One of the important keys to creativity is to give ourselves the permission that we so desperately need to simply play.
Play? Yes!
It’s essential to be willing to break through the rules and conventions we set up for ourselves
and to be willing to try new things.
We need to be able to take artistic risks and
to suspend judgement long enough to experiment with new approaches,
new techniques, new thoughts…
or to look again at the ways we have always worked and
to see if there is a hidden treasure waiting to be re-discovered, re-invented, re-created.
So, give yourself permission to play, play and play some more, …read more

Have you ever had a day that wasn’t really all that different from any other day,
and yet….
somehow….
it filled you with delight….. just to be alive?
A few years ago, I was working away in my studio, and was in a state of pure enjoyment,
as ideas were flowing and projects were just chugging along and everything felt
wonderful!
I grabbed my sketchbook and made some quick drawings of how I felt about the lusciousness of a day of happy work and feeling blessed.  Then, I made a doll-
that was the first of many, many variations on the drawings. The photo to the right is …read more

Tottie Tomato began her life here on hankering for yarn.
And, she’s undergone all manner of transformations.
Such a busy life for a little tomato!
She now has her own blog in which she and I share our love for spool knitting, crochet, tatting, knitting, small loom weaving, sewing, doll making, puppets, wood working, recycling and eco crafts, to name just a few.
She’s just getting started, but do check her out: Tottie Tomato
Image source: Noreen Crone-Findlay copyright

Argh!
My old binding machine has met the end of it’s days….

A few years ago, I broke off one of the handles when the machine got all hung up…. and now….
sob…. the blasted thing has totally, irrevocably siezed up, while eating one of ‘Our Lady of the Hours’.
How rude.
We both have had serious ‘go’s at it, and we have finally declaared it to be kaput. Defunct. Schmucked.
Ah, the perils of self publishing…..  sigh.
Image Source: Noreen Crone-Findlay (copyright)

I am making a doll for my beloved mother-in-law.
It’s a ‘memory’ doll, and I am making it in the hope of bringing comfort to Mum as she struggles with the death of her beloved daughter, Patty.
I knew from the first moment that I started sketching the doll, that I wanted to use spoolknitting for the hair. Patty was born with curly red hair, so I wanted to celebrate that.

I wanted lots of spoolknitted cord, so I decided to use my Embellish knit spoolknitting machine.

I did a test swatch and decided that it was too stiff. I really …read more