Crafting meme

G'day all!

I was asked by the lovely (if a wee bit mad) Lynz to participate in the current blog hop doing the rounds.  Of course I said yes, and then just as easily misunderstood when I was supposed to post by!  LOL

So I'm Lynne, I'm really good at missing deadlines unless they involve harsh government penalties, and I like making things.  I live in Seattle in the Pacific Northwest of the USA but I don't come from here.  I like to tease people who say "I hear an accent" by saying "I hear you also have an accent".  Of course I have an accent, everyone has an accent, but mine's Australian and in particular Melburnian.  I knit, I spin, I quilt, I garden, I like going for walks and taking photographs of things (but not people, I'll explain later), I like riding my bicycle, going for drives (going for a drive a bit later on, will be grand!).  I've been known to bead, paint (walls!  prettily!) and do woodworking.  And I love colour!  And sunsets!

Probably already shared

1. What am I working on?

I'm working on lots of things at the moment.  I'm a butterfly, and I flit from one project to the next as whim and inspiration take me.  I'm spinning some rather rustic yarn up for a shawl idea that I have (it's rustic yarn as I am too lazy to get rid of all the noils and bumps in the roving as I spin it - it will all even out in the knitted item and what doesn't even out will just add character!):

Rustic!  Sorta squishy and nom.

I've just finished a baby quilt and have half the blocks for another baby quilt ready to go when the inspiration for the other half of the blocks strikes:

Love love love the frogs.  Love them.

I'm knitting a Stripes Gone Crazy out of some Madtosh sweater club yarn in hope that I will get to Rhinebeck:

Already have a pink blob in new phone?
It only shows up on purple though.

I'm knitting a shawl out of more Madtosh:

madtosh merino light in Coquette (pink)
and Holi Festival.

And I've got other things on the needles that I knit when I feel like a change from 3.5 or 3.75mm needles.

2. How does my work differ from others of its genre? 

I'm not sure that my work is that different to anyone else's.  I like colour - given an option of doing a bright version or a dull version, mine is the one with the clown colours.  I'm not good at doing neutral colours or things with muted colours (which is my issue with the very pretty blocks I've shown above - I need to make sure they have enough contrast and interest in the other blocks to highlight the froggies).  I tend to do the same sorts of things over and over again.  Whether this means I am exploring a theme or stuck in a rut I don't know.  I tend to make the same socks over and over again, just in different colours - I like socks to be an easy thing for me to knit, something I don't have to think about too hard, something I do without a pattern.  My pictures are usually of scenery with no people (apart from the odd selfie) in them, in part because I don't want to worry about annoying people by sharing pics online without permission and in part cos if kids are involved, well... you know....  So I take pics of scenery, mostly without people, though if people are in the shot they are mostly very small and hopefully not very recognisable.

Same socks as the last couple of pairs!
DH doesn't mind, he likes the socks :-)

3. Why do I write/create what I do? 

Why do I do this?  Because life without making stuff is very dull and boring.  Because there are so many pretty things to make!  Because I am a maker.  It is part of my definition of myself.  I garden because I like pretty things - I love having a garden full of flowers.  I take photographs of things so that I can remember them.  My memory isn't great and was terrible before I went off gluten in 1999.  I can only remember the most random stuff from before then.  (This puts various of my ex boyfriends at ease, but have no fear, chaps, quite a lot of the things I do remember relates to you!  LOL)  With a photograph, I can remember what, where and when.  I also take photographs to share what I've seen with people.  I often wonder if I do that to get peoples' approval or because I still have some of that childlike wonder at the world - look at this!  It is amazing!  Isn't it amazing?  (As I say this, I have an image of a small blonde haired child looking gobsmacked at something then turning to someone, asking for agreement.)  And this world is full of wonders!

Diablo Lake.  Sooooo turquoise!

4. How does my writing/creating process work?

I'm a fairly intuitive maker.  My stuff is nearly always based on someone else's idea.  People tell me I'm creative, but what I am good at is grabbing someone else's idea and running with it in my own direction.  This might make me not very good at playing with others, or maybe it is just my training as the baby of the family.  Or maybe I just need a trigger to set me going.

Highway 20 pinnacles.  Spectacular road!

I see something I like and I either buy the pattern and start making it or I work out my own version.  I can generally work out how to make various simple quilt blocks (and I use them over and over and over again, I really need to do something different!) but when it comes to making cardigans and jumpers (pullovers) I use patterns.  Mind you I'm not always super good at sticking to the patterns but I use them for the basic shaping stuff and then add my own twiddles along the way.  I'm not super accurate in anything I do - my new Stripes Gone Crazy cardie already has the wrong stick count and I'm only about 40 rows into the pattern... but one or two stitches over close to 300 stitches isn't a big deal.  Except for when you realise that you have been making the pattern up for the last 10 or 12 rows and have to pull it back because the shaping is all wrong!  Doh!  That is the grand thing about knitting - mostly when you screw up, you can fix it, unlike many mistakes you make in life.

Washington Pass. Washington.

I adapt things I like.  I'm a bit of a magpie or a bower bird, collecting shiny things that appeal to me, and this goes for both yarn and quilting fabric (and beads and pebbles and even wood!).  The problem is using up my stash - I am loathe to use the things I really like but happy to use fabric I like less!  My quilt in progress and the most recently completed quilt both use some fabric I adore.  At least I do use the yarn I really really like.  Eventually.

Liberty Bell peaks, Washington

So there you have it.  A little bit of insight into me.

I'm tagging my good mate, Avril.  Avril does really funky painting.  We have a few of her pics here with us (though I admit not on the wall as we are yet to claim wall space from stuff that will soon be going in the garage... yay!).  Anyway, if you specifically want to read Avril's post on this meme, go here.

anon!