Creativity and the Mundane

There are many daily, regular tasks that we complete without much thought put into them.  We get used to doing certain things certain ways and don't really think about them.  We drive to work on the same route, we go through the grocery store in the same way, we relate to people in certain ways.

Sometimes there is simply a route that makes most sense so we take that.  Sometimes we go through the grocery store a certain way because we want to get certain foods just before leaving and sometimes we think we have people pegged.

Sometimes the things we do and the way we do them makes sense and take the least amount of time and energy to complete.  We all instinctively do common things in a common way to reserve our time, energy and effort for things that we think deserve them.

But sometimes we do them because it takes more time, energy and effort to stop doing them and that not a good reason to continue.  It's good to evaluate even those little things and ask some questions.  Depending on the answers to each of the questions, you might decide you're doing just as you should but leave yourself open to consider creative alternatives that might bring some sunshine to what had been drudgery.  You might just find that there are things you've been doing that you no longer need to, which will give you that much more time, energy and effort to do what your choose to do.

1. Why am I doing this task?
2. Why am I doing this task this way?
3. Should I really be doing this task?
4. Should I really be doing this task this way?

Living purposefully is powerful.  Doing what we do on purpose because it serves a purpose.  That's not to say there aren't things that are so mundane they don't matter; they can be done a number of ways and still meet the desired objective.  But sometimes we can bring our creativity to play in cleaning out the corners of our lives that might lead us to new discoveries about ourselves and those around us.

The same thing can be said about how we relate to those around us as well as how we perceive ourselves.  As an example, I have a colleague at work that I don't know intimately but I've always been on friendly terms with.  As any other person would do, I had certain pre-conceived notions about who she was.  We all do that.  And those notions are either challenged or confirmed with each conversation.  But my notions about this certain colleague, a highly professional, polished person who seems very "proper" recently underwent a massive challenge when I discovered that she'd been a drummer since she was a child and has played in jazz bands and other groups.  I would NEVER have guessed that about her.  It reminded me how dangerous it is to assume we have people figured out and put in the box.  People are infinitely more interesting that our imaginations can make them.

It takes someone willing to go beyond the known to winkle out those interesting aspects of other people's interests and character.  As an introvert, it takes a little more effort for me to do so but every time I make the effort, I find it's infinitely worth it.

Create with what you have

Every creation is conceived differently but if you listen to creators, whether it be authors or songwriters or inventors or cooks, you'll hear two broad categories.  There are as many variations as there are people and creations but it may give you a place to start.

1. Looking at something in front of you and asking, "I wonder what I could make with this (these) thing(s)."  You may bring in other things to complement the focus item (or word or sound) but you start with that (those) thing(s).
2. Getting an idea from out of the blue and then figuring out how to make it real.

You hear songwriters say they woke up with a song fully formed on their lips.  If they're good, they immediately get it recorded or written down. 

You hear writers say they had no idea how their stories would turn out.  They just keep writing until the story or the character tells them the ending.

You hear of designers who say they saw something in their mind's eye and they drew it out and worked on it until it was realized.

That's a type of inspiration that is a good dessert but can't usually be relied for a regular meal.  Most things don't happen like that but it's so much fun when it does.  You feel like you're watching someone else create something amazing.

The first category is more under the control of the creative person; it can be used to create inspiration or blast through a blockage.  I think it's much more satisfying to create this way, too, because it requires some sort of effort and exercise on the behalf of the creator.  

It's also a technique that can be used to group create.  One of the best examples of this is the fabulous project headed by Joseph Gordon Levitt - HitRecord.  If you've never checked this project out, you absolutely should.  Be a part of something clever and exciting and challenging.

I'm currently working on a project that I would never have thought of had I not had 2 types of yarn I bought a few months ago while on a yarn crawl (visiting all the yarn shops in the area) in St. Louis with some friends.  

First I had two singles-spun hanks of Berroco merino/silk yarn. 

Fairly bulky and multicolor.  I wasn't sure really what I was going to do with it but it was on clearance so I got it.

At the same store, I found this lace weight yarn.

A very light, slightly greyish green.  

There's not much in common between the two yarns except for the fact that I had both of them in a bag and didn't know what to do with either of them.  So I got them both in front of me and started to run through ideas in my head.  I knew I didn't have enough of the Berroco to do anything big so I started to think of the various winter items I could make with it.  I've made several new scarfs lately and I thought that was probably a boring choice.  With the mix of colors, a pattern would be lost, especially after wear.  This yarn will felt pretty readily if given half a chance and could just end up as a doorstop if I wasn't careful.

On the other hand, I had this beautiful green yarn but I wasn't in a mood to do a proper lace project.  I did notice that the color complemented some of the colors in the heavier yarn so what could I do to combine them.  I've been fairly intrigued lately by the combination of chunky/lacy yarns so that seemed a safe bet.

How about a cowl? I could do stripes of each for the edges, interchanging the chunky with a lace panel.  That could work.  I decided on a size of knitting needle that would accommodate both weights (in this case a US size 4).

I started with a border of the heavy, thinking this would be the shoulder end.  Now what lace pattern should I use?  I decided on what is called a "faggoted" lace pattern, basically a yarn over/knit 2 together pattern.  It's a biased pattern (goes from one side to the other and can distort a pattern off the square).  While knitting in the round, that wouldn't matter and would create a sort of honeycomb look.

Here is a photo of the work in progress.  From this point I will knit the body of the cowl in the chunky, lovely, soft merino and silk so it will keep my head warm in the cold winter ahead and I'll add several inches of a lacy edging to finish off the face edge.

If I hadn't had both of these yarns in front of me, I would never have thought to use the two types of yarn together for this particular pattern (which I am deeply digging).

You can try this yourself.

• Walk through the store and pick an ingredient at random and then figure out a recipe that will make the most of it. 
• Open a book and point to a word at random.  Go off and write a short story, poem or song based on that word.
• Grab a couple of found items (beads, feathers, bolt nuts, piece of wood, piece of metal) and create something with them.

Have a go and have fun with it!  Grab some friends or family members and make a game of it.  You'll be amazed at what you can come up with!

The wrong side of creativity

I love being a creative person and I enjoy growing my creative skills but the negative side of that is that I'm crazy good at creating excuses for those things I don't want to do.  I am the Queen of Justification.  If you ever need a reason not to do something, I'm your girl.

Creativity is a gift and a tool that needs a little bit of self control and discipline to round it up now and then so it doesn't end by tripping you up.  People equate creativity with being flighty and irresponsible and it can be that if there's no balance to it.  In the same way, practicality can be great and bring enormous productivity but without a dash of creativity and play, it becomes dry as dust and ends up choking people instead of energizing them.

Creative "types" don't like people who try to plant their feet on the ground but often those people with their feet on the ground are the ones you can teach you how to take your dreams out of the clouds and into the reality that can be shared with the world and benefit those it was meant to benefit.

Just like an introvert can learn to extrovert and an extrovert can learn to introvert, a creative person can build self discipline and a highly disciplined person can be creative.  It just takes a little more energy and can't be all the time.  I know that if an extrovert has to be alone and think or study, he needs to be sure to spend time with other people to refuel and if an introverted person has to spend a lot of time interacting with people, he needs to be sure there is time to go into a quiet place and read or think.  The point is don't be crippled by your gifts.  If you find it hard to be disciplined, staff your weaknesses.  In other words, identify those in your life that can help you be disciplined, that can hold you accountable.  You have to give those people permission to do that from time to time.

So the moral of this story is, be creative.  Fly to the stars and back but build a character who can be disciplined and in control of itself and pack clean underwear.

Fake it till you make it

To act like you are something so you can, in fact, become that thing.

There is a lot of truth in this old phrase.  At its root, I think it means that you don't have to be perfect before you begin to be something or do something.  You just have to begin to be something or do something and with practice and development, you can be or do that thing.

No one is born fully made, no one takes up a hobby and is perfect before they start. 

I teach a lot of beginner classes and there are always at least one of each of these people:

1. Perfectionist: Within the first five minutes, they're frustrated because whatever they're working on isn't perfect.  They don't usually listen to instruction and just forge ahead without thinking and then get angry when they fail.  Most of the time they quit because they're not instantly perfect.
2. Happy Dabbler:  They listen to instruction and forge ahead, come hell or high water.  Their work is usually messy and crazy but they have fun and enjoy the process.  They will take the time to figure out whether they enjoy the craft and not and, if they do, they continue on and learn and share the joy of the craft.

Then there are usually people in the middle of the two.  If you want to be creative, be closer to the second than the first.  A Perfectionist will never allow themselves to fail and you can't create without failing.

Patterns

Much of creativity is finding patterns among things that have not been put together before.  This is a skill that can be learned by practice.

How about a textured ceiling or tile flooring?  How many patterns can you see?

What about the clouds?  Take time to stare into the clouds and see how many things can you see?  Do you see a horse?  How about a flower?  A dog wagging its tail?

While you're sitting at the red light, is there a pattern among the cars sitting in front of you?

Rain drops on the car window? Have you ever played rain drop races?  Which drop will it run into next?

As you begin to notice, you will see patterns all around you.  Use this developing skill to envision how something completely unrelated can be applied to your new idea.

Teaching is All About Learning

A teacher of anything is worth nothing unless they're ready and willing to learn from those they teach.  You can't lead unless you're able to follow.

One of the most disturbing things in history is where one group of people claim superiority over another.  Colonialism, Slavery, Nazi-ism, Genocide.  The list goes on and on.  If one person is superior to another, they feel they have nothing to learn from their "inferior." Superior imparts knowledge and values to the inferior and the flow is always in that direction, never the other way around.  That is the most dangerous attitude on the planet.  History is the record of it.

I will never give a minute of my time to someone who is so Masterful that they have nothing left to learn.  If you have nothing left to learn, you have nothing to teach.  Humility is such an old fashioned term but it's the only antidote to superiority.

I know that there are a number of things that I do well.  Some of them I do really well and some not so much.  But every day I remind myself that I have new things to learn that day.  Every day is a new day and every new day holds new things to learn and discover and create. 

If you want to be creative, be humble.  Approach each new subject with the heart of someone with something to learn.  It will be like a summer shower on dry ground and each new experience and each new creation will be fresh and full of joy.

Pragmatic Perfectionist

I used to think I wasn't anywhere close to a perfectionist because I am at heart a lazy layabout but then I started realizing there were some things that I was willing to expend huge time and energy to get right.  There were things when I could hear my Grannie's voice saying, "I'll know" and I would have to get it right.

Let me explain.  My Grannie was my one of my best friends, a kindred spirit of the first order.  From my Grannie I got my eyes, my short waist and my ability to crochet and do other textile crafts.  She would sit and crochet every available second of every day.  I remember her throwing things on to cook for lunch (which in her house was the big meal of the day) and then running to her chair to crochet a few stitches before she had to go stir something or turn something.  Sometimes, if she had to keep a particularly close eye on things, she would even take her project to the table just so she could get a few more stitches made.

In the evenings, she would sit comfortably and it was all crochet all evening.  What fascinated me, though, was when she would be making a huge doily or table cloth in the fine thread.  She could be on round 100 and find a mistake on round 22 and she would rip that sucker out all the way to that mistake and start over.  When the time for each stitch was so precious, I could never understand why she would do that.  After all, she'd worked 78 rows past that mistake and never noticed it, why would it make a difference?  No one would know.  That's when she would replay, "I'd know." There was just no answer to that and no argument to be made.

To me for all my years, that was the definition of perfectionism.  I'd know.

Now me, I'm the queen of the "design element," or the incorporating of mistakes into a design so that it becomes a purposeful part of the whole.  Most of the time I can do that but there are certain times when it just won't do. For all my free flowing creativity, there are certain circumstances where I could hear my Grannie's voice and I have to do it right.

How do I know the difference between what matters and what doesn't? It's usually when I'm tempted to leave something because I'm being lazy even when I know that it will hurt the design.

I devised the phrase "Pragmatic Perfectionist" because there are tons of things in life that just don't matter if they're not perfect.  The sky isn't going to fall if my kitchen floor isn't perfect all the time (which is a really fortunate thing).  The world won't come to an end if a recipe doesn't turn out perfectly and the rice is a little crunchy.  I won't die if someone doesn't like how my hair looks.

Perfectionism can be a prison.  Not everything matters. But some things do.  Those things will be different for each of us.  What are the things that matter to you?  Those things that are worth taking the time and effort to make a perfect as you're able to.  That doesn't mean perfect as they could ever be done.  It means you use your time, effort and skills to make it as right as YOU can.  That's where the pragmatism comes in.

Pragmatism
noun

1.

character or conduct that emphasizes practicality.

2.

a philosophical movement or system having various forms, but generally stressing practical consequences as constituting the essential criterion in determining meaning, truth, or value.

For me, the things that matter are how I treat people, how I communicate and my craft.  I'm free to not be perfect in other areas but in these 3, I want to spend my time, effort and energy.  How about you?

My Seinfeld Moment

First I want to say how much I'm enjoying this new blog. Just taking a few minutes each day to ponder the subject has been reinvigorating to me. In fact, the subconscious pondering leads me to today's post. 

I woke up in the middle of the night and as I shuffled to the facilities, I had an idea for the perfect post. I headed back to bed with a chuckle on my lips and conked out. 

This morning I was left with a vague memory of how perfect the post was and that scene from Seinfeld playing through my head. You know the one where he and George went to California to visit Kramer and we're sharing the hotel room. Jerry had woken up in the night with a joke but couldn't read his own handwriting. And then the maid, Lupe, threw the note away. 

Many writers and creators live with note pads all over the house, including the bedroom (for nighttime inspiration) and bathroom (for shower inspiration). 

So I guess the moral of this story is that an idea can hit at any time. Don't miss it - keep a pad and pen handy but use legible handwriting. 

One step forward, ten steps back

I have a brother.  He's really one of the most creative people I've ever met but he started his life of curiosity and creativity by taking apart everything I ever owned until I was about 12.  As we grew up, I remember seeing him in the garage taking apart a bicycle to see how it worked.  It was interesting until I realized it was MY bike he was taking apart.  It took my dad ages to get it put back together again.

My mother tells the story of him taking apart every toy he ever owned for the 3 1/2 years before I came along (the only one that defeated him was his Tonka Truck apparently) but I can assure you that the second I did come along, he never again touched his own toys or belongings until the day he actually figured out how to put the dang things back together.

He was driven by a passion to understand how things worked and that started by seeing how things fitted together.

I'm happy to say that he did eventually learn how to put things back together, at which time he started taking apart his own things again.  In High School his car was giving him trouble so he took the entire thing apart and had it filed in his room in big envelopes.  He put the whole thing back together and drove it for several years after that. 

So, get your creativity moving by deconstructing something.  Have a look at a favorite shirt and figure out how each of the pieces was shaped to fit together.  What would happen if you pinned it up along any of the seams?  Would it change shape?  If you've got any clothing patterns laying around or available to you, pull one out and look at the flat pieces and how they differ from the 3D, put together version.

Look at a pair of trousers and figure out how the zipper was put in.  Look at the front pieces and see how they differ from the front.  Did you know you can figure out which is the front of a pair of sweat pants even if it doesn't have a label?  Hold it at the cross seam at the crotch and you'll see that one side will be longer and one side shorter.  I wonder why that would be?

Look at a lamp and figure out how the bulb and shade fit onto the base.

Look at a table or a chair and see how the legs are fitted onto the top.  Are there multiple pieces to hold the legs into place?  Is it fitted with screws or do the pieces slide together.  For the chair, how was the seat finished?  Is it a woven fabric?  How was it attached to the frame?

Put together a flat pack shelf or cabinet.  Why do they tell you do each step in a certain sequence?

Look at a ceramic mug and try to imagine how the cup was made.  How was the handle made?  How was it attached to the cup?

A friendly note: If you're going to take something apart, you might want to use your handy dandy cell phone or digital camera to document each step to make sure you can put it back together.

Get curious.  Start seeing things as components put together.  What would happen if one thing was changed?  Could the parts be put together to make something completely different?  Could part of it be used as a base for something different?  Go and deconstruct!

Start with a recipe

Want to strengthen your use of your creativity?  Start with a basic recipe and then adapt it in different ways.

 

Look in any recipe book or the back of any packaged mix and you'll find the basic recipe as well as different ways you can adapt the recipe.  By starting with a basic recipe, you don't have to make something up out of nothing but you do have to consider how your adaptations will affect the basic ingredients. 

 

Will it add more moisture that I will have to compensate for?

Will it make the mixture more dry and, if so, what sort of moisture will I have to add?

Will the new ingredients taste nice with the basic recipe? (There's nothing less tasty than anchovy muffins.)

 

The photo above shows a muffin recipe with 11 different variations to it but you can do the very same thing with spaghetti or rice or salad or smoothies or meatloaf or your garden or curtains or any number of activities.

 

Want new curtains?  Get a basic pattern and then go crazy with colors and patterns and textures. 

 

Want to do hanging pots (it was our first snow of the winter today so I'm quite happy to dwell on the spring)?  Get a variety of annuals and lay them in different patterns until you get something you like and plant away.

 

Want to write a song, use a standard recipe like A, A, B, A to arrange some verses to get you started and work out from there.

 

Want to write some poetry? There are tons of recipes here like the limerick:

 

Edward Lear wrote:

There was an Old Man with a beard,
Who said, 'It is just as I feared!
Two Owls and a Hen,
Four Larks and a Wren,
Have all built their nests in my beard!'

 

Or the haiku:

An afternoon breeze
expels cold air, along with
the fallen brown leaves. 

 

Cut your teeth there or use them as warm ups before you begin your magnum opus. 

 

There are so many areas that recipes can be used so you can play with creating new things on top of a standard base.  How will you use this hint today?

 

 

 

 

 

Who put the peanut butter in the chocolate?

Or was it the other way around? 

Sometimes creativity can be sparked by pairing two completely different things and playing out how those things could be developed together. 

I often say that my favorite craft store is the hardware store.  Not an obvious connection but here's what I do.  The hardware store is, by its nature, a big place with tons of bits and pieces.  I like to go through and look at things that I don't know the original purpose for and think about how it could be used in a project or how it could be paired with something from somewhere else in the store to become something. (Yes, it has been pointed out to me by my longsuffering friends that this is a weird practice.  So what?)

Or sometimes I have an issue like the time a part on one of my spinning wheels broke.  It was a small plastic tube that connected two pieces.  I could have spent boucoup bucks and lots of time trying to track down the "right" piece on the internet and waiting for ages to get it or I could go wander the aisles of my favorite Lowe's store and find something that would work.  And I did.  In the plumbing aisle, I found rubber tubing of different diameters, one of which fit the bill.  I got 4 inches of it for something like $0.26, took it home and fixed the thing and had extra left over as spare.

Plumbing is not often associated with spinning yarn but in this case, it was just the ticket.

While I was in that plumbing section, I also discovered the little packages of o rings looked exactly like what the yarn shops were selling for stitch markers (those are the gadgets you use to mark certain pattern stops and starts on a knitting project).  The ones in the yarn stores cost something like $7 for 10 stitch markers.  O rings were about $1.29 for 20 and they came in all sizes (great for accommodating the size of needles you might use for knitted projects).  What?????!!!!!  Yes, they were a bit oily.  But after they'd had a quick wash, they were perfect.  Plus they have some give which many of the "proper" stitch markers don't so they don't hurt your hands while you're working.  Champion!

After I'd discovered this and really started looking at the stitch markers for sale, I realized that some people were just repackaging the o rings and marking the price up a bajillion percent.  That's just insulting.

If you're not a knitter, the bigness of these discoveries might elude you but take my word for it, they were game changers for me.  Discoveries like this are a constant source of amusement for my dear friends but occasionally they'll let me know they've made a weird connection that works, too, and I love that.

I've started reading books about fields that I really have very little knowledge of or interest in.  There are always connections or thoughts that pop up that illuminate something completely unrelated that I've been thinking about. It's those weird connections with things that you would never think to put together.  Want to grow in your creativity?  Develop a magpie mind.  Pick up thoughts, ideas, concepts and squirrel them away in your mind.  You'll be amazed at how they will pop out at the most unexpected times to make sense of something that has your stumped.

They happen all the time, these weird connections.  Have you ever wondered how that guy happened to find that girl and somehow the relationship works?  What's that about?

With Christmas shopping season coming up, there will be plenty of chances to say, "Who'd ever think to put that with this?" Sometimes it will be with admiration and other times it will be with horror but it will happen and it can help you kick start your creativity.  Make it a point to be looking for these combos - it may ease the pain of having to be in a store at Christmas time.  A little.

Make a list of random words.  Sometimes I open a book (any book) and randomly point at words on different pages.  Write them down.  Now take any 2 of them and play with them.  How could they be put together?  What would it look like?  What could you do with it?  Then choose 2 other words and just play around with them.  That will get your mind started reaching out for seemingly unrelated things and begin to put them together.  You might be amazed by what you come up with!

Look the other way

Have you ever been to the grocery store looking for something in particular?  You go up on isle and down the other and just can't find it.  Sometimes if you go down the isle in the opposite direction, it will show up like flashing lights?  Why is that?  I have no idea but I do know that it's a concept that can be applied when you're looking for a solution. 

You go over and over the situation in your head. Chances of figuring something out are slim.  Your vision becomes too narrow.

You go over and over the situation in your head and you talk about it with others.  Chances are improved.  The others you talk to should be able to provide a little different perspective.

You go over and over the situation in your head and you talk about it to other but then you stop and approach it from an entirely different angle all together.  Chances are good you'll find a solution.

How do you do that?  Questions are a good place to start. 

"In all affairs, it's a healthy thing now and then to hang a question mark on the things you have long taken for granted." - Bertrand Russell

Think about how you define your problem or challenge or need then ask the question, "Is this really the problem (challenge) (need)?"

"What if I stepped into someone else's shoes and was presented with this problem (challenge)(need)?  How would it look from their viewpoint?"

"What if I got this solution and was looking back at myself now?  What advice would I give myself?"

"What if this problem (challenge) (need) was someone else's and the pressure wasn't on me to find a solution?  What would I advise?"

So when you're in that place of needing to solve an issue, try going down the up isle and see things you've never seen before.

Everything I needed to know, I learned by packing

Yesterday I was helping a colleague pack his office and boxing things up to ship to his home in another state. We had a limited amount of packing material that had been provided by the company so I was having to make do with various bits and pieces I had hoarded lately. Small boxes were cut up to provide protection to picture frame corners and glass and framing boxes were put together with bubble wrap to pack statues. A large storage box was emptied to accommodate some larger items.

As we were doing all this, I was thinking about the movie, Princess Bride. Do you remember the scene when Inigo and Fezzik rescue Westley and he's been resurrected by Miracle Max?  They take him to the castle walls and Westley goes through what I think of as Problem Solving 101 (which is really nothing short of Creativity 101).

 

#1 - what's the obstacle?  What needs to be solved?  Where do we want to get and what is standing in our way?  

The first thing that usually flies out the window when an obstacle arises is objectivity. Stopping to ask this question can help weed out the noise and dust that comes with the obstacle that will only serve to distract and discourage. Clear the air. 

If there are multiple issues, this step will also help sort out which is the most important as opposed to which is the loudest. 

 

#2 - now that you know what obstacle you're working on and where you want to get, you can take stock of what your assets are. "And our assets?" Westley asks. They begin to list Inigo's sword, Fessik's strength and Westley's brain."  "If only we had a cart," mused Westley. Inigo - "Where did we put the cart the old albino had?"  Frssik - "Over the albino, I think."  Westley - "What I wouldn't give for a holocast cloak."  And Fessik pulls one that Miracle Max gave him out of his shirt. 

The moral of the story is that a) you don't have to have everything to hand up front and b) you may need to improvise along the way. Don't be afraid to think silly. Sometimes that will get you to a creative solution faster. 

My colleague's comment to me was, "Watching you do this is like a puzzle. You say we should do something that makes absolutely no sense to me until you do it. Then I realize what a brilliant solution that was. I would never have thought of that."  My response?  "This ain't my first rodeo!"  It so happens that I've moved something like 44 times in my life (not in the military - just a vagabond) so I've got a few tools in my belt packing-wise-speaking.

Moral of that story is that the more you begin to think creatively, the more you'll have to draw on the next time.

# 3 - do the plan but always be ready to go to plan b or plan m or plan zz. It's not about being right the first time, it's about getting past the obstacle to the destination however that ends up looking. 

If you are intent on getting everything right the first time around, you'll never start. Ask questions, gather information and make your best effort. 

And don't be surprised if the answer to question #1 changes along the way. Sometimes the real obstacle is hidden away and only gets revealed as you find your way through the mess. 

This works whether you're implementing a new technology system or you want to redecorate your living room.  Whether you want to figure out how to eat healthy or plan a the best route for shopping on a time limit.

 

Creativity is like making mud pies. It's dirty and you don't always wind up with what you think you're going to get and it's a blast.  

Simplicity

So much about creativity is about simplicity. The most elegant, simple tool of creativity that I know of is the humble spindle. 

The spindle is one of man's earliest tools and has for millennia been used to clothe and shelter and convey people, young and old, living and dead. 

In ancient Egypt, some mummies' burial cloths have been found to be almost 300 yards in length, worked at 80-90 threads per inch on the warp (vertical) and 30-40 threads per inch in the weft (horizontal). That's, at a median, 61,500 feet of handspun linen or 20,500 yards of linen spun on a simple spindle at an astonishing fineness. Don't believe me? Go look at an inch and imagine 90 threads fitting flat in that space. 

Spindles were used to spin cotton and linen, coarse wool and fine wool, alpaca, bison, yak, llama, vicuña and hemp. Anything that could be made into a string was spun with a simple spindle which at its basics is a piece of wood with something to give it some weight to help it spin fast enough to accommodate the fiber it was spinning. Sometimes the whorl (the heavy bit) is at the top, sometimes the bottom but the principle is the same. 

(Image from Pacific Wool and Fiber website -http://www.pacificwoolandfiber.com/drop-spindles.html - a fabulous place to find fiber and tools) 

Spun and woven fiber has been used for clothes, sails, burial cloth, tents, paper and more. 

Tools for creativity, whether it be a spindle or a pencil, don't have to be fancy or expensive (although they sometimes are). Sometimes the more fancy a tool is, the more it can stifle creativity because it makes decisions or assumptions for you that limit where your thinking or making or doing might otherwise take you. 

Try doing something creative with something simple today. Me?  I've got my spindle with me and that makes me happy. 

You have to start somewhere

I don't have the layout finished on this new blog yet but before the night is out, I want to post the first post.  This has been a year of being stretched in so many different areas but one of them to pursue my passion.  Several people and blogs have come into my way this year to be a sticky sticker in my behind pushing me uncomfortably closer to facing some new challenges in my life.  I'll share more about them in the days to come but for today, let me say, This is a first step in the latest challenges I've been given - to blog about my passion.

If you asked my friends what my passion is, no doubt you would hear about fiber arts such as knitting or spinning or bobbin lace.  But I also love to draw and paint and cook and garden (this one's new - one of the challenges I've had this year) and think and write.  In short I love to create. I love to be creative, whether it's with fiber or yarn or thread or paint or words.  I love to look at something and discover ten new things it could be used for.  I love to solve problems.  I love to think about things. 

So in the 7-day Blog Challenge set by Live Your Legend, I've decided to blog daily for, not just the next 7 days, but the next year on developing, finding and using creativity in everyday life.  In my life.  I don't believe it's hard to be creative.  It's something that can be learned and honed and discovered in the most unlikely places.  Maybe even in a simple blog.