Creative Musings!

This book was recommended by someone on another blog. I ordered it and it is a fabulous book on American Folk Art. I have been looking through it and it has given me lots of creative thoughts. This week I have been spending time just mulling and cooking in my mind. Looking at things around me with a different eye. I have been madly pinning to my pinterest board, which to me is a great tool for inspiration. It can be a colour, a design element, the line of something in a photograph or a feeling from a photograph. It is a whole lot of everything that gets melded down to one or two thoughts of what I would like to put on paper and then hopefully a rug. It's been a week of dyeing fabric and cutting it into little rectangles. It allows me to let my mind wander....freely....

The second book of the collection, which I have not received yet, but if it is anywhere as good as the first it will be worth the price.

This was another book recommended on a blog. I have always wanted to add a braided border to a rug and this book has loads of information and is beautifully put together!

... and this is what I have been up to - dyeing yards and yards of wool to cut up in these little rectangles. I also learned something new about photography from one of my pins on pinterest.. white balance - now who knew about that - not me. I am terrible about not reading manuals that come with things. Let alone finding them after the fact. So the wool above was taken with white balance - and how true is that to the colour - pretty true I can say. The next picture.. hmmmm.. not so good..before white balance trick. You'd think it was a different wool. I have a really nice camera - I should use it more instead of my quick and easy iphone LOL...lesson learned. Important if you want to sell your stuff - good pictures will make or break a sale...

Oh - and exciting news for today - February 1st...this is THE DAY when I start my on line course with Deanne Fitzpatrick. Can I say on top of the world - buzzing with creative thoughts.. hook ready to wiggle across my linen. So the last couple of nights I have been reading her book "Inspired" - wow! A wealth of information and talk about a confidence builder. Loved it....and I can see I will be going back to it often. I don't know where this course will take me. I want to revel in the feel of the wool and be free of constraints. So maybe my loops won't be oh so perfect and maybe they will squiggle, wiggle here and there and maybe there will be a tuck of sparkly yarn hidden among the wool loops but if I love it and think it is a thing of beauty then that is ok. I have to hook for myself and maybe that is a whole new path I am taking... we'll see. Have a great day.. Joni