Mom! Mom! Mom!....

It occurred to me today that every time I get an important phone call, I also get a certain little three year old boy next to me. And inevitably, he breaks out into a constant stream of Mom...Mom....Mom...Mom....I am sure that you Moms out there know what I am talking about! It is incredibly predictable. Today was a busy day. I did lots of running around. We visited the Veterinarian, haircuts, local pharmacy, and breakfast at our usual favorite spot. By lunch time we were happily home and I was straightening out the kitchen counters. I called my boys to come to the kitchen a few times for little helpful tasks. No response from them! I asked them if they would like to eat lunch. No response from them. I asked if they would like to do a little finger painting project. No response from them. They were pretty much content with playing with their cars in in my oldest sons room. Then it happened. The phone rang, and it was a call that I had been waiting for from an important client. "Is it a good time to talk" she asked. "Sure" I replied, "the boys are playing upstairs". I was so sure I would have a few minutes to talk about the latest project I've been working on for her. Not 30 seconds later my three year old was at my side tugging on my pant leg saying Mom...Mom... As I continued to try to talk for a few minutes, I pulled a coloring book and the crayon roll (you can see our crayon roll here: http://www.etsy.com/listing/82651775/crayon-roll-up-tote-on-the-go?ref=cat_gallery_22 ) out of our art cupbord. Nope that didn't work. I pulled a yogurt out of the refrigerator. Nope. Finally, I apologized for not being able to talk at the moment, and promised to call back as soon as I was able to.

This is the part of the whole dilemma that drives me crazy. As soon as I had hung up the phone, my little guy smiled at me, and said "I forgot" and went on his playful, peaceful way. No one ever said it was easy to be a mom!

New Year New Try at this Blogging Thing!

2011 was a crazy year! So much happened and so much changed. I have a new company called Little Rhody Design Co and I am selling my original designs in my Etsy Shop of the same name as well as in local shops and craft shows.

I am determined to make 2012 the year of small victories. I recently opened a new workshop where I intend to do the lion's share of my design work. Hopefully I will be able to accomplish a few tutorials and better updates on my creative thoughts and projects. I thought that my first post of 2012 should include a small list of my top 10 goals for 2012. I don't know if I'll be able to accomplish all of them, but I do promise to try. So...join me in the adventure that is sure to be this year! Happy 2012 Everyone!!!

My 2012 goals
1. Spend more quality time with my family.
2. Create at least 1 new fabric design a week. (That's at least 52 new patterns by the end of this year! Thank goodness I have lots of ideas!)
3. Create a new tutorial to post on my blog every month! (I would love to do one a week, but I am going to start with baby steps.)
4. Really get my Studio up and running. I want to run at least 1 class a month.
5. Do my laundry more often. Yes, I am one of those people who struggles with keeping up with the household chores. Laundry for 3 active boys and a hubby is tough to handle!
6. Host a crafting club. This is something that I have wanted to do for a while. I need more time with adults who enjoy glue and glitter...and possibly some coffee or wine!
7. Learn more about gardening. I would really like to have a veggie garden once the winter and cold weather let's up here in Rhode Island.
8. Get a new hair style. This might seem silly, but I never get my hair cut. I have had the same style since I got married in 1999. Yikes.
9. Grow my business, and have fun doing it. I'm sure I'll be posting about this process and all of my ups and downs.
10. Keep up with this blog. Let's see how much it changes over the course of this coming year! I am hoping to post at least 2 or 3 times a week.

Does anyone else out there love the smell of crayons?

I have been so busy creating accessories lately.  I am making bags, and hats, and belts and various other creative items for my new shop.  Starting a small business is alot more work than I ever thought it would be, but I am loving it.  So, that is the biggest reason that I haven't written a blog post recently.  I keep vowing to myself that that will change.  Here is my entry into this weeks Spoonflower contest.

This week, I have been working with crayons.  The weekly Spoonflower contest was to create an 18 inch napkin design using only crayons on paper.  My kids have lots of crayons, but not many that are much longer than a 1/2 inch.  Needless to say,  I headed out to the store and bought a new pack of Crayola.  I got the 64 pack with the handy crayon sharpener on the back.  I love that little sharpener!  I have to confess,  I broke a couple of crayons on purpose just so that I could use it.  Anyhow, as I was coloring my ideas for a napkin design, a flood of memories came back to me.  I thought of some great times that I layed on the floor of my bedroom transforming my Dad's plain typing paper into colorful posters and patterns.  My earliest childhood memories involve crayons, plain typing paper, and a pair of those little rounded edge safety scissors.  We didn't need video games or 24 hour cartoons to keep us busy back then!  Ok, ok I am dating myself.  Well, back to the crayons this week.  My son Cullen, who is 3, was my right hand man.  I thought I would pull out the crayons, do a quickie design for the contest, and give the box to him.  As it turns out, Cullen was not the only one who wanted to color.  When the new box was opened the fresh, somewhat sweet, and totally unique smell of new crayons hit me.  I don't know why, but it inspired me to get down on the floor and color.  Cullen and I spent several hours over several days making a beautiful, colorful collage of flowers, and apples, and bugs, and letters.  I have to say,  I really love the smell of crayons.   Perhaps life would be happier if we all let the laundry wait for a day or two, and colored with our children.  I know the past few days have been some of the happiest I have had in a long time.

Semifinalist!

Today I found out that my pattern "On The Go" was selected as one of the 75 semifinalists in the Spoonflower/Michael Miller Project Selvage competition.  What a rush!  I have this overwhelming feeling of accomplishment that I have not felt in sooo long!  I know that this is only the first stage of the competition, but still....It has been a long time since I got this kind of recognition.  There are so many excellent patterns in the contest.  There are even some that I expected to see in the top 75 that are just not there.  The task for this initial stage was to create a pattern for baby boys.  (For any of you out there who would like to help me get into the next phase of the contest,  you can go to Spoonflower.com and vote in the weekly contest for my entry.  My call name is Fabgirl 42 and my pattern is the one posted with this note.) I guess the ideas came easily to me since I am surrounded by boys.  My three wonderfully creative sons all contributed to my design.  They stood over my shoulder and suggested vehicles that I include in my pattern.  It was fun, and they really felt like part of the process.  My older boys came home from school today and immediately asked if I had made it into the top 75.  They look at my patterns both woven and printed and already think I am famous.  It feels good to have their support and encouragement.  So please excuse me while I don my rockstar sunglasses and make some  dinner for my biggest fans!

Spoonflower really is fun!

A few months ago, I found Spoonflower.com.  It has been a great outlet for my pent-up creative energy.  I have been making at least one new pattern a week which I have been entering into their weekly themed contest.  The picture attached to this post is my submission for this week's theme Maps.  My Spoonflower ID is Fabgirl42 for anyone who is interested. What fun Spoonflower is! I have not won a contest yet, but a few times I was in the top 10 designs.  At the same time, I am generating a library of work which is inspiring me to make things to sell in an Etsy shop that I opened.  Alot has happenned since my last post in December.  Things are looking up!  I am going to try to start posting a weekly blurb about what is going on in my design world.

Thoughts of an unemployed textile designer.

It occurred to me today, that I have been an unemployed textile designer for six months now.  SIX MONTHS.  I worked every weekday for 21 years, and then...nothing.  I was suddenly and somewhat knowingly thrown out of the world of the employed. It seems that there should be some outlet for those of us who put so much of our lives into the creative process, and then found ourselves in need of a good creative outlet.  I have good ideas every day. I am not so sure I know how to stop having ideas. I think of pattern concepts and even go so far as to sketch them into quick design files on Photoshop. I have developed a six month log of ideas and patterns. Who needs pattern work these days?  Someone out there must still be looking for that next great pattern.  Also, what is to happen to the great art of weave design.  I know that weave design might not seem like a "great art" to most folks, but to me it is magic.  I worked in Textiles for 21 years and only met a handful of people who could design a great construction or draft innovative weaves and apply them to the perfect pattern.  Anyhow, I am going to try to write here as often as I can with some hope of finding others who have similar thoughts and or ideas.  Perhaps I will post pattern ideas or thoughts.  Any way I look at it, this process has to be better than keeping my ideas cooped up in my own head.  At least there will be a chance that someone else will enjoy my crazy creative rantings....