A Day In The Life: Carrie of Like Clochework

Just in time for the cold weather that is upon us, I am featuring Carrie of LikeClochework. Carrie is an artist and former journalist living in Boyertown, PA with her husband. She uses various fiber techniques, including crochet, fulling, and needle felting, to create her hats and accessories. She also has a side project called ReEdited for occasionally-created upcycled clothing items. When not working on her hats or other art (Carrie also works in watercolors and graphic design), she is the Communications Coordinator for Studio B  in Boyertown. Enjoy a day in her life!

8:30 a.m. – My alarm goes off. I hit the snooze two or three times before turning it off for good.

9:00 a.m. – I roll out of bed, pull on my sweats, and head to the kitchen to make tea. While sipping chai and eating granola I check my e-mail for messages from Etsy and Studio B. I prepare invoices for any orders that are going out today and work on any e-mail PR pieces for the gallery.

11:00 a.m. – Depending on where I am in the hat-making process, I will either crochet a new hat or felt (also called “fulling”) an already crocheted hat in my kitchen sink. (See my tutorial at http://likeclocheworkhats.blogspot.com/2009/05/hand-felting-101.html to see more about my process.) After the hat is finished I wring out the water, stretch and reshape it, and place it on a foam head to dry.

12:00 p.m. – Shower and “real” clothes. Felting can sometimes be a sweaty task, to put it bluntly, so it’s better to shower afterward.

1:00 p.m. – My husband, Jason, comes home for lunch (he works two blocks away and can walk home on his break). We toast sandwiches in the oven and catch up before he heads back to work.

1:30 p.m. – I package any outgoing orders and drive (if I have large boxes) or walk (if I have small packages) to the post office. 

2:00 p.m. – Time to update the blog, Twitter, and Facebook and check my e-mail again.

3:00 p.m. – I put on some music with a good beat and pull out my needle felting supplies to finish up a hat I felted the day before. I may also work on the hat I felted earlier if it is dry enough. The tempo of the music matches the motion of my needle as I create a freeform design on the cloche. I hate making the same thing twice, so each of my designs is a little different.

5:00 p.m. – Jason comes home and we both take a break to chat and check our e-mail.

6:00 p.m. – Tai chi at the Pottstown Library with our awesome instructor (and two-time national champion) Julie. It’s very relaxing and helps loosen up my shoulders and spine after the tension of needle felting.

7:30 p.m. – Dinner! Tonight we are making bison burgers from scratch. Jason preps lettuce and tomato while I mix the meat with seasoning and form it into patties.

8:30 p.m. – I work on another hat for a while to test my latest pattern, which needs a little tweaking.

9:30 p.m. – I brew a cup of herbal tisane and play a video game with Jason for a bit. It may sound funny to some, but our weekly (sometimes daily) gaming times have really helped us communicate and have fun as a couple!

12:00 a.m. – Bed time. I usually read for half an hour to calm my mind while Jason snores away. Tomorrow will be another busy day.