DREAM
This is such a strange month I find - it arrives after a month I seam to have spent running around finishing jobs off before the end of the year, buying and wrapping gifts, attending school events, Christmas fairs, pantomimes, kids parties, crazy food shopping, spending time with family, visiting people, tidying, cleaning, decorating...the list goes on and on, and in the midst of all this frantic movement and a head feeling like it's been in a food blender we are supposed to relax 'betwixmas' in the mythical down time we supposedly have between Christmas and New Year, knitting, reading books and drinking hot chocolate with Marshmallows in front of a roaring log fire, but in reality I am usually still finishing projects, planning for January and preparing for the return to school and work.
Nature on the other hand knows the score. In the northern hemesphere January is slap bang in the middle of winter, the trees are resting in slumber, the wildlife is hibernating or sleeping more and reserving its energy and resources, and while the day light might steadily be growing longer, the weather rarely let's us notice the change.
Us humans on the other hand are busy setting resolutions for the coming year and throwing ourselves back into work, diets and fitness classes to start the year as we mean to go on - usually giving up the dieting and fitness by February!
I am guilty of all the above and more - but not this year!!!
I approached December with a mind to January this time - determined not to set and resolutions or sign up to any daily task projects, or even start anything new at all. I know I can't clear off and hibernate until the sun has warmth in it again, but I knew I should be more proactive in slowing down and being more mindfull of what I chose to do and how I chose to do it, and that is where the idea for this project was born. Something I could do myself but also share with others who also might feel like me, so here it is.
So - for month 1 of the Word a Month Sew ALong the word I am using is DREAM
Feel free to use the same word - or chose another if that doesn't speak to you!
I am trying not to plan very much at all in January, but rather to alow my mind to wander and dream, and while I still have school, meetings, work etc etc, I am not planning anything on top of that at all, my 'free time' will be spent reflecting on 2022, doing gentle activities like knitting and sewing without pressure to finish anything, reading some of the almanacs and books I got at Christmas and dreaming.
I read somewhere recently that all children should be bored for at least an hour a day in order for them to use their imaginations, to stare at clouds, watch ants on a lawn, raindrops running down a window - to be honest I think that's sound advice for anyone at any age. I remember being that child watching raindrops chasing each other down a window and can't imagine even having the time to do that - but in reality I know that if I tried to do that these days I would have to be far away from WiFi to succeed - perhaps I could just leave my tech somewhere and try.
Here are some prompts to help you, if you decide to use the word DREAM (or whichever word you use) keep it in mind as you go through them - this is to help you chose colours and materials.
The stitch I will focus on this month is Blanket stitch - perfect for dreaming under
What does January mean to you?
What images does it evoke?
Is there a colour you associate with January?
How does January make you feel?
When you do an Internet search (in the UK at least) the images that come up are usually of clear blue skies, crisp white snow covered trees and fields that sparkle with only the footsteps of wildlife to be seen...
I know that the reality in my corner of Lancashire is usually grey cloudy skies, mud, mud and more mud, cold winds, driving rain, swollen brown rivers waiting to flood, nights that feel like they start at 4pm, mornings where opening the curtains let's no light in - a month that seams to last forever, with the dark foreboding outlines of bare trees black against the grey sky.
I want my January page to reflect that, but also the cosyness of the home where I wrap up in blankets, keep the fairly lights on and the slow cooker bubbling away with warming stews, where inspiration light up the darkness with sparks of joy and light as I take the time to DREAM...
The link below should (fingers crossed) take you to my YouTube channel and my first video
