The Inspiration of Others

Sometimes I need to be reminded that by creating art I belong to a community of makers who do the same. I think it's the isolation; I need to get out and get inspired by others in person when I can, or seek out their creations when I need comfort or a boot in the creative butt.

The county quilt show did that this year, and so does the Orlando Weavers' holiday show when they come to town every December. I've attended it for three years now, and I always score beautiful hand woven art yarn and kitchen towels, but more importantly, I can be around other makers and talk with them. Had a blast at the show this year. :)

I invested in some native made jewelry with pearls for Kat's Christmas gift, but because she's not coming to visit us this year I can't see her opening them. On the upside, it was nice to be able to ship her gift direct to her from an indy jewelry shop in the islands. I got myself a pearl bracelet from 14carrot, my favorite Etsy seller because a) it was beautiful and b) it's a reminder to make the best of the holidays no matter what happens.

Speaking of one of my favorite muses, I also got another trio of 14carrot's quilt tags to help jumpstart the last round of my own this month. I've been feeling so blue I'm a week behind on the project, and seeing her artistry always inspires my own.

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Love Means This

Invested in a couple of hand-dyed bundles from one of my favorite fabric artists. This one said "Make me into something for Valentine's Day." So I went for a quilted and embellished tote. I kept thinking about what love means to me as I worked on it. Here's the finished tote. Although I was tempted to embellish with beads and pins, I got sick and only felt well enough to do a little stitching every night. As I worked I thought about how often love seems disappointing to us, especially when it fails to live up to our expectations. But now that I've experienced love in many forms, I can say that it's made me a better person than I might have been without it. Love is a precious thing, and should be appreciated in all its forms. I am very grateful for the love of my guy, my child and my friends who have stuck with me all these years. That's you two, in case you're wondering. :) Also finally found something to do with a ve...

Goodwill Gamble #2 Arrives

My second Goodwill gamble arrived; this is one I paid ten bucks for last month. Just inside the lid was a big roll of plastic mesh that I think is for latchhook work. In the auction listing it looked like fabric to me, so that was unexpected. Someone at the seller's end was nice enough to put a note on this pinned fabric. I'll put on my gloves before I take it out to inspect it. The embroidered green fabric turned out to be 1-1/2 yards of sequinned and three-dimensional designer fabric. I'll guess this cost somewhere between $20.00 to $30.00 a yard, and it's in pristine condition. But here's a shot of everything in the lot, which is mostly crafty odds and ends with a small amount of cotton fabrics, a large amount of synethetic fabrics, and some other surprises. The original owner of these was probably a Catholic school teacher; these beads, crosses and medallions are the kind of rosary kits for kids to make at Sunday school or Bible camp (and s...

Fabscrap for 2023

In December I made two orders from Fabscrap. The first arrived with this giant spool of variegated taupe yarn; it's more than enough to make a nice big wrap or a lap blanket. I also added two pounds of mendable sample garment tops in this particular order. I made a mistake and clicked on large for the size, and then later read that they were out of stock. I expected they would backorder my order, but instead they made some delightful substitutions. This pretty pink top doesn't need any mending or alteration. This is a dress, I believe, and it looks to be in perfect condition, too. A white eyelet blouse, also in new condition. Keep in mind that all these garments are $8.00 a pound, which works out to $4.00 each for this order. That's cheaper than Goodwill. I even got a coat. That neon green faux fur on the cuffs definitely has to go, but I love the coat. This is a yard pack of neutral naturals. The linen alone (on the right) is worth about $25....

Valerean

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