What January Made

Hey folks,

On 2nd Jan this year, inspired by Kim Werker, I decided to make a commitment to make something creative every day. Yes, every day. Throughout 2018. The idea is to post a photo (or two) of what I'm working on on Instagram. There is no creative police to check on me - it is a personal promise I make to myself. I was curious to see what I could create. In the past I made stuff mainly to sell so being profitable and making a quick sale became part of the equation. This time though, I don't have such restrictions.

I think I was quite successful the first 3 and a half weeks of January. I posted a photo on Instagram every day. Even when my physiotherapist broke injured my neck in an attempt to heal me (yup, I fired him), I carried on crafting. I was unstoppable. I explored crafts I wasn't competent in. I revisited old favourite crafts. I had so much fun. I felt so c r e a t i v e. I'll admit though I aimed for quick-to-finish projects. Is that cheating? It's not, right?

The last 5 days or so, I went AWOL. I had a sinus attack. Got sick as a dog. The last thing on my mind was crafting and Instagram.  I was so sick I neglected all housework. Hubs had to learn to operate the washing machine. When we ran out of cups and spoons, my daughter was persuaded to load the dishwasher. Today I'm no longer on my deathbed but the last of the vicious sinus cretins continue to hold on to my nerve points for dear life. I'll recover completely. Eventually. In fact, I have enough energy that I think from tomorrow, I'll be able to jump right back into #yearofmaking2018.

So this is my total haul in January:

I had expected to make more knitted stuff but my injured neck put a halt to my knitting. I don't have any memory muscles for knitting yet so knitting does cause some strain to my shoulders.

Crochet is what I call my cop out craft. When I am dried up and not inspired or panicking (what to make, what to make), I turn to crochet.

Making these bead crochet bracelets reminded me how much I love beads + crochet.

These two were desperate crochet crafts. Then I remembered how much I love crochet balls.

I tried broomstick crochet and discovered I don't like it that much. The lace looks a bit too inelegant for my taste. (no offence to broomstick crochet lovers!)

I made one freestyle embroidered brooch. To be honest, such brooch are difficult (to me) because you don't make any plans and just let inspiration guide you. Sometimes inspiration isn't there for you! I would like to explore more free and easy brooches because they push my boundaries. Of course the chance is high that I'll end up with boring or ugly brooches but I've reached that place where that's ok. We can't be brilliant every day.

The last thing I completed before falling spectacularly ill was this fabric cuff bracelet. Another exercise in just making it, not planning it. This was tough. Sometimes the freedom to create anything can become a restriction.

I almost forgot. I wrote a tute on how to sew an embroidered fabric brooch.

I have one WIP. This is a lace scarf. I followed a recipe Kate sent me. I can't seem to make much progress on this scarf because I keep ending up with too many or too few stitches. Thus the ripping out over and over again. Hopefully this gets completed in February.

Now that I've gone through 3 and a half weeks of making something creative everyday, I have a better idea for February. I won't chicken out and opt for quick finish projects. Three things I'll keep in mind are: improve my knitting, use my fabric stash and do something different some of the times. I may write one or two tutes (energy permitting) and I know I want to try Bethany's heart. I haven't figured out dpns yet. Just hope I don't stab myself in the eye!

I hope I have excited you enough to do something creative if not everyday, then at least once a week. If you don't wish to follow me on Instagram (why won't you follow me?), but want to follow my progress, you can stalk follow my hashtag instead. That way, you can remain anonymous. ;) I have created a hashtag #projectsbyjane2018 for crafts created in 2018.  Alright then. I'll see you in February.