Pleasures of Creating

Hard to believe it is already the middle of March. Where does time go? I expect lots of people ask themselves that. I have always been a very busy person – well I make myself busy. I never have idle hands and have been that way since I was a kid. I can’t remember ever telling my mom and dad that I was bored. There was just too much to do. The fondest memories I have are living in a two storey house in a rural setting (which has since been built up) and exploring woods and streams. We did not have computers or TV (by choice). Our imagination was our best friend. They are very fond memories and I consider myself very lucky to have been a child during those times.

Today I often hear from children I know that they are bored – and it puzzles me. Is it too much reliance on the instruments of technology that surround the youth of today? Honestly I can’t even keep up with the new things that come out every day. It is beyond me. Perhaps it is not using their imagination that has them bored. Crafting is such a wonderful way to let children explore their imagination. This month I have been told is craft month so why not take up a new craft and if you have children in your life expose them to the pleasures and satisfaction of creating something on their own.

For myself I have signed up for some doll courses. I have always dabbled in doll making but was never really happy with them. So why not learn the basics – get introduced to some of the materials available to doll makers, run with that and see what happens. That is my new craft to learn this month! It is not like I need something new to keep me busy! But sometimes you just need that new little burst of energy.

The past two months I have been working a lot with wool. I bought some lovely silk thread and I am knitting a lace pattern shawl. It took quite a few starts to getting the pattern down. This girl is a sock knitter so it was a little challenging for me. But I got out my trusty new row counters and they worked like a charm. I bought these on Etsy from Crimson Orchid.

I have made some new wool pincushions - one of these a large tomato - this one is available on ETSY.

The other is a small dainty one combining some punch needle and some wool felting. I call these Ladies Treasures as they are tiny little pincushions.

I discovered this great site for all kinds of crafting necessities JOGGLES. I am always looking for new ways to display my punch needle patterns . On this site I came across wool felted purses and fell in love with them. So with that in mind and a new pattern in the works, I came up with this piece. I have plans to make a few new punch needle designs that would use these different coloured purses.

Now that the weather is getting a little warmer - it is time to get the dye pots out. There is just something about spring that brings about a yearning for colour. That in between time in the seasons when everything seems to be brown and gray. You just know you need some colour to speed up the coming of spring. For me the rite of sprin g is bringing out the dye pots. This week I have been replensihing my stock of wool threads and introduced 3 new colours..Aubergine, Bitterweet and Cinnamon Rose.

Having said all that -time to get back to the pots and start creating some wonderful colours. Have a great day and hope you are planning to do something creative today! TTYL Joni