Flora Patterns Blog
This is where I will share what I'm making, add some hints and tips to help you sew your own soft toys and ...
Happy New Year
17/01/2023
It has taken a few weeks for me to write a blog. I basically felt wiped out by Christmas and needed some me time. Not apologising, not making excuses just stating a fact. How was 2022? Well, I had horrible eczema all summer long, the worst I’ve had for years. Then I had Covid and was out of action for two weeks and it took weeks to be able to go for a decent walk due to breathlessness. However, I did start Flora Patterns and that has given me joy.
2023 is here what do I hope for? Well, today we woke up to snow. To Cornwall, this is a very rare event and it was the fluffy snow type. Knowing it would not last J and I downed tools and went for a walk around our village with Loki our rehomed Rottie/Lurcher. I don’t think he has seen snow before and he just about nearly lost his mind doing zoomies around the garden and rolling in the snow. The village was iced with white and it was a joyful day. It is days like these that make you feel alive.
I follow @Toysbypolina on YouTube and she has recently posted a ‘Work with Me / Meditation music for sewing’ video which I loved. It made me think about how I feel while sewing/crafting /creating or how I feel if I don’t sew/craft/create. Well, when I am creating, I lose time and can focus for hours without thinking about the minutiae of daily life. I can spend an evening sewing and suddenly it's 1 am. Where has the time gone? Alternatively, when I don’t do something creative regularly, I start to feel grumpy and unhappy. It’s a drug. Just like my daughter who feels ill if she doesn’t swim or run regularly, I get my endorphin rush from being creative. After writing this sentence I did a bit of research on Mr Google and not only do you get an increase in Endorphins, but it also helps with the production of Dopamine the “feel good” neurotransmitter, that is responsible for pleasure and enjoyment. So, when people ask, ‘Why do you waste your time sewing?’ just tell them the science.
That brings me to my latest creation. Say hello to Merryn the Mouse. As you know I am giving all my creations Cornish names because I live in Cornwall. So, Merryn is a Cornish girl’s name meaning 'joyful' or 'lighthearted' and of course, it is the name of a Cornish Saint (there are oodles of Cornish Saints). There is a little village called St Merryn near Padstow on the north coast of Cornwall. History tells us that several Welsh missionary priests landed in Cornwall in the 6th and 7th Centuries and spread the Christian message to the Cornish. Saint Merryn was one of these priests.
Merryn the mouse is coming along nicely. She has gone from a sketch to a mockup and now working on the pattern. However, the whiskers in black are giving the mouse a French look, I think. Perhaps it is Maurice, Merryn’s French cousin. I think I will have a little family of mice in different outfits. Maurice looks like he needs a Breton outfit. Anyway, enjoying the process and he/she will be a pattern in my shop in a couple of weeks.
Until the next blog.
Cheerio Alison
