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!

My obligatory New Year's resolution post

It is here. Well, almost. In less than an hour it will be 2013 on the East Coast. And, not being a party animal at all, I am in the FamCave, at my desk, writing this blog. I actually bought cheap champagne to make mimosas at midnight, but who am I kidding? I will surely be asleep by 11:55.

Before I crash for the night, I will publicly commit to a New Year's resolution. I usually don't make resolutions because I have the attention span of a gnat and forget them within days of the new year. But this year I am determined to give this a try. So here goes...

I have this idea. And it is actually a good one because it will motivate me and keep me focused throughout the coming year. I am pledging to create something new every day in 2013.

What does this mean? To encourage my own creativity and challenge myself to learn new skills, I am defining this broadly, to include crafting, designing, writing, and generally making anything new. My goal is to take on new crafting projects, continue my technical and marketing copy writing work, and even take on a little creative writing to stretch myself artistically. A recent Pinterest convert, I have been pinning like crazy, making lists of creative sources of inspiration in 2013. I am starting the new year with a modest list of projects, including these:

Crocheting - I learned to knit and crochet when I was a kid, and now my daughter has inspired me to relearn and expand my knowledge of all things yarn. I am collecting patterns and tutorials on Pinterest and have big plans for this year!

Making Amurigumi Animals - I have loved these cute little yarn creatures for years, but 2013 will be the Year of the Knit Creature for me! Stay tuned!

Expanding my photography hobby, including digital photography and crazy, artsy, lomo photography

Learning to create beaded and wire jewelry - This just looks like so much fun, and I want to create the kinds of beautiful pieces I admire on Etsy.

Encouraging my daughter's film making efforts because she is awesome and talented and I know she will continue to create amazing things!

Writing this blog - I am taking a blog design course and plan to set aside time each day to code, design, research, and learn as I develop this blog into something you will want to read every day.

And there is much more I plan to do this year, so watch this space!

Happy New Year, everyone! I hope 2013 is a blessed and wonderful year for all of you!