THE DETERMINED CRAFTER...

 SEWING....

This is picture of just a very small portion of my every day, always growing, fabric supply (warehouse).   My husband occasionally asks if I buy fabric to make things as a hobby or if buying fabrics is the hobby. I think it's a little bit of both, I do buy fabric to make specific things.... pillowcases, curtains, clothing, banners, holiday items or a wide variety of items.  But I also buy fabrics that I am instantly attracted to and just love everything about it. The design, patterns, the colors, the feel of the fabric and a fleeting picture in my mind of all of its future possibilities.   

I have three sewing machines...one I use for simple straight sewing machine another one is heavier duty for thicker fabric projects, and the third one has many embroidery applications.  I also have an Interlock machine that I do not use as often as I should.

I am a very involved, always active crafter of all kinds of artistic flavors.    I am either crafting with my hands or in my constantly busy mind.  The initial excitement of creating with my hands what my mind has envisioned has me jumping right into a project, with no real plan...just a mish of ideas.  I gather every piece of anything that I think would work in this project, plug in my glue gun or clear enough table space to lay out fabric or whatever materials I think that I will need. My process is usually to just start cutting, sewing, painting or glueing with no real organized assembly plan in mind.  I know what I want it to look like and I usually end up with something similar to what I had seen and/or what I had envisioned.  At this point, I really look at what I am creating, and I start analyzing the project, the construction of the parts and pieces. I begin to identify the adjustments that I need to make in the order of construction...what part goes under, what part goes over before I sew or glue.   I am not shy about ripping, cutting or pulling apart projects to get the test run/prototype closer to what I had imagined.  A lot of learning mistakes are made, but it all gets me closer to making the project that I had imagined and hoped to create.  Because I am not really using a pattern but either copying something I saw or something that I created in my head, I have to gauge size, proportions, materials and the order in which to assemble. While initially throwing it all together, so to speak, I learn about size, proportions, materials, the order in which to assemble and possibly even going in a slightly different direction, but with the same general original idea.  At this stage I might actually make up some pattern pieces, do a few sketches and then look on-line to get a new perspective or additional ideas for my craft/project.  Even though, some of my most loved crafts have come from this style of creative frenzy - when I am going to make more than one of them, I find that I do need a more solid plan.  An actual plan doesn't make it any less whimsical or creative...just a plan for the basic parts and then always adding fun, magical touches that make each one special.  

 I look at everything in this world as a possible component or idea for a whimsical, fun or even possibly useful item to create.  When I become 'really present' in any situation, my mind goes to the 'what if's. or 'what abouts'.  And then, my flow goes as long and as hard as it does.  When I am somewhere other than home, I feel like I want to head home so that I can take those ideas and either sit at my computer and let it all spill out or climb the stairs up to my craft rooms and begin pulling together what my mind's eye has begun to design. 

BEADWORK....

I have a million beautiful and fun beads and all of the 'findings' to make most any kind of jewelry...or add a bit of a decorative touch to really anything.

PHOTOGRAPHY....

Everywhere I go, I always have my camera handy.  

Taking pictures is a craft.  It's the way that I really see the world....there is so much out there but to zero in on something, take a picture and then get to view it over and over is such a treat.  I take pictures every day.  Whether it's when I'm on a car trip, a walking trip or in one of our homes or gardens there is always something that is picture worthy. We have bird feeders set up at both homes and love the activity at each of them.  I spend a great deal of time watching and photographing the birds and squirrels that visit our feeders.  

 

I am always on the hunt for parts and pieces that I find to be interesting. Picking up sticks, rocks, acorns or anything that appeals to my creative self either because of its shape or color has me always wearing something with pockets.  I don't immediately know what I'm going to do with my new finds...but I am sure that I will find a place for it in a craft/project.  Or it will just be something that I display and love to look at.   

 I am fortunate enough to live both in a big old Victorian house that has multiple floors of which I have taken over two big bedrooms...for my creative, craft spaces.  And, also in an old log cabin in the woods where my kitchen table and bins below hold all of my crafting treasures.  When I bring my 'finds' to either home I usually start by more closely examining the pieces.  I lay them out and start moving them around or assembling these parts and pieces into the beginning of a new project. If nothing creative comes to me at the moment, I put them into containers with similar objects for a future project. I just follow whatever it is that leads me in a direction.  No matter how full and crowded my craft areas become I am that person who knows exactly where everything is. 

CROCHETING/FELTING/SPINNING.....

I almost always have a crochet project in the works...I would really love to learn more than just the basic stitches...but the few that I do know work well for me at the moment...I have large bins full of a variety of colors, weights and different kinds of yarns.  I also have two big feed bags full of fiber from my fiber sheep that need to be cleaned and combed to use for felting projects and spinning projects. When going on a road trip or when I'm going to be sitting somewhere for a period of time...I always slip a crochet project or a fiber project in my purse to occupy my time.  I have a hard time just sitting.  On a road trip, my husband and I talk a lot, listen to music or just enjoy the scenery.  But there are always times to just be quiet, and I feel like keeping my hands busy with a rhythmic activity...like crocheting or combing fiber.  Smaller, mobile and relaxing to do.  

I save all kinds of paper products and constantly download pictures from the internet that interest me.  I create a lot of collages.  I don't think that I am that talented in painting...furniture, yes, walls, yes, but on a canvas...not really anything that I hang on the wall...yet.  But I do have a real sense of assembling pictures into a story.  One that has your eye moving all around the collage.  My collages usually begin with a picture that I love and then I go through my giant stash of pictures...ones that I find on-line and print on my terrific Canon printer - and then start selecting ones that I think will complement the initial picture.  Sometimes it's theme sometimes it's color...or just something funky, pretty or cute that will be a focal point in the collage. Like a cute kitty face peeking out from behind some other picture or some pretty flowers that just add color to the collage.  Anyway.  I have learned from making many collages (several are on display at a local bank) that I really have to plan this chaotic group of pictures.  There is a skill to it all...flow, design, colors, sizes, and most of all placements...which piece goes partially under which one or on top of another...so glueing is tricky... 

PAPER CREATIONS....

 This is one of my many collages...when I am on a collage creating streak, I choose a lot of pictures, narrow them down, cut them out in great detail, work on placement and then the glueing down part begins. I have seen many attractive collages that have only several main pieces but, my style seems to continue to be...covering every inch of the canvas.  Arrange it so that the eye starts in one place and comfortably moves around the whole collage.  Occasionally, when the mood moves, I like to create seasonal collages also...Christmas and Halloween are my favorites.  I generally go for the whimsical, woodland, Faries, gnomes, witches, cats and little forest critters...doorways, fences, flowers, old houses and just whatever my eye goes back to when choosing the pictures for a collage.  

I will try and re-create most anything that I see on-line that I find to be either useful or just amazing...my creatively does ebb and flow...and sometimes the project gets put away...for a while...until my interest in it peaks again. Sometimes I will work on a project nonstop...until it's complete only stopping for necessities.  I guess that's what being creative is all about...it's like a nonstop lovely daydream whereby you can also seemingly function...but that's secondary to the dream.  

Crafting for me....is just always following my heart.  

LIFE....JUST TAKE IT A DAY AT A TIME

A familiar and often used term...sounds easy enough.  But for people like my husband and myself, it's really kind of a difficult thing for us to do.

We are extreme multi taskers...we have to be, with so many irons in the fire - all of our own choosing - most all of the time we want/need to flip from one project or task to another pretty much every day.  

We were living comfortably in our beautiful home and hobby farm in WI.  We were working at jobs and businesses that we enjoyed.  Our major house revamping/renovating projects were complete, landscaping in and growing and our barns and animals were pretty much in a maintainable state.    SO, or course... time to move and start all over.  We've done that several times in our marriage.   

The process always starts out with buying a property that needs a lot of work.  We, together see the worth in the old bones of the lovely old home or building and we have a need and want to bring it back to life.  We jump in and get at all of the work that needs to be done...it generally takes us years until completion. We love the place...but when it's done, we get the itch to look for and find a new project.  Usually, an old house located on a larger piece of property,

But, before we thought of moving on from our house/hobby farm in WI, we bought a house in the UP...as a getaway place that was only a few hours away.  After going up to this house for a few years, we decided that we loved the area so much that we decided to retire to UP Michigan. We sold the big house and property in WI, sold the weekend house in the UP and purchased 40 acres, with a 100 plus year old log cabin located on it further north in the UP Michigan. There were also many old buildings still standing on this piece and an older model mobile home. Thinking back, we probably should have kept the weekend getaway house...it was completely redone and so comfortable...but, no, onward to the next place in need of so much TLC.  

We found our forever home - the old log cabin and 40 acres - on the internet.  We drove up to view it ...just once...before we made an offer.  It was a real fixer upper but had plenty of possibilities that probably only we could see.  I am positive that the Realtor showing us the log cabin and property did not share our view.  We were accustomed to that...we just needed them to get us into the property.  We always invite the Realtor back after the project has moved along so that he can see...what we saw.  Our only real requirements were that the living space was in the dry, that the land was a mixture of woods and enough garden land for our planned large gardens, had a pond and that there was enough room for our animals to be able to move about.  And, we had a lot of stuff.  From all of my husband's heavy equipment and extensive tools to the large amount of furniture and household items that filled our large home in WI.  We also have many (many) collections of 'you name it'.  

Our beautiful house and property in WI sold on the 1st day it was on the market with two competing offers - selling for more than the asking price.  At the closing, we did make arrangements to be able to still live in the house, pack and move over a period of the next two months.  Those two months had us hitting it hard...every day. Packing constantly and finally purchasing a container and loading it with all of my husband's heavy items.  The container, when full, would be driven up to the property by a hired company.  We were amazed at how the driver could back that huge, heavy container into a spot right next to the machine shed.  We would make at least one driving trip to the UP every week...two trucks with two trailers.  We also hired a flatbed to drive our skid loader, zero turn lawn mower and a few other pieces of larger equipment safely up to the property.    

There was so much to do, but we knew what it ultimately could be...and it was perfect for us.  This property was completely surrounded by 1000's of acres of state land.  So, it was our next project and hopefully our final home.  A lovely 40 acres and lots of old but still standing buildings, an old log cabin that needed to be completely emptied, an older but in good shape mobile home and a large shop/barn that also needed to be completely emptied. Why do all old garages, barns, etc. always have stacks of old tires and big old metal car parts that we have to pay to get rid of...I think I just answered my own question. $$$  

 So, with each trip, we would do some of each.  Drive our things up to the property and find places for our boxes and containers.  We rented and had commercial sized dumpsters at the log cabin property so that we could start getting completely rid of all of the things from inside the buildings.  Kind of like when I go thrift shopping.  I take bags of stuff to donate to the backdoor drop off spot and then go around into the store and buy bags of new 'finds' to take back home. Usually not my own donated items...but that has actually happened.  We would do this move/drive at least once a week...lots of driving and hauling.  But, it was early fall and the turning leaves were beautiful the further north we drove and the weather cooperated beautifully.  

When we were there exchanging stuff for stuff. And throwing so many different kinds of things into the dumpster, we really began to notice how really rough the log cabin was. It had been used as a 'camp' for hunters for the last many years.  What do we do next?  What we always do of course. We would also buy a big old Victorian house in town.  It was also in rough shape...but, it did have a working bathroom and kitchen...so...gold.  It also had large empty areas and rooms so, we could store a lot of our furniture and boxes there for the time being.  So, our Victorian large storage unit.  It also became our place to stay when heavy, dirty jobs were being done at the log cabin...and then visa versa...large dirty jobs at the Victorian...we would stay at the log cabin.

 At the log cabin property, on one of our drop off trips, we had to quickly mend the existing fences and throw up a shelter for our animals who would be arriving on our last trip UP north.  We also had to patch a smaller building for our chickens and put doors on the machine shed/shop for our peacocks and larger equipment.  We had to accomplish these projects before our last trip when we would load up and drive all of our animals to their new home.  On that last trip, I kept thinking and asking the Universe to please hold off on the snow until we were there...us, our animals and all of our stuff.  And, the Universe answered in the most positive way....on our last trip and arrival at our log cabin...we pulled in and just sat and stared straight ahead for the longest time.  First of all, I don't think we could yet comprehend that this was our final trip, that we didn't have to jump out and unload and head back again...Secondly, beautiful heavy snowflakes began to fall while we were sitting there.  I rolled my window down and called to my husband that we made it and the snow had been waiting for us to get here.  He was sleeping. Which always gave me cause to be concerned...he was just driving minutes ago and now; he is fast asleep.  I got out of my truck and went over to his and woke him so that he could see the snow.  I climbed into his warm truck, and we both watched the snow in the headlights and just finally took a deep breath and relaxed at our new home in the UP.  We were completely here...no going back.

We thought that the busy part had already happened...the move and all, but all of the work ahead of us at our new property...was going to be much more work.  We didn't care...we were now retired...our house/hobby farm in WI was sold and we were on our path to our dream of self-sufficiency in UP Michigan.  

We slept in the truck on that last trip. We left the animals in the trailer for the night because it would not be safe for them to try to acclimate in the dark.   The next morning, we pulled the animal hauler into the fenced in field and opened the door.  The llamas and sheep all came jumping out and started investigating their new place.  All of the smells of the variety of woodland animals that had passed through their new field.  We set up a temporary place for them to eat and drink.  We had hay bales delivered and put into the structure that we had built...so, they were just fine for now...trying to remember, day by day.... it's impossible to get everything done all at once...patience...we'll get there.

Where to begin...a million (probably close to) things to do.  We just kind of ran around in circles for a few days pointing and spinning. My husband is rather laid back...and I am not.  Between the amount of work that we needed to do and my constant talking and planning out loud, my husband suggested that we take a big pad of paper and drive into town and go to the local breakfast spot, talk about something else for a while and then begin a list of all of the of the projects and assign an order of importance.  From the absolute necessities to the least important.  We each had our own agendas, but we needed to coordinate our 'to do' list and work together. Try to be on the same page or at least in the same area.   So, after a lot of writing and erasing...we came up with several phases and the main things that we needed and wanted to do in each.  

It would take us years...but, that was okay...this is where we are going to live happily forever and ever.  

But, one day at a time...we had to remind each other quite often in the beginning. But then it became our mantra.

By living life, a day at a time, it grounds oneself in the present, reduces anxiety about the future through small daily steps.  It helped us manage our overwhelming challenges in productive, positive moving forward ways.  We learned to slow our lives down, enjoy each day and stop and smell the pine trees.  

We had both been pretty much workaholics all of our lives...we loved projects, dove in, worked like crazy, felt some satisfaction...but were always craving and hunting for the next project.  Retirement and this giant move and change plus beginning to feel our age...made us stop and really revamp how we viewed life and how we wanted to spend the rest of it.

  We decided that the way we would be happiest and most successful was with one breath at a time and one day at a time....and so the next phase of our life had begun...

THE LIFE OF A WRITER

Only a fellow writer really knows and understands both the satisfaction and the pain of being a writer.  The satisfaction comes from putting together a sentence that you don't have to rework because as it flows onto the paper... does not end in a preposition.  I am not sure if that is considered a big 'no no' anymore...but I'm old school so, I do all that I can to work around not ending a sentence with a preposition.  The painful part, which there are many, but the one that comes to mind is when you have a great idea or a perfect sentence on the tip of your tongue and someone else is blabbing to you and you can't get away to write it down so that you won't forget it.  I have been known to pull out a Kleenex, a piece of paper, a receipt, anything and write those ideas down when I can't just run over to my computer.  I do say 'excuse me' for one moment - and mention that I need to write this down before I forget.  Friends and acquaintances know me well enough to know what is happening when I start writing on my hand.  

I am a writer of stories.  Out loud, or just in my head and then sometimes onto paper or typed into my computer.  I have self-published one book, and I have six other stories in a variety of 'not done yet" stages.  

In addition to writing books, I blog.  I think of blogs as short stories.  Easier to get into, easier to finish.  So, I blog more often than I write on any of my longer stories. I have blogged for over 13 years and during that time, I have written well over one hundred blogs.   My blogs are generally, about 'whatever'.  The whatever is that thing that moves me at that moment in time.  'Whatever' generally keeps building and growing and rolling around in my mind until I get it out and on paper/computer.  Often, it is about a flash of a remembered memory of some past event(s) or a special place in my long, much-lived life.  Other times it is about something that I just noticed for the first time or am viewing with a different eye.  Often it is a fleeting thought or feeling that I decide to expand upon.  That thought or feeling just seems to catch in my mind rather than just the regular 'float through'. So, there it is wanting its story to be told.  I start expanding on that thought or feeling, generally very quickly, and it most often becomes a blog but could end up in one of my - in the process - books.   

When these thoughts occur and linger...if I can, I sit right down at my computer, and the words just seem to flow.  If they do not...I have learned to just stop...because it just might not be the right time, mood or the whole story is just still just simmering in my writer's brain. And, anything that I write feels forced.  I know that I'm in the right place when what I write meets my 'I love it' - clap my hands stage.  

 I am not sure a writer's brain is more of a left brain or right brain activity or if it has its own place somewhere in the middle.  I feel that way because my stories always contain some fact, a bit of research but also a whole lot of whimsey, fun, silliness, heartwarming events and just generally a softer, lighter, warmer way of looking at well, anything.  So, the middle.    

I am also a very active crafter.  I look at everything in this world as a possible component or idea for a whimsical, fun or even possibly useful item to create.  When I become 'really present' in any situation, my mind goes to the 'what if's. or 'what abouts'.  And then, my flow goes as long and as hard as it does.  When I am somewhere other than home, I feel like I want to just get home so that I can take those ideas and either sit at my computer and let it all spill out or climb the stairs up to my craft room and begin pulling together what my mind's eye has begun to design. 

Everywhere I go, I am always picking up sticks, rocks, acorns or anything that appeals to my creative self.  I am fortunate enough to live out in the woods with plenty of natural objects to pick up.  Sometimes I need to remind myself to look up and around because, I am always looking down for the next find.  

Living much of our time in our old log cabin and some of the time in our intown Victorian in and of itself provides the material and motivation for so many stories.  

When out at the log cabin, we have animals to feed and tend to (there is that preposition).  After feeding and tending to our animals if it is winter or inclement...I fill the feed bins, make sure the waterer is working, throw hay, give a few rubs and then run back to my waiting truck and head back to the log cabin.  If our woodstove isn't already blazing away, I start a fire or add more wood.  A warm, crackling fire always adds to a creative mood.  Something about the radiant warmth and the snapping sounds makes me feel all cozy and ready to either write, create or take a cat nap...with my two cats.  

The same goes for when we are at our Victorian home intown.  Just the history and the beauty of this older home always make my mind drift into yesteryear and the way this house was when it was first built and occupied.  Who lived here, what did the family dinner conversations sound like.  There is a carriage house at the back of this property. So, there is a history of horses living on the property also and a carriage of some sort.  And then possibly eventually replaced by an automobile.  Did they go for rides on Sundays?  Possibly out towards where our log cabin is located.  A drive and a picnic out into the country.  

We have been able to go to the county seat for each of our two homes/property.  We have spent hours looking up the many recorded documents about both of the homes/property.  I will use that information to write separate blogs on each house/property someday.  I will also add, what I always add to all of my blogs and stories. Details that I am sure were present...because I can actually, mentally and emotionally place myself into those times and feel all that I think my characters felt.  And also, what their day to day lives were like.   

This is our log cabin when it was nearing completion... 

This is one of the entrances to our Victorian home.

Both homes and their histories are so rich and provide so much material for me to use as a writer.  I am blessed to have both of these homes/properties and experience the two very different lifestyles.