Art, Craft and Needlework, January, 2010

A place for Artistry, Crafts and Needlework; Decorating and Holidays.
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Harriet
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Art, Craft and Needlework, January, 2010

Postby Harriet » Thu Dec 31, 2009 10:57 pm

Happiness is not in the mere possession of money; it lies in the joy of achievement, in the thrill of creative effort. - Franklin D. Roosevelt

Avoiding boredom is one of our most important purposes. - Saul Steinberg


Creativity makes the world go 'round! It's the project that makes our eyes light up and the "me-time" that we crave. It's the thing we look forward to and love to set our hands to. It's oh-so-healthy for our brains, including being a terrific "mental health break" for stress relief, and a boost to our self-esteem.

Challenge! - Set some goals for adding creative happiness to your life in 2010, and vanquishing boredom!

Every day? - One tried-and-true method for keeping the creative juices flowing is to set aside every-day time. The Holiday Grand Plan suggests that, for instance.

Tweaking the Basic Weekly Plan? - If every-day would mean squeezing into times that are too short for your own type of projects, how about working creative time into your week, either on your "free day" or worked into a light cleaning day or desk day? You might get a consecutive hour or two for your project that way.

Moment-by-moment? - If there are parts of your project that can be done while watching tv or talking on the phone, keep it at hand and be ready to steal a few moments. Study the TV schedule if it will help, and plan your time!

Let us know what your hopes are for 2010. If you have compliments to report or new hobbies you're learning, be sure to tell your friends here - inquiring minds want to know!

mamapiano

Re: Art, Craft and Needlework, January, 2010

Postby mamapiano » Sat Jan 02, 2010 11:11 am

My goodness, has no one else posted here yet? My goals here are to find time each day to knit at least a little bit, to practice piano (neither of which I have done for weeks) and also to work for a while in a crossword puzzle book I bought recently at B & N. Paid an exorbitant amount for a NYTimes Crossword book but it was so pretty I couldn't resist, Maybe this last doesn't belong in this thread but it is a recently renewed hobby so I am listing it anyway.

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Nancy
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Re: Art, Craft and Needlework, January, 2010

Postby Nancy » Sat Jan 02, 2010 1:11 pm

Working on the last of a granny square sweater for me that is turning out less than
perfect but I've learned a ton on this project.

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Re: Art, Craft and Needlework, January, 2010

Postby bittersweet » Sun Jan 03, 2010 3:12 am

I have a whole pile of projects on the go - a baby blanket for my best friend's new baby (he's 3 months old, and I started it before he was born, so I'd better get a move on!), a set of dishcloths for my sister, a lapghan for Mum, and the everpresent kitty blankets for the rescue group. There's also a bunch of projects waiting in the wings to be started, and a long list of started, but never finished projects.

Last week, I actually finished a scarf I'd been making for DD with Eyelash yarn in a colour called "Funky". I only had two balls of it, and needed a third. Unfortunately, that colour has been discontinued, so I had to go through a friend on Ravelry to locate someone in Ohio that had a ball of it in her stash that she was willing to part with.
"Write it on your heart that every day is the best day of the year." Ralph Waldo Emerson

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Re: Art, Craft and Needlework, January, 2010

Postby Nancy » Sun Jan 03, 2010 1:00 pm

Love that idea of on the go projects.
I was thinking about a project for a crib mattress covering,
for when dgd is here for a stay while her parents are on va.
but remembered the blankets in the camper so will use those instead.

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Re: Art, Craft and Needlework, January, 2010

Postby Harriet » Fri Jan 08, 2010 1:30 pm

BookSaver posted a favorite sewing blog link yesterday so I thought I'd post a favorite quiltmaking link.

This is Riding the Orphan Train by a blogger/quiltmaker named Finn. She named it after the train that used to carry orphaned children to potential new families many decades ago.

The blog is about using leftover, orphaned, or one-of-a-kind homeless blocks and making them into samplers. My favorites are the ones that use blocks (rather than just rows of shapes) but include many different sizes, set without particular rows. The work she is doing under "A long day's journey" and the full quilt someone else sent under "New Orphans Arrive" farther down the page - those are lovely to me because they take the eye all over the place with something new to see. That's the kind of work I plan to do with my collection when I get past a few projects already on the table. I have several magazine articles I've saved over the years that have to do with this kind of sampler.

It is hard for me to believe I can afford time for sewing. But I'm also beginning to believe I can't afford NOT to, considering how much I need fun! The "attitude adjustment" of it and the anticipation/happiness of it is greatly missed.
If you don't believe in miracles, you're not being realistic.

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Re: Art, Craft and Needlework, January, 2010

Postby Nancy » Sun Jan 10, 2010 9:08 pm

I'm done with the shades of blue granny square sweater the fit is off.
I love making granny squares maybe a throw next time.
Hoodies are on the wish list thinking how
I can do them and wondering how much
yarn it will take.
I'm also hoping I have enough time for these!

Okay I did ~ it I started one!
Yea it's going faster than I expected.

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Re: Art, Craft and Needlework, January, 2010

Postby Harriet » Sat Jan 16, 2010 8:39 pm

Granny squares are fun little things, Nancy! Cheerful.

A pair of jeans for dd11, from Mudd, are really cute with appliques and also came with extra appliques and matching iron-on pieces in a little bag hanging from a belt loop, so you can personalize them more. Dd11 wants to use the extras on other jeans. She was dismayed when I admitted to her I have the same fusible web in my quiltmaking studio to have let her make her own appliques and could have taught her how any time. :oops: And it occurs to her frugal mother that if she personalizes a plain pair that she's already worn several times, they will then look like she's got a completely different pair. Love that idea for some $$ saving.

All the appliques that are already on these jeans are both fused and sewn down, and I imagine any we'd do would need to be sewn. It's my experience that iron-ons are good for stopping raveling of raw edges, but don't hold through washings, especially on a thick fabric like denim. Actually, I'd be interested to see how well a non-fused applique, that was only sewn down, would hold up on jeans. I'd think the raveling edges would only make it cuter to a girl.

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Re: Art, Craft and Needlework, January, 2010

Postby Nancy » Sun Jan 17, 2010 12:02 am

May be able to salvage a vest of the granny square project.
Got a hat to go with it from some of them too!

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Re: Art, Craft and Needlework, January, 2010

Postby Harriet » Wed Jan 20, 2010 1:14 pm

Here's some fun:

A new article by Holly Hassett, titled Reflecting on the Journey, suggests taking some time to find out how much we've grown at our craft/art and what direction we'd like to take next. Here are sentences she suggests completing:

a. As a crafter/artist, I wish I could...
b. My favorite part of my creativity is...
c. If you saw my stash/materials, you would notice...
d. I find myself drawn to ...
e. My favorite colors are... because...
f. Colors I rarely use are... because...
g. I challenge myself by ...
h. My favorite craft/art I've made is... because...
i. Outside of my creativity, one wonderful thing about me is...

She recommends you spread out your projects or photos of projects beginning with earliest and ending with recent. Then ask yourself:

a. How have I grown?
b. How did that growth happen?
C. What might be my next step?

She suggests getting rid of supplies/stash that no longer represent you, to make room for the creativity you want to have.

She says treat yourself to a "play date" with those that do represent you, and try something new, experiment. "Follow a whim and see where it takes you."


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