Getting there....

Well, I have been practising with the camera - making sure I set up a clear background and so on, but I'm not there yet by any means!

Here's my latest creation ....

Aha - amazing what putting things on a sheet of white paper will do!

This was for a friend's birthday - I've had these bits and pieces of silk for ages and wanted to use them for something nice - hence my friend's brooch/corsage..  The little green button was one I made before Christmas when another friend taught me how to make decorations and buttons from porcelain clay, then wax resist, paint and glaze them.  It was very therapeutic spending time at the pottery creating away...

I'm going to try and spend some time making some more of these corsages once I've had another go at my (lack of) photographic skills so that I can add them to my new project.. an Etsy shop.

I've opened one now, but it's boring and the images aren't too good so that's the target for the next couple of weeks - to beautify my shop and start to fill it with good looking wares.  I've got some handspun scarves and beaded bangles all ready to go, they just need the right photos!  Then I might feel confident enough to put a link to it here and stop hiding it away in embarassment..

Mind you - it's another friend's party this coming weekend and I haven't finished her house warming card/present yet.. I'll pop a picture on here when I'm done.

Oh yes, and I suppose a spot of work wouldn't come amiss either so it's back to the computer to get on with a teaching resource for Julian, Secret Agent by Ann Cameron....

Frustrations and Delights!

Aaargh - so early on and yet late in posting already!  Yes, I meant to do this every Monday, but somehow having work got in the way this week... Anyway I'm here now.. frustrated at missing my (self-imposed) deadline..

This is my second frustration...

Having got this lovely yarn and made a jumper it looked awful - made me look huge!  I decided the body wasn't long enough, yet too wide and the set in sleeves were too bulky so it had to be completely ripped back.  Mind you this is as far as the 'new' back has got so at least I'm on the mend with it....

Now on to the delights!
Firstly I'm having my regular January 'use up all the food' from Christmas - not just the leftovers, but all the lovely goodies that arrived as presents.  There isn't much of this left, but there was one small jar of strawberry and champagne preserve from the gorgeous hamper my sister made up. Well, that means only one thing...

The bliss of both spending time on 'nice' cooking and then the joy of eating - doesn't get much better does it?

The 'use it all up' is one of those pleasures that feels like a virtue.  There isn't a lot as we don't tend to overbuy, but now and then it's good to clear all the cupboards/fridge/freezer and start again.  I'm nearly there - just some of last year's frozen runner beans from the garden, a bag of cooked apple from some windfalls I was given and the frozen raspberries from a friend's allotment that I was watering and picking from while she was on holiday.. mmmm perhaps that's more jam.. then more scones!!

I do remember reading a book about buying nothing for a year and every time I do the 'using up' thing I think about the chapter where the author writes about clearing her kitchen cupboard and finding eleven types of rice.. eleven ... I don't have that sort of store at all (not sure I could name eleven types of rice either).

To finish off the delights I've started to list my 'most visited' blogs.  Two of these - paper and string and little cotton rabbits were two of the first I looked at and stay an inspiration each time I look them up.  The other is a friend of mine - Mel.  We met a number of years ago when we were on a resources writing session for the Scout Association.  Over the years we've both been involved with writing a variety of materials and resources from games books to articles.  Although we'd talked about her life in Devon the link didn't really register when we moved here.  Then it emerged that her Scout Group was at the bottom of our road, her Mum and Dad used to live in the adjacent road to us and she babysat for one of our neighbours - small world eh!  She's now based in Scotland and I love keeping up to date with what she's up to in her blog...

Now those challenges I set myself - oh seem to have run out of time for today - what a let-off errr - pity!

A Challenge (or two) ....

As I mentioned I borrowed a fabulous book from the library and this is it...

Now I've set myself not one, but two challenges!!

Firstly I'm going to try and make all the gorgeous suggestions in this book - both to have some fun and to use up my never-ending stash of wool.. in fact I've already knitted up four of the projects - although they're not completely sewn up/stuffed/stiffened yet.  When I've got them finished hopefully I'll feel brave enough to post some photos...

Secondly having uploaded a couple of photos both here and elsewhere I've decided that my skills are very basic -  nothing like I'd want. I look enviously on those who can get things in focus, well lit and so on.  So I need to practise more .. especially as I've started on an exciting project and need to take some decent photos...

I do know a super photographer - he's my niece's husband here's his website if you fancy a peek....http://www.romahoneyphoto.co.uk/ .

Now it's back to work - those teacher's books on my desk won't write themselves!

All set and ready to go...

Well, with 12th night done and dusted the tree is down and the decorations are away.  It may be a bit perverse, but I actually enjoy the putting away and storing of everything after Christmas almost as much as the getting out and setting up!  I do like to deal with the tree in a quiet and orderly way - first taking down the lametta and popping it into a bag, then taking down the baubles and storing them in an old box that I got my boots in many years ago, then comes the tinsel and finally the lights wound back around the piece of cardboard they came on and popped into yet another shoe box.  The there's the cards, I like to read them again, then make a list of everyone who sent one, so I don't forget next year.  Then I store all the close family ones with the date on them, remove any bits from the others that I can use to make next year's cards and finally cut any remaining bits of card up for shopping lists.  It makes me feel all organised and sorted!

In the past I've then put everything away, including the trimmings I've saved for making next year's cards and decorations,.  The problem with it is that my best intentions about making things seem to vanish in the run up to Christmas - so this year I'm going to do my making now, probably with a Christmas film on DVD and a small sherry (!) just to invoke the festive spirit.....

Now I feel all ready for the New Year - late though it may seem.  I'm not a great resolution maker, but that might just change as a trip to the library last week put a copy of a lovely book in my hands and I might just have to make everything in it.. More of that later as some writing work arrived on Friday and I really ought to set to on it....

Take a deep breath and....

..dive in I guess.
I've been meaning to have a go at this for ages.. well since we moved 6 years ago actually!  The idea was to move away from the Greater London area, change our work situation and enjoy ourselves more...  The move went well and then we got to grips with the bungalow, I changed from employment to self employment and things progressed as I picked up consultancy and writing work and we got to know new friends, neighbours, etc.  All this, of course, tended to take some time and the blog, like my craft took a bit of a back seat - although I did learn to spin.. (hence the title!).
Now work has slackened right off and I've now got the time to settle to this and some other projects in the craft line, that I've been hankering after.. oh and to pursue some other writing now that my deadlines are my own.
So we'll see how it goes..

What's this going to be about?  Well, I guess it's my sort of on-line thought process - it would be nice to think that it's interesting to you too..  I want to make some notes about how I'm reorganising things a bit to take account of a bit more time and a lot less money.  I'd like to share some of the 'stuff' that I'm making and hopefully chart my progress into new projects and ideas!

Welcome to my whirling brain.. it could be a bumpy and unexpected ride, but that's what happens when you're always in a spin!