When I was buying the raw materials - old woolen sweaters from the local charity shop - to put the snoods together yesterday, the bloke looked at me as though I was half mad but I knew exactly what I was doing, so I put on my stubborn face and told him I'd meet him in the supermarket. Here's one of my snoods, not half bad for £3 and a bit of elbow grease, eh?:
Apart from DIY being a good creative outlet and cheap way to spice up your wardrobe, I also find it therapeutic. It's nice to do something that on one level has your full attention while also letting your mind wander.
I started to think about creativity and originality, why I started this blog, why I write at all and why it is all so important to me. I started this blog mainly because I needed a creative outlet. I've always been creative and I have always loved writing, oh and shoes and dressing up. Once I'd found out about blogging, writing a blog about fashion seemed like a no brainer.
It's been a tonne of fun ever since. I've enjoyed the interaction and insight of fellow bloggers and comments (even the occasional snide one) from readers. I've enjoyed getting up in the morning and thinking: I'd like to write about that, and then just doing it.
It's also been a lot of hard work but mostly it's made me think about the things I want to do and how I want to live my life.
When I was younger, I thought the key to happiness in life is to find the stuff that makes you happiest and incorporate it into every aspect of your life. The problem with this, of course, is that the stuff that makes you happy and the people that make you happy are not always necessarily a perfect fit. And neither is real life.
In my ideal world, I would spend every minute on my computer happily trawling the internet, blogging to my heart's content and never having to deal with messy non-computer-related things like loved ones or bathing or work. Unfortunately, in the real world I have bills to pay, relationships to maintain and a need to not kill every living thing within a 12 mile radius with rank BO. That's just how it is.
So, while I cherish and continue to nurture my own creativity I also understand that there's a balance to be struck and compromises to be made. Sometimes I hate that I have to do this but... that's just how it is. It can be frustrating.
Virginia Woolf was right when she said "a woman must have money and a room of her own if she is to write...". Yes, she was writing specifically about writing great works of fiction but I think it can be extended out to include any writing or any act of creativity at all.
I also think that "a room of one's own" is not just about that physical room but also that room inside your own head that is for you alone. A space to retreat to where you're not bound to any responsibilities or conventionalities, where you can just... be. And if the people you love and respect, the work that you do and the life that you lead allow for this room, you are a very lucky person indeed. But if not, I think it is reasonable as a woman and as a human being to seek out this space, to guard it jealously and to fight like a tiger if it is threatened.
That is why I am thankful for this blog, for this room of my own and for the readers that come to visit me here. It's why I'm happy not to dwell on blog rankings or hit numbers or monetisation and any of a thousand other blogger concerns. Because at the end of the day, I've already got what I want, I just want to get on with enjoying it. I am also happy and thankful that you can come and visit and enjoy it with me whenever you want. I look forward to making your next visit as interesting as the last.
