I need a date!!

Last years Cornwall Pride, a joyous occasion.

What a bloody awful couple of weeks it's been with attacks on the LGBT community and democracy.  What kind of sick world do we live in when people are murdered because of their sexuality,  or as Jo Cox who was working in her constituency to help people.   I have shed many a tear, it's times like this I feel like hiding myself away, withdrawing from the world, but it's not an option, I will continue to fight hate and prejudice as I have all my life.   Haters cannot win, I will be carrying the rainbow flag again at this years Pride to show my support.

My worries seem trivial in comparison but I will give you a quick update of the house moving saga.  We still haven't got a date for exchange of contracts but I have given our solicitor the date I want to move (less than 3 weeks time eeeck!).  It may mean a very short period of time between exchange and completion but it has been dragging on and on and I'm hoping it may focus all the solicitors minds and get us all moving.  I need to book time off  work and a removal van so I need a date!!  There are still discussions over the bore hole, access over the lane to the house and the building of a stock proof fence but progress is being made.  The survey came back much as we expected, the house itself is solid but it has been pretty much unloved and neglected for years so we have a lot of work to do when we move in which fingers toes and everything else crossed will be next month.

I have started packing as I really don't want to leave it to the last minute, so the whole house is in turmoil and there hasn't been much time for anything else but I will leave you with some photos from the last few weeks.

I have at last finished my lovely warm Alpaca wool cardigan just in time for ........... summer.

We have been dog sitting these beauties for my son who went on a well earned holiday.  I think the bearded one hoped it would put me off getting a dog when we move, but although a lot of work it was also lovely having dogs in the house again.  I think secretly he also enjoyed their stay and walking them every day, so I'm winning the argument on getting a dog.  Who knows, he may even get a pet pig like he had as a child growing up on a farm.  Our cat was not so keen though!

We also went to the local agricultural show on a fact finding mission. Of particular interest were the Environmental stands as we hope to generate some of our own energy.  There were a couple of people who make shepherds huts so it was useful to get a feel of what we are looking for.  I also talked to some beekeepers who would be interested in setting up hives in our field so a very useful day.  I have never seen so many different types of chickens, from beautiful to bizarre but I will be getting rescue chickens again, not pretty but it is wonderful to see them exploring the world for first time.  I fell in love with the goats......well it would be a good way of keeping the grass short :)

Well I think that's it for my roundup.  I hope you are all keeping well and I will be back when I can, in-between work and packing.

Chickpea xx

Making a Living From Your Craft

Over the years I have often thought wouldn't it be lovely to be able to stay at  home and make craft to sell.  But then the words of my mother come back to me, my mother was a trained tailor and dressmaker, she started making clothes out of necessity as her family had little money, and then the war meant there wasn't much available anyway.  She started work in a tailors shop when she was 14 and learned her trade.  As a child she made all my clothes, not appreciated by me at the time,   I used to beg for 'bought clothes' like my friends.  She also made and altered clothes for paying customers.  She would work at her job during the day and then in the evening people would come to our house for fittings.  I remember hearing the sewing machine humming away late into the night as I lay in bed.  For her, dressmaking became a chore, something she had to do to make money.  She wasn't making things she wanted to make, she was making things she had to make.  She lost that pleasure in making clothes that she had since childhood.

When I was younger I didn't want anything to do with sewing AT ALL!!  I couldn't even sew on a button.  I have been know to use a paper stapler to staple up the hem on my jeans,  (I was a punk before punks!) yes I was that bad.  I would just hand everything over to my mother to do.  After she died, my dad gave me her sewing machine.  I attempted to make a top for myself, which of course was a complete failure.  However, one day I found out about a local quilting group and from then on I was hooked.  I do not try to achieve show standards, I don't have the patience for things to be perfect, and I like things to be a little 'wonky'.  However they are made with love and are unique.

A few years ago, when hospital appointments and regular stays in hospital with my son made it too difficult and stressful to work full time I thought I would try making a few things to sell.  I made a few bags out of recycled fabric, I never got around to doing anything with them, they have remained in a drawer ever since.  I soon realised that I would never get the money for the hours put in.  There are many very talented people out there who through sheer hard work do manage to make a living.  However for every one of them, there are 100's of talented people who just can't make the sums add up.

Anyway, getting to the point of this post, my neighbour having retired is going down the path of trying to make money from her craft.  She is renting a little craft stall for a year and asked me if there is anything I would like her to put on her stall, she will take 20% to cover her costs.  I had also thought in the past of renting a little shop in a village nearby that became available and inviting local crafters to sell their goods there.  Again the maths didn't add up, I would be giving up a part time guaranteed wage job for a full time not guaranteed living.  All my summer would be spent sitting in a shop staring out at the beach.  I'm not sure I would have lasted long, and like everyone else, I have bills to pay and a mortgage to keep a roof over our heads.

So I have dug out the bags I made years ago and I am trying to decide what price to ask for them.  I have no idea.  If I charged for the hours I put in I would never sell them.  People often suggest I sell my quilts, but for the amount of hours that go into them, I would never be able to charge enough, and I'm damned if I am going to devalue the love and care that goes into each one.  So they are made for my family, friends and my home.

I will go on line and see what bags are going for, if they sell....great, if they don't.... they will go back in the drawer.  I will try to think of little things that don't take too long to make, as it would be a shame to miss this opportunity.  I do not want to make the same things over and over, or make things to order, that would take all enjoyment out of it for me.   Now I had better put my thinking cap on!

When I retire, it may be something I reconsider, but for now it will remain something I love to do for pleasure.

I would love to hear your thoughts on trying to make a living doing something you love.

Chickpea xx


My thoughts today are with all those who have lost loved ones through acts of terrorism where ever they are in the world