New beginnings

Welcome to my new blog. I find it surprisingly difficult to find the right words to start this blog post, a new beginning in more ways than you can imagine. The best way to go about it, I think, is just to start writing again. First off, a couple of rules:

1. Comments will be moderated by me and will therefore not be visible until I've given my approval.
2. No more stitched gifts for anyone, on any occasion, unless I really really can't help myself. Looking for fun projects to stitch as gifts is a great hobby of mine. It's only in the stitching and assembling itself that I collapse into a hopeless heap of nerves. It takes ages for me to get my butt to the post office to send handmade gifts on their way. Don't ask me why. It's one of those mysteries of my life that I don't care to delve into anymore. It's a fact. You will all have to live with it. 'Selfish Stitching in 2008' is the word here at Orts and Ends.
3. From now on, I am a 'Blogger Without Obligations'. If I disappear for a while, I won't come back with an apology for having been away. I will leave comments whenever I feel like it (or whenever I have an internet connection which, in the Styx where I live is always a matter of great good luck), I will post when I have something to share and not because I feel I have to.

If you haven't fled because of my sudden strictness, I would now like to explain why I chose the name 'Orts and Ends' for my new blog. I originally wanted something a bit more in line with the name of my previous blog. Something like Nutty Notions, Silly Swervings, that sort of thing. But Nutty Notions was already taken and Silly Swervings was not quite the thing I was looking for. While I was pondering this all-important question of how to name my blog, my eyes wandered around the room and landed on my Origami Orts Bag:

That's It! I thought. I may even have thought 'Eureka!'. Because this is what it says at the bottom:

As for the blog title, 'new beginnings', I wasn't just talking about this entirely new blog. I was also referring to an entirely new life, of course. But I wouldn't be me if I also didn't have an entirely new project on the go:

This is a design by Edith Hansen for Fremme. Fremme rules, just so you know. Really. Fremme designs come in kits, with linen (28 count, I think) and Danish Flower Threads. This combination of linen and cotton floss actually makes it possible for me to stitch in the car (when I'm being chauffeured around, that is, obviously) and to stitch in the evenings without my OTT light (which enables me to watch TV and stitch in a comfortable chair at the same time). Perfect. You may be surprised to find me stitching a piece with so much green with so much gusto ;o) Well, in this particular case I don't mind the greens. They're gorgeous and soothing.

And now I would like to acquaint you with something slightly more worrying, i.e. the emergence of two new hobbies in my life. The first one is due to my fingers suddenly and inexplicably turning green. I've always wanted to grow pumpkins. I don't know why. Upon hearing this, Harmien provided me with a batch of pumpkin seeds. I got some more at the garden centre, and here's how far they've come:

First thing in the morning and last thing at night, and sometimes dureing the day as well, you will find me whispering softly to a heap of dirt, and as you can see, it seems to be working. Wacky whisperings, I guess.

Second new hobby? Bags. I'm not talking about Louis Vuitton or Gucci. No. I'm talking about these sorts of babies:

This is my current project. It's going to look a lot more quilted and complicated than the one pictured above:

It may not look like much yet, but believe me, I'm hard at work in my head. The wheels are turning.

I hope you enjoyed spending some time with me again. Now it's time to spend some time with my son, who is starting to show signs of Mummy withdrawal symptoms. Oh. And I need coffee.

Until next time.