slow mastery

Every once in a while all of the pieces of life converge together and make you really stop to think about something.  You know…when you’ve been thinking about something in particular, and then you read a random book that talks about that thing…and then you read a blog post…and then have a conversation with your friend…and then BOOM!  Your whole world is trying to tell you something?

I love to craft.  All kinds of crafting.  Sewing, stitching, quilting, knitting, painting, home dec diy crafting…you name it…I’ve done it.  And I love all of it, and don’t want to give up any of it.

But then I ask myself…am I MASTERING any of these crafts?  Am I an expert at any of them?  Or am I crafting just to say that I can…and never really striving for excellence at any of them?

I’ve been reading this book about a murder mystery.  In the book, the main character is learning how to knit.  She’s easily frustrated…it’s HARD…and she’s not PERFECT at it the first time around.  She wants to be able to knit a beautiful sweater right out of the gate…to be able to sit and talk and knit like all of the other ladies in the knitting group.  In one scene she is literally speaking to the stitch on her left needle…willing it to jump over to the right needle.  After a few hours (yes hours) and really without hardly realizing it, her stitches are coming easier, and she’s no longer willing those stitches to move…they’re moving when she tells them to.  She’s slowly taking the time to master a craft.

We all start somewhere in our crafting.  We all have a first quilt, first scarf, first painting.  I still have my “firsts” of everything.  The first cross-stitching I ever did is a really loosely stitched, horribly self-framed monstrosity of a Santa Claus.  But I proudly display it every year at Christmas time because it reminds me of my past.  It’s my version of an heirloom/memory quilt.

{This} blog post talks about these same thoughts quite nicely.

So, today, as I rush around to purchase the little odd and end pieces I need to finish 4 current knitting WIPs (all shawls!)…I’m going to choose to come home and just sit and practice mastering my art.  I will choose to enjoy the time that it takes to become an expert in this craft that I love so much.

And then tomorrow I’ll master something else

marmalade challenge

Anytime I head to sample spree Quilt Market, I’m constantly making mental lists of the fabric that I want to buy.  What do I HAVE to have?  What do I really WANT?  What would I be sad if I didn’t bring home?

This time…there was no question…MARMALADE by Bonnie and Camille for Moda Fabrics.

It was coming home with me.

What made this even MORE exciting for me was the kit that Moda put together for this line.  It pairs the most of the Marmalade fabrics with the Flower Girl pattern by Thimble Blossoms…as seen here:

{pic credit}

So…I said this was the “Marmalade Challenge” right?

The challenge is that I’m going to time myself from the very beginning to the very end of the piecing of this quilt.  From the first cut…to the last seam pressed.  I have absolutely NO idea how long it really takes me to make a quilt, since I usually just give myself 30 minutes of crafting here and there…so this will be quite interesting!

Also participating in this sort of “challenge” is my real-life best friend Tanya.  She is the brain behind Adelene Joseph Designs…and she has just started blogging!  Tanya is a fashion design teacher in a local high school, she has a design in fashion design & marketing, and she is a self-proclaimed “craft enthusiast”…you know…just like most of us, right?!

Please go {here} to check out her blog and show her some love!!!!  We all love comments and encouragement, right?!

block 8 finished

I finished block 8 for the 2011 FQS BOM a week or so ago…right after market.

I really need to get on this one…because I just got billed for the first installment of the 2012 BOM!!!!  Yikes!

hello monday…

hello pretty stacks of fabric I purchased at sample spree

hello mystery shawl knit-along that I’m LOVING (almost done with part 2)

hello inside of my tote bag

(this pic pretty much sums me up completely…library vampire book, knitting, iphone, headphones, fitness magazine, notebook, pencil bag, and work keys)

oh…and because I know someone will ask…fabric is marmalade by bonnie & camille on the left and birds and butterflies by lauren & jessi jung on the right…both for MODA)

raveling the “m” yarns

This week I’ve knitted…and knitted…and knitted…and all with my favorite M’s…

Malabrigo and Madelinetosh.

And it’s been LOVELY!

I finished the first clue in the Through the Loops Mystery Shawl KAL yesterday

details (yarn, needles, etc.) on that project {here}

I cast on a new cowl yesterday…cause I was on a roll…and I guess none of the current knitting WIPs were screaming loud enough!

raveled {here}

And…even more exciting than the new projects?  I was able to “cake” my own yarn…with my new ball winder!  It sure is nice to have the right tools for the job…