Thursday, August 24, 2006

Pincushion thoughts

Sometimes I wonder whether I should try so many things at a time.
I sew. I knit. I embroider and weave in various techniques. I make macrame. I naalbind. I crochet. I draw a bit, I paint a bit.
I make clothes, jewelery, accessories.
Isn't it too much for one girl? Shouldn't I concentrate on something and make it perfect instead of touching one craft and following to another? I don't even have time to practice all of them, so I give up some crafts in favour of the others (okay, I'm not very fond of crocheting, so I don't do it often, but I do love to embroider and I really don't have time for it while doing everything else, especially cross-stitching embroidery which is very time-consuming!....). I try to make a living out of artistic sewing, but as you are probably aware, handmade objects usually have to be very underpriced in order to be sold - poeple just expect to get everything for free... (which is sad, because we really put our best efforts to create something useful and pretty at the same time!).
I haven't been to artistic schools where they teach various techniques and when I enter the art shop I feel lost, looking at all those different paints, papers, brushes and objects I cannot even name. All I know I've learnt either from my grandmother or from the books/internet. I'm not an artist, I don't create things which you can hang on the wall or put on a shelf and admire. I make useful items with a touch of Beauty (I like to think about them like that. ^^) .
September is coming and I have to decide if I want to attend second year of the jewelery course. It's fun to make jewelery, but maybe I should concentrate on fabric crafts instead (it's 6 hours/week)? Because as much as I like making silver jewelery, I won't have my own fully equiped workshop in the near future (no space, no money), and without some tools I won't be able to do anything at home.
And whenever I want to try something new I keep asking myself, whether it can bring any profit to our family budget or is it just for my fun of making it? Is it an investment or a hobby all together?
Any thoughts on that, please?

Anyway, here is the pincushion parade. ^^














And my favourites:




Each of them is made of plain wool and patterned cotton, with a satin ribbon to hang it on the wrist, embroidery floss and two faux pearls, and some insect aplique, 10 cm in diameter. I'll be sending them to the on-line gallery to sell (they already have some of my bags), so keep your fingers crossed as I have no idea whether Polish audience is willing to buy something like that. ^^

And last, but not least, a very poor quality photo from my mobile phone:

- my Mom (who is retired and has lots of free time) bought 300 sq metres plot of land to turn it into a recreational place - to have flowers, some fruit and meet friends for a barbecue. And what you can see in this photo is my own (mine, mine! ^^) piece of this land, where I'm going to plant vegetables next year (this year the season is coming to an end, and there is a lot of cleaning to be done there, because the previous owner left this plot unattended for some time and the Nature took over... ^^). I'm thinking about tomatoes, courgettes, sunflowers (one is already there, can you see? ^^) and we'll see what else next Spring.
In the corner to the right of this fenced plot my Father is going to put up a small smokehouse so we'll have our homemade smoked meat (yummy! ^^). There are two apple trees, two plum trees, wild blackberries bush and aronia bush. I am also in charge of the small stone garden with evergreens next to the small tool shed ^^. I'm excited because I've always wanted to have a piece of land and grow vegetables and flowers. When I went there yesterday, I even got my first mosquito bite, how cool is that! ^^Next time I'm going there I'm going to take a camera with me and take decent pictures! ^^

4 comments:

  1. Too many of us have found ourselves at a crossroads and taken the "wrong"turn. In light of this I say, do what you like best as you will always wish you had.

    The land is just fantastic, with the trees and fruit, and I really like your pincushions.

    ReplyDelete
  2. Hmm...I definitely sympathize with your dilemma! I used to be a pretty big crafts dabbler, but I've pretty much stuck to knitting since I started it. Mostly because it's the one craft I've been really good at!

    I have to say based on your pieces from last year that I think you are very talented at jewelry-making. I know I would buy some of your jewelry, given the opportunity! Of course the difficult part is getting the materials/equipment and finding a market for the items. Hope you find peace in whatever decision you make!

    ReplyDelete
  3. Oh I just love your plot of land. I can't wait to see more photos. I am a little worried about you being excited about a mosquito bite though :-) I love the pincushions - please tell me when they will be available for sale. As to the life decisions - that's a hard one. I think it works best if you can do what you love and happen to be lucky enough to make some money at it but that's not always possible. You are so talented though I think you should stick with it!

    ReplyDelete
  4. I'm so jealous of that land or yours and your moms. Those pin cushions are great!!!

    ReplyDelete