Scribbling Out Ideas... Why Not?

I have a million ideas I'm waiting to sew out, but when this one popped into my head, I decided to jump in and try it. With life distractions, it took 'only' 3 days to actually get it done. But that's good for me, and, more importantly, it worked!

I thought I was done with machine embroidery, because the styles of designs didn't suit my needs, and anything original took a lot of work.  My time to create is limited, and I'd rather sew than fuss. 

A terrible photo of a beautiful (and huge) machine in the midst
of a terrible mess... or maybe we'll call it a creative flurry.

But then Hubby and I happened upon the Brother Dream Machine 2 at SewExpo last March. --An event we attended knowing I would not be buying a new machine.  But a sucker fanatic for all things related to Computer Aided Design, as he sees in his shop tools, he encouraged me to watch the demonstration... and then consider buying the machine! 



He knows that I've been yearing to design my own stitch patterns for years, and have given it a good try with previous machines, which all fell short of glowing claims. (At least did so for those of us suffering from terminal impatience.)  It just might be the machine I've awaited for years that will help me bring those stitch designs in my head into reality.

"Stamp" options.  These can be resized,
stretched or narrowed, combined, or
portions erased. Besides stamps,
other options include lines, free-hand drawing,
or scanned or imported line drawings!

I scanned the fabric pieces I'd placed on hooped, sticky stabilizer.  On-screen, I placed a few circles from the machine's built-in 'stamp' files in its "Design Center," edited stitch and size, and I got the 'scribbly ' look I was hoping for.   

This is an onscreen scan of the hooped fabric,
so I can size & place the stitching correctly.

Stitch choices.  I used 2nd from left, and
left them all the same default color.

I expected the machine to sew each circle in its entirety, one at a time, but, because I had designated them all in the same stitch style and color, it was interesting to see how the software in the machine designed its own efficient path, not recognizing or having regard for shapes in the same way I do.  I could've designated them each their own color, even if I used the same thread in the machine, if it had been important to me that it sew in separate circles.

From screen view to reality!

It's simple, but a start. My husband said, "Did you want it to look like a little kid drew it?" 
Pretty much, yes.  :-)

He doesn't quite understand my love of modern design and quilting... Yet.

Word.

I am a word person.  Specifically, as an INFJ (one of the 16 Meyers-Briggs personality types), I am a written-word person. Don't ask me to actually speak words.  And I don't just mean in front of large groups.  I mean almost anything spontaneous... smaller groups... unexpected phone calls... leaving voicemail messages... small talk... 'greeting those beside you' in church... If you know me well, and I mean WELL, you might think I never shut up.  But that's for a 'lucky(?)' and select few.  Want me to write, though?  I'll spill everything.  (This can also be interpreted: My blog posts will rarely be short.)

Writing is a tool for me.  I can explain my thoughts better...although it will take some time because of a LOT of editing.  It can also be a way for me to rid myself of thoughts that whirr around in my brain, knotting my stomach and using my energy.  If I can write things down... often the things I want to tell someone with whom I may be frustrated... I am as free, and as bitterness-free, as if I'd said them.  I think it's because I feel burdened to remember these details or sharp bits of wisdom if they only exist in my mind.  If they're written down, I can access them if needed.  Usually, that need to share, though, evaporates when my mind releases them to a page.  If they are things that really should be shared, writing them first gives them better organization that I just might remember when I need to speak.

My Etsy Finds

I also love to hang words around my house...whether it's on artwork I create or in things I purchase.  I like to share bits of wisdom, inspiring song lyrics, and Scripture with my family in this way... hoping they will give us all some things to think about, and make a difference in our decisions and approaches in whatever situations we face.  I have long wanted to do this, as taught in Deuteronomy 11:18-20:

So commit yourselves wholeheartedly to these words of mine. Tie them to your hands and wear them on your forehead as reminders. Teach them to your children. Talk about them when you are at home and when you are on the road, when you are going to bed and when you are getting up. Write them on the doorposts of your house and on your gates...

Lyrics from favorite songs incorporated into
artwork or laid over a faded photo using
PicMonkey, then ordered on canvases.
(Songs by Miranda Lambert and Casting Crowns)

As much as I love words, I have been frustrated by the advice by so many authors and bloggers to choose a "Word of the Year."  Maybe it's because I love words so much that choosing one is impossible.  Maybe it's because I am a frustrated perfectionist and I'm afraid of getting it "wrong," and I will drive myself crazy second-guessing that focus as other ideas pop into my head.  I think it's because, to almost every question in which there is a choice, or encouragement to choose one favorite answer, I want to clarify, "In what situation?" I see many sides to everything.

Words on which I hope our family will focus.
This set hangs in our kitchen.
I also created these images in
PicMonkey and ordered canvases online

Honestly, my first reaction to choosing one word to describe my life is "TIRED."  This, of course, somewhat misses the boat in determining a motivating course or theme to one's year.  So my next reaction is "Survival."  Also, not that optimistic...

Most people choose and share 'their word' at the first of the year.  Oh, well.  Since it's now August, giving me adequate time to sort through all of the possibilities that have occurred to me over the first 2/3 of the year, I have settled on "Peace."  This encompasses a lot of areas, and is a much more positive spin on, and actually helps with "Survival." 



I first focused on the idea of "Peace" three years ago, when, in remembering his mother during a memorial service, a gentleman spoke of the 2 words his mother had personified..."Grace" and "Peace."  I thought it a wonderful legacy, and words by which I hoped my children would remember me some day.  So far, sadly, as my INFJ worrying seems hard to hide, I haven't made much progress toward a peaceful countenance. I was further reminded of that goal, though, when God led me to my own big lesson in peace this year, which I will share in another post.

I'm pretty sure I'll need the time to develop "Peace" more thoroughly in my life, so it can be my word for next year, too.  (And maybe some after that!)  So, there.  I'm now running 4 months ahead!