April - Writing

Three months down and still going! Although I know very few people are reading this, I am really pleased that I started this challenge this year. Making a commitment to do a new craft/art/hobby each month is really motivating me to keep going and because it's only a month, if I don't really like it the next month soon rolls around. It has provided something to focus on and given me variety when at the moment every day feels like groundhog day. Restrictions are slowly being lifted here in the U.K. and we are now allowed to see one other household outside in a public space or private garden. It feels like bliss given the past few months and the limitations of the last year but it still a long way from the freedom we once enjoyed. Having something other than work and parenting to focus on has been really helpful. 

In April I am going to be focusing on writing, which is a little different from the last three months. There won't be a physical tangible item for me to share at the end of it, but I will hopefully have a word count to share and an update on the process and how I've found it.

In 2019 during my maternity leave with my second son, I took part in a creative writing course led by author Emylia Hall called Mothership Writers. It was a course for mothers of babies under one based in Bristol. It was a year long course and we met every two weeks. The course culminated in many of the participants writing a short piece for an anthology.  I loved the course and ever since have taken to having a notebook and pen nearby to scribble in when I get a free minute. They used to be in the changing bag I take everywhere for my sons but as so much of this year has been spent at home, I now have about 3 or 4 notebooks dotted around the house in various rooms. Much to the delight of my husband! 

Last summer, when I was feeling particularly down and anxious after being made redundant, I set myself the challenge of writing a short story for a competition held by Myslexia, a creative writing magazine. Although nothing came of it, I was proud to have completed and entered a short story and found the process cathartic and fulfilling in what was a difficult and emotionally turbulent time. Since then I have been writing when I have the time and have drafted a plot and characters for a novel. Writing that down sounds a bit ridiculous but it is something I would like to work towards. I'm not expecting that anything will come of it but I would like to challenge myself to finish the piece of work which I have been thinking about for a while, just to see how it ends up!

At first I was thinking of setting myself a word count for each day of April but instead I am going to say I will write for at least 30 mins. This might sometimes be in the mornings before work, in the very early mornings when the boys are up and watching cartoons or after they are in bed and the house is quiet. I will fit it in whenever I can but hopefully I can find 30 mins everyday and sometimes more. By the end of the month I hope to have written at least 5000 words but more importantly I want to have expanded the idea and characters I have so far and be able to decide whether to continue or start again with a new idea. 

See you at the end of April for an update!

March Recap - Weaving

This month's focus was weaving, which was completely new to me. I really loved learning and found it such a fun craft. It helped that it was a starter kit that my mother-in-law kindly sent me, so it came with all the instructions and resources needed to make a number of small weavings. 

The instructions were very clear and it didn't take long at all to get the hang of it. I loved that the basic technique is super easy so that once you know what you're doing, you can focus on adding colours and different textures to make it personalised and to your taste. I do like following patterns and working to make a particular item, such as a piece of clothing from a pattern but for this year I don't really have the time, energy or patience for that much focus! So something which is easy to learn but that you can then develop and be creative with is perfect for me right now. 

The first weaving I made was blue, grey and white. I just used yarn at first so that I could get used to how to make it even and swap between different colours. It looks a little uneven at the top so I am going to work on that in my next one, to try to get it to look as symmetrical as possible. 

In my second weaving I have used some roving, which is the much thicker material. You have to weave this over a number of strands of warp (the thin threads which run vertically down the piece) as it is so thick and it creates lovely texture and contrast. I still need to add some other colours but I am looking forward to creating a little collection of weavings. 

I am really pleased with what I have created and although my first piece wasn't perfect, I am very pleased to hang it on the wall. I think in the future I might invest in a bigger kit to make a larger piece, I think a large wall hanging somewhere in our next house would be fun. Just need to find the house first.!...