Out with The Old...In With The New ♡

 

Hello lovely lovelies, lovely friends♡ 

The calendar has turned the page to a brand new year, a brand new month. January♡ I've always loved the month of January. Long, lazy days of summer rolling along in holiday mode. Hot, sunny days, long daylight hours languorous sleep-ins, late breakfasts, oodles of tea drinking and a little too much cake...........book readin', slow stitching, crocheting, snoozing in the afternoons............and sometimes doing nothing really at all. The long langorous days of summer just keep on keeping on here down under.

I wonder what pretties you will imagine to keep your minds and fingers busy, this year?? I wonder how you will fill your days during this new year?? I've started the new year with a refashioning project. Gosh, it's been an age since I've tarted up a garment. I've been cleaning out my wardrobe, discarding garments to be donated to an op shop. Clothes that I haven't worn for yonks. I came across a denim jacket that I wear occasionally with sleeves I've never really been keen on. So, I ripped said sleeves out with my trusty seam ripper, with the thought of replacing them with  colourful granny stripes. Out with the old and in with the new. 

Again, going with the flow, making it up as I go. With the denim sleeves no more and with a helluva lot of omphaloskepsis {belly button gazing FYI =) } happening, I tried a bit of this and a little bit of that, until I decided upon blanket stitching at 1/2" intervals. Then I began to double crochet in clusters of two. Row after row,  of coloured wool left over from previous pretties, tumbling down the sleeve. I tapered the sleeve as I skipped down, down, down, by decreasing a stitch at the beginning of each new coloured row. After crocheting forty eight rows I then decreased more gradually on every sixth row. I know......clear as mud!! It's a good thing I know what I'm doing. =) Besides, if my muddly head has moments of 'what-the-hell',  I wrote down what I was doing as I happily crocheted along. So, all should be tickety-boo. Fingers crossed. Every jacket is a different pattern and a different fit so what works for this pretty probably wouldn't work for another. One just plays, really.

I must say  I rather love how my jacket is morphing right before my eyes. Who would've thunk it......my jacket looks half decent. =) One sleeve done. Now for the other. I will continue crocheting this evening joining the other band of happy slow stitchers.

As for 'Happy New Year!! This year, I have a feeling we slow stitchers are going to need to pick up our needles and thread, and slowly stitch away, calmly, meditatively; without ceasing. The calender may have turned over to a new year but the chaos continues; ramps up. That vacuous void of rancour.....evil......stupidity.......still sits on that tacky, fake gold, throne of his and continues to stumble along that demented path he's tottering aimlessly.......lost; on.  With each pretty we stitch, we will have to remind ourselves that by keeping our hands busy stitching, crocheting, knitting, etc, each little stitch, we can bring a sense of order, peace and beauty into our little world. May each day this new year be filled with lovely friendships,  small joys, kindness, beauty........and love.

I'm off to finish icing a chocolate frosted chocolate cake with slashings of cream and fresh strawberries for a dear friend, who is coming for a spot of afternoon tea in celebration of her birthday♡ Chocolate cake and tea is always a very good idea♡ Have a lovely day, lovely lovelies, lovely friends♡ Let your little light shine bright♡ I have a notion our little lights will need to shine brighter than ever before♡