Books!

Along with the bags for the Christmas Fair, I've been making books, too. Here is a selection of what I've made so far. Some are ring-bound and some hand-sewn hardback books. I'm doing a variety of sizes, too. You can see some of the threads that are decorating my studio floor while I'm sewing bags...

Bags!

I've been busy at the sewing machine and with the crochet hook this week. In a few weeks I have a stall at the Christmas Fair, so I've pulled out my fabric, ribbon, and yarn stash to make books and bags. I like the challenge of using as much of what I already have as possible.

Big picture thinking

This page, for me, has lightning and a planet. It's messy and has dark parts but also lots of light. It put me in mind of stepping away from the details and looking at the big picture.

There are times when looking at the details, taking note and not missing anything are vital. But it's also possible to get bogged down in those details and miss the bigger picture. Until we step away, we can't see if what we are concentrating on is actually the most important part or whether it's a minor detail that we've become caught up on.

When we find ourselves having/receiving sharp words, it's worth stepping back and seeing the bigger picture. Is it really about this, or is there something else coming into play? Are we distracted by details that aren't really so important?

Wild

While you're cultivating one part of your garden another part may be going wild.

We've inherited a garden that's been mostly neglected for the last 20 years. It's taking a bit of time to get it back in hand. At the moment I'm working on the hedge at the back, gradually working my way along chopping back and chopping down to a workable level. Meanwhile I look out of our dining room window and see the part at the side sprouting madly. Sigh.

It made me think about how that might happen in our lives. Perhaps we are working hard on something, some attitude or habit, and we may be making headway, but at the same time we need to make sure that other areas aren't being neglected.

Not about you!

It's not all about you!

It is easy to be selfish without even thinking about it. How often do we approach a situation from our own point of view, neglecting to think about the person who it's really about? Put yourself in the other person's shoes before firing off a point of view.

Japanese ink cards

I've been spending a lot of creative time prepping things for a Christmas Fair at the end of November. These cards are made of little Japanese ink paintings (Suiboku-ga). I have a soft spot for beetles, so these are perfect little critters to paint little portraits of.

No words

Sometimes there are no words.

Pruning

Pruning - 'tis the season.

I'm spending lots of time in the garden cutting things back that have bolted over the summer, bringing things back into order.

Our lives are pruned, too. Not only do we cut out those things that are no longer fruitful, but we have pruning thrust upon us when we lose people from our lives. The blue leaves on this page represent the sadness of loss - the people cut off from the family tree. They are gone, but the fruit has been picked from their branches and preserved in our hearts.

Enjoying creation

My pages have been coming together a bit slower at the moment. I'm tired and I can't seem to find the words. Today, however, I spent an hour and a half in the garden just clearing out an overgrown corner. There were butterflies around enjoying the autumn sunshine. And I just enjoyed creation.

Mosaic chair

This chair needed a face-lift, so I pulled out a few pieces of patterned paper, punched out some squares, and set to work. I'm happy with how it turned out. Now it just needs a coat of varnish.

A question of scale

A question of scale.

This page has lots of circles of all different sizes. It made me think of scale.

Different people see the same situation at different levels of urgency. For those who are close to it, a situation can feel enormous. For those more removed, it is smaller, not so important. Our perspective depends on our proximity to the 'problem'. This could be why, when we share a concern, it can feel diminished - the perspective of someone more removed from it can help us to step away, too.

So when you are facing something that seems enormous, try to step back and see it from a different angle. Maybe it's not so bad after all. And when someone else sees as a huge problem something that seems small to you, try to see it from their closer perspective.

Think of the question of scale.

Behind the situation

See the person behind the situation.

Each situation is not necessarily as obvious as it might seem from the outside.

It can be easy to treat each time 'A' happens in the same way, but that's not always the best thing for the people involved because everyone has a story.

To better understand, we need to look at the person behind the situation. What is their story? How did they end up here? How can we make things better - or at least not make things worse - and show grace?