perspective
liz lamoreux
the sun shines;
her heart opens (slightly).
*******
tonight,
i take a breath
and another
and i read this again
and again
Blog
springing
liz lamoreux
The willingness to accept responsibility for one's own life is the source from which self-respect springs.
Joan Didion
do.
liz lamoreux
Somewhere
among
wanting,
hoping,
hiding,
breathing,
resting,
healing,
dancing,
realizing,
giggling,
sighing,
believing,
and
knowing,
I sit
quietly
doing.
Over the weekend, we tackled organizing the little room, my studio. It has been an 18-month on again, off again attempt to find what works for me.
Three trips to IKEA in 30 hours and lots of patience from Jon later I had a project table.
One wisdom tooth extraction and many mugs of tea and several bowls of cottage cheese and cups of pudding and a couple days later, I began to play.
The year of the do.
This is what this is.
inspirations. february 20.
liz lamoreux
the jewel-toned costumes of the tudors
christine's wise words
anna maria's drawing room
frankie's truth shared here
the colors of the world of cath kidston
soaking up the inspiration of creating vintage style
possibility
blue.3 {self-portrait challenge}
liz lamoreux
blue is (also), to me,
safety (inconsistent)
truth (truth)
warmth (distance)
clarity (aloof)
freedom (isolating)
coolness (wide)
creativity (muggy)
connection (puzzling)
music (quiet)
hope (cyclical)
blue is, to me,
home
blue is, to me,
breath
truth
possibility
a pause
cocooning
opaque
peace
constant
shelter
rebirth
blue is, to me,
home
five (really) good things. just for me.
liz lamoreux
1) squeezing the juice of two blood oranges, one grapefruit, and two navel oranges, pouring the juice into a glass, and drinking the beautiful pink concoction for breakfast.
2) taking a break from work to crochet another row of the blanket.
3) calling my grandpa just to say "hi."
4) giving myself the present of a membership to the freespirit fat quarter club. (because, really, can one have too much fabric?)
5) sitting in the quiet. remembering the importance of love for one's self. and inhaling and exhaling compassion.
what are your five (really) good things?
think about it.
and then name them.
right now.
i dare you.
blue.2 {self-portrait challenge}
liz lamoreux
and so it begins (again and again and again)
liz lamoreux
Last winter, like many other bloggers who dabble in artsy+crafty things, I was quite inspired by Jane's and Alicia's ripple blankets. Those two seemed to have inspired a movement over at "the no-end-in-sight ripple along."
After reading about everyone joining in on the fun, I wanted to crochet. Like. right. now. So, when my mom and I met for a few days in Arizona, I brought along my crochet hook so she could teach/remind me how to crochet. I learned about 20 years ago from Nanny…not my grandmother but the mother of my second cousin's wife who was a bit like a grandmother to me at times…and I crocheted a few potholders that year. I loved it, but I didn't pick it up again until February of last year. As my mom and I worked on a couple of scarves, I settled into the rhythm that is knitting and crocheting. Several scarves later, the rhythm of crochet resonates deeply in me.
And, I felt ready to make an afghan. And, of course, not just any afghan…THE afghan.
So I tried one pattern and crocheted my heart out throughout the second half of the Super Bowl. By the end of a very long row three, it was apparent that I did not understand the pattern even though I kept trying.
I tried another pattern I found online…but just couldn't get into the rhythm at all. It involved a chain stitch after a few stitches several times and I kept forgetting it and wouldn't realize it until the middle of the next long row.
Then the book Vintage Crochet arrived in all its gorgeousness.
To begin the chevron pattern, I needed to chain 216 +3.
I, of course, chained 219 +3 because I kept repeating 219, 219 in my head while counting.
I didn't realize the problem until things got wonky in row three.
So, I began again…
Success! I love the rhythm of this pattern. (And, this book seems fantastic. So many brilliant patterns that have an updated vintagey feel.)
Late last night, as I was midway through row six, I paused and looked down and started cracking up. It looks like my color choices were inspired by that very moment in time. (With a bit more light this morning, I have taken a photo so you can see what I mean…)
However, the color palette was actually inspired by the sweater worn by Miss Hermione Granger in Harry Potter and the Order of the Phoenix. I saw that movie three times in the theatre (and once at home since it was a gift for Christmas). I just love that movie (and I want to one day be able to crochet some sweaters like the one Luna wears). It is my favorite so far. I think it is partly because it came out as the book series ended and I felt so sad…but the movie made it seem like the really good part had just begun. Anyway, every time I would see Hermione's sweater for the first time in the movie, I would think about how I wanted to make an afghan with those colors…
And so it begins.
It is scary that I am matching my outfits with my crochet projects? It hasn't been done on purpose…but…it happened last week too…
If you are in the midst of a ripple blanket or plan to start one soon, please let me know. We can double crochet rippled stripes together…