gently resolute

Much of the past couple of weeks has been spent in the air. A significant portion of that time was spent at 35000 feet with a four year old expelling a winter virus caught the previous week from her adoring grandfather... but the less said about that the better. On the 27th of December, somewhere high above the North of England, looking down onto the sunny side of fluffy clouds that disguised the dreich grey of their underbellies, I thought of a word that is to become my resolution for the new year: gentle.

I was thinking about some of the nicest people I know, the ones I really admire, and realised that they could all be described as gentle. Whereas I, at best, could be described as quite argumentative and prone to dramatics.

So, instead of dietary restrictions, unrealistic budgets, or vows to stop snapping at my mother-in-law this year, I resolve to be gentle. I aim to be gentler on my digestive system, gentler on my wallet, gentler on my carbon footprint, and gentler in my manner. Despite being unquantifiable, it's quite an effective one-word mantra, and thinking of it has forced me to make some different choices already.

In addition I resolve to reflect more often on one of my favourite quotes. If you've spent much time in Scotland you might think this is overused, printed as it is on virtually every piece of "mock"intosh memorabilia. But Charles Rennie Mackintosh has always been a big inspiration in my family of architects and artists. My Dad's beautiful set of Mackintosh flower prints quietly line my stairway at home where, rather fittingly, no guests ever notice them. At the turn of the last century he was quoted as saying:

"There is hope in honest error, none in the icy perfection of the mere stylist."

I think he was referring to geometry, but I've always thought of his quote in terms of consumerism. Instead of coveting brand name goodies, preened Chelsea show gardens, or the interiors of glossy magazine spreads, I want to make more honest errors in 2012, in my oven, in my garden and in my home.

In this spirit, I received two books at Christmas that inspire me to give more stuff a go, Kirstie Allsopp's Homemade Home and the Liberty Book of Home Sewing. I'd really like to get cracking on some of the projects within but I know my resolve will falter in the hustle bustle of every day life. So I'm on the search for a linky/blog-a-long/sew-a-long group using either of these books, in the hope that it will prompt me into action. I haven't found anything so far, but if you know of one, please please do let me know.

Happy New Year, here's to a gentle one.

an unfinished (unresolved?) Christmas scarf in progress, and the beautiful Liberty Book of Home Sewing

Linking up here in the hope that lovely Ginny's Wednesday Yarn Along continues in 2012... where would blogland be without it?