A little bit of what I fancy....

I'll have to live to 187 to fit in all the things I want to learn, read, see and do.
Lately, I'm working 6 days a week and spending the other day doing family stuff (mostly family LAUNDRY and family CLEANING.... occasionally visiting elderly parents or attending a children's party or two).

I decided that the answer was to capture more leisure time in the little bits of in-between.....
I've been itching to make itty-bitty ruby slippers since buying this book early in the year. In between errands in the city this week, I found myself back at Morris and Sons, and bought this DIVINE "Paddington" 6-ply 80%bamboo - 20% merino.

Last night, in between episodes of productive instruction-writing and complete brain-fry, I squeezed in a spot of slipper-knitting with it. I'm onto the other slipper now (in between page loads).

At work yesterday, in the few minutes between my brain blowing a CAD-diagram-drawing fuse and home-time, I cut up cute kiddie fabric.
Tonight before I left work, I made those scraps into bias binding and sewed a few garment seams.

I'll finish these few little baby outfits tomorrow, in between the end of the Bag In A Day class and a semi-reasonable time to go home ...and hopefully in time to give to some tiny new people on Sunday.
In between an appointment time and the actual time of said appointment this week, I learned to knit socks 2-at-a-time. I used scrap acrylic yarn, and had every intention of making the full practise-socks..... but I wanted to play with nice yarn, so ripped these off the needles.
It's all about the yarn, isn't it?
The one-at-a-time socks were finished in Post Office queues and during swimming lessons, hairdresser visits and various waiting-for-kid times. (If you ask the wee girl, "They took THREE gymnastics to make!")
In between getting the girl and bloke out the door to school/work and getting myself dressed for work, I'm fitting in a swim every second day. Yep, I'm feeling SO MUCH BETTER for the exercise, the breathing space and the think time.... and feeling a bit more like the me of old.
I've even managed to squeeze in a few early nights and a bit of reading. Love a good cracking-read potted history, me.... And I think I may have mentioned my love of costume-dramas, before...
My Sunday night viewing of late is as many episodes of Downton Abbey as my eyes can take. My head is positively swimming with Edwardian collar and pocket details.

It's amazing how many little in-between times there are, and how much can be fitted in, when it's the stuff that I love to do. Not surprisingly, in making these things a priority, I haven't spent as much time online. I think that's a good thing. I feel like I'm DOING stuff.

I'm reminded of a story a friend told me,
about a friend of hers who met an old man in Ireland
who had hand-built an extraordinarily beautiful boat.
When asked how long it took to make,
the old man said casually "Nine years"...
The friend was astounded.
The old man said, matter of factly,
"Sure, it would have taken just as long
NOT to build it."

Now....If only I could fit in the finishing of umpteen half-developed Nicole Mallalieu Design patterns, a re-working of the wholesale pricelist and a website update....