Get Busy

It has been awhile and although I had the best intentions to blog more – life just happened to get in the way. June was spent going from home to the hospital for hours on end and putting everything else on hold. My better half came down with a serious illness and it meant his staying in the hospital for 3 weeks. Happy to report everything is fine and he is on his way to recovery. It was just a very scary time for me and blogging was the last thing on my mind.

July was just a month to get our life back in order and catch up on necessary chores and those endless things around the house that you wish would take care of themselves. The weather was rainy and cool – actually weather I don’t mind as I am not a summer person. I like the occasional hot day but too many is too much for this girl. People think I am crazy but I love our winters. I like the still quiet of a snowy day, the crispness of the air where the cold sears your lungs and especially the snuggling under a warm quilt while all the animals are peacefully snoozing in their various spots around me. What can I say but that I am a fall/winter kind of gal. I like that bliss of hibernation.

PS .. It gives me a good excuse to stay in the house and not feel guilty about being outside doing the outside chores – I can craft to my heart’s content.
Although I talk about not liking the outside chores I do have some flowers that do grow – I like the ones that take care of themselves.. Here are some poppies that I love and have been growing for years.

So while visiting for hours on end in the hospital these hands which are NEVER idle had to do something. What takes two needles and an endless hunk of beautiful hand dyed wool – but knitting. I used to knit years ago and I think I got so frustrated by the endless UFO’s of sweaters that lay around the house that I gave it up. Ahhh the impatience of youth – I wanted that sweater done quickly and invariably they never fit properly so what could I do that was quick, small in scope, practical and where I could explore all the different knitting techniques – dare I say socks were the solution to that. I know. How many socks can a person have – well lots I say! Especially when they are gorgeously rich hand dyed wools – using intricate lace patterns and for added pizzazz some beads thrown in.

The first purchase was a beautiful carrying bag for my projects. A plastic bag would not do for those luscious yarns. I love the Jordana Paige line of purses (simulated animal texture) and this colour had a WOW factor for me. They are big roomy bags that can carry everything and dressy enough that you can stick your essentials into it and use it as your everyday purse. Two in one – I like that.

So with socks knitting in mind come September I will be launching another ETSY shop called “Wooly Footsies - Hand knits for happy feet " - where you will find some of the socks I have been knitting. They are one of a kind – meaning I don’t repeat the sock in either yarn or pattern. I like working with different wools and there will also be exotic yarns for those that prefer something other than wool. I am not a particularly fast knitter yet and I do these to relax my weary brain in front of the TV (mind you the stuff on TV contributes to that mindless void) so as you see them on ETSY that is what I will have – no duplicates. I will be introducing them here on my blog and maybe showing a work in progress.

I have other projects on the go that I can’t say too much about here due to confidentiality issues but I am happy to say I am busy (which is a state I thrive in). The approach of September has always been the best time of year for me. I was one of those kids who loved going back to school – cracking open those new books with the crispness of fresh pages and the scratch of those pencils on a snowy white page. To me this time of year is when I wallow in creativity and the possibilities of new endeavours. It prepares me for the peace of winter which is when all these exciting projects see life.

I am excited and thankful. Always good to remember what you are thankful for – puts everything in perspective.
So if all goes well I hope to be blogging on a regular basis and have plans to set aside a time each day to chit chat about this and that.
Have a great day - Joni