Lost in Space.... To Weave or Not to Weave... Where did the Last Year Go?

Well it's been a whole year since I blogged... So what happened to me? and why now? OK... so... to make a long and rather boring story short... it was a long and rather boring year... 

 

First... I made a valiant try to learn how to weave on an Inkle loom, and made these lovely soft cotton reins for horses which it seems weren't strong enough to 'hold your horses' so I abandoned that idea.....

 

 
Then I moved up to a rigid heddle loom and made my mom some kitchen towels... They ended up being three different sizes when I washed them... so..

Oh but notice the super cute little punch needle bird I made...  I need to try more of that when I find time... That and rug hooking/punching and so many other things I got off on false starts with last year...

Anyway, then I got the bright idea I could make some rag rugs to sell and made this, but it was too hard to do on such a small loom, so finally, I was given/gifted/loaned a floor loom... which sits in the corner and mocks me because it needs work done on it that I can't afford to do like putting new shafts on it :( I am thinking it may become a sort of tapestry loom when I find the time to think how to do that....


Well I still want to weave, but may have reached my level of incompetence (see "The Peter Principal") However one good thing did come of it... 

I am still making the weaving shuttles in the shape of animals... "Wild Weavers"... You can find them here in my Etsy Shop: Ajaia Ajaja
 

Of course I'm still making beadwork...

 

And so, due to the immediate need to make some actual income...  here I am designing coloring pages for adult coloring books... Think demons, dragons, fairies, gargoyles...

More on that later... I promise!...

Time to Move On Down the Road?

I have been trying to sell my house for several years now, but as you all know, the economy is bad... If I asked less $ for it, I could probably sell it quickly... and move on with my life... but then I would be effectively homeless and would have less money to re-locate with... and I am not 100% sure where I want to settle when I leave here... but I would be debt free and free to go wherever I want.... so it's a two edged sword...

I used to think I wanted to live on a barge in France... I still would do that, if I could, but I can't manage it, so here I am... and now I find myself pondering the thought of selling my house and living in a converted school bus while traveling around the country making and selling art at least 1/2 of the year and parking it somewhere suitable the rest of the year... Others have done it... why not me?

Sure, it would be a bit cramped... but that can be dealt with by downsizing and  the views and adventure might just more than make up for the tight quarters... and at least we could make it the way we want and go where we pleased... It's a BIG country and I haven't seen it all yet!

I know... you're picturing this....

http://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article-2023532/True-story-Magic-Bus-trip-launched-hippy-era.html

But just look at some of these amazing #Skoolies as they call them...

From School Bus to Fabulous. Don’t Miss This Must-See Mobile Tiny Home. 

(Converted by Chris and Kelly Ross)

"If you could comfortably live with a mistake like gap in your wall or crooked doorway then leave it. If you know it will bother you forever, then take the time to go back and fix it and sleep peacefully at night. The beauty of building your own home is these are your decisions to make." http://www.snugshack.com/school-bus-fabulous-dont-miss-must-see-mobile-tiny-home/

That is cozy but this one is amazing!

Hank Bought a Bus
http://www.hankboughtabus.com/a-tour-of-the-bus/
"In August of 2013 we embarked on a 5,000 mile journey and documented our travels. You can read about and see photos of our experiences by checking out our Travel Posts."

and there are countless other examples out there....

 http://mentalfloss.com/article/52933/15-creative-converted-school-buses

 http://tinyhouselistings.com/tag/bus/

and there are lots of videos! Here's one...

For now it's just a thought... but I'll let you know what happens ;-)

Wild Weaving Shuttles

Besides beading I have recently also become addicted to weaving and since I needed a way to weave - looms... shuttles... and since I also do woodworking of course I can't just leave it at that... so I get a hold of some power tools and get carried away... now I make these handcrafted wooden weaving shuttles for inkle,  card weaving and tablet weaving...
 

So now I am making shuttles in the shapes of fish and foxes and dragons and sheep and cats and hares and dogs and horses.... all sorts of WILD weavers! You can check it out HERE and they can be bought HERE in my Etsy shop...

 

 are you a #fox ? or a #blacksheep ?

 

I can even make a shuttle to look like your dog or cat!

(REQUEST A CUSTOM ORDER HERE)

#Siamesecat

#tabbycat

#poodle

#jackrussellterrier

 #tuxedocat

 And then I HAD to try my hand at making some Popsicle stick heddles - these will also be available to buy soon...

 

(REQUEST A CUSTOM ORDER HERE) 

My Beading Addiction (and more...)

HI, My name is Cindy and I'm an artist. I have been an artist for my entire life. It started back in the 1960's with fat crayons and those really big pencils.... then I moved up to paint, pastels, watercolors, acrylics... then sometime in the early 1980's I found out how to do beading and there was  no turning back... now I do this... Of course this sort of thing eats up all of my time and money, so if you would like to have some I would like to make some for you because I am willing to bead just about anything for a price.

You can find me here on Facebook most days...  Just pop in and say "Hi!" and scroll down to the bottom for a preview of my next post and to see what else I am doing......

 

SPOILER ALERT!

Besides beading I have recently also become addicted to weaving and since I also do woodworking I am currently making handcrafted wooden weaving shuttles and popsicle stick heddles for band weaving... card weaving... tablet weaving... will post more about that soon... but for now you can check it out HERE and they can be bought HERE in my Etsy shop...

 #beadwork #beading #weaving #bandweaving #cardweaving #tabletweaving #beadembroidery #art #artist