I think this will be a catch up post – not before time! – but who knows where my thoughts will wander? Here’s a brief picture of my ‘now’ to explain why creative endeavours have become an important emotional stabiliser for me over the past three months: Both my parents are needing daily support in their own home following my Mum’s recent illness. As a family providing this new level of hands-on care is a privilege… with challenges. Relationships and responsibilities have been changing and everyone is tired as we muddle through trying to find the care provision best suited to my parents needs. I won’t go into all the details but I know those of you have been through similar will understand how crowded my mind has become with bubbling emotions mixing through seemingly endless to-do lists.

Throughout this time there have been creative projects to fall back on, to dabble with, providing distraction and satisfaction. Patchwork quilting has definitely been the steady, unchanging base: starting with the rather fiddly Cats In Space quilt begun just days before Mum went into hospital.

Alongside making the quilt I re-opened a very long neglected cross stitch project.

I persevered with it for a month or more before reaching the point where I realised I’d stopped enjoying it (see photo below). I made a cover for the frame from two UFO bargello sample panels before tucking it away for another season. The bargello samples were made for a class I ran a year or two ago. I just quickly quilted each one with a simple free motion meander, made a lining, found a couple of oddments of webbing for handles and hey-presto the protective cover was completed and two UFOs were removed from the pile!

Since completing/putting aside these fiddly projects I’ve moved on to smaller cross stitch kits and simpler patchwork designs which are fuelling and fulfilling my creative urges nicely. It’s taken me five weeks to complete this little Puffin book mark!

One evening I thumbed through my box of 2½” strips pulling out all the blue and blue-green fabrics. I then flicked through one of my oldest patchwork quilting books, Jelly Roll Quilts by Pam & Nicky Lintott, in search of a simple design. ‘Pandora’s Box’ fitted the bill with minimal cutting, lots of strip piecing, chain-piecing, and easy construction.

I had enough fabric to make thirty of the 8″ blocks. I decided to add 4″ borders to bring the quilt up to a reasonable throw size of 48″ x 56″. For wadding I used more of my roll of 70-30 EcoBlend by Sew Simple (I really recommend this wadding made from recycled cotton and polyester fibres). The backing is a lovely soft, no-pil fleece so this quilt will be super cosy! The quilting is a simple echoed wavy line using a walking foot. All finished with binding made from a remnant of extra wide backing found lurking in my stash.

An indication of how flighty my mind has been over the past weeks is that before I’d even constructed the blue quilt top I had another rummage in the box of 2½” strips. This time pulling out all the black, white and grey fabrics…

My design wall now displays the monochrome blocks made alongside the making of the blue quilt.

And there’s been a new opening in my creativity inspired by a nearly year long Facebook following of Sue Kerrigan-Harris. She is a wonderful soft pastel artist and happens to run classes down in the New Forest (less than an hours drive away). When she posted an advert for a beginners class I jumped at the chance, persuading a crafty friend to join me and suggesting to my husband that driving us there would give him an ideal opportunity to go walk about in the New Forest 😉

Sue’s class was brilliant, taking us through how to use soft pastel sticks and pencils on different types of paper (including fine grain sand paper!).

My Beginner Class efforts.

I’m now hooked on soft pastels! I’ve treated myself to a set and I’m enjoying carrying on learning via Sue’s on-line classes. Soft-pastels are a delight to blend (something I’ve never managed to do with paints) and are relatively quick to use as there’s no drying time.

So there we are, a complete mish-mash of creativity. Writing this post has surprised me. So often I’ve felt like I’ve been doing and thinking nothing unrelated to caring for my parents. Obviously that’s not the case, although the thinking part definitely filters through nearly all unrelated activities. Thankfully time spent in creativity, whilst not entirely immersive, does provide valuable emotional restoration.

I suspect there are many of you who have been thankful for creativity as a well-being activity in itself as much as a hobby or pastime?

Allison