Patchwork and the Summer Sun

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What is a girl to do when it is 102 degrees out and the coolest place to hide is 3 feet in front of the cooler? She works on paper patchwork applique of course. I've made about 15 of the little hexagons and about 10 pentagons from assorted fabric from my Zakka collection. I think my first project will to be to sew some on the flap of a messenger bag. I also moved my computer desk today so I'd have a bit more workspace. I was playing bumper cars with the chair at the other desk. We were both getting annoyed, so I put more space between us. I had a much bigger desk at the old house so I'll have to see about solving that dilemma.

The view from my desk. Scrub Jay.

 

I rented a metal container so I'd have lots and lots of workspace and so I could get all of the crafts out of the house. I failed to take into account that in the winter it gets cold in that metal box and the sun goes down at 5 PM and in the summer (which seems to have started in March and is still going through August) its just too bloody hot to work out there without frying my brains. So now I mostly work in the house. Which makes sewing difficult because the sewing machine is out there in the container and there is no room for anything else in the house. Every day I try to get more stuff out of here, not put more stuff in here.

His container. Mine is next to it but looks the same.

Cleaning Day

A handyman is coming over tomorrow to see what repair work the new owner wants done inside the apartment. So my art schedule flew out the window so I could clean. Yesterday we were also out of town most of the day picking up the truck from the mechanic and delivering merchandise. Tomorrow isn't looking good either because the repairman will be here. We don't know if they are starting right away or just making notes. It could be over in an hour.  As the saving goes, life is what happens when you are busy making other plans.

I am working on many projects though. I'm crocheting some granny squares out of scrap yarn. I've been really good about not buying any new yarn. I want to use up all I have first, which could take years. But if we have to move, I'm scared I'll lose everything, so I'm using it while I still can. I have a snood that is almost finished. I have a vest that is knitted that's almost done too. It won't do me much good in the heat of summer so I need to get done with it. Taking a day off won't kill me. It will just make it more fun tomorrow.

Organizing

First thing this morning I glued the rest of the pieces onto my birdhouse mosaic. I'm leaving the back, sides and bottom plain. So tomorrow or whenever I can get to it, I can do the grout. Once I know what color the grout will be, and let it dry, I'll paint the blank areas .

I spent today straightening up the apartment and reorganizing craft patterns and supplies. It's supposed to rain this weekend, so I worked outside as much as I could today so I don't get cabin fever. I fed the birds, trimmed some vines, read a bit and ate scrambled eggs and toast. It's a pleasant way to start the day.

Chasing My Tail

Suddenly everything seems so busy. My life is a blur, like someone sped up the merry-go-round.
I'm about done with a free-form crocheted hat in many colors. I got all the ends woven in and then decided the crown is too shallow so I need to do another row.



I did some decoupaging in my 'junk journal'. It's so fun to have the freedom to slap anything I want in there, and not care if it's perfect. Today I glued in some postage stamps I got from India. Those have been kicking around my house for a while so I'm glad I finally found a parking space so they'll quit falling on the floor.



I'm still rearranging furniture in the living room and dining room for the arrow making and the sewing and drawing areas. It's a jumble. Today I got the binder clips to hook onto the plastic chain to hang things on.
And in my bedroom I want exercise space, so I just moved the Japanese lantern into another room and the mobile that was over my office chair is now over my bed. Every time I'd stand up to pull my sweater off, I'd knock it out of balance. Maybe with it over my bed, I should add some glow in the dark beads or paint to it. That would be awesome. Then I can see it after I turn the lights off.



As if things aren't busy enough, I just got reminded we have an archery tourney on Saturday where we are selling arrows. I'm glad for the full schedule. Then I have less time to worry about poverty.

Also, before I forget, the drawing for the custom arrows is this Saturday at the Robin Hood Tourney and tickets are $5 each. The money goes to a friend who suddenly found herself a widow. Thanks to those who have already generously donated. Some of them don't even want the arrows, they just want to help. That is a beautiful thing. 

Spring Cleaning Starts Early

So far today I've moved a lot of junk to reclaim my sewing and drawing area. I wrote about it here: Sewing Area I'm just taking a break now. I have a long, long way to go. I can't wait to move the bigger pieces of furniture. Right now it's just drudgery sorting things and pitching things and labeling stuff. I hate this kind of work, and yet no one else is going to do it. The cats think it's a great game though. They think I'm building them a rec room and perhaps I am. It's a good thing they don't have opposable thumbs or I'd put them to work. It's a beautiful day but a little windy, so I'm going to be stacking boxes outdoors so I can make room for vacuuming and rearranging my drawing table, and 3 tool chests.

This thing with the egg cartons on it is my drawing table. I haven't seen the top of it in about 3 years.

Getting Organized

I hit a great Veteran's Day sale at Joann's yesterday.  Then I headed over to the dollar style store to get more storage boxes. I decided to sort my burlesque and belly dance trim into boxes by color. It's not a perfect system.  Do I only keep the unfinished parts in there, and then put the finished pieces in even more bins? And what happens when the bra is both pink and blue? Then which bin does it go in?  And then I was going to put all the bins in a cardboard box.  Great plan except I wanted to put six bins in there and only five fit. And two have to go sideways and the lids are not that secure, so I may have to put ties around the containers. Truly, being organized is not my forte.

My find of the day was some black fishnet style fabric with silver metallic thread shot through it.  I think someone had hidden it away to come scoop it up once it was on sale because it was shoved sideways behind all the other bolts.  But I have hawk eyes and ferreted it out. I almost got it in white too, but honestly, I wear black over white nine times out of ten.  So with the sale price I paid $3.00 a yard for 2 yards, and since there was only 3/4 yard left she gave me that at a deeper discount.

So today I'm a wee bit more organized but not by much.

Sorting and Tossing

Today I'm doing one of those tasks that most of us hate. I'm going through boxes of projects that never quite made it.  Embroidery Christmas stocking parts that were too tedious to hold my interest, a mermaid doll I cut out and sewed and turned and then abandoned, old purses I never went through so I could give them to a thrift store and so on. I did find about $2.00 in change I added to my car fund in a giant pretzel barrel. And I found some momentos of my daughter's wedding in Vegas. Quilt projects that need to be sewn into pillows or potholders. And letters from penpals that stopped writing when e-mail took over the universe. I still have a long way to go but I have a headache from all the dust I've inhaled.
I did find some clothes that had gone missing. One is the red dress I need for my wardrobe project. It's all good, but not much fun.

Sorting and Cleaning

We literally spent the entire day cleaning out boxes, sorting projects, and repairing the water damage as best we could. I'd have dozens of things to list on Etsy if I'd just finish up some of these things. We really need either studio space or a storage unit, but can afford neither. I'm sure a lot of artists are in the same boat. We are nowhere near done with the task. And company is coming tomorrow night. Ack! But I just can't clean any more today. I'm spent.

Organizing Embroidery Floss

This morning I made a concentrated effort to organize all my embroidery thread. But the plastic binder pages I bought have squares just big enough for each bobbin, but when I move the book, the bobbins spring out of the sleeves. Definitely not a good design. So I think I'm going to have to tape each square shut or risk losing pieces everytime I move the binder. Not good. Did they even test this thing out before they sold it?

I've had family visiting so haven't gotten to work on my cross-stitch much. But last night I got the colors I was missing for the rabbits and to finish the red chicken. Go chickens!

Furniture

We just inherited some furniture so the rush is on to tame the craft monster in my house. I bought 24 boxes and I'm in the process of sorting everything into them so I at least have a snowball's chance in hell of finding them when I have the next Etsy sale or craft fair. I don't understand how I can be so creative and yet so inept at organizing things. Sigh. Oh and I have a sore throat so that makes things ever so much more fun.