I met a creative soul this week. Her name is Stella. She works at the D’Vine Yarn Shop in Shipshewana. Stella has been knitting for three years and just recently started reading patterns. Before she started with patterns, she followed her creative side in the knitting process. She showed me beautiful scarves made with different textures of yarn, different colors, different patterns—all in the same scarf!! She even embroidered pictures on them—all without a pattern! WOW!
Stella has given my creative side a major boost. She told me she thinks outside the box. There is no denying that! It’s obvious in all she makes. So beautiful!
She’s given me the freedom to try some things of my own. It may not turn out as beautiful as her creations, but it will be fun trying!
I want to do the same thing with my writing. “Think outside the box.” I don’t know what that means for me right now, but I’ll get there.
How about you? Are you working on something and you’ve hit a rough or boring patch, not sure where to go from here? A craft project? A family concern? How to handle your teenager? Think outside the box. God gave us our creativity. I have no doubt there’s so much more we can do with it!
If you need help maybe our collective brains can come up with something creative to help you out. J
In the meantime, I’m working on a shawl made with Mohair yarn. The yarn is so tiny and my fingers are, well, not. But it will be worth the struggle when I’m finished. Sooooo delicate!
What are you working on?
Labels: creativity, freedom, knitting, outside the box
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Colleen Coble writes romantic suspense with a strong atmospheric element. A lovable animal of some kind--usually a dog--always populates her novels. She can be bribed with DeBrand mocha truffles.
Denise Hunter writes women's fiction and love stories with a strong emotional element. Her husband says he provides her with all her romantic material, but Denise insists a good imagination helps too.
Diann Hunt writes romantic comedy and humorous women's fiction. She has been happily married forever, loves her family, chocolate, her friends, chocolate, her dog, and well, chocolate.
Cheryl Hodde writes romantic medical suspense under the pen name of Hannah Alexander, using all the input she can get from her husband, Mel, for the medical expertise. For fun she hikes and reads. Out of guilt, she rescues discarded cats. She and Mel are presently taking orders from four pampered strays.
13 Comments:
I used to knit, crochet and quilt. That all went by the wayside when I started writing and a new obsession took over. LOL It never relaxed me though. I wanted it to be perfect so my shoulders were always tense when I was done.
Diann, I can't wait to see what you've knitted. It sounds relaxing.
Just finish one project before you begin another, or you'll be so scattered you won't know which piece to pick up. I think I'm thinking too far out of the box.
I know people who feel the same way, C! But for some reason it relaxes me. I don't care if it's not perfect, and I don't try to rush through it. I'm just enjoying creating. By the way, I love your profile picture!!
Cheryl, I like to have one knitting and one crochet project going at the same time. That way if I get bored with one, I can go to the other. So I alternate between the two.
Of course, right now, I have three projects going. LOL
oh how my city granny tryed to teach me how to crochet.
Diann, hope ya have fun :)
when i was in school, they would drill in your head it was bad to go outside of the lines or box, but now its good to just that, LOL :) have a good day!
oh got my mom here with me, and ask what i was doing, and to her,
and she said hello to you girls :)
Tell you mother hi, jel!
I get so relaxed with my knitting that I tend to fall asleep! Of course, the positive side to that is that I have become very good at repairing dropped stitches.
To "multi-task" or not to...that is the question. I tend to have several projects going at the same time. If there are no deadlines for a project completion, I alternate projects when I change skeins of yarn. That way I get a variety of knitting/crocheting projects done with a minimum amount of boredom. It also boosts my morale to get stuff done even though it may seem to take longer.
I get sleepy, too, Ruthie! That's how relaxing it is! :-)
I understand, too, about the alternating projects thing. I didn't think about it before, but it does get several projects done around the same time and that is encouraging. I just love working with my hands that way!
Jel, tell your mom hello for us! :-)
My mum tried to teach me how to knit. However she taught me to crochet first. So I was trying to knit like I would crochet. Eventually just keep crocheting. I do it while I'm reading ebooks or watching telly. It helps me concentrate. Currently working on a scarf with red verigated wool.
I'm at a spot in my WIP where I stare at the same sentence for an hour and rewrite it. I'm trying to get past a scene and into the meat of the book ... not sure why the scene is holding me up. Maybe I need to ditch and be more creative! LOL Knitting anyone? :)
I'm learning to decorate cupcakes and to not beat myself up so much over the rewrites for my first two books.
I'm learning to have fun and to enjoythe process. I'm discovering that in ALL of life, especially in the creative process (of any creative endeavor), that half of the fun is IN the process.
You're RIGHT, Katie!!! The joy IS in the process!!! If you're not enjoying it, forget it!
That's not to say we shouldn't push out of our comfort zone once in a while, mind you. :-) God sometimes calls us to that, and I'm all for being in the center of His will. I'm just saying life is too short to spend it doing things that don't really matter.
So do what you love--writing, knitting, crocheting, baking, whatever--and do it creatively! Most of all, remember to do it all for the glory of God!!
I've been a knitter since 3rd grade. Grew up in Australia and they couldn't believe I didn't know how to knit yet. At 35, I switched to crochet. I love doing both, they are equally relaxing for me. But.. right now I'm trying to come up with a design for painted tubs to be used in my granddaughter's beach wedding in March. They will hold bright pink and blue flip flops for the guests.
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