Driftwood... and so many new ideas!

I have quite a collection of beach combing goodies. I'm not sure whether its the sun (hopefully present) sea air, sound of the sea, or a peculiar 'foraging thrill' (I have always loved seeking out sweet chestnuts, conkers, acorns...... ) which makes this such an enjoyable pastime. The collecting of items is as important, if not more so, than their ultimate re-purposing (and the period of storage - or vain attempt to find another nook or cranny for storage, in the meantime is definitely not enjoyable!).

Whilst strolling along a Gower beach at the weekend I found some small pieces of bleached, bark-less, driftwood which I wanted to add to my collection. Knowing that they would be noticed upon my return to the campsite, I was under pressure to have an imminent project to which to assign them when asked to justify the collection. Recent work has included a number of hangings and I have long had a vague idea or two in mind about a combination of techniques including free-form crochet, weaving and embroidery. A vague concept of a 'sea/beach/dunes' inspired design came to mind, quickly followed by two winter/snow/Christmas ideas and then a 'fall of autumn leaves' as a sort of cross pollination from some brooches I have stitched recently, of which this is the most recent:

There are so few hours in the day and I have other tasks which the majority of folk would consider essential (mostly of the dreary housework, weekly shop, laundry variety). Rather more pressing is tidying my work space since that is starting to delay my searches for 'urgently vital' materials (urgent today/join the 'vertical stack once used' tomorrow), and my productivity is slowing down. I always find that I need to wade into a new idea immediately otherwise it 'goes a little stale' whilst being constantly re-worked in my mind before appearing in reality - quite a dilemma!

This piece was a little too large for my collection:

This next photo is something which I intend to research a little when I have time. My sister pointed and pronounced that this was 'a strange place to find berries' - the edge of the dunes. On looking more closely the berries turned out to be rose hips and the pretty leaves were on a low-growing rose which had colonised large areas of the dunes - something I had not seen before -

Off to sketch hangings/tidy yarns/find some lunch/check that I 'have something in for tea' - I'm sure I can't be alone in my chaotic crafting and creating! Please tell me there are more of us 'out there'.

PS - on the lunch-front - I have just found some left over new potatoes, two rashers of bacon and some salad - I think an omelette might be in order!