NicoletheSuccubus

Wow. Okay. So I haven't been here in a LONG time. Haven't done to much last year. Since I am an "essential" worker, my hours actually picked up last year. This was a good things as my husband had lost his due to the same reasons. But working more hours meant less time for enjoyment. Heck, my Etsy site is at a standstill for new products. I stayed open and sold some items but I didn't make anything new to include into my listings.

I also had an addition to the family, a grandson, so I have been spending a good quarter to half of my free time with him.

I had also picked up a new hobby.... diamond painting. I don't feel like it is a submittable thing though, since most of what I am doing is copyrighted. Plus, I feel that it is a hobby that I do for my own enjoyment, where as all the others I do are things that I do for the enjoyment of others. Not that I don't like doing the crochet, beading, weaving, etc, cause I do. But I usually do them with the thought of someone/thing else in mind. Where as diamond painting, when I get a kit, my only thought is if I would like to do it, not "would so and so like it." So I have done those.

I did have time for a lot of personal thinking. I have always wanted to learn as many crafting skills as I can. I still have starter kits of basket weaving and resin jewelry to attempt. And as I was trying to work out how to organize my craft room, I realized that I need to restrict myself to my set hobbies. I will still take the time to learn any new craft I am truly interested in, but unless it grabs me and won't let go, I won't worry about continuing to pursue it after learning it. So, as of now, that means I only NEED to make room for sewing, crochet, weaving, macramé and diamond painting in my craft room. The only two that I think I will get stuck on after truly learning them is spinning and dyeing. Since those go along with my crochet and weaving, it wouldn't be to hard to incorporate them into my crafting space. And even then, dyeing is done more in the kitchen than the craft room.

I have been itching to set up my new craft room too. I had to give up my old space to my husband. He needed it to be able to accept his new job that requires him to work from home. It had the internet/phone connection he needed in a more private setting. We had another room he could have used but didn't have the knowledge or the funds for someone else to come in to make it hardwired to the internet/phone. Especially since my room already had all he needed for the job. Why spend money on something we didn't need to. I know that he will eventually be moved to working from the offices but we don't see that happening within the next few months. So I might as will make room where I can so that I MIGHT be inspired to do something.

Hubby keeps apologizing cause he took over my space. The daughter and I set up the space for us. I did most of the work since she was employed at the time and I had decreased my hours for a personal experiment at the time. But we painted, fixed a wall, did the pegboards and put down carpet tiles. To be honest, I think I did most of the design planning and she just went along with it, but I like to think she liked it too. But then she never used it, so it became my space. And I used it, a lot, to start. I want to say that then Covid happened but I noticed, looking back on things, that I didn't do much in 2019 either. So I'm not to sure what happened that I haven't been doing anything. Will need to figure that out so that I can try to not allow it to happen again.

So... that is what has been happening in my life recently. I hope my creative mojo comes back, cause I am seriously missing doing stuff. I just think that if I can get MY SPACE back to work in I will actually want to do something. We shall see. Will try to keep you updated.

Since I haven't been on here for a while, even though I have been busy, I thought I would update my completed projects. So. A mass upload is complete. I do have some other pieces that are kinda done but not ready for upload.

I am hoping to be more active next year. I also hope to find the time to do more of the non-crochet work that I have done before. I also have some starter kits that I want to attempt this next year. One for basketweaving and the other for resin jewelry. I also hope to do more dyeing. We will see if I accomplish these.

I haven't narrowed down my jewelry design yet. I have some inspiration pieces in a book that I will attempt to recreate. I am leaning more towards "period" (medieval, Edwardian, Elizabethan) pieces. I haven't decided a region yet but am leaning more toward European or Egyptian. I also like the idea of trying to create pieces that men might choose to wear (hence the donut necklaces). And there are many beaded pieces that I like, lots of bead weaving both on the loom and off. I also like the looks of wire wrapping. Will try it at some point.

I have pieces for a quilt that I still need to make. I do believe that quilting is not something that I will truly enjoy doing, but I will make the one that I have started. I will know how to do it so that if I ever need to I can, whether for future sake or for teaching.

I also don't believe that the basketweaving will be something I truly enjoy, but I will still try it.

I have attempted knitting, but my stitches are too tight so struggle with it. I don't think it is something I will truly learn.

I do plan to get back into sewing. I am waiting to get a few more pieces of furniture before I am comfortable to do so. I need a sewing table for my machine that is a bit taller than the one I have. My back starts hurting to soon from being hunched over it. Plus I would like to get a bigger and taller cutting surface. Right now I only have my ironing board. Not big enough for a bolt of fabric.

So those are my hopes for the new year when it comes to arts and crafts. There are other plans but those are dealing with hobbies.

So. Here's to have a more productive year. Thanks for stopping by and have a better new year.