Life at the moment is all work and recovering from work-related neck and hand RSI. To meet my deadline I’m working four days then taking one off, and on the day off and evenings occupying myself in ways that don’t make my back or hands worse.

There’s not much that doesn’t. I can go shopping, walk on the treadmill, watch tv/dvds and cook, but even these have limits. My lower back is acting up a bit and doesn’t like me sitting down to watch tv for long hours and my hands aren’t too keen on chopping lots of veges. I can’t walk on the treadmill all day and there’s only so much shopping you can do before you start buying stuff for the sake of it.

I’m sure there are lots of people who’d love to spend their time doing just one of those four things, but even doing all four I get bored pretty quickly. I need to make stuff. So I end up writing endless project lists, buying materials for making stuff, coming up with new project ideas, and inevitably cracking and doing a bit of crafting anyway.

I’ve been mostly good this time. The flanelette blanket sits waiting for a bit of sewing machine time:

I haven’t tried my new Sunna heddle yet, not even with the perle cotton I bought on eBay:

I also bought this big batch of embroidery floss on eBay for $31:

And wound it onto pegs:

And put the short pieces onto cards:

I’ve allowed myself a little bit of embroidery time in the evenings, so I’ve made gradual progress on the Flaming Kitty:

And I’ve woven more of the Paua Shell Ruanna when my neck wasn’t too sore as it doesn’t bother my hands:

And some of the cooking has been a bit creative:

Of course, once my deadline passes and I have more time for craft, I know I’ll end up suddenly floundering with indecision, unable to choose which project to tackle first. And they aren’t the only tasks wanting attention. The weeds in the garden are evolving into new giant species, I haven’t done any family history research in ages, and I have a half work/half fun overseas trip to organise.