Breath of Life into my Crafting

For those of you who know me personally, or those who have been following my Motivated Motion blog for a long time, you already know this story......

I want to tell the new readers why I appreciate them so much. New readers from Facebook and Etsy and International Crafters on Twitter. Folks who are my Etsy customers and my great Crafting friends I hang out with here in York Region, in Ontario Canada.

My Grandmother was a pretty well-known Wedding and Trusseau designer in Toronto...back in the day! During WWII she financed and purchased a home for my Mom and Aunt and Her while they waited for my Grandfather to return from the war. That is really how it all started....

When I was a child I spent a lot of time with my Grandparents as we lived really close to them, and my Grandmother taught me everything I know about crafting and cooking. She could do anything.

I learned sewing, crocheting, knitting, leatherwork, ribbon work, paperwork, painting and sculpting, sketching, and more in my Grandparent's kitchen and I am so greatful for it.

I went out into the world with the idea in my head that I could do anything! I was a scientist for a while after my first degree. Dental science was my field (which is where I got really used to working in miniature) Then I had my family and stayed home with my kids and helping out at their school. I got a chance to be an online editor and that opened up my world to the international world and I got a chance to write internationally for a brief time (an experience of a lifetime)
When I returned I did a complete 360 in my work vision and went off to drive a long haul team transport truck, driving 20,000 miles a month.
I loved trucking. I was alone with my crafty thoughts and had a craft on the go all the time on the road. I loved being a nomad.
In 2003 I retired from trucking and opened a local driving instruction company. I had become a diabetic and wanted to stay in Canada while managing my diabetes.
In 2005 a sudden illness debilitated me. I got shingles of the brain which caused permanent nerve damage to my head. Once I knew I would not die of this problem I set myself to find a New Normal and carve out a new life for myself that could accept my limitations and keep me satisfied.
I could not craft at first. I had too many bad symptoms that would prevent that, so I blogged at the encouragement of my Sons. This opened a whole new world for me. My eldest Son stayed home one summer to help me learn html while I recovered from this really disabling affliction. (I could not speak correctly and my vision was blurred and I had a migraine 24/7 for a year)
Today is 2009 and I have been crazy crafting to sell for over a year now. I had a great success on Ebay but made a leap of faith to solely Etsy last summer and I haven't looked back!

I am in a cutting edge therapy program to manage my pain without heavy drugs, and I am crafting gangbusters! Sometimes I don't get a chance to post new things on Etsy because I am now creating virtual classrooms for my Needle Felting workshops, manuals for my classes and I am teaching classes on knitting and needle felting as much as my body will allow!

I am happy and greatful for these wonderful networking tools starting with Etsy!
I am delighted to get to connect with other like-minded people through Facebook and Twitter!
I am inspired when I see how different all of our works are!

I know everyone has their own story about why they are crafters. I want to hear your story too!

Thank You to everyone for inspiring me every day.
I NEVER have bad days because I found a New Normal going back to my roots of crafting!