Oh bunt off!

Thank you for the recent comments, especially on my admitting defeat post – I am glad I am not the only one. And, yes I can be found lurking on The Druid Network site sometimes!

So, one of the crafty projects I have been doing is creating some bunting for my niece’s first birthday. I have to say this is one of
those occasions where I have been lulled into a false sense of security by teh interwebs.

From reading various posts from a variey of sites I was under the impression that it was an easy thing to do. It was not. To be fair  that could have something to do with the fact that i wouldn’t be happy  with it being cut with pinking shears, or that I wanted a new letter on each of the little triangles.

Have you tried cutting fiddly letters out of fabric and bondaweb? Let me tell you it is not easy. And rather time consuming. Oh and “happy  birthday niece” actually has a lot of letters in it! (Her name isn’t  really niece, obviously, but it does have 5 letters in it.)

On top of that each triangle was 2 triangles sewn together inside out and then folded back the right way. Then I realised that I didn’t like the idea of having a line of stiches all the way across each triangle.  So I hand-sewed each one to the top and bottom of the tape.

I guess that the Internet cannot be blamed for this turning into a  mammoth project. It’s all my fault! Still, hopefully my niece will  have her name on bunting which can be used all year and a “happy  birthday” which can be used on her birthday for the rest of her life.

Rubbish photo, but it was that or you weren't going to get one!

Hook it!

My mum doesn’t live all that close to me so we don’t get to spend a huge amount of time together. Last time she came over I mentioned that I wanted to learn how to crochet. I had tried to figure it out from YouTube videos and it just didn’t work.

So in 5 minutes flat she had very kindly shown me how to make a granny square using triples. I immediately loved it!

In my normal style I am rather cack handed and it took me ages to do the first one, but very, very quickly I realised it was easy and great fun. It took me a while to figure out the tension – as you can see by this picture – all of these squares are actually the same amount of stitches, but vary hugely in size!

I have now got the crochet bug it has to be said! So I ordered some cheap wool (and I use the term in the generic yarn sense of the word) and got going. I decided I liked big squares in purple, pink and grey!

I have to say  it is so relaxing, it doesn’t require much thought and I can pay attention to other things as well. It now means when I have reached the stage where my brain has given up on studying and prepping for teaching I can watch TV and still be productive!

There is also an immediate sense of gratification – the squares get bigger really quickly – probably because of the number of holes! To be fair I also seem to have chosen a giant hook compared to other tutorials I have seen. I may get a smaller one at some point when I am feeling more confident with it all.

I feel ready to start tackling some more complicated tasks soon – I get a lot of inspiration from Attic24 – a place to go if you like lots of splashes of colour in your day. She also does quite comprehensive tutorials, so if you are keen get someone to show you the basics or see if you are better at reading and viewing instructions than I am!

Since I have started crocheting ( I originally drafted this post back in November!) I have made some sort of hand warmer type things for my friend’s Yule present:

More for decoration than for warmth!

I have also started creating slightly more complicated things with my crochet, but I will post about that after I have caught up with myself!

My story

So, how did I get to this point? This is the second time I’ve written this post, the first it got very very long (about 3 posts) and overly personal, so this is the cut down version!

I have always been quite green in my outlook, partly as being pagan, partly because I grew up in the country and partly when I was younger I remember bugging my parents not to buy things with CFCs in them and to recycle, my Blue Peter environment book was always with me! My mum was always quite frugal and taught me about saving well. I disregarded that for about 5 years and got in a bit of a state, but I am now back on track with being frugal.

I have been working as a marketing manager for the past 8 years, promoting IT and telecoms. It made me desperately unhappy and I spent to make up for this. I stopped spending and bought my flat in November 2007, which made me very happy, but I still hated my job!

Then in November 2008 I lost my job. I couldn’t find another job and so I decided to take the opportunity to reassess my life – I moved in with my boyfriend, rented my flat out (for £350 less than the mortgage payment) and as of this week I am starting teacher training – something I have always wanted to do.

So now, I am living on very little money – I have a part time marketing job, which pays well and I will be a student. I would be ok, but I have to make up my mortgage payment (negative equity means selling isn’t an option at the moment). However, I am so much much happier and I try to make my life as green and frugal as possible for ME. As Julie and Eilleen pointed out small steps and small candles.  I create art in the widest sense of the word because I have to, this includes this blog, singing, making things, playing music, dancing, photography (although you wouldn’t know it from the photos on this blog so far), writing and so much more. I was never able to do this in the past, partly I think because working in a job I hated and now I am following my true will.

OMG I’m never going to be able to…..

….be as good as that.

I read a lot of blogs and get overwhelmed at times, mainly in the fields of green and crafty. Rhonda Jean at Down to Earth and Eilleen at Consumption Rebellion are probably the two green blogs that I follow most.

However with Rhonda I often feel that I am not going to be able to live up to her way of life and I envy it quite a lot and another part of me is screaming against it. She often states that we have to follow our own path and out simple life will not be like her simple life. I have to keep repeating that to myself as I read her blog, otherwise I get overwhelmed by it, it makes me feel rubbish for not being like that. I would like to point out that this is in no way Rhonda’s fault.

I realise that this is not a healthy attitude as it can quite easily translate into “well I might as well not bother”. I work through this and do what I can and continue to make steps to get greener as I go on. Taking on one point at a time and running with that, getting it part of my life and routine and then look at another area of my life and how can I improve on that?

But how many people in the world think like that and they just don’t do anything to help the planet? The problem is so huge and people who are making headway are quite radical, so what one person can do is not going to make any difference.

I think the key point (to quote a mega corporation) is every little helps. And little steps can add up to many big steps. One person in a family making an effort can start in ‘infect’ every-one’s thought processes and the rest of the family will do the same. My telling people that I don’t use shampoo and use vinegar as a conditioner shocks them and why I do this, but it might make them think. Hopefully anyway!

Eilleen’s blog is different. Her blog has a different tone to it than Rhonda’s, it seems to be more like a friend talking about her journey honestly and openly, complete with her struggles, which I can empathise with, as well as finding it comforting and gently encouraging!

I read a lot of craft blogs as well and at times I find them paralysing! There are so many cool projects and really, really talented people out there who seem to be able to just create these amazing things out of nowhere and with little effort.

I find it difficult to cut fabrics because I am so scared of screwing it up! My mind seems to think “I can’t create something as amazing as this, that or the other, so I shouldn’t start”. Like I said, paralysing.

So, what am I saying? Sometimes it is not good to read other people’s blogs too much as it can put you off of your own journey. Not only that, but the whole time you are reading you are not doing. But at other times they can be greatly inspiring, as usual a happy medium is the way forward!