Just do the next thing

 In current times it can be difficult to stay focused and motivated and, instead, we can just drift into letting days flow slowly past in a state of brain fog. When this happens, I have found it helpful to go into "just do the next thing" mode to maintain some sense of achievement in my days. The benefits of this can be as follows:

It doesn't matter how long a task takes

This approach allows us to just continue on with something, taking as long as we need to do each step, with each step becoming the next thing to do. It is surprising how much gets done, as it encourages us to remain active.

It reduces procrastination

Because we are actually doing something, we move on from procrastination, and have some aims and goals to achieve.

The pressure is taken away

Instead of feeling overwhelmed, we can steadily work through one task after another at a pace that suits us. It is interesting how just writing a "to do" list and crossing a couple of things off can make us feel less pressured, even if there are many more tasks listed. 

Anxiety is reduced

Being active reduces the unhelpful chains of thinking produced by anxiety, as does the sense of achievement as each task is completed. Our thoughts can re-focus on the task instead of random, uncontrolled thoughts and worries.

Regular routines can be incorporated

These can become part of the tasks we do one at a time, as we "just do the next thing" that needs to be done.

Or we can just stay in randomness 

If structure is too difficult because of where our mind-state is at, it is possible to just do one task and then just find another after it is completed, without any pre-defined plan. The secret is just to keep active.

A caution 

It may be necessary to have a background "to do" list to refer to from time to time, so that some important tasks are not forgotten.

Remember: Every morning brings new potential, but if you dwell on the misfortunes of the day before, you tend to overlook tremendous opportunities. Harvey MacKay

A gift package for the laundry

Last Christmas I made up laundry gift packages for my adult children and their partners, using the laundry bag and peg bag patterns I have covered in previous posts. 

This is how I did it:

First take one  Enamel Basin from Odgers and McClelland Exchange Store (I used mail order);

Then add a jar of homemade Wool Wash with the recipe;

A peg bag with some stainless steel pegs inside (to reduce plastic use);

A matching laundry bag:

Some hand knitted wash cloths;

And here is the completed package.

Another version:

In this one I used tractor prints for my son.

Remember: Sometimes when we don't have the courage to change, everything changes around us to direct us to a new path. Rhonda Byrne.

Bag of the month: laundry bag

The first laundry bag that I made was for an Aussie Service man or woman currently serving overseas, and more information and instructions can be found here:  Aussie Hero Quilts and Laundry Bags

I have subsequently used the same instructions to make a laundry bag for our caravan and bags for Christmas gifts, appliqueing "Laundry" to the gift bags as an additional touch.

Making the bag

This is how I went about sewing them:

After cutting out the front and back, I added a feature strip and applique to the front.

Then I sewed the side and bottom seams (right sides together), made a lining the same way, (but leaving a gap in the bottom seam for turning), and inserted the lining into the bag, right sides together.

The casing was inserted between the bag and the lining before sewing the bag and lining together around the top (with the bag inside out). I made hems on the ends of the pieces of casings before doing this (see below).

I then threaded through  thick piping cord and tied the ends together in a knot.

And ended up with this!

Other versions

Remember: Love and kindness are never wasted. They always make a difference. They bless the one who receives them, and they bless you, the giver. Barbara DeAngelis

Lessons from another river

 Having completed our following of the Murrumbidgee River, we had a yen to explore one closer to home.  Our journey along the Lachlan River began in November 2019 and is still continuing, due to interruptions from Covid 19, but in this post I want to concentrate on the headwaters of the River, before it reaches Wyangla Dam (or even half way to there).

Lesson one: Our suppositions about an experience will differ from the actual experience, always.

Despite having read some descriptions about this section of the Lachlan River, nothing prepared us for having to view its very beginnings from the back of an overgrown graveyard. 

In our lives, we can often imagine what an experience may be like, but it is not possible to know for certain, and we cannot anticipate emotions ahead. We may imagine a lot of possibilities, but when we get there, there will be only one way through the experience (despite a lot of possible "what ifs" beforehand). We certainly could not have imagined what being in lock-down or living through a Pandemic would be like until it actually happened, and I'm sure this is the case for many others.

Lesson two: Side tracks are worth exploring for ourselves, despite other people's opinions.

We followed every accessible side track to the River and found many interesting vistas and ways through, despite some tracks supposedly being closed and/ or inaccessible according to others (which proved not to be the case when we reached them).

Our life journeys are individual journeys, and different things will have different levels of importance to each of us, so we need to each choose our own side tracks, rather than allowing others to choose them for us, based on their opinions. 

Lesson three: Just because life seems dry, it does not mean we won't find enrichment if we take the time to look for it.

Having begun our journey along this River at the end of a drought year, we were surprised to find that it contained flowing water all the way along its infant course (we expected water holes at best).

If we spend our lives taking things at face value, we may miss some enriching experiences, merely because we have not looked deeply enough for them.

Lesson four: We need to do our own exploring, and not rely on the information of others.

The limited information we had about this section of the River proved to be very inadequate, and we found lots of lovely places by creating our own travel agenda. The most detailed travel article from a magazine was based on pursuing Clancy of the Overflow and, in the end, merely gave us an approximate location of the starting point of the Lachlan.

Information from others is always based on their perspectives (or even perspectives altered across time), so it pays to take the time to explore things for ourselves, and to find our own perspectives in our own time-frames.

Remember: It's a funny thing about life, once you begin to take note of the things you are grateful for, you begin to lose sight of the things you lack. Gemany Kent.

Bag of the month: Tote Bag/ Yarn Bag

This is a lovely versatile style that can be made in various sizes and used for various purposes. It is designed to fit comfortably over an arm -- thus the yarn bag versions that have been used for knitters whilst walking. I have also made it as a peg bag, as it also suits this purpose well.

I originally sourced a free pattern from Lorelei Jayne's "Yarn Bag Tutorial", which can be accessed here:   Yarn Bag

But then I decided to support Apple Green Cottage by purchasing their reasonably priced ALLina Tote Bag PDF Pattern, with much clearer instructions and two sizes to choose from, and it can be sourced here: Apple Green Cottage Tote Bag

This is my version of the smaller pattern, made into a bag to hold my embroidery cottons.

Finally, I drafted a pattern from http://masteraiumniki.blogspot.com/2018/08/blog-post_98.html , choosing the version with the wider handle for my peg bags.

This is how I sewed them together:

Cut out the outer and lining pieces and applique "Pegs" onto the front piece.

Sew the seams across the top of the handle on both the outside and lining pieces (I found this easier than the complicated instructions in the bought pattern, but my way may not work with a narrower handle).

With right sides together join and sew the outer and lining pieces around the sides of the handle.

Clip the curves and turn right side out.

Now join the side seams of the outer bag to the outer bag, and the lining to the lining. Sew across the bottoms of the outer piece and the lining, but leave a gap in the lining for turning.

Now box the bottom corners by pulling the side and bottom seams together and sewing across the gap.

Here is a closer view of the finished seam.

And here is a view of the side and bottom seams coming together before pinning and sewing.

Now turn the bag right side out through the gap in the lining. It will look like this. Sew the gap in the lining closed.

And finally pull the right side out through one of the side seams on the handle. I then chose to top stitch, close to the edge, around the handle openings to finish off.

Some other colourways.

A design feature after I accidentally cut this one along the fold line.

And yet another colourway -- this one had a bright pink lining.

This is the bag I made first with this pattern, and it is now my sewing notions bag.

Remember: If you believe it will work out, you'll see opportunities. If you believe it won't, you'll see obstacles. Wayne Dyer

When the walls start closing in

 Today I have read articles about how we are only at the half-way point of the marathon of living with Covid 19 and, in Australia, our hopes for a better 2021 have been dashed by new outbreaks and concerns about the new more contagious variant of the Virus. All of this can leave us feeling that the walls are closing in again, especially if we have been placed in lock-down or been told to isolate due to places we have unwittingly visited. It can feel a bit like groundhog day! 

However, these are some of the things which I have found helpful when I have felt the walls beginning to close in on me:

Looking out

Fear and anxiety can cause us to become stuck looking inwards at our own reactions, so if we can reach out towards others instead, this can change our perspective. Remembering that we are not alone, that the whole world (or even just our community) is in this together, finding mutual ways to support and comfort people we know, and having empathy for others, can all help us to look outwards instead of inwards.

Looking up

I love looking up at the skies (in all the diverse and constantly changing moods), and up into the canopies of trees, to places that are Covid 19 free, where birds continue to fly free without being weighed down by the problems of the earth. It is good to be reminded that there are worlds above our troubled existence.

Giving it to God

When it all becomes too much, I am reminded that there is a God who has this in His care, who is watching over us, and providing us with comfort, protection and strength, if we but reach out to Him. So many things are too difficult to control, make sense of, or resolve -- and these I put in my "too hard" basket, and then give it to God. We can also pray for others, no matter where they are, and recently I have discovered that it is helpful to pray through news bulletins. 

Changing deprivations and restrictions into acts of love

Earlier in the Pandemic I realised that practicing social distancing, wearing masks, sanitising hands and respecting the rules was actually about giving to others, rather than depriving ourselves. This can make a huge difference to living in fear (which is about looking inwards at ourselves) and is another way of re-focusing outwards.

Remember: Healing isn't about overcoming the pain; it's living despite it. Hannah Blum