Twenty-nine

My sister Emily holding baby me.

Today I turn 29, a slightly daunting age as I'll very soon no longer be a 'twenty-something'. And yet, as with every birthday nothing really changes, life goes on as normal and that's perfectly fine by me.

So here, in this space, I'll take a few moments to pay gratitude for all the good things in my life at the moment...
::: Sam. While away with work a fair bit of the time he is still a constant source of comfort and joy and I love him so.
::: Family. Spread far and wide as we are I feel we are as close as we ever have been, especially my wonderful Mama over these last few years.
::: Friends. Both those I see regularly and those I see only once or twice a year (or even less!), we are always able to pick up a conversation as if only minutes had passed since we last spoke. To me, this is a sure sign of a good relationship and I am very grateful for this.
::: Work. Hard as it is at times (Ok, most of the time) I love the school I work in, the people I work with and the children who fill our classrooms, even after rowdy days like today.
::: Home. This house, our home for three (or is it four?) years now fits us perfectly in many ways; its location in the beautiful Charnwood Forest, it's layout and space - enough room for a large studio for me, outdoor workshop for Sam and plenty of comfortable spaces for everyday living, and the lovely feeling a warm cat on my leg (she always favours the left), candles and wood stove lit and crochet in hand after a long wintry week at work.We love it.

It is with great joy and peace on my birthday that I think of these things that make life so wonderful right now. Thank you all for being a part of it.
Happy days and many thanks to you all.
S. x

Utility

Sam is a big fan of utility - so am I really and I often feel more motivated if a crafty job has a purpose, though I also enjoy making 'pretty' things just for the sake of it. All of the creations I make for Sam are purposeful, sometimes at the expense of looking nice. So, this time, when tasked with 'wash bag no.2' (the previous having been very utilitarian (huh-hmm 'ugly') and accidentally left at a B&B quite a while ago now) I decided to make it both practical and aesthetically pleasing.

A tool roll style wash bag for the man who is never far away from a screw driver or a rip-saw. With plenty of space to store extra bits and bobs and an elastic and velcro fastening it should serve him well. Here's hoping this one is put away after every use! The fabric, for those who are interested is acrylic coated cotton giving it a high level of water resistance and its pretty sturdy too. I'm fairly certain I got it from here.

In other crafty news, the crochet squares are pretty much done, just being joined together now. I'm thinking of felting it a little before backing it and using it as a hearth rug to cover up the actual hearth rug which is, umm, well used (as you can probably see the burn marks in the photo below). But, we'll see.

I do love the colours and may just yet order another stash of the same to make it twice as big and use it as a blanket on the spare bed. Decisions decisions!

There have been other crafty things going on this weekend too but as they are to be gifted, they'll remain hidden just a little while longer.

Wishing you well for the week ahead,
S. x

PS: for those who do likewise, I'm now on 'instagram'.

Gifted

Two garlands and plenty of crochet. Just a few of the hand mades gifted over Christmas along with hampers, home made chocolate, cards and a few other pits and bobs here and there. The two scarves/shawls went to my soon-to-be sister in law Jess and Sam's mum Elaine, the slippers to my own Mama - although she knew they were coming this year - and the garlands? One to Sam's Gran Betty and the other over the water to Bob (my brother) and Jess in Guernsey.

And what about this year's crafting so far?

A large stack of granny squares (I used this tutorial to get me started) that will, eventually, turned into a blanket for the sofa on cold evenings.

I'll sign off this weekend with a few pictures of beautiful January - cold and dark and wet it may be most of the time but certainly beautiful too.

Happy Sunday everyone.
S. x