Easily Distracted

I had hoped to post some photos today and get some of my artwork posted somewhere hereabouts, however, I was in the company of my favorite 3 year old for the most of the day. I adore this child, I really do. Toward the end of our day, I asked her if she was trying to make me crazy or if it was just a happy accident.

"Happy accident", she piped up. She's three, she doesn't speak overly clearly, but "happy accident" was very very discernible and her grin gave it away. Monster child.

She's enrolled in pre-school and is as smart as a whip. Last week, she could count to ten and knew the colours pink (her favorite colour), orange (my favorite colour) and purple (her momma and sisters favorite colour). Today, she confidently counted to fifteen and knew red, yellow, green and blue. No foolin' her either on the colours. She was spot on. A-MAZ-ING to be an active part of that process.

I went in search of her during a time when she seemed a little too quiet and found her reading to some toys. Of course the story she was telling didn't match what was in the book, but that's not the point.

So Isa was my first distraction. The second came from Provo Company. I had placed a call during their last infomercial, but never actually spoke with anyone. Sooooooo...long story short, today, I bought the Cricut Expression. I spent way too much but am getting a lot of *stuff* so I need to let Santa know that he can skip my chimbly this year. I am excited to get it. My goddaughter Shawntelle has the small one and it's fun to ditz with, but the one I'm getting cuts leather and vinyl and fabric too. Oy. I am hoping that my family and friends will enjoy using it too. Then I won't feel SO badly about spending the money.

I thought I might share a bit of what artsy/crafty/designy things that are crowding my brain and at least this list is project driven. So here's the list...

1. fabric yo-yos - Years ago, I saw a GORGEOUS jacket in a hippie catty, made entirely with fabric yo-yos. I've been buying fabric and second hand clothing with gold metallic accents since then.

2. pom poms - These bad boys are destined to be a pom pom RUG. I've already gotten the yarn. I'm waiting for the end of Christmas gifts to begin this project.

3. potholder loom - Seriously, how many of you got one of those one year for Christmas? My Mum didn't have me do potholders, I did enough squares to make a rug and it's a rug I still have all these decades later. So there's another (or three) in the works.

4. felting. There's a gorgeous rug that I saw in one of my knitting books, that's knitted and then felted. I love the colours and how they are blended, though I just don't know about the whole steeking thing. So I may just knit that bad boy flat...we'll see.

5. embroidery - You know, like the kitchen towels your grandmum had. Kitties doing their chores and living large seven days a week. I have a whole box full of vintage patterns, ones that both I and my Mum did and they shall be revived.

I'm also itching to finish the last quilt Mum was working on before she passed. It's an appliqué quilt...something I've never done. I just hope that my stitching will match hers. I plan on using maybe eight of them to make blankies for her great-grandchildren, wall hangings for my brother and I and my cousin. Diane posted on FB a few weeks ago, that she was sewing a patchwork scarf and thinking of her Aunt Dorothy and that was when I decided that she needed something more made by her hand. I never knew it, but Mum made a quilt for Diane from her maternal grandmother's clothing after she passed. Amazing woman, that mother o mine.

6. glass - beautiful, glass pieces with gorgeous simple lines. Cut glass vases. Vintage pressed glass. Carnival glass. After the hols, I'm going to assemble all my glass pieces on the teevee armoire.

7. plaid flannel - I need to devote a separate post for this, so that's all I'm saying for now.

8. knitting - This barely counts because I'm always distracted by knitting. I have 3 things (2 shrugs for my little girls and one snowmobiling helmet liner) to finish for Christmas. Then...fingerless gloves for me (cos it's *blinkin* cold in this house), the rug and ab out 457 more projects in my queue at Ravelry.

Design-wise, other than the whole glass issue, I have a certain pull toward trees - triangular flat trees, knitted cone shaped trees, mirrored trees, paper trees.

I've also developed a near obsession with mid-century modern design. This has rather settled in my left hand as a desire to draw these images and turn them into rubber stamps and stencils.

Someday, I'll share the story about my drawing trauma and why I believed that I couldn't draw, but it's too near bedtime and I don't want nightmares of that art teacher. BUT...I've started doing Zentangles and my hand and brain seem to be on speaking terms again and are assisting me in drawing. Don't ask me to draw a portrait, but if you want a graphic, I think I can handle it.

Then there's "up-cycling" spurred on by the three totes I have upstairs in the studio that are full of vintage hand embroidered linens, doilies, kitchen towels, ladies hankies etc, etc that need to resurface as more practical works.

That's just a glimpse of what's living in my head right now. Scared yet?