As we approach the end of the first quarter of the year already, the dread of having achieved very little until now is looming, increasing the list of things I wanna do which is making me even more stuck in return. I wasn’t completely idle, I have been doing some crafts, but mostly cross-stitching obsessively again: spending whole evenings binge-watching Grey’s Anatomy and cross-stitching, a combo that has been soothing my overtired brain, but leaving me feeling quite unaccomplished.

Which, my dear brain, is utter bullshit.

As I looked through pictures on my phone to use for this blog post, I found a few things I’ve been working on and others I’ve finished.

I finally (almost) sorted out my sewing corners: I hung the Skadis peg board from my January trip in Ikea, and for the first time ever I used the drill without being electrocuted or piercing a sewer pipe (both very unlikely outcomes). I have to admit I needed a bit of help from the Official Dad WhatsApp Support chat, who probably had a good laugh at his clumsy daughter.

My first sewing project in a while was one out of need for new bras: all my sport-ish bras have been destroyed during the pandemic (from overuse). Since I hate shopping for bras, I sewed two using the Brazilian Dress & Bra pattern by Stitch Upon A Time, a designer I own a few patterns, some I even sewed. And a pair of the Clover boy brief from House Morrighan, which is definitely my favourite panty pattern as they are super comfy, butt approved!

They fit perfectly, they are a very quick and easy sew, and it triggered a craving for more sewing, so I bought a bunch of new patterns and then felt too overwhelmed by them…

And that’s why I went back to the comfort of stitching…

Another finish of this quarter is this blackwork piece from the SteadyThread, there was a sneak peak in my last post, and she’s finally hanging in her rightful place in the hallway. At some point, she might be joined by her pal, the Tattooed man, in an attempt to recreate a sort of Victorian family portrait galleries. I’ll be on the lookout for oval frames, but for the time being, I think it looks good anyway. What do you think?

Finally, because I can’t help myself when I see yarn, and Aldi has those multicolour huge balls, so I started a snood, or an infinity scarf. My plan is to keep knitting in moss stitch until it reaches a suitable length.

I got some shit done, didn’t I? So, why do I feel I’m in a slump? Mostly, it’s the million things I need to do around the house, nothing urgent, but that would make the house cosier and more mine, and put an end on some never-ending projects.

As my GP told me about a year ago, when we thought my UTI that wasn’t a UTI was caused by stress: you cannot do everything at once, split it in smaller chunks, and focus on what you can do now.

So, that’s what I’ll try to do to get out of this:

• Finish the Bathroom makeover: upcycle the mirror and hang stuff on the wall. Once this is done, I’ll be allowed to order some more bits from Ikea to sort out the office.
• Paint the kitchen with the leftover paint from the hallway and bathroom: mostly, this should be easy because I have all the materials, it’s just a matter of covering everything and start painting.
• Pick one of the new patterns and buy fabric, but only after I lose a few kgs: dieting sucks, I don’t do dieting for a series of reasons including that it doesn’t work, and food is too good. However, I put on some weight and unfortunately my back doesn’t like it, so I’m adjusting my food habits and starting to work out again more regularly to get back in track. The rationale is that there’s no point to measure myself now, and it prevents me to buy supply which will make me feeling overwhelmed while I have other stuff to finish.

Isn’t crafting meant to be relaxing?