Introduction #2: Val's Turn!

Hello, it's my turn!

I'm Valerie (often Val because people are laaazy). I'm currently living in Lansing, but who knows if that will be true in a month. I'm getting married in 3 weeks (ahh!) and everything is up in the air.

Crafting is currently my escape. I can turn on music, start stitching, and just forget about all of the things I should be doing. I've always had a crafter on the inside, but she's not always expressed herself well, often with half-finished projects that wouldn't make sense to anyone else. I could succeed in art classes, but without guidance I was pretty hopeless. It wasn't really until I discovered cross-stitch a year ago that I really started to harness my craftiness. Since graduation from college, I've played with cross-stitch, knitting, embroidery, clay, jewelry, hand-sewing, weaving, stamping, a tiny bit of felting, and painting miniatures.

My main skill is currently embroidery. I've found that it is guided enough that my inner crafter doesn't go nuts, but I can still express myself creatively. The different stitches come pretty naturally to me, and I enjoy losing myself in projects. I'm currently working on five (yes 5!) onsies for my nephew, on top of several other projects. I'm definitely working against the clock!

In the future I'd love to get back in to clay. I really enjoyed my ceramics classes in the past, and it's so much fun to shape a lump into something beautiful with your hands. Unfortunately, clay can be pretty costly, so we'll have to see. I also try anything that I come across that seems doable, so who knows what you'll see from me!

As soon as I get my room clean and find my camera, I'll be able to get pictures of all of the things I've been working on lately. I'm itching to share!

- Val