31 May 2016

Month end!

Hey there,

So I kinda had a month off almost to recover, lol! I am not quite sure what from but there you go.

So what have I been doing? Having bouts of stitchy moments and generally thinking about doing things and not doing them. This month I am going to attempt to do things that I think about hehehe...

So, I registered to go to a Joan Elliott stitchy retreat in Cardiff, Wales which is in September. I am looking forward to that and after signing up felt compelled to stitch something Joan Elliott and my sister had requested a design of hers called Fans of the Far East so I got stitching - a week spent fully focussed on it and then I showed her and she said...its a bit small! So that put me off and I have yet to pick it back up...but here is where I got to...


Its on 25 or 28 ct and stitched 1 over 1 and I was really enjoying it and liking the delicate stitches...ah well...I will pick it up again at some point! 

I also managed to accumulate some stitchy stash...


So I am going to start a rotation in June and see what I can get finished or close to finished! 

I have a lot of good intentions but I am saving pennies so stitching is perfect for keeping me occupied and indoors :D

I hope you have all been well! I am so far behind on reading blogs its shameful but I am going to focus on catching up with reading them tonight - so put the kettle on and I'll drop by around 6pm :D


16 May 2016

A to Z reflections post (ok, so I am too late...who knew 16 wasn't 13??)

It's here! Reflection time. So I have left it close to the wire - even though Keebs reminded me, my problem is not switching my laptop on at the weekends.

I have only had the pleasure of doing this once before and as I recall it was difficult that time too. 

Do you reflect on posts and the most popular ones?

Do you reflect on your favourite posts?

Do you reflect on the writing process and your creative influences or lack there of? 

I'm never sure and I read the challenge organisers advice and think ...nah I'll do my thing! Hehe. Plus I'm quite laid back when I'm not uptight 😁

I am going to leave this brief….

Do you reflect on posts and the most popular ones?

Stitch & Olaf are tied in first place, second place is Remi and third place Timon. For most of April though Beauty and the Beast had the lead before being overtaken by Hamm. None of these were my favourites to write about but its interesting to see which characters are more popular.

Do you reflect on your favourite posts?

For me I liked Figaro, the cat from Pinocchio and now Minnie Mouse’s companion. I like this cat because after Pinocchio he would have lived with Mickey for a while and I like to think of him as being pals with Pluto and the clip I found shows there relationship. It also made me want to watch Pinocchio again and so I did…..

I was really surprised, I haven’t seen it since I was a child and oh how the brain interprets things and remembers things very differently…the story of Pinocchio is quite good if you think of the basic moral storyline, but the film itself is a mish-mash of ideas that seem haphazardly put together.

Figaro is a key character in the film as he is in the position of first child and Jiminy Cricket is a very lackadaisical conscience. I hadn’t noticed this as a child, all I took from it back then was telling tales makes your nose grow, naughty children turn in to donkeys and the song ‘I’ve got no strings’…. I never even realised that there was a good fairy (I was very much reminded of Glenda the Good Witch from the Wizard of Oz).
I guess this isn’t my favourite post for writing of crafty ideas but it’s the one that made me look further into the subject matter and that is always exciting for me.

Do you reflect on the writing process and your creative influences or lack there of? 

My decision to write about Disney this year was very much a last minute one and totally inspired by Keebs. I had expected to struggle with thinking of characters or movies relating to Disney but in the end I realised that I could think of many that I enjoyed for each letter. I had to be very strict and stick to the first one I thought of with each.
Unlike some, I don’t pre-write the posts, I like to post daily as it’s a good habit to get into writing every day and one that I had been doing with the daily starts in March, so it was a natural continuation. Sadly I have had two weeks off now but I am hoping to get back to normal soon.
The writing process for me is quite simple, I just don’t think about it, and I tend to follow a similar format each day – so for this challenge, I had the how I chose the character and Why, a little info and three crafts or items related to the character/topic. I don’t know that it was great writing or even interesting but I have always looked at the A to Z as a challenge to get you into a writing habit and also something that should be quite short and snappy as people have hundreds to get through.
I did visit other blogs and left messages where I felt compelled to add my tuppence worth but generally I just read them.
One year I hope to put some real research into the posts and produce something that inspires other people to act on…Just not this year…or next…or quite possibly the one after that!
 I am going to leave this brief

Challenge 39: Watch 50 stand up shows (DVD or LIVE)

So I have been keeping notes on all my challenges and updating as and when something happens to move towards that goal, this is the notes fo...