REFLECTIONS

It's a long time since I've written anything here and a lot has happened in that time: 

•  I've had another baby boy (who is now 1!)
•  I've made 8 quilts (mostly small baby ones)
•  I've had a promotion at work 
•  I've knitted 7 things (some tiny baby things and finally some things for me)
•  I've been diagnosed with incurable cancer 

Tiny Thomas

Some of these things have meant that blogging has taken a back seat. In fact I actually came on here a month or so ago intending to close down this blog. But instead I started really thinking around why I stopped blogging. Lots has been written about how the instant gratification of Instagram has led to the decline of blogging.  For me that is partially true but the bottom line is that I just I felt this blog just didn't reflect me and who I now am anymore. 

I started blogging as a way of recording things that I had made (especially as most of them get given away) and through it found an amazing online community.  At the time I had lots of spare time and was able to spend hours sewing, reading quilting magazines and browsing lovely fabric websites. I didn't quite believe it when people started following and commenting back. But I still tried to remain true to my reason for blogging - an online diary and voice - rather than writing posts attempting to please others or gain more followers. But with the shift in my life over the past couple of years I no longer have much time for creating. In addition to this some of the treatment I receive affects my hands and my ability to sew or knit at times. So I thought as I didn't have anything to contribute a lot of the time I should just close this old blog down. But then I thought about the amazing sewing community who I would miss, about not having somewhere to record what I am able to create and most importantly no longer having somewhere to put my thoughts down. 

A visit from my oldest online sewing buddy Justine and the lovely Katy!

So instead I've decided to keep this blog, to try and do some catch up posts on what I've made recently and to maybe even write some new posts which better reflect who I am and what's important in my life at the moment. I don't plan on this becoming a "mum blog" or a "cancer blog" or a "lifestyle blog" (not that there's anything wrong with any of these as blogs!) I also don't want to build a huge following or turn my blog into an income source. I just want a space that is mine, that reflects me and right now that's a mix of a whole lot of different things. 

So what is important to me now? What exactly does represent who I am now? I still love to sew, knit, cook and bake when I can. And of course I love my boys and the little people they are becoming more than anything in the world. Since I was diagnosed I've developed a new appreciation for the little things, the simple pleasures in life. I don't have a bucket list that involves jumping out of planes or seeing far flung places. Instead I decided to focus on slowing down, appreciating each day, finding joy in the smallest things, using little treats to turn around even the most rubbish of days. My Instagram account is full of the little things that have made me smile in the last 6 months - my boys, flowers, cake, books, things I've made, coffee, places I've been. 

So I'm hoping on expanding all this here and making it a place where I have more space to write and one that truly reflects who I am now.