…another project closer…

Some projects take time to plan and prep and pull together. Others are a delightful case of serendipity, like my latest batch of diffuser bracelets. Master7’s lesson plans for last week included making a finger-knitted bracelet that was to be decorated with beads. I still had my bead boxes in easy reach after the last round of bracelet making, so I pulled them out to use the wooden beads with their nice large holes that would easily thread onto floss. Once I had them out, I decided to put away my regular school table crafting, and instead grabbed my latest delivery. While we were on holidays, my order of beady goodness had arrived, but I hadn’t found time to hook in and get the bracelets made. This seemed like as good a chance as any.

I’d ordered more lava beads, along with a new strand of carnelian, and I couldn’t resist the glittery allure of a strand of goldstone. As I’d been sewing my spring outfit I shared last week, I’d been planning this trio of bracelets. It was easy to start with those three, and lay out one blue, one mustard, and one mixed. The children,of course, decided they needed to join in once more, and got their sticky little fingers into the gemstone collection to come up with their own creations. Last time, I made seven bracelets towards my goal of fifteen for the year. With the three I’d strung together, and the two the children had designed, my total was at 12 – within spitting distance of my goal. If it was 2019, I would’ve packed my stuff away, and told myself I would finish it later. But it’s not 2019. It’s 2020, and covid has broken my brain and I’m all about the finishes. 2020 me couldn’t get that close to crossing an item off my list. Three bracelets, how hard could it be?

First on my list was an easy one. I have green fabric in my stash that I picked up on holidays, that I plan to make a summer dress from. A new dress, clearly, needs a new bracelet. I had plenty of options for soft greens, both light and dark, that would tie in nicely with the sage green of my dress fabric. Easy peasy, thirteen done, two to go. These two were a bit harder, when I didn’t have an obvious hole in my colour scheme, so I was really just playing. One I decided to do in a purple/pink/blue combo, for if I wanted to wear a bracelet to soup kitchen. Then the next one, my eighth for the day, fifteenth for the year, and last one to cross of item 15 on my 202020 list, I was just winging it. I went with a fun aqua and orange bead, that I originally bought for a planetary-inspired design, as my starting point, and then added a mix of solid orange and aqua beads to fill out the length that I needed. It’s a pretty bright end result, but will be a fun pop to add to neutral summer outfits.

This week has been a funny mixed up one, with various adulting pulling me away from my crafting. The children have absconded to my folks for the evening, so I’m about to head out for my weekly soccer game, and then home to groan on the lounge and maybe pick up my crochet for a bit. My stitchery is coming along nicely at the school table. I need to review my 202020 list again and work out what’s next to keep moving on those finishes. That might be the perfect post-soccer activity, actually, instead of clambering under a hot blanket….