Creative Every Day

I signed up for the Creative Every Day challenge earlier this year. 

February's theme is 'Love' and I just realised that my last completed project for February fits this theme perfectly.

Here is my 'Love Ewe' cushion. 

 

This cushion is based on a design by Helen of the wonderful Bustle and Sew.  www.bustleandsew.com

Making February

I have been quite prolific making things in February.  I made

• three tote bags
• three baby hats
• five adult hats
• two tea cosies
• four cowls
• thirteen baby tag toys
• three felt owl ornaments
• one cushion

I've also loads of other knitting and sewing projects on the go.  Today I'm planning on sewing up a couple more cushions that I cut out in early February.

Here's a collage of some of the things I made.

De-cluttering

I've been on a de-cluttering mission since I closed the shop at the beginning of January.  When the last of the stock and all of the furniture was brought from the shop to my cottage I felt very overpowered by it all. 

So I've been selling furniture, clothing, and, of course, the last of the stock from the shop.

One of the big things I did, big for me anyway, was to give away some of my hundreds of books.  Not an easy thing to do as I love my books, but they were threatening to take over the cottage.  I had them all over the floor as I'd sold a couple of the low level bookshelves I had in the cottage before the shop closed.  The idea was to use the tall, better quality, bookshelves from the shop instead.  Unfortunately the removal man couldn't get the tall bookshelves in the cottage so they were dumped in the barn.  I need to take them apart to get them in the cottage but haven't got round to it yet.  Must put that on my urgent 'to do' list for March. 

Anyway, lack of shelving and books everywhere stirred me into activity and I sorted through them.  I was quite ruthless surprisingly.  Gone are two carrier bags of well read Terry Pratchett Discworld novels, which I kept thinking I would read again from the beginning, but realistically never would.  Gone are six carrier bags of modern paperback novels, and the same again of paperback classics.  I also got rid of two carrier bags of old philosophy books.  These were the hardest things to give away.   I've also been selling some of my text books on Amazon.  Some of the philosophy and literary theory books I had have turned out to be not so easy to get hold off and are worth a bit.  I raised about £100 in February from selling books.  Not many left to sell now but a bit of useful cash when I had no money at all coming in. 

I still have around 300 books in the living room.  These are mostly gardening, art and craft, poetry and a few others I couldn't bear to part with.   I just need to sort through the cupboard full of magazines now.

My new tea cosy.  I'm pretty pleased with the way it looks and it is very thick so should keep my tea warm.  A little bit of modular knitting and a super quick pompom for the top.  Stitching the linings to the outside pieces was a bit tricky.

2015 and I'm Back

I decided to resurrect this blog after six long years.  This used to be My Mersey Paradise but I moved house almost two years ago and so its been renamed. 

Lots has happened in six years.

• I've had two new different jobs, had a few months off work, had a small shop selling craft supplies and handmade gifts and I'm starting 2015 looking for a new job.
• My son got engaged, then married, and then moved to the states.
• I separated from my DH and both of us moved away separately from our Mersey paradise

Over the last two years since I moved to the Dales I have been very creative.  Lots of gardening, knitting, sewing, painting and many other crafts.  Most of what I have created has been temporary, gifted or sold.

I often feel like I haven't really achieved anything much so thought I would use this blog to document all my 2015 'creations'

Knitting and Frogs

We decided to clear the pond today before the frogs take over in the next few weeks.
I managed to slip and twist my ankle before we'd even got started properly. Anyway the pond is now free of the enormous flag iris that had taken over, and looking much better. T spent a lot of time picking up frogs and taking them back to the pond. We've left the big clumps of iris on the patio and I'm hoping any frogs still hiding in there will make their own way back to the pond this evening.

I'm now laid out on the sofa with my leg up and a very painful ankle. I'm going to spend the evening knitting.

Here are my latest knitting projects.

Angora mitts

Lombard Street Socks

My First Knits of the Year

Seven months into the 52 pair plunge 2 and I'm only on pair six. Here they are:

I've also completed clue one of SKA's January Mystery Sock.