Making the Seasons :: January

There's no getting away from it - these early months of the year can be pretty hard going and honestly, I do find them a struggle. We've had soooooooooooooo many endless grey wet days in January, but nevertheless I am rejoicing every time I notice the lengthening days (coming out of Little B's swimming lessons and there is Still Daylight at 4.45!!). I've been in and out of my Making Winter book many times already this month, there is something so uplifting about Emma's photos that I always find inspiration in those beautiful pages.

During the past few weeks I've been thinking a lot about my mood and general lack of zest as I come to terms with my anemia (again), trying every day to find joy in the little things and feel positive about this period of enforced slowness. Oh, I am so slooooooww at the moment!! I am simply not able to take myself out of Plod Mode as my body doesn't have enough oxygen for me to accelerate at all. And of course I live in a town with hilly streets, with the Attic being at the top end of a very long climb upwards, so the slow plodding is particularly noticeable as I walk homewards at the end of each day.

However..........I am very conscious of keeping a sunny outlook and I'm trying to adjust my thoughts and expectations to keep pace with my body so that I don't end up frustrated and low. I think I'm doing OK. I've spent the past few weeks tucked up at home for the most part, keeping myself warm and cosy and not trying to do too much. As you know, I love walking and enjoy being in the countryside very much, so it's felt odd to me that I've simply not wanted to venture out at all. 

But on Monday afternoon the sun unexpectedly made an appearance after yet another morning of rain and for the first time in ages I suddenly felt inspired to go out and walk in the woods. Yay for sunshine on a grey Winter's day!! J is home with me on a Monday so after lunch we jumped in the car and went for a short walk at Bolton Abbey.

There isn't a lot of colour in the woodland at the moment (which makes me LOVE my Woodland blanket more than ever with  it's colourful Autumn memories!), but I was overjoyed to see some greenery poking up through the earth. These are very early bluebell shoots, and the sight of them made me shriek with excitement ever so slightly (sorry J). 

I wanted to stand and soak in all that pale winter sunlight, absorb it into my very soul. We've seen the sun so rarely this month, so when it has made an appearance it's been beautiful.

I know you must be wondering what on earth this has all got to do with being creative and celebrating the seasons......well it's this :: I find that when I'm out walking amongst nature, my mind often spins into creative overdrive. I had some of the most FABuLous ideas for future projects on Monday whilst I was strolling slowly along those grey stone pathways through the bare trees. It was really energising, and made me so happy! I came home and scribbled my ideas down, drew little sketches of how I imagined things might look, and generally felt full of creative buzz. Sometimes I think it's enough just to feel alive with creative energy and make a few plans, even if you don't have the time or desire to actually physically make anything right this minute. Yes, I think that creative thoughts are a very good thing to have in January.

In Emma's Making Winter book, one of the things she suggests is keeping a nature diary - little sketches and notes to record things seen on a walk. I love this idea, although in reality I would tend to use my camera to capture and record things here on my blog rather than attempt it with a pen. Mind you, I do often feel like scooping up handfuls of moss to bring home and study, oh the moss is looking fabulous at the moment, so full of itself in all this wet weather! I love moss so much, but I imagine it'd be a devil to sketch.

I did see a whole tree full of catkins in the woods on Monday, but was too busy trying to breathe and move my wooden legs to stop and capture it with my camera. They were spectacular though. Catkins and pussy willow are those bits of nature which happen in winter but bring the promise of Spring, and I love them for that. My mum loved them too and I remember that we often had little jars of them in the house at this time of year when I was growing up.

I've popped a little jar of pussy willow on my mantel, foraged from the supermarket rather than the woodland, but I'm OK with that. If I venture out to the woods again soon, I might try and find some catkins to bring home, or maybe a sprig of berries would be nice too. 

Do you remember my first "Making the Seasons" post back in November, when we had a chat about Craftpod? I really love these little seasonal boxes, and was delighted with my Winter Craftpod which arrived last month. There are two craft projects in the Winter box (you can see the contents here), but I was most drawn to the embroidery. The simplicity of Jo's Winterberry design is absolutely spot on for this time of year, and I've been looking forward to the challenge of it. I found a little nook of quiet time at the weekend to sit in the light of the bay window and make a start. 

Oh this photo did make me laugh, I love how it looks as if she's reading the instructions! Typical of Tilly to be so front and centre of everything too. 

This is delicate, precision stitching using just one or two strands of embroidery thread and a fine needle, so you really do need good light to work by. 

I found the low, late afternoon light wasn't quite enough at the weekend so I wasn't able to finish my berries, but I'm really pleased with what I've done so far. The berries are pretty small and use weeeny stitches so you do need to focus and pay attention to the precise ins and outs of the needle. I just love this sort of quiet, rhythmic creativity - the sound of the needle and thread pulling in and out of the taught fabric is incredibly soothing.

My berries look a little messy, but I love the way the raised satin stitch makes them so tactile and bobbly. I'll show you when I've completed it - I can't wait to see it on my (currently rather bare) Winter mantel next to my jar of pussy willow and possible future foraged catkins.

And in other Creative news, I couldn't help myself a few weeks ago and indulged in a real jolt of Spring colour to chase away the Winter blahs, oh it was fun! A quick little bit of decorative hooky to lift the spirits and and deliver a dose of colour therapy.......I'll show you what I made with these colours very soon, it needs it's very own blog post!

✿ All my Making the Seasons posts have their own category so you can find them easily - {Making the Seasons}

✿ I'm loving that Gillian is also joining me with a spot of seasonal creativity each month- you can find her January post {here}

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Comments

[Christina]

Great post. I suffer from SAD in the winter months and your blog is such a ray of sunshine. Thank you.

I have to ask : what do you do with little embroidery projects like that? What are they for?

[Sheena Goodfellow Stubbs]

Hi
You sound just like I did before my thyroid complaint was diagnosed. Especially the bit about walking up and down hills, more like pushing water up a hill! I commented to my GP that my legs ached when they shouldn’t have, when I should have been able to walk ok. Apparently that’s one of the symptoms. Bug your GP for answers. It may just be winter but you need to know. Enjoy your craft book and the spring rays will be here soon

[Vicki]

It was 39°c here today, with mid-forties later this week. Yuck. I can't wait until it's winter again. That you for showing the pussy willows. I always thought they were a type of long, bendy, fluffy headed grass! Do try the vitamin D, a good dosage and at least for a month. I found out a few years ago that my body no longer makes it and now take a large dose daily. What a difference it made! I felt happy again, I wasn't fatigued, and I could sleep properly. I really enjoy reading your posts and hope you feel well again soon.

[Marianne Dubbeld]

Dear Lucy,last monday it was lovely weather indeed...after all those rainy days the sun was shining!I bought a tray of lovely lilac pansies and put them everywhere in the garden...;-)I felt alive again...so I think I know what you mean...Unfortunately it was only one day...But keep up the spirit,I saw the daffodils peeping and the little yellow flowers we call winterakonietjes in the Netherlands!

[carolyn mary jackson]

hello Lucy, I am sure you will soon be feeling a lot better, Jan always seems to be a tired month, even here in 34 degrees. My son is bringing me a Craftpod when he visits us in March. I have joined Instagram carocraft20
sill learning but hope to get some followers, I enjoy following you as well as your blog which has given me so much pleasure. Best wishes Carolyn.

[Denise Fordyce]

It's funny...here every day in January was over 35 degrees Celsius which I find so much more difficult to manage than a dreary wet week in Winter...sapping of energy and motivation...

[Angela-Southern USA]

Wishing you all the best with your energy battle. Can't wait to see what spring hooky you've been up to!xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx

[Across the Pond]

I agree with Patsy, Lynn and a bunch of other commenters. Try a light box (Amazon has bunches for sale for not much)(BTW, they aren't dangerous, used correctly) and get your Vitamin D level checked. (I supplement year round with D.) A sleep study may make sense too. And keep after your doctor for answers. If the receptionist doesn't know your name, you haven't bugged them enough. :) I find asking "can we rule (this, that or the other) out?" to be very effective.

That said, good for you for making lemonade out of lemons. The winterberry embroidery is gorgeous. Take a moment and glory in the coziness that is your couch. Give yourself credit for what you accomplish; it helps. Feeling lousy is tough; do take care of yourself. This too will pass. Maybe like a kidney stone, but it will pass.

[Therese Prince]

Hello Lucy...I'm sure you will probably have investigated this but I wonder if your thyroid needs checking to see if it is producing enough thyroxine. It can affect your mood to a great degree as well as tiredness etc.
This is just a suggestion in case it has not been checked.
Thank you so much for your blogs and colours and patterns and I look forward to what comes out of your latest burst of inspiration x

[Patsy]

Lucy, I have to agree with another commenter--try a SAD light. You can get them on Amazon here in the States. My doctor uses one and highly recommends them to his patients. Even if you used it only in these darker months, it might help, along with your regular medical treatments for your anemia. Love your blog and all your beautiful projects.

[lauren]

Hi Lucy I have not visited in a while, which is my loss.I love your beautiful photo's.We are in the middle of an epic drought and the looking at your cool Springy pictures is lovely

[Cheryl]

It's lovely watching the spring roll in to your corner of the world :)

[lynn sunley]

Hi Lucy, from the snowy and very grey North York Moors. I too, along with other Northern Hemispherers(!?) get the glums in Jan/Feb. Make sure you are taking vit D! My lovely daughter bought me a SADs light for Christmas, and it does seem to be making a difference to my moods - and I am always very sceptical about these things. Might be worth a try?

[eimear greaney]

January is my tired month - and I always have to remind myself that its the month where everything is still in hibernation so I tend to just 'go with it', and choose smaller (tiny) projects! however, for me, once the snowdrops come out, it starts to turn around again!

[Lesley Abigail]

The woodland blanket has been an absolute life saver for me this winter. I am caring for my husband who is living with oesophageal cancer but is currently in hospital with an infection in his leg. Blanket is too big to take with me now but i carry a bag off oddments and hook and use the visiting times making squares to store away fir some future project. Not only does it help me keep on top of my ever growing stash of yarn leftovers but proves a talking point for other patients visitors and nurses. And yesterday i noticed crocuses in flower in my garden so spring is on its way in the Norfolk broads area.

[Eleonora from Coastal Crochet]

January has been so grey and murky here on the south coast too! But like you, just absorbing that sunlight when it briefly appears 😉 and enjoying nature (for me the seaside and coastal walks) really does do wonders for my creativity! ☀️❤️🌊🌊🌊

[Gunvor Madsen]

Hi Lucy. I have followed you for many years now, but never commented before. I love all your Things, and they have been a great inspiration for my own creative life :-). I wanted to say, that if your aneamia is a recurrent thing you should make your doctor examine it a bit further than just giving you irontablets. Recurrent anaemia could come from, for example cealiac disease (hope I spelled that right). you can get that examined by bloodsample (and later propably a gastroscopy. Perhaps you already have been examined, then don't take any notice. But know aneamia can be caused by things that can be treated. Hope you soon feel better :-)

[Julia Crossland]

Dear Lucy, I feel the same way as you do about the murky weather of midwinter, and I practically ache for Spring! Thank you for sharing your words today, I feel uplifted and ready to dig out my abandoned Winter Blanket project that I began after a long bout of illness...I love your needlework, it’s wonderful! These little moments of calm and creativity are a blessed retreat at this time of year. I hope you are feeling up to full strength again soon. With love, Julia xxx

[Emily Olszowy]

Supposedly it is Winter here on the west coast of California, and all I see in the forecast is sunny and 75 degrees. What I would give for a few gloomy days of rain! How funny that we are exactly opposite right now :D

[Vicki Wise Mason]

Sorry to hear that you have not been feeling well, you are so dear to us...please take the best care of yourself that you can!
Your posts are always so nice....the way you see something lovely in everyday things...and the delight you feel at the sight of the tender green shoots knowing they will be pretty flowers soon!
One of my favorite things about reading your post is hearing how happy and content you are in your world. It seems everywhere I go people are in a mad rush to do everything....I just love your calm, yet joyful, relaxing pace!!
Take care....Vicki in Waynesville, NC, USA

[Teresa Kasner]

I adore the look of your little branch and berries.. I look forward to seeing it finished. I also look forward to what you made with the colorful yarn! I'm working away on my Woodland.. loving it. It's big enough now to warm my legs while I work with is very nice this time of year. Do take care of yourself and get lots of vitamins and all. ((hugs)), Teresa :-)

[Jackie Farrow]

Hi Lucy, it’s so funny (not funny haha) that we all don’t like certain Seasons. I’m in Perth WA and we are in a 4 month Summer Season. I hate Summer only due to the fact it’s hot and humid which makes me not want to do anything. I for one look forward to late Autumn and Winter here and a few of my friends too. I love looking at your photos and reading your blog for that reason, oh and because I love your creativity. Hope you get better soon and can get back to your long walks. Take care Jackie x

[Ruth]

Don't forget to take vitamin C with the iron you are taking. The C helps the body absorb the iron. You probably already know this. I take Vitamin D also, but I think it's because I'm older - there's plenty of sunshine here in Maryland!
These colors all look so lovely, it's why I enjoy visiting your blog.

[Danette]

Hello Lucy, I enjoy your blogs, pictures and your color palet with yarn. I totally understand how you feel with winter in an area that is gray, foggy and rains 24 7. We lived in Seattle, Wa and that is winter, spring, summer arrives after July 4 and then fall. It does start to wear on you. Have you ever looked into light therapy? I finally after a few yrs got one and it seemed to help...I would sit with it on while reading, crocheting or anything that could be done while getting the light from it. If you don’t you may want to look into it. Funny side note when you live in the Pacific Northwest ( Oregon & Washington State) the doctors purscribe vitamin D because of the lack of sun. I really hope you feel better..I too was anemic and it takes a toll on you and seems forever to get back on your feet. If where you live is like the PNW..Spring comes early..not like May in Michigan. 😎

[Sew Ruthie]

You may have SAD (or vitamin A deficiency) and find a sunshine lamp helpful.
I have a sunshine alarm lamp thingy and it makes winter less rubbish (slightly).