Divinely Crafty

I love the Coverville podcast. I just love love love it.

Really. I love it.

I only discovered it recently, but it looks to have been around for quite awhile.  It will be fun to listen to all the back shows while enjoying the new ones.  Over Christmas break my daugthers – ages 17,15, and 6 – all had a great time listening to the annual countdown with me.  Already a quickly converted fan, I fell in love all over again when I heard Jeff Buckley’s Hallelujah (original by Leonard Cohen).  Swoon….sheds tear….sense of faith renewed.  Nothing beats the power of good music.

I hope my neighbors are fans of Coverville too, because we share walls here in England and I can’t help but turn this one up loud!  Check it out.

Tags: entertainment, music

Last week the spirit of the season blew through me as I surrendered to a most intense fibromyalgia flare. With a good mystery audiobook playing on my laptop on my nightstand, cup of tea placed within easy reach, and my supplies set before me neatly on my bed I began hunting and pecking through beads and baubles for inspiration. The result was several pairs of glass and stone earrings that were bundled up and sent to their new homes before I had a chance to take pictures, and this lovely necklace that I made for our friend Sabrina. Made from orange/red/yellow rolled felt beads that I made last spring and colorful glass beads which I bought in a fabulous bead store in Barcelona.

I also made this divine hat for Stephen to wear with his once again long hair ponytail. It is cold in the mountains of Italy where he lives but it can be a real pain trying to find a hat that works with ponytails. Hopefully this will do the trick and keep him warm and in style. Made with handspun single and the pattern can be found here.

It was good to get some creative work done. I have been in such a drought lately, putting my energy mostly into daily needs, but also attending to other calls that have been demanding my attention. When I opened my box of beads and tools there was a sense of apprehension with my eagerness to get started. Knowing that I was in the midst of a bad flare, I also knew it was entirely likely that I wouldn’t be able to finish what I started. Another thing that keeps me from my creative pursuits is the lonely trail of abandoned projects that are evidence of good intentions gone the way of dreams. But not this time. Once I got going the momentum built on itself and I began to get as much energy from making them as I was putting into them. More even. What a joy and a delight! ‘Tis the season to be merry and bright!

Tags: felt and fiber, inspiration, knitting

There must have been some huge celestial event, or some other type of shift in the universe recently. I cannot figure out what else may have caused me to list some of the goodies I have made over the past several months in my etsy shop. I suppose I like seeing them sitting nicely on my cool green Ikea shelves. It does make for good conversation when someone comes around for a visit to chat about my fabulous hobby. Eeesh. Ouch. I will admit I am not the most self promoting of artists, but I really do think of my work as my art. Not that I have anything against hobbiests, I do have bonafied hobbies of my own. Like amassing the ultimate pashmina collection and parenting. (okay, yes, I kid on that last one.) But my fiber work is my art. My work. It might sound like a corny sales pitch from Ye Olde New Age Shoppe, but I truly do put energy and intention into each piece I make. Even the little ones. Each item I make marks the moment in time that they were created in and while engaged in my creative process I always find new sparkles to explore in life. Nonetheless, there does seem to have been some sort of warm wind that has blown across the frosty tundra that was my motivation to actually offer my goods for sale. Even if they do look really cool on my shelf.

Tags: creative expression, etsy, yarn