Happy New Year 2024 - making plans

Happy New Year and I would like to send you good wishes for 2024. Yet again, the year seems to have gone quickly, so it is time to look forward with plans for 2024 and revisit aims from last year.

Photo from the TV of the Fireworks in London

Read interesting books - this is never a difficult one for me.  Reading is one of my main hobbies and I enjoy the 'me time' which reading gives.  I have done pretty well again this year and have read a total of 87 books.  Some old favourites, such as Miss Marple and Jane Austen.  There have been some which I found out about from the TV book programme, Between the Covers, such as The Dictator's Wife by Freya Berry and The Second Sight of Zachary Cloudesley by Sean Lusk. There were a couple which sounded interesting, such as The Lost Bookshop by Evie Woods and The Last List of Mabel Beaumont by Laura Pearson.  Then there was Pandora's Jar by Natalie Haynes, which I heartily recommend if you like the Greek myths. This exploration of some of the women in the stories is fascinating as in the retelling over the centuries, they have had a 'bad press', which Natalie sets out to put right.  

All the photos above and below are from the Care December 2023 course (the Blue Edition)

Be Creative (using what I have) - I always try to use my supplies before buying more. However, I have bought a few things (!) over the year. This is OK as long as I do actually use them but I need to have a sort out of my stash and donate supplies which I haven't used.   I have taken part in a few monthly/weekly challenges/workshops, such as Artful August in January, Index Card a Day during June and July and Care December. I have completed my Wanderlust year long course and enjoyed continuing to learn about different media.  I have signed up to Wanderlust 2024 to keep this going.  I also signed up to, but haven't yet completed, two courses with Kate Crane.

I started to do a Wednesday slow drawing class with Amy Maricle and loved that quiet and relaxing hour, so that will be continued. I also did some online workshops with her (Watercolours, Little Book of Wonder and Magic and Mist) and really enjoyed them.  I did another online watercolour class, incorporating a writing element, with Joanne Sharpe and have signed up to her year long Whimsies, Words and Watercolours course, so there is plenty to keep me busy and learning there. I also plan to focus more on lino printing and collage.

Get rid of or donate things I no longer want or need - I have made a little progress with this, but need to focus more on it as I have accumulated far too much stuff over the years!  I find it really difficult to sort things out but must make it a habit. 

Take more notice of nature - being a gardener does help me to stop, be aware of and enjoy nature. Just being able to stop and observe or stop and listen gives that mindfulness which is important in our busy lives. I always have plans for the garden and this year, I need to pot on my roses, patio cherry tree and patio apple tree.  A bit of rearranging and sorting out there and in the shed won't go amiss either!

Sadly, I haven't visited any other gardens this year, which is something I do enjoy, so I am aiming to put this right in 2024. There are two in particular on my list, York Gate near Leeds (described as a beautiful Arts and Crafts garden) and The Manor at Hemingford Grey, near Ely, (which was the home of Lucy M Boston who wrote the Green Knowe stories) so I must make an effort and get out there.

So those aims are now plans for 2024.  It will be interesting to review them this time next year.

Happy New Year 2019

Happy New Year to all - let us hope that 2019 will bring us moments of peace, joy and happiness.  Welcome to new followers and welcome back to those who have been followers for a while.

(Big Ben ringing in the New Year this morning/last night)

Today, as has become a bit of a tradition, I review various aims from last year and think about this coming year.  (These aren't really resolutions, as I find they don't last very long with me!)

• Make more felt - this didn't happen, because I had made so much for the craft fair the previous year and was a bit felted out!  I may do some again this year, but this will be as and when inspiration and inclination hit me.

• Read interesting books - yes, I have done this again!  102 books in total this year, many re-reads but some new to me.  Quite a few crime thrillers have featured, balanced by romantic stories too.  I have enjoyed the Thursday Next series by Jasper Fforde and am on number six now.  The Stranger Diaries by Elly Griffiths was enjoyable, as was the Peter Grant series number seven, Lies Sleeping.  I wonder what 2019 will hold - certainly the first in the Cormoran Strike series...

• Be Creative - I think this has definitely happened and will continue in 2019.  I have been sewing, gardening, reading, making cards, making jewellery, making gifts, creating an art journal (on-going) and have also completed four online leisure courses with FutureLearn (History of Royal Fashion, History of Royal Food and Feasting, Jane Austen and Introduction to Music Psychology, which was my favourite so far.  I have signed up to one starting in February - Literature of the English Country House - which I am looking forward to.  I would like to sign up for one on weather for gardeners, but that doesn't appear to be available at the moment.  I really enjoy the creative side of my life and find it has become increasingly important to me.

• Get rid of/donate things I do not want or need - I have been doing this but need to do more of it this year.  Alongside this, I also need to stop being so precious with my various stashes for my various hobbies and actually use the things I have (that's why I bought them, after all!).  As part of this aim, I am going to make myself a tunic using stretch fabric (something I have not used before and am a bit wary of).  I have the pattern and material, so I shall make that a definite aim for this year.  I also have quite a few kits for sewing/crewel work which I haven't yet started, so I need to start with some of them too.

Phew, I think this year is going to be a busy one for me.  

(Part of the firework display at the London Eye )

I hope 2019 will be a good year for us all.

Happy New Year 2018

(Photos taken of the London fireworks last night/this morning from the TV - I was pleased with how they came out).
Happy New Year to all and I hope that in this unsettled world, 2018 will enable us to snatch some moments of joy and happiness.

 As has become somewhat traditional for me, today is the day I review my aims for 2017 and decide on aims for 2018.  So, what did I want to do last year?

• Make more felt - I definitely achieved here.  I made a whole new set of heart decorations incorporating birthstone charms.  Even though they didn't sell, I was pleased with how they turned out.  I also started needle felting, making sheep, which were very successful and I will need to make lots more if I am going to the Craft Fair this year.  I have also experimented with screen printing and block printing onto felt and this is something to continue, possibly making smaller pieces and incorporating them into cards and decorations.  This aim is continuing this year.
• Read interesting books - I smashed my previous totals this year, possibly due to the amount of reading I have fitted into my break times at work and the fact that in some cases, ebooks are shorter than real books.  I read 105 books in 2017; many of which were old friends which I enjoyed re-reading.  There were also some new ones including: the Miss Marple stories by Agatha Christie; a book about Anne Bronte, 'Take courage: Anne Bronte and the Art of Life' by Samantha Ellis (who obviously feels as I do, that Anne Bronte should take centre stage alongside her sisters, not hidden by them); 'When Marnie was there' by Joan G Robinson which had mysteriously managed to pass me by as a child;  'The Lady in Gold' by Anne-Marie O'Connor (which I had to read having loved the film, though the book is much more harrowing than the film);  'Lady Audley's Secret' by Mary Elizabeth Braddon; 'The Dark is Rising' sequence by Susan Cooper and all the Ruth Galloway novels by Elly Griffiths.  There have also been biographies, on the artist 'Gluck' and 'Mrs Keppel and her Daughter' by Diana Souhami, as well as Steampunk based novels; the Newbury and Hobbes series by George Mann and a couple by James Blaylock.  Certainly an eclectic mix and an aim I shall try to continue this year too.
• Be Creative - I have been creative this year and have enjoyed stamping, embossing, using Brusho paints and printing on felt).  Jewellery has become less of a pull, although I still make myself a few bracelets and pairs of earrings, as well as the occasional gift for birthdays.   I have curtailed my spending on gemstones, although paper crafting appears to be edging ahead now!  As I get older, I am realising how important creativity is to me, so I will certainly continue this aim.
• Get rid of/donate things I do not want or need - I have continued to do this but only in a small way so I need to make more of a concerted effort.  I also need to use the things I have, such as my fabric or craft stashes.  I think this will be an aim for many years to come!

An extra achievement on a personal level is weight loss this year, after we joined Slimming World and I am feeling much healthier and better for it.  I have discovered the joys of Quark (a soft cheese which can be eaten with either a sweet addition, such as honey or fruit sauce, or a savoury addition, added to a sauce to make it richer or with something like marmite added to it.  It is high in protein and fat free and I usually eat it with a bit of natural yogurt and honey with a banana for lunch.  It is something I wouldn't want to be without.  I have also discovered chocolate frozen yogurt which I like better than ice cream (I didn't think I would ever say that!)  Then there are Slimming World chips and crustless quiche, which are also delicious and part of our diet now.  I don't think I have ever eaten as many vegetables as I do now and I really enjoy them. 
So all in all, a pretty positive review and aims that continue into this year too...  I hope that 2018 will be a good one for us all.

Happy New Year 2015!

(photos from Daily Mail website)

 As seems to be a bit of a tradition, the first post of the year is one where I review last year and see how I got on with the things I wanted to achieve. I kept it pretty simple and did reasonably well (with the exception of the first one).
Make more felt - hmm, this wasn't achieved at all, so I must do better with that this year.
Read interesting books - achieved (total of 86, up from 63 in 2013) and will be continued.
Be creative - achieved but could do more! I'd like to learn a japanese braiding technique (kumihimo) to add to my jewellery making.
Get rid of/donate things I do not want or need - I am a hoarder, so this is one I struggle with. However, I am going to improve and for the last few weeks have been consciously removing at least two things a day from the house.  I just need to carry that on!
So, not bad, but will do better in 2015.

Happy New Year to you all and I hope it is a healthy and prosperous one.

Happy New Year - Here's to 2014

photo from http://metro.co.uk/2014/01/01/new-years-eve-celebrations

Happy New Year (a bit belatedly)!  Normally on my first post of a new year, I look back over the things I said I wanted to do last year and review how I got on.  However, I have realised that this is doomed to failure, as I never seem to complete what I intend to.  So, this year, I'm going to keep it simple.  I would like to:

Make more felt

Keep reading interesting books (total last year 62)

Keep being creative 

Get rid of/donate to charity things which I no longer want or need.

Hopefully, these are things I have some chance of achieving!