All Fingers and Thumbs

Sewing from my studio. I practically had to beat a path through all the things piled up in my space but a power tidy of ten minutes last night and I sat down at my machine this morning to start work on some stitched postcards. So much time thinking about making is just no replacement for actually making. Especially when in the thinking I create such a definite vision of what the finished thing should be that it starts to become something almost unachievable by normal levels of effort. It was talking about the thinking that then jumpstarted the making. I guess because the ways out of your head and in to your life are by recognising your limiting behaviours for what they are. Talking, journalling, blogging. Just taking a step back in some way is so helpful. I reframe this version of what 'perfect enough to get started' is so many times that I trick myself I've given up on 'perfect' and yet still I circle around things instead of getting on with them. Afraid that...

Once upon a time there was a lady who remembered that Christmas for her is about sparkles of light in dark days. Slow, gentle, magical time with herself and a few of her loved ones enjoying and being thankful for all our blessings and she lived a very happy Christmas 2013 indeed. Sometimes I think crafty types turn into some kind of crazed fairy godmothers at Christmas, determined not just to have the 'perfect' Christmas as pumped in to our heads by the marketing machines of just about every company out there but to MAKE the whole damn schnazzle from scratch as well. Of course this year with less working hours to excuse me I wanted to make more gifts, more food and participate in the creation of more new traditions than ever whilst remaining serene and shiny throughout. I thought I'd refined the lists, sprinkled a little fairy dust and was going to shimmy on through. Then my back said no and I lay down for a week. Lists are shorter, there are small touches of handmade...

Non-knitters might think this was just a cosy jacket. Perfect for the final layer of a jumper cocoon to snuggle in to and keep chill winds at bay. It is that it is true, but of course, so much more. This is a magic jacket not just for the reasons the designer Robynn calls it so , its ability to fit and flatter many women, even naughty knitters who go down a size and still make it too big cos their gauge was off and there was no way they were doing the maths to sort it out! Hmm they're probably the kind of slap dash Sal that would fail after hours of work creating the garment to get proper photos taken before blogging about it!! Lawks they are lucky they have a magic jacket to protect them from the knitting police!!! This is a magic jacket for me for the memories it contains. Started just a few days in to September a treat to mark the start of the new phase of work designed to allow more hours of craft to come in to my life . I bought the yarn from our lovely, local, East Oxf...