Sunday, April 19, 2009

New creating blog!!

I love to make things. Love love love. I can't think of anything in the world I would rather do than sew, quilt, paint, scrapbook, etc. I wanted to keep a log of the things that I make and how I make them, so I started this blog! I've never had a real blog before so this should be interesting!! I hope anyone who reads this will find my meanderings useful... I know I will look back on it so I don't make the same mistakes again!! And... I miss writing. For those that don't know, I got my undergrad degree in journalism and made it through about 8 months of freelancing before I got called to be a teacher. I don't miss freelancing and I DON'T miss journalism, but I do miss being able to write every day. So this is a way to talk about creating AND get back into writing. :)

Small caveat: I'm currently a graduate student, trying to cram a two-year-including-summers teacher certification program into a year and a half. And I go to two schools, University of Dayton and Sinclair Community College, and one is on semesters and one is on quarters. And it's finals week. And I'm taking two Praxis tests in June. Soooooo if my posts are not as detailed sometimes, it just means that I probably have something more pressing to do than to do what I love. Be advised.

I mostly quilt and needlepoint, but I'm slowly working my way into apparel and home sewing. As for painting, I have a few projects on the horizon but really haven't done anything full-scale. I'm no artist, but I like using colors and I LOVE the way canvas smells. Painting is probably my least-exercised craft, and also the one I'm least intuitive about. My best friend growing up was/is an incredibly talented artist and painter, so she stunted my painting growth because everything I do I always compare to her... and she is so good, even if I WAS talented in that area it wouldn't hold a candle to her!! I used to papercraft a LOT, especially when I got a 50% discount working at a scrapbooking store, but since it closed I have switched to digital scrapbooking via Photoshop, which I like a lot more. I also LOVE to cook.

That's pretty much what you'll see on this blog, some things from my personal life interjected occassionally. Enjoy!

Here's some of my upcoming projects, just so you know what you're in for in the next couple of months:

- lap-size quilt for a friend's wedding gift
- a silky maxi dress to wear to upcoming summer weddings - this is my first apparel project beyond hemming and sewing on buttons, and I'm sooo lost already!! First wedding is June 19 - hope to have it done by then!
- trio of paintings for Art's new house in Del Rio. There's a wall right by the dining table that I would love to do something wine-related using burgundy, browns, blacks - this is currently on the backburner behind the previous two sewing projects
- quilted placemats for Art since he ruined the ones his mom got him - these will probably be black and brown, the same colors as the old ones (he really liked them, but put them in the dryer; oh the plights of the yuppie!!)
- Christmas stockings. These are needlepointed and then I'm adding a quilted back instead of the cheap felt that is included with the kit. I have one needlepointed already and one is about halfway done. This project will probably last or second to last on the list... I don't have to have them ready until Christmas, after all!!

That pretty much takes me through the year... but trust me, I'm sure I will add some more at a particularly inconvenient time for myself. I do that.

I believe that each person has a particular activity that releases stress for them. Mine is creating. And crying. And I do both a lot. But, I like creating better, for the sole reason that it is prettier. :)

Happy Sunday!!

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