Lynn has posted my Breaking Traditions entry on her blog today. Woo-hoo! Also, if you scroll down on her blog you can see a picture of my chair she just photographed on Friday.

Really, this is a rather amazing accomplishment for me these days. I’ve been working on this for months and I am very happy to see it done. So anyway, this piece is called ‘We’re Not Just Women, We are Moms‘ and it is for Breaking Traditions 2008. This year’s theme is With One Voice and it has teamed up with Fiberart for a Cause. I went with my MOPS (Mothers of Preschoolers) group as a topic.

Here’s my blurb about it:

Mothers of Preschoolers (MOPS) exists to encourage, equip and develop every mother of preschoolers to realize her potential as a woman, mother and leader. I have been a part of my MOPS group since 2004. They have touched my life, given me everlasting friendships, unconditional love and support and made me a better person.

While whimsically splashing the woes of motherhood onto a classic idea of the perfect mom, the heart of a mom is nourished with the aid of MOPS. She thrives in motherhood with support and encouragement from those around her whilst caring for and loving her children.

You can see this in person in September at the Sewing Expo in Novi.

I’ve been working on my Breaking Traditions entry trying to finish it off. Now that the family wedding is over and done I have been able to regain brain power and refocus on my projects. I really want to finish this one off. No, I won’t show it to you until it is done. Although I did show Lynn yesterday over coffee. I was in need of some feedback.

After coffee, on my way back home, I stopped in at my favorite and only local bead shop. I needed some baby type bead things to add to my piece. I found just what I needed and was surprised how perfect these little items will work.

I will tell you that my piece is about MOPS, my MOPS group. I have been apart of this group for several years now and I have watched it grow from about 8 members to over 40 with a waiting list. They really support each other and have helped me through tough times. I have made some really awesome friends over the years. It is only fitting that I finally do something honoring them.

But that is all I will tell you about this year’s entry! You will just have to wait until I am done to see the whole thing.

Several weekends ago my fiber art group, Running with Scissors, did a little workshop on how to make Stupid Sock Creatures. I really wasn’t jump up and down excited about the project itself. It was more of an excuse to hang out with my art friends for three hours on a Saturday afternoon. So I gathered up my supplies, including socks. Not my socks! No, I gathered Victor’s socks. His older and slightly worn socks that were slated for the trash due to the recent purchase of new ones.

Anyway, I arrived at our meeting, set out my supplies and noticed that everyone else had these lovely, new socks. Cute, stripe, flowers, whatever socks (or gray work socks like Lynn) without any holes. Oh well, I had no idea how my creature would turn out and really didn’t want to waste money on new socks to cut up and potentially throw away after I had created some hideous creature that freaked out my kids.

So I set out to make this thing and quickly wished I had brought my sewing machine. Many hand stitches later I managed to make this stuffed white thing with stringy legs. I was totally baffled on how to make the lips. Even though people around me were making great creature lips and faces and even finishing off their creatures at this point, I was rather lost. I just don’t follow instructions very well sometimes. Well never fear I did eventually figure it out, at home.

Two days later I broke out the sewing machine and took over the kitchen table, determined to finish off this thing that I had started and make something of it. And I did…

Usta, The Rastafarian Bunny

My six year old even took him to school for show in tell. I was a little uneasy about that but I said okay. Later I asked his best friend in the class what he thought of Usta and he just start giggling and said he was silly. I can handle that.

There will be more Stupid Sock Creatures to come. My group is doing an exhibit this September at the Sewing Expo in Novi, thus we all need to make several. It should be interesting.