unlike yesterday, when Anna, in a moment of desperation, (and a stroke of genius on her part) saved the whole mess by putting me on speaker phone so that people could, at least, hear what she was responding to, as my voice goes in and out. We did laugh though, quite a bit, even so. I will share this coming Friday’s video via my FB group, Ariane Zurcher Stitching Circle so anyone in that group will be able to watch it. In addition anyone who follows me and/or Anna on FB should be able to view as well. Anyway, that’s our plan. But no worries, we’ve got this. I swear.
Even with yesterday’s fumble, I was able to post this video this morning of my latest design onto YouTube AND I got quite a bit of stitching done. So there’s that.
One of my favorite memories of spending time with one of my brothers, I have three, as a young girl was sitting in the field in front of our house discussing space. This brother went on to become a bio-chemist and is now a professor. He had just introduced me to the concept of infinity and I couldn’t wrap my mind around the idea. I remember saying to him, “but that can’t be right.”
He looked at me and smiled, “So what do you imagine it’s like.”
“There’s got to be some kind of barrier or end or something,” I said.
He nodded and said, “Then what’s on the other side?”
My young mind was blown. That moment was both exhilarating and somehow terrifying. I remember our conversation clearly as though it happened just a few days ago. And while he went on to become a scientist, I went in a different direction – the arts, always drawn to color, shape and the different ways one can arrange them to produce visually appealing things, we both continue to be curious, investigate and ask questions.
One of the many things I love about YouTube is that you can go there and ask how to do something and someone has made a video showing you how. Want to change the filter in your air-conditioning unit? There’s a video for that. Want to know how to open up your sewing machine and adjust the thread tension? There’s a video for that. Want to find out how to take a screen shot? There’s a video for that too, and then a whole bunch of other videos will appear on the side bar on that topic or some other topic you’ve searched for in the past, you know just in case you’re curious… The down side is, it’s easy to get lured into watching cute babies and puppy videos, while forgetting all about that washing machine that is now flooding your pantry or kitchen.
And while YouTube is great for showing you how to do things, Quora is great for answering questions such as what do all happily married couples have in common? Or why are some people more curious than others? Why do cats have different color kittens? My husband is a big fan of Quora and often tells me things he’s learned. Inevitably he’ll begin by saying, “Did you know…” and I’ll know he just read whatever it was on Quora. Again it’s a rabbit hole of sorts, where one can emerge hours later knowing all kinds of things you will never use in life or didn’t need to know or worse, didn’t want to know. Still I have learned some useful things as well, such as why virus’s mutate, what it’s like to go to prison from someone who actually spent 10 years inside, okay, perhaps not so useful for me, but it was interesting, rabbit hole, and when and how often to water your cactus. So if you are looking for answers to random questions, YouTube and Quora are there for you. It’s really good to know, they’ve got your back.
Right?
Random photograph of Merlin. As he’s a rescue kitty, we have no idea what his mother or father look like.
Now I have to finish editing my next Youtube Video. ❤️
Yesterday I launched my latest design, Making Waves: A Drawstring Bag in my Etsy Shop! I also made a short video for it. My instructions are very, very detailed. I include everything from how to begin, to how to stitch this bag together and film all stages of the process. YouTube videos demonstrate every step so you can follow along. Each video is embedded within the instructions using Hotlinks. As I spend, literally, hundreds of hours video taping, editing and posting each video before embedding it within the instructions, my downloadable patterns are a bit more expensive. Not much. A little. People tell me they are well worth it.
This project began as a Stitch Along with a group of 17 hand stitchers who signed up for the class, which took place over Zoom. Over the course of 8 weeks we stitched this bag together and had a blast doing so.
A couple of people have asked me whether I will be doing this class again, so if you’re interested let me know as I will do it again, if there’s enough interest. The Zoom classes consist of eight one-hour classes although I would be open to doing a five-day workshop with classes running a 3-4 hours each. You can use your own threads or opt for a thread kit. If you choose a thread kit I will need to order in advance and we will have to wait until everyone has theirs to begin. This can take anywhere from one to two months, depending upon availability of the threads and how many people want kits.
I am also beginning a new design, which will be another Stitch Along, meaning that I will be designing this project as we go! What’s fun about that is that each week I unveil a new part of the design, which is fun and exciting. Once I have the basic background concept designed, I will post more about it. Right now I’m in the midst of throwing a lot of different ideas around and seeing which one I like best as well as determining which will make the most sense to add a lot of embellishing to it. As with the Making Waves design, I will be incorporating a great many different techniques and materials, such as hand dyed t-shirt scraps, hand dyed cheesecloth, wool roving, Dorset Buttons, beading, ribbon work and other fun things like that.
Dorset Buttons in the Background of Making WavesHand-dyed and Ruched CheeseclothHand -Dyed t-shirt
I’ve been busy. My Zoom class: Making Waves ~ A Drawstring Bag, which was an eight week “stitch along” is concluding today. We had SO much fun! I cannot show the finished bag in this post, but I will in next week’s post when I will also launch it in my Etsy Shop. Very exciting. Oh, okay, here’s a sneak peak…
Then a couple weeks ago my friend Pat Pauly sent me some amazing hand dyed linens that she did and I was just astounded once again by her artistry. She does such beautiful work! If you have any interest in learning how to paint, stencil and mono print fabric consider taking one of her fabulous workshops. She is a terrific instructor and has a great sense of humor. Her workshops are a blast.
This one I began stitching on. I admit I was a little apprehensive at first because I didn’t want to ruin the beauty of her work, so I just added a few wool shapes and did a tiny bit of stitching in one small area using a 3 wt Soft Cotton. I will continue working on this one and may add one of the above pieces to it. Who knows!?
Oh, and did I mention how much I love Pat Pauly’s silk scarves, which she hand-dyes and sells? I wear one every day. Seriously. That’s not an exaggeration. In the YouTube Video – A Snowy New York City that I posted on Tuesday I’m wearing one and pretty much any other video I’ve posted in the past few months you can see me wearing one of them. I have a few. Okay, in truth, I have SIX. I know, I know. I totally have this under control, I promise. I do. Really.
In the above photo I’m wearing one of Pat’s silk scarves wrapped around three times AND my brand new glasses, which, wow, what a difference!! (I promised my mother a photograph of my new glasses. So here you go, Mom AND you’ll be pleased to know I’m drinking lots and lots of water. I love you.❤️)
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