The First Week

There's one more day, today, left in my week. I start my new week on Sunday. For the first week of the new year, I didn't too to bad. I want to at least write five days out of the week and I did just that. I got my first business quilt, I got the binding attached to two preemie quilts (I'll stitch those down today), I finished my last Sashiko piece and I'm ready for the next step of that project. I cut out and sewed two new dolls for Halloween and I discovered something else about me. I guess kind of an epiphany. Nothing will ever be perfect enough. My apartment, my work area, nothing. For so long I've been putting off doing creative things because of numerous things. Excuses really. Not enough room, I want a separate spot to make dolls or do paper clay or polymer clay. I don't have enough shelving unit space. The list went on and on. The clock continued to tick on and on and I would end up berating myself because nothing got done. I'd see others online who had a table in the corner of their living room, or were using the kitchen table in between meals. How were they able to get things done and not me? Everyone would like to have that cool studio space with all the supplies needed to do whatever at the ready. That's a great dream. But when do I actually make something?

I have a friend who is also in the same predicament. We talked this week and I saw myself in her. She said, I've got to get this section cleared out. I've got to arrange things for the 13th time. Things aren't quite right. I got it. But I didn't like it when I saw me. I was getting older and not producing anything. And that's when I told myself that it's okay not to have that extra table to work on or have that extra shelf to put more stuff on. I looked around my apartment and I have everything that I need to at least get started with something. I decided that I wasn't going to have those excuses anymore. The fear is real and it will always be there. I've dealt with it before. Now it's time to wrangle it again.

Be open to new things. A mantra for the year. You just never know what will come around. There are new tenants in the building where my quilt studio is. I can't do wet things there because of the carpet on the floor. That was one of my excuses for not doing anything in my apartment which has hardwood floors. Yeah. These two new tenants create apps for kids. They introduced themselves (it was very nice to have a man stand up to do so) and we got to talking. They had seen my longarm machine in my spot and I told them I was getting back into making Halloween things and writing. They told me what they did. And for a brief instant, a light bulb turned on over each of our heads. It was fun to see the wheels turning and we all smiled. They asked me about what I wrote and if I had any ideas that could be adapted to an app. I may have an opportunity to write and illustrate a game app for kids. They invited me to their office and I was able to see them tweak their newest app that should be out soon. How cool is that? I'll keep you informed of any developments.

So writing my new life script is starting to work. No more waiting for the perfect time to write or create. Do it now. No more beating myself up. Telling myself what an interesting and creative person I am and that I can do what I set my mind to do. To break big projects up into smaller pieces and work on those. One brick at a time makes a house. Or a castle.

Am I still scared? A little but I'm going to work with the fear instead of against it.

Onward!

Yikes!

What a day! Eegads!

Don't get me wrong. It was a good day. I got quite a bit done. Yesterday I wasn't in the studio because of sinus issues. I'm feeling much better today. I got into the studio, cut out and sewed two dolls; cut, made and stitched binding on my two preemie quilts; and I finished working on my last Sashiko piece. Phase one of that project. But... but...

I was irritable all day long. Everyone irritated me to no end. Kids running up and down the hall, people slamming doors, inconsiderate young woman locked the outer door to the lady's restroom. Seriously? There are two stalls in the restroom. It told her that when she got out and she didn't get it. I repeated it and as to why she had that door locked? Then she got it. She did say a weak "Sorry" but I had to go. Now that I think about it, why would you lock a woman's restroom when there is more than one stall. Ugh! Not going to think about that right now. My blood pressure is finally going down.

Why the irritability? That crazy planet Mercury is in retrograde. Now you may not believe in that kind of stuff but I do. I was very proud of myself that I didn't break down and cry or break anything over anyone's head. But the whole day was just weird. One moment I'd be happy and I could conquer the world. The next minute, yes minute, I just wanted to crawl into a ball and cry. Then I'd be back up again. I kept telling myself that I know what's wrong. So keep going. Which I did and I'm very proud of myself. I was talking to a friend today and she said that her mentally challenged clients were being weird too and one of her co-workers asked if there was a full moon. They even checked the calendar and there wasn't, then I told her about the retrograde. Her light bulb went off. Mercury hits the space road on the 23rd I think. It won't be soon enough.

So here's my last Sashiko piece. I will be working on phase two next week. I've been planning this project when I finished my first piece. I hope it works out.

Wrapping It Up

Yes, the end of December. I am astounded how fast it went.

• Longarmed 8 quilts
• One commissioned quilt done
• One Sashiko piece done
• One preemie quilt top done
• 2 Books read
• Wrote 9 times - journal or stories
• Day excursion to Krankies Craft Fair
• 8 World of Wendy Lu blog posts
• 6 Wendy B Quilt blog posts
• Watched Netflix 6 different times
• Stuffed a doll's head and body that has been sitting around for a year

I do hope everyone has a safe and wonderful New Year's Eve. See ya next year.

Made It

Yep, I made it; survived Christmas. It didn't work out like I'd thought. I was very excited to be in the holiday spirit this year. I was really looking forward to it and then bam! I got sort of blind sided. By what, you ask? The crazy weather. I enjoyed driving the streets at night, looking at the decorations. I got ingredients for a nice dinner. I had pot roast, red potatoes, and carrots. Fixed that on Christmas Eve in my crock pot. The best thing was the crock pot liner. Those things are amazing for people who like one dish meals and don't like to clean up afterwards. I was all set. But the weather did something to me. I was out of sorts. Not necessarily depressed but kind of confused. All of a sudden I wanted Christmas to be over. Then I heard from several others and the news that people were feeling the same thing, out of sorts. Because of the unusually warm temperatures. Yep, that would do it. So I rallied and bounced back a bit so I could enjoy Christmas Eve and Day.

It's still warm. About 20 degrees above normal for this time of year. But yesterday I continued straightening and rearranging things to get going on creating new work. I now have different stations set up for different projects. I want to jump out of the 2016 gate. Last year I had dubbed 2015 the Year of the Creative Juggernaut. That didn't happen, as the fates, faeries, and numerous goddesses were in on a joke. Me being the butt of it. I was taken in a new direction and it has been a ride. Not the worse one I've had but a weird one. I now have a growing business and it's time to get back to creating. I really want to and feel that I'm ready. I had to go through horse poo in order to get to this point. I will not say that I'm not terrified, again. Story of my life. It is my life and I'm owning it. I will work through the fear and press on. I've started my lists, written down plans and goals. I'm accumulating all my creative, intellectual, emotional ammunition and mixing it with a lot of bravery. My ancestors are watching.

2016 will be the Year of the Phoenix. There were a lot of ashes this year and I shall arise and bring along the Juggernaut.

No Pic Post

I forgot to take pics at the Krankie's Craft Fair yesterday. I used to do this fair religiously but the past couple of years, I haven't been able to make it. One, I didn't have any new work to show, and two, I'd recently started a new business. The Fair was in a new location, with lots of natural light coming in, lots more space for a variety of artists and crafters, and lots more parking. It was wonderful, people were buying from local artists the weekend before Christmas.

It was nice to see many of the artists I did the show with. It was nice to see new people there too. What was really interesting were the comments from friends and artists who were disappointed that I didn't have a table there. That really made my day. That I had work that they admired and missed. I told them that I would most definitely be there next year. I am ready to start creating again. It's been awhile, like two years of creative drought.

Stay tuned.

Wow!

Yes, wow! When I talk to friends these days and we discuss what we want to do next year, next year is in like, less than three weeks. Three weeks! And we'll have another year to deal with. I still have this month to deal with and right now, today, I'm feeling pretty good. I will be back in the studio today to longarm a small quilt, someone will pick up their quilt and then I have my quilt guild holiday meeting tonight.

I won something in an online giveaway. I rarely win anything and I love this artist's work. Her name is Diana Rader Shrome. I got a wonderful little doll in a peppermint dress and bow and she through in some Halloween guys because she knows I love Halloween.

And another friend sends me ornaments she paints every year. I'm going to need a bigger tree. The table top one is filling up. She also send me a fountain pen (which I've wanted for a long time), and miniature items. A truck and pen set for my miniature roombox that I'm working on.

Nice, early gifts. I'm still debating if I will get myself something for Christmas. I don't know if I want to be in the crowds. Maybe if I go when the store opens, I'll be okay.

A little Bit...

I promised some friends snail mail art. I've got tons of tiny sketches, I now have to put them on nice paper and paint or use color pencils to finish. Here are the first two.