Post #21: Holly Berries for St. Patty's Day & Me, NOT Stuck in the Middle

   Here is a preview of a project I've been working on for Holly Berry, who is the medium-sized dog companion of a very talented fiber friend. If you've read my earlier posts you've probably seen some of my dear Alice's embellished collars that I've made for her. One day while at one of the four fiber-art-related groups I attend regularly, I felt the impulse to ask this friend what size her dog's neck was and if she had any old collars lying around that she could spare...and would she mind if I either built a new collar on top of it or took it apart to reuse the hardware? Of course, she said yes, brought it the following week, and I've been working on it (on & off) ever since.
   I recently started on this new jaunt in this, the middle of my middle-ish decade, nearing the center of what some would term my double-nickle year, that time which struck fear and horror on the faces of some who have gone before me, but, not me..oh, no. For me, it only brings a sense of boldness, of testing the waters, and I find myself signing myself up to do things that I may have time or inclination to do...or not. But I sign up to do it anyway. I question myself. But I do it anyway. What I'm referring to is deliberately following my instincts...listening to the spirit within me...going with my gut...leading with my heart...call it what you will I try hard, well, that's not exactly right...I relax into not second-guessing myself. Maybe deliberately wasn't exactly the right word, but then again, maybe it was, given all my past conditioning to "go against my gut." Anyway, many times these days I don't quench what I feel led to do, and boy, it feels great! I simply go ahead and make the commitment, not really knowing the direction this will lead.
   That's quite a switch for a former manufacturing planner and scheduler who had to know every last detail ahead of time and have everything worked out in advance. All of my boxes had to line up, my numbers had to add up, my squares had to be filled in, the lines had to be straight, etc. Then, wouldn't you know it? I decided to try quilting some years ago, and I loved it. It was the late-90's and I was sewing quilt tops on a machine and doing some hand quilting and some machine quilting, but mostly on the machine. It was so anal-retentive and precise, all of the lines were so neat and the measurements were so like my old planner job. Really, I'm not kidding. But I honestly have loosened up (ever so slightly, but I feel the top is about to blow off the volcano any second), and I'm enjoying my newly found playtime. All of the tight rules of perfection have boxed me in too closely and it is time to color out of the lines a bit. I NEVER did that as a child. It's about time I did. However, I don't wish to abandon all the rules, for they do have their right and just place in our physical world, for what good would any collar be to Holly Berry if it was only 10" long, even if it was the prettiest collar in the land? I promise, Holly Berry's new collar is the specified 15-1/2" from buckle-tip to  buckle-tip.
   The only problem my freedom has created is that now I tend to have an even harder time making decisions, always changing my mind, auditioning different colors and materials, trying new techniques. It seems I've gone from one extreme to the other. But I am also learning to be more patient with myself in the process, and that ain't so bad either. Maybe my rubber band will bounce back toward the middle again. Haha, the middle, kind of like me!

In these first nine photos, the top collar was her original collar. Of the other items, only the blue leather, the cream leather braid, and some of the crochet made it into the final collar, which is now complete. I will post pictures very soon; I just don't feel I should post them here until after Holly Berry and her faithful fiber-lovin' companion have seen it first.

Finding peace in creativity,

Meryl