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11 March 2022

Moments of Stillness




Writing a blog post has taken more than a back seat this week.  I have had a full head of things to think about and I am not able to focus on writing when life gets like that.  It is what it is.  Writing does not come easy to me, I have to focus hard to get the words in a coherent order and to get right what I am trying to say.  I love it though and know that writing in this space has given me the skills to find my voice, my early posts are testament to how far I have come.  

I have intentionally not written much this past week.  We make space in our lives for the things that are important to us and that nourish us wherever life is at at a given moment.  Even when we don't think we are doing this intentionally, I am willing to bet that this is what is going on.  When we tell ourselves that we don't have time for something is that what we really truly mean?  Some of the time I am sure that is true, but I also believe that we, on occasions, don't want to make time for things, particularly the hard things, or new things or those things we tell ourselves we can't do, but we haven't tried, yet.  

When my head is full, and writing is not possible I turn to things that are, for me, nourishing.  Other creative projects.  In those treasured moments of stillness I have been reaching for my knitting.  The rows are slow on this complicated pattern, I am knitting it instinctively, looking at my knitting to work out the stitches needed in each row.  A pattern as complex as this would have had me looking at the written details every few stitches, I do love it when you can see for yourself what you have learnt.  Although this requires concentration it is not so much that I cannot do it whilst chatting or watching something, I also love that I see any mistakes instantly which I don't always do when I am following the written pattern.  A lesson learned for me on how I pay close attention,  I look and see my knitting in a different way when I am in charge of the pattern rather than referring to the written instructions all the time, I wonder if this is the same for you, if you are a knitter?

In those moments when the knitting was too much concentration, Alice and I have been needle felting.  We are organising a fundraising day on Easter Saturday, we needed some craft items to sell and wanted it to be a quick to make, simple and sellable project.  We decided on heart garlands, three needle felted hearts on a thread.  We have made about 40 hearts so far and will keep going until we run out of felting wool.  We have a wee bag with some wool roving, felting needles and our needle felting brush which we take with us when we are out and about and have a spare five minutes to whip one up.

We started meeting up with some friends more regularly and intentionally last year.  We spend some of our time together creating and crafting.  We made the window star one week, it took all four of us to work out the instructions between us, each of us bringing a particular skill which helps us to make sense of it.  Our paper was a little smaller than that suggested in the instructions so maths was required to work out what size we needed, we ended up with a slightly different shaped star to the one in the picture on the instructions but we loved how these turned out.  They do look rather lovely on a grey gloomy winter day.

The embroidery is also from this wee gathering.  We each designed what we were going to sew, mine is the primroses above, Alice's design is mushrooms, we drew onto the fabric and have been slowly stitching these as we meet each week.  I have loved the close attention you need to pay to the colours and shading.  I want to add something around the flowers once I have completed the leaves, I haven't decided yet what that will be.  The last embroidery I completed I made into a bag, I think I will make something with my primroses too, probably another bag, you can never have too many.

If I haven't already I will be coming a visiting your blog soon, I am sorry I have been a little absent this week.  I hope you have all had a good week.

15 comments:

  1. Lots of lovely creative and happy things to celebrate this week. It's so important to hang on to these.
    Best wishes
    Ellie

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    1. Thank you Ellie, yes it is so important to hang on to these things. I know that it makes the busy times seem less so, a way of creating balance for myself.

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  2. I love to see what everyone is doing and your craft work is beautiful. I find I can't settle to very much at the moment although I have a few projects on the go. I wish you well with your fundraising.

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    1. I hear you on seeing what others are doing, I find it inspirational. I also hear you on not being able to settle to things, that is how things are for me sometimes. I feel sure that your mojo will return soon, it is just how things are sometimes isn't it but it is hard when it lasts.

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  3. Your needle felting is beautiful, I fear my fingers would become pincushions.

    As Viv says, it is hard to settle this week - watching Putin do his best to destroy economic balance and Eastern Europe whilst appreciating just what we have here, despite price rises and concerns about the future. Thank you for continuing to share a little bit of your life.

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  4. A post that certainly resonates with me at the moment. I’m finding it hard to find the words too. I totally rely on my craft projects and particularly my mindless sock knitting. It’s time I tried something more complicated I think. B x

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  5. It looks like you've been having a crafty week. Those little hearts are just so cute. Needle felting is something that has been on my list to try for a long time, but one of those things that's been put off, perhaps because I feel a little daunted by it. Mick bought me a kit quite a number of years ago but I still haven't tried it, I really must. Your embroidery is lovely, something else I've never really had a go at. Cross stitch is about as far as I've got with needle and thread.

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  6. What lovely crafting; the hearts are absolutely beautiful and sweet. I am in such admiration of people who can create handcrafts like this - I can hardly sew on a button. But we all have different skills, and handwork isn't mine right now. But seeing posts like this make me wish I had taken the time to learn earlier in life - perhaps in a few years when life calms down a bit?
    I love coming to this space and reading your writing.

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  7. Your felted hearts are gorgeous and your knitting is exquisite, I couldn't imagine being able to follow anything more than the most basic of patterns.
    It is good to have something to focus on in these worrying times. X

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  8. What lovely projects -- and perfect ways to nourish yourself. I find that "keeping my hands moving" is the best way to settle my head and calm my heart. Much love your way. XO

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  9. I am trying to regroup and refocus but I am pulled to checking the news and then getting derailed from my intentions. I do this often but I know that eventually I will settle back into my faithful routines.

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  10. Beautiful crafting! The felt hearts are so sweet (and I adore the little felt fairies on the link to past projects. The paper star is so delicate and exquisite. I am sensing you are an expert knitter. When I was in my twenties, I used to gather with friends from the house opposite (the terrace houses were tightly packed in and we were separated by only a small yard) and have 'Knit Club' every Tuesday night. The rules of Knit Club: DON'T TALK ABOUT KNIT CLUB. This usually involved cheep beer, a smoke, pancakes and us mockingly watching Bid TV. My best effort was a very long scarf. Too much nattering and giggling going on possibly! Anyhow, I loved your post and I'm going to catch up on a couple of others I seemed to have missed .... Lulu xXx

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  11. Oh, your creations are delightful!xxx

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