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Nature and creativity go hand in hand. Never again will I look at snow covered trees without the image that Susan Feller of artwools mentioned in an instagram post. She commented on how she saw trees as a child, “All dressed in ball gowns” Now that is ALL I see when walking into the woods with the trees laden with fresh snow- the branches heavy with the weight of it all. Ball gowns dancing in the woods when we aren’t looking. What a fantastic image- thank you Susan! thank you childhood imaginations- we all become so literal as we age. Isn’t it too bad that childhood imaginations don’t stay closer to the surface later in life ? We may all be better for it.
Trees with ballgowns
Clearing paths
My husband worked hard this summer clearing a path through the woods behind our house. The wildlife certainly take advantage of it- as do we with Gracie . Fresh deer tracks were there this morning. The day before were fox tracks. Gracie can’t seem to get enough of all the smells!
Gracie smelling all the smells
Patterns and color ideas
Quite often hooking patterns will spring to life while outside in nature. Primitive designs mostly. Then there are the colors that come. A bundle of “Bluejay” has just been added to the ETSY shop. There are , on average, 12-15 bluejays that frequent the backyard feeders. We have had to get pretty crafty to be able to make sure that the finches, chickadees and smaller birds get their fair share. Those Jays…pretty sassy and quite piggy when it comes down to it. They are a beautiful blue and when these colors emerged from the dye pots they were bundled together as a nod to them.
Bluejay wool bundle
A fun old pattern in the shop has a bluejay, along with other birds “playing outside” – if you care to have a look. It has been hooked by so many different hookers each adding their own colors to the pattern. Just when I imagine it might be time to retire this pattern- someone else wants it, so it keeps going. There may be some tweaks happening to it soon though.
Play Outside Rug pattern
Get outside and play
It’s snowing right now and the trees will soon be laden again- the ball gowns returning. How does nature speak to you? What inspiration do you gain from being outside? Please share – I’d love to know!
Snowshoes
As we continue to stay close to home during the pandemic- try to take a moment to stop, look and listen to all that nature has to offer us. We are fortunate to live in such a place – to have wildlife still active in our midst. Even though life has felt isolating this past (almost year now), we have been able to walk out our backdoor and enjoy the fresh air. Go on- get outside and see what happens. If you live in the city- well, there are still opportunities to get yourself outside, especially if you have a wee dog to take along with you.
Cutting wool tricks?
Next time there will be a few hints on how I am making my life better when it comes to wool cutting and using it later on-