Blog Hop With a Difference

There has been a blog hop with a difference happening in creative circles and my lovely friend ,Janelle Wind tagged me. I met Janelle in real life last year after following her through magazines and her blog for about 10 years. One day we will sit down for a proper chat, Janelle.

I have a series of questions to answer and then I tag someone else and that is how this blog hop keeps moving along.

What are you working on right now?  I have a couple of projects on the go - a crochet cardigan for my niece and a pair of fingerless mittens for myself.  Not to forget a quilt I have been trying to finish for a year 😳

How long does it take to create a project?  well, that really depends on my level of interest.  My large sewing projects take awhile, my knitting and crocheting takes anywhere from a day to a week.  Scrapping and Project Life layouts doesn't take long at all as I am trying to just do it and not overthink.

What  are my  favourite things to create with at the moment?  I have to admit that I am in love with yarn at the moment.  I really cannot walk past a yarn store.

How does my creative process work?  I tend to just go with the flow. With scrapping I start with a white background and a photo, then I spend a few minutes putting patterned paper and embellishments with it. With yarn, I seem to buy yarn and then come home and search Ravelry for ideas. At the moment I am discovering knitting and so I can take a whole day to actually get the right pattern and needles sorted.

How do I become inspired and stay inspired?  I spend time checking Instagram, Pinterest and Ravelry almost daily.  I find that if I am making something that others are also making, I can keep the inspiration flowing. Other times, it is just plain hard work.

What is my signature style?  I really don't think I have a signature style.

Now its time for me to tag someone. I really hope you check out the blogs and I hope you have enjoyed a little insight into my creative process.

I tag Jenny from Elefantz.  I have followed Jenny for a few years and love the stories she tells, and her stitchery designs are amazing.  I also have found inspiration from the journey Jenny and her husband are taking both with their health and as empty nesters.

I am still here

Wow, I didn't realise how long it has been since I visited my blog!  I have every intention of changing that.  For now I will just catch you up on the happenings here.

Len - still loving his new job and starting to travel more. Recently spent a weekend in the country helping his brother renovate an old church he and his wife bought.

Megan - spent her Uni break on the Gold Coast with her boyfriend and is now back at Uni.

Andy - decided he wanted to leave school and join the Army. Changed his mind and now wants to finish his education at Tafe.

Me - lots of knitting, crochet, study, reading, cooking and all of the other normal housewife stuff.  I have also been working some casual hours at a child care centre.  My bad days are getting less and I am starting to get excited about life again.

Hope all is well with you,

Deb x

Vivid Sydney 2014

We went to Vivid a couple of years ago and really enjoyed ourselves.  After realising that we were all free on the same night of the long weekend, we decided lets go to Vivid.  As our children are getting older we are very conscious of spending quality time with them and making family outings a priority.

So we left home at about 3 in the afternoon and had a really good run into the city, the trip took just over an hour, and we managed to find a really good parking spot.  Andy wanted to buy a winter jacket so we trudged up to the Queen Victoria Building and he found a jacket in Top Shop.  The rain had stopped so we walked around to the Rocks with the plan of having dinner at Pancakes on the Rocks. Unfortunately, the lines were so long that we kept walking.

I must admit that the crowds were horrendous and Vivid was very underwhelming, but we enjoyed the family time and had lots of laughs.

We decided to head to Leichhardt for dinner, and found a really nice pizza and pasta restaurant that had a lovely atmosphere.

 

 

 What did you get up to this weekend?

Debbie xx

Cushion Sewing

A little while ago, my friend and I named my depression Carmen. No particular reason. I was just drawn to that name.

Anyway, Carmen has been visiting these last few days, which is why I have been quiet. I just needed some time to reflect and regroup. I still don't feel myself but after an afternoon of sewing, I am feeling a bit more centred.

A couple of weeks ago I bought a kit from The Crafty Squirrel to make a cushion from charm squares cut from vintage sheets.  I spent a week trying to put the squares in the perfect order and of course, didn't sew anything. Today I just got out the kit and quickly put the squares in a pleasing order and went for it.

There was a lot of sorting, some sewing, some ironing, learning how to sew buttonholes again, some quilting and finally, putting in a cushion insert.  It was a really clear set of instructions and we all love our new cushion.

 

 

 

Debbie xxx

 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
Some sewing
 
 
 
 
 
 



 

June's To-Do List

Winter seems to be here at last and tonight we are enjoying an evening in front of the fire. I love my fireplace and how warm it makes the house.  I am curled up on the lounge with my planner and my notebook and I am just enjoying the slowness of a winters night.  I got so much out of posting every day in May that I am going to try and continue the habit.

Today we took Andy to the SMH Careers Market at Moore Park. it was so nice spending time with him and it was interesting the way he approached the market.  No questions and just collecting everything he could. We spent the hour long trip home listening to him read information to us. At the moment he is thinking about doing a gap year with the Army.  I am not sure how I feel about this.

Anyway this month will see me start prac at a pre school for one day a week so I have to be in a much better routine.  I will also need to spend at least one day a week studying.  The problem will be saying no to distractions.

On a personal level, this month I am aiming to -

meditate more
keep the house tidier
exercise more
take more photos

What does your to-do list look like?

Debbie xx

Gratitude

Today marks the end of Sunday's Post Every Day in May challenge and I made it! I did miss a couple of days but I am really happy with what I have achieved. I have some new followers and I have some new blogs to follow and my writing is becoming much easier to me.  For all of this I am grateful to Sunday.


I am grateful for -


my husband
my babies
my fur babies
our life together
our extended family
our friends
our health
that we have a roof over our heads and food on the table





What are you grateful for?


Debbie  xx

Advice

Advice is something we either get when we don't need it or don't get when we do need it.


One piece of advice that I gave my children and their friends is to take every opportunity that comes there way and to live every square inch of their lives, but to be safe whilst doing so.


Interestingly, I haven't really followed this advice myself. 


When I lost my job before Christmas, I was devastated. I allowed my feelings to rule my life again. the common theme was - who would employ me? I have no skills. I am too old.  I fell apart.


Fast forward to March. Len was told he was being made redundant. Did I fall apart again? No. I stayed strong and positive.  I kept saying to him "that wasn't your job anymore, its time to see what opportunity comes along" and guess what? Len had exactly one week off before he started a new and better position.


The alarm bells started going off, if I could remain strong and positive for everyone else, what about me? Didn't I deserve the same? So I started telling myself this was our year and how exciting to face new opportunities that come our way.  I said it so many times that I was almost saying it in my sleep. 


I am happy to say that taking my own advice has worked, I enrolled to study at Tafe and I have organised my own prac work at a pre school and I have had a stall at a craft market.  These are huge things for me as I am an introvert and really have to push myself to talk to strangers. But I did it!  I am so proud of myself for following my own advice.





Debbie xx