A question of balance

It's always a question of balance isn't it? When I'm busy sewing or ragging our home crumbles. When I'm busy cleaning and tidying and am unable to make anything then I'm not a happy bunny. Sitting in front of the sewing machine and catching sight of the pile of ironing, dusty shelves and dirty windows is as frustrating as running around with the hoover, dettox in one hand and duster in the other, and walking past a pile of fabric and sewing and having to ignore it. I know I'm not alone and yet from reading other blogs you always seem so much better organised than I am!



After weeks of crafting and watching the hour hand speed round on the kitchen clock I decided to tackle the mess that is our kitchen. I decided the only way to do it would be to do it properly, not half heartedly and to devote enough time to it to feel happy with the results. We're not just talking washing up, sweeping the floor, the stuff that gets done about three times a day here, I mean the taking down of things from the shelves, the sorting through of junk that was threatening to stage a coup in one corner of the room and the pile of ironing that was, at one point, taller than me!



Well I did it, I did it and it felt good. I did it happily knowing that i'd achieved all I wanted to do at the sewing machine. Things have been washed and dusted and rearranged, jugs and pots that haven't seen the light of day for a while have found new homes on the shelves and it feels good once again to be sitting at the kitchen table.



We finally managed, well I say we, I mean M, to frame and put up a couple of prints that had been hanging around for far too long. Far, far too long. I love these prints, they're very special - one was a gift from a dear friend and the other a happy find at a car boot.



They came into our home months apart and yet I knew they belonged together. I won't tell you how long they have been waiting to go up on the walls, but it's been a long time - we wanted two similar frames and just haven't had the money for new ones recently.



Fortunately a game of musical chairs with some other prints meant that we could use these two frames that were in the loft and they now sit perfectly under the long kitchen shelf. I haven't stopped standing in front of them since Sunday afternoon, just smiling at them and the way their colours go so well with the all the bits and bobs on the shelf. I guess sometimes it's good to wait.



A bit of rearranging in the bedroom too - I am now in hibernation mode and this cold weather makes me want to snuggle up in bed with a good book as early as possible. But I really, really feel the cold and can't get into proper dormouse mode unless I'm nice and toasty which means that more and more eiderdowns are joining me in bed, only to be thrown off in the middle of the night when of course I'm feeling impossible hot and then frantically searched and groped for in the morning whilst I lie in bed and bury my head in them and psyche myself up to trundle downstairs ... now if any of you clever ladies could come up with a remote control for the eiderdowns please let me know!