Tiny Steps, Tiny Tastes... One Little Strand.

In all the preparation and chaos of getting ready for the CreativFestival in Toronto next week, I found it MUCH harder to catch my breath and take time to play.

I wanted to find a way to blend the colours that I love with one that I am not so fond of... and since there were piles of floss spread about the house as I prepared kits for classes I teach next week, I decided to fall back on an old favourite pastime.

I first started making Friendship Bracelets as a teenager because it gave my hands something to do while I was watching TV shows like the Hardy Boys, Buck Rogers, Love Boat or Battlestar Galactica (am I dating myself yet?).  The bracelets were fun and quick to make as I pinned one end to my jeans and then knotted in various patterns almost by feel.

For those of you who have never tried this craft, your can find basic instructions on the DMC web site and also on a variety of sites like this one.  As I roamed around the Web looking for the patterns I remember doing as a teen, I came across the ULTIMATE site for bracelet creativity. OMG!  Oh to have known about a site like this as a teen when I had a LOT more time on my hands... but that was back when we got excited about a computer called the Commodore 64.  Right... there was no Internet back then!

So I picked out a group of my favourite blues and then one sample of orange.  I cut 2 meter/yard long strand of each blue and then one strand of the orange, knotting them all together to start turning them into a band like this.

Oddly enough, I actually LOVE how the orange sings and causes the blues to look more intense. Hmmm.  Maybe I really do like this colour!

As for the incredible web site I found,  I will probably be tempted to try a few of the really complicated patterns on this site just to see if I’ve still got what it takes... but AFTER Toronto!!

INHALE:  Sometimes, the best way to get used to something is in small doses.  Erin had to have a vaccine at school this week, our province is promoting both flu vaccinations and I am learning to be creative with a colour I always thought I hated.  Small doses, like ONE strand vs. 8 of a colour I adore, was a great way to ease into something.  It’s like sticking your toe into the water rather than doing a cannonball.  It’s like trying a tiny taste of a new food.  You never know... it just might become your new favourite.

EXHALE:  If you’ve never made a friendship bracelet, go to a craft store or a needlework store and pick up some embroidery floss.  Pick out FOUR colours that you really like and ONE that you think you don’t.  Braid them, twist them or learn from the sites above how to knot a really cool band for your wrist or even as a bookmark.  It will be fun and it will keep your hands from snacking when you watch TV at night!