Category: Creativity



This post is part of Just Jot it January, and the prompt for today, Craft, comes from Astrid. Check out her blog here!

I love being retired. After a lifetime of crafts that I never had the time to dive in whole, even though I had a lot more money, there was no energy at the end of the day, nor the time. Being able to deep dive until the muse is used up on a topic or drive.

Diamond Painting is calling me back, and now that the bigger knitting project is finished, the Dragon from last year needs the sealant so I can send it off.

Oh, that’s the thing about these crafts; it is delightful to indulge deeply, but it is so much better to have someone to gift the finished products to. I know some actually sell their works. But I just can’t get to that point. I don’t like a timeline, and I get too perfectionistic the minute I think someone else will see it or pay for it. The minute ‘time is money,’ it is called a job. I can’t. I just can’t.

But yummy yarn, loom knitting, crocheting, Tunisian crochet, diamond painting, drawing, Zentangles, playing with my wig or my own hair (a throwback to my first career of being a cosmetologist), all my musical instruments recorders, ukelele, piano, singing, coloring, rainbow looming, writing, reading. There are many I’m afraid I’m leaving out, and I feel like a bad parent for neglecting them to the point of forgetting their names! And are they all considered crafts? Then there’s macaroni. Oh, yeah, that’s spelled with a ‘K’!

Photo by Ksenia Chernaya on Pexels.com

Your prompt for JusJoJan January 1st 2024, is “train.” Use it as a noun or a verb, use it any way you’d like. Have fun!

Thank you, Linda!

Train

Some people wake up and see their day full of organized plans like this.

It’s peaceful to know where the train is taking you.

On a good day I wake to

Mostly my trains have a spiderweb network of tracks that overwhelms me.

This blog helps me focus. In case you think yarn and weather is all I deal with, just know it’s just about all I concentrate on before life and distractions take me elsewhere.

Oh, speaking of weather

This is how 2024 started in Christmas Valley. Freezing Fog. It looks like snow. But it isn’t. And you can only see just beyond the porch.
Rosey at 20 finally likes me and my lap as much loved as her main human’s, my hubby.
Leg warmers are getting more colorful. Wow, they’ve reached 10 inches of 24. Among other projects.

So, I need to train my brain on the personal possibilities of this new year.

My stationary bike goal has increased from 5 miles in 30 minutes to more miles in less time. Today I reached 5 in 28. So win!

I know last year I planned on podcasting. Stagefright won. So it goes back on the list of things I still feel I want to do.

Besides German, Spanish, Italian, French, Scottish Gaelic, Latin, Esperanto, Japanese, Navajo, Hebrew, I’d like to add a couple more to my Duolingo list so that I am always doing 10 lessons a day. And I want to get more serious about my American Sign Language classes. My brain loves working on languages.

Hello editing. You are cruelest of all. I’ll do what I can and finished products will go see the light of day on the podcast.

I still will continue working on getting healthier.

My diamond paintings are calling so tomorrow I will play.

Why did music find itself this far down the list? With a new ukulele, I’m trying to learn to make my fingers fit the chords needed. But daily practice might get me there, right?

The recorder is calling. No more trying Carols. Now I can enjoy whatever music strikes my fancy.

Okay, piano. I hear you. I will turn around from the diamond painting table and tickle you on occasion.

Singing loud and proud and dancing like no one is watching sneak into this list.

And that’s not including the bins of organizing I’m already doing.

And I want to get over my phone fear and try to enjoy socializing a bit.

There are only so many hours in a day but all these trains want to leave the station and make their way to improvement and new possibilities. There has to be a way. Some things must be daily Duolingo and blogging (no longer on a struggling list but on the ‘it happens’ like eating list).

The list looks like last year. More has been added. Few trains ended their tracks. My brain and strength expand to meet the fun.

Train-ing is fun


Your Friday prompt for Stream of Consciousness Saturday is: “create.” Use it any way you’d like. Enjoy!

Creating can be fun, if you have all the time in the world and no stress. But when guilt gangs up on creative juices it seems there is no more juice.

Yep, that’s what is happening with the NaNoWriMo. I have 16,115 words at this moment. I’m going to go find prompts to move the story along. I need 18,337. See ya tomorrow!

A Facebook Yarn


Trying Tuesday


Sometimes I’m looking for other things to try. Today my curiosity is sending me to these tutorials.

I can’t seem to get myself to sit at the piano even though I miss it so much. So I thought maybe working on ear training and playing with chords rather than sight reading. This might do the trick for me.

I saw this on Facebook. Isn’t beautiful?

So I looked up Quilling.

I want to try watercolor and acrylic painting so here are a couple tires for those.

What are you trying these days?

One Liner Wednesday


To invent, you need a good imagination and a pile of junk. –Thomas A. Edison

Boy have I got both! <— If I could figure out how, I’d strike-through this. It ruins the One-Liner rule. Pretend like you didn’t see this second part. 😉

Thank you, Linda, for this fun prompt. One-Liner Wednesday

One-Liner Wednesday


Linda’s One-Liner Wednesday

Beauty is whatever gives joy. –Edna St. Vincent Millay

Found today during creativity class in the workbook : It’s Never Too Late to Begin Again by Julia Cameron


Now 😉

Once you see the root of words everything is self-explanatory. Don’t you think?

Yet

Doesn’t look like this
One of my favorite crayons! Which reminds me: I need to color!!!!

Thank you, Maggie, prompter of the day! Please be sure to visit Maggie’s blog to read her post and say hello. And follow her while you’re there, if you’re not already.

Your prompt for JusJoJan January 10th 2023, is “periwinkle.” Use the word “periwinkle” any way you’d like. Have fun!

I’m a periwinkle fan!


This post is brought to you by Linda G. Hill, Just Jot it January, and Destiny! Please be sure to check out her blog.

For Just Jot it January, click the following link to see how you, too, can join in! https://lindaghill.com/2023/01/09/daily-prompt-jusjojan-the-9th-2023/ It’s fun!

Occasionally I share projects I’m working on, or have finished. This picture goes with the posts.

Why? Because despite me, ADD, arthritis, and other obstacles, things get done. And I feel glad. Endurance is a similar word. Hands hurting is something to be endured, even if the hobby is enjoyable. So here’s my latest batch of projects in various stages of completeness.

Done! This is a small adult. I love working with the magical Fair
Isle yarn from Willows.
And I love the pattern featured below with ChiaoGoo red-lace circulars size 6 needle.
The dragon is coming along. About 1/3 finished. Lots of eye blurring black.
I’ve been working on these for quite a while. The HiyaHiya Fliers and ChiaoGoos are tiny and hurt if I spend too much time on them but, progress!
These are nearing the cuff stage so may be finished soon.
These are at cuffs now, so finished product may happen before long.
Started another hat. This is the pattern. The Fair Isle yarn from Willow is so soft!

Endurance of lack of Internet or streaming services is the hardest part of all of this. I need the distraction. And the chance to work on the web, especially GoodReads and the reviews I need to write. This is endurance. We may be up and running tomorrow when our local Internet fixer will come by. 🤞


Click on the pic to enlarge that picture in the corner. My new DP.
It came with this sheet of paper. Not only the symbol for the color but quantity. And another pic to show what you’re working on.
As all kits so far, the wax and pen. I love the little white tray. Most have the green ones that don’t line the diamonds up so well.
And rather than a long strip of drills, each color has it’s own baggy. The bags of black. Yikes!
The other side of the drill package.

But that’s not all I’m working on.

I want a collection of the many Fair Isle, self-striping super washed wool cakes from Willows. I just discovered I don’t have a hat of my own. I’m hoping one of these will fit me, if not gifts!
Both these hats are being knitted on ChiaoGoo red-lace circulars 16″ cables, the brown hat has size 6 US, the pink size 7. This wool is so soft!
I’m still working on the HiyaHiya Fliers sock. I only have that Pretty White skein. It is a light green. At first this was only an experiment. I had planned to frog the sock when satisfied, but I’m so happy with how it’s going that I want to make a pair. So I picked up the denim color to help there to be enough yarn for a small sized pair of socks.
I wanted to be finished with these boot-socks today. But I still need to do the Kitchener cast-off on the last toe. Sadly these  turned out slightly too large for the giftee. Maybe they’re okay for slipper socks. They will be warm!!!
These bamboo on the CinDWood sock loom are nearly to the cuff and finish.
These socks on the Flexee fine-gauge loom are nearing the heel part that will be white like the toe.
Two more projects hang out in the bin as there isn’t enough room to have everything out. Cotton slipper socks on Flexee fine-gauge loom. And a plarn water-bottle carrier. That’s a crochet so not as finger friendly for me.

That’s all I can think of. My poor writing project seems stalled again. Maybe after Christmas I’ll have less pressing projects and can get back into it.

Happy

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