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Blog Post #12 - End of Macrame Project

Continuation of Macrame It is surprising to consider that this is the last blog post of this semester-long project with creating macrame, as the past 12 weeks have gone by much quicker than I had expected. After completing this course, I don't see myself continuing with my new occupation of macrame, at least not to the extent that I have been doing it for this assignment. My walls have become full with my macrame projects, so I don't think I will have much more room to add new pieces to my home. However, I think I might continue to make macrame as gifts for others or if I find a particularly interesting design. Moving forward, I think I will spend my free time exploring other creative occupations instead of sticking only with macrame. Overall, I do think I have benefited from my involvement in my new occupation of creating macrame. This assignment has allowed me to grow in the skill of perseverance even when my projects seemed tough, and it also allowed me to consider what it w...
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Blog Post #11 - Occupational Storytelling

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Macrame Update This week I finished my paw print wall-hanging project. In all honesty, I was kind of disappointed by how this one turned out. I knew it was going to be different from the video tutorial I was following because the cord I used was thicker and it was black instead of white, but I thought it would look closer to the one in the video. I feel like it is difficult to tell that this project is actually a paw print. Next week I will move onto my coaster project which I have already bought at Hobby Lobby, as mentioned in a previous post. Macrame and Occupational Storytelling I'm not sure exactly where it got started, but a couple years ago my mom started a running joke between her and I about how I loved macrame while she found it to be odd-looking and something she would not want in her home. Every time we would see a macrame art piece, she would point it out to me and say, "oh I bet that is something you would like" in a way that was clear that she didn't lik...
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Blog Post #10 - Macrame and Self Determination

Paw Print Macrame Project Update I had a minor setback in my macrame project this week when my husband informed me that our puppy had chewed the end of the dowel I was using for my project, so I had to move all the cord I had tied onto a new dowel. Luckily, it was simple to do, and I didn't have to cut fourteen new pieces of cord. It is unlike my dog to chew on things that she is not supposed to, but I did find it ironic that she would have done that with the project that will be a paw print. I don't have a picture to upload for this week because my project looks essentially the same as last week, except that all the cord is on my new dowel. Self Determination, Motivation, and Autonomy As discussed in our course lecture this week, self-determination refers to a person's ability to make decisions for themselves about their own self in a way that is independent and which impacts their life. For me, the concept of self-determination plays a role in my occupation of making macr...
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Blog Post #9 - Macrame and Boredom

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Occupation Update This week I decided my next two projects will be a 'paw print' macrame wall hanging that I found a tutorial for on YouTube , as well as another macrame kit from Hobby Lobby which is for making coasters. I decided to start with the paw print project, as most anything having to do with pets brings me a lot of joy. I am using a thicker macrame cord than what the project calls for as well as using black cord instead of white, but I think it will still turn out nicely in the end. I got this project started by cutting 14 cords which were all 5'6'' in length and tying them onto the wooden dowel with a Lark's Head knot. Westgate & Steidle (2020) Model Referring to the Meaning and Attentional Components model published by Westgate & Steidle (2020), I feel my new occupation of creating macrame falls in category F, or "Enjoyment (Low Boredom)" (p. 6). I chose this category because creating macrame is harmonious to my value of creativity,...
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Blog Post #8 - Occupational Well-Being

New Occupation Participation This week, I have had a slight deviation in my new occupation. When I chose to create macrame at the beginning of the semester, I bought the half-circle macrame wall hanging kit from Hobby Lobby which I completed as my first project during weeks one through four. At that time, I also bought what I thought was another macrame project. After completing a couple projects and coming back to the second kit, it looks like the other project kit I bought is actually a stitch embroidery kit instead of macrame. I hope this is okay for the purposes of this course, but this week I decided to switch gears and start the other kit I bought at the beginning of the semester. I've never attempted a kit like this before, but I think there are some similarities between macrame and this new embroidery kit. These similarities are that both are creative projects which require the use of similar materials and include a specific pattern to follow. I'm excited to get going o...
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Blog Post #7 - Macrame, Identity Formation, and Occupational Biography

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New Occupation Progress This week I have had "Pinterest versus reality" moments when it comes to my macrame projects. I was still struggling to find small wooden dowels at the local craft stores, so I asked my husband if he could 3D print a 3-inch dowel for my project. He was able to print this for me so I could attempt my project of a mini macrame Christmas ornament. I finished the project within an hour, but I didn't like the overall look with the 3D printed dowel, and I didn't line up the macrame knots quite right. After this attempt, I again enlisted the help of my husband to 3D print a circular ring so I could begin my next option of a snowflake-inspired macrame Christmas ornament. This started off going well (see image below), but after I finished the project, I decided I don't really like the final product of this project either. So, I think I have officially decided against my idea of gifting macrame ornaments for Christmas this year. My task for this upco...
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Blog Post #6 - Macrame and Influence of Self

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Transactional Nature of Making Macrame During lecture this week, we discussed the transactional nature of occupation and the self. Namely, this idea refers to the ways in which the self and occupation shape and influence each other. Your sense of self impacts the occupations you choose, and engaging in these occupations then in turn shapes who you are as a person. This idea has also been described by Carlson et al. (2014) who have concluded that "occupation does not emerge out of the individual, but is a transaction that joins the individual and the situation" (p. 119). For my new occupation of making macrame, the transactional nature of occupation applies because I view myself as being a person with creative interests and hobbies. Since a young age, I've always been interested in creative occupations and took classes in high school on drawing, pottery, and mixed-media art. This led me to wanting to choose a new creative occupation to engage in for this course, since I fe...
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