Inspirational overload, feels a lot like when you've eaten too many biscuits

Mr Sloyd has been working from home this week, with lots of deep concentration and conference calls happening it's been a mostly silent apartment during the day. I thought it was a good excuse for me to break away from that evil devil in the shape of a TV set and get on with quite pursuits of reading and letter writing.

Day 5, not one letter written for the week. Not doing so well on one of my New Years wishes, to bring back snail mail, I had envisioned writing a letter a day, some just a quick note-let, others a full catch up, and then having fun making all sorts of post-able creatives. The page listing my chosen snail mail recipients is the full extent of the creativity so far. Plus some purposely purchased store cards, and making a new card and letter writing box, all sorted by months and stocked up with stamps. Hmmm, this is sounding a lot like my previous years Diary habits, once the gloss of new stationery purchases wears off the activity dies.

What I have done this week is read blogs. Blogs and blogs and blogs. Blogs about other blogs, blogs recommending blogs and then more blogs. I stumbled into the blogging lark last year, after the occasional entertaining afternoon googling random blogs, and meeting a devoted and talented blogger in Crafted by Carly, (you can visit her here ,see how easy this blog reading leads to more?). Then, in no particular order, the laptop died, I took a trip home to Australia, Christmas arrived and went, and so did January and February in a fog of sickness.

Fast forward to April, shiny new laptop and ipad at my disposal, and five days of quiet with little distraction, and I've read hundreds of blog posts. There were blogs I had started following here and there but only ever given a quick glance, and this week many of them have led to other blogs, and for most of them I went back to the beginning and read almost every post.

Wow, my head is bursting with a zillion things I want to make, draw, paint, try and bake. This afternoon, between reading, I took leap two into Paul Hollywood's Bread recipes and baked Almond and Cranberry Biscotti, it hasn't quite worked, but it's quite edible. And I reached the end of my list of followed blogs that I wanted to catch up on the history of.

Some highlights that have left an impression;

http://mynameisfinch.blogspot.co.uk/2013/02/wingsruffs-and-snaggly-teeth.html

The jaw dropping amazing work of textile artist Mr Finch , visit his awesome blog 'Mister Finch textil art' here

http://bear-ears.blogspot.co.ukaption

Celestarium - this shawl maps out the star chart of the Northern Hemisphere, and I absolutely gotta make me ones. This is the work of Audry Nicklin at 'Bear Ears', who taught herself to knit in 2005 and is designing and creating patterns already! Read about the creation of this shawl here. Her very cute dog Scooter makes the occasional blog appearance too. It's taking every bit of feeble will power I have to persist with making from my stash before diving into this, in fact I think I'm only fighting it off due to the knowledge that Audry has started on a southern star chart companion shawl, which is probably more Aussie appropriate.

http://sketchoftheday.blogspot.co.uk/2013/03/bill-murray_9479.html

In awe of the sketch books, paintings and portrait work of Stephen Gardner, check out his blog 'Sketch of the Day' here

http://karolful.blogspot.co.uk/2012/04/dance-drawings-no3-and-no4.html

More drawing, I've never seen motion captured in a drawing so well as by Karolina Szmkiewicz, her blog 'Karolful' is here

http://posie-rosy-little-things.myshopify.com/collections/embroidery-patterns-1/products/daisychain-abcs-crewelwork-sampler-pattern

This piece of gorgeousness is going to have me learn Crewel Embroidery this year, I'd been trying to think of what new craft to learn for the year. I foresee either presents, or tears, or maybe presents soaked in tears? The designer of this is Alicia Paulson, you can follow her blog 'Posie Gets Cozy' here

http://tinyhaus.blogspot.co.uk/

I'll finish with something tiny that will blow your mind, this is an iguana carved out of the lead of a carpenters pencil, yes folks that's a pencil, and the highly talented, and presumably incredibly eye sighted Diem Chau carved this and oh so many more tiny miracles at 'The pleasure of tiny things' here. The carvings from crayola crayons are incredible.

So where has all this inspiration left me, a little blurry eyed, a third of a way into a new knitted cowl, and a little too full of Biscotti.

 

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