My Creative Space...

I couldn't help myself. With my sturdy brace in place, securely restricting my hand from any painful movement, I had to see if it was possible to do some pain free crafting. And it is, albeit with some restrictions.

My husband had the sewing machine out (yes, he can sew too, when the urge strikes) so I gave it a shot. A bit tricky with the limited movement, but a very quick and simple and forgiving project, with no precision required, I can do. Some Pengwees (as C calls them). He was drawing heaps of them, and they were so sweet, they were begging to be brought to life. It was a collaborative effort.

C chose the fabrics, I hacked it up. He chose the threads, I zigzagged in a very haphazard manner. He poked the stuffing in, I zigzagged them closed. He picked out the buttons and I attempted to engage him in sewing them on, remembering that my first ever sewing project was stitching some yellow elephant buttons on to a deep purple seersucker dolls dress when I was about his age. He did manage to poke the needle through the button holes, but I did the rest.

And then he gave them names and ran off to play with them.

More creative spaces over here.

The Happy Cyborg

I may now look like I'm part cyborg, but at least I'm a fashionably (for Melbourne at least) black one.
And it is remarkably comfortable, this clever custom moulded thermoplastic and velcro contraption.
In good news, it's ensuring that my thumb and wrist are constantly in a comfortable position, without restricting me too much (I can obviously still grab food when needed, which is very much needed when there are freshly baked Raspberry, Coconut and White Chocolate muffins in the house).
In even better news, after next week I should be able to do a little bit of crafting, so long as it isn't causing any pain.
This is a huge improvement on the blanket advice to "try to avoid using your thumb at all".
Such Good News.
(For those wondering about their own hand issues, I have a classic case of De Quervain's Tenosynovitis, aka Mother's Thumb)

My Creative Space...

Hand issues* continue this week, so instead of playing with the gingham cottons that I bought a couple of weeks ago, I'm trying to satisfy my creative urges by playing with gingham jam lids.

Jam making was prompted by too many empty jam jars, and cheap apricots at the market on the weekend. I used Stephanie's Apricot Jam recipe and my candy thermometer, once again, this time not bothering to include the kernels as she directs (in my experience it's a very fine line between cracking the pips enough to get the kernels out, and cracking them enough that the kernels are smooshed to pieces), and adding one peach to the mix. Hence the labels.

The peach was languishing in the fridge, past it's eating best. I do love jam making as a way of making something delicious out of fruit that isn't in great condition for eating fresh. I also love wiping the pot clean with some fresh bread. Yum.

More creative spaces here.

*On the hand front, his week included an ultrasound, visit to my osteopath, visit to my GP and visit to an Orthopaedic Surgeon specialising in upper limbs. Next week includes visit to a hand clinic for custom moulded hand and thumb splint, and ultrasound guided cortisone injection, and the start of a probable two month rest and rehab process. Probably with no (or in my optimistic dreams, perhaps just a little) hand craft. At least there is hope for some rapid improvement, but the thought of another two months without any active crafting is seriously disappointing to say the least.

My effortlessly creative space...

With my hand still out of action there has been no crafting here this week (although I did manage to create a phenomenally delicious (if I say so myself) Masaman curry, thanks to Sooz's excellent (and ongoing) Thai cooking posts).
I wanted to get a package of gifts off to a crafty friend though.
I had picked out a book and knitted a squishy textured scarf just before my hand really flared up, and wanted to include some other handmade goodies in the package too.
It seems like I won't be capable of that any time soon, so today Little A and I stopped in at the delightful (if tiny) little shop of handmade and bought something handmade by someone else.
Effortless I tell you...

(Other more industriously creative spaces here).

Killing time

This no-crafting-to-rest-my-thumb business is really killing me.
It's also leading to some stash enhancements of various kinds. The fabric kind and the yarn kind, and quite probably more of the fabric kind before the weekend is out. I'm also plotting and scheming and daydreaming about everything I want to knit, whilst trying to ignore my son's demands that I knit him something RIGHT NOW!!****%%%$$@
I'm making bloody minded attempts to do something creative in the kitchen. Like trying out some new Thai dishes (if you want to get inspired about cooking Thai food too then I strongly advise spending some time over at Sooz's blog right now. Masaman is at the top of my list). And baking a special cake for my husband for his birthday (with white chocolate icing to please the white chocolate loving men I live with).
I'm sitting stunned as I watch the news and tweets about the natural disasters rocking Japan, grateful that the land I'm standing on is steady, relieved that those I know in the vicinity are safe, but worried about what future natural disasters may lie ahead.
Of course I can't just watch TV without doing something else at the same time, which makes for plenty of Pinteresting. And filling up my head with various other ideas and information. Such as the fact that you can use vinegar instead of fabric softener... and 15 tips for encouraging good behaviour in young children.
And when I get bored with the internet I may even tackle some of the other things that have been on the to-do list for a while. Like sorting family photos or selecting wedding photos to get printed (only been 4 and a bit years in the waiting)...

My Creative Space...

This week, just as my creative mojo got back into gear I've been forced to put on the brakes.
My right hand was struck with tendonitis a couple of weeks after A was born (apparently this form is sometimes called "Mother's Thumb"), and so far treatment has achieved not much. If anything, it's gotten steadily worse.
The day after I pieced together the top for A's cot/play quilt (above), in a very satisfying (if perhaps too late) night of cutting and sewing, I was told that I really should try to stop using my right thumb. Not super easy, especially if you're a right hander, but I am trying to rest it as much as possible.
So whilst the sewing machine and knitting basket sit there, inviting me to play, I am reserving my thumb usage for more essential activities (like pulling up my pants) and retraining myself to be a two finger typist.
Other (more) creative spaces here.

My Creative Space...

I've been thinking of playing along with kootoyoo's creative spacers for a while now, but it's a matter of finding a moment to take photos and thinking of something witty and pithy to say.
So here is a moment.

Here is my bird mobile gradually coming into being. Just waiting now for the resident handy man to buy a new drill so that the dangling lines can be securely tied in position and the whole arrangement hung from the ceiling somewhere.

And here is the little sewing nook that the resident handy man set up for me while I was off craft weekend-ish-ing last week. My sewing machines are now conveniently tucked under the stairs, with an extension cord so I can perch myself on the dining table in the blink of an eye. Scissors and other sharp cutting implements are in their usual home (a very old and battered sewing box that my grandparents gave to me when I was very young), which has now been kitted out with a padlock to reign in C's very keen interest in all things cutting and crafty. Sewing notions, cutting mat, rulers and some choice patterns have taken over one drawer in the plan cabinet and supplies for my next sewing project (a play mat for A- there I've said it, better get on with it) are tucked in the paper bag.

Over a hundred other creative spaces here

Some things take time

I knitted myself a cardigan many years ago. Rowan Flo, knitted in Rowan Cotton Glace, in a bright red/rust/yellow/green spectrum. Loved the colours, loved the yarn, but almost never wore the cardigan. The shape didn't suit me, and the colours, whilst I loved them, aren't colours that I felt comfortable wearing.
When I was pregnant with C about four years ago I had the idea of partially frogging and reknitting it as a baby blanket, but I never got around to it.
I finally got started when I was pregnant with A, and it gradually, slowly came into being.
 
Slowly unpicking and frogging the cardigan.
Slowly knitting random stripes.
Slowly sewing a seam.
Slowly knitting the edging.
Slowly weaving the ends in.
And now, finally, when she's already 2 months old, taking a couple of quick photos and sharing it here.
I had planned on lining the back side but somehow I just haven't gotten around to it, and it's now in daily use, folded and snugly tucked in over A in her bassinet as she sleeps.
Little A.
Not so little A.
Growing so fast.
Some things don't take much time.