Divinely Crafty

In amongst keeping up with all that life hands us, I have managed to work on a few crafty projects. Shortly after I returned from my trip I got a custom order through my etsy shop to do some hand dyed yarn that was based on the colors in The Very Hungry Caterpillar. It was a fun order to do and I was very pleased with the results. But it really drove home the fact that even though I am feeling a bit better than I was earlier this year that I am far from ready to take on any real work. I put all the energy I had into the project and then proceeded to go to bed and not get up for several days. I am bummed about my limitations, but it was fun to do and helped me remember the thrill I get from making pretty things.

With limited budget (as in zero budget) for acquiring of new yarn for my stash, and a need for a significant but not too brain taxing project I decided to give a Log Cabin style blanket a try. It is a stash buster project using up all the odd bits and bobs left over from other projects and a few odd skeins that have been with me for way to long and needed to be used up or given away. My original intent for it was to just make something for the family. We can always use another nice warm blanket. But then I remembered that our friends are getting married in late June and it would be a perfect wedding gift for them. They are very eclectic people and it is definitely an eclectic blanket. So far it measures roughly 2ft x 2ft and I am hoping to make it no less than 4×4. I might need to raid some yarn from my shop to meet that goal but if ever there was a reason to do so, making the perfect gift for good friends is as good as it gets.

I have a few other projects that I would like to get started in the next few weeks. I had hoped to make a shrug with some nice cotton that my friend Anna gave me last year before I go to Seattle in July. I’m not sure that I will get to it by then, but it would make a good project to work on while I am there if I don’t finish it before hand. I have another project planned that I really want to get done before the end of June, but again I am not sure that it will be possible. Its another gift for another wedding and I can’t say anything more because the recipient just might be reading this blog. But if I don’t get it done before that wedding I will give my apologies and get it to them as soon as possible. Hopefully before their first anniversary!

Tags: hand dyed yarn, knitting, log cabin

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

bags bags bags

Originally uploaded by Divinely Crafty.

I just uploaded a bunch of pictures of my recent felt work to my flickr. I am loving working with fibre and have several projects in the works. There has been a huge creative surge bubbling up in me. It is bringing with it major self-awareness and enormous shifts.

Its intense and right on schedule. When I left Oregon 2 years ago, my good friend Spicy-T said to me “See you in three years.” I have this pattern of leaving for 3 years and then returing to Portland for 3 years and leaving for 3 years… and so on. And in perfect synchronicity things are getting stirred up. I come at it from a place so intensely different than I have in times past. I don’t see this bringing me back to Oregon. But if there is one thing I have learned it is that I can never say never.

Tags: felt and fiber