the story so far

So much has changed since I last posted that when I decided to return to blogging I planned to set up a brand new blog. However when I looked back I wanted to keep some continuity with what I had written in the past. So I decided on a compromise - change the name, keep the content and see what happens. With this in mind, here is a brief synopsis of what I have been doing these past few years...

I am now the mother of two small boys and am coming to the end of my second maternity leave. Sadly, despite having my research proposal accepted, I was unable to enrol onto a PhD studying online craft communities as planned.

At the time I was due to enrol on the PhD I was in hospital with my eldest (and as then my only) son who was having a major operation for a congenital heart condition from which he had a somewhat difficult recovery. Being there for him was more important than anything else in my world and so I put the degree on hold.

Since then I have had another son and it feels like it is only now, over two years since, that I am starting to get sufficient time and space to afford myself the luxury of thinking for thinking's sake. And hence my return to blogging.

For me the events of the last few years have cast new light on the themes of this blog - 'creation' and 'creativity' have taken on a new perspective after having children, which are without a doubt the most wonderful and magical creations I have ever, and will ever, create.

My thoughts of gender have been challenged by the prospect of raising two boys in house where every one else, even our pets, are male. Additionally I have experienced first hand how online communities can offer support, comfort and understanding through trying times.

I have found my relationship with craft has also changed. What, why and how I make have been affected by time constraints and my new-found pragmatism that came with motherhood. Possibly related to this my taste have shifted towards more simple, minimal, 'hand-crafted' designs.

I'm now blogging in a much richer environment, with many others discussing similar themes. Particularly inspiring is the work of David Gauntlett from Westminster University and the Arts and Humanities Research Council (AHRC) funded Digital Transformstions project.

With this blog my aims are relatively simple: I intend to blog about once a week and to blog about a wide variety of things relating to craft, digital and community. Other than this I have no specific outcomes in mind other than to see where these thoughts take me...