February 2024

It all begins with an idea. Something that sparks the imagination into thinking, “I could probably do that!” That idea becomes a plan, which becomes action, which becomes…something. Good, bad or otherwise you created something and that is magical.

I had a high school friend once tell me that not choosing one single medium for art was a sign of a lack of focus. Well call me unfocused because I go where the creativity takes me and I have yet to regret that.

I can always tell when I’m in a good headspace in life because the creativity flows more and more. I am blessed to be able to use my creativity not only in my personal life but my work life as well. Being an ELCA Pastor provides more opportunities to be creative than one might think. Usually, it’s creativity with words but sometimes it gets to manifest into something physical and visual.

So what did I do this month?

I continued work on my temperature blanket that I had started in January 2023. Yes, it should have been finished this most recent January, but life got in the way of me being able to do a row everyday. So I’m still in catch up mode having just finished October 3rd, but it is still exciting to see it come together. I’m especially proud of the colors I chose and the way the rows and sections are varied. I love this pattern, (moss stitch) for this blanket too. It provides such an interesting way for the colors to interact with one another. Every so often I have the challenge of trying to work on it while Gwen, my beloved and mischievous fur-baby, naps on it. Thank goodness it’s big enough that it’s not impossible. This thing is going to be massive when it’s done, which is great because then me and J can cuddle under it easily. Once the rows are finished it will receive a white border, which I’m excited to see!

A friend gave me a couple of crocheting books this past Christmas to make cute little creatures. Naturally she was the first to receive a creature made from one of the books. This cute little mushroom came together incredibly quickly. Sometimes I freak J out with how fast I can crochet some things. I was very excited to give it to her and her reaction did not disappoint. She was so thrilled and impressed with not only the quality but the speed in which I made it. He’s just so cute!! I’ve only made a couple of creatures in crochet before but nothing this small, so it was a bit of a challenge, but one I look forward to tackling again.

Almost as soon as I was done with the mushroom I started on a Griffon for J. They are his favorite mythical creature and the book has a really cute one! The yarn I am using is actually two sizes bigger than the pattern recommends but I had a whole ball of yarn that I thought would be perfect for the feather section of the body so we’re doing it! I’m not sure about the color of the beak, it seems too bright to me when I’m wanting something more golden. It’s going to be annoying to take it off but maybe then I won’t inwardly cringe every time I look at it. Plus it’s a bit off-center. That’s part of being a creative though, sometimes a project has more trial and error than others.

Crocheting is not the only way in which I like to be creative. Before crocheting I did quite a bit of painting. I painted things for family, friends, baby nursery’s, weddings, churches, even for myself. I didn’t really get into painting until after I graduated college and that was because I had the time and creative headspace to try. I don’t even really know what sparked it. Probably saw something and thought I could make it instead of buying it, or something. We have a few pieces in our kitchen and guest room. In the last couple of years J and I have gotten very involved in Dungeons and Dragons, and most recently Magic the Gathering. Through Dungeons and Dragons I discovered a new way to put my painting skills to fun use: painting minis! It is really fun and quite a different challenge painting things that are so small. Seeing people ooh and aah over the results is a ton of fun though.

One of our friends got us into Magic the Gathering and we got them into Dungeons and Dragons. One day near this friend’s birthday, J and I were at a game shop and found a mini of our friend’s favorite Magic the Gathering character, Avacyn, Angel of Hope. Naturally we had to get it for them and I spent a couple hours one afternoon painting it for him. He absolutely loved it and I have to say I’m super pleased with how it came out. Especially the eye and lips which can be really tricky to do, but these came out first try.

I also painted an upgraded mini for one of the players in one of our DnD groups. When we originally were picking our minis our Dragonborn Ranger couldn’t find a mini the actually fit, so he got one that was close. About a year later, J found one on Etsy (I think) that was absolutely perfect. We didn’t tell the player, we just got and painted it for him, and the next time we played we presented it to him. He really liked it and it fits his character so much better. It was my first painting a new mini for an “old” character, but knowing the color pallet already helped and knowing the character even better since painting the first mini made it super easy too.

This month I also started my first paint-by-numbers. I will admit I never fond of these for myself because it felt like I was cheating somehow. However, I saw the picture of what this will be (you’ll have to wait and see), and immediately fell in love with it. It took a while to get here and I had to figure out my setup and rhythm with it, but now I’ve got a groove. I realized while starting to paint that it’s really like a cross-stitch with paint. Following a pattern and putting the colors where they need to be. It’s not cheating, I know I don’t have the skill to paint something like this freehand. I have found it relatively relaxing and able to zone out for a bit while I paint, which can be really nice when my mind is usually in constant motion.

February was a good month for being creative. March is going to be quite a busy month for me with work and some personal life things, but I’m looking forward to finding times for a break from all of it with my art and maybe even my music. Here’s to whatever March brings!