We've Moved... to SpringStitches.wordpress.com

Please visit my new blog ‘Spring Stitches’! will welcome you with posts about knitting, sewing, crafts, and my attempts at upcycling. Though this goes against many blog rules about confusing readers, it just feels right to me. I look forward to sharing my creative adventures with you in coming posts, so please come over to Spring Stitches and join me for a cup of tea and some craftiness.

Map of Imaginary Point and the Words to Get There

"Sometimes great ideas and passion can be eclipsed by verbiage. Knowing what you do, who you are, and who you're talking to can help. It is good to remember your goals and stay focused on the point."

This quote and illustration were created for a Billville blog post.

Illustration in colored pencil by Evin O'Keeffe (© 2010).

A Trivet in Cork

Creating something new and useful from something already created is almost always appealing to me so the classic design of a wine cork just had to find a way to be enjoyed beyond the bottle. Considering what I needed most, I set out to make a simple hot pad for my tea kettle with the corks we had on-hand. Of course, being in love with color I couldn’t resist incorporating a bit of the green that coordinates with our tea kettle and the finished item is practical. Surprisingly it even draws some admiration from visitors - most notice the color coordination too!

I have always saved wine and champagne corks. Years ago, a friend observed our huge bowl of corks and suggested I use them to create one of those Large Wine Cork Boards (using a kit, of course) as a gift for said friend. I was so shocked at the idea of parting with my corks and even more so at the idea of creating something with them then not even getting to enjoy it first-hand. Though that shock also made me realize that if it appeals to more than one person, it must be a good idea. And why not allow Corks a second life, whether in my own home or someone else’s. It just makes good sense to consider existing things as not-so-raw materials. Of course, my big bowl of corks became packing peanuts for wedding gifts stored while we live in Ireland and a whole new cork collection was started in Cork.

If you are interested in the sustainability of cork as a wine bottle closure, check out Put a (Wine) Cork In It, an article by Pablo Paster on Treehugger.com.

Starting from Blank

The intimidation of a blank canvas is something almost every artist and writer knows intimately. Of course, technology now offers us the chance to battle the blank with blog posts, emails, and web design too! Twitter and microblogging offer the chance to limit characters to 140 and therefore only have to sputter out a sentence or two at a time. Why is that more approachable? I don’t know, but maybe it comes down to the same thing when combatting a blank canvas, sheet of paper, or computer screen - start with one line, one word, one thought…then keep going.

This post was originally shared on my other blog, Billville.

Projects To Finish

Inspired by a recent post in The Scrappy Knitter, I am making my own list of things I have started that need to be finished. The ‘deadline’ is in parentheses after each project. You can see by the number of question marks, I have issues finishing things I make for myself. Strikethrough means it is done and I will update the list as I add to the projects!

• Scarf for Mom-in-law (December 13)
• Scarf for Sis-in-law (December 13)
• Scarf for Mom (December 13)
• Pullover for Nephew (December 13)
• Baby Hat (March 11)
• Lap blanket (?)
• Typewriter scarf for me (?)
• Audrey Pullover for me (?)
• Baby Gift for Nemo (April 1)
• Baby Gift for Squid (April 1)
• Baby Gift for Sprout (April 1)

Baking and Burning

Last week, my friend Keely and I decided it was time to back up our hard drives onto DVDs and set about devising a plan to make it somewhat fun. Hmm, what about if we make cake or cookies too? Baking and Burning Day was born! The rules were now to be set.
Rule One: The cookies had to be easy so baking wouldn’t distract from burning the backup DVDs.
Rule Two: We had to use ingredients we already had in our kitchens and we both had to agree on the combinations.

We rummaged through the cabinets and found the ingredients for Keely’s family’s chocolate cake recipe so she set about making that while I started backing up. Due to the secret nature of some of the ingredients, I kept a discrete distance. I could discern that not one bit of clove, all-spice, or ginger is used, since those were ingredients we didn’t have on-hand. That narrows it down a little.

So, while the cake was baking and the DVDs were burning, we gazed at the ingredients spread out on the counter and tried to decide on appealing combinations for our cookies. I won’t keep you in suspense any longer, two recipes came from our day and they will be shared in two posts in my blog, Cooking Peas & Qs.

Art is in the Heart of the Creator

Art is what you make of it, but I’ll admit that I do not think of my knitting or sewing or cooking or crafts as works of art. My drawings and paintings are art, perhaps even my graphics, but somewhere between my BA in fine arts and now I forgot that art can be useful. Every day, I create at least one thing that is beautiful and useful without even knowing it. Maybe it’s a beautiful and delicious meal (that I habitually photograph artistically) or perhaps it is a tote bag I design on the fly - it can even be two rows of a knitting project. But these things won’t be on a gallery or museum wall in my lifetime, so I overlook the creativity that goes into them and see them as just another happiness in life.

This random thought is written completely sober as a result of my reading Seth Godin’s blog post, Making Art, and it reminded me that we make art and by creating something we change others even for a split second.