Channeling Creative Impulses

An Etsy convo this morning reminded me that it has been quite awhile since I've listed anything new in my shop. It gave me pause for a moment -- am I in a funk? am I feeling uncreative? -- until I recalled that the vast majority of my craftier energies have been channeled directly into my yard in recent weeks. With another Brew and Q coming up this weekend, I've been busting my butt to get some projects done. Thanks to a donation of unwanted patio stones from a friend, I've been working at putting in a stone patio sitting area where we previously used mulch as a ground cover. It's coming along nicely, though is only about half done -- my favorite part is smashing the big square stones up with the sledgehammer, to be honest. I've also done a pile of pruning, planting, and garden developing; helped a friend get a start on her perennial garden; made a needle felted mp3 holder and a set of "rustic" wind chimes for my Mom; used my "Season Finale" viewing hours this past week needle felting random coasters for dishes and mugs; and spent an afternoon making a pile of sushi and other veggie-friendly grub for some Aikido afficionados, in addition to playing Ringmaster to two lively children all weekend.

I've also started making some apple/fruit cozies for end-of-year teachers' gifts. Did I forget to mention that I'm also working on a "big" carving project for my Dad and that my boys have been taking advantage of my knife-wielding to have me carve them "magic" wands? :)

All of this hasn't really left a lot of time for more lucrative projects and spinning is on a back burner right now, despite have 1/4oz of beautiful blue merino single-ply underway on my Turkish spindle. The Etsy convo, though, has me thinking about it all again and wondering where my interests will take me this summer. I'm sure the excess will be posted for sale at some point, but I think I may just be on a bit of a hiatus for now. ;)