...single socks

If I ever doubted the concept of eternity, I am totally convinced when I look at my eternal pile of laundry.

I think I should start a dating service for our socks.

...they seem to be all singles.


I'm sitting here panicking about a thousand things... Scholarship applications, haircuts to give, college visits, voice lessons we're praying for, too many carbs in my mouth today, birthday parties coming up that will be here... in my unclean house,  paintings to finish, scripts to write, Graduation party to decorate for, facebook to update for SHOW&TELL, soundtracks to record with Rich, and my aunt died night before last... can we somehow make it back to Florida for the family memorial this summer?

Aunt Mildred was 92.  Amazing.  Because my brother died when I was 13, I really don't know how my mom feels today.  I have been alone as a child for 31 years.  But my mom is not used to this.  Two of the 5 siblings are gone.  They are all in their 80's and 90's.  All remaining are still alert.  All strong.  How would that feel?  To have known someone your whole life and to have been family for almost a century?

 I'm trying to actually process it, but my thoughts are tossing around like mixed colors in the dryer.  They shouldn't really be in the same load together.  They look like a mess of single socks that need to be dealt with but are missing something required to let them be put away in their place.

And yet.

Some amazing things are happening.

I'm beginning to paint.  This sounds like a hobby, but it is a fulcrum point for me somehow.  It's a huge part of what I was born to do.  And lately, I've been painting fashion.  Weird, I know.

Weird, because I don't sew.

Weird, because there's no seeming "point" to it.

Weird, because it seems to have no purpose and yet every time I pray, I keep seeing these outfits in such clarity that I wonder if I've seen them in a catalog or something.

I also have a new and growing passion to care about human trafficking... every mother's greatest fear for their child.  I want to be a James 1 woman. 

And somehow, I feel these designs and this passion are connected.  I've already had lots of great ideas of my own and even from others, but none are clicking just yet.

This one was for my friend, H.  She's an avid Auburn University fan.  I love that about her. 

This is a lightweight jersey knit with a patten leather clutch and soft leather shoes.  Great for games and dinner after.  The top could be worn with jeans or leggings for a more casual look.


(To do again, I'd make the chevron a triple lined chevron on a smaller scale, but it was fun to do.)

©2014 Lydia D. Crouch












Like socks in my basket, I have no idea what might pair up with these designs.  I'll just have to wait till the right match comes.  Some of the ideas will just get tossed or used for dusting... or for a paint rag.  ;)

But when the right match comes, it will be obvious and it will be good and useful... and even fun.