A VERY IMPORTANT milestone

It took only a few weeks of diligence, patience and unbridled determination.

I FINISHED CROCHETING MY FIRST HUMAN ADULT-SIZED BLANKET.

Do you fully understand the magnitude of this achievement?!

(And is it not beautiful!?)

(However it's not really my personal taste, what with the lacy border, although I do like the textured herringbone pattern. It *is* my mother-in-law's taste, though, because it's a gift for her birthday, which has since passed, but that's okay because I think she will be elated.)

I have grown as a person because of it.

Perhaps now I will have the fortitude to eventually finish these other projects.

CrADD

While color will always be, in my heart, the numero uno design element, texture runs a tight second. And that is precisely the reason I'm loving crochet. It's been a loooooong time since I picked it up, but I've started, I've fallen deeply in love, and I can't stop. It's like some highly addictive fiber arts frenzy. Crafty crack.

The catch, however, is an affliction I call Creative-ADD (CrADD), similar to Cleaning-ADD (ClADD); both involve starting a project and working feverishly on it...until I think of another project to work on (or notice something else to clean), and I may at any one time have several projects or chores underway. I'm currently working on (1, 2, 3, 4) 5 crochet projects (and was thinking of starting another, oh and I've promised to start another blanket for my mother-in-law), and 1 knitting project (by the way, I'm teaching myself to knit, too).

ALTHOUGH--to my own credit--the reason I haven't continued working on two of the projects is that I ran out of the yarn for them.

ALTHOUGH--against my credit--instead of buying the yarn to complete the projects, I bought the yarn to start new projects, but WHATEVER. I need VARIETY (another element of design, thank you very much). And I *will* finish. Someday.

So here are just a few of the projects I am working on (and one that I've finished!).

This is the afghan that started it all. It's about 6 1/2 feet long, currently ~2 feet wide and has used $100 worth of yarn, which is funny because that's the exact price Keith said he would pay me for finishing it...

A baby bootie (just one so far):

An egg cozy, also lonely:

Look! A finished piece! It's a bookmark crocheted with red thread. Or a runner for a miniature table. I didn't know I had the patience in me to do work so tiny, but lo and behold, I do, and here is the FINISHED product in all of its book marking glory. Now that I know I can work with this stuff and not jab my eyes out with the miniscule crochet hook, I can try making pretty little crocheted trims! You know, to embellish stuff.

I WANT EVERYONE TO SEE THE TINY-ASS HOOK I USED FOR THE BOOKMARK (it's the shiny thing in front of the pencil) and marvel and go "OOOOHHHH!" and "AAAAHHHHH!" and "Sarah! You are AMAZING!":

And finally, four completed motifs for another blanket. J'ADORE the colors. (And the texture too.)

Asterisks

Sarah Schodroski Ehman
Asterisks
December 2007
Paper
5" x 7"

It's been some time, but I've finally gotten around to remembering to post a photo of my most recently completed cutout, inspired by a previous post on the delightful punctuation mark of the same name, and with every intention of being gifted to Jen A for Christmas. I must admit, it was tough to part with, but it made her happy, which made me happy, and hopefully I will be just as happy and not the least bit jealous to see it hanging on her wall (rather than mine).

I'm thinking of trying it again with black paper, to further enhance the color, glitter and sheen of the papers underneath. We'll see. Meanwhile, I have the cutout layer of another project completed--all it needs is the collage underneath. It looks like another busy week/weekend ahead of me, so I'm not sure when I'll get to it, but be on the lookout for another Little Joys installment soon!

Happy Valentine's Day

Chromalectable

I think we artists have a tendency to sort of "latch on" to a particular design element--line, shape, texture, color, et cetera--and spend our lives obsessing over it. It's the first thing we notice in nature, in other's artwork, in the cereal aisle at the grocery store. And it isn't that it's the only element we see, but it's the only one we care about, the only one that really matters.

My element is color. It is my passion, my raison d'être. I do not see how one could not think about color. Now don't get me wrong, I really dig line and shape and even texture a little bit. But I *ADORE* color from the most remote depths of my soul.

I can stand for tens of minutes on end in the paint swatches section of the hardware store. It makes me feel good, ogling all that color. And I can take my favorites, like collectors' cards for color enthusiasts--FOR FREE. I bring them home and put them in a book so that I can go back later when I'm feeling a little neutral and savor all that chromatic deliciousness.

Ahhh crafts.

This may come as a shock to you, but I--yes, I--am the creator of the ugliest angel ornament *EVER*.

I discovered it in a box of Christmas tree ornaments at my parents' house, as if to remind me--before I embarked on a stack of sewing projects I've been planning--why I *DO NOT SEW*. See the fine craftsmanship? I especially love that the floral pattern is going sideways. The random sequin detail is also nice, as is the jingle bell belt accessory I've given her. And the gold rick-rack halo.

To underscore my absolute sewing genious, I also found this gorgeous miniature snowman pillow.

You will note the beautifully raw edge--on *top* mind you--which I clearly did not feel like stitching by hand.

Which is why I work with paper and glue.

Swiss Miss

Sarah Schodroski Ehman
Swiss Miss: Friendship Liquefied and Piping Hot!
September 2007
Paper
7" x 5"

Sweet 100 - Part II

Sarah Schodroski Ehman
Sweet 100
September 2007
Paper
8" x 10"

Read about Sweet 100.

Strata-licious

Sarah Schodroski Ehman
Strata-licious (from the kitchen of Little Joys)
September 2007
Paper
7" x 5"

A Little Joy

Sarah Schodroski Ehman

Little Joys

August 2007

Paper

7" x 5"