Granny square happiness!

One day I decided to learn how to make a granny square. Well, I should say relearn, because I made a Christmas granny square throw for my great-grandma when I was about 10 years old. She displayed it on her living room hassock every December, and her praise for my work made me feel so special.

Fast forward 30 years, and here I am, getting back to my crafty roots. After a few months of following patterns and watching online tutorials, I decided to design my own granny square bag. I started with this:

Inspired, I grabbed some complementary colors and got to work!

Before I knew it, I had all of these. I had to find a way to put them together, so I threaded my neutral-colored yarn into an embroidery needle and used what I hoped was a basting stitch to turn a pile of little squares into the front of a bag.

With the front and back sewn together, I realized that I needed some sides. What to do? I finally went with a double crochet to make two long panels.

Then I attached the sides...

And realized I needed a bottom! Quickly I double crocheted a brown bottom and sewed it in! I discovered that creating a three-dimensional bag requires a fair amount of geometry, a weak subject for me. But somehow I managed, and the math worked!

Wow! A little more work, and I ended up with this:

I also made straps with long strips of double crochet panels much like the side panels. I encountered some problems with these, so I won't be sharing the final pics here.

There it is. My first design! I am thrilled beyond belief! My first success so inspired me that I have been designing and creating every day. I never realized how much joy and calm there is in crocheting and making something new.

Happiness is making goals...and ACHIEVING Them!

I decided to let the new year inspire me in 2013. After all, I've made so many positive changes over the past year and a half, and I am very proud of what I've accomplished in my personal life. At the dawn of 2012 I didn't have any goals except to be happy. As often happens, my most important accomplishments arose from challenges. As life - and the people in my life - threw obstacles in my path, I was forced to summon the nerve to make tough choices and stand up for my family. It was difficult and painful at times, but the people I love held me up when I faltered. And here I am, beginning 2013 with the big obstacles behind me and the opportunity to design my future in front of me.

My year-long resolution for 2013 involves creating something new every day of the year. I will continue to redefine what it means to create as I learn and grow, and I am over the moon with excitement about my plan. This morning, as I pinned inspiration for my creative journey, I decided to take this one step further. After all, why should I have all the fun?

Enter Daughter. She thrives when she is organized and has a plan, so I decided to give her a New Year's assignment to inspire her creativity in 2013. Her instructions:

1) Make a list of 5 BIG THINGS she wants to accomplish in 2013.

2) Make a list of 3 things she wants to do in the month of January.

3) Make a list of new things she will need to learn to complete numbers one and two.

She is soooo excited! She grabbed her clipboard and has been writing furiously for the past hour. I can't wait to see what she comes up with!

So it looks like my precious daughter will be taking this journey with me! I am thrilled to travel this path with her, because everything is better when you share it with your kids!