Friday, February 16, 2007

I'm here for the party



Better late than never, right? This is one of those stripey blankets ala Allsorts and Posie. Alicia is making a ripple version. Others have been spotted all over the blogosphere. I am really not late for this party. I have had this and some others for a LOONNGG time. My mom made it. Single crochet, tie on a new one when you get to the end of what you have. When its big enough to make you happy, stop. How simple is this.


A detail of the stitches and color changes. This one is a small, call it "lap" size. The other one is double bed sized. Toss in the washer and dryer. Now that is my kind of care.

I live an easy maintenance kind of life. Try to anyway. No carpet in my house. Stainless steel sinks. Try my damnedest not to iron. And, I have no fear of dust bunnies, so I just step on over them and go on about my day.

Speaking of the ironing thing. My laundry room is just outside the bathroom, so EVERY day, as we enter the bathroom for our shower, we toss whatever we plan to wear into the dryer with a wet towel. That, my loves, is what we call ironing at my house. Added bonus, warm clothes during cold weather. MMMM - a really warm, fuzzy feeling.



Another view of the blanket. The edge trim. The other one does not have this.

I am fortunate in that I have family pieces in my home. I come from a long line of creativity and I have embroidered hankies, table toppers, pillowcases. I have doilies, blankets, ornaments. Quilts, potholders. A myriad of items. All passed down from my heritage. There is a comfort in these pieces. There was not a lot of material wealth in my family, but we have heritage, and I have tangible things created by those before me. The history of working class people and the way they tried to stretch everything as far as they could.

As I continue to define myself as an artist, I have found a penchant for fiber arts and mixed media. But in addition, I find myself using the smallest of scraps. Minimizing my purchases. Using found and recycled materials. Or new items destined for the dump. I recognize that I have the luxury of running to the fabric store, and I do that, and I am appreciative of that luxury. But if someone offers me a handme down, or I find things at yard sales or thrift, I am not offended at the pedigree. I am thrilled to be able to breathe some sort of new life into them. I also love the challenge of creating with things that others would toss away.

As I have cruised around the web in the last several months, I find many other creative people share these ideas with me. I love the inspiration I have found. I love the friendships I have gained. You are all very special to me.

Now - cruise on over to Vallens place at your own risk. She is showing off some of the cutest Nests. And as if I have nothing else to do, she gives directions on making them. I have wanted a NeSt from InspireCo for so long that I may just have to adapt those instructions from the Queen and make my own.

Have a wonderful day.

4 comments:

Anonymous said...

Five minutes, I swear, that's allthe time it takes to make a nest. A blanket? That would take me five years.

Anonymous said...

This has been my goal and challenge the last month....to use what I have. It has actually made me more creative in my uses of what I have. I love the blanket. There is something about a scrapblanket (that's what my best friend's mom called her quilts that were used with all the leftovers) it brings a lot of comfort to a home.

Anonymous said...

Love that blanket, mate. The tie one on when you get to the end, no planning thing? I make them all that way.

Love it.

Artygal/Lalheg said...

Gorgeous!

I had some rather delayed post - yep - finally your package containing yours and your DD's fabulous ATCs arrived. The envelope was a bit worsefor wear but the ATCs were all there and lovely.

Thank you so much sweetie