The shortest UFO

Is that correct to say? The "shortest" UFO? In other words, this has been a UFO for less time than the others. Which is more correct, but awkward as heck. 

I hooked this elephant for the Smidge, and left the background for her to choose. As a result, it's quite busy and loud with colour. So much for the background taking a backseat to let the main image shine! No, not for this girl.

My upholstering skills are lacking, so I don't look too closely at the edges. No, I said not to look at them. Geez. 

Alas, it is done and Smidge is happily enjoying her new stool in her room. Though it's not being used where and how I thought it might be, that's totally up to her. 

What number am I at? Lots to do before completing #18in2018, that much I do know! Onwards....

What a Disaster

My hooking room has been a disaster since about mid-August. I've been madly hooking, whipping and generally preparing for an event that happened on September 30th. It was great fun, went well and I was pleased with the results! More about that in the next post.  

Just take a look at this mayhem though. And pics don't even capture the wool dust (I don't think)! 

ECHO Echo echo

Echo echo echo

The other night I was in a church hall that has one of the worst cases of echo I have ever experienced. I’m sure the ringing in my ears had nothing to do with the fifteen screaming 9-11 year olds in the room! Nope. Literally had to escape a couple of times and let my ears calm down.

Which brings me to the other meaning of echoing, something that’s used in craft/art pursuits such as quilting and hooking. Probably others as well that I’m not well versed in.

I know that some people are not fans of echoing in rug hooking, but it’s a personal favourite of mine. I don’t answer to the rug hooking police….you know who you are. Or actually maybe you don’t. You may not realize that you get all judge-y with other people’s work. In my world there is no “right” way to do things. Perhaps there are techniques that serve to accomplish certain desired (to some) outcomes but I don’t worry about those.

So back to the echo. I fancy an echo in hooking, yes I do. If you’re not sure what I mean by echoing, it’s when a strong line or key element is followed exactly and repeatedly with the next row of hooking.

In one piece I completed several years ago, I made Echoing a major element of the piece instead of a subtle means of filling in the background. That’s just how I roll. 

Actually I’m not usually a rule breaker in life. Getting in trouble troubled me deeply as a child. Being sent to the principal’s office was my greatest dread. Now I feel like more of a rebel to know that in this one small way I’m a bad ass.

A bad ass who’s ears can’t handle the screaming of fifteen kids in an echo-y room. 

Today's post is courtesy of the letter E and the A to Z Blogging Challenge. Which I'm not officially part of because I tried to sign up too late, but I'm still participating. Bad ass again. Did you see that? 

Definitely Design

It just so happens that the Smidge is home today, suffering horribly (NOT!) from a cold. Suffice it to say she’s sick enough to be home, so that she doesn’t infect the other kids. But she’s healthy enough to be driving me cuckoo!!

I said to her this morning, “D is for…..”? Her reply “Dinosaurs”. I refused to discuss dinosaurs for my blog post today. You’re welcome. So then she came up with Draw. Design. Decorate. Now we’re talkin’.

I’ve always been attracted to the idea of designing my own patterns – whether it be quilting, knitting, crocheting or rug hooking. To me it’s far more creatively satisfying to design my own work. I have a long list of new ideas that are busting forth. Time to get going on some of those.

Rug hooking by far (imho) provides opportunity for designing and seeing your vision come forth. I’ve done some of my own designs in the past. Some are not so great, others are better. One thing for sure is that there’s a fuller sense of accomplishment and fulfillment when you hook and complete a piece that came solely from your own ideas.

I was chatting with someone just last night about the stress release that comes with drawing and colouring. Hence the explosion of adult colouring books on the market. I haven’t bought one only because I think I might never stop colouring if I got one. I can see it being addictive, in a good way.

Drawing is something that I’ve been “meaning to do” for so long, because I acknowledge that you just have to do it to get better and to enjoy it more. I have one of those big books that’s full of prompts and blank paper. Really should get back to that.

So get to it today. Design something. Draw something. Get out your crayons or pencil crayons or really nice pencils that you don’t let the kids use. Or glue, sew or make something. Release your inhibitions (cue the music).   

Our kids do it so well because they haven’t yet been pounded down by society’s expectations, disappointments and judgments. Be a kid. Just today and maybe tomorrow. See what happens.

Why not draw a dinosaur? 

Blogging about D today as part of the A to Z Blogging Challenge. 

New Chapter

My work life has taken an abrupt turn, as I made a decision to resign from my full-time position to give my health a break. I was suffering from very frequent migraine headaches and just couldn't handle the pressure to be at the office, sitting in front of a computer screen for 40+ hours a week. Perhaps a radical decision, but so far (3 weeks into it) I am happy, more balanced and have been mostly migraine-free!!! 

So you may think that this has opened the floodgates of creativity and productivity. To a certain extent, yes. I did get a pair of jeans hemmed that had been waiting for 5 months. I know what you're thinking... "Wahoo"! I've done a few other little bits and pieces in the Making Room, but nothing substantial because I still have my school work to do, and this particular course (my last in this journey) is a whopper. 

I have assembled a list of making to-do's, which is a list of WIPs that need to be finished:

• finish whipping the 2nd mermaid rug
• whip landscape rug
• whip 01/16 rug (the January Journal rug has been completed)
• finish hooking Bunny Warhol
• finish K's quilt top
• finish K's sweater before it's too small to wear (already a possibility)

Then I will launch into the copious new ideas that I have brewing!