hello 2021. we're ready for you.

time solves.

what a great weekend for creativity. thank you, laurie and michelle, for slowing down every time i thought i saw road treasures. see the pink thread alongside the beads? road construction rope from 144th and Zuni. the horizontal plastic pieces? the tassels that indicate buried things. also today, laurie gifted me a bright green shoelace. oh geez. so excited to place her shoelace on this piece! (i think it was from her 3:36 Chicago. so that is a very special shoelace.) team #stupidhobby, always inspirational!

pieces of the journey.

left, right, left. the pieces i pick up along the way will shape the design. don’t know how it will turn out. i’d planned for the shoe to be more muted as you can see by the brown metallic choice for the tread lines… but see the treasure i’m finding along the way? the pieces are bright and colorful. running and life. cheesy metaphors. can’t help what’s put in front of us…just say yes and make it pretty.

run the year.

funny! this milestone snuck up on me. about a three days ago i realized…girl! you could do 2020 in 2020. so there, 2020. thanks miles for the breath, air, joy, ideas, clarity….

2020 running conversations by percentage of time

dear team #stupidhobby:

you.

made.

2020.

better..

—me

yes! it's moving along.

super excited. this one is already fun! filling in the tread. below the tread i’m collecting road treasures from our runs. like: broken glass, pieces of plastic from a tail light, road clutter…and i’m going to use those pieces somehow in the design. listening to a podcast, Blind Spot: Road to 9/11. it’s interesting.

new. shoe tread. michelle.

i have never quit a project mid-project, but hey, 2020. i just couldn’t keep going on the last one. i’ll come back to it. i try to deliberately keep going. but this year… so changing direction with something close to my heart, running shoe treads.

i took all three treads from me, laurie and michelle, but in the end, the three treads felt like too much. i think one tread, Michelle’s, will provide a cooler look once the beads are overlayed. i’m excited and will start shortly.

ridiculous. yes.

every year, my running girls and i recite and celebrate mcsweeney’s article, “It’s Decorative Gourd Season.” (that @!#@ is so seasonal. you’re either ready to reap this freaky harvest or you’re not!)

took a short break to make these silly gifts for their upcoming birthdays. it’s true. cross stitch makes the gifts even more campy. someone’s got to appreciate this old, useless talent of mine. my running girls will. :-)

see. it is wild.

all pieces of silk from my friend christy who is a forever inspiration. spent yesterday listening to podcasts and sewing after doing some home repair. a nice treat to sit still and find creativity. - the Daily, Missing in Alaska and playing Catan with the family.

love is a wild thing.

(kacey musgraves.) this stocking will be wild and full of life. blessings, gratitude, creativity. and i’m starting it over again. after a long break. and it’s not the design from the previous post. fresh, better, more inspired. colorful and optimistic. (climbing over fences, moving in the shadows, places that you can’t see.)

quarantine weekend.

starting a new project. coronavirus has escalated, and glad to have an indoor hobby in addition to the #stupidhobby of running a lot. also getting on the peloton, and home officing.

almost done.

feeling good, maybe one more layer above the pink.

acknowledge the space.

and then fill it with something. little pockets of beautiful!

breathe.

when i started this one, wasn’t sure how to make it work. just played for a while. but loving it more over time and seeing the pieces coming together, this one has opportunity.

thread the needle.

sometimes you just keep threading the needle and stringing the beads. i do love the creative escape. listening to 11.22.63, stephen king. super captivating.

feels good.

have been deliberate about setting aside time at night and on weekends to advance this one. helps takes the mind out of other things. maybe creativity disables anxiety. for me. seems like they aren’t able to coexist in the same moment. nearly ready to start a new segment and re-roll the canvas upward. ha. feels good.

a little creative time.

aw geez. it’s been a while. needed creative time - freedom of mind. made it a priority and set out some new colors and sizes,. pushed back into a healthy space and it feels great. filling in some blanks on the canvas and will create new ones. doing lots of running. lots of peloton. time with my girls. good things.

Moving up and on.

New colors. New blocks. New motion - in lots of ways! Running the Chicago Marathon on Oct. 13th. I’m ready. So many miles. This will be my 10th Chicago, and just love the city. Have stockpiled energy for work and the marathon in the last few months, and now it’s time to be creative again since we’re in the taper. I like the way this one is coming together!

Color blocks.

no idea where this one is going.. that’s okay. probably more color blocks. have lots of beads to fill in blocks. mostly wondering if it needs a centerpiece bead or something or if the blocks are enough. time.