I'm a Genius!

Ok, I'm not really a genius. But I do feel a little smarter than usual today, since I actually figured out (within the span of about 4 hours) how to create a video, edit it to add title pages, sign up for Vimeo, and publish my video there.

I haven't had much interest in making videos in the past, but I got my camera out to take pictures of my latest project, a "recycled" journal made from scraps of fabric and paper and all those little bits of things I can't bring myself to throw away:

Once I realized it would take tons of pictures to show all the pages in this journal, I realized that a video would be much more efficient, and that I could talk about the pages as I was showing them. Ok, so I'm a little behind the times, but I can catch up with a vengeance!

So, TADA! Here's my grand entrance into the world of video. The quality leaves something to be desired, but it's a starting point!


My Scrappy Journal from Michele (Textile Traveler) on Vimeo.

I hope embedding the video works, or I won't feel so smart after all :-)

Let me know what you think!

Whine . . . Without the Cheese

I’ve fallen into a creative slump, and I can’t get up.

Did my surgeon accidentally remove my creativity, along with my drive? It feels that way. I was patient for a while, but now I’m getting frustrated.

I know all the tips for getting started: look through my inspiration notebook. Look through my visual journals. Get my hands on something and just START. Go over that list of projects I’ve been wanting to do forever and pick something. Anything. Take one tiny step forward . . .

I’ve tried all these, and nothing works. I head into my studio with the intention of working on something, but the effort to get the supplies out just seems overwhelming, so I turn around and head back out again.

It’s not that I’m not doing SOMETHING. I made this “watermelon” quilt from a pattern in a magazine, machine-pieced and machine-quilted:

I’m hand- and machine-quilting the “tattoo” quilt top I finished forever ago:

And today I’m mailing off this fabric ATC for a swap:

That was all the creativity I had in me—2-1/2 x 3-1/2 inches worth. I even signed up for a QU class, a really good one on design; for the first time ever, though, I didn’t participate at all in the class, and I feel guilty about the wasted opportunity.

I don’t know if I’m physically or mentally exhausted. Or still recovering from the surgery. Or just plain depressed.

Maybe it’s because I quit smoking several weeks ago, and I’m still in mourning for my 30-yr. long friend, the cigarette, as nasty and evil as he was. Or maybe I’m feeling deprived because I’m on a healthy-eating kick, trying to both feel better and lose some of the weight I put back on after my long illness.

I barely have the energy to whine, but I’ve managed to do a fair job of that in this post. No cheese, though—too many calories.

Anyone have any calorie-free chocolate?