Ebb and Flow!

I’m constantly surprised at how creativity flows. Some ideas just seem to grow organically and blossom into so much more than you ever expected.

It’s been a week of change for me. I have had to face the uncertain future proposed by returning to work and at the same time I seem to be teeming with ideas that are so screamingly different from anything I had planned. I had thought my direction was clear, but the flow appears to be taking me down a different path.

I’m now faced with one of those life-changing questions. Ok, I lie…its more like a whole RAFT of questions. Who am I? What do I want to be doing? What’s my creative direction? What do I do now that my creative pull is in numerous different directions? The list goes on from here, but I’m sure you get the general gist of it!

I have a pen and notebook to help me makes sense of my thoughts - I’m sure there is sense somewhere in there, however random I seem to be some days. That said, once I get my brain in order I believe some interesting changes might be coming to this here blog… what an intriguing ride I seem to be on!

If I wanted to jump hurdles I would have become an Olympian!

Yep, I’m sure you all know the feeling well. It’s a case of one thing after the other, as usually happens with these kind of ventures. Just as you feel like you might be getting somewhere in your quest you find a large block wall sat square in your way.

My usual walls are the typical work from home hurdles; time, money, time… My personal favourite to date was my daughter giving up her day nap on the very WEEK that I decided to have a go at this. She’s not the only child to have done this mind you…Moo of the amazing MooAndFlo did the same to his mum…there must be some pre-programmed chaos gene in kids nowadays. They sure know just when to inflict their developmental leaps on their parents for the greatest impact, don’t they!?

But I digress…

My newest wall: EMPLOYMENT. It’s not your everyday, garden variety, wooden picket fence…we’re talking the Great Wall of China! Yep, this stay at home mum can no longer, well, stay at home!! Whilst it will be almost pleasurable to have adult conversations about adult topics, I am going to insanely miss seeing Gene Wilder as Willy Wonka on an endless loop…discussing such important topics as whether we should have cheese toasties or baked beans for lunch…herding the balls from one end of the deck to the other (“c’mon little balls, c’mon!” she says as she shepherds them)…and of course, what time I DID have set aside during the day for the idea of becoming an upcycling hero has also been stopped dead in its tracks.

But the thing about obstacles is that they are set in place to be overcome. Maybe output will slow (considering its at a bare trickle now, god knows what this will mean). Maybe ‘Becoming Homespun’ will sit idle for weeks on end. Maybe I’ll fall asleep at the machine and sew my damn finger again…who knows. At this point in time I’m still committed to the concept and ideal, I really hope that this wall will crumble against my determination too.

My darling husband has supported me through two and half years of motherhood. His support has allowed me to spend the most formative years of my kids’ lives at home with them, to see them reach all their major milestones and of course to kiss their boo-boo’s when they fell…for that I will always be eternally grateful.

Homespun Thought for the Day

"I honestly think it is better to be a failure at something you love than to be a success at something you hate."

George Burns


Never a truer word spoken about how us work from home mums feel eh??? I'm quite good at putting this into practice too!

My "Daddy's Home Girl" Dress

Just thought I'd share a taste of what Homespun Hero's is all about. This is from my Shirt Off Your Back selection. Meet "Daddy's Home Girl"...

From Here....Daddy's Work Shirt

To Here...Daddy's Home Girl

This gem was made from daddy's shirt and then went home to little cute-as-a-button Chloe! I'm intending to make these to order once I get a few successes under my belt.

The blank canvas…

Last night I found myself sitting on the floor in the lounge contemplating a shirt…it was a red shirt…a very bright, very bold, red shirt… I stared at it so long the pattern merged and shimmied and I got a bit cross-eyed. Did I come out with a final design…? Well, yes and no. I now have a wee mans vest cut out and awaiting the needles (god knows if it will work out, it’s a first attempt at this type of repurposing) but I’m left with an empty feeling…to coin a phrase, I feel like a need something else!

A skirt. A dress. A ruffle for pants. And if I go for a dress do I make the A-line…a shirred number? The unexpected problem I seem to be facing is the sheer volume of choice! I guess the first few projects made me a bit blasé about it…the pieces I chose seemed to have a mind of their own and their purpose was clear from the get go…this red shirt was presenting me with a whole raft of possibilities, so choosing one this time was becoming a headache…literally!

The desire to make the most of the fabric offered up and really USE these garments has become an obsession…what can this scrap become….that scrap…who would have thought the humble shirt sleeve could offer up so many options? I love that each small piece can become something new; be reborn, and hopefully in time, find a new home safe from the scrap heap - and if I succeed in my aim, they might find true love with someone small and full of the joys of life.

And sew it begins.....

Welcome to my journey. I'm Vikki...and I'm heading towards a new destination. A few weeks back during a random conversation with a friend this journey began...and I'm as yet to figure out where it will end despite having a destination in mind.

As a stay at home mum to two amazing little people I have filled my day with meals, messes, naps, nappies and the usual mayhem that ensues from having two under two's. Somewhere along the line being Vikki had been shuffled to the side to be procrastinated over and saved for another lifetime.

But as usually happens, a random occurrence disturbed the slumbering person within and somehow I've awakened a monster that just wont rest.

We were merely chatting about how, as SAHM’s, we could contribute to our household income...a thing most mums will understand. We tossed around ideas about part time work, all the usual suspects. "What do you love doing?" I innocently asked, "Do you like crafty things?". I wasn't to know that it would spark a journey that would fast take us both down the path to a dangerous addiction.

Another great friend of mine, now known as Flo, had recently rediscovered her passion for sewing and fashion and had launched herself into a career making kids clothes. She had made some awesome pants for my babies from an old favourite pair of mine as a commission...I loved those pants. They were awesome. I was so happy to be able to keep them going for another generation. What if *I* could do that. I loved the idea of keeping it green, reducing waste, making something new from something old. Even better I liked the idea of making something DIFFERENT from something old, something it wasn’t intended to be...

I've always hankered to be crafty. My sister is the artiest person you'll ever meet, she OOZES talent...my mums is super clever with her hands…my dad even knits!!! Somehow genetically that talent seemed to have missed me though. But the desire is there...and with desire comes persistence and hopefully in the end success. I want this, and somehow through all the tantrums and daily demands (and that’s just ME...I still have the kids to consider) I will get there...the journey may not be a short one. But I have an end in mind...

...Homespun Hero's. Handcrafted Upcycled Children’s Clothing. Unique, one off designs completely repurposed from their original design... ...heroically rescuing gems from obscurity and giving them new life. Something new from something old. Or as I like to look at it: Big Clothes made Small and Funky.

Join me; it should be a fun ride.