Clever with a Needle

One thing I love about the crafty blog world is that people are often on the same page as you (metaphorically speaking).  I’ll be in a mood or headspace and I’ll be struggling to find the words to express it, and then I’ll happen on a blog post from another crafter that expresses it perfectly.   This happened earlier this morning, which is a real bonus for a Monday (I do get Mondayitis).   I came across Betty’s post and I can really relate to the part about her mission statement being to “Live Within Your Means”.   
It was good to read on this Monday morning, as I came home from work on Friday to find HP cleaning and decluttering the kitchen, and a kitchen table filled with rejected appliances we don’t use, kitchen gadgets we don’t need, and mugs, mugs, mugs!  He’d even taken the GIANT bag of plastic shopping bags back to the supermarket, bless him.  It set the theme for the weekend, as we continued to clean, tidy and purge.  And it makes me feel so much better, to have a bit more space and tidiness in my home.  We are by no means finished, and I must admit I’m too ashamed of the clutter to share any photos with you.  But it was a really good first step, and I filled 3 garbage bags and 4 biggish cardboard boxes with stuff for the op-shop.   One thing I’ve noticed myself doing is replacing all our crockery with vintage thrift finds, and the same goes for the canisters, “bric-a-brac” and bed linen.  And it makes me happy to do it.  I like to think I’m recycling the past.

Another thing I have decided to put more emphasis on this year is “sewing for self”. Yesterday I stitched up a (thrifted 99c) white pillowcase with this simple design, and put it on my bed last night.  And I was so pleased, because to look around my home (apart from my workroom) you wouldn’t think I’m a crafter, because 99% of my creations are for gifts, swaps or are bags for sale.    One of my (previously) unwritten, New Year’s resolutions was to do less swaps, and generally only swap if it’s meaningful or I know the person I’m swapping with.   My workroom is full of swapped stuff, the good, the bad and the ugly, and really, unless it’s handmade with love, it’s more stuff I don’t need.  So I’ll work on quality, not quantity with swapping, and devote some of my time and handiwork to making things that I can keep, use and enjoy.

That’s where I’m at for 2008 crafting resolutions.  As with all plans, they may go awry, but I guess that’s all part of life’s rich pageant.

And to illustrate the point, here’s a tea towel that I started back in November at a Mike’s stitching night, and finally finished.  I was going to give it away, but I like it, so, I’m keeping it.  Cheers.