Month: October 2020
Fruitless or Fruitful?
Readers of my most recent post may have wondered if my last few weeks have been fruitless, craftwise. I am happy to say not completely. There has been a large smattering of thinking about doing stuff. There have been some unsuccessful moments. There hasn’t been much completion but however, there has been some tinkering.
I first mentioned this quilting project in summer 2018. Since then it has hardly been touched, till last week. So a little accurate cutting out, a little dismay at previous patches, some stitching together, a day or so with a dining room floor covered with design plans. I am a little further along. It has grown. It has far to go. However, there IS progress. When it ‘grows up’ it will be a quilt for a single sized bed.
There has also been a little knitting, a Christmas gift, a shawl for MIL. I actually enjoyed making this, and it is finished, the threads have been tidied up. An aran weight cotton mix yarn with sequins. Sadly, the photo doesn’t show it off as well as in reality.
There is also WIPs on other knitting pins to be shown another time. I hope others are out their crafting too.
Autumn arrives beautifully, and important things
There’s been a bit of a gap since I last blogged here. I think the dullness of the pandemic stemmed my online flow of words and I have been a little self-absorbed. On the other hand, perhaps I was just lazy not to share and didn’t think anyone would be interested in what I was doing. Are both ‘excuses’ or ‘symptoms’ of one another? I believe so. Now back on track and what a wonderful autumnal day to lift the spirits. I hiked around a local country park this morning, so so pretty, golds, reds and greens, I love this season before all the trees become bare and the days too short.
Today I read an article online in Psychology Today by Leon F. Seltzer about being self-absorbed, how focus can become narrow and vision blurred, self-criticism, unhealthy rumination, how one can compress life into something beyond comfort (his words written in my layman’s terms, not a direct quote here). So interesting once having read facts, that some of these ‘negatives’ can be turned to ‘positives’, how being narrow visioned can be good on occasion, how rumination can be specific thinking and how you can be kinder to yourself.
A few years ago I may have thought this was all mumbo jumbo, hogwash, claptrap. Not now. The pandemic, for me and others, has allowed focus on things of importance. Many things in my current life remain important. Some things I have let go. My walking buddy this morning told me of a book she’d read, Spark Joy by Marie Kondo (I had previously dipped into this but only reorganised my lingerie drawer!). It’s about organising your ‘things’ and only keeping those that make you happy. Perhaps that has happened in many homes since March 2020.
A day for revelations.
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