I had two intended targets: books and crafts, but being [...]]]> My DD and I went to check out a college a few hours away and while she was hanging out with friends who are doing a summer program there and getting an insiders view of the campus, I went shopping…alone.   Oh the joy!

I had two intended targets: books and crafts, but being as it wasn’t a huge city we were in, I had limited choices.  I did in fact manage though, lol.

I found a book by Laurie Mika called Mixed Media Mosaics which I had wanted for a long time.  Totally up my alley in the way of crafts as it combines several techniques: mosaics, polymer clay and embellishment.  Of course, I figured that if poly clay tiles work, then UTEE tiles would work too, so I made a few.

The other great find of the day, though I didn’t realize it at the time, was a Chain Maille Kit I bought for DD to try.  I have been attempting to bring her over to the crafting dark side for years and while she shows a mild interest, nothing has captured her attention till now.  She sat up making a Byzantine chain bracelet until it was done and looked around wanting more.  We’ll handle that on our next back to school shopping trip.  Living in the boonies requires restraint, no spur of the moment retail therapy for us. Sigh!

Without enough jump rings to finish another maille project, she dug in my jewelry making stash for inspiration and found things to make 2 necklaces, also accomplished that same evening and with great looking results.  Can we say addicted?  LOL.  Mom wins!

So, we are still working on DD’s dorm room rug, but a re-invented version. Turns out the huge ball of yarn we [...]]]> I should have named this blog Dealing with Craft ADD because seriously, nothing has yet to hold my attention for more than one project and that’s no way to become skilled.  Sigh.

So, we are still working on DD’s dorm room rug, but a re-invented version. Turns out the huge ball of yarn we bought had an ugly interior.  Must have been an odd dye lot because it morphed into this yucky green, goldy yellow maroon mix half way thru the unravelling and was declared unsuitable.  Now, we are using a beautiful icy mix of pastel purple, green, blue and pink.  Sort of shiny Easter colors mixed with white.  Naturally, Mom is thinking…oh, that’s gonna show dorm floor grunge quickly…how will she (I) wash it?

Oh yeah, Friendly Plastic…love it.  Do you remember Friendly Plastic from the 80′s?  Was it the 80′s?  I adore the shiny, vibrant colors and have been following a new blog on the subject, http://friendlyplastic.blogspot.com Go look at the amazing eye candy they have there, while I get my first funny attempts photographed.

My daughter and I have started a project for her dorm room to cover [...]]]> Between glass, beads and textiles, fiber crafts seem to be winning my attention lately. I guess that’s going back to my roots, as I learned to knit when I was 5 and was sewing my own clothes as a teenager.

My daughter and I have started a project for her dorm room to cover up the horrible, cold vinyl floor.  Her residential high school used to be a hospital 100 years ago and while future students will benefit from the new campus that is in the planning and fund raising stages, for now, they make do.

The project is a latch hooked rug, about 5 ft. x 6 ft., so kinda big for a craft neither of us have done in years.   She chose warm, soft caramel and maroon chunky acrylic yarn and we are cutting our own 2 1/2″ strips to hook.   I’m winding the yarn around a slim spatula that has a convenient slit in the middle which fits scissors perfectly, to cut multiple strips at once.   We split the backing in half so we could each work on it at the same time without getting in each other’s way.  Here’s a photo:

Dorm Room Rug

That’s Charlie, a stray who found us last November in the engine compartment of our truck after we had driven 10 highway miles.  We heard his tiny scared little mews when we got out of the truck and I was so afraid that he was injured, but apart from being understandably terrified, he was fine.  He now lives a safe, pampered, inside life and I bang on the hoods of our vehicles before we start them up in winter.

This project, borne out of the necessity to not spend $300 on “the perfect rug” she found has sparked an interest in traditional rug hooking, the kind where you pull wool loops up through linen, rug warp or monk’s cloth with a simple hook (not a latch) to create a painterly images.  Most of the artists doing this work lean toward the primitive style that originated on the eastern seaboard, but there are some doing more comtemporary work and this is the direction in which I would go.

School ended and that meant dorm [...]]]> The last month has been hectic and unpredictable. My step-mom went home to be with the Lord, which is a good thing as she was 90 years old and had been in considerable uncontrolled pain for several years, but still it of course, leaves a void in life.

School ended and that meant dorm move-out for my high schooler and subsequent activities related to school events. All of this occurs several hours drive away so each thing takes up at least a day.

Add in a wedding and assorted family dramas and then, there’s work and catch up, sigh. Crafting has taken a back seat, just like my new blog.

So, here I am, wondering exactly what was my focus, purpose and plan? Oh yeah, to figure out how to make a living out of what I love to do and detail it for those who have the same desire.

I’ll start with describing the crafts that I’m playing with to make this happen. Yes, that was crafts, the plural, because I’ve already mentioned I enjoy, like many others, a craft a.d.d syndrome.

The interest and skill (that may be subjective) list at this point:
Beading of course, as that’s my mainstay craft
Glass Fusing
Mosaics
Punchneedle…what? I know, that’s what I said. It is pretty much unknown outside fiber circles.
Encaustic Painting
Lampwork
Polymer Clay
Resin
Felting
Rug Hooking
Latch Rug Hoooking – an old one that most of you did as a child, but which is experiencing a come-back in a newer, cooler design form.