It has been three months since I posted to this blog. And now I am going to tell you that I am going on hiatus for three months. I will return in mid-April. For me that means three months of discovering who I really am and what I really love. I hope to return with a renewed sense of inspiration and enthusiasm.
Today marks the official release of my satin cord jewelry! I am naming my jewelry after the women in my life. I dedicated my very first pendant to my mother-in-law, Lynne, whom I lost in March of this year.
'Lynne' crochet pendant in camel brown and jungle green
My next pendant is named for my own mother. I lost her in May 2008, the day before Mother’s Day.
'Patsy' floral pendant in rose and orange
My third pendant is named for both of my grandmothers, as well as my husband’s grandmother. Mary was a popular name in the 1910′s.
'Mary' granny square pendant in beige, avocado, and jungle green
My fourth pendant is named for my daughter who is almost 13.
'Glynnis' crochet pendant in plum and orange
My fifth pendant is named for my niece, who was married in September.
'Lauren' crochet pendant in silver and lavender
My favorite so far is the rose floral pendant. Which one can you see yourself wearing?
I am excited to announce a new line for my business. Jewelry! My plan is to begin rolling it out October 1. This is a significant day as it would have been my in-laws’ 51st anniversary. I lost my mother-in-law back in March of this year. She loved crochet and she was the person who revived my interest back in 1994 by teaching me to crochet edgings around baby blankets. She also loved costume jewelry, so I believe she would like my new jewelry line. So I am dedicating it to her.
I am using petite satin cord, which is the smaller version of the cord I use for my baskets. My supplier is The Satin Cord Store. I am using rayon satin cord which is so soft and shiny and a joy to work with.
Satin cord pendants
Satin Cord Necklaces
For now I have decided to use a double strand of satin cord to hang the pendants. My other option would be to use chain.
What do you think? I really like the beautiful color and sheen of the cord. I would love any and all comments, feedback and suggestions. I am making these creations for you, so I want them to be what you want.
I hope everyone has a beautiful and blessed day!
Valerie Weller of Twig2Nest Studio recently hosted a giveaway on her blog. She gave away one of her decoupaged birdhouses. Can you guess who won? I did! I was very happy.
Yesterday I received my birdhouse. It “flew” in very fast from California! I opened my box to find a carefully packaged birdhouse. It is truly lovely. I met Valerie through the CAST (Christian Artists Street Team) on etsy first and then realized that we had taken Kelly Rae Roberts Flying Lessons e-course together last summer. She has been very kind and supportive to me. Thank you, Valerie!
Birdhouse in my studio
Birdhouse in my soul
Create. What we are all called to do.
Virginia Beach Sunrise
I want to start by saying that I am feeling much better. Back in June, I thought that I was improving, but it was short-lived. Now I can truly say that yes, my world is much brighter.
So what is different? First of all, I started following the Flylady on Facebook. For those of you who don’t know who she is, she helps people get their lives and homes in order by offering ideas for routines. To FLY means to “Finally Love Yourself” enough to take care of you and your home and family. I know all too well the feeling of being overwhelmed by the thought of housework and child care. But getting routines in place really makes a difference. It is hard to explain why, but it works. I have also worked on my martyr attitude about having to do the work. I would think to myself, “Why do I have to do this?” NOT productive, to say the least.
The second thing is learning acceptance. I accept my life exactly the way it is, right at this moment. It is amazing what a burden is lifted when I tell myself that I accept everything that is in front of me. I used to do everything to avoid problems or conflicts. Now I look for solutions. When I avoid problems, all I am doing is prolonging their resolution, not making them go away.
What is the impact on my blog and creative business? My goal is to have more time for both. I would like to post here at least weekly. As for my crochet, I want to develop new products. I have some wonderful ideas swirling around in my head. I now feel motivated to make them a reality.
Thank you all for your love and support. I received lots of kind messages after my last post and I appreciate every one of them. I hope everyone has a blessed and beautiful day.
It has now been over two months since I updated my blog. I want to let you know that I am okay, although I have gone through a rough patch in my life. I reached a very low point, so low that I could barely function. I slowly began to feel alive again with the support of people who care. Then this week I realized that the low point was a lesson. God was telling me that I must turn my life over to his care. In other words, I have to learn to trust.
On Friday I looked out of my studio window to see the most beautiful rainbow I had ever seen:
I could see both ends of the rainbow but was unable to capture all of it with my camera. It was a double rainbow, although that is barely perceptible in the photo. The previous evening I had been browsing through a faith journal of mine and had read this page:
I took it as a sign that my life was going to get better, that everything was going to be all right. In other words, I have to have faith.
So how does all of this impact my blog? I feel more hopeful and ready to begin again. I do want to engage in more conversation with my readers. I want to learn about each of you and how we can support one another, no matter what our circumstances are.
So, how is your spring going so far? We have seen quite a bit of rain. Everything is very green and the lawn is very tall. I do have daffodils in bloom and am patiently waiting for more flowers. I am also happy it is spring so I can take my basket photos outdoors where the lighting is so much better.
Before I get to my newest baskets, I wanted to tell you why I have not been updating this blog. Tomorrow is my mother-in-law’s birthday and she would have been 71. She passed away a month ago, on March 15. As you can imagine, it has been a difficult time. I wanted to do some writing about her on her birthday, but I have been struggling with the words. If I don’t post tomorrow, then perhaps I will be able to at a later date.
As for my baskets, I have two new color combinations for my Coffee Filter baskets. The first one I created in the colors of citrus fruits.
Satin cord basket in citrus colors
Crochet basket with embroidered felt bottom
My next basket was inspired by the colors of the sea. I love the soothing blues and greens.
Satin cord basket in the colors of the sea
Another use for this crochet basket
You can see more views of these baskets in my etsy shop. I hope you are enjoying your spring!
I kept looking at the two baskets I created in my last post and thinking, “The way I added new colors is a mess!” So I decided to end each color before adding a new one, instead of the usual way of joining the new color to the final part of the stitch of the previous row. Take a look:
Original basket with messy joins
Completed basket with invisible joins
What a difference! It does require just a bit more work, but the results are worth it. I can be a bit stubborn about changing my ways of doing things. But this time I am glad I decided to redo my work to make the result so much more professional.
You can go to my etsy shop to see other views of my basket.
So what is happening in my crochet studio? I’m glad you asked! I have started to experiment with more than two colors of satin cord. I am enjoying this exploration.
My first basket is in shades of silver and purple. I still have to weave in my cord ends, as well as embroider felt to the bottom, but I am very pleased with the result. Imagine how pretty this basket would be on your dresser!
Basket in silvers and purples
My next basket is still in the process of being crocheted. I started with navy blue and added silver, then royal blue. I like what I am seeing so far.
Navy, silver and royal blue basket in progress
One of my next projects is to prepare a color card that contains all of the satin cord colors that I have. I would love to make you a custom colored basket to match your decor.
Have a beautiful weekend!
Lavender Heart Trinket Box
I have not posted since January 24. I have been doing a lot of thinking about this website and how I want to present myself to you. I want you to get to know me, and what makes me the person that I am. So I have decided to change my focus here a bit. I plan to write more about my inspirations, my creations and how you can use them in your home. I love crochet, and will continue to write about it, but I want you to get to know me and why I create. Making art is as much about the artist as it is about the art.
I want to spend more of my time creating, so my plan is to post here once or twice a week. I have ideas for crochet creations brewing that I want to spend time exploring.
As always, I welcome your ideas, comments and suggestions. I’d like to make this a team effort, as we learn and grow.
