Would I miss a yarn giveaway???

Weird and Twisted, one of the fabulous handspun art yarn shops on Etsy is having a yarn giveaway to celebrate their third anniversary. And it's not just any giveaway, oh no, the lucky winner will receive a full skein of art yarn, spun especially for her or him! The colours or theme will be based on the 3 inspirational photos all participants in the giveaway have to post on their blog.

To receive a full skein of art yarn spun for...meeee would be my yarn addicted heart's dream!

For more information, please go to Weird and Twisted's blog:
http://weirdandtwisted.blogspot.com/2011/03/blog-candy-win-skein-of-handspun-art.html

Now when I went through my photos, all I found at first glance were yarn pics, fibre photos, knitwear, more yarn, my Turkish spindles, yarn drying in the garden, knitwear, baskets full of fibre, yarn on the window sill, knitwear in progress, yarn everywhere...

To post yarn pics for a yarn giveaway would be a bit like a busman's holiday, so then I looked some more and found these...

Helen's Bay, Northern Ireland

The Belfast Wheel beside the City Hall, now moved to God-knows-where...(Wheel, I miss you!)

The inside of a sadly no longer functioning lap top

Somehow, I am quite surprised about my selection. I had planned (and started) the 3 inspirational pictures all landscap-y, happy, rainbow-y, flowery, Irish-y and colourful, and what came out was quite...urban, metallic, mechanical and powerful, with two things that are no longer at their original place or working as they used to. Oops! What does that say about my mind tonight?

Maybe the common theme is movement...maybe...

Happy St Patrick's Day

Shamrock at the ends of the rainbow

Have a lovely day with all things green! Ok, maybe don't kiss a frog or hug a mail box, but enjoy this special Irish day with friends and family, here or abroad :)

It's a fine day to be on this island!

Spring Cleaning hath begun!

Northern Ireland has experienced a sudden burst of spring weather. After the long cold winter, it was like coming alive again in the warmth of over 10 degrees. OK, if you are Australian, you'll laugh at the idea of warmth and 10C in the same sentence, but for us here, it's a time to shed the winter coats and sit in the sun. Yes, I have been running around in a t-shirt, and I've seen others do the same.

Of course, with open windows, longer evenings and increasing light illuminating your home and mirrors come two realisations:

a.) you put on weight while you were consuming large amounts of winter stews and chocolates
b.) your place has become a hovel and a burrow - dust and shtuff everywhere - the only way to move is to tunnel your way through papers, boxes and fibre!

So this leads to...

a.) frantic exercise
b.) spring cleaning
c.) a combination of both

Consequently, I started to declutter, bin old papers I no longer need, swing the Dyson around in a dramatic fashion (yes, I vacuum shelves and table tops, too) and re-arrange furniture until I collapsed in an exhausted heap, reaching for the cho...salads!

But it was worth it!

 

Gorgeous bunting, a gift from The Thistle Patch, which is now hanging in my studio

I now have space again! Breathing space, creative space - a clear studio means a clear mind that can expand again, ideas can flow freely once more, I am spreading out...and already am starting to create a new mess with fibres spread out over the no-longer neat and tidy table top!

This is taking up my table top now - fibre for St Patrick's Day yarn in vibrant green merino, white banana fibre, orange recycled sari silk, plus beads and lace

It is definitely true that a good clear-out is good for the creative mind. I have been finding things I totally forgot I ever had, especially clothes, so I can now create new things with them! I also noticed that I need a few things, so here's a ready-made excuse to buy yarn, fibre, threads and cards...

Of course, I have plenty more to do - boxes of old newspaper clippings to go through, bulging files to sort out, and heaps of t-shirt and textile yarn to create from old clothes and fabrics, but I made a start. I am no longer falling over piles of magazines and boxes of old clothes. I know where my things are and have a rough idea of my possessions. I am in the mood to write to-do lists...

...erm...

...maybe not yet...!