Back in the saddle

I am opening a Shopify store on Facebook. I am looking forward to getting back into the swing of making art and running a store. I'm not a good business person, but I enjoy the process of sharing what I love to do.

New on my horizon is watercolor painting. I hope to eventually offer some for sale in my shop. I'm also putting up some of my digital drawings at a RedBubble store, as stickers, and thinking about putting together a few digital books.

Journaling!

My beloved husband got me a lovely Mother's Day gift... three books that I'm dying to delve into.

Music Listography: Your Life in (Play)Lists

Listography: Your Life in Lists

The Secret Me: A Questionnaire Journal


This adds to my other secret obsession... doodling journals. I just bought a fabulous one of those that I'll share later. I have a lot to work on while I'm at my Mom's this summer!

Weaving

I have had a years-long unrequited love affair with weaving. From the time I first used a potholder loom as a little kid I've thought weaving was really cool. I own a beautiful Beka rigid heddle loom that I've rarely used due to space restraints, I also own a "belt loom" that will weave long and fairly narrow pieces of thread. Then there are all the knitting looms I have, but those are fodder for another post. ;-)

Since I don't yet have the space for my Beka (I'm working on it! I plan to put hooks on the wall so I can hang it when I'm not using it), I thought I might satisfy myself with a little pin weaving. I've looked at several tutorials, and instead of making an actual pin loom (that is suitable for embroidery thread and pearl cotton and such), I'm going to make myself a loom more suitable for my great love of Lily Sugar & Creme yarn. I have a lot that I need to use up, so I thought that making a bunch of squares with it might be really cool for scarves or shawls. I haven't decided what kind of warp I will use, but it needs to be something quite a bit finer and a neutral color. I'm sure I have plenty of something!

If it works, I'll provide a tutorial. Now, to find a piece of wood and some nails...

Finish it Friday!

I am hereby declaring Friday to be "Finish it!" day. Every week I'm going to try to dedicate any studio time I get to finishing something I've already started. I have a stack of "could be/would be" projects, and they need to get knocked off. Henceforth, Fridays are days I cannot start anything new, unless I have no "cb/wb" things laying around.

Why do crafters and artists seem to have such a bad habit of procrastinating finishing things? There seem to be two kinds, too: those that procrastinate starting, and those that procrastinate finishing. I, sadly, am both. I hate to start, because I fear that I'll find something (a fabric, yarn, whatever) that I like better for the project, or I'm scared of how complex it is, or... there are a million reasons I won't start a project. The biggest, however, is probably the fear of messing it up and losing those supplies, and not having anything to show for my work. It's also part of having been so poor for so many years, I'm afraid of using up and running out of supplies, and not having any money to buy more. It's something I'm working on, though! My  poor husband always tells me he doesn't really care what I spend on my work, but he'd really love to see some finished projects coming out of the studio instead of supplies just going in and staying!

So, do you procrastinate? If you do, what kind are you? How does it manifest? Tell me. Also, if you are one of those amazing "start and finish in a timely fashion people", brag a little and let the rest of us in on your secrets.

The Eye of the Needle... and squinting to see it.

It is official. I am old. I had to use a needle threader for that new #11 sewing machine needle. *sigh*

I used to be the one who could thread any needle with no problem. Now I squint and fret and say words I probably shouldn't (there's a reason the door of my studio has a profanity warning sign...).

So, how many of you have a problem threading these days? And, another question. How long do you sew on a needle before you pitch it? Do you wait for there to be signs, or do you just automatically pitch at the end of a garment, or a specific period of time?

Sewing and helpful tools

I have been spending a lot of time thinking about sewing. Not a lot of time actually sewing, but that's the way it goes in my life most of the time. Right now I'm sewing bags for Tarot decks, and then I'll get started on making some print cotton lanyards. Not sure what will happen from there, but I have a lot of projects stacked up to get to.

Working on the bags today got me to thinking about what the most useful tool is for me in sewing. There are so many that I use and love it's hard to pick a favorite, but most of the time the thing I spend with in my hands most is this little guy here:

It doesn't look like much, but when I need to make a precise sized channel for a ribbon, or elastic, or just a nice, neat hem? It's the best thing in the world. No idea what it's called, but that's okay, it's my friend. That little red bit slides to and stays on whatever measurement I need, all I have to do is slide it up, fold the fabric over, and pin. Wonderful!!

So, what is your favorite tool for sewing?

Weekend work

Last night I finished up a pillowcase I'd started for my son (skulls, of course!) and a dice bag for him. I bought him his first set of gaming dice for Christmas, and he needed a decent-sized bag.

Today I've spent mostly cleaning house, but tomorrow my goal is to get some sewing done. I want to make a stack of tarot deck bags, if I can find something good to line them with. I need some for my decks, and I want some to sell in April. I'm not exactly sure what pattern I'm going to use, but I have some ideas in my head.

I have so much to do in my art studio, but at least I can sew at the moment. What needs to happen is 30-60 minutes a day in there, sorting and re-arranging until I have more space, and more of my supplies unpacked. At some point I will have to trade, sell or give away a lot of things I just simply don't need or use anymore. That will be a horrible project, but it has to get done!

I hope you are all having a great weekend!