I found myself saying yes to the craziest idea in January. It wasn’t a great idea but it was a very cool idea. A new and interesting idea. Do you ever say yes and then regret it? I know that I did and there was really no reason for it. It is a really common problem. Are you a “yes” person? The book shelves are full of volumes telling us how to stop saying yes so often. Put up boundaries, set limits, organize your life better, plan time off, fence in your time, schedule time for yourself.
Saying yes, was to crochet not one but two custom crochet blankets and paint several different custom pieces of furniture. Now you know that this isn’t something that happens often at the Studio. A chance encounter with a Facebook marketplace purchase became a custom order for two custom crochet blankets and a coffee drinking friend. There is a pretty generous deadline as she understands that there are also custom painting orders in place.
The crochet blankets are using her Mother’s yarn, which is a brand I don’t use often. The colors were varied and some of it decades old. The yarn was still in great condition but this seemed like an incredible challenge. Rebelling, at first; the crocheting was concentrated on the colors that were added to fill in the missing colors needed to make one of them brighter and more suited for a child. The other was for the client’s daughter. The brief was to crochet two afghans 1. for the grand-daughter of the original yarn owner and 2. for the great -granddaughter of the the original yarn owner. What a great idea! How could I not do this? Family love and memories mixed in with another’s yarn stash, a chance to make something out of nothing.
Then the math began, how many squares to create the afghans. It became a monstrous project. Ta Da – 180+ 5′ granny squares later. This is the current adult granny square afghan. Sewing each square together rather than using the joining as I go method is slower. It is creating a beautiful finished product. Is this afghan finished. Nope, they’re not finished but I’m not afraid of either of them any more.
And also Painting…
These custom painting orders have also been happening in the middle of crocheting these two blankets.
It’s been a fun and busy time. The Studio is looking full and it needs cleaning from top to bottom in the worst way. The good news is that it’s been incredibly stretching. I love what I’m doing and saying yes was the right thing to do.
Talk to you later,
Karen
P.S. Painting will show up in the blog from now on as it seems to take up just as much time as the crochet. It hasn’t been healthy for me to sit and just crochet. Painting furniture requires me to move around more and keeps the creativity flowing. Oh, I also accept custom orders for painted furniture just leave a comment here or on the facebook page.