Hello everyone! I hope you had a good week. I thought I’d check in on the eve of the weekend seeing as how I’ve been quiet all week. It’s been a good week, but I’m tired and still don’t have any new photos. Most of what I’ve been working on is “in progress” and I have other blog posts planned for them. I’ve seen other bloggers just list their random thoughts; those are always enjoyable to read and that’s truly about all I can come up with at the moment. So enjoy some creative ramblings below:
- When I am bored or indecisive about which hobby to pursue, I combine them and start matching beads to my yarn that’s near at hand. For example
Isn’t that stunning? It makes me so giddy to see them together. The beads are from Humblebeads and are some of her new releases called “Bramble Birds” (ah, I love that name) They are subdued moody tones that are reminiscent of a faded wildflower field on a winter afternoon. The yarn is from Kat’s Kettle and it’s a skein I ordered last fall when I was enjoying the golden foliage of Spring Mill. I had literally just envisioned a yarn exactly like this when I was hiking, and then I saw it on her website!
2. We are awaiting our portion of Winter Storm Jupiter which has already prompted a winter advisory alert from tonight through Sunday afternoon. My weekend gathering has been postponed till next week, so I don’t have to get out in the nasty weather. Instead, I’ll be working on this:
It’s a top-secret surprise. So you’ll have to forget I showed you the picture until a later blog post when the whole story can be revealed.
3. I was browsing Instagram tonight and before I knew it I was following a nature/jewelry designer, 5 embroidery artists, and 5 illustrators! Instagram is such a rich source of inspiration. A couple of the artists I’m now following are botanical illustrators, which is something of my dream job. I can’t draw for beans, but I would love to take lessons and become a scientific illustrator. There’s a special certificate program for this at the Denver Botanic Gardens and I dream… I’d also love to take up sewing, embroidery, and pottery. I want to explore way more than I have time for. And that’s why Instagram is great – it allows you to experience and appreciate the journeys of others.
4. In addition to secret project #1 mentioned above, I have a jewelry challenge I’m participating in called the Muffin Tin Challenge, in which you collect the supplies you’ll need for a project in a muffin tin and the create lots of projects at one time.
I’ve done 6, which is the minimum, but I have a few more items I’d like to get finished up by the deadline on Monday. I’ll be blogging about this soon because I’ll need to link up the pictures to the challenge site. This is hosted by Heather Powers of Humblebeads, who has done so much to fuel my love of jewelry-making. Her beads are works of art and they make me aspire to her level of excellence in my designing.
5. I learned today from a co-worker that my place of employment is hosting a knitting event on Wed of next week as part of our “week of wellness” or “WOW” for short. That’s definitely what I thought when I heard a group was getting together to knit at work – WOW! Unfortunately, the time is during my jewelry class starting next week so I won’t be able to attend. I did consider not going to the class so I could stay to knit and meet like-minded fanatics at work, but I’m going to be responsible and go to my class. (this tells you a bit about how my creative hobbies stack up – I enjoy all of them, but when push comes to shove, I’m a knitter at heart.)
6. And speaking of knitting….
These are my favorite winter colors! I love the palette of soft taupe and greys. This shot happened serendipitously as I was knitting with my leg crossed over the other and I noticed a feather from my knitting bag had drifted onto my lap. I’ve got feathers stashed in every bag I own, so I’m often pleasantly surprised with one peaking out to say hello. I loved how it matched the yarn and my boot warmers. (I’m easily pleased) The knitted project is for my winter swap – it’s a cowl and is completed and blocked now. It only awaits buttons which were procured from my yarn shop yesterday.
7. My last tidbit. Tonight I made peppermint hot chocolate with chocolate milk. I always make it with plain milk, and then I had a “eureka” moment to try it with chocolate milk. It was amazing!! It was extra rich and creamy and was delicious. Now I’m definitely in the mood to settle in for a winter weekend!
I hope you all stay safe and snug this weekend and enjoy some quiet time enjoying whatever you like best.
Blessings to you,
Sarah
anordinarymiracleday 
You have a great eye for color, Sarah. Stay warm through the storm!