I Like Making Small

I get teased a lot for my mini yoyos.  People don’t understand why I make small things.  I am not sure I can explain it.  Part of it is that you can finish a project quickly if it is small.  Part of it is the challenge.  And part of it because I just like small things.

What got me started with tiny yoyo – finished size ½ to ¾ inches – was a challenge.  Someone asked “how small can you make a yoyo?”  So I decided to see.  And then, as they say, the rest is history.  I like small yoyos because it uses up small pieces of fabric.  I don’t like to waste even the tiniest of anything.

Well now I am getting teased for a new tiny creation.  I made a necklace out of a mini embroidery hoop.  I have found these wooden pieces that look like a mini embroidery hoop.  But instead of an inner hoop to hold fabric in to stitch, it has a solid wood piece to display the embroidery.  This is where the liking small things comes in.  I had to buy at least one and I did and with using my favorite icon, I made a little heart necklace.

I first learned of these mini hoops by reading a book on embroidery but then I found them at a local craft shop and now I am seeing them online (even on etsy) and in a local quilt shop.  So I bought more and plan on doing more.  The one I used is 1 ½ inch in diameter with a display area of 1 ¼ inch.

But with such a small surface to embroider, you can’t just do any design you want.  Trying out some designs, I have found it has to be very simple.  A lot of detail will be overwhelming in a tiny embroidery surface. It could be a single image like my heart with some tiny addition to it or maybe a star with stripes.  Or a flower made of the lazy daisy stitch or a simple shaped flower like a tulip done in a satin stitch.  I haven’t actually stitched these out yet but when I do, I will share them with you. 

I also noticed with my little heart that how many strands of floss makes a difference.  I used 3 strands for the dark pink outline and close up it actually looks bulky to me.   I used only 2 strands for the French knot and those look like the right size.  So thin embroidery floss or perle cotton is probably the best.  I wouldn’t use crochet thread with this like I might with other projects. 

I should mention here that there are different size hoop, some bigger so you could add a little more detail.  But still you need to watch the amount of detail you put in it.  

One of the advantages of the small size is you can experiment with designs and thread without wasting too much fabric or embroidery floss.  And speaking of fabric, I think a thinner fabric is probably the best.  You don’t want anything too thick because these hoops are easier to break when putting the embroidered piece in the hoop and tightening the screw.

I have been teasing myself that I found a new obsession.  And I think maybe I have since I now carry around a piece of paper with small circles drawn on it to doodle different designs.  I will let you know how the designing goes and then the stitching.  So if you are planning a new project, think small.  It might just be the challenge (and fun) you need.

© 2019  Cheryl E. Fillion

The 8 to 1 Rule

I was reminded recently of an earlier blog I wrote and thought maybe it would be a good idea to repost it. Business studies show that there is an average of 8 negative complaints to every 1 compliment.  This is known as "the 8 to 1 Rule"


It tends to be human nature to complain. Sometimes complaints are constructive.  You want to let a restaurant know if you have gotten sick eating there.  You want a store to know if they have a rude employee.   But complaining just to complain is never helpful.  Negativity has a lot of power.


If you criticize a young artist, even in the area of "helping", you might just stop that young one's art forever.  Without intending to you have silenced that artist's voice.  Where's the benefit in that. 


I once hear a story of a young artist who painted the mountains in his art class a maroon color.  His art teacher, of course, told him that mountains were not maroon.  They were green or brown or snow capped.  That "help" from the teacher stopped his painting.  Years later in New Mexico, he was sitting with a friend watching a sunset reflect along the mountain range.  Guess what color they turned out to be at one point.  That's right - maroon.


When you are trying something new creatively, you will find that you are sensitive to other's comments.  You may have created a wonderful arrangement of things and with one well intended statement from a friend or family member; you now doubt your creation and your ability.


These well intended statements are real sneaky in form.  They may start out with words such as "Don't you think it would be better if...." or "Maybe you should do this or that" or "Have you thought about...”   Often times you have not asked for a critique, or advice, or suggestions.  You have just shown what you have created.


Sometimes you may even find someone who takes the complaint into action and may add some color here or there or rearrange this piece and that piece or rewrites your essay or poem.  Now these folks do not see what they have said or done as criticism or a complaints or even negative.  They are just trying to help.  They want you to succeed and for your creation to look wonderful. 


They just don't see that their help has undermined what you have done.  They can't see your creation from your eyes.  They just see how they would do it.  They didn't see how much you worked on it with possibly sweat and tears.  They may not understand how much your creation is part of you.  To them, it is just an arrangement of things, be they words, colors, or knickknacks.


As you explore your creativity, be sensitive to the creativity and creations of others.  Change your "8 to 1 rule" to be 8 compliments to every 1 complaint.  Don't offer suggestions.  Find something positive to say about it:  "Oh, that is so you." or "I like this or that." or "I would love to see maroon mountains." (you might get an offer of a trip to New Mexico for that one). 


And for goodness sake, don't break one of my mother's rules: "If it is not yours, leave it where it is."  Don't add paint or correct grammar or move one piece of anything.  It is not your creation; so show it the respect you would want your art to receive.


© 2016, 2019 – Cheryl Fillion

 

I am a Reuser

You probably know the phrase “Reduce. Reuse. Recycle”.   Well my grandmother was a reuser before that was a thing.  She didn’t do it to save the environment or put less things in the landfill she did it to save money.  She raised 9 kids during the depression so every penny she could save counted.

Even after all the kids were out of the house, she had a big ball of string and twine that was made from smaller lengths tied together.  If she got a piece of string from something, she would add it to her ball.  She reused aluminum foil. Some of you might remember when TV dinners came in aluminum trays with a piece of foil over the top.  Well, she would save that top foil and reuse it.  She probably reused the aluminum tray but I don’t remember those at her house. I have already mentioned in a blog on embroidery that she would take her empty wooden thread spools and wrap her embroidery floss on it.

She used to make little trash cans (like the kind you would put near your desk) by taking 4 empty egg cartons and stand them on their sides and with the top (where the logo is) facing outward.  Then along the long edges she would, with pieces of yarn, sew them together to make a circle.  And then using round cardboard from my cousin’s take and bake pizza place she would glue this circle of egg cartons to it  And with that you then had a little trash can.  But she wasn’t done.  She would decorate the outside of the ‘trash can’ with pictures from greeting cards she had received.  As a little kid, I thought they were pretty cool.  I am sure my Mom and aunts and uncles didn’t agree but accepted them just to please her.

Well I am also a reuser.  Now I am not raising a big family but I do reuse to save money and to save things from the landfill. If something can be used, why throw it away and go out and buy something new.  I don’t make egg carton trash cans or have a ball of string but if I can find a use for something I will save it.

 I sort my buttons in empty peanut butter jars.  I reuse containers from my margarine.  They are usually big enough for a serving of spaghetti sauce or chili that I put in the freezer.  I am using a tray from a frozen dinner to hold my piece of foam when I needle felt.   I use tin trays from the Danish I buy to keep things like my spool knitted snakes while their googly eyes are drying after I glued them or to sort beads or buttons or mini yoyos.  They are also great as a paint palette.  Remember last year I used a berry basket from the farmer’s market as a summer kid’s craft.  

Well now I have another kid’s craft that reuses items.   If you are a sewer, you end up with empty thread spools.  Here is a fun little doll to make with basically two spools and some yarn.

To start out you need two spools of two different sizes.  The smaller spool will be the head, the bigger spool the body.  Now add together the length of each spool and about 3 inches, then double that length.  This yarn will be strung through the spools and part of it will be the legs.  

Now with a darning needle or a plastic kid’s needle, thread the yarn through one of the holes at the end of the big spool.  Now go up through one hole of the small spool. 

 Now that the thread is through both spools, thread it back down using another hole.  If you have a spool that has only one hole, you might want to thread the yarn through a button or a big bead before you put it through the hole, this keeps it from unthreading. 

Once you have it through both spools a second time, knot it together.  Again if you are using spools with one hole, add a button or a bead here to hold the yarn in place.  Then at the end of the yarn, tie a knot to be the little ‘feet’. 

Take another piece of yarn about 6 inches and tie it between the two spools, knot each end again for ‘hands’. 

With another 6 inches of yarn loop it through the yarn at the top of the small spool and make a knot at the end.   This is to either hang the doll or if a child’s (or adult’s) finger is through the yarn you can make the doll dance.  It also gives the look of hair. 

You can use any length yarn for body, the arms and the top loop but this is the minimum length I recommend.  If you make it so the legs and arms are longer it does give the doll a sillier look when you make it dance.

Now you can decorate the doll.  I usually use a mail label or a sticker on the small spool to make a face.  And you can glue fabric, or use decorative tape to the big spool for clothes.  You could add another mail label and let them decorate it.  If you are working with small children it is easier to let them decorate it before you put it on the doll.  It is hard sometimes to draw on a curved surface.

©2019 Cheryl Fillion

Take a Break

This summer I have an opportunity to teach a class at the college where I work that I haven’t taught in 10 years.  It is General Psychology, basically an introductory course.  I like General Psych because it covers a little bit of everything: the brain, the neuron, human development, learning, intelligence, memory psychological disorder, well, you get the picture.

But because it has been so long since I have taught it that means there was a new textbook.  So that means new lecture notes, new power point slides, and new exams.  So I have been studying.  I joke that my textbook is my new best friend.  I take it everywhere.  If I can get a couple of minutes to read it, I do.  While I enjoy recreating my lectures, it is taking up a lot of time.

But I have learned something in this process: you have to take a break. So even though it meant taking me away from my preparation, I made sure I did some needle work.  (If you read my last three blogs, you will know what needle work I mean).  It was the best thing I could have ever done for myself.

Taking time to do some needlework let me take a break from the very cognitive work of preparing a course (we also cover cognition in my class.  haha).  It let me think about something else and do something a bit more physical with my hands than just typing.   It actually felt like a mini-vacation (or stay-cation).  I usually spent an evening while watching TV doing my embroidery. 

It is good to change up the routine once in a while.  It gives you a new perspective with whatever it is you are doing.  When I went back to my class preparation after some stitching, I was more energized and I actually found I was able to concentrate more on the preparation.  And it helped me come up with new ideas on how to present the information from the textbook.

So remember when you are working on a big project, take some time to be creative.  It may seem like you are getting off track for your goals, but it will help in the long run.

©2019 Cheryl E. Fillion