I know I signed up for the blog challenge to get me writing. Apparently it was supposed to inspire me to write on a regular basis. I've not been too successful at that. Again, I am making an effort and hoping to keep up with it. People now know I am writing and some are even reading so now I am feeling somewhat obligated to keep up on a relatively regular basis. Things are quiet at work, this is my last week in my current position before I take on a new adventure. I am taking advantage of the quiet and catching up in my blog. It will be hectic for a few months again while I get used to my new role, I will be training with the person I am replacing until the end of the month. She is retiring after doing the same role for 30 yrs! I am not sure I can imagine doing the same job for 30 yrs. I applaud her for her ability to keep on keeping on, but my personality does not suit that way of life at all. I need to be challenged. I do something until I tire and bore of it and move on. Usually I move on to something that is similar, that uses my talents (oh, good segue to the actually topic there Lady) still, but allows me to flex them in another manner. I hope I last at this job for 5 yrs or so, that will probably be enough time to get some education behind me. I'd like to start focusing on that. So the long and the short of this introductory paragraph. Thank you for reading. I am making an effort to continue doing entries. I may have another brief break while I am in training. And finally, today's challenge subject is difficult for me to write about because I am modest and have a hard time talking about my talents.
I will be the first to admit that I am a "Jill of all trades" if you will. I guess that is why I get bored at jobs, I'm always wanting to try something new. It's just the way this Crazy Cat Lady's mind is wired. I could talk about my work talents since I seem to be on that track at the moment, but I am easily enough derailed. Besides, work is not really where my pure passions lie. I enjoy what I do, and I'm good at what I do, but I would rather natter on about some other talent.
So what talents do I have other than work? There are a few. I am not fond of the term crafty because it tends to have a negative connotation. Between the image of someone who has swindled someone out of something due to their crafty ways and the image of an old lady making butt ugly dolls out of scraps of material, I tend to shy away from the term crafty. I am artistic, although I don't consider myself an artist. I don't have anything in a gallery, and honestly, I'm not the best at coming up with my own designs. I'm somewhere in the middle. But I like to think I'm talented at what I do. So what do I do?
Sewing. I learned to sew when I was 9. I begged my mother to teach me. It is something that I am more on the end of being an artist with, when I so choose. At one point I seriously considered becoming a fashion designer, I still kind of wonder why I didn't. Anyway, I was designing clothes for Barbie shortly after I first started using the sewing machine. I designed and made my own wedding dress (for the purposes of full disclosure, by design, I mean I drew what I wanted it to look like and purchased more than one dress pattern to mash together making my own alterations and decisions as I went along). I don't sew nearly as much as I used to, but I have two youngings who suck up a lot of time and energy and don't allow me to lock myself into my sewing room to create without interruption. One day they won't be young and instead of yearning to have more time to sew, I will yearn for their interruptions.
Glass. I create both stained glass and warm glass creations. I think I'm pretty talented at it. Again, generally with the stained glass I am following patterns. Recently, however, I saw something on that Rabbit Hole that I fall down called Pinterest and decided to recreate it for a vampire loving friend. I'm guessing you've figured out that's it to the Right there. Warm glass includes slumping and fusing. Again, these talents are sadly underused. Those small creatures that live in my house are not conducive to working with sharp glass, let alone moments of clarity to think and be creative. They will grow, and I will create.
Knitting. I learned to knit at a pretty young age too. Sub double digits. I put it down for along time, I kept trying to knit large sweaters of stockinette stitch, even worse the kind that are on the round, so all you are doing is knit, knit, knit. (For you non-knitting readers, stockinette stitch is knit every stitch on the front side and purl every stitch on the back side. It is, in my opinion, very boring. If you've read the introductory paragraph, then you learned I get bored easily). When my dad was sick, the waiting room at the ICU had a bucket with needles, yarn, and a pattern for making dishcloths. To pass the time, I picked it up and started knitting. I can't remember how many I made in the 8 months that he was there, but I ended up buying a jumbo skein of cotton and replacing all that I had knit. Anyway, that sparked me into deciding to pick up the sticks again. I then discovered the amazing world of Ravelry and the wealth of patterns there. Next I discovered lace knitting, and that was it. I was off to the races. Building a stash and creating my art. While the sticks (needles) can be sharp, knitting is a perfect fit for family life. It's portable, tidy, I can pick it up and put it down easily, and if needed I can tie up those rotten brats with the string! (just kidding, don't call children's services on me! Besides, we all know duct tape is much more effective!)
So there we have it. I got some mad skills yo!
I guess it wasn't that bad of a challenge after all, I tooted my horn thrice! Well, really I figure it's once because I'm talking about artistic/crafty talents. I am pretty proud of them, but I would never boast about it, I just do it quietly and happily.
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