Time, time, time…
Posted under Things I make, Witterings
…see what’s become of me…(bonus points: name that song)
Time is slipping through my fingers. I can feel it speeding up and speeding away from me, laughing in the face of my ‘to do’, ‘to action’, ‘to buy’ and ‘to grudge’ lists.
The basics are sorted: children and MrSpud are relatively clean, happy and cared for, house is in a reasonable state, Mount Laundry is surprisingly under control, work/life balance in check, on top of admin and correspondence, Real Life and Interweb friendships on track, photography 365 project up to date.
So far so good, right? I should be feeling pretty chipper, don’t you think? Yes I agree, I should be marveling at my jiggly juggly skills and keeping focused on maintaining an even keel. Instead I am cooking up another project, another hobby. I know I shouldn’t, it will tip the balance but its eating away at me…sshhh…crafts are a-calling me. My inner quilter is screaming to be released, my felting tendencies will not go unheeded any longer, I long to Stitch & Bitch along with the rest of the planet, my vocabulary aches to embrace words like wadding, bobbin, interfacing, overlock, bias and dose-doh. ‘Might’ be off course with the last one, but go easy…I’m a beginner remember?
This is not new. Crafty bubblings have been burbling up in me for a while but have easily been quashed by the remembrance that I don’t own a sewing machine and can’t sew anyway. Finally, in a flash in insight last week, it came to me: I could BUY a sewing machine and LEARN to sew. Don’t you just love those eureka moments? And I wasn’t even in the bath, because I am ‘that’ brilliant.
Posts like this, and that (shades of Extranjera?) and pretty much everything here have naughtily awoken those long suppressed creative longings. Mostly because I want to make pretty things, partly because I want to dive in to the bloggy craft kleeeeek…it’s painful having to stand on the sidelines, pathetically favouriting and RSSing beautiful things people have made rather than having a crack at making them myself. So, enough…I am Spud…I have fingers….see me make unidentifiable ‘offerings’. Set Crafty Spud free and let her do her worst.
There is a tiny problem which is that, as well as not being able to sew/embroider/knit/crochet etc, I have pretty much no creative skill and I lack patience. This has the makings of a disaster doesn’t it? I have previously dabbled with glass painting (not bad), cross stitch (hmm, OK) and tapestry (more shabby than chic, let’s leave it like that shall we). I can’t draw and am not capable of originality, thus my ‘offerings’ will not be inspired by anything, they will be straight copies. I have no lofty thoughts of expressing myself through craft, I just want to bloody MAKE something.
I love RedVelvetArt’s art journaling class idea, and may start there on the basis that I have nice handwriting and am a Master Sticker (comes with the territory of having preschoolers). Possibly I have misunderstood the point of art journaling? And I want to sew something. I will start with a Morsbag. But what I really want to do is make a quilt, it’s quite ambitious but there we are. It’s good to have a goal. Whilst looking at the art journaling stuff I found a quilt kit for beginners, perhaps that’s the way to go? Or there is a quilting shop nearby, where they run classes. Should I give that a go? Although that involves mixing with RWP (Real World People) of course, that’s the downside.
I was particularly peeved to read about The Make Lounge on Wee Birdy’s fabulous blog (which by the way everyone MUST read) because (a) it looks so much fun (WINE! I CAN SEE WINE IN THOSE PHOTOS) (b) this is exactly what I need to do to learn ‘my craft’ and (c) that place is spitting distance from where we lived in London before moving to The Country earlier this year. Why, why, why couldn’t these crafty urges have urged more urgently last year? Am having my first teeny regret at living in Not London. I could be there, I could fit in…I have quirky glasses…I drink wine…I have fingers…Instead I am stuck with Ye Local Stitch & Bitch, frequented by a bloke who is knitting a rat (I am not making this up, I have a spy in the camp).
So that’s my plan, how do you like it? To be honest there is a little bit of me that is reticent as there just aren’t the hours in the day to do all this stuff and keep on top of ‘life’ too. Something will have to give and I don’t know what. Possibly the hours I spend languishing on the sofa in the evening could be used more productively? MrSpud will vigorously nod his head when he reads that last sentence…
However, before I unleash my ‘offerings’ on an unsuspecting world there are two ongoing projects which I have promised myself that I will finish before getting crafty:
1. Finish sorting out my photo library. 5,000 to go.
2. Learn how to use Lightroom properly. The ‘wife‘ lent me a Lightroom book ages ago, and I’ve never even finished the first chapter since it became apparent I should sort/catalogue my photos before really getting in to the nitty gritty of using LR to process my shots.
I thought I’d chuck the rules I’ve imposed on myself in to this post to make me stick to it. But, you see, if only I had an art journal I could doodle about it there….and then stick stuff on it.
I can knit, but I’m very slow and my eyes are bigger than my fingers—I always buy way too much yarn and never get to use it because I never get to the projects that it was intended for. It’s very stress-relieving though, and I love to give handmade things as gifts. I’m a big crafty/pretty blog browser as well. I say delve into it, you won’t regret it!
I need a peg bag. And perhaps a new cover for the ironing board. You do make me laugh, am sure you can turn your hand to anything! Perhaps stick to making a few Christmas presents/ie killing two birds and all that and go from there… Or, as most people do – leave it till your 60s…
Cross stitch? I an shocked. Should I kidnap you and bring you back to the safety of the city?
Madness that way lies.
Ah, don’t worry, it took me a full year to get my arse to the Make Lounge, and even then I only manage to half-finish a project. Despite my best intentions I am firmly in the ‘craft admirer’ camp, rather than ‘craft doer’. xx
Look around… Leaves are brown… And the sky… Is a hazy shade of win-ter….
Thanks Spud, will have on the brain for the foreseeable. Step away from the macrame. xx
of course, i have a couple fo recommendations…
this book: http://www.amazon.co.uk/exec/obidos/ASIN/0470259264/ref=ox_ya_oh_product and the buy all of her fabric that’s available (she has a website and a blog and a flickr–all of which you can find from here: http://annamariahorner.blogspot.com/ )
and then this one: http://www.amazon.co.uk/Last-minute-Patchwork-Quilted-Joelle-Hoverson/dp/1584796340/ref=pd_sim_b_11
and one last one: http://www.amazon.co.uk/Bend-Rules-Sewing-Amy-Karol/dp/0307347214/ref=pd_sim_b_3
that last one has a super simple quilt that’s a brilliant one to start with (but you need anna maria horner’s fabrics so that it looks fabulous).
and i hope that i didn’t cause you to find RVA w/my art journal ref, b/c they’re the ones who say “rad” all the time and are sappy, sickly sweet and that’s just really annoying.
and i can neither knit nor crochet, tho’ i hold out hope that someone will really teach me to do both at one or another blog camp. i do, however, posses vast quantities of absolutely gorgeous yarn. which i bought here: http://www.poshyarn.co.uk/shop.html i mostly bought it because you have to pounce on it quickly and it’s really a competition. plus, pretty colors. have absolutely no idea how to use it, but it looks gorgeous in the basket. that counts, right?
oh, and i can’t spell. or type. but it’s late. so please forgive me…
making anything handmade is sooo relaxing.
glad to visit today.
one love.
The Bangles! Hazy Shade of Winter!
Woo Woo!!!
Dang Rx I was about to say that!!!!! now I’ll be singing it all night.
Don’t get all crafty on us please…you’ll be wasting your time sewing and stuff when we want to see you in Greek outfits with wellies!!! and more pigs!!! Here’s the deal you’re only allowed to sew or knit when you’ve had too much wine, then you have to take pictures of your creations and share them!!! hahahahaa
missin’ you dearly dear spudlicious.
Itchy fingers. That’s what I call it. I don’t know what I’m craving to create, but create I must! I try a new craft each winter. I’m sure I’ll find one that I must keep on with at some point. But I love to try new things. I had to make my girlie a quilt when she was new…try the kits they are great, you can work on a piece at a time. But be patient. Girlie was 5 before I finished. Oh wait, you don’t have patience…maybe something small would work better, a mini quilt or a potholder for Mr. Spud’s Christmas gift!
The Make Lounge looks like sooo much fun. What a great concept. I think you might have to start your own crafty party at home…invite only the RWP that you like.
I beg to differ about your not being creative. Your photos are amazing- your writing is astonishing…so go on, surprise yourself by trying something new.
Taught myself to knit and crochet from stitch and bitch and happy hooker. They’re great and funny and the only books I could really get into with that not wanting to read a fecking manual. Ever.
Can sew and did quilting in Mexico, but have always found quilters to be a sort of …ahem… special bunch of folks. Not all bad. But choose wisely, and ask if they homeschool ;o)
Come with me to crocheting classes at The Make Lounge!!!!!!!!!!!! I’m looking forward to it but scared of going on my own, and by then, we’ll know each other after BC 1.5!!!
So come with me to crocheting classes at The Make Lounge!!!!!!!!!!!! I’m looking forward to it but scared of going on my own, and by then, we’ll know each other after BC 1.5!!!
Hazy Shade of Winter, originally Simon and Garfunkel but more recently the Bangles. Do I win a prize??
Ah ha! My neck is aching a little bit from all the nodding I’ve been doing while I read this post. Me, that’s me you’ve been describing. The no patience – check. No ability – check. No experience – check. Big desire – check. Lots of excuses – check. Stuff to do first – check. Good handwriting – not so much! Still…
I’m jumpin’ in. I really am. Art journaling and a quilt. Wanna play along with me? It can be a side project.