Thea Revisited

I've been wanting to re-post on Thea for a while. Mainly because the previous photos were taken whilst I was breastfeeding, and, shall I say, it fits a lot better now! I wasn't sure how much I liked it or was going to wear it, once I finally finished it, but since losing weight it fits a lot better and is even bobbling, I've been wearing it so much.

  

 

I also improved my Thea a little by sewing the buttons on again, in the right places this time (!) and also by stitching down the lower points of the collar, as the whole collar was looking really misshapen as it didn't ever stay in the right place.

Not a massively exciting post, but hopefully something more exciting to come soon. I've nearly finished the Apres Surf. When I'd blocked the parts, it looked absolutely humungous - I was thinking of renaming it the Apres Surf 'n Turf Hoodie, as it looked like the sized I'd be if I ate surf 'n turf all the time! But now it's dry and stitched together (nearly), it's a much better size, and I can't wait to try it on. Just the hood and neckband to knit now.

I've also put together my list of projects to knit on Ravelry so plenty to be getting on with. Nothing much else to report though, oh, apart from that we've decided what to do with the dining room - paint it the same colour as the kitchen, so it will be pink as well. Its going to be gorgeous and warm and inviting, instead of cold and muddy grey. So photos to come when its done.

I need some warmth in the dining room as it is, as the weather is fairly unpleasant at the moment, and the dining room has a large sliding door leading out to the garden, which means looking at lots of grey skies. I'm so looking forward to seing that first blossom on the apple tree, and the randomly placed tulips, planted by the previous owners, come up and surprise us, as they do every spring.

Hope you're having a lovely day, and thanks for stopping by :)

x Sam

Too much going on

I finished the dining room curtains the other week. I am reasonably pleased with them, but they are slightly too long on one side, which I think is due in part to my inaccurate measuring (I did rush these a little...) and the fact that the wall is unlikely to be straight. It's great to have curtains up in this room finally, and to have got rid of the ugly vertical blind, but I feel like whatever we do with this room I'm never entirely happy.

Well, this is my favourite photo of the curtains because it hides the too long bit on the left...

... although it is in clear view here!

I just wish the kitchen and dining room were always this tidy!

Frustrations with this room focus mainly on the wall colour - is it right or isn't it? It's a rich colour, "Silt" by Little Greene, but I don't know that its right for a dining room. It's right next to the strong pink in the kitchen too, so although it goes, I think it may be better if it were toned down a little, maybe to French Grey. The curtain colour doesn't clash with the wall, which we were a little afraid of, but something just doesn't gel. I'm not convinced about the rug either. It went very well with the vertical blind, funnily enough, since it was cream, but not with this curtain fabric. I love the spotty tablecloth because it ties in with the kitchen walls, but something needs to pull it all together. Oh, the photo wall is in an obvious state of unfinishedness, with gaping holes and too many frames I'm not happy with.

So all in all, rather a lot of amendments to make to this room!

I've realized lately just how many projects I have on the go, or have in my head, waiting to be written down so I can get round to them one day. I downloaded a really good app yesterday, and took great delight in creating lists of current and ongoing projects, and of ideas which have yet to be realized. I also made a lovely list of the things we need to do on the house, to which I've just realized I shall need to add after re-reading what I've written above!

Is it possible to have too many interests though? I mean, my main creative pursuits at present are knitting, spinning, designing and making sewing patterns, a bit of sketching... there are definitely more. My issue at the moment is I have so many clothing designs in my head (and other items such as soft furnishings and bags), but I don't have time to bring them to fruition. I also have a slight fear of designing knitwear, I realized earlier when considering it. I can't put my finger on the exact reason, though I think it may have a lot to do with the maths necessary to calculate a pattern, but I'm pretty sure if I just went ahead and designed and knitted a pattern that it would come out fine and perfectly wearable. You see, I'm one of those annoying creative people who feel like, if they're following a pattern whgich has been written by somebody else, they're not really being creative. However, I definitely want people to buy my patterns and make them, so is that fair? I suppose different people have different needs when it comes to feeling creative. I also think it stems very much from my Fine Art training - I would never have copied somebody else's painting and handed it in as my own piece of work, therefore why would I do it with any other creative skill? I'm thinking out loud a lot here, so you'll have to forgive my ramblings.

And I only wanted to make the point that I have an awful lot of projects on the go, so does that mean that I'm happy being a jack of all trades and a master of none? I want to be a master of them all, but that's not likely to happen! I have four Kim Hargreaves books, from which I've knitted from two of them, two hats and two cardigans. I was flicking through them last night to see if there were any more projects from them I fancied doing. I'm thinking at this time of year that Wonderwool Wales is just round the corner and am aware I need to plan what to spend money on there, rather than wandering round aimlessly and coming away with nothing useful. I don't know whether to buy yarn for one of Kim's designs (or for any other in my Ravelry favourites), or to take the plunge and buy yarn to make one of my own designs, which I'd probably need to plan in full before Wonderwool. That's what I really want to do, which I suppose answers my question, and I just need to swallow my apprehension and get on with it, accepting the fact that it will be a drawn out process.

Its funny what you can find inside yourself if you will engage in the conversation - you so often come to your own conclusion.

I'd love to know if other people have these thoughts and questions in their heads too. If your reading and you have any insights, I would absolutely love to hear them.

Love, Sam x