Crafting in Newfoundland

I am back from 10 lovely days on the rock called Newfoundland.

I managed to rekindle my creativity and relax and fall in love with the land.

I did very little knitting during my time away but did manage to throw in a class on my Slouchy Christmas Tree.
Dianne (on the right) got hers completed in 2 days!
They are still a fun and quick knit!

My projects were 2 different styles of rug hooking. One was hooking with yarn

and the other is called Ragging or Proddy. The Proddy is fun because it is so quick once the prep work is done (cutting fabric rectangles) but I have become completely enamored with hooking with yarn.

Yes, I think this is going to be my next big thing.

What I love most about it is the ability to "paint" with the colours of yarn. It combines my love of yarn and my love of surface design so perfectly!

Oh ! I also did a bit of needle felting that I added to my Tomato does Christmas hat.

In between the crafting I did get out to see some sights and do some shopping in St. John's.
Houses at Witless Bay.

St. John's Harbour.

The Duke of Duckworth.

Morton Bay.

Flobs of Turkey

Thanksgiving dinner has come and gone with minimal stress and maximum relaxation. But...then ...I am not the chef in my household.

I was going to bake an apple pie but Jim visited The Big Apple on Friday... no not THE big Apple as in New York city....No...The BIG Apple on the 401 highway at Colborne....

Impressive isn't it.

While he was there he bought an apple pie so I was freed from that task.

We still have a bunch of apples though from the box that was given to me. Apple Butter maybe?

Where Am I?.... oh ya.... flobs of turkey....

I have very creative children. They are never at a loss for words either. ...

So...Rhea was explaining why she didn't take a turkey leg at dinner (why?....probably because she has this strange aversion to touching meat...) And because she didn't want a leg she picked the "flobs" of turkey.

FLOBS?

What the heck are flobs?

Current definition in the Rhea dictionary... flobs: slices of meat.

I mean, where the heck did she pull that combination of letters from?

Yes she is creative...

Left over turkey is now becoming ...Turkey Flob Broth

Creativity Procrastinated

I sit here today in the shop wanting to be creative.

It is hard to be creative when the shop is open. People tend to interrupt just as creativity starts to flow. I do welcome them though.

I, like other creative people, have doubts about my creativity and sometimes distractions are easier than the pushing through of ideas into a concrete form.

The extraction and mutation of thoughts and technique to tell a story that exists only in a murky world between worlds is sometimes tortuous.

It is the fear that the end result will not be understood or disliked that is the cause of much of my creative procrastination. This is probably true for all creative people.

I am noticing that I am avoiding the word "artist". I still feel like I have not "become" an artist. But, what is the definition of artist? Is it merely someone who creates or is it a thing one becomes once pieces are shown in galleries etc?

Oh...Look...I have pulled ideas from my brain and put them on paper.

I have been creative.

Of Fall and Farms

October is here and the trees are now pushing on through their blaze of colour to become skeletons for the winter.
There is always a magical hue to the world at this time of year.
It is all golden and rosy.
The last gasp of foliage splendour before the first frost.

The furnace has been turned on and the windows closed up against the chill.
The sweaters are out and being worn.

Closed toed shoes containing socked feet are crunching on the fallen leaves.


And... the farms are opening their gates for the public to see.

Rhea and I visited a local sheep farm called Greendale Farm.

The current owners have only been there for 7 years but have been in the sheep raising business for a long time.

This lovely old barn is where the sheep sheering was going on. Sheep barns are ...well.. stinky..

Outside their were some Border Collies showing off their sheep herding skills.
Preacher is a very experienced dog and had the herd well in control.

A less experienced dog had the sheep scared so they ran as fast as they could to the fence near the human handlers to hide.

This girl really wanted to help but she is a wee bit in a puppy way so had to settle for observing.
Rhea got lots of photos for her assignments and has submitted a photo to the local paper. Fingers crossed that is gets published! If she can get 2 photos published this semester she will get 100% in one of her courses.

Every time I go to a farm with lots of animals I am reminded that I love to be around them.

Do I want to work on a farm?

That would be NO.

But...I would sure love to hang out at one more frequently.

But what have I knit lately?

This most excellent fall Pumpkin hat! Knit with Manos del Uruguay Maxima (yummm).