What are you creating?

Hi crafters!

What are you creating this summer?

Are you knitting an afgan, working on Christmas gifts, designing a new outdoor space or writing a short story? Creativity is everywhere!

I like to play in quite a few creative areas. It's a messy life, but it's never boring! Here are a few of my creations.

I'm still knitting a rotini scarf. Yes, I have been working on this scarf for almost two years now, but I love it. The colors of the silk yarn are just gorgeous. I am finally on my second skein, so I am very proud of myself. I'm relearning how to knit--but slowly!

I found my sewing machine under the piles of mending and sewed a quick pillow cover to go with my patio chairs.

I was privileged to share crafting with the group of homeschoolers that comes to my house once a month. They are always an inspiration and with ages ranging from 3 to 13, it's a challenge to find a project that will work for everyone. Here's a windsock that we did last month. Plastic canvas, twine and beads!

Beading--of course! Here's a snippet of a necklace in progress.

And, I've been playing with an assortment of recyclable materials and throwaways to make them into fun crafts. As a designer for magazines, I'm working on designs for Christmas already.

I'd love to hear what you've been up to this summer! I hope you are having a great time stretching your creative muscles!

Happy crafting!

Terry

New link to my book

Good Morning!

Life is a learning experience, and there is so much out there to learn! Blogging is full of such learning experiences and, as I have time, I hope to make my blog a more interesting one.

I've had a jewelry book out for about two years now, and I've now added a link to it. It's Jump Ring Jewelry and was published by Design Originals. It's an introductory look at how to connect beads, chain and links with jump rings. If you are looking for a beginning book on chain mail and jump rings, this book would be a good place to start. It's an easy technique to learn and you can do so much with it.

I've had so much fun with this style of jewelry and whenever I get the time, I learn some new chain mail weaves. There are a mulitude of them, and those that love the craft come up with some very complex designs. This is a collar that I did with twisted jump rings.

This craft can be very addictive, but it has a meditative quality like knitting or crocheting. If you get carried away, you can make a whole suit of armor!
I hope you're learning a new craft this summer!
Happy crafting,
Terry