One Word for 2020

Up. 

Just two letters, nothing fancy or flamboyant. As the new year ticked over my social media feeds filled with reviews of the year past, and good intentions for the year to come. 2019 was a good year for me and mine, but I'm tired. A year of carrying a baby, first inside the body then outside; and nourishing that baby, first inside and then outside; that will wear you out. My word for 2019 was "connect" and maybe I'll get time to summarise how that worked itself out in another post, and I ended the year satisfied. 

However, looking ahead was hard. I was surprised by how hard; how I found myself without even hope for the year to come. My grandest intentions week by week are not to shout (or cry) at the children; to get dinner on the table before bedtime each night and to maybe squeeze in half an hour's crafting. Most weeks I don't manage that so to look ahead to a whole year was honestly overwhelming. 

Last Sunday we were finally back in routine at our home church. Hubby was poorly so I was alone with both littles and it turned out there was no Sunday school. Church with littles is hard, even when everyone's friendly! The music is loud, and then it's quiet, there are biscuits within grabbing reach and exciting fire exits everywhere. But there's something in gathering with a family of people and singing that's good for the soul. It took my mind from my own little world and lifted it higher, and I felt a glimmer of hope. It seems I wasn't the only one as word after word came of finding hope and looking forward to spring. 

So this year my challenge is to look up- beyond my messes and victories, beyond nap routines and nursery term dates. To remember that outside of my bubble there is a wider world, both in a spiritual sense and a really practical one. That's all I've got for now, although I'm sure more layers will come out as the year moves on. 

Do you have "One Word" for 2020? How did you choose it?

Making a Space

For a year or so, I had the luxury of a sewing room. The bigger munchkin had moved out of the nursery into his "big boy room" and the smaller munchkin hadn't yet arrived. It was great to be able to leave the sewing machines set up and just pop in to do 10 minutes sewing when I had the chance.

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A post shared by Becca Woodthorpe (@findingflapjack) on Sep 5, 2018 at 1:57pm PDT

With the arrival of number 2 I moved my sewing space to our spare room. It's a nice enough setup, with a desk that has an extra nested table and everything within reach in the drawers, and worked beautifully during the summer.

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A post shared by Becca Woodthorpe (@findingflapjack) on Apr 26, 2019 at 2:38am PDT

But now it's cold and rainy, and if you've been paying attention you'll remember that we dry our clothes in the spare room too. A jungle of damp clothes doesn't make for a lovely environment to craft in, so I hadn't made anything for ages and it was getting me down.

Time for another move- maybe just temporary- my sewing machine is now in the bedroom on the dressing table! The serger is still upstairs because I don't want little hands playing with it but I have at least started sewing together some toy bags I've been wanting for months, and the creative itch has been scratched which is great news for my mood and therefore the whole family!

Do you have a permanent or temporary set up for crafting equipment? 

On Everyday Life, and Laundry Style

I've decided to try and write a bit more about my life. Partly because I think it's probably pretty normal and other people might be able to relate; I don't see many blogs I can relate to these days. Partly because I used to love writing, and I haven't done much since the littles came along! My intention is to keep this rough and ready, because I barely have time to go to the toilet in a day, let alone get onto a laptop to make beautiful photos and layouts. I hope that's okay. 

Today's thought is about laundry. Since becoming a family of four, my basic success criteria for each day is to get one load washed and hung out; miss a day and it takes a month to catch up! We don't have a tumble dryer so we carry our wet clothes up two flights of stairs to hang it in the first room- a task which can take me until bedtime without even getting to the hanging part! What I didn't realise is that I have a laundry style. 

This week someone else very kindly hung out the washing for me. And it was very kind- I wouldn't like to put anyone off from helping! But when I came to take it down to hang out the next load, it took ages- the baby vests weren't on the rails I normally use, and the grown up clothes had been hung in a different configuration to usual. Not worse; probably more efficient in fact. I was surprised that I even noticed, but it just felt so unnatural. 

Who knew?!

Anyway, today baby slept for ages after the nursery run so I got the washing out before lunch and we are winning! 

What makes a successful day in your house? 

The Smile Trousers

I've been listening to some sewing podcasts lately and people often comment that they love blogging because they can share in more detail about what they made and how they made it, both for their own memory and to help others who might be making the same pattern. I thought I would give it another go since I made possibly my favourite thing yet in the form of some trousers for Sam!

I bought some leggings for World Book Day and one of the pairs in the pack was bright yellow, with smiles and rainbows on it. Sam LOVED them and wore them every time they were clean, until they started to look like tights around his big nappy bum and developed a few holes. I had to hide them and tell him they were "broken" to get them out of circulation.

I had some old black joggers that I bought from Primark and had steadily shrunk so that they were now ankle-grazers... Not the look I was going for.

They were destined to become one.

I wanted to keep the spirit of the smile trousers alive so as well as the smile, I used this fun appliqué alphabet from shiny happy stitches:

One day I'm determined to make one of Wendi's quilts, but it might end up being for my grandchildren! I shrunk the letters a little as the trouser pattern has quite a narrow leg, then used fusible web to stabilise the fabric before I cut it out. Basically you trace the pattern onto the stabiliser, iron it into your fabric and then cut it out. There's a peel-off layer so then you can iron it onto the main fabric before sewing. I just used a plain straight stitch because I figured it shouldn't stretch with that in place anyway, and there's an article here that told me I didn't need to worry about the edges fraying.

Then I sewed the trousers! I love making children's clothes because they sew up so quickly. I used the Patterns for Pirates "baby bear joggers" pattern- nearly all the PDF patterns I've ever bought are from Patterns for Pirates and I find them really easy to follow, I'm not sure why they never get mentioned in the "Indie sewing world".

The pockets are my favourite detail:

And I even upcycled the waistband, though I'm not sure that was the best idea.

I'm really pleased with the finished product, and (more importantly) so is Sam! They are still a bit too big as he's between sizes at the minute, and we're in the throes of potty training so I can't just tie the drawstring tight to hold them up. Once he's grown a little I will get a model shot too but for now I'm happy to admire them on display!

Has anyone else personalised something old to keep it's spirit when the original item is worn out?

One Word for 2018: Process

Ironically, I spent half a naptime writing this post on my phone and then it didn't save. I guess it's just life checking that I mean what I say! 

I was trapped underneath a needy, sleepy boy. He had his hair cut this morning and had wailed throughout the entire ordeal. We pulled it back with a play in the cars at the early learning centre, but emotionally we were but exhausted. He fell asleep in a cuddle and after one failed attempt at the cot transfer, I accepted that maybe some comfort was what he needed. 

I did have other plans for that nap time. All of the bedding needed washing, and I needed to construct a meatloaf for tea tonight. Then there's the rocky road I bought myself as a reward for surviving the haircut experience. I was looking forward to an uninterrupted cup of tea and a treat. 

At the end of last year I found myself entirely frustrated. Months of sleepless nights and minimal down time meant I was desperate to create something but didn't have the energy to do it well. Instead I took short cuts and then cried when the result was less than satisfactory. 

This year I have decided to reset, to go back to the reason I got into crafting in the first place: the opportunities to connect with others and the joy of creating something special. I'm hoping to enjoy the "Process": of creating, exercising, working, child rearing, and who knows, maybe I'll achieve something as I go?!

In the meantime, here's a grainy picture of my sleeping beauty. 

(You might need to turn your screen brightness up to see him... like one of those magic pictures!)

Rainbow Blanket

Funny how as soon as you find a solution to a problem, the problem changes! Feeds are not so long any more (thank goodness) but I rarely get through reading all of the blogs I follow now and certainly don't get into writing!

I have however finished and sent the blanket I've been working on so I thought I would share it with you. It all began when I came across this picture:

I loved the stitch and decided to make it into a blanket. I chose a dark blue for the background as the baby hadn't been born yet so it needed to be gender neutral. I started on my first day of maternity leave but didn't get as far as I'd hoped when certain someone turned up early! There followed some creative crafting time (basically whenever / wherever little one slept):

  

And it was finally finished last month:

I'm pretty pleased with it as I didn't follow a pattern, and I finished it within 3 months of newborn-raising(!) I would have liked it to be a bit wider: I used the same number of stitches as my fantasy blanket but didn't think about how the structure of the pattern would affect the amount of horizontal stretch. It's acceptable though, and I think the border helps.

Here it is all packed up and ready to send!

It is now in transit, I hope the recipient will enjoy it, just in time for the start of Autumn.

Book Review: I Am Malala

I read this book as it was in the book club on the SheLoves Magazine website. I want to write my review before I read the discussion post today but I'm not sure how quickly I'll get this up.

I'm not sure what I was expecting in this book, but I got something completely different. The book begins with a potted history of the nation of Pakistan, then provides some context in the form of Malala's Father's story. It slipped seamlessly into Malala's story without my really noticing. The story itself is a fascinating insight into everyday life in an area ruled by the taliban. If you've ever wondered how cities can be "Taken by the Taliban" or "reclaimed by the army"; or how people live when there is daily fighting in the streets, this book will provide you with at least one perspective.

This book struck me as I started reading it in the week that the Chilcott enquiry was published. This was an enquiry into the UK's role in the Iraq war, and was not complimentary about the decisions made or the processes by which they were reached! To read about the direct impact this had on a rural valley in Pakistan was eye-opening, and the impact that continues is alarming.

I enjoyed that Malala's portrayal of herself is so much more human than those in the media. She was a normal teenage girl, who fought with her best friend and wouldn't share with her brothers. She is so outspoken because she follows the footsteps of her father. She came from the back of beyond but almost without realising became a person of such significance that the foreign hospital she was taken to and the people who took her there were of diplomatic significance. In fact, her survival was of diplomatic significance. It's a real example of how small steps, decisions made every day, can snowball into something that effects a real change in the world.

It's a raw book. I don't think it can have been written very long after the family resettled in Birmingham.  My copy is a newer edition and there is a new interview with Malala at the back. There is a clear contrast between Malala's description of life in the UK in the final chapter of the book vs the interview, and I'm pleased the family seem to be slowly settling though their hearts are clearly still back home.

In summary I would whole-heartedly recommend this book if you have an interest in political history;  an interest in women's rights; or you just like a good autobiography. It may not be the greatest literary classic but if you try you can hear Malala's Pakistani accent in the turns of phrase.

Right, let's see what everyone else thought. The discussion page is here.

Not a "mummy blog"

I can understand why when ladies become mums, everything quickly becomes all about motherhood and children. It's totally overwhelming and you learn so much so quickly and there's nobody there to share your newfound wisdom with. I am sure there will be plenty of "mummy posts" in the coming months, but I really enjoy being part of the crafting community (before I disappeared so unceremoniously) so I hope you'll let me stay. Even if my crafting achievements are few and far between!

I have stitched on a gift this month which is remarkable as I hadn't previously done any cross-stitching since last November. We drove down to visit the grandparents at the weekend so while baby was contained in his car seat I had a couple of hours either way with my hands free!

It's a design by stitchrovia. I don't want to give too much away because it is for a surprise gift... though may be the Christmas after next before it is finished! I did enjoy doing it again though, cross stitch is a slow but satisfying craft and once I've finished my current project (more on that soon) I might try to move more quickly with it.

On the missing year... and my biggest creative achievement yet!

So it's been a year. I'm not sure it's really worth summarising all that has passed as it would take far too long, I'm bound to miss out a key event and there's a distinct possibility that my only remaining reader is my mum and she already knows!

The main event though, beyond which all others pale into insignificance; my greatest creative achievement of all; is that I have become a mum! Little S is 8 weeks old and amazing. I would love to show you ALL of the photos and videos because he is so cute but I'm mindful of internet security so I'll keep it to just one:

Perfecting his model pose

As you can imagine, life's a bit different now. He is breastfeeding (which, by the way, is HARD. Harder than anything else I've ever tried to do) and feeds a lot, so I've watched a lot of daytime TV. I'm trying to do some reading when he's settled enough for me to free one hand, and I've recently regained a tablet so thought I might have another go at blogging again. Anything to make me feel just a little bit productive beyond being the milk machine!

I'm looking forward to going back through other blogs I haven't read in ages too. Is anyone still out there? What have I missed?!

Catching up

I'm not very consistent at the moment- neither is life. It's busy and occasionally threatens to engulf me entirely. But I am learning to recognise the anxiety  as it comes, to rationalise it and lean into peace. I'm getting there, slowly. This is a 'new' that is above and beyond all the changes in physical situations, but within. Maybe I'll talk about that next week (although I am going to the real life sea next week so you may be kept in suspense...)

On with the Stitch-alongs. I'm late for TUSAL and Gifted Gorgeousness but I'm here! I've actually missed the TUSAL for the past few months. TUSAL stands for "Totally Useless Stitch-along" and it's an opportunity for people to show off all of the scraps they've created by stitching over the month. We moved house in April and as a consequence my TUSAL jar was packed away, and I had to move on to a smaller, travel-sized version. I still haven't gone back!

 

Isn't it cute?

You can see the layers much more clearly from the different projects I was working on: lots of blackwork back in April, then some bold colours from my applique in May, and finally all the pastels from the 'Storytime Classics' sampler I've finally got stuck into this month!

It is also handy to carry around with me- I like to squeeze some stitching into my lunch break when I can, or just pass the time if I have to wait a while somewhere. I made a little drawstring bag way back when I bought that baby sewing machine, and it still gets plenty of use:

Just the right size to squeeze into a handbag! You can also see the progress I've made on the aforementioned sampler from the Frosted Pumpkin Stitchery; I got off to a very bad start at the beginning of the year but have completed 2 month's worth this month already, so I'm optimistic it might still be finished by January 2016.

Unfortunately it has been my main project this month, and is the only one that doesn't qualify for "Gifted Gorgeousness" (see what I did there?!)

Gifted Gorgeousness is run by Jo at Serendipitous Stitching and it's an opportunity to share any crafting that has been done as a gift, or received. Last month I could only share a teaser with you but this month I can share what I sent to Canada in the Disney Craft Swap I joined in:

My swap partner liked 101 Dalmations and mentioned that Cruella DeVille was her favourite character, so I stitched some blackwork Dalmatians and an applique Cruella for a tote bag. The dalmatians were also supposed to end up on the bag but that didn't work out, I'm pretty please with the notebook cover as well though! I really enjoyed making for somebody else- it gave me to opportunity to try things that I wouldn't have done otherwise, and I made things in a style that I wouldn't necessarily want to keep. This post is a bit photo heavy already so I won't post close-ups now, but I was REALLY PLEASED with how it all turned out.

I also included some Cadbury's Marvellous Creations chocolate (the one with popping candy because it's my favourite), some hand-dyed threads from riotous colours, and a card with an illustration of Leeds on the front.

It has also been my birthday since this time last month and I have been treated to some beautiful Gifted Gorgeousness! I was given this cross stitch kit by some good friends:

I've wanted a Bothy Threads pattern for ages but have never quite been brave enough to buy one so this really was a treat! I'm looking forward to having a go with metallic threads and a bit of beading too so that will be fun.

Finally, my wonderful husband MADE my birthday present this year. It has been very mysterious as lots of small envelopes kept arriving in the post, and then he borrowed my spray glue and got all a bit stressed out while I was not allowed upstairs, but look at this:

Isn't it gorgeous?! The postcards are all from places we've been abroad together. This photo doesn't show off quite how well it goes in the room as well. To be honest I would have been over the moon with anything he'd gone to the trouble of making for me but this is perfect. I am a very lucky lady.

Busy as a bee

Another month gone by in a whirl! It's been a busy one, but good. I've enjoyed having my feet on the ground a little more than April which was all just silly. It's that time where I review how I'm coping with all of the 'new' in my life in 2015.

There is (shock horror) not actually a massive and life-changing new aspect to my life this month! Instead we've been trying to create some degree of normality around here. We are all but unpacked, and hosted a lovely housewarming 'do' last Saturday which was a low-key affair but actually perfect for it. The sun was shining so we sat in the back yard becoming slightly pink, then retired inside and saw in the early hours watching the craziness that is Eurovision.

Oh, did I tell you I've taken up baking bread? That's new. I'm getting to be quite pleased with the product and looking forward to the weekly kneading sessions!

Also, our church congregation has moved house (just round the corner from us!) That's new too, and exciting because it means we will get much more involved in the community, and I can invite people that I already know to a church in the vicinity. So there are some new things.

The 'new card' at work is wearing off; and actually it's lovely. I had a few weeks where I started dreading Mondays and having to go back, but I found that all that needed to change was my own attitude, and I am enjoying it again! It just has been (and continues to be) such a steep learning curve: as long as I keep on learning things keep on improving!

This is a picture of the swap gift I gave you a sneak peek of last week all wrapped up and ready to post... it is now sat in Heathrow airport waiting for it's flight so I am excited that I will be able to share the contents soon!

Gifted Gorgeousness in May

Well Hello.

"Gifted Gorgeousness" is a link-up that Jo over at Serendipitous Stitching runs, for people to share the beautiful gifts they have been creating during the month. And for once, I'm posting on the actual day we're supposed to!

Unfortunately I can't share very much of what I've been making over the last couple of months as it's for an online swap. You can have a couple of peeks...

... but that's it. I have to say I am enjoying making this soo much! I've tried out lots of new skills and made something that I love, but I definitely wouldn't want to own. That's the joy of a swap or gift; it caters to someone else's tastes so you get to stretch just a bit further.

Have a look over here to see more gifted gorgeousness this month!



I've also been thinking about my efforts for "take a talent" and Nepal over the past couple of weeks. Here is my collection of creative Nepal memorabilia:

There are some beautiful cushion covers, a plain blue sari with bangles, a hand-made card and a calendar I had printed after I got back, with pictures I had taken.

As I was photographing these I was thinking about how little I had taken away from the country because the real gifts were the people, and the friends I made. I went there to work not play, and souvenirs seemed gimmicky in the light of that.

I've also been torn between making something pretty that people will buy 'just because'- or sticking with my initial intentions to make something along the lines of my work, that people would buy in spite of the charity aspect rather than because of it.

And (just 10 minutes ago) it came to me- if people are the treasure that I've taken with me from Nepal, people is what I could make! I'd like to make a variation on paper dolls, maybe with different sets of clothes from different cultures, and I'm not sure whether they'd be made from laminated card or cloth. I know I'd find that useful, even in the setting I'm in now.

I'm still open to ideas or offers of support (my illustration skills leave plenty to be desired) but feel much better now I've got the beginnings of an idea :-)

One lovely blog award

I promised it last week so here we are: I very gratefully accept my "Lovely Blog Award" from Rosey at ishkabibble!

The purpose of this award is for bloggers to nominate fellow, mostly newer, bloggers that they wish to recognize. The goal is to bring attention to blogs that we think are "lovely" and enjoy reading. We hope others will enjoy reading these blogs also.

In order to accept the award, the nominated blogger must follow these rules:

• Thank the person who nominated you & link back to them in your post
• Share seven facts about yourself
• Nominate 10 other bloggers for the award

Seven facts about myself, hmm...

1. I was born and brought up in Liverpool, but when I tell people they always look very surprised, and some even accuse me of lying! I've got a fairly generic northern accent, definitely not scouse.
2. I like to try ALL THE THINGS. Crafts, sports, study topics, I'm rubbish at specialising. The reason I became a speech and language therapist was because I couldn't decide what subject to take at Uni, and the SLT course offered a whole range: psychology, linguistics, biology, the lot. 
3. It may not have been a great reason to choose the course, but I love my job. I can't explain why without sounding twee but to be able to support people who have never had a voice to communicate their opinions (even just to tell me to 'go away'!) is such a privilege, wow.
4. I love the Indian/Nepali culture and go back there at every opportunity. Part of me would like to travel to all the places (see point 2) but part of me has found such a beautiful second home for my heart that I don't know if it's worth wasting those long-haul trips going somewhere else. 
5. Last time I did one of these fact lists I was still at uni, and one of my facts was 'I have never broken a bone in my body'. The following week I slipped on some ice and fractured my wrist! Since then I've also been knocked off my bike and broken my elbow. So there will be no 'I have never...' facts on this list!
6. Speaking of which: I have a crazy high pain threshold. When I broke my elbow I only agreed to go to A&E because it was closer to my home, and when they x-rayed me they couldn't believe I wasn't writhing in pain. I'd only had an ibuprofen! That;s an extreme example but I do generally need a significant injury to feel pain.
7. I run a youth group called 'Space' for high school students on an inner-city estate. I love that too and am torn between wanting to do more of it and moving forward in my job (see points 2 and 3!). It's dead scary to be responsible, and to be final resting place for the buck, but when I see the impact on the young people's lives, it's worth every minute.

Phew, that was surprisingly hard! Now I have a confession: I don't know that I could really name 10 blogs that I follow regularly! At least not ones that are new or would notice I was following them. So I'm going to name 5, I hope that's okay. To make up for it I'll give you a brief reason why you should check each one of them out.

1. Kathi's little corner: Kathi has been blogging for a long time but has recently changed sites so you might need to check back in a little while! But she writes really lovely reflections and is worth a read (her old blog is here in the meantime)
2. Kate at Beak up Crafts:  A beautiful blog about all kinds of crafts and soon, her growing family! 
3. Noni at Fireflies & Cats in the Garden: We've only recently discovered each other but Noni seems to be a really fun character and I'm looking forward to reading more!
4. Jo at Serendipitous Stitching: Jo has introduced me to all kinds of other blogs, and been so supportive of my ideas. She's got a real gift of bringing people together and does a few 'blog hops' on special occasions through the year which are great fun!
5. Rosey at Ishkabibble: I'm probably not supposed to link back but Rosey is so friendly, and I love to read the stories behind all the stitching which make it more personal (and also pleased I'm not the only one trying things out for the first time!)

Enjoy clicking around! I had a couple of other things to share but this seems like a long enough post already, so maybe you'll be lucky enough for a second one this weekend.

A new month, a new cause

Well, April was busy wasn't it?! I would be lying if I said I wasn't pleased it's over. But it is. We live in a new house, we are free from the flu, and regular weekend activities have resumed. Yesterday I spent a good while reading back through lots of other blogs, and found that I had been nominated by the very lovely Rosey of ishkabibble for the 'lovely blog award'!

I will respond in all the proper ways and make some forwards nominations next week, but today there is something much more important to introduce you to.

I have an instagram account which I mainly use to share my crafty exploits. Its title is @take.a.talent . That in itself is not more important than connecting with other wonderful people around the world, but bear with me...

"Take a Talent" was the name of a blog I set up a little while ago when I was challenged to take a small investment of money and grow it for charity, in this case the newly established Global Family Network. It was a church-based request and lots of people spent their money on ingredients for cakes which they then sold on a Sunday morning, but I wanted to extend the reach of our fundraising efforts so I combined one person's talent: cash with my talents: creating and Speech Therapy. I made these visual countdown cards and a £30 profit for the charity, but then got busy getting married so ran out of steam.

Here's the thing: the idea is so much bigger than one payout to one charity. What if we extended the idea, so that other charities put in something that they do well, and we used it to grow their funds?

It's important right now, this week, before any blog awards, because of these people:

And these people:

And my friend's band: 

And, in fact, all of these people too: 

I've been to Nepal twice, once for 3 months and once for 2 weeks, both to volunteer as a Speech and Language Therapist with a charity there. I've made some real friends, and met hundreds of people who were kind, and welcoming, and real. Strangers looked after me when I got on the wrong bus. I learned (a little) of the language and made friends with people who knew less English than I knew Nepali!

Last week a huge earthquake killed thousands of people in Kathmandu and all across the country. Everybody that I am still in contact with is alive and safe, but many are not and every single life has been changed. There's very little I can do right now but pray, and contribute to the funds that will transport food, aid and those people who can help, to the places they are most needed.

The need will not pass next week or next month, maybe even next year. Could this be the push I needed to start 'taking a talent' to make money for those who need it again?

At the moment, I have no ideas. I have some fabric and clothes that I bought in Nepal, and a few other souvenirs as a starting point. I don't know whether to keep with the SLT theme or branch out, or what crafts to use. But today I needed to start by sharing my intentions, and opening an invitation for anyone else to join me. I will accept help in any form! Ideas, advice, resources, time, the lot.

Who's in?

Not Writing

Hello.

Yesterday was due to be a 'Writing Tuesday'. I had actually thought about this one in advance and done some writing in a notebook earmarked for the purpose last week. But this week I have the flu, and today we have moved house, and I just do not have the brain space to be able to edit what I scribbled down and share it with you. I'm sorry. The prompt was this:

When you have a free morning, how do you take advantage of this time? How does this kind of morning differ from a morning filled with important things to do and why?

I'd love to hear what makes a perfect morning for you in the comments! When all this is over and my brain is working again I'll enjoy reading through, and next month I will be back up and running with prompts and trying to push myself again. I think maybe there was just a bit too much new, all at once.

Thank you, readers, for being lovely :-)

Boxes Boxes

This weekend I should be updating you on how I've been getting on with my "one word" for 2015 in March: New.

We are currently approaching a house move so our house looks a lot like this:

(although admittedly there are not as many boxes filled as there should be!) We also spent an alarming amount of money yesterday on a month's rent, and a wardrobe, and a fridge-freezer, and a washing machine, eek!

So all this is to say that you might not hear a lot from me in April. We have a couple of weeks crossover to clean the old house, but some busy weekends and not a lot of time off work. See you on the other side!

Sun, scraps and swaps

The sun (or lack thereof) has been the big even across the UK today. As humans we find it amazing that our little moon can block the light of the sun, however we forget that the clouds do it all the time! Here is my picture of the sun covered by the moon covered by the clouds:

It's time for another "Totally Useless Stitch-along" check in.

There's a bit of fat orange right on the top there as I have framed up my 'Noah's Ark' Piece and used that to stretch it over some card. I promise this is my last photo of it, but I just have to show off the finished product:

The frame is actually without glass. This is partly due to my mounting skills being such that the glass really wouldn't fit, but I also worried less about it because I had been discussing mounting with a friend who said she much preferred cross-stitches not behind glass, because then you can really appreciate the texture. I like that idea so we can pretend it's by design; however I now have a 12x12" piece of glass up for grabs!

Finally, I am taking part in my first ever craft swap and my gift arrived yesterday! It was on a disney theme and my swap partner (@_ashyoung_ on Instagram) stitched a quote that I love into a frame and onto a pencil case:

I'm looking forward to taking the pencil case into work with me. I need to get cracking on my piece too; I'm still at the collecting materials stage!

The Future {Writing Tuesdays}

One hundred years ago, authors and other storytellers thought we'd have flying cars and apartments on Mars by now. How do you think the world will look 100 years from now? How long might it take for the future to really look like "the future" and why? 

I remember reading a ‘horrible histories’ book as a child all about the twentieth century. It went through the decades, summarising what had happened in each one. When it reached the millennium, it had some great illustrations of us all walking around in fridge suits because it was so warm, and being transported by jet packs and driverless cars. The Millenium was a BIG THING and we looked forward to it with excitement. Weird to think that now I work with young people who think I’m ‘well old!’ because my date of birth has a 19 in it!

The thing about the present is that it’s always just that: the present. I think our lives are more futuristic than we realise. In work we’ve made the move to “agile working,” a phrase that strikes dismay in the heart of anyone familiar with the practice of it. But in spite of all the glitches and my heavy laptop bag, the truth is that I can access a massive, highly secure system from pretty much anywhere I like. We don’t quite have iris recognition but we have clever card readers and ever-changing codes and snazzy little ultra-books.

It was a massive novelty when I sat my driving theory test 12 years ago and it was carried out using touch-screen computers. Like, genuinely exciting. Now almost everybody has a tiny touchscreen computer that is diminutively known as a ‘phone’, and certainly I’d bet that every child in this country has used one by the time they are 10 if not long before.

At work I use computers that can be operated entirely by a user’s eyes. These can be programmed to operate a whole host of other assistive technologies to open doors and curtains, to turn on lights and change the channel on TV. All by using your eyes.

Admittedly, the year of the hoverboard hasn’t quite materialised as Back to the Future promised, and we haven’t worked out how to make sure driverless cars are safe yet. But if you ask me, we are already living in pretty futuristic times!

What do you think? Are you disappointed with what the decades have brought or do you think we are already ‘futuristic’? What do you think will be the next big invention to change the way we live our lives?

“Writing Tuesdays” is the somewhat non-poetic name for a challenge I’ve set myself (and you, if you will join me) to try and write more creatively, on a wider range of topics than the ones I would usually choose. The prompts are taken from “1000 creative writing prompts” by Bryan Cohen. I write every Tuesday (next time is 31st March) and would love you to join me! The themes are moving on to times of the day, so this prompt is about the morning:

When you have a free morning, how do you take advantage of this time? How does this kind of morning differ from a morning filled with important things to do and why?

I look forward to reading your thoughts!

Happy Dance time!

Let me begin with a very happy announcement:

It is FINISHED! This picture shows it before the name is on the bottom but that is done now, I'm just not going to post it on the internet. It does look so much better with all the outlining and smiles, I'm really enjoying just looking at it! I've bought a frame today so will definitely be good to go by 25th. Definitely time for a happy dance!

EDIT: I forgot it's time for a Gifted Gorgeousness check-in this weekend so this is my entry for that as well! I've started working on another gift but won't be able to show you that until its given... hopefully before 15th April.

Last weekend I hosted a 'Crafternoon' to raise money for Comic Relief. I'd bought a magazine special from 'Mollie Makes' with some themed crafts in it, I think the idea was to make things that you would then sell on but we just did the making and gave donations.

It was good fun, so busy in fact that I didn't remember to take a single photo! Here I was in the calm before the storm:

The most popular activity was pompom making: you can see the flower one I made on the table and there were some other beautiful colour combinations. It went down so well that I tried it again at my youth club on Wednesday and they enjoyed it there too! There were also some crocheted picture frames, and a bit of decoupage. We raised £30 which isn't bad for a small gathering! There were a few people who couldn't make it, and a few who wanted to do something more specifically crochet-themed so maybe we shall repeat for another charity soon.

The Present: Right here, right now {Writing, erm, Tuesdays}

It's been said that to be happy, you have to live in the moment. Do you agree with that statement? Why or why not? How well do you think you live in the moment and why do you believe that?

Do I live in the moment? Very much so. That's why I didn't write this post in advance, and filled my Tuesday with spur-of-the-moment activity, and have arrived at Friday with my head still in a spin. I'm sorry, I know that Jo from Serendipitous Stitching and my mum have both been much more conscientious than me this time round (but I haven't read them yet, I'm a bit too ashamed).

The truth is, I think there's a lot to be said for a bit of perspective. The moment is here, now, it can be amazing or it can be terrible. There can be a hundred possibilities or just a tiny flicker of light at the end of a long, dark tunnel. But night always turns back to morning, and even at midday there's going to be another night.

You find me here, in the middle of a 'moment'. Last Friday I found out about a funding opportunity for the youth group I run, that would supply us for another year. The deadline is today so I was just putting the final touches on the form this morning when I noticed that they also want a printed copy of the same form, signed by two people. And a hard copy of a bank statement, signed by two more people. I spent all of last Friday on it (hence this, and my whole week, being chaotic), and have spent all of today so far on it. I'm waiting for a phone call to find out how much of the rest of my day I will have to spend driving around collecting printing, and signatures, and delivering forms by hand. 

My heart is racing. There have been a couple of tears of frustration. I have low blood pressure so it's probably around normal right now. I'm in the middle of a moment.

BUT: Perspective reminds me that before last Friday, I didn't even know this pot existed and I was sure we would keep running. Perspective says that even if this bid is unsuccessful, I now have all the paperwork gathered and some lovely descriptions of the work we do. Perspective reminds me that I've had at least two moments of similar panic this week and both turned out fine, with a bit of faith and love. 

So yes. I am EXCELLENT at living in the moment. But it's not always best.

How about you? Do you live in the moment or do you see the bigger picture? Share your thoughts or links below.

I promise I will try harder to think further ahead next week and have my writing all ready for Tuesday 17th March. We've done the past, and the present, so here's one for the future:

One hundred years ago, authors and other storytellers thought we'd have flying cars and apartments on Mars by now. How do you think the world will look 100 years from now? How long might it take for the future to really look like "the future" and why?

I look forward to reading what you think!