Lately...

I am sorry I left such a negative post up for so long without burying it with something new and positive.  I have not been idle and wallowing in self-pity as my previous post about Mother's Day might suggest.  We have had family visit, we have visited family in Michigan, we have visited family in Columbus, plus various other projects I have been working on lately.

One such project is trying to be a bit more organized and decluttered at home.  I actually read from front to back, a book about living minimally…The Joy of Less by Francine Jay.  The completion of this book is a feat in and of itself, due to the difficulty I am having maintaining my attention span lately.  It has been a long while since I have read from start to finish, a real book for adults.  I am ashamed to say how long, but suffice it to say, it has been a looong time.  I read quite often, but the only reading I have been able to get through and comprehend afterward is articles from The Smithsonian, CNN on my Ipod, and perhaps the backs of cereal boxes in the morning.  The daily devotional I was making time for every day has been inconsistent at best.  I really wish I could read something more than fluff pieces and magazine articles. 

I don’t know why I am having so much trouble with this, because I love to read.  This has been such a problem for me that I got a book at the homeschool convention about how to read literature!  In other words, a book about how to read a book!  I am still slogging through it, taking notes as I go.  

Anyway, decluttering.  The book didn’t really tell me anything I didn’t already know in my heart, but it did inspire me enough to go through my home room by room and cull through some stuff.  There were some interesting ideas in the book on how to begin and how to maintain a mostly clutter-free home.  The best advice, perhaps, was the recycle can located beside our mail table.  Holy cow!  Since April, there has been only about five envelopes on the mail table at one time, instead of the huge, falling-over pile which dominated the entry-way for years, even at our previous homes! 

I am in love with my new craft closet, with all my stuff in its various pods for various activities.  I have been doing very well keeping all my flat surfaces clear and am feeling much better about how crowded our home is NOT!  I have been able to find things for our activities immediately and consistently and even have a clean, cleared off table on which to do them! 

I don’t know which of my Facebook friends recommended that book, but I am so appreciative of the motivation it stirred. 

Since I have had flat surfaces and could find all of my things because they were all in one location, I have completed a crochet project I am quite proud of. 

Instead of trying a bunch of different patterns for crochet, I decided to master one thing.  I have trouble with patterns and am finding that I am not really getting good at any project or stitch because the work changes too quickly.  Jack of all trades and master of none, perhaps.  The motif I chose to work on until I was great at it was the Blooming Granny Square.  I didn’t know what I was going to do with all these squares when I felt I was ‘done’, but I didn’t really consider that when I began. 

I chose the Blooming Granny because I also wanted to learn a popcorn stitch and I really enjoyed the 3D effect of the motif.  So here is how I began:

I made lots of these squares in various colours, using my St. Vincent De Paul Yarns I got at quite a steal on multiple visits.  I had a few ‘sparkle’ yarns and used those for the flowers themselves.  Pretty soon, I found myself cranking out Blooming Granny Squares everywhere…baseball practices, watching tv, and car rides. 

After making a bunch of them and feeling like ‘I got this down’ I had to decide what to do with them.  Ultimately, I decided on a messenger bag, modeled on a small one Sara gave me a while back that she got from Peru.  So I had to choose how these squares were going together, and what I was going to have to do for the bag to come together. 

I determined that the yellow background needed another colour to break it up, so I chose the fuzzy textured green to make it look rather ‘Springy’ (as in the season).  I crocheted the lines ‘up’ so the squares are essentially little windows and the whole thing is very textured.  The flower petals pop, as do the green dividers.  The second picture doesn’t show the texture very well, which is a shame because that is my very favourite thing about this bag. 

I put the whole project away for a while, because the part that was coming next was very intimidating to me.  Sewing in the lining.  I am not good at sewing, and have a difficult time knowing where to begin.  Especially when I am designing without a real pattern or instructions!  Fortunately my Mom came to the rescue and helped me with the lining and gave me a good idea on the strap. 

The end result is below.  I photographed a corner of the over-flap up so you could see the lining.   

Done yesterday!  I am so pleased!  I am considering embellishments such as a button for the center of the over-flap or perhaps some beaded fringe for the flap, but I don't know.  I really like it as-is.  I haven’t decided what my next motif to master will be yet, but I have to admit that I am quite in love with the Granny Square in all of its various forms! 

I am toying with the idea of entering it into the community faire we have in September.  We shall see.