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.

Today

I wrote this this morning and just getting a chance to post it now.

It's Thursday and my second full day at the new studio. I am excited. Still meeting neighbors. There's so much I can do to decorate but I've got other projects to start, work on, and finish. No running around on errands today. Lots on the docket.

• stitch down binding on a lap quilt
• start cutting 2 1/2 inch squares of scrap fabric for some paper piecing which I've never done before
• design some doll clothes
• cut out a few more Halloween dolls
• start some mug rugs
• figure out some Halloween/Christmas ornaments
• start a Tula Pink square from her book 100 Modern Quilt Blocks
• prep for NANO, yes, I'm attempting it again. I seem to hit every other year and this is that year.
• work on Sashiko

I've crossed over what I got done so far today. There are still a few more hours before bed where I can work on some other things after dinner. But, I do not like moving. I can't find a project I've been working on and I know I packed it but can't find it. Looked all over and nothing. Very frustrated. Of course it's a small project too. Ugh! Oh well, I'm sure it will show up. I hope it shows up now that I've figured out what to do with it.

Two and a half inch squares to paper piecing.

Colors selection for Tula Pink pattern number 9.

Hello September

A brand new month and it's close to 90 degrees and humid. Gah! Summer is just hanging on and feeling a little punky. I just keep thinking about the cooler temps that are coming. I went to my Finish It challenge meeting and showed my black and white quilt top. They liked it. Now I've got to get it on the frame. The rest of the day has been a  no go. Just couldn't get my motor running but I did manage to do something for 29 Faces. Draw, sketch, paint, sculpt a face for 29 days. Usually it happens in February but there's one going on now. That's fine. I need something else to do in my day as a break. I used Derwent Watercolor Pencils. I think I'll try another with them. Maybe more blending first, then the water.

She's summer turning into autumn.

I've also started my next Sashiko piece. It's coming along quite slowly. I have a slight idea of what to do with them once I get the last design done. I think there's one more kit.

#29faces #sashiko

I Haven't Forgotten

I haven't forgotten you and I haven't forgotten me. Business is picking up and I have three quilts in line for longarming. Very exciting. I love to see what people do with their fabric. I have also been working on my Sashiko. I'll have to get another kit soon. Lots going on right now. I'll do a longer post soon.

Hello

I've been trying to do better with posting but it's not happening. So I shall continue to get better, which means I will have to get better at working on things. So, here we are, and I have pics of doll pins finally stuffed. I also started a new Sashiko piece. I have gotten back to Esperanto and I'm almost done with my short story. I had to hook up my tower again because I can print off my work on an old printer. I won't have to go to Kinko's every time I need to have pages printed off. Now that I have it hooked up again, no excuses. I mean, I'm just about done with the rough draft. Geesh!

The doll pins are about 5 1/2" tall.

And here is my second Sashiko piece. A bit more complicated design but I like doing them. They are very soothing once you get into a rhythm. I still don't know what I will do with them once they're done. I've seen these pieces turned into little purses. That's an idea. Time for breakfast, some coffee, and get busy. Have a good day.

7/7

Okay, I mentioned that I was having a hard time creating in the past month. I don't know why I forget why it happens on occasion and what my remedy is. My work space has been a mess. Couldn't find anything. I knew I should clean up. But the procrastination pixies were running rampant. So instead of sinking into a pit of melted marshmallow mixed with peanut butter and crude oil, I decided to do something. About the mess. With the longarming of my own quilts, I had a pile of batting leftovers. I went through them, separated them, and put them into see through (that's the key) plastic bags and labeled them. The larger pieces I measured each piece, labeled, and nicely folded. They can be used for some nice size wall hangings. The next size pieces were too small for wall hangings but could be used to make some ornaments (I guess I should get going on those because you know what holiday is approaching), those also went into a labeled bag. The pieces that were too small for ornaments but too big to throw away, went into another bag. I will use those pieces to wrap doll bodies. That took about two hours of the morning but was very happy with the results. I continued to rearrange other things. I do have a few stacks of things to go through but they are neat stacks.

I practiced Esperanto, posted a blog, went to the library for more books, watched some paper mache videos, did not go on Facebook for the day (which was a bit difficult but stuck to my guns and was able to get things done), I got back to working on Verity (a pattern by Deana Hogan) and I was enjoying it. It's been awhile since I worked on a doll. I don't know why I'm so down on cloth dolls. Maybe because I've made so many of them that I want to do something different. That's fine, but I don't have to give cloth up forever.

The legs and arms have been stuffed. I now have to stitch the fingers on the hands and stuff the head and body. Her lower legs are out of a striped material to simulate stockings. I picked an olive green fabric for her dress.

I made a trip to Trailer Stash Fabrics this morning. Love that place. Got another Sashiko kit and a dress pattern. And I got into some more trouble. I signed up for a Quilt Top Challenge. We could list up to six quilt tops that we want to finish. The owner of the shop picks one of the numbers for us and that's the quilt we work on. It's not to finish the whole quilt, just the top. And the one she picked for me was my Halloween Cat wall hanging. I guess I'm going to have to get it done. I have a month. And I signed up for an open workshop that starts in the Fall. That one will be like a block-of-the-month. I can't wait to see the designs. I'm off to work on that cat and some other things. See ya later.

Sashiko

I got my first Sashiko piece done. Once I got into it, I really enjoyed working on it. Now I will have to get another kit. I don't know what I'll do with this one. Oh well, it's done.

Monday... Again

Another Monday. Okay. My eye is bothering me. I spotted a white something on the edge of my right iris. Scared the you-know-what out of me. It feels like there's a bump on my eyeball. Of course seeing so many horror movies and a couple of episodes of Monsters Inside Me has freaked me out. I called my optometrist's office this morning and have an appointment this afternoon for her to check this space spawn out.

I finally broke open my Sashiko kit. I can't get the needle to go the way I was shown, so I'm winging it. Maybe in the near future I can learn how to do the stitch properly. So far, I just want to get my stitches even but it's very soothing once I get into a rhythm of doing the stitches.

I'll keep practicing and probably get another kit with a different design. Make a wall hanging or something. I have an idea for a bigger project and that is still on the drawing board.

I worked on the Verity doll pattern by Deanna Hogan this weekend too along with watching a bunch of movies with a repeat of The Blues Brothers. I thought this was going to be an easy week but the eye has me on edge. I have a day trip on Thursday and a blueberry festival planned on Saturday.