Looking forward to my craft retreat

Been busy this last few weeks – the day job, jewellery classes at Leeds College of Art, trying to finish a crochet Mandala for Yarndale and making earrings and bangles and rings. Its easy to get caught up in a roller coaster of ‘things that need doing’ and forget to open your eyes, look around and notice the changes in the seasons.

True, it has been rain, gloomy and dark quite a bit of this June, but some days and parts of days have been bright and warm, plants are growing and the countryside is looking green and very lush.

Today, for the first time in ages, I got up early and bypassed the chores in favour of a morning walk.

Lucky hardly covers it, but I live in a small East Yorkshire village near to open countryside and a lovely canal full of holiday boats, It was a perfect morning and early enough for very few people to be up and about. The air was fresh but smelled warm, with the promise of a hot summer just around the corner. And it gave me a chance to ponder about the coming weekend, when I am going down to Bicester near Oxford, to attend a craft retreat.

Walking is nice and repetitive – a bit like crochet or beading or knitting – and I think that gives you the opportunity to do a bit of meditating. I always find I can think clearly on a walk or while doing some non-urgent crafting, putting everything in perspective and then feel so much better equipped to cope with the next crisis.

Plus, after doing some gardening over the last two weekends, muscles that I had forgotten about had been screaming for attention. Sitting in an office chair working at a computer is not good day in day out without getting some exercise, so my body as well as my mind were pleased with me today.

Craft retreat here I come

I booked into this craft retreat weeks ago but I must admit I have not really prepared. I need to sit down (oh no, not again) and print out the lists from the emails I’ve had, start packing and get organised. Otherwise, it will be more skating on thin ice than enjoying a relaxing bit of crafting.

My main aim in learning papercrafting is to create some lovely scrapbook albums using photographs of me and my brother when we were younger and of my mum and dad before we were even a twinkle in their eyes. I know I keep putting it off though, because i really want to do the photographs justice and that will mean a lot of work. Getting started is often the most difficult thing – maybe after this weekend, I will finally take the plunge and begin the BIG PROJECT 🙂