On (hopefully) becoming an intentional bee...

We're having a quiet Sunday and it's feeling like a good day so far - I managed to dodge the downpours on my way in and out of church this morning, the veg for the roast is prepped, this delicious praline cake is setting in the fridge and I have time to write a second blog post for 2016 - 2 more than I managed in 2015 :)

Have I ever explained my blog name? I'm not sure I have. I like bees. Who doesn't? They're wonderful! I love how they are drawn to beauty, they work together and produce a wonderful and delicious thing. I'd like to be like a bee (yes I'm aware that I just said that I'd like to be like a bee!)- I want to seek the beauty in life and make beautiful things. The only thing is that they're productive beings...whereas I'm more of a procrastinating one...hence the bumbling part :)

Well my goals for 2016 mainly centre around my hopes of procrastinating less and using my time more intentionally. I've been feeling frustrated for a few months now by how I always feel like I'm trying (and failing) to keep up with everything in my life and never feel like I have control over it. So I'm hoping 2016 is the year where I put into action some small changes that (hopefully!) helps us to have a more ordered home and life. Which hopefully will then enable me to actually use time to just relax and get back to some hobbies :) I first started blogging to motivate me to start crafting again. It worked a treat so I'm hoping sharing this here will help motivate me to continue with this goal!

Here are my goals for 2016 -

1) To be more organised and tidy - Apparently I give off the air of someone who is tidy and organised - I've lost count of the number of times people have mentioned this when they get to know me...because as they get to know me they quickly learn that I'm very unorganised and untidy! I'm not bothered about having a spotless house but I would love to make some habits that help us feel on top of the housework (and not have to spend a chunk of each day just tidying!). For now I'm focusing on leaving the kitchen clean each night and then I'll gradually try to build in a couple more things to do each day.

2) To plan meals and minimise food waste - I think you're either a meal planner or you're not. Personally I love it. It's a great excuse to crack out my recipe books and scour pinterest :) Normally though I'm planning meals right before ordering the shopping because we suddenly realise we. have. no. food! It's not so enjoyable under those conditions and I normally make ridiculous and not so healthy decisions...and end up with far too much food which ends up in the bin. But I love it so I want to make time for it so that we can eat better and hopefully have less food waste.

3) Make time to stop - it's been so long since I've made anything. Before Jess arrived my mum gently suggested that I might struggle with getting to craft projects once I had a baby. I heard her and thought I got it...but honestly? I thought I'd have loads of time to make things (babies are meant to sleep right?)! Roll on a year and...my mum was right (as she so often is). Whilst it's going to be a looong time before I can regularly set big chunks of time aside for just 'me' activities, I want to be intentional about using the time I do have to do things that actually bring life to me. It's so tempting to just crash in front of the tv at any chance because I so often feel completely wiped...but I feel so much more rejuvenated when I use that time to make something, even if it's just cutting a few squares for a quilt. That said, I'm a total advocate of unashamedly embracing boxsets and day time telly in those newborn days...just do it, you won't regret it!


So there we have it. They're not the most exciting of goals but if I can achieve these then it will be the first time I've ever achieved my resolutions it would make such a difference to my day to day life! I also have hopes of maaaybe getting back to those plans for an online shop - but I'm not committing to that quite yet!

Have a great week!

So, that was 2015...

A few minutes before midnight on New Year's Eve I realised that I was sad to say goodbye to 2015. The previous New Year's Eve I couldn't wait to leave 2014 behind. It had been a really tough year for all sorts of reasons but, also, 2015 held a lot of promise, which I was looking forward to. I had thought a lot about my hopes for the new year...and now that year has happened...and finished! Some years just stick in your mind and I know 2015 will be one of those. We welcomed our beautiful girl into the world, Andrew finished his degree, we moved across country and are gradually settling into our new life.

In complete contrast to last year, I haven't given much thought to 2016 but I'm looking forward to having a year where nothing major is due to happen...that's not a very exciting goal but that is truly what I'm hoping for! I'm hoping for space to get intentional about making changes to improve our life balance - hey, maybe I'll even get to dust off my sewing machine and have something to blog about again :) 

So, 2015, you were a year of no blogging and a whole lot of sleep deprivation - but you were a good one and I'll treasure a lot of memories from you. But cheers to 2016!

Knitted owl lavender bags (and a Merry Christmas!)...

Well amazingly my house is clean and tidy (well as tidy as it ever will be), presents are wrapped and my to do list is pretty much ticked off...so I thought I'd treat myself by writing a quick blog post to share one of my recent knitting projects with you! I was sure I would have to wait until after Christmas to get this up as it feels like life has been moving at 100mph recently.

These knitted lavender bags are a Christmas gift for my Nana and the first pattern I have ever followed. They were just too sweet to not make! As the owls were coming together I kept thinking while I was knitting the stocking stitch something just wasn't quite right about it. It was only when I moved onto knitting a scarf that I realised that I had actually been knitting through the back of each stitch for the whole of this project. Oops! It would seem right now that anything I knit has at least one quirk to it but often multiple!

Knitting pattern - Owl lavender bag from Cute and Easy Knitting (there is so much I want to knit from this book!)
Yarn - Sirdar Country Style DK
New techniques tried and learnt - following a pattern, increasing and decreasing stitches, mattress stitch...and I guess knitting through the back of a stitch ;)

I hope you all have a wonderful Christmas and New Year - my friends write a wonderful and inspiring blog called Saltwater and Honey. Lizzie has written a beautiful post about why Christmas was never meant to be perfect...this time of year isn't always easy and sometimes the pressure can build up around getting everything ready, anyway, I would really recommend reading it...click here.!

Merry Christmas, see you in 2015!

Blogger of the month...

I'm very excited to share that Black Sheep Wools have chosen me as their November blogger of the month. Considering their expertise when it comes to knitting and sewing (they're a gorgeous yarn and fabric shop), I feel a little undeserving to say the least!

They've featured a little Q&A with me on their blog so do head over there if you fancy a read :) They also kindly gave me a gift voucher for their shop - I think I know what I'll be spending that on! Oh yes - the blanket of course! Thanks for your comments on Facebook - that and chatting with my Mum has helped me to make a decision - I'm going chevron :)

Have a great day!

Choices, choices, choices...

I'm loving my current Christmas knitting frenzy and hope to have a few things to show for it soon - I'm just finishing up some cute owl lavender bags and am about halfway through a scarf at the moment. I still have a couple of other things I'd like to knit before Christmas so here's hoping I've not been too unrealistic about my abilities!

Despite my current projects I can't help but jump ahead to what I'd like to knit after Christmas...a baby blanket for our baby! I'm due in February so I'll need to crack on if I'm going to finish the blanket in time...I just can't decide what pattern I like most! I feel quite confident now with the basic stitches so I want to choose something that will challenge me a little, whilst it still being a project I can easily complete - I know there will be tears if I get halfway through the blanket and realise I've made a mess of it!

Here are my current front runners -

I do love my chevrons, especially in the form of this cute blanket by Espace Tricot, the pattern can be found here on Ravelry.

I like the idea of having a go at using multiple colours but this blanket by Nancy Hearne is so lovely in it's simplicity.

This was the first blanket that caught my eye, mainly because in my complete amateur knitting brain I imagined that a 'holey' blanket would be quicker to knit??!! Please tell me if that's true! It's by Pickles but there are quite a few questions in the comments to clarify the pattern so I'm not sure this should be the blanket I make with my time limit!

We don't know whether we're having a boy or girl so I want to make sure it would suit either - I'm thinking I'll go with shades of turquoise and grey.

I would love to here what you think about these patterns - especially those of you who knit and have an idea on how achievable these would be for me! Also - please do share any favourite baby blanket patterns that you have!