Play? Yes!

photo by Noreen Crone-Findlay copyright

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, then step back and see what emerges!

The other day, I was thinking about writing about permission to play as part of the

Face of Joy Challenge.

I decided that I definitely wanted to include photos of  my ‘Permission’ doll. I tried taking boring old lay-the-doll-on-a-piece-fabric and shoot, pics.  Oh, borrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrring………

photo by Noreen Crone-Findlay copyright

Besides………. the monster wrinkles in the fabric were just ridiculous.

So……… I decided to be playful, and to give the Permission doll a new place to sit.

I figured I could ignore some rules about ‘where things go’ and then shifted some furniture around in the studio.

Voila! A new place to sit and weave with my small looms.

The cupboard on that wall of the studio had always seemed to be an impediment to using that space.

I decided…. what the heck…. the cupboard is full of Christmas stuff, and only gets opened to take the Christmas stuff out, and then a month or so later, to stuff the Christmas decorations back in.

Why not ignore it, hang a loom on the doorknobs, and enjoy the space?

photo by Noreen Crone-Findlay copyright

The boss of the studio approves of her bench being in a new spot, and I think the Permission doll does, too….

And, one of the most delightful benefits of playing around with the stuff in my studio is that I have given myself a very pleasant place to sit and weave with my small looms.

Also, choosing to ignore the mostly unused (but useful) cupboard in the wall is an excellent metaphor about another issue that writing about ‘permission’ brought up.

I realized that I have been frustrated by the placement of this cupboard for the 15 years that we have lived in this house.

I had made a rule that I couldn’t block access to the cupboard, even though access is only  needed a few times a year.

By saying: That’s a rule that doesn’t work for me, I was able to re-claim a wasted space that I am simply revelling in now!

Ah…. those rules……… sometimes, we have to bump up against them before we even know they exist! It sounds so simple, and minor, but it was a big ‘aha’ moment for me……  so often, we define our lives by rules that we may have invented unconsciously, or have inherited from relatives, friends or ‘experts’.  If we don’t know the rule is there, it’s going to shape our spaces and shape our lives.

Playful exploration is a good way to shine a light on all kinds of corners in our lives…..

photo by Noreen Crone-Findlay copyright

I designed the Permission doll as a reminder that we need to give ourselves permission to be and do

who and what we are, what we love, and to approach life with joy, panache and zest.

So, go ahead and play, and give yourself permission to move things around, and to try out new things, and to ignore some of the things that might have felt like blockages.

AND…. please remember to enter the Face of Joy Challenge…..

Post from: Hankering for Yarn

and yet….

doll and photo by Noreen Crone-Findlay copyright

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 a pic of the first ‘joy’ doll…..

Those drawings have become the basis of a whole series of  joy based cloth dolls,

paper dolls, wooden dolls, spool knitters,crochet hooks and all manner of other things.

Ah, joy……

Which brings me to today’s pictures for the Faces of Joy pictures…..

Chrissy left a comment in one of the previous entries in the Face of Joy Challenge, leaving a link to her entry in the Challenge.

Chrissy’s face of joy is made in socks!  Fun!

Nancy sent me a pic of her husband looking quite bemused in a rather grumpy looking hat….. since she didn’t tell her hubby that his pic had been sent off to a blog…. I cropped to just the hat:

Nancy's hat copyright

and, then I turned the grumpy little mouth upside down to make it somewhat more joyful…..

Nancy's hat smiling

And Caroline has joined in with  her Face of Joy, which has taken wing!

Caroline's yellow bird (copyright)

There are an infinite number of ways of expressing the face of joy….. Thanks Chrissy, Nancy and Caroline for sharing your faces of Joy!

I look forward to seeing more faces of joy……

Post from: Hankering for Yarn

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

Post from: Hankering for Yarn

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)

Post from: Hankering for Yarn

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 wanted to use Caron’s Simply Soft in Mango, so I figured, what the heck…. I’d just split it and zip it up………

I am lucky enough to have 2 yarn winders. I bought the first one when I was 15 years old. I bought the other one second hand. It’s really handy having 2 of them!

I clamped them both to a little table, rolled the yarn and test swatch of spoolknitting into a ball:

When splitting yarn, I have found that it’s best to work in short lengths, with the ball secured with a darning needle.

That way, the ball can spin freely.

After I split the yarn (picky picky! when you have 3 dogs and a cat and indulge in a very fiberlicious lifestyle, the yarn picks up all kinds of little blubbitses that make the splitting process quite ~questionable~ as in what the heck was I thinking?)

Um……. it’s not a speedy process, but, I am pleased with the results:

It’s quite gratifying to whir up a heap of cord right off the yarn winder:

And the Patty Memory Comfort doll has her hair….

Her heart and wings will be spoolknitted, too….

On a larger spoolie………

later………

Image source: Noreen Crone-Findlay (copyright)

Post from: Hankering for Yarn