A confession…

So apparently when I started this blog years back, I was not a crafty person. I really wasn’t. I have been blessed with an incredibly inept ability to sew with even less ability to imagine something that hasn’t been done before!

However, the current corona situation meant I finished full time work on March 8th. Going so suddenly from a full daily schedule to a few work zooms a day in between trying to manage the kids’ home school schedule like everyone else, wasn’t without challenges. I did struggle as we are a family who thrive on routine and this was now no longer possible. I was lucky I wasn’t having to put in an 8 hour day but this enabled me to fill my hours refreshing the internet on “Houston Coronavirus cases” and watching in fear as its spread extended across the globe. I needed to find a hobby.

I tried reading. A friend invited me to their virtual book club but I couldn’t focus on fiction when reality seemed a bit too fantastical so I’d download the books and read a chapter but then found myself back checking to see if the cases were getting closer.

I tried hairdressing. I promise I will never try hairdressing again.

I love baking and quarantine gave me the chance to revisit old and discover new recipes. I was especially mindful of not going to the store. I enjoyed trying to work out what to make from the cupboard that the kids with their limited palettes would enjoy that hadn’t been served ad infinitum already. The kids now love curry and spicy chicken so that is definitely a plus. So I baked and I cooked and I ate. And I ate. And I ate. I think “pre-covid weight” will be something a lot of women aspire to achieve. At least I got my steps in going to the fridge eh?! This hobby had to go!

And this leads me onto exercise during the lockdown…It’s a no from me! Didn’t happen (insert excuse here…) and I didn’t clean my car out and I didn’t clear out the closet despite the fact I’ve always silently protested I don’t have time. Quarantine just did not inspire me with that kind of behavior.

However, I did find time for gorging on Netflix. We watched so much TV. (edit: we watch so much TV). We watched dramas, documentaries, reality shows, movies, game shows and among them we stumbled across “Making it”. A kind of Great British Bake Off for crafting with Amy Poehler and Nick Offerman. I love Parks and Rec so with Lesley and Ron at the helm, it seemed worthy of a watch. Turns out I loved it. And guess what? It inspired me!

First off, I summoned my inner Alan Titchmarsh and determinedly attacked the wisteria from the gazebo, (screaming as I dodged the falling lizards) but all the time claiming it needed cutting back….it’s been needing to be cut back for a year now. If that was genuinely my reason, it would have been done in a timely manner methinks. Nope, this was for art!

I retreated to the garage and deleafed the vines and made a mess. Then I got hot…so I moved to the kitchen and wound the branches round to form a wreath (and made another mess and poked myself in the eye a couple of times). This was the first weekend after school officially finished. Now I have a wreath sitting in the utility room but no idea how to adorn it. I already have a Christmas wreath I love so that’s a no. I thought about making clay ornaments but wouldn’t Houston’s humidity destroy them? And then there’s the hubby who will not appreciate me demonstrating my kindergartenlike crafting abilities. Obviously, he wants me to be happy and all that but the man’s got a limit and I recognize I push that daily just in my existence so I need to think more before I commit to a permanent wall art installation. I’ll have a think on it.

But then one night, after not so silently cursing the hubby as he sleepingly knocked the remote control loudly down the back of the bed for the 100th time, waking me yet again, meaning I would be listening to him tomorrow complaining about the remote being under the bed yet again, inspiration hit me! And hit me hard! And this was inspiration that I genuinely don’t think has ever been inspired before. I’m claiming it as my idea entirely. I’m thinking Shark Tank here guys. This time next year Rodney…

Please be upstanding for my…velcroed to the bed remote control holder! All lovingly hand sewn and embroidered with only minimal swearing. You can’t buy a sewing machine (I tried) because of all the lovelies making masks. You can’t get StarWars material either unless you improvise and check out the boy’s underwear section in Walmart. The last pair in the store and only $5!! I am so bloody proud of this!!

So although I may not be ready to go and meet Amy and Nick. I think technically, I’d still be classed as an inept seamstress, I’m definitely a bit crafty now! So now I feel my blog name is appropriate in all senses. Woohoo!

I wonder what will my next foray into the craft world be….please, please tell me…I’m all out of ideas and I’ve got eight more weeks I need to fill!

So this was my first proper blog back. I waffled a lot. It was nice to talk though. Rich will probably say it was nice not to have to listen. Thank you for reading this far. You’re a gem. Let me know what you think….and any ideas for the wreath that don’t include a bonfire…