Keeping Promises

I promised in my post on December 6 of last year that I would post photos of the finished hat I was getting ready to start knitting.  It is suddenly sad to me that this much time has gotten away from me.  I've made a promise to myself to spend more time doing the things that bring me joy and to slow down and savor my wonderful life.  So here's to promises.  Pictures of finished hats, and a return to blogging, knitting, sewing, writing, loving, laughing, living...

The promised finished product.  Maybe Julia will decide she likes hats this year... or not

A bonnet made from a recycled wool sweater and corduroy skirt

In honor of Journalfest... potholder journals

A Bo Peep skirt made from a recycled pillowcase

I'm Back!

It's been too long.  I have stayed away from my blog for so long now, it seems a lifetime ago.  I just returned from a beautiful few days in Port Townsend, WA and now I am truly reinspired!  It just takes a short time surrounded by wonderfully creative people and the juices begin to flow again.  I must stay focused though. So many new techniques to try, so many new things to learn! I understand now why so many people go to the Northwest to find their creative muse.  What a supremely beautiful place!

The views from Fort Worden State Park are incredible! This place will forever call to me.  A big thank you to Teesha and Tracy Moore for the first ever Journalfest!  You can check them out at
http://www.teeshamoore.com/ and http://www.zettiology.com/
I've learned so much.  Now, I must honor it all by continuing my creative journey.

Snow Day

We just got one of our first snows of the season and Julia was very intrigued by it. Her new trick is to holler to get everyone's attention (not that she doesn't already have it) when she wants something. She could see Bruce (the dog) outside on the deck and wanted to get at him or the snow. Once she was successfully side-tracked by the remote she was content to watch the snow fall from the window!

Hats Off!

This is the hat I knitted most recently. I added a pin to it that I love. The picture below is Julia modeling her new hat. I loved the way it turned out so I decided to knit another similar one but larger. I love the yarn I have chosen because it is so bright and cheerful. It is very textured and reminds me of popcorn. This doesn't make for quick and easy knitting, but I am sure the finished project will be very interesting. The yarn is from Yarn Bee and is called Artistry. The color is Picasso. I've included a picture of the started project. As soon as it is finished I will post of picture of it also.

Inspiration

These are my boys Ashton and TJ. They inspire me to work hard for worthy causes.



This is Ali. She inspires me to be honest and to make an attempt at patience.

This is Julia. She inspires me to be creative.

Why Gosh O'Hemlock?

I think I had a magical childhood. At the very least it was fantastic. Being the oldest of four girls, I thought I was always in charge. Three of my cousins lived next door (okay, a mile down the gravel road). And I got to see the other seven on a regular basis. We had horses and dogs and barn cats. We even had mean roosters that would peck at my ankles when I went out the back door. We packed peanut butter sandwiches and disappeared into the woods behind our house for the day. We swam in the pond, skinny-dipped in stock tanks, ran throught sprinklers, camped out in the back yard, and rode our horses bareback. We wore hand-me-downs (I put garage sale finds in this category too) and hand-made clothes. I'm not sure how old I was when my aunt taught us "The Antisdel Song". We sang it with gusto and believed every word. It goes like this: "I'm a hayseed. My hair is seaweed. My ears are made of leather and they flop in windy weather. Gosh O'Hemlock, I'm tough as a pine knot. I'm an Antisdel can't you see!" It wasn't until I was an adult that I realized it was just an old camp song that she had substituted a few words in. It made no difference though. As children we were important enough to have our own family song! So now at 37, with four children of my own, 17, 13, 10, and my youngest (a big surprise) 7 months, I need a creative outlet. My mother passed along a love of sewing and knitting to me and I got to thinking about my childhood hand-me-down clothing. I'm sure she didn't realize it, but my mother was on the cutting edge of "green living" over 30 years ago. This is where my idea for repurposed (aka hand-me-downs) and embellished clothing came from. My creative juices are just beginning to flow, so I'll try to post some pictures of my one-of-a-kind Gosh O'Hemlock creations as they become available.