"Is this the real life? Is this just fantasy?"

This feels a bit odd, having wittered away at myself for a few weeks, I won some buttons and there are people out there actually reading this stuff. My son is highly amused by my struggle with this taking the irritatingly logical "that's actually what blogging is for, Mum" approach. I was just writing my lists, pushing myself along with projects and figuring out how to actually upload things! Having had visitors I would have liked to get a post out, in lieu of a cup of tea and a piece of cake, but it's been a bit of a manic week and I've not managed it. So, if you're not already bored rigid ... Hi, I'm genuinely really pleased to meet you. Thank you so much for your comments, I'll try not to talk rubbish.

The real frustration of this week has been I've not managed to do anything crafty - not a stitch, not a card, not even a row of the crocheted blanket that is long overdue. I promised to teach H to crochet before she goes on holiday, so that she's got some little washcloth projects to practice on - I haven't even managed to do that. It's making me very grumpy. And I'm not sleeping well at all. Does this happen to anyone else?

The worst of it is, I know I need to do something creative (I use this term loosely, some of my endeavours are a bit more 'miss' than 'hit'), entirely different from what I do at work. I had a bit of a bumpy time earlier in the year, nothing major, more potholes than craters. I know I need to make time to do the things I love but at the first sign of a busy period at work I forgot everything I'd learnt - skipped lunch, worked long hours, brought stuff home. So now I'm grumpy and annoyed with myself.

I do feel guilty about the time my hobbies take up. I get so much support from my family - P cooks dinner so that I can finish the skirt I've decided I have to wear the next day, my son helped me wrestle Doris into shape, my daughter bought me a fabric and button covered notebook for special lists. So there's no pressure from them, it's all self-inflicted. This is why I need a good talking to. A wise lady told me to treat myself as I would a friend - I think I just need a bit more practice!

So, this weekend I'm putting some time aside on Sunday - definite crafting going to happen. And Elmo and I need to go through this little lot...

Sadly not mine, they all belong to H's grandma who has said I can have a good look through and even borrow some if I want to make them. There are some brilliantly quirky patterns, I'll upload photos. There are also some I am absolutely going to make. I'm trying to figure out how much it is reasonable to grade a pattern up or down - sadly I think some of them might be too big a difference for me to try.


And I think I'm going to have to take part in this crochet along over at Little Woollie. Have you seen her creations? Amazing. I don't actually need another WIP but my daughter put an order in for this blanket some months ago. It needs to be double bed size and I decided it was an autumn/winter project, it would have been too hot even in the abbreviated summer we've had. I even have the yarn - so no excuses.

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