Moving Date

Well, the last few weeks seem to have gone in a blur!


My Dad shocked me last month by telling me that he wants to move down here to be nearer to us. That really came out of the blue! So it has been a non-stop round of phone calls and posting letters. Application forms and Housing Assosiations and supporting letters from GPs and Social Workers!


AND BREATHE......

( I did get a week off when we went to Cornwall for our hols)

.........AND CONTINUE


We found a flat in a block that is sheltered accomodation. All self-contained one bedroom units. It has lovely gardens, right by the river and it also has a communal lounge downstairs where the residents get together and have quizzes, fish and chip lunches, movie nights etc. The Warden is a wonderful Lady. She has been really helpful with all the paperwork that we need to fill in (again).



And we now have a moving-in date! In just two weeks, my Dad will be moved in - even if we have to shove him and his stuff in with a shoehorn! The real hard work starts now though. Organising a van to move his stuff in, contacting District Nurses and Social Workers, him giving his notice for where he is now, changing addresses for his bank and post office account, getting carpets and getting them fitted...... the list goes on and on!


BUT... I am getting a shed out of all this! A big(ish) shed that will become my Art Studio! We have decided (i will rephrase that, Husband-of-mine has decided) where it will go. He will put it up and I will get some 'stuff' (very technical term, that is!)and insulate it as we get damn cold winters round here( 'twill also keep spiders out of the dark corners).

So, once I get my Dad in and settled properly, we will get the shed/studio sorted and I will have my own little place to work in - if I get the chance!

Still Knitting.......

Just thought it was about time I checked in to Blogland.

Still knitting baby blankys. I'm now doing a pinky/white one. I have two blueish ones finished apart from the ends sewing in.

I am also busy crocheting some fingerless gloves. It was an idea I came up with when I was off work earlier in the year. So I thought it was about time I got on and made some more. I'm also crocheting some purses. I made one last year, just to have one to 'road test' myself. It seems to have held up quite well, considering the rough treatment it gets in my bag, so I am making  more. Though I am making one change to the design. I'm going to add a cotton lining to them to stop them from stretching so much.

Though, this does mean that I will HAVE to argue with  start to use my sewing machine! It really doesn't like me. It will work for everyone else, but not for me!

I have so many ideas for things to make, sometimes I really don't know where to start - so I can end up doing nothing at all. My workspace (or lack of it) is also very frustrating. I have things spread all over the house. I know that I have a 'particular something' that I need, but often have absolutely no idea where it might be stored, so I can waste an hour searching for something! Not good.....

 This is my Art space in the corner of the kitchen (or part of it) There are also a 4drawer filing cabinet, wheeled drawers and a chest of drawers  that is piled high on top of it. Then theres the stuff that has to live in the Living Room and the Bedroom. Wool, fabric, cross stich threads and fabric! The list goes on and on..................

I have had my name down on the waiting list at a local Artists Studio for the past 5 years. I go to many of the events and Open Studios that they run and have got to know some of them well.  Last month, completely out of the blue, I was contacted and asked if I was still interested in having a Studio. So, would I like to go in with a selection of my work for an interview?  I was there like a shot!  Thing was, with other things that were going on at the time, I only had 3 days to get things  sorted (and made!). The interview was good, though. I was very nervous( read-terrified!) but I just decided to be myself and it all seemed to go ok. Sadly I didn't get the studio space as the artist that I was going to be sharing the space with, changed her mind about sharing!  Maybe next time x


So, I must go now, my knitting is calling ( not to metion the kids)

Blankies and Brooches

Well, I'm still crafting.

I started knitting another baby blanky with 3 strands of wool twisted together. I'm finding it to be incredibly soothing. There is far too much stress in my life at the moment, but I have decided that none  of it is going to interfere with my crafting at all. I'm going to use it to help destress me and get my Folksy shop up and running (when I get it all worked out!). Just gives my mind something more positive to focus on.

I have also started making some flowery brooches from felt and some hand painted muslin that I made the other evening. I'm embroidering freestyle on top of them to secure them. I would show you some pictures of them now, but if I wait till I get organised with the camera, I would never post! It's not that I can't do it - I do know how, but it takes time and thinking power, and they are in short supply at the moment - I can either craft or upload pictures, and I choose to craft while I am in the mood to!

I will get the hang of this blogging lark soon, adding pictures too!

Dad

As usual, it has been a few months since I was last here!

I have been having trouble getting in the crafting groove really. Horrid family news. My wonderful Dad is very ill. Not that you would know now, to look at him. He has just come out of hospital, after spending 6/7 weeks in there. Sadly he has been diagnosed with Cancer. He is not strong enough to have any kind of treatment, it is only palliative care from now. His consultant has told me that he may only have a couple of months left, and we don't know if he knows this himself. so we are trying to spend as much time with him as we can.

He can be a stubborn swine at times, so we have to try hard to make sure he takes better care of himself than he did before and that he eats better and stays off the beer - oh, and takes his flamin' medication at the right time, not just when he feels like taking it!

so with all this trekking up and down the motorway every weekend, i have had to find something reasonably portable to carry with me in the car. So, I decided to have a root around my stash of cross stitch kits (I could start my own shop, really I could!). And I found one that had already been started - for the Queens Golden Jubilee! TEN YEARS AGO!

Oh, the shame!

I started it when I was pregnant with our girls and needed to be off my feet a lot. When I started it again, I remembered why I must have thrown it in the back of the pile. It took me over 3 hours the other night to do a bit that was just about 2 inches square. There are so many colour changes and complicated lines and back stitch, that I have to stop after stitching after half an hour and rest my poor tiny brain cell!

I may get it finished by the time we get to the next coronation!

I'm going now, it's time to ring my Dad, to check that he has been behaving himself since last night and that he hasn't sworn at the carers..........

New Year,New start.......

I've not been here for a while because I've been very busy. Crafting. At last.  After the mad rush of Christmas and  the fact that most of my craft stuff gets put away at Christmas, I have finally got started again. It takes me a while to find things again and get back to where I left off.


I got my Journalling cupboard opened up yesterday and got started again. I had to get past all the junk that had been thrown in there to tidy up quick. I must get properly sorted in there. It'snot easy to work when things just end up falling down on you!  I don't really have that much inspiration at the mo, but just by painting backgrounds, at least i'm doing something creatitive.

I'm also getting on with my Extreme knitting. I love it. Watching the blanket grow so quick is just brill, but it is a heck of a workout for the arm muscles, and it's easier to knit standing up than sitting down. I have also started another Blanky. Same idea as the extreme knitting but with 3 strands of wool and on thinner needles. More like a baby blanky and much easier to transport around!

I've also begun another Patchwork cover. It took me ages to get started. I've never made one from scratch before (by this I mean making the templates and having to measure everything up properly),It is a rather complicated one( for me it is!) and I just hope that I can get it finished soon. I make my patchwork by hand, not machine. I prefer to hand sew everything. I'm not keen on machines at all. By hand sewing, it means that i can do it anywhere.

When I get myself properly organised, I will take some pics of my work and get them up here.

Still here!

I said I would be back didn't I!

I have finally finished a cross stitch picture! I finished my David Tennant one last night. Here's a pic of it if you want to see.

I have also been buying again. Yesterday I found some cross stitch kits in a charity shop in town. It's not like I really needed them but it's not often I see Winnie the Pooh kits and they are soo damn expensive to buy 'new'. And I get a feel good from giving money to a charity close to my heart. Cancer Research.

Today I went with the kids to a local christmas craft fair, just to check out what others are making and what sort of prices they were asking, not expecting to find craft goods for sale. There was one lady selling off odd bits of things that she no longer wanted, so of course I just had to help her get rid of some of her excess stash. It was the friendly thing to do, wasn't it?

I got a doll stamp for £3 and 2 paint markers for 20p each. Also, 2 scrapbook kits for 50p each. Well, I thought I got a very good deal there, don't you?

Please forgive me if these pictures look odd or are in a strange place. I am new to posting pics and really i'm a bit of a tech numpty (but I refuse to ask the teenager). I will learn as I go. A couple of years ago, I couldn't even turn a bloody computer on, and now I e-mail and blog!

Hark at her!!!!!

She's back!!

Well, rather rubbish at this blogging lark arn't I ?

It's been nearly a year since i was here last and so much has happened. BIG problems with the eldest child (the one that looks at me like i'm stupid!). He's now 17 and things are slowly getting better, but it's been a hard slog and given us many sleepless nights and grey hairs!

As a consequence, I have suffered with depression and to be honest, i've struggled to get motivated to start any crafts. I have done some, mainly Art Journalling. That has been a good way to help me get the black thoughts out of my head. It is a really good therapy. You can vent your feelings on a page, and i mean REALLY say what you think, then you can paint over it and no-one knows what you've written but you feel sooooo much better when it's out!

I also started Extreme Knitting. No, this is NOT knitting and Bungee jumping at the same time, but knitting with extra large needles. I saw a lady doing it at a Vintage Rally when we were on holiday and then when I went to the Craft Show at the Trafford Centre someone there was selling the extra large needles so I bought some. Its heavy to lift when it gets bigger but it does make really warm blankets. Its a great Credit crunch craft as it warms you both during and after knitting it. It also uses up all the thin, spindly yarns that you find and cant do anything else with.

I've also started cross stitching again. I'm doing a portrait of the wonderful David Tennant. Its done in sepia tones and it's starting to look really good. I will try to post a pic of it when i'm done (because i now know how to get the pics off the camera and upload them! YAY!!!)

I think I am starting to find myself, or at least, to find a purpose. To start to find which direction I want to take the rest of my life. I do mean work-wise. I just want to find out what i'm good at and what I enjoy and try to take it in that direction. so i'm looking for local organisations that are wanting volunteers. To work with adults and older kids. I would be happy working with teens and/or troubled kids and adults with learning difficulties, but the places that are wanting help, for some strange reason, don't want me! I think that my face just doesn't fit!

So, I will not give up. I WILL NOT BE TOLD THAT I CAN'T!!!!!

Watch this space...........