Disorder & Chaos

You know how you feel when you've had a good sort out at home or in the office and everything has a home and all looks nice and welcoming? Well, this is my chaos at the moment in my office/studio....


World War III, in Devon! Although, I hate to admit it, but it has been worse. No wonder my mind is in such a mish mash with a real lack of inspiration or true creativity. I daren't show you the picture of the doorway, as it has all the washing hanging on airers to dry - oh, okay, here goes... Well, actually, Blogger is so blown away by the mess that it won't allow me to put up another image!!

Plan for the weekend: sort out the studio and bring some calm to the whirling in my mind (or at least attempt to) ... working towards my hopes for the year.

How is your head and the resulting chaos or calm?

New Start :: 2009

Well, the start of a new year brings with it many new ideas, hopes and thoughts.

Being inspired by Project365, where a photo is taken every day and posted online (either Flickr or a blog), I didn't want to be tied down by this and will take the concept and rework it into something that suits me. Perhaps that should be my aim for the coming year: don't try and change myself to fit into other people's expectations but allow me to come to terms with my own character and let it shine.

I plan to use my blog far more this coming year, not by giving myself the challenge of daily blogging, but you never know how it will turn out!

My hopes for the coming year...

... develop my writing outlets and have more work published in magazines...
... enjoy my many skills: cooking, sewing, knitting, painting, languages, animals...
... see our project in France develop into something resembling something more than a barn...
... try to maintain (and better) my health, both physical and mental, and not wallow in self pity that I haven't achieved unachievable goals (have you spotted that none of these are stated as resolutions for 2009?)...

Let's see how these outlines shape themselves in the coming months.


First finished project for 2009: Winter Cottage Mittens, my very first pair, from a kit purchased from Posh Yarn, hand-dyed scrummy yarn and pattern developed by the lovely Dee from Posh. The pics are of the just finished mittens, not blocked so a little lumpy until I pull them off my hands to wash and block them!

I love mittens. I recall a bright red pair, with a cable down the front and a crocheted string to hold them in lace attached to my coat, from my childhood. I loved them and, in a recent conversation with Mamo, found that I was very young when I had these (knitted by her fair hand) so they must have struck a cord to stick in my memory like this.

I feel these won't be my last mittens this year - any pattern suggestions?

Missing... no action!

Okay, I didn't mean to be silent for so long. Just happened! Life gets in the way and all of a sudden it's months later... thanks Sue of Eco-Tricot for prodding me to blog again! The meme you've tagged me with will appear very soon, promise.

Here's a few pics to brighten the day. I took Carter down to Branscombe for a walk this morning as it is so beautifully sunny here. He loves his trips to the seaside - in fact he virtually howls until you let him out of the back of the car once he smells the sea! Very embarrassing if anybody's about.



The walk from the village down to the beach is a lovely one, level paths meandering over the stream leading out to the sea. And then the wide expanse of pebble beach with views far and wide. Perfect!


Somebody here seems to be enjoying himself!

Time Flies!

Gosh, I didn't realise how long it has been since I last updated my blog! So, a quick post with some pics from the recent Contemporary Craft Fair at Bovey Tracey.

I had time to attend on the first day, the Friday, in the afternoon and was lucky to be part of a workshop held by the fabulous Alison Willoughby of the fantastic skirts fame. Alison was fab - so quirky and outgoing, I really enjoyed a couple of hours as part of a group of 6 lucky peeps. The workshop made me feel like a 5 year old given freedom with a sewing machine! Great fun to have this freedom - it's not something we as adults often are able to do so, if given the opportunity, grasp it with both hands... enthusiastically!

Here are a few pics from the day, finishing off with my creation, modelled by Alison...




this one isn't mine (above) but an Alison W creation, showing the detailed rosette motif she uses.

More pics from the fair another day...

New Career

I promised news on the work front, and I have taken irrevocable steps towards my new career as a freelance PR and features/copy writer. I resigned from my job nearly two weeks ago and it is only now beginning to sink in that I won't have a regular pay cheque coming in!

This fear has meant we will be cutting short our planned holiday in June down to one week and coming back so that I can work... sad or what? However, the long term benefits should make it worthwhile.

I can across a great website for quotations, something I'm always looking for to jazz up copy... how's this?

And by the way, everything in life is writable about if you have the outgoing guts to do it, and the imagination to improvise. The worst enemy to creativity is self-doubt. ~Sylvia Plath


Wish me luck!

Still Alive... Still Struggling :-)

Yes, I know, my blogging hasn't been too good for the last year or so. Hey ho, I'm not going to add more to my Catholic ingrained angst, so I'm not going to worry!

However, I have been busy...

Here are a little collection of felt corsages which I made to sell via our local pub. A friend has a glass cabinet in the pub through which she sells some jewellery she makes - we're going to make this a more mixed-media affair and will add some turned wooden pieces too soon. It's not going to be a money spinner, but if I don't stop talking about doing something and get on with it, nothing will change, will it?

We've had a busy week this week - apart from Easter with friends (not good, she's very stressed out and very agressive - but it will ease off and things will get better - I'll just be here ready for her: isn't that what friends are for?) and then took two van loads of kitchen units to the barn in France to reduce the storage costs here in the UK.

We were very pleased to see all was well in our little corner of Normandy - and the sun shone brightly for our al fresco lunch in Honfleur: lovely!

I also have plans on the work front (does this count towards my happiness non-new year resolution? I hope so!) and will have more news soon... have to make sure I have more to write about later this week - bye for now!