DEAD IN THE WATER

The "simple" shift I designed for the "20's" doll, has become a nightmare.  The main and most frustrating problem being that I can't seem to plan the steps of garment construction in their proper order.   I sew steps one and two then must rip out step two in order to sew step four.  If the pattern was printed their would be no (or fewer) problems, but when I must design and make my own patterns, I seem to focus on the finished garment and forget the construction details.   I suppose, like everything else, I shall (eventually) learn by painful and expensive experience.  I hope I live long enough!  As it was, I had to just walk away from it yesterday and plunged into a frenzy of sorting and organizing my studio.  It's hardly finished, but the path through the room is wider now.

As for the doll itself, although she was made of a perfect doll fabric, she was handled so much that the fabric became soiled - so I gave her a coat of gesso.  Today, I will sand her if possible  and give her another coat of gesso, sand her again then give her a pale 20's complexion.  Then pray she will be dry enough to take to Cinnamon's on Sunday.        

Cinnamon's is a quilt and fabric shop on the southwest side of  town.  There are two work rooms, one of which we may use on Sundays from 11 a.m. to 4 p.m. for $5. per person.  I will gladly pay the $5. and brown bag my lunch to be able to work on a project for five hours as opposed to the two or three hours we had at the church which included setting up and putting away tables and chairs.                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                    

TRYING TO CATCH UP

Okay, Christmas is over (I received a great new bed!) and New Year's Eve is day after tomorrow.  Time to recycle the last of the boxes and gather up all the glittery do-dads that can be used again and store them in the big box labeled "Christmas Stuff".  Not sure where that box will be stored since the room it was in is now my bedroom.

New Year's Eve is an annual non-event for us but I will stop by Pete and Melanie's in the afternoon and be back home before dark and the drunk drivers.  Melanie teaches hypertufa and sells her pieces at craft and garden fairs.  She is a vegetarian - tho' Pete is not - and she celebrates the equinox and seasonal changes by inviting friends to visit, have a glass of wine a snack and a chat.  Weather permitting, out doors in her garden with rescue cats in attendance.

Once construction has moved from this end of the house, I can do some serious rearranging in an effort to make my work run smoother.  Then, perhaps I can catch up with the DollWorks ladies.   Stop laughing - it's a goal!

CHRISTMAS BLESSINGS

Another year has rushed by.  I've been so busy, I hardly noticed - until I stop to think back on the high (and low) points that marked its progress.  The most life changing was the day I walked out of my home of 20+ years and moved to my son and daughter-in-law's  home to become a permanent family member.

This move prompted the get-it-done renovations (DIL) Luli had longed for for years - which is how I got both a bedroom and a studio/office and a totally rehabed bathroom.  When my bathroom is finished, the kitchen is up for a major renovation. Though Gus did a good upgrade job adding a new tiled counter top and a small pantry a couple of years ago, the kitchen footprint was obviously laid out by someone who had never cooked.  Insofar as load bearing walls will allow, we plan to enlarge the footprint and make it more efficient.

Then on to the master bath!  And the new garage door, the new irrigation system and new landscaping.  And God willing, my back will hold up long enough to have a small vegetable garden.

But best of all is the room I now call my studio/office, just three steps from my bedroom.  And like my bedroom, it's crammed full of those things I simply cannot function without; my computer, my sewing machine, the BIG storage container full of fabrics and furs and idea starters.  The TV and dog food container are in here, too, as is a table Luli gave me.  It fits perfectly in the space I had alloted for it and is long enough to lay out and cut a pattern.  The sewing machine sits on one end.

But space so limited is forcing me to rethink my requirements.  I'm giving my pretty sewing box to my grand daughter who is the go-to person for costumes that she and her friends wear when visiting medieval fairs.   My husband gave me that sewing box the first Christmas we were married. It is leather covered wood and so well made it 's still beautiful after 62 years of use.  With a little loving care, perhaps it will last another 62 years.




  

IT'S HAPPENING!

Today, workers finished laying the bamboo flooring in what will become my new bedroom.  The room has been freshly painted and practically glows.  I've been told I can move furniture in tomorrow, but they will start putting in (after first tearing down) my new bathroom tomorrow.  I will have a walk in shower with a bench.  No more lifting my stiff and aching legs into the tub.  SO.  After workers leave this evening, I start hauling stuff out of the bathroom - and into the new bedroom for the time being.  After the bathroom rehab, my current bedroom will be painted and have a new bamboo floor.  THIS WILL BE MY LONGED FOR STUDIO!

But, moving furniture to and from the storage unit will be a problem.  I'm considering hiring the same crew that moved my stuff from Macclenny to Jacksonville.  Hmmmm, after today's shopping spree, I wonder what my checking account looks like.  Guess I'd better check it.

DETAILS . . .

So, I've all but finished a little draw string bag and a clutch.  The clutch needs some binding and a latch of some sort and the little bag needs -- a better drawstring than I've provided.  I'll tweak it a bit and if I can't make it work, will buy something easier to work with than a metallic embroidery floss.  I've also finished my Elf and Sock and have hung him on my bedroom door.  He will be a gift to anyone who wants him.

MOVING FORWARD - SLOWLY

If I could just STAY AWAKE!!   Sleep deprivation is a real problem for me.  It seems every time I sit down at the computer, sewing machine or tv, my eyes slam shut.  Then it becomes a choice of lay down or fall down.  I prefer to NOT fall down.  Naps are some times no more than 15 minutes, but necessary to get me back on my feet.  Consequently, any project I'm working on is interrupted numerous times

MOVING FORWARD - SLOWLY

If I could just STAY AWAKE!!   Sleep deprivation is a real problem for me.  It seems every time I sit down at the computer, sewing machine or tv, my eyes slam shut.  Then it becomes a choice of lay down or fall down.  I prefer to NOT fall down.  Naps are some times no more than 15 minutes, but necessary to get me back on my feet.  Consequently, any project I'm working on is interrupted numerous times