A pencil was my first tool when I began to draw in earnest years ago.  I wanted to be able to erase, to make my drawings just "right", and then put watercolor over top of it, working within the lines carefully.  What has evolved in my switch to pen is difficult to describe or explain, … Continue reading The Virtues of Pen

This is the coolest painter's/crafter's/knitter's/crocheters gadget ever!!  I just love mine!  I saw them at an art store up in Boone (yes, you guessed it...Cheap Joe's Art Stuff) and thought of all the ways I could use one of these.  Currently I'm using it as my portable knitter/crocheter studio...complete with stitch holders, needles, crochet hooks, … Continue reading My Bucket

I really can't tell you how giddy it makes me to see what others have made from my patterns.  Part of it is that I'm SO relieved that the pattern was actually readable, understandable, and included all the steps they needed to be successful with the project.  The other part is that I'm truly delighted … Continue reading Those who Make what you’ve Designed

Some years back, Dr. Gary Chapman, wrote a book called The Five Love Languages in which he proposed that we each have a distinct love language, or maybe two or three.  These are things that others do for us in which we feel loved and cared for.  Some of them on the list are: receiving … Continue reading Butterflies, Chicken, and Love Language

This is me, lately!  Leaping from crag to crag, idea to idea, project to project.  With the arrival of snow, I declared yesterday, "A Making Day"...and it looks like today will be that also.  It was delightful: whirling from lime green knitted sweater, to crocheted hexagons and owls (pattern for latter forthcoming:), to sketching, to … Continue reading Crag2Crag Creativity

I used this phrase today whilst shopping for a new "purse".  The Purse/Pocketbook/Handbag, whatever you call it, is an intensely personal thing that, for me, has to be JUST RIGHT.  The problem is...JUST RIGHT for WHO??  For the Practical Me? or the Me Me?  Practical Me is disgusted with my oversized, over-the-right-shoulder bag that slides … Continue reading The Practical You vs. the You You

When you've trimmed the tree, bedecked the halls, festooned the mantel, placed Christmas finery on every flat surface and hung it from every rafter, the only thing left to adorn is...the cat!  Well, if you have one, that is.  Our cat, Lucy, is a Christmas cat.  Santa brought her to our children 3 Christmases ago … Continue reading Adorn the Cat!

An artist friend (whom I have never met) left a comment on my last post that has been so encouraging to me.  She writes, "Moments fill our lives like the colorful dots in a Seurat painting. When we pay attention, really pay attention, the art of living becomes something truly remarkable to see."  I have … Continue reading The Kindness of Others