Why I Have to Create!

Did you ever wonder why you love to do what you do?  Or, where your love of doing one thing over another came from originally? 
I can't work in a traditional sense.  I've tried and failed, repeatedly.  But, what to do?  I come from a family of people who are masters at culinary arts.  My maternal Grandmother was trained as a Pastry Chef, yet worked as a cook with air force.   I have failed at that too - not working for the air force - cooking!  So, what is a cooking challenged black sheep to do?  In my case, two early loves proved to be the direction of my creative life, designing and writing.
 
My imagination doesn't allow me to hyper-focus on things that aren't within my field of interest.  This was made all too painfully clear to me as my children were growing up.  They would put their clothes into the mending basket for repair and those articles would sit, often, long after the child had out-grown them.  And so, after years of this experience, when they would have occasion to put something into the mending basket, they would say good-bye to it! Your children will be the first to point out your short-comings.  Even today, I'm not much better at that aspect of sewing.




My other passion is writing, oddly enough, not about the things that I create.  I usually let those things speak for themselves. So, how to merge these two passions has been another of those painful experiences for me.  Especially, if I am starting a blog.  So, maybe in all this there is a lesson for me to learn.  Do what you're good at and learn to merge the two.  It's going to be mental stretching exercise.  And perhaps at times, I'm going to have to feature other guest bloggers to fill in blank white space as a result of my resistance to discipline.  But, for now, here goes. 

I'm going to attempt to bring you on a virtual tour of my minds wanderings.  Perhaps you'll see something of yourself or someone you know.  And, hopefully you'll also witness the evolution of my two life passions into one cohesive life expression.  At least, that is what I hope for, so, enjoy your tour and let me know the things you'd like to see, expression and/or design-wise. 

My tour starts with me sitting by my Grandmother as she was trying to show me how to crochet.  And, I do mean show me - she was doing it and I was watching.  I may have been about 5-6 and even then I was wondering if I should perhaps have my own hook and wool to try and learn.  She used the same method for teaching me how to sew, as a matter of fact, so did my mother.  Family traits, I guess.  For the most part, I was on my own, working through pattern books, learning stitches where I could, even going to a neighbours house once, so she could show me a stitch I was having difficulty mastering.  But, that was years later when I was about 12 or 13.  Eventually, I did learn crocheting, knitting, sewing, but, mostly the hard way - on my own.  Which, I suppose, makes it all that more my own.  And the results of the years of struggle and trial and error is what I want to share with you.