Friday, December 30, 2016

It's also an annual thing

In the days *just before* and then immediately after Christmas, I always get my most crafty urges and energies. This is when I always declare that I will keep Christmas (crafting) in my heart throughout the year, and be ready by next Christmas to go nearly all handmade.

It's ok.  It's ok that I go through this every year, and it's ok that it hasn't panned out that way before. That doesn't have to mean that I feel defeated already; this could, in fact, be the year.

I love bears. I love Christmas. I love making. This first endeavor is based on an old Martha Stewart pattern set (as you may well already know, Martha and her minions have really fallen down, as years have passed, in terms of writing worthwhile instructions -- instead of using the limitlessness of the web to our collective advantage, now it's usually minimal patterns, instructions that don't match up to the project or that skim over the stuff you actually need to know); btw, search "woodland" on her site for a slew of interesting ideas.

And so off I go. Making and enjoying and looking out at the cold and not worrying about how far I get.

A photo a day over at Chicken Blog, too.

1 comment:

Natalie, the Chickenblogger said...

You can see me, right? Nodding my head, in total agreement?
If I could make a wish, fanciful, but not overly grand... I would wish to keep the light and optimism, the feeling of joyful, creative purpose that I feel from November through Christmas Eve, through the year. It wouldn't have to be everyday, just consistent, steady, productive.

Good... it's not just me?! MS and her shoddy "tutorials" and "good luck deciphering this" instructions are an embarrassment to what she once produced. Such a shame.

And one more thing... those stitches, the pale pine needle green ones at the edge of the felt? They are so exquisitely perfect, I feel like they have hypnotic powers over my psyche... *all is well, this can be done.* This ornament is a darling masterpiece.