Christmas, Crochet And Contemplation

After spending an obscene amount of time lounging around in my new snowman pyjamas, having a flagrant disregard for good nutrition, hurling both red wine and chicken liver pate onto a very forgiving person's carpet, dusting off my dancing shoes, winning Trivial Pursuit and losing Articulate (and still wishing it was the other way round), spending more money than I actually have and being gifted so many fragrant candles that I'm starting to wonder if my house stinks, I'm back!  Hello!

It's been a funny old Christmas.  A nice funny old Christmas but I've had enough now.  I'm itching to take the tree and decorations down and set-to with my vacuum cleaner and it's myriad of clever attachments.  I'm craving colourful food and am bordering on desperate for my little family to naff off back to work and school.  There, I've said it.  I haven't been alone once in fifteen days and I'm missing my own personal space.  Time to think, plan and just be without interruption.

I had every intention of leaping back here, gazelle-like, with my very own version of a 'Crochet New Year's Honours List' but some very sad news stopped me in my tracks.  On a pre-Christmas potter around my favourite blogs, I learned of the tragic death of Vanessa Cabban from Lisa at Mrs BoboBun.  Vanessa had a blog, Do You Mind If I Knit.  It was one of the very first blogs I ever came across and both enchanted and inspired me from day one.  Vanessa knitted, crocheted, sculpted and illustrated children's books.  She was the most unassuming girl and to this day I am convinced she had absolutely no idea how many people's lives she touched with her beautiful, colourful creations and warm and generous spirit.  Vanessa's ethos was to make time to knit at least a couple of rows every day.  You may well have come across her or her makes at some point but, if you haven't, do please go and pay a visit to her blog.  You'll see exactly what I mean.

To coincide with her funeral, at 11am exactly today, a large number of us on Instagram (and Facebook) all posted a picture of something we are currently creating or a particular memory of Vanessa, tagging it with her name.  It was a very poignant and emotional moment and wonderful tribute, and made me feel so proud to be part of this community.

So we are rapidly approaching a brand new year and I have a feeling that changes are afoot in 2015.  I'm not exactly sure what and am ever hopeful they are positive.  I have my usual sense of excitement tinged with very slight trepidation.

I hope you all had a super duper Christmas and I'll see you next year. ;-)

xxx