Category Archives: Creativity

This and That

Hello to you all, my friends.  How are you?  I’m doing great, staying busy.

Today I spent the day doing something I’ve been wanting to do, but yet, kept putting off because I couldn’t decide on colors.  What I did today was dye yarn, and I decided to simply start and let the colors speak for themselves, which they seemed to do just fine.  I dyed 5 skeins and was so into what I was doing that I forgot to take pictures.

I’ve also been saving avocado pits for dyeing, so I also dyed a cotton tank.  It ended up being the palest shade of mauve-y rose.  I think it will make a nice neutral layering piece.  Once again, I forgot to take photos, sorry.  I will share later, I promise.

Last weekend my husband and I brought our daughter back to school.  Gosh, it feels like weeks have already gone by since she’s been home, not a week.  How does that happen?  Anyway, she is all moved in and has even started classes.  Her apartment is very nice this year.  The cluster of 3-story buildings are only about 6 years old.  Each apartment has a washer/dryer, two bathrooms, high ceilings, nice kitchen and living room.  She loves it, however, she is trying to adjust to the noise.  She is on the first floor and her window has gotten banged on early in the morning and she hears people outside on the sidewalk.  I suggested ear plugs. 🙂

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Here is a photo of her cute bed.  She made the two pillows in the front, and the braided garland and tassel garland hanging on the wall.  The doily on the front pillow was crocheted by her great great grandmother and the rosebud cross stitch picture is by me.  She brought another rosebud which wasn’t hung at the time this photo was taken.  I think it’s really nice how she has things at school made by her family.

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I also wanted to make something for my daughter as she started school this year.  This was my first pair of socks made with self striping yarn.  Even though I started each sock with yarn from the center of the skein the stripes are reversed.  Live and learn!  Luckily, the quirkiness of the pair is being embraced.  The yarn is Knit Picks Felici sock in the Golden Hour colorway.

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One evening while knitting these socks, as the golden hour was happening the sky actually looked golden and seemed to be lit from within.  It was magical.

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Good news!  I finished all of the dresses for my 2018 Operation Christmas Child shoeboxes.  There are 23 in all.  I’m a bit burned out, so this will be the extent of dress sewing for a little bit.  However, I love looking at my little dress shop when I am working in my sewing room.  They’ll be here until mid November.

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This past week I started an ensemble for Ann Estelle.  The fabric is a teeny tiny Japanese ballerina print.  Isn’t it adorable?  I am knitting a lilac mohair cardigan to accompany the dress and possibly a pearl headband.  After being away from doll sewing for about 6 months it is good to be back.  I’ve missed it.

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I’ll be back soon.  I hope you all have had a great ‘end of August’ weekend.  Wishing you a wonderful week ahead. ❤

 

Why I Create

This is something I ponder often as I feel I am always so busy, busy, busy making things.  The answer I always think of first is, “because I have to”.  If I didn’t create I know I’d be loony, nuts, depressed—the whole shebang.  Creating is necessary for my well being.

If I start to dig deeper I can see why I have to create.  I get little jolts of happiness (maybe it’s my brain releasing endorphins) when I create something, especially if it’s something different.  When a doll ensemble is finished I usually get that happiness jolt.  I say usually because if I make something that is copied from a previous creation, I get nothing.  If it’s something that is not very different, I get very little.  But if my completed ensemble is quite different I get a huge dose of “happy”!

I haven’t even finished my next ensemble and I got a double dose of happiness yesterday.  I must share—a double dose of happiness just doesn’t happen everyday!  And here’s why.

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Pockets!  I knit patch pockets right onto my sweater coat for the Little Darlings!  I have never knit pockets directly onto my knitwear before.  They came out perfect, so adorable and miniature, happy number one.  However, they were immediately asking to be filled.

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Here is happy number two!

All this snow we’ve gotten has made me want to make a snowman.  Since I’m not too excited to spend more than a minute out in the cold, I made one in my studio instead.  And, she (it’s a girl) fits right into those patch pockets.

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I swear I heard this tiny snowgirl thanking me for bringing her to life.  I love her so much, I knit her her very own itty bitty cap.  Isn’t she the cutest li’l thing!

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Thank you for sharing in my happiness jolt.  Do any of you get a happiness boost from creating?  If so, is it during the process or when the project is complete?  I’d love to hear about your experiences with creating.  Please share!

Bye for now!