My creating is very cyclical. If I’m not bouncing from one project to another with the energy of a three year old high on red cordial straight from the bottle, I’m hyper fixated on just one hobby. I will sew 15 garments in a month, or read 17 books. I will make a quilt in 24 hours. I’ll do very […]
Once upon a time, I shared a lot of baking on the blog, and on my insta. When the children were tiny, it was an easy way to keep them entertained for a bit, and top up the treats in the pantry. As they got older, baking became part of my Monday morning routine – drop the kids to school, […]
It’s a spiral sometimes, this crafty business. For my fortieth birthday late last year, my family treated me to a long coveted addition to the gadget shelf – a spinning wheel. While I haven’t yet quite gotten to the “maybe we should get a couple of sheep” part of proceedings, I am rapidly amassing a nice collection of fibres for […]
“You don’t understand what art is, and having supplies doesn’t make you creative” In a busy year seven art class, the words weren’t heard much past those sharing a table with me. I doubt the teacher who said them would even remember my name, never mind the specific incident where she spoke those words to me. Years later, one of […]
During one of our early recording sessions for the upcoming fourth season of our podcast, we chat accountability and motivation, and I offhandedly threw out the idea of a low-key bookclub/accountability group. It stuck in my mind, so I mentioned it on Instagram, and the response was overwhelming. Within a day or so, the Barefoot Bookclub was born. Because accountability […]
When the invitation first arrived, declaring the party to be a dress up one, my first thought was one of self-sabotage. Instead of thinking “oh yay! How fun!” it was “oh man, what if my costume is dumb and everything thinks I’m a giant nerd?”. Then I gave myself a strong talking to. “Self,” I said, “you ARE a giant […]
Late last year, Beetle Boy decided he was done with forever trailing after his big siblings and just doing whatever activities they were doing. He wanted something just for his own, somewhere to make friends that were someone other than the younger siblings of his own siblings friends. Scouts, we thought, might be a good fit for him. To say […]
It’s interesting to me, how my relationship with and feelings towards, my me made garments changes each year. The corduroy pinafore of day one, for instance, I loved the year I made it. Hated it last year and didn’t wear it at all. Love it again this year and wore it multiple times even before the start of the month […]
From 19 books in January, to six a piece in February and March, followed up by a woeful FOUR in April. It’s easy to beat myself up for dropping off after a big start, but I’m trying to remember to look at the bigger picture. Twenty nine books in four months is still a touch over seven a month. It’s […]
My first MMM, I sewed like a possessed woman all month long and filled out my me-made wardrobe. Last year, my second run through, I committed to handmade everything, aside from a handful of allowable exceptions. This year, I’ve noticed myself started to buy ready to wear again, less out of laziness and more out of languishing. MMM is a […]
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