It’s Resolutions Time

Well it’s the end of another year.  Where did it go?  I feel like it just started.  Now is the time we traditionally make resolutions for the next year. Usually our resolutions are to stop doing something like smoking or over eating but sometimes a resolution is a goal, a plan to do something.

I like making the second type of resolutions.    I like setting goals, making plans.  Sometimes my plan making is more fun than the actual event itself.  And again this year my resolutions are goals.

I want more music in my life.  Not in the way of learning an instrument – although you never know – but just in listening to more music and watching less news.  The last couple of days with Christmas music and holiday movies pushed the news off my TV and radio.  I have noticed a difference, a more upbeat difference in my mood.  

I definitely want to do more of the needlework my life is filled up with already.  I always tell people if I could figure out how to do my needlework while lecturing my classes, it would be perfect.  (The big problem is not me.  I can multi-task.  I just have a feeling my students would be watching what I am doing and not taking notes.  Not good for their grades.).

I definitely want to take more needle work classes.  Not sure in what yet.  I didn’t know at the beginning of this year that an art quilt class would be a high-light of the year so who knows what this upcoming year will bring. 

And speaking of art quilts, I want to do more of those.  The class I took included using paint on fabric.  At first I thought, no not for me but then the idea started to grow on me.  So one gift idea I gave to my brother was paint and sponge brushes; which were both under my tree.  I can’t let his gift go to waste so I will be playing with paint and fabric this year. (I’ll let you know how it goes.)

I want to read more just for pleasure.  You would be surprised at the ideas you can get from reading a novel or a mystery (my favorite type of books).  And read more biographies; there are so many people in the world to inspire us by their example.

So those are my resolutions for 2019.  What are yours going to be?  I hope they include needle work, creativity, and most of all, fun.  Happy New Year!!!!!

© 2018  Cheryl Fillion

Holiday Greetings

I am writing this the week before Christmas.  If you are like me, you are busy with holiday preparations.

I like this time of year with the decorations, the lights, the wishing each other (including strangers) a Merry Christmas or a Happy Holiday.  Everyone seems friendlier and homes and streets are dressed up and cheery.  We need more of that in the world these days.

I just wanted to take time to wish you a Merry Christmas and a Happy New Year.  I hope your holiday includes a lot of creativity in gifts or decorating, that you try something new maybe a recipe or a different way to dress up your tree, and you take time to care for yourself in all the holiday busyness (I bought myself some new embroidery threads for a little stitching during this holiday break).

So once again, Merry Christmas and Happy New Year.

Unplugged

I learned something about myself recently; I spend too much time at my computer.

Now it is true a lot of my work involves a computer. I have college classes where much of the grading is done on a computer, my online Etsy business and of course, this blog. But there are times when I am just surfing the net or looking up things in my personal files or playing solitaire and I spend more time on doing those things than I need.

My computer needed some repair work done so I was without it for a couple of days.  Since I don’t have a laptop, tablet or smart phone, I was basically unplugged.

I usually check my emails first thing in the morning.  In fact I often eat my breakfast with my email. But with my computer gone, I enjoyed what I was eating more.  I could concentrate on the taste of the food rather than just putting the fork or spoon in my mouth. I found there were times I would think “I need to look such and such up” and would go to my computer only then to remember it wasn’t there.  I apparently look up things a lot and knowing me I would have stayed on the computer after looking up what ever that such and such was, probably looking more things up.

I finished a lot of things while off the computer.  Got more reading done.  Actually wrote the first version of this blog in long hand (and that is a first for this blog).  Since I didn’t have my computer, I didn’t need to sit at my desk and my back thanked me for that.

Now this doesn’t mean I am going to give up my computer totally as I mentioned above I need it for much of my work (and in full disclosure I didn’t give up the computer entirely.  I did go to the library to use their computers once a day so I could check on my students and customers.)

But I can make a conscious effort to walk away from the computer when emails are read and assignments graded.  If I need to look something up or check out Facebook, do it maybe in the evening when I’m watching TV and even then limit my time.  I can get a lot more non-electronic work done if I just unplug myself more.

Do you find yourself at the computer or on your smart phone more than you need?  What could you accomplish if you put down the electronics?  Think about it.  You don’t have to give it up entirely (and shouldn’t if it involves your business) but maybe a little less of it wouldn’t hurt.  I am going to add less computer time to my New Year’s Resolutions.  Well, I will as soon as I create a page in my personal file for resolutions.

©2018  Cheryl E. Fillion

The Legend Of A Christmas Spider

This is one of my favorite Christmas legends and I decided to post the story again.  Did you know that in the Ukraine it is not unusual for a family to do a thorough cleaning of their house for the Christ child's visit?  But if you come across a spider web do not destroy it. 

There is a legend that many years ago a woman was cleaning her house for Christmas and banished even the spiders away.  After everyone was in bed, the spiders came back to see the decorated tree and as they wandered along the branches they spun a web.

When the Christ child came to this house he saw the web and loved it, for he loved even the lowest creature.  He knew the woman of the house wouldn’t like it and so upon touching the web it turned to silver and gold.  So in the Ukraine, you are likely to see a spider among the decorations of a tree.

I enjoy that legend so much I make fabric yoyo spiders for my tree.  They are quick and easy ornaments to make.

You need a little fabric; the amount depends on how big you want the finished yoyo to be.  Remember from my yoyo tutorial, the fabric you cut must be 2 time +1/2” bigger than the finished yoyo.   So cut your fabric to the size you need and sew it up.

unsewn fabric

yoyo made

                     

Once it is sewn, you now have the body of the spider.   The yoyo hole will be the front of the spider (it makes it look a bit like a mouth).

Flat side of yoyo

yarn legs added

      

Turn the yoyo to the flat side; this is where you will glue the legs.  You can use pipe cleaners or yarn to be the leg.  Make them however long you want them to be. I cut them in one length and sew them across the back to each end is sticking out the side of the yoyo. You will need 4 pieces so the spider will have 8 legs.

Eyes added

Turn the yoyo around so the hole is facing up and glue two tiny beads, buttons or googly eyes above the hole for the eyes

Hanging loop added

Add a string loop at the top and you now have a Christmas yoyo spider.

© 2016, 2018  Cheryl Fillion

Celebrate Christmas All Month Long

I really love Christmas.  I tend to go all out.  I start playing my Christmas music before Thanksgiving.  I get out the books I have on Christmas customs and traditions and reread why we do the things we do.  I try to make my yearly ornaments to give out in early December.  I try to make the holiday last as long as I can.   

While looking for a celebration to write about this month besides Christmas, I found there are all kinds of days in December set aside to get you ready for the big holiday itself.

December 6^th is St. Nicholas Day.  In some parts of Europe and even here in the States, this is the day when St Nicholas (Santa Claus) comes for an early visit.  There actually was a St. Nicholas who was an Archbishop in Turkey back in the 5^th century.  He became the patron saint of boys and December 6^th is his birthday and on this day he is known for bringing little gifts for the good children, and sticks for the bad. 

If you are Christmas Card sender, December 9^th is Christmas Card Day.  If you haven’t gotten your cards yet, this might be a good day.  Or maybe this is the day to make cards.  Wouldn’t Grandma prefer a hand made card from the little ones than a store bought one?

Poinsettias, considered the flower of Christmas, have their own day on December 12^th.  So make sure you get out to your favorite garden store to pick out your festive plant.  December 14^th is Roast Chestnuts Day.  If you are not much of a chestnut person, how about picking up those other nuts you might eat.  A favorite part of Christmas growing up was going to the local grocers to get our bag of mixed nuts (only available this time of year).  They would have bins of unshelled nuts.  My favorite then and now were the walnuts.

And what is Christmas without the cookies.  Well, December 18^th is set aside just to get those holiday sweets completed for Santa’s visit with Bake Cookies Day.  And so you don’t forget that tree, Look for an Evergreen Day is December 19^th.  And while you are getting ready, why not take a break on December 20^th and celebrate Go Caroling Day.

If by now in the month you are bogged down with shopping and decorating and feeling a bit overwhelmed, there is a day for you to go ahead and just feel a little like Scrooge.  December 21^st is Humbug Day.  Just don’t let it last more than a day.

And finally on December 24^th, hopefully all the preparations are done and you can sit back and enjoy a little eggnog for it is not just Christmas Eve but also National Egg Nog Day.

If you are one who likes to have Christmas last as long as you can, go ahead and celebrate it all month long.  And Merry Christmas to you.

©2018 Cheryl Fillion

Creativity in your Holiday Shopping

After attending the International Quilt Show in Houston recently, I was reminded that all the quilters who made those beautiful quilts had to start somewhere and so I decided to repost a blog from last year about adding a little creativity to your Christmas shopping.  You never know what you may start.

What do I mean by Creativity?  I mean make sure you buy someone you love some art supplies, craft supplies, or a craft kit or two.  You never know what life long love you will start in a young child or help someone older continue to enjoy a lifelong love.  You might even help a future artist or quilter end up in an international exhibit.

There are all kinds of activities out there from model airplanes and cars to assemble to adult coloring books.  The other day I saw a kit to paint a set of nesting dolls (I almost bought it for myself).  There are looms of every kind and step by step books to do all kinds of needlework.  And of course you could provide the supplies for one of the crafts I have done a tutorial on and show them this blog.

And also consider a gift of music or dance.  Either provide some future performer with lessons or an instrument or take them to a holiday concert or ballet.  I bet there is a Nutcracker Ballet going on somewhere near your hometown this time of year. Going to a performance is a memory both of you can share.  I still remember going to a simple children’s Christmas concert at a local junior high with my mother when I was visiting her one holiday.

So add a little creativity to your holiday shopping by giving a gift of creativity in whatever form your heart desires. You can never give too much. Happy Shopping!!

©2017, 2018 - Cheryl Fillion

I Went to the Houston Quilt Show

Last week a group of quilters from our local quilt guild rented a bus and went to the International Quilt Show in Houston, Texas.  I hadn’t been in years and even went into training to prepare myself.  (Training?  - yeah, I did more walking to get ready for the walking I would do at the Convention Center. hahaha).

I am so glad I did.  There were over 1000 quilts and hundreds of vendors.  All of it was inspiring and overwhelming.  The quilts were magnificent; definitely the best of the best of quilting. (for copyright reasons I can’t post any pictures.)  They came from all over the world.  I saw quilts from Japan, China, and South Africa as well as quilts from my state of Texas.  You could just be walking along and hear languages from all over the world.   It is truly an international event.

I was inspired by what I saw.  The use of color and imagery was amazing.  There were a lot of special theme exhibits.  One was having to do with Mother Earth, another with Elvis Presley and a group of wall hangings from South Africa.    The different interpretations of each theme were astonishing.  It just shows how diverse people are in their thinking and quilting. 

There were a lot of traditional quilts that made you say Wow when you saw them (I said wow a lot).  And lots of abstract art quilts and pictorial quilts.  Some of the picture quilts looked like photographs until you got up close and saw that they were fabric and thread.  There was a group of thread painted quilts that really did look like photos.  In fact friends I have shown my pictures to can’t believe they are not photos. Look up thread painting on the internet and you will see what I mean.

At times I would think “Just hang up your needle and thread, Cheryl.  You will never be that good.”  But when I would see another different design or color scheme, I realized all quilts are wonderful and all quilts need to be included even my own.

I am new at the craft of art quilts.  I told my brother after seeing these quilts, I now want to try and see what I can do. And that is what quilt shows are all about.  Not just to put a quilter’s work on display but to inspire other quilters to keep on quilting and strive to be the best. 

If you go to a big quilt show like this, go with a friend or friends.  It is much more fun to share the experience.  You don’t have to look at the quilts together; everyone looks at art at a different pace.  But generally sharing the experience together makes it more memorable.  I will remember the bus trip there and back as much as the show itself.

And dress for comfort not fashion.  You will be standing and walking a lot so you might as well be comfortable.  If you want to buy food there and not carry a lunch, go for it.  But I had a feeling there was going to be long lines at any food area so I brought my own water and sandwich.  I didn’t want to waste any time waiting in a line when I could be looking at quilts.

I am trying to use the supplies I have so I didn't buy much but I have to say the vendors were amazing.  If that is what you like to do the most at the quilts shows, bring a totebag to put your purchase bags in.  You don’t want to be worrying about dropping or leaving behind some purchase because you can’t hold on to all the bags holding your treasures. 

And most definitely watch your money.  This is just the place for those who can slip their hand in a purse and walk away with your wallet without you knowing.  I brought a purse with a flap that covered up the opening and kept that flap toward my body when it was on my shoulder.  One friend wore a jacket with breast pockets and that is where she kept her money and credit cards.  She said it did get warm with the jacket on but she didn’t mind as long as her money was safe.

And I joked at the start of this blog that I went into training but I have to tell you, I am so glad I increased my walking time before the quilt show.  I started off with short walks in August and gradually increase the time and distance.  I have done quilts shows before and have come home so sore I could barely get out of bed the next day.  But not this time.  Oh my feet were sore but not hurting.  And my back has felt better since I have been walking more.  (Now just don’t tell my doctor it was the quilt show and not her medical advice that got me walking more.)

My advice to you is if you have a chance to go to a big quilt show and especially if someone else is driving, GO!  It is well worth the time, the money and you will be so inspired to do some more quilting.

©2018  Cheryl Fillion

Be Grateful For…

November is when here in the States we celebrate Thanksgiving.  It is a day developed to be thankful for the harvest and the good growing season.  It has become a day of wonderful food, family and friends, parades and football.  November also has become a month where people put on their social media the items in their life they are grateful for.

I have mentioned before in this blog that I teach at a local college.  For many years I gave an assignment called the Gratitude Inventory (I still use it occasionally when someone needs some extra credit).  The assignment was to “Make a list of 20 things for which you are grateful.  Think about your family, friends, and talents as topics of gratitude.  Look at your life.  Respond to something in the news or the course content that you are grateful happened or didn’t happen to you.  Gratitude does not have to be something dramatic and life changing.  You might just be grateful that it is Friday.”

It was a great assignment and often the students would comment that they would continue   doing Gratitude Inventories because it reminded them of the good they had in their lives.  What would you put on the list if you had this assignment?

I decided today to give me this assignment.  So here is my Gratitude Inventory:

1- My health

2- My brothers

3- My parents

4- My home

5- A heater when it is cold

6- Air Conditioning when it is hot

7- My friends

8- My fish

9- My fingers

10- My eyesight

11- My hearing

12- My tastebuds

13- My job

14- Clean water

15- My embroidery ability

16- My needle felting

17- My spool knitting

18- My Etsy shop Heartfully Cheryl

19- My blog Heartfully Cheryl

20- That it is Friday.

© 2018 Cheryl Fillion

 

Cook Something Bold Day

Cook something Bold Day?  Sound’s interesting, doesn’t it?  This year Cook Something Bold Day is November 8^th. 

Now cooking something bold is really in the eye of the beholder or should I say the tastebuds of the beholder.  What is bold to one person might not be bold to another.  And what one would consider bold might be bland to someone else.

So what would you cook if you wanted to be bold?   Something spicy?  Something pungent?   Now it doesn’t necessary mean that you create something with disgusting ingredients intended to make people sick to their stomach.  Actually one description of the holiday suggested an original dish with new uses of herbs and garlic and maybe some hot pepper.

You want to make something that is edible but with a taste you have never tried before.  How about some Indian food or Mexican with lots of jalapenos?  If you are not one to do spicy food, how about using some vegetables you have never tried before like asparagus or an artichoke?  Or maybe trying cooking some fish, if you have never done that before.  Or just trying a new twist with an old recipe.

The fun part of this day is to use your creativity to determine what you consider bold.  So get out your cookbooks and look for something bold and tasty.

© 2018 Cheryl Fillion

Buying at a Market or Craft sale

 As I get ready to sell some of my creations at a local craft show, I thought about this post I published last year.  I thought I’d post it again for those of you getting ready to shop at local craft or holiday sales.

If the craft sale is big and you will be doing a lot of walking, forget fashion.  Dress comfortably.  And if the sale is in the summer, dress cool.  Remember to wear shoes meant for walking.

If you are going to be there a while especially in the summer, bring something to drink.  Make sure it has a cover on it, so it doesn’t spill on anyone.  And ask before you put a drink on a vendor table.  The last thing you want to do is have your sticky sweet drink spill all over a vendor’s product, especially product that cannot easily be cleaned like fiber or fabric. Remember this product is the livelihood of the artist.

Know that not all vendors will have credit card capacity, so if you are planning on buying something expensive or a lot of items, bring enough cash and maybe your checkbook (many vendors will accept checks if they cannot do credit or debit cards.). And remember to bring small bills.  Most vendors will have enough cash on hand to make change but if you hand them a $100 bill and you are purchasing something for $5 or $10 that could wipe out their available cash.

If you have children with you, watch out for little fingers.  Lots of things craft vendors sell are bright, shiny and colorful; so tempting for little eyes to see and little fingers to grab.  And this is too where you want to watch for sticky fingers.  One little boy at my craft booth thought the fleece fish toys (for cats) were nice.  So nice, he took every one of them out of the basket they were displayed in.  When his mother asked what he was doing, his answer: “Going fishing”.  His response was cute, even to me the vendor,  but not if he had chocolate ice cream all over his fishing fingers.

The same idea goes if you bring your dog to the market, watch them as well.  Small shiny colorful items can look like food to them.  One gulp and you are on your way to the emergency vet. And don’t blame the vendor; it is not their fault they are selling something attractive to your pet.  Also remember that not everyone loves your pet as much as you do.  You will find people, including vendors, who will avoid your dog’s friendliness.  Maybe they have had a bad encounter with a dog so they are afraid or maybe, and most importantly, they are allergic.  I like dogs and cats but get me near one and I start sneezing and wheezing.

Remember if buying at a craft market that you are not just buying the material in the craft or art work but the labor as well.  Yes, artists and craftspeople enjoy, even love, what they do but they are also trying to pay the bills.  You might be able to buy a similar item in a store but it will be machine manufactured not hand crafted.  I will admit I am biased when I say; hand crafted is much more valuable.

If you know how to do a particular craft, know that not all people do things the same way. Don’t consider a knitted shawl, for example, is inferior just because an artist uses a different stitch or yarn than what you would use. So in other words, don’t criticize the artist’s work.

Selling at a market isn’t easy for the vendor but it makes it worth it when you, the buyer, want something hand crafted and one of a kind. So if you get a chance, go shop at a market. And thank them for the work they do.

 

©2017 , 2018 Cheryl Fillion

 

What Would You Do If You Could Not Fail

There is a quote attributed to Dr. Robert Schuller (the late pastor and motivational speaker) that I have always loved: “What would you attempt to do if you knew you could not fail?”  What would you do?  Well recently I decided to stretch a little and I took an art quilt class. 

I would not consider myself an abstract quilt or art type person.  I like quilts to look like a picture or a quilt block.  I have trouble with mixed media projects.  I do collages but there still seems to be a theme to my collages. With a lot of abstract art, I don’t see an image or a theme.

So when a quilt artist came to our quilt guild and taught a class, I decided to try it. What I really liked about her quilts is the use of embroidery in them.  Embroidery is what started my needle work history with a crewel embroidery kit of a squirrel at the age of 9 and embroidery seems to be where I am returning now some years later. 

I bought her book ahead of the class and was reading it for the third time by the time of the class took place.  Well the book and the class showed me there was no way to fail.  She gives you guidelines, not rules, not shoulds or shouldn’ts, not a step by step process.  And what she would ask us as she went around the room was: What is your thought here and Do YOU like it?  She would make suggestions and it was OK if you didn’t accept them.  It was your art quilt. 

She also started out small.  We worked on 6 inch art quilts not a big wall hanging.  So if you didn’t like what you were doing, you could easily start over. Or if you didn’t like the whole process, you didn’t feel like you were wasting a lot of fabric or money or time (always a concern for me).  And it was easier to envision the guidelines she gave on a smaller scale.

Sometimes you have to take a chance and try something new.  It is easier in a class and I think after this, easier if you start out small.  I wrote in my first blog to begin small.  You want to paint, paint one color.  You don’t have to start with a mural.  When I taught quilting, I started with a table matt.  I had a design that gave all the parts of a big quilt (a block, lattice strips, border, quilting and binding) but it was only 18 inches square. This way if you decided you didn’t like quilting, you weren’t committed to a king size quilt.

And while my opening quote asks “What would you attempt to do if you knew you could not fail?”, it is OK  to try something and not like it afterward.  I tried embroidery on paper recently.  I love embroidery but to do it on card stock, you have to poke a lot of holes to prepare the cardstock for the embroidery.  That I decided was not for me.   But I don’t think of it as a failure, I tried something new and learned a little about me (I don’t like poking holes in card stock).  You have to try something to know if you like it and that in itself is a success.  You can’t succeed or learn something new if you don’t try.

So ask yourself this “What would YOU attempt to do if you knew you could not fail?” 

©2018 Cheryl E. Fillion

Spool Knitted Pumpkin

I posted this a couple of years ago.  Since I love spool knitting and pumpkins so much, I thought I would share it with you again.  This would be a great holiday gift to give or get your kids to give.

I like decorating for all holidays (I go crazy over board at Christmas) but for some reason I really like putting out pumpkins and Jack O’Lanterns for Halloween and Thanksgiving.

Since I have been talking about spool knitting in this blog, I decided I needed a new pumpkin decoration.  This also give me a chance to show how to change colors while spool knitting.

So I pulled out my bigger spool knitter and started knitting with green yarn for the stem of the pumpkin. Now I could finish off the knitting (as described in the blog post ‘Spool Knitting Tutorial’) and then later sewn it to the orange cording for the pumpkin body. 

Start stem

But I wanted a continuous cord for this ornament.

 This means I have to change color while knitting.  It is easy to do.   When you have the amount of color cording you want ( I knitted about 1 ½ inches), cut the yarn coming from your skein about 3 inches.   Make sure the yarn doesn’t come off the pegs. 

Green in knitter

Lay your next color next to the yarn you just cut and tie the two colored yarn together with a simple over hand knot .  Now continue knitting as before. 



adding orange yard

knot two colors together

When the knot gets to the knitting, I usually take my knitting tool and push the knot into the center of the cord so it is hidden.

close up of knot

When I think I have enough coil, I usually make whatever shape I am planning just to make sure I have knitted enough but I don’t sew it yet.  If I need to do a little more, I do.  I finish off the coil and remove it from the knitter.

Measure Size

To make my pumpkin, I start making a round shape starting with the end of the orange part of the coil. I fold the edge over maybe ¾” and start stitching at the fold.  I do use a pin to hold the fold together and once I have it stitched, I remove the pin.

Start pumpkin

You can sew the coil together with the yarn you used or regular sewing thread that matches the color of the yarn.  For me the thread is easier to control and if it matches the color, it will blend in with the yarn. (For these pictures I am going to use a darker thread so you can see how I stitch it.) 

I don’t sew right along the edge but try to hide my stitches in the area between coils.  As I stitch I just keep rolling the coil in shape until I get a nice round shape.

Close up of start

Make sure your needle goes through both sides of the area being sewn.  In other words catch with the needle the coil already sewn in the shape you are making and then in the coil being added to the shape.

close up of stitch

Another close up of stitch

Continue sewing until you come to the end of the orange part of the knitted cord.  The green part I started with will be the stem of the pumpkin so that won’t be sewn down as with the orange.  This needs to stick up.  If for some reason the stem doesn’t stay up, you can sew a couple of tack stitches right at the base of the stem to stabilize it (right where the pin is.) But remember not all pumpkin stems are straight. J 

Finished Pumpkin

So here is our finished pumpkin.  It is about 5” wide by 5”  high (6 ½” if you include the stem. It can be used as a coaster or just a table decoration or string some yarn though the stem and hang it from a Halloween tree (if you do that) or on the wall.

©2016. 2018 Cheryl Fillion

October is Breast Cancer Awareness Month

October is Breast Cancer Awareness Month.  Honor a cancer survivor and make a donation to your favorite cancer charity.

Here are some ribbon items in my shop.  Proceeds from the sale of these items goes to the American Cancer Society’s Relay for Life.  This is an event I participate in every year with friends and students.

Do something this month to support a breast cancer survivor (survivors are also those women who are going through treatment.)  Donate in their name.  Take them out to lunch.  Treat them to a spa day or a manicure.  Ask them what they might need.

Cancer is a horrible disease.  Support your local cancer charity to help find a cure.

 Yoyo Pink Ribbon

Pink Needlefelted Ribbon Ornament

Pink Needle felted Ribbon Magnet

I am showing the pink ones here but I also have needle felted awareness ribbons in various colors.

© 2017. 2018 – Cheryl Fillion

Wear Something Gaudy Day

On October 17, don’t wear your usual colors or style.  Instead go gaudy. After all it is Wear Something Gaudy Day.

Gaudy usually means bright and flashy and maybe tasteless and tacky.  Now gaudy is also one of those terms that is in the eye of the beholder.  I have a flamingo blouse that I love to wear.  I think it is wonderful and makes me smile.  My mother might have thought it was gaudy.

So on this day; get a bit more colorful in your dress.  Wear a neon color (even if it is just a handkerchief in your breast pocket).  Or maybe buy yourself some wild socks.  It is OK to gaudy in secret if it could cause problems at work. 

Wear something that sparkles and glitters.  Add some bling to your clothes like some rhinestones.   Or try one of those pins that have fake diamonds in it or are just big and bright.

Whatever you and those around you might think is outrageous, wear it.  Maybe make a pact with those you work with to all dress gaudy so no one will stand out and everyone will have a good laugh about it.

Whatever you do, do it gaudily. But most of all have fun.

©2018 Cheryl Fillion

I Love Pumpkins

 I  saw pumpkins at the grocery this week and couldn’t resist reposting the blog.  I can’t help it.  I love pumpkins.


I think my favorite fall icon/symbol/item is the pumpkin.  My Thanksgiving table always has a pumpkin pie.  I roast the pumpkin seeds from my Jack O’Lanterns.  And even though there are no children in my household, Halloween wouldn’t be Halloween without a carved pumpkin.

pumpkin seeds

Jack O'Lantern

And of course I make lots of pumpkin quilts, coasters, needle felted ones.  If it has a pumpkin on it, I am probably going to try and make it.

Last year I had a blog post entitled Spool Knitted Pumpkin  which showed how to make a spool knitted pumpkin coaster.  Check it out if you like to spool knit. (Spool knitted pumpkin)  And I bet crocheters could figure out how to make something similar.

Spool knitted pumpkin

I have also used pumpkins with the kids crafts I do at the farmers market.  I traced a pumpkin cookie cutter onto card stock and let the kids decorate it with orange pompoms.  (Check out the blog post: Cookie Cutters Aren’t Just For Cookies )    

pompom pumpkin

Lately I have been making needle felted pumpkins.  Using cookie cutters as a form, I have made some ornaments for Halloween and Thanksgiving. How to do this is in the blog post Needle Felting in a Cookie Cutter.  Just switch out a pumpkin cookie cutter for the bunny. 



Needlefelted pumpkin

I haven't even mentioned pumpkin pies or pumpkin bread or pumpkin soup.  What can I say I LOVE pumpkins.

© 2017, 2018 Cheryl Fillion

Fabric stuffed pumpkins



Creativity in a Coffee Shop

Recently I went to a coffee shop for a political candidate meet and greet.  This coffee shop has been around for years but since I am neither a coffee or tea drinker, I never found the need to go.  I even had to look online as to where it actually was. which it turned out not far from my home.

I was intrigued with the art work on the wall, much of it for sale.  The little tables and chairs were individually painted (my favorite chair had jigsaw puzzle fabric on the seat and the back and the legs were colorfully painted to match the fabric). 

I did learn that they also sell Italian sodas which is carbonated water with flavored syrups (and I was promised had only a small amount of sugar in them)  I love Italian sodas but don’t always find them.  They remind me of the Shirley Temple drinks I would get as a kid at family weddings.

When I got home that night and thought about the sodas and artwork, I wondered if that was a place to go to when I just wanted to get out of the house.  I am the type who is more likely to try something new if I find it is good for me (It is similar to when I don’t feel good.  I am more likely to slow down if I am running a fever with my sniffly nose than if I am just sneezing.  It could just be allergies but with a fever, I am sick).

So I looked up the benefits of going to a coffee shop.  What I found was that a visit to a coffee shop can actually increase your creativity particularly if you are doing something while there.  That is why you see a lot of students finishing their term papers there.  It’s not the coffee (although I am sure the caffeine helps a bit) or the people you might be with; it is the noise.

Solitude and quiet are helpful for some things that need concentration like doing those dreaded taxes.  But the noise of a busy coffee shop (or even your TV) is just right for creativity.  On the opposite end of the noise scale having a blender running or a garbage deposal is too loud and too distracting.  It is that sweet spot in between silence and NOISE that helps bring out creativity.

Not all creativity would work in a coffee shop.  As a quilter, I couldn’t set up my cutting board and rotary cutter and sewing machine.  But as a needle felter, I could bring my wool and needle.  It would work great for writers or people who create art on their computer.  Maybe sketching out a plan for a quilt would work great at a coffee shop.  Doing something that does not take a lot of space or make a lot of mess would work.

Even just people watching could inspire a story or an art piece.  Looking at what people wear could give ideas for a sweater, a shirt or a color combination.  Listening to what others at another table are talking about could bring in new ideas.

Sometimes just getting out of the house or the studio helps refresh those brain cells to look at something a little different.  Plus if you get a coffee or an Italian soda or a pastry, you are supporting a local business (and with the pastry a baker who are also artists).

So check out a local coffee shop or meeting place and see what is happening. You might see something new, hear something interesting and increase your creativity.  And, of course, taste something wonderful.  If nothing else, your taste buds will be happy.

©2018 Cheryl Fillion

Beginnings

It was two years ago this month that I started this blog.  I thought I would celebrate by reposting the blog post that started it all.  It was a nice reminder of how I got started.

I have come across two philosophers in my life who have the best advice ever for people exploring their creativity.  The first was a German poet and scientist by the name of Johann Wolfgang Von Goethe who wrote "Whatever you can do, or dream you can, begin it. Boldness has genius, power and magic in it." (That quote gives me goosebumps.)

The second philosopher was my nephew, Alex, at the age of five who, when I asked him how we were to make a housecleaning robot he wanted to give his father for Christmas, very blunted told me that "You just do it, Auntie Cheryl." 

Both wise men had a point.  If there is something you want to do, you will never know whether you can do it until you begin it.  Is there some creative technique you want to try but are afraid to?  Just dive in.

Now it is okay to start at the shallow end (sorry, it is hot outside and water metaphors seem cooling to me somehow right now.).  Dip your toes in.  Paint a page of just one color. One color can express any emotion. Write one line to start a poem.  One line can say a lot (Alex had a lot to say with his one line and it has stuck with me for 23 years.)  Sing one note.  A continuous note can be very relaxing to the diaphragm.

Just begin it. Don't jump from the high dive. Don't plan a gallery show yet.  Don't figure out your office at the Library of Congress for when you are considered the next Poet Laureate.  And the Grammy nominations are already made for this year.  So relax.  All you are doing is beginning.

And beginnings are wonderful.  There is mystery in them - you aren't quite sure what will happen next.   And there is an adventure in them - traveling to a new area of your heart.   And the excitement of them - you actually did whatever it is you were wanting to begin.

You have had beginnings all of your life.  You survived all of those  - school, college, work, marriage, family.  You can survive this one.  But you have to just begin. As Alex said, "You just do it, Auntie Cheryl."  Who can argue with that?

© 2016, 2018 – Cheryl Fillion

I Wouldn’t Do That

I have written before about trying new creative things.  But have you ever thought about just trying something, anything new.

I teach psychology at a local college.  For years I had an assignment called “I wouldn’t Do That”.  The idea was for students to try something they said they would never do.  I wanted them to get out of their comfort zone. 

My students did all kinds of things that they wouldn’t normally do.  The big one was trying sushi.  Every year I had at least one student who would try sushi.  Of all those students, only one ever said he would eat it again.  And that is OK; at least the others tried something new.

Other students would try another restaurant like Chinese or Thai.  Some students would go to a restaurant alone and found they enjoyed their food more since they did not have to talk to others.  There were also a couple of students who made a meal for their friends and found they were great cooks.

Another popular one was giving up their electronics for a day.  They turned off their phone and computers.  You would be surprised what you can get done when you unplug.  You can actually have a conversation with someone face to face.

Other students were more adventurous. I had one that took a hot air balloon ride, another who sky dived (with an instructor).  Some would travel to another city. 

 I had students who went to a church of  a domination different from theirs.  Some would go to a play or symphony concert or a sporting event.  One student wondered why she had never gone to a basketball game before.  She found it was fun.

What would you do?  Is there anything you have said “ Oh I would never do…”  How about trying it?  You don’t have to do it alone, find someone else who would like to be adventurous or maybe even supportive of you.  I remember one student had never gone swimming in a lake.  She wanted her children to have that experience and was afraid they wouldn’t do it if she didn’t.  So that was her project.  She thought it felt funny with the sand beneath her toes and little fish swimming around but she did it.  And hopefully her kids are enjoying lake swimming now as well.

So this week, go try something you have never done before or would never think you would.  You can start off small like turning off your phone.  But just start somewhere.

 

  ©2018- Cheryl Fillion