Short & Sweet - February Days

Knitting - Winter mitts while I wait for another ball of wool to arrive so I can finish off my Owls. Rookie mistake = not ordering enough wool.

Sewing - All the Juniper cardigans.

Cooking - meatballs. On the way home from playgroup last week, I asked Oscar what he wanted for lunch, he said meatballs. Meatballs it is, dude.

Drinking - white wine spritzers and pretending summer is here.

Learning - Alternate Cable Cast-On, it's so pretty!

Hoping - Oscar gets better soon. He's been sick since the weekend and while the cuddles are lovely, I want that happy little boy back.

Wanting - all the indie yarn. Seriously, just all of it. Thanks.

Deciding - what to knit next? What to sew next?

Enjoying - the sunshine & impromptu walks down to see the diggers at the bottom of our street.

Collecting - avocado pits. Natural dye, here I come.

Listening - to bees buzzing while we dig in the sandpit and make sand castles.

Watching - Land Girls. Those 40's overalls.

Smelling - summer roses in the garden.

Wearing - Ivy pinafores. I don't think I've worn much else these past few rainy weeks.

Wondering - which sewing pattern designs to work on next.

Admiring - how much talent this creative community has and how willing people are to share and give advice.

Grateful - for lovely emails from friends, even though we've never met. Both new, out-of-the-blue notes as well as ones from old friends.

Loving - quiet evenings.

Feeling - all over the place.

Buying - more wool.

Baking - zucchini bread (with half the sugar & how ever many cups 2 grated zucchini's yield - don't squeeze out the water!) with zucchini picked fresh from the garden.

xx
J

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A New Year...

All photos taken by me and shared on Instagram

Happy new year you guys!

I hope you had a good one, however you chose to spend it (I did some knitting, drank some wine & watched The Crown before going to bed around 11pm and sleeping right through. We like to par-tay in this house, obviously...).

I'm still trying to find my energy for the new year though I have to be honest. I feel... bitty. Like there are too many bits and pieces to do and like I'm doing a little bit of all of them and not a lot else.

I went back and read my first post for 2016 a few days before the 1st and had completely forgotten that I had a word for the year. That word was Focus, and although I promptly forgot my word a few months into the year, it did actually put me on the right track to get s**t done. And, yes, although I forgot about my word for the year, as I was reading back, I found that I still really loved the concept of it and so started to think about a word for 2017.

I ran through a few words but kept coming back to the feeling that I still wasn't done with 'Focus' yet. Focus all on it's own however, just seems a bit too broad for what I feel like I need for 2017. This year, I need more defined, intentional focus. Not just random pick-a-project focus, which is what I feel like 2016 was. Yes, I got stuff done, but it was bitty. You know?

As I look back on 2016, I realise that I didn't set myself up to work smarter during my work time - there was an overall plan, but there wasn't much of a daily To-Do list. Also, when a project was complete, instead of tidying up to give myself a fresh space to work in, I'd plow on and find myself lifting up piles of fabric for my scissors, or spending ten minutes moving bits around so that I had a large enough space on my desk to draft. This year, my goal is to take at least one of my work sessions every fortnight-ish to clean and plan the next week or so, to hopefully gain back some much needed productive time. To focus intentionally.

With that in mind, January is turning into a busy month for us. David and I are pretty 50/50 when it comes to looking after Oscar, we're fortunate enough to be in that situation (for the time being), and it's been to the benefit of all of us. This month and on into February though, is going to be a bit of a different situation with David being pretty much completely inundated with work. It means I'll be on almost full time Oscar-watch while also trying to squeeze in some work of my own (Auden Cardigan tutorials are going live, The Gable Dress Expansion Pack release will be here at the end of the month and getting The Juniper Cardigan ready for testing, are all things vying for my attention this month). My mum is visiting for a week in the middle somewhere and the garden appears to have entered into it's post-Christmas-New Year explosion. It's always a few days after Christmas when the flowers bloom, the veges pop and we can't keep up with it all.

I also have lots of personal projects on the go that I desperately want to either finish or make a start on, many of which I talked about in my last podcast for 2016.

So, it's all go round these parts. Not to mention that 2017 is shaping up to be interesting in many other ways than just my small part of it.

I'll leave you with these words that I read a few days ago by Neil Gaiman, no one could have said it better...

Be kind to yourself in the year ahead.

Remember to forgive yourself, and to forgive others. It's too easy to be outraged these days, so much harder to change things, to reach out, to understand.

Try to make your time matter: minutes and hours and days and weeks can blow away like dead leaves, with nothing to show but time you spent not quite ever doing things, or time you spent waiting to begin.

Meet new people and talk to them. Make new things and show them to people who might enjoy them.

Hug too much, Smile too much. And, when you can, love.

xx
J

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The Longest Night...

  

 All photos taken by me and shared on Instagram

I know I'm a bit late to the party, but you guys, it's July already. The shortest day has come and gone and summer is apparently on it's way (if you believe the hype that is. I, personally, am skeptical). It's been sickness and busy-ness and cold around here.

I was reading an article the other day that was talking about the winter solstice - it marks the very centre of the seasons, where the sun goes away to hide for the longest night, and I thought to myself, what a lovely way to think of it. Instead of it being the shortest day, it is instead, The Longest Night.

Now, doesn't that sound cosy? It sounds like the name of the softest inky-blue ball of wool you ever did see. Like the cosiest of nights, tucked up in front of the fire. Like the cold-crispness of a dark and clear winter night with all of the twinkling stars looking down from above.

It's a nice change of perspective. A glass half-full of warm milk with a side of freshly baked cookie. And sometimes, a warm glass of milk, the longest night and a bit of perspective is just what the doctor ordered. Time to breath and re-think.

I've been busy working on new patterns. Two of them. They'll be released at the same time, separately as well as in a bundle, and it's been keeping me pretty busy. But I did find time to finally finish my very first ever roman blind the other weekend. It only took me 2.5 years, and I still have 3 more to go, plus curtains for my sewing room. But all of those combined should only take another 2 years... especially now that I know what I'm doing *wink*.

Stay warm,

xx
J

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Feeling Chatty...

All photos taken by me and shared on my Instagram.

I was going to post the second of my Afternoon Tutorials, but today, I just felt like writing to you all instead and saying hello.

Hello!

Autumn is apparently officially here in my neck o' the woods. We've literally just had the power turned back on. It's been down since yesterday evening - we've had gale force winds here which have knocked down powerlines, um, hello autumn or winter!? Thank goodness for our little wood burner and stove top kettle, oh how we take power for granted...

Autumn is technically my favourite season, but, I just want a bit more summer warmth. We've not had a great summer this year, so I'm feeling a little cheated and not quite ready to give up my long light days in exchange for dark mornings and cold nights.

No, not yet. I think we can wring a few more warm, flowery days out before the cold settles in and the garden goes to sleep though... I live in hope.

Anyway, what I actually wanted to talk about today... you know how sometimes you're in the mood to share, and other times you'd rather use that sharing time to just get more sewing done? Yeah, I've definitely been in that mood lately. I'd rather make stuff than share it at the moment, so, that back log of stuff-to-share most certainly isn't getting smaller. BUT we did take some time on Wednesday to take photos of a few of the things I've been making.

Photo sessions have to happen quickly and in bulk these days, between naps and on a sunny day, in the afternoon when the sun is streaming into my sewing room, when David is home. It definitely needs planning...

Which brings me to the topic of blogging regularly as a seamstress. It quite rightly pops up fairly often, because the reality is that if we want to blog our makes regularly, we have to actually make regularly. But most of the time, that need-to-make leads to less-than-wearable/usable makes, wasted time and an aversion to actually getting any sewing done, doesn't it?

I know that when I feel like I should be blogging but have nothing to share, I end up not doing any sewing because I start to feel resentful at the need to sew just because I feel like I should be blogging, and not sewing because I actually want to. It's a cycle. And not a terribly productive one at that.

So my advice? Ignore all those helpful 'blog 10 times a week for a super dazzlingly successful blog'. They might be trying to be helpful, but they really aren't actually all that helpful for your productivity. Blog when you have something you're really excited to share, I'm sure your readers won't mind. I doubt they realise that you've made a rule to post every Monday, Wednesday and Friday at 10am exactly.

Do you sew to blog? Or do you blog when you've got some sewing to share?

xx
J

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Blink and you miss it...

All photos taken by me and shared on my Instagram.

And in the blink of an eye, January is over and February has well and truely taken over.

It's the last official month of summer now, though we're finally getting some consecutive sunny, warm days, so it better continue into March at the very least.

I accidentally took a mini blogging break during January, oops. It wasn't intentional, but boy have I been productive during it. Having a word for the year has been really kind of amazing. Focus indeed.

I always have lots of things on the go at once, both personal projects and work related things, but in the past, I'd always feel guilty for doing one thing when I had 10 other things to do. So, I'd stop doing the thing that I had just started and would start the next thing, only to feel guilty about not doing something else, so I'd stop and the cycle of not-really-getting-anything-much-done would continue.

During January, with my word firmly in my mind, I would slip into my sewing room as often as possible, pick a project and focus on getting it done. Sometimes I would still feel guilty for not doing other things, but instead of stopping, I'd tell myself to focus and voila, things are finally crossed off my list that have been lingering for an embarrassingly long amount of time.

In terms of personal sewing, I made David a cardigan, I sewed some floral pillow cases and I made some wood basket liners which I had been meaning to do ever since we moved into our wee house nearly two years ago. We put a new wood stove into our living room late last year - the old one is in the kitchen, and we found we were spending more time in there than our cosy living room - but the living room has carpet, and all the little sticks and bits of wood that were falling through the basket cracks were driving me nuts. So, one morning, I sat down and made three of them. It was a great feeling putting those liners on those baskets, and they look so pretty.

In sewing patterny-things, my updated Afternoon Blouse with new shift dress pattern went out to testers two weeks ago, I drafted and have finalised a new pattern piece for The Felicity Dress for a wee expansion pack coming really soon, one new summery blouse pattern has been drafted and is ready for grading and another little autumn-y knit dress & top is nearly finished and should be ready for grading next week sometime.

Add to that my mum being here for close to two weeks, Oscar gaining his first 3 teeth in rapid succession (with 3 more very visibly on their way) and deciding that solid foods aren't all that bad and getting the hang of crawling (although backwards, hehe), and I'd call that a focussed and action packed January. Phew! I'm feeling very pleased with myself don't ya know :)

Now I just have to make some time for some picture taking of all of the above, and we'll be back on this ol' blogging wagon soon enough.

How was your January?

xx
J

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A New Years Resolution...

All photos taken by me & shared on Instagram

Happy New Year!!

I think I've been living under a rock - I've only recently come across the notion of choosing a word for the year, instead of writing a long list of resolutions - this seems to have apparently been a thing for a little while now... Any whoo, as soon as I read about this, I was done with my long list of resolutions and I knew almost immediately what my word would be -

Focus. 

It encompasses everything 2015 wasn't and everything I want 2016 to be. It's concise, and well, it's focussed, unlike a long and wordy list of things that are easily forgotten by January 2nd.

I spent the majority of 2015 feeling very scattered, and yes, being pregnant for the first half and then having a baby for the second half was a major reason for this. Little people turn your world upside down don't ya know. I had naive visions of being able to work steadily through while Oscar was sleeping, but I vastly underestimated how much time they take up, mentally and physically, even when asleep. A girl's gotta eat, sleep and shower at some point (never mind the washing or the laundry or the vacuuming or any form of social interaction...).

Oscar had a big impact on my attention span and motivation when it came to this little space and my wee range of sewing patterns. But that didn't mean I was short of ideas. In fact, I went a bit stir crazy with all the ideas I had for my sewing patterns and new little side ventures I could explore (sitting on a couch for hours breastfeeding does that to you). But you guys, it became very clear that I just needed to calm the heck down and focus - which is what I've done quite a lot of ever since I found my word.

So, I've been focusing away and have decided on and planned my next 5 new patterns. I'm not in any rush to release these patterns, goodness knows there are plenty of amazing indie patterns already out there at the moment, but it's nice for me to know what's next. The first is a little update on my very first pattern (it's drafted and graded and now I'm just adding the extra bits to the instructions so it can go out for testing mid-January - keep an eye on your inbox if you signed up to be a tester) and the next is a knit top/dress pattern that I've finally settled on the final variations for and have started drafting.

I've also been working slowly away on a new idea that I had some time ago - dolls and doll kits. It was almost a no brainer when Oscar arrived, even though I know you'd think I'd be more into drafting patterns for kids clothes. But honestly, at the moment, I really have no desire to do children's clothing. This may change in the future, but right now, Oscar grows so quickly out of everything, that I'm sure as soon as I would have finished something, he wouldn't fit it anymore. And dolls are so fun you guys!! I can't wait to share a bit more about them soon.

Focus doesn't just apply to my blog and sewing patterns though. It applies to Oscar - when I'm with him, I need to focus solely on him and what we're doing, not on my long list of To Do's. I need to be in the moment with him, enjoying him and watching him grow and learn. It's going so quickly already.

Focus applies to David and myself. We have a new person to take care of, but that doesn't mean we should neglect each other or ourselves. David and I are both really good at giving each other a break from Oscar duty (not that he's a duty, but you know what I mean. Maybe I should rephrase that to Oscar Watch) but we also have to make the time for hanging out with each other as well as pursuing the individual things that make us happy and give us something to talk about at the end of the day that isn't just what Oscar did (although, that's pretty fun to talk about, let's be honest).

Focus applies to our little home. Ironically, I need a clear space to work and live in, but I'm an inherently messy person. I'm clean and uncluttered, but boy am I messy. Don't walk into my sewing room after I've spent an hour drafting/sewing in there, it's a complete bomb site. But when I do have to work, spending 10 minutes at the start or at the end, clearing a space and giving myself access to the tools I need, means that I can actually spend time efficiently marking things off my list, rather than sifting through piles of fabric and notions looking for my fabric scissors. It applies to my whole house in general, it means at the end of the day, I can relax in a clear space. For me, having a clear space definitely helps with a clear mind.

Focus applies to buying, growing and making our food. We aren't big on takeaways in our house, but boy can we spend up on treats at the supermarket! Focusing on a weekly menu not only allows for us to actually stick to our grocery budget, but it will help at the end of a long day knowing that a healthy dinner is already planned and that the ingredients are waiting in the cupboard. It also means we can focus more on being in touch with the seasons as we plan meals around what we are currently growing. Right now, we're eating a tonne of salads and a lot of beets. Dealing with a bounty of zucchini is next on the menu...

Focus applies to my new mama friends. Having a baby throws you into a whole new world of friendship groups both online and off that are very much needed. I need to nourish these, they stop me constantly questioning if I'm doing it right.

Focus means writing everything down. Emptying my brain of everything that needs doing so I can clear out the mental clutter to focus on what I'm doing in the moment. I used to be a really great list person, I lived on lists and I let that habit slide in 2015. I tried half heartedly here and there to write lists, but always lost them, or forgot about them. Not this year, lists are my friends again.

Focus means truely taking a break when I need one and not feeling guilty for sitting down with a book or taking a nap or staring into space for half an hour. All of those things mean when I do get back to my work or Oscar or making dinner, I'm refreshed and ready for it.

Isn't it amazing how one word can cover all of your goals and hopes for the new year ahead? I know it's all rather arbitrary this new year thing, but a new year kind of gives you permission to wipe the slate clean and start all over again, doesn't it?

So, do you have a word? Are you struggling to come up with one? How about writing your main resolutions down, I'm sure you'll find a common theme within that can be summed up in one word.

Wishing you all a very happy new year, talk soon,

xx
J

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