Gifted Gorgeousness

It’s been a busy weekend in our household as we’ve been up in Glasgow visiting friends and watching some Six Nations rugby in Edinburgh! I was never a sports fan before I got married and now I know more about more sports than I previously knew existed! Going to a match is good fun whether or not you really understand the rules (and I’m getting better…) because the atmosphere is great. Lots of sport on TV also means lots of stitching time for me and there are no prizes for guessing what my “Gifted Gorgeousness” post is going to be this month:

Yes, it’s very VERY nearly done! There are some birds flying over the top and of course the dreaded backstitching. But it will be a gorgeous gift, hopefully all done by next month’s check-in.

See you tomorrow for some writing time: I was hoping to have it all lined up and scheduled for the morning but we got back home later than planned tonight so it will probably be up after work, I’ll try harder next time!

Launching "Writing Tuesdays"... on a Friday

Well, the response to my creative writing suggestion was overwhelming! (by overwhelming I mean I had two comments and one was from my mum, but that's still way above average)

I've decided I'm going to write on a prompt every two weeks (one week is unsustainable, a month and the momentum would soon be gone) and post what I've come up with on a Tuesday, along with the next prompt. It would be great if you have a go on the same theme, to share what you've written or a link in the comments. How does that sound, good?

If no one joins me I'll just keep writing.

Here's our first prompt:

If you could travel back to any time in the past, what date would you choose and why? Would you attempt to influence past events while you were there? Why or why not?

It feels a bit like a school essay title! Feel free to answer some or all of it, for you or an imaginary character. I'll post mine on Tuesday 17th February.


Finally, LOOK:

The boat is DONE! There are some zebras and birds on top of the animals you can see are missing, then the eyes and noses, then the water, then all the outlining. 39 days to go. 6 weekends. It's on.

A month of 'new's

In an effort to keep my word in mind this year, I'm going to try and update the last week of every month. It's still January, we can be optimistic! So what's new?

I am still very much a 'new girl' at my new job. I'm getting into the swing of it, but only as I try to do things am I realising that I have no idea how the systems work! I'm trying to ask lots of different people for advice so no one person gets too fed up of me. There are a few other newbies that have started since the new year as well which is, well, comforting. It reassures me that I'm not stupid for getting it wrong! One of the challenges is being based in so many different places; I work into a different setting on each of the four days I work. It means that although I've been properly there for four weeks, I still haven't done a full week in any one setting! I think I will feel 'new' for a good while yet.

The new job has led to a few other new lifestyle changes as well- not least that I now have a 4-day working week! This was a conscious decision to try to build in some breathing space to my life, as the burnout of last year has taught me to value. It's a tricky one, because so much in our culture tells us that busyness is value, and to make space without filling it again can be looked down on. This blog has really encouraged me this month to value that space and not be tempted into re-filling it until I'm ready.

We also have a new car! Meet Izzy the I-10:

She's lovely. I am unhappy about becoming a two-car household but now that I'm much more community based and Pete is starting a new job in another town (update on that next month! yay!) it had become unmanageable. Both cars won't be used every day but there is a bit of a bottleneck on activities in the middle of the week, and being able to both do them on the same night means we do get to see each other occasionally through the week as well. TIME is what I'm learning to value this year.

I am considering starting up something new on the blog; I have been missing writing the more reflective posts that used to make up most of it's content, but have recently bought an e-book of '1000 creative writing prompts'. I'm considering having a go at one of those a week as well, just to keep the writing side of me happy. Maybe you could have a go at the same prompt each week, and we could start something?

Finally, I did allow myself to start a new crafting project this week, just for a little while, to stop me going completely crazy. It's the frosted pumpkin stitchery's Once Upon a Time sampler, so there's just a little bit to do each month. Here's how far I got in an hour last night (disclaimer: it's my first time working with evenweave, that stuff messes with your eyes/brain!):

Have you tried anything new for the new year?
Are you up for joining me in a rusty attempt at creative writing?

Same old, same old

I'm not feeling very motivated to blog just now, and I'm not really sure why.

I'm still stitching away on Noah's ark, and I reckon I have achieved half-way by now, which means I stand a chance at success! I was up to here by Wednesday:

I have since started on the giraffes, working on animals two by two! It is a bit frustrating not being able to start anything new but I am *definitely* not taking on any massive projects for a good while once this is done (famous last words...)

I was also disappointed to realise that I really should be starting a new TUSAL jar, as I was just about getting last year's one filled up! Admittedly I had cheated by adding my crochet yarn offcuts to the same jar, but it was getting there. I only got into the world of 'craft blogging' over the summer so it's fun being at the beginning of the year and learning what all the crazy acronyms mean. Here are the beginnings of my 2015 stitching:

Not a bad effort on half a month I think!

Hopefully I'm more inspired next week.

Just a little bit of panic

I'm having another attack of far too many ideas just when I'm not allowed to start anything else! I'm developing a mild degree of panic around the Noah's ark cross-stitch. The reason? The little beneficiary of this turns one in March and that is my self-inflicted deadline (it was meant to be a Christening gift but I started it the weekend of the Christening; Christmas has clearly been and gone). It's taken me four months so far and I'm still just short of halfway through the cross-stitching before I even start on the backstitch! Giving myself a few days leeway for framing, that leaves me with:

Eek! This may be the year of new, but there are no new projects allowed until this is done. After that, I really want to have a go at making one of these:

from Mollie at Wild Olive. It just seems topical. And it is beautiful.

Before I go, here's my first (nearly finished) make from my grown-up sewing machine! I jumped right in at the deep end but I think I got away with it. Just needs the buttons adding and it's done.

New {One Word 2015}

I didn’t have to think for long to come up with my One Word for 2015.

EVERYTHING is new. My job is just 2 weeks old, my husband will be starting a new job in February, and as a consequence we’re likely to end up with a new house and a new (to us) car. Not doing things by halves!

I am a human being, and that means I’m fairly resistant to change. I am working hard to be excited for it, but so far it’s a conscious choice. We’ve waited a long time for some of these things to happen and they deserve celebration even as they throw up huge extra questions about the rest of our lives.

Hopefully I’ll be able to revisit this one a bit more frequently than I did light, because with all these unknowns I really don’t have much else to say right now. I will leave you with a picture of my NEWest toy:

Happy New Year!

Light

It's that time of year for taking stock of the year that's passed and looking forward to the year to come.

Instead of New Year’s Resolutions, last year I chose One Word to guide me through the year. That word was ‘light’, and I interpreted it in the sense of light that comes from the sun, and a lightness that is not heavy.
In January I was a newlywed, learning a whole different way of life that’s shared and open, all the time. We’d had a month or so off our commitments and were about to dive back into it all. It’s a big change

I’d love to say that my whole year was characterised by light and the sweetness that accompanies it. That wasn’t the case, and I’m sure I’ve shared enough about my challenges online here that you don’t need to hear a lot more! Needless to say, I spent probably six months all but drowning under the pressure of a hectic schedule and responsibilities that were far beyond what I could handle. It was dark, and it was heavy

I had to let go of something, and over the Summer I stepped down from volunteering for a children’s charity that is very close to my heart. Somebody spoke to me over a year ago about my work in that part of the city, that I was to walk lightly on the ground, and I believe part of that was to be able to let go when the time came. Even now I’m gutted not to be a part of it, but I have to trust that others will step up to the plate and build on what I have done.

The light since that time- Wow! In both senses, I have rediscovered the joy of life and can commit to things because I want to without it being an additional burden. All of these crafts that I’ve gotten into are partly because I’ve got the time now, but they also help me to switch off and relax (except when I set myself crazy deadlines...) so that I’m in a better frame of mind for my other activities. I would expect my husband would say he appreciates me not crying on him weekly now, and I’m a much lovelier person too.

So I suppose in a roundabout way, this year has been the journey through a long and winding tunnel to the light. I’m still on my way, learning to set my own limits and prioritise where my energy can go, but there is definitely a lightness to my step that wasn’t there this time last year

Next year’s word will be announced... next year!

Did you have any new year’s resolutions in 2014? How did they go?