Mousy Brown's House-Creating, crafting and collecting. Enjoying Life.

January's Projects...

I hinted at a plan I was thinking about last time, well, the plan is made and a list is written and as promised I am back to share what it is...

Making things is as important to me as breathing and because of that I find it easy to get carried away...with the planning, the dreaming, the buying (wool, fabric, threads, patterns...)and most definitely the STARTING!  Just before Christmas, in a peaceful lull, while everyone was sleeping, I started to tot up all the projects I had started but hadn't finished...and well lets just say I was slightly surprised and just a little bit ashamed.  Now don't get me wrong, making things is fun, not a job, not a competition, no one is checking up on me and really if I wanted to I could start a project of one kind or another every day and nobody would be there telling me off BUT (and it is a big but) after a while I kind of get this feeling that I have a "to do" list and it no longer seems fun, it just feels like work...work which isn't done and which needs to get done and then I can actually start to feel stressed...I know, crazy right?  Well I accept that I am fairly crazy and so the feeling isn't going to go away and so I had to come up with a plan to solve my problem...

So, I thought about the things that work for me;

• having a deadline
• lots of variety
• different projects to suit different situations
• a bit of a challenge

and those that don't;

• sticking with something until it's done no matter how boring I am finding it
• only one craft at a time
• pressure/stress
• lack of flexibility

and the answer I have come up with is what you see listed in my diary above...

Every month I will make a list with six project headings and I will try and complete as much of each of these projects as I can.  To start with nearly every category is filled with a project I have already started but hopefully as the year goes on I will get through all those "WIP's" and will be able to add new and exciting makes to the list. In the meantime the wildcard category fulfils my need for something new and I have given myself permission to fill that with something different right from the start...

Hopefully this plan is challenging but flexible enough to get me finishing some of those many items on my list whilst still allowing me to have fun...what do you think? Have you any good ways of keeping all your projects under control? Any suggestions would be very gratefully accepted but in the meantime I'm off to knit a few more rows of that cardi...I'll let you know how it goes!

Christmas Wishes...

Things have been very quiet in this space, which may have been because thay have been anything but that in the rest of my life...

Now, with school finished for the year, Grandparents collected and all the shopping and making done, we are looking forward to taking a deep breath and enjoying some hard earned peace over the next couple of weeks.

I would like to wish anyone who happens to visit here a happy and relaxed Christmas and a New Year full of simple goodness...

“When we recall Christmas past, we usually find that the simplest things - not the great occasions - give off the greatest glow of happiness.”
Bob Hope.

Alabama Chanin Mending...

I walked into a door handle and managed to rip my favourite linen dress right in the middle of the front.  It could have been a disaster but I decided to look on it as an opportunity.  Luckily I keep everything, so had some little t-shirt petals left from this project.  And now I have an Alabama Chanin inspired repair...looks beautiful, cost nothing and was fun to do...Win, Win, Win!

Weeding...

Weeding the garden is such a pleasure when it ends with results like this...

June catch up...

Another month has slipped by, finishing before I even had time to notice it's arrival...although looking back through my photo's we packed quite alot in (and that's without accounting for school and work and study). These are the bits I want to remember, the colours and light of early Summer, the creativity and fun of time together, the laughter and happy smiles. Sometimes in the heat and tiredness it is easy to recall the hard work and tears and forget the "nice bits" and as we limp towards the last few days of school I for one need this reminder of how lucky I am to have all this goodness around me.

My course has come to an end and I have been successful in getting the qualification I needed, full-time work starts in September, along with GCSE year for Jack and the big move up to high school for Sam.  All change again and I am looking forward so much for the opportunity that the summer holidays will bring for us all to catch our breath and prepare for the adventures ahead.

I hope to pop in here a bit more over the holidays...if my list of things we want to get done is anything to go by I should have a lot to show!  But for now I will leave you with good wishes...Happy Summer to you all - I hope it's full of all the things that you need to feed your soul!

Welcoming 2013...

2012 was meant to be the year of keeping things simple but somehow became even more complicated than ever...new job, extra days, lots of studying, new chicks...I did manage to stay sane however (well as much as I ever am!) so maybe a bit of simplicity did seep through and perhaps I am learning to not make a complicated situation into a disaster!

The first half of 2013 is already starting to look quite full and I have signed up for this and this just to make sure I take care of those important bits that tend to get ignored when things get crazy (my health and my creativity)

No resolutions here as usual but I will leave you with well wishes for a Happy New Year and a quote I discovered, that seems a fitting place to start the next twelve months...

“If we did all the things we are capable of doing, we would literally astound ourselves.”

~ Thomas A. Edison

 

Three Beautiful Things...

We woke to sunshine and clear, blue skies.

We started the day slowly, all together in a mess of quilts, books, toast crumbs and chatter.

The smell of wood smoke enters through open windows and doors.  A perfect Autumn day.

Saturday morning meditation.

I sit quietly, aware of the warmth of the dog curled, gently breathing by my feet.  My needle rhythmically dips in and out of the fabric, following a curve that feels right to my fingers, an instinctive mapping of invisible stories within the cloth.  A mug of steaming hot tea is slowly cooling on my bedside table, waiting for a natural pause in the stitching, to be remembered and savoured as I re-thread my needle and take a glance at what has been done before.  Everywhere else the house and its occupants are resting and I feel content to wait, enjoying my time to relax into the day, stitching contentment into every stitch, wishing that everyday could start like this, that every day could be a Saturday...

Bees buzzing...

Things have been rather quiet around here lately, partly because I have been feeling rather low and haven't really known what to say...

A combination of those niggley health problems that still won't go away, the return to work and school (the holidays just weren't long enough!), a long week with my husband away, trying to fit too much in - then feeling I am going nowhere and the weathers determination to return to dark days, rain and temperatures that need a fire have all played their part and I decided silence was a whole lot better than endless pages of wallowing!

I was taking a look at these photo's this morning and realised just how happy the sounds and sights of nature make me (I may have mentioned that a few times before...) and thought you might enjoy seeing them too.  I have also woken up with an idea buzzing around my head that just won't go away, I need to think it out a bit more but will be back soon with a few more details....

Moments of still.

It was another beautiful, sunny day here and I felt inspired to tackle loads of tasks that just aren't so appealing in the rain.  Within the hectic busyness, there were moments of pure stillness, where I paused and recorded the progress of my day.  These are the ordinary moments I treasure, moments it would be so easy to overlook.

What ordinary moments made you stop today?