2014

 image was found on Etsy's blog here

I've been so slack on the blog that it turned into the viscous cycle of I need to blog...but I don't know where to begin.  And the weeks went by,  holidays passed, and here we are in the New Year.  I may have been silent here but I've been present on the internet, visiting all my fave blogs still.  Pinning what inspires me or makes me hungry on Pinterest.  The last few days I've seen lots of lists of plans for the new year.  That combined with some very unexpected inspiration gave me a kick in the butt to visit this place and share where I am mentally and creatively and where I plan to go with that this year.

I've just entered my third trimester of pregnancy.  We will be welcoming another boy in early April to our house.  I've found out that when I'm pregnant my creative energy quickly slows down.  I'm less interested in creating flowers and jewelry and more interested in decorating kid's rooms and making quilts.  Instead of fighting these hormones, I'm going with the flow.  So while I had a pretty successful December at Crymson Flower and the etsy shop is still very much active.  I'm not promoting it or adding to it like I was this summer.  Instead I have been spending the last 6 weeks planning, designing, and creating two new quilts. 
A simple baby blanket for the new one.  I found a fabric that was too lush and soft to pass up.  I'm pairing it with a crazy Kaffe Fassett fabric and doing some simple quilting myself.  So far I'm learning the ups and downs of quilting a knit fabric....the hard way.  And a dinosaur quilt for R, to go with his new big bro dinosaur room.  I'm using mostly Kona's and Kaffe fabrics and appliqueing the dinos and then hand embroidering details on them.  I've been wanting to experiment with embroidery and have been very much enjoying it.  But I've also learned that it's going to be an occasional project for me.  I'm starting to get stitched out.  It's a good thing I only have 3 dinos left!

Strangely enough on Tuesday I had a jolt of inspiration.  Creative inspiration.  Beads and metalwork!  I had a lot of fun this summer playing around with wire and experimenting with think gauges.  My brain even started to speak jewelry in a way it never had before.  I was experimenting and attempting to find my own style and voice in that medium.  Tuesday a vision popped into my head for an idea for a brooch.  Which led to a google search b/c my skills aren't quite up to what my vision required.  Which led to a few more ideas and thoughts and then lists. 

Pregnancy does strange things to my already sometimes easily excitable brain.  So a quick inspiration list turned into a 2014 list which then broke down into pre and post baby lists.  Lists that had to do with the baby, lists of what my plans were for the shop, and probably most importantly a list of what my goals, plans, and dreams are after baby.  While it might be most important it is also the list most apt to change.  But for now it feels good to listen to what my heart wants, and I've finally figured out that it is coming from my heart b/c it is the same wants that keep creeping up for years and getting pushed down for financial, special, or time commitment reasons.  I want to explore that.