Ready To Paint

Three of the canvasses below look like they're already painted. They're not. Back in July, when I was painting the edge on RM1, the 24" and 12" canvasses were nearby. Thinking that all of the canvasses were going to be painted black, I used up the excess paint on them only that plan has changed. Three of the canvasses will be black. Unfortunately, those ones are not two of the three. LOL - life's like that.




The green is a first coat. Over it, will go a textured turquoise. This canvas is for the Color series. Each of those will be a darker shade of the accent color. The Color series and the Texture series will be hung across the gallery from each other. It looks like I'll be able to paint one canvass from each series with the same top color, which is a fabulous way to connect them. The Lines & Shapes pieces will be on black canvasses. All the canvasses will have black edges. Along with their common height, this will create the horizontal line around the gallery that I'm working toward.

Yesterday, Howard put hanging wires on the back of the canvasses and this morning, I'm painting. PROGRESS. It feels great. I'm also thinking about the stack of patterns below. It contains patterns for two skirts, two blouses, two t-shirts, two dresses, and two pairs of jeans. I've narrowed it down to these and need to pick the ones I want to start with - one of each. It looks like I may get to fashion sewing sooner than I thought. My plan for next week was...




... to prep for the class in Victoria the beginning of October except that I've talked to the organizer and there are only three students enrolled, two of which would be paying students as the organizer always gets a free class. She has sent out a reminder to see if there is more interest now that we are closer to the date. We'll make a final decision by the end of the week.

I have a mixed reaction. Income, teaching, and time wise there are all kinds of valid reasons for not going ahead with the workshop only I love to teach, so I want to, but that is also the strongest reason why I don't want to - an emotional one. I don't want my last teaching experience to be less than the best and right now, my last teaching experience was a year ago, also in October, also in Victoria, and it was FABULOUS. Perhaps, that is good and enough.



The jacket of this Vogue 8146 pattern is at the top of my sew list. LOVE the swing back, simple lines, and three quarter sleeves. It's a very easy project and so a good beginning back into sewing. It's also a petite pattern so there's little to alter. Apparently I'm a "true" petite in that I have to take out length across the chest and across the hip. Nice to know why that is.

Time to paint, talk soon - Myrna

Grateful: that I had the exhibit to work on as the final step in closing the business. Instead of saying there is no work and no income and so I'm out of business, it has instead been a choice. Although the economy shows signs of improving, which means there is always that possibility of things turning around, it's not tempting me at all because the nearer the pieces come to completion, the more excited I am about returning to private creativity. Closing the business has become a very desirable decision. YES YES!

Finished, Bound, Pressed, AND Ready!

Yesterday, I stitched the shoelace cording in place and played with different ideas for the focal point. I kept trying to do too much and had to pay careful attention to the just right and gone beyond point. That took most of the morning because I seemed to be moving at turtle pace.

Wendy came over just after one and we both had a fabulously productive day. She finished the queen size, Weaver Fever, quilt plus two matching pillow cases that she was making for her son and daughter-in-law. Originally, they were just for her son. She started the quilt when he graduated high school and went away to university. However, in the four years since, he's gotten married. Luckily her daughter-in-law LOVED the colors.

I really Really REALLY admire Wendy's way of working. She has between 2 and 8 hours a month to quilt so she works on only one project at a time. Next is a tree skirt and Christmas stockings for the same couple (their shower present) and then a new quilt for her bed. Son number two is waiting in line.

With all the stopping and starting, I find it hard to make design decisions while helping Wendy so I tend to work on something easy. Since I have been completely and solely focused on finishing these exhibit pieces, that meant stitching on the binding. You might remember that I cut up, stitched together, and pressed a HUGE roll of binding several months ago. It was wonderful to just pick it up and sew it on. I finished that late afternoon, pressed the binding to the wrong side, and started hand stitching it in place - working until bed time. I debated gluing the binding to the back but at this late date, it seemed safer to go with what I know than to try something new.

Once I get an idea into my head, I'm committed - some might say stubborn. For instance, I thought about how much quicker it would progressively get if I started the hand stitching with the largest piece and worked my way down to the smallest. If I'd have thought of it first, I might have done it in sets but definitely not after the decreasing idea took hold. I stitched the two 24 x 36, then the four 24 x 24, and then the two 24 x 18, and then the final 24 x 12 inch pieces in that order. As I'd thought, it got real quick at the end. I finished the five largest yesterday and the four smallest this morning before going for breakfast with a friend at nine. I SO WANTED TO BE DONE and...




... I am! YES YES YES YES YES YES YES. I just finished stitching the focal point in place on the last texture piece. This will be the deceptively simple piece in the exhibit. The one that has all those crafty types shaking their heads and going "I could make that". Good. Now they have something to copy only simple is hard to do. Get it right because there's nowhere to hide - LOL. I think I got it right. You can let me know in January. After I emailed a picture to my friend Chris, she phoned and said it was the best of the bunch. My favourite is the lime and purple color piece.

The valley is very full of smoke. We can't even see downtown. There's a huge fire about half an hour out of town. That makes me nervous. The weather office is predicting dry lightening this weekend. The pieces are hung together at the end of the work island and everyone knows where they are in case they need to grab them while running out the door - right after grabbing the negatives and the external hardrives for our computers.

On Monday, I can start painting the canvasses and then maybe - just maybe - I'll be completely done by the end of the week, done before the first day of school. What fun that would be. After that, all I have to do is take them to the photographer in Kelowna and prep my last teaching class. A little temptation - encouragement - arrived in the mail today, those Vogue patterns I showed you a few weeks ago.

Have a great weekend, talk soon - Myrna

Grateful - all the tops are finished and ready to be mounted

Just a Hint...

More later...
I'm madly stitching binding...

Famous Last Words

The one thing - guaranteed - that will get between me and all my good intentions to use what I have is if what I have is not what I want or can't be made into what I want. Yesterday morning, curled up in the chair in the corner of the studio, writing in my journal, I wondered "why is this piece taking so long". Was it just because I really REALLY want to be done and the faster I go, the longer it seems to take or.... And then it occurred to me what was "wrong" - I was meandering all over the background fabric when my intention had been to stitch horizontal lines as per the rest of this series. Oh dear!

Another thing - guaranteed - that will make me do a whole lot of work that someone else might think is irrelevant or ridiculous is if not doing that work means the resulting piece won't fit my vision. ALL the color pieces have vertical lines. ALL the lines & shapes pieces have curved lines. ALL of the texture pieces were to have horizontal lines. Famous last words. Apparently, there is still some matchy-matchy in me because it is so NOT me to have one piece that doesn't meet the criteria.

I spent an hour and a half pulling out the meandering stitching at which point I'd reversed about a third of it and decided that I had better things to do with my life and this patched piece could become another project because I was off to buy more fabric - another meter of the background batik and - while I was there - another meter of the black batik for the bindings. I was worried about whether I'd have enough. Now, I do for sure.

Having made most of the decisions, I think - hope - am pretty sure - that these fabric purchases were my last for this project. The nine pieces should complete with what's in the studio although thread could be another matter. I'm not far enough along yet to know. Isn't it amazing how much fabric or thread or whatever we can already have in the studio and still not have the exact right one?




This piece is in my bathroom. I took an image from the side to show you all the amazing texture it has. It also has the right colors. It would have been WONDERFUL if it could have worked into the series and - God knows - I tried to figure out how to fit it in only it doesn't go. Ms. Matchy-Matchy showing up again. SO... moving on - LOL.




I love this flexible "shoe-lace" cording. Not sure what it's called but it moves and melds wonderfully and can be easily stitched through. I've used it on several projects already. Yesterday, I played with the navy until it looked like it could work and then I dyed the white to the same lime as in the batik. In the first image it looks too mint-ish and below that it looks...




... quite pale. It must be the angle of light because it's a lot darker in real life and goes perfect with the batik. The loops are going to work fabulously. The cord was wet last night so I had to wait until this morning to continue on. Wendy is coming this afternoon. Hopefully that means LOTS of work gets done today. I need to run around and clean up a bit before she gets here - especially the bathroom.




I'm very hopeful of saying I'M DONE tomorrow or Friday night at the latest. It's oh so close. I've started thinking about colors for the canvasses. They'll all have black edges but the tops will depend on the piece. This weekend, Howard is going to put the hanging wires on. Next week, painting. YES YES YES YES YES YES YES

Talk soon - Myrna

Grateful - Ted Kennedy's death yesterday made me think about my legacy. I'm thankful that I have a good relationship with my husband and with my children and son-in-law. I believe that life is about relationships. I was UNBELIEVABLY appalled by some of the comments made on Ravelry about Mr. Kennedy. I cannot imagine speaking like that and I'm an outspoken woman. When I think about my footprint in the world, although not perfect, I'm hopeful that my attempts to live a life that is supportive and encouraging of others is sending out good ripples. After reading those comments, it seems a bonus if our ripples are noticed or appreciated. It seems many would prefer to focus on our mistakes. I'm grateful that I'm learning to live MY LIFE irregardless of what people think.

How Far I've Come

There was just a wee, small bit of the corner missing on the background fabric that I wanted to use for T3, Otherwise, it was just perfect. In other words, it was perfect and all I needed to do was find a way to make it work - like patching.




The angle and lighting that I've used to take the image above make the patch far more visible than it is when looking at it straight on in the image below. Of course, I can find it right away because I know it's there. Every time I see it, I remind myself that it's a small portion of a busy background that will have more points of interest added. In the end, it won't even be noticeable AND... even if it is...




... I don't particularly care because I think it says something about using what I have and what works (and is paid for) in what is more often a disposable (and charge it) society. As the piece progresses, if the patch does interfer with the design, it will become a design challenge. I'll figure it out. It's really no big deal. IN FACT... it's the fact that it's no big deal that is the REALLY BIG DEAL.

It's always intriguing to me when I realize how much I've changed in a particular area - how far I've come. Way back when, when I started traditional quilting, I was a brand name and matchy-matchy kind of girl. If I didn't have enough of a fabric, it would have sent me into a tizzy - first to try to find the same fabric or, if that wasn't possible, to find one that looked almost exactly the same. It wouldn't have been unheard of for me to throw it out and start over. GASP!

It was a BIG STEP when I realized that I could use different fabrics of the same color and/or value and that they would make for a more interesting piece. IMHO - this patch makes for a more interesting piece. I'm proud to have it there.

How have you changed over the years? Do you think those changes are a result of maturity or the environment in which we're now living where recycling and sustainability are fighting for equal time with materialism and disposability?

Talk soon - Myrna

Grateful - even though I wasn't feeling good yesterday I got the background of T3 pieced and mostly stitched. I'm making progress.

T2 is Done!

Although it was a long and difficult birth, the second texture piece (T2) is - finally - done! My what if "button" sure got a major workout trying this, that, and the other idea. It was good. I learned a lot. By Friday night, I'd worked through MANY options, some of which I'll show you in a minute, and had more or less decided to go with fused fabric.

However, I was not in the correct mood on the weekend to work on the piece and it seemed prudent to pause until I was. Sometimes, we need to push ahead with creativity as part of resolving a question or of a healing process and sometimes, we need to stop right now before we completely screw it up because we are so far and beyond being in the right frame of mind. That's where I was at. Wise girl that I am, I chose to wait and instead of a mess, I enjoyed success on Monday.




One of the happy flukes of over-dyeing the yucky green was this fabulous match with a piece of Shibori that I made while at my friend Vicki's a few years ago. I've been wondering what to do with the piece and this additional fabric will make for more possibilities. I've folded them together on the fabric shelf for later.




When we bought our house, the previous owner - unfortunately - left a LOT of things in the basement. Apparently, she had no-one to cart them away so she left them for us to deal with. NOT FUN. Mixed up in the piles were a whole bunch of scrabble letters and no board so I put them in a jar for possible embellishment. I've used some on the top of a box and for this project, I thought painting some green might work as well as painting some Fo-Shape squares blue. Howard drilled holes in them so I could sew them on like a button. I spent a lot of time painting squares and shaping Fo-Shape and then changed my mind.




At first I chose the purple above for the focal point and then I decided it might be too close in value to the green so I auditioned a variety of purples. The two below are quite close in color and yet one screams HELLO I AM THE FOCAL POINT and one say hey, over here, aren't I interesting. Naturally, I chose the second one. I prefer to be interesting as opposed to screaming. Of course...




... that was only after abandoning the scrabble squares via a detour through fabric painting. The painted colors were great but without the textile additive, the fabric was too stiff and would have showed every puncture hole. Punctured is not pretty.

Below is the focal point stitched in place. You can see that the scrabble squares or painted fabric options have now been replaced with fused and stitched metallic, olive green, squares. I'm pleased with how these look. They add interest to the large green squares with both a smooth and shiny texture without demanding more attention than I want them to have. The dark grey thread used to stitch them in place helps to blend the metallic squares into the background squares. I love the appearance of different depths that is created. It's subtle but there.

These blue squares are the tension point. If you could see the whole piece (in January) your eye would travel back and forth between the larger purple square and these smaller, dark blue ones. Very fun.




While T2 was blocking - and as is my normal habit - I cleaned up the studio (and in this case also the laundry room) and got ready to start on the next piece. This morning, T2 is trimmed and ready to be bound. Last week, I said I wouldn't bind the texture pieces but this one concluded differently than I had anticipated and now needs a binding. If one of the set is going to be bound then it would be better if they all were so all nine pieces will now have a dark binding. It'll take a bit of figuring out for the last piece but that's fine.



This batik is the start of T3. It has a lot of energy and visual texture and - most importantly - contains similar colors and richness to the other two pieces to allow for a nice flow through between the set. I'd like to bring in more of the rusts from T1 if possible. We'll see how the piece develops. Right now, I'm piecing what I have to get a big enough background piece and then layering and stitching it. Here's the flow through from two to three.




This morning is Arts & Crafts Club and then later this afternoon Kyle and I are going shopping for school supplies. He doesn't need much. I know this from cleaning his room last week. A couple binders, some plain paper, two pairs of jeans, some running shoes, and perhaps a jean jacket. LOVE those. Fun that they're back in style.

Talk soon - Myrna

Grateful - eight out of nine pieces are complete and I have a good idea of what I'm doing next - YES YES!

Point of Connection

Years (and years and years) ago, I purchased Pattern Master Boutique, a software for designing custom fitted patterns. With the purchase, I dreamed of simply plotting my numbers in and printing out patterns that fit. NOT. It wasn't that easy. In fact, it was downright difficult and frustrating for a VERY long time. The chat group, although friendly, was not particularly helpful. There were too many opinions and even when I singled out the voices that appeared to know what they were talking about, they often disagreed.

One voice that I particularly enjoyed was a woman from San Francisco who knew an incredible amount about sewing and could reference this or that book or technique with ease. She seemed to be an avid sewer and collector of all things sewing whether information or tools. And then her voice disappeared. When I reconnected with her a couple years later, she told me about the moulage method using Lynda Maynard's book DeMystifying Fit.

Lynda's method was the final click that I'd been looking for. With it, I found a method for adapting commercial patterns so that they would fit me and through that process, I learned how to use the PMB software - finally. I am so excited about sewing fashions more often and about sewing more challenging fashions in the next few months. It feels like there's a whole world of excitement ahead of me.

My friend, on the other hand, is no longer sewing. For her the challenge was to get good fit and once she'd achieved that, sewing no longer inspired her. She has moved on to photography. She no longer emails and while I could email her to ask a question and she would answer it, our point of connection has basically ended and therefore so has our relationship. At one time, I would have found that very difficult - and sometimes I still do - but mostly I'm learning that letting go is part of the process of moving forward and of being healthy.

On December 19th, I wrote - It's decided. My word for 2009 will be connect, which works in countless ways. I want to connect...

... with my healthy self
... with improved balance between work and play
... with my artist in increasing ways
... with healthy relationships
... with other artists
... with networking opportunities
... with exhibiting opportunities
... with publishing opportunities
... with teaching opportunities
... with collectors who admire my work

Did I randomly write that list or were the items written in the order that I thought was important? I'm not sure. What I know now - eight months later - is that the list has evolved. That's quite fascinating.

When I wrote about other artists, about networking, exhibiting, publishing, and teaching opportunities, and about collectors who admire my work, in my mind I was still trying to keep the business going and holding on to what was. Now when I read that list, I realize that I need to disconnect from all of those ideas in order to connect with what is coming in the future. I have no idea what that will be but I do know that it is impossible to see what is ahead of you when your neck is craned over your shoulder looking at the past. That part of my life is over.

On October 4th, I will have finished all of my business commitments until the exhibit mid January for which I only need to show up and enjoy. I am focusing on being in this moment, really experiencing it, and then on saying goodbye to that dream so that I am open and available to what is coming my way. The second texture piece is almost complete. I hope to finish it today and the third one by next Monday and then bind and mount them all in the following two weeks. The conclusion feels organized, doable, nearly complete, and quite wonderful.

I'm letting go of 60% of the written list and while I doubt it was a conclusive list, the fact that over half the items no longer apply leaves the remaining focus on aspects that are about my whole and healthy self. Isn't that interesting? Perhaps I find it so because the greatest area of difficulty I experienced after starting my business twenty years ago was balance. It was hard to separate work and play and to put aside thinking about and doing things for the business in order to think about and do things around my self, my family, or our home. One of the things I am the most excited about right now is the fact that my studio will once again be a private creative space rather than a work one. Even now, when I come in here, my mind focuses on completely different things.

Last week as I was pulling into the driveway, it felt as if I was just moving in even though we've lived in this house for five years. It feels as if I will finally have the time and the energy and the ability to nest, to make a home. Perhaps the pendulum is swinging too far the other way and I will once again have to look at the balance between work and play not because of too much work but because of too much play. Time will tell.

Meanwhile, my plan for connecting with a healthy balance between work and play is to first take a holiday and then look for a job that meets the criteria on my list which includes part time work, no evenings and weekends, and a decent hourly wage. I am being open to those opportunities should they appear however, I am no longer striving to make them happen. I'm trusting and flowing, something highly unusual for me but, as I said earlier, I've tried the working hard routine and that wasn't getting me anywhere so...

This year, a huge part of connecting with my healthy self has included connecting with healthy relationships by looking more closely at what is a healthy relationship and what is my part in that relationship and where do I give/expect too much and where am I receiving/expecting too little. Unfortunately, I've been quite hurt by three relationships that ended badly this year. Three is a considerable loss for someone who values relationships more than anything else. It has made me draw back and become more guarded in other relationships than I would normally be. That might not be all bad. I'm still working this out. As I told you in an early posting, I've begun matching the other person's actions and I'm finding that quite helpful to any expectations. On the flip side, after many years of looking, it appears that I have made one new friend through Arts & Crafts and that two other relationships are becoming stronger. Again, time will tell.

Whole health refers to the spiritual, financial, relational, emotional, and physical aspects of self. When I think about that list and how I want to apply it to the goal of connecting with my healthy self, the thoughts that come to mind are daily readings and journal writing - regular exercise - cooking and eating healthy, allergy free meals and learning to enjoy cooking - adjusting to less cash flow - working on healthy relationships in part by letting go of unrealistic expectations and in part by learning to increasingly enjoy time spent with myself - and things like spending time in my garden, organizing and cleaning my home, and painting and decorating my home so that I feel more like we've moved in and less like we're passing through.

As you can see, connecting with my healthy self will improve almost every area of my life. Don't you think that's interesting? I do because I've long been of the opinion that if women would practice improved self care every other area of their lives would flow more easily. Even though I've been aware of (and taught) self care, I haven't always practiced it as best I could. That's normal. When we become aware of an area of disfunction, we have an opportunity to correct. I'm so grateful to have an end date for the business and a start date for an extended transition period. It's going to be amazing as I learn focus in new directions.

Part of my excitement is because during that transition period I'll be connecting with my artist in increasing ways. When I wrote that item, I'm pretty sure I was thinking about textile paintings and about improving my artistic abilities in that genre. Now, I realize that I'll be connecting with my artist through gardening and cooking and decorating and sewing fashions and in numerous other ways that I've not given much priority to over the past few years - personal ways. It's pretty hard to describe how thrilling that is.

A few days ago, I discovered a website called The Uniform Project. It's a year long project about sustainability and about raising funds for schooling in India. You can read more about it on the website. What I found fascinating is that Akanksha is going to wear the same dress for a year in all sorts of creative ways. If you click on the calendar at the left, you can see how she has worn the dress each day since May 1st. As an artist, I find her project inspiring because...

... what I know for a fact is that series work really stretches our creativity. The structure of a series (... the black dress) provides the edges within which our creativity must and can flow. As I close the business and move through this transition phase and discover what is next, I have similar edges in which my healthy balanced self can flow and flourish. I have spent a lot of time at this website since discovering it because it encourages, motivates, inspires, and calms me. YES YES!

Yesterday was Aryck's 20th birthday. Two of our children are now in their twenties with only one teenager left. In a way that seems sad and in another, it's the way of life and how symbolic is it that I started the business when Aryck was born and I'm closing it as he emerges into adulthood. Children (and businesses and dreams) are going to get older, grow up, and move on whether we want them to or not. Enjoying what is is the best choice. And I do. I think my children are - and the future is - completely fascinating.

Birthdays are very special at our house. I've talked about that before, about how a birthday is such an amazing day and how I can't imagine not celebrating the day of your own birth or of someone you love. Everybody does it differently. This is our way. The day is all about the birthday person including food. We eat the birthday person's favourites for dinner.

Aryck (after much prodding) finally asked for corn chowder and mocha mouse. He was hesitant because I can no longer eat either of those foods. How sweet. To make all of us feel better about what I couldn't eat, I made the men soup and pie and myself foods that only I enjoy like salmon, zucchini, and beets. It was a yummy dinner for all of us. We missed including our daughter and son-in-law. I wish they could have been here.

It was a fabulous idea to review my word of the year, to look at how it fits, and at how it has already evolved over these past months. I'm glad I took the time. A real point of connection for me is the focus on healthy - what is the healthiest spiritual, financial, emotional, relational, and physical choice that I could make? Have a great day. I'm off to work on the second texture piece. Hopefully, it'll be finished today.

Talk soon - Myrna

Grateful - progress around connecting to my healthy self

FINALLY - Maybe!

Once I'd pulled it apart, I cut a whole bunch of 3" squares from the jacket. Some were just blue, some were just green, and some were blue and green with a pink yarn couched down the middle. The green is a yellow-green with layers of thread work in fuchsia, blue, purple, gold, and green. It looks like a boucle. After the pieces were cut out, all of the back was left as well as a whole bunch of bits. There's enough for at least one - if not two - purses. Perfect! I wasn't wearing the jacket anyway and I'd definitely use (or sell, or gift) a purse.

This piece is having a difficult birth. I really thought I'd be done by now and yet it seems like all I've done so far is dye, overdye, and shuffle fabric. Yesterday, I played with different background colors and square configurations for hours before deciding the green and blue squares looked the best on the stitched and over-dyed orange piece. Perfect - a decision made. NOT. It wasn't big enough for the rest of the plan so I picked out four different orange to rust pieces looking for the best match. You can see the comparisons below ONLY...




... with a solid-ish fabric, no matter how I arranged the blue, green, and blue/green pieces, the whole thing looked BORING. I could see the texture up close but from a distance, it was all blah and needed contrast which meant that if the squares looked plain then the background should have a whole lot more life. That thought led to the batik below which worked. The same yellow-green is in the print along with the compliment, red violet.

Even with a more active background, the squares were still big and plain. I thought hmm... what would happen if I put a bit of that light violet on top of the green? YES YES - as soon as I did that my mind started hopping. The picture below is for inspiration only. The "finished" piece is quite a bit different. I can see it done and - providing I'm right in what I think will happen - there will be some crusty surfaces added along with more color, a focal point, and a tension point. It's all good - LOL - hopefully!

So far, the background is layered and stitched with narrow, horizontal lines and I've just started to stitch the squares in place with a purple zigzag that barely shows. The edges are soft. The squares appear to melt into the background. FUN! The yellow-green showing on my monitor isn't quite right but at least you can get an idea of the edges. The color is actually much closer to the green in the batik. I finished stitching the background at 4:30 yesterday. It was another day of NOT moving forward fast but at least it concluded with me knowing what I'm doing next and bubbling with ideas.

This morning, I'm cleaning Kyle's room. That'll take a few hours and while I might rather be stitching, he comes home tomorrow - finally - I miss him - so cleaning has to be done today. Every summer, I clean his room. He looks forward to it - literally. You could ask him and he'd say one of the best things about going to camp is that when he gets home, his room will be clean. Love that... and the great big hug I'll get. Have a great weekend.

Talk soon - Myrna

Grateful - feeling like I'm finally moving forward with this piece

A New Plan... Again!

Yesterday was supposed to be a full force ahead - accomplish a lot - day. NOT. I'd run out of thread and needed to wait until 9:30 when the shop opened to pick up more. Then, I ran a bunch of errands and by the time I was back and the stitching was finished, it was already noon. It looked only okay - just barely - not at all what I was hoping for.




The dry brush painting would need to make a significant difference for this to work. After drawing a rough design plan, I measured the shapes and then cut off the excess fabric for experimenting with paint colors. I tried fuchsia, copper, lime, purple, blue, and brown and none worked - not at all what I was hoping for. Next!




Last night, I mixed up a green dye bath and stuck the stitched piece in it along with the yucky yardage that was supposed to be a background piece. Ideally, green dye plus orange fabric would look rust-ish but that sounded awfully similar to Monday's mistake - oops challenge - LOL.

This morning when I finished drying the piece, it was slightly darker but not at all what I was hoping for. Layered and stitched, it's a good beginning for a purse (Wendy would like one this color) and that's about it. Oh well - time for a new plan... again. The yardage - on the other hand - is a much better shade of green. Perhaps I'll be able to use it.




I did think of an idea last night while I was not sleeping. It involves cutting up a coat that I made a few years ago and have worn only once for a walk around the block partly because I never got around to adding the buttons and partly because I put on weight on my hips and it's a bit too tight. It's been rolled up in a basket for years so it may as well become something else - especially as it has such lovely texture. I'm thinking about it some more over coffee this morning. It's not a cut I can recover from if I change my mind.

Yesterday afternoon, I went for coffee with a woman I worked with when I first started to teach quilting. At the time, she was quite popular, had developed a line of patterns, and had a local TV show. She taught for years and years and years and then completely changed directions. I had heard she was VERY happy now so I called her and said let's go for coffee so you can tell me all about how happy you are. It was a fabulous conversation. As she said, she discovered there was a whole world out there that had nothing to do with sewing. Imagine! It was SO GOOD to talk to someone who really understood. I could relate to much we talked about only I'm not quite done - I'm close.

Now that I'm working on piece eight of the nine for the exhibit and have only one class to prep for October, the finish line is getting closer and the closer it gets, the more I'm embracing the reality of having completely closed the business. I'm really enjoying NOT thinking about another project or product or class or marketing plan. I'm really enjoying thinking about creativity for myself.

Summer is coming to an end. School will start in a few weeks. While January 1st might be the first day of the calendar year, I've always thought of the first day of school as the start of the "new year". Every year about this time, I would review my business goals, change the ones that needed changing, and set new ones. This year, for the first time in twenty years, I'm not setting business goals. Everything is completely different. My fall goals are about me.

September has typically focused on getting the kids settled in school and our family back in the flow of classes and lessons and whatever else is on the schedule and then - toward the end of the month or early October - I leave for my retreat to Port Townsend after which I would really focus in on the goals that I had set. This year, September will be about the kids and about finishing up my commitments and then, when I leave this time, I'll be packing my serger, sewing machine, fashion fabrics, and patterns. It will be no work and all fun. How strange. How wonderful. And when I get back, so much will be different.

In December, I talked about my word for the year - connect. One thing I've realized is that in order to connect to the future, I may first need to disconnect from some things in the past. I'll talk about that tomorrow. Right now, more coffee while contemplating chopping up that coat.

Have a great day. Talk soon - Myrna

Grateful - common understanding

Strong Orange

Speaking of dyeing - I did some on Monday. It was experimental. The results were not what I'd anticipated. First, I took this piece of green that I believe my friend Vicki gave to me a few years ago and stuck it in...




... an orange dye bath. The plan was to turn it shades of peach to rust. I should have paid more attention to the color name. It's called...

... Strong Orange and that's exactly what I got - no peach - no rust. That sort of stopped my creative flow for a bit so I turned to plan B over-dyeing...

... a group of black and white prints with green. I was aiming for a blue based lime and used fabric that ranged from black with a small white speck to white with black lines. After I'd dyed those pieces, I threw in some yardage to create a paler background fabric. As you can see...

... the results are not at all a blue based lime (more like mint) and the background fabric looks like it's in a completely different color range (more like yucky yellow) AND... the dotted black...

... didn't take the color at all even though you can see the green dots in this process image below. When I wet the fabric down prior to putting it in the dye bath, it was very reluctant to absorb water. Since I pre-wash everything in the studio, that was a bit strange but obviously something is coating the surface and preventing the fibers from grabbing the dye. No green dots. So disappointing.

When that didn't work out, I went back to a revised version of plan A. In an attempt to create a piece that does not scream HELLO HALLOWEEN, I'm stitching lines of blue across the orange fabric - so far in only one direction but I might go both ways. Even with these few lines, you can see how the thread is altering the color. Next, I plan to dry brush it with paint. What color? I'm not sure. That's for figuring out today.

Susan Being Snippy wrote - We are about to embark on a drive across the prairies and have invested in a small portable gas stove because a pot of veg soup will fill my belly when no suitable restaurant is findable. I am leery of this trip because I will have to be extra vigilant about meals -- hope I don't starve -- must make sure to have protein bars along too, I guess!

THAT exactly illustrates what I'm struggling with - a huge change in how I normally behave. The before allergies me would easily hop in the car, set off on a road trip, and come back days later having explored all kinds of interesting restaurants while visiting friends along the way. The after allergies me isn't too sure about going, worries about how to eat, doesn't want to impose on friends, and is frustrated by the same boring food choices. AND... as I said before, while I have quite a collection of gluten and dairy free cookbooks, unfortunately none of them came with a cook. Darn!

Talk soon - Myrna

Grateful - exploring what if

T1 Is Done

The first texture piece (T1) is done. YEAH. There were a few glitches along the way and that's just fine. Glitches always give us a chance to think creatively which - I hear - is really good for avoiding dementia and Alzheimer's. So... just in case.... we all need a few glitches.

Once the thread nest was flattened out with stitching, it was wider than I wanted it to be and the edges were more interesting than I thought they'd be. In the end, I didn't want to lose them so I took away from the middle by cutting out a 3/4" section. Then, the edges were butted and fused together with interfacing to add strength to the back and something for stitches to adhere to.




To join the sections, I stitched a row of zigzagging vertically through the middle of the design. When you get a full view of the finished piece (in January) you'll see that it's interesting and barely noticeable - just a little bit top and bottom. A nice bonus.




With textured pieces, I often think a formal binding takes away from the design. They are raw and scraggly and suddenly they're shut up tight around the edges. I prefer them open. Since I already have ideas for the next two pieces, I know that informal edges will work for all three keeping the series consistent. In the image below, I was painting the edges with copper. Once that was dry, I zigzagged over the edge with a wide stitch and copper thread.




The main focal point is this textured and painted piece of FoShape. It's a heat activated fabric that is often used for theater costumes and masks. For more info, check out the Dazian website. That's where I ordered mine from YEARS ago (more stuff from stash).




The tension point is these rows of tucks in the top one third of the design. They're evenly spaced although that's hard to see in this image. When the piece is attached to the painted canvas, they'll lay correctly. The tucks build on the theme of horizontal lines, another aspect that I want to keep consistent through this series.

This morning is arts & crafts club. I'm re-knitting my blue sweater. When the front, back, and one sleeve were complete, I realized it was going to be too small so I ripped it out and have started over. It was MUCH too beautiful to not be able to wear. A little tedious to do again but easy knitting - oh well.

Thanks so much to everyone that commented yesterday. Here are a few thoughts...

Charmion - At both restaurants, the waiters paid quite good attention to what I was asking for and made suggestions but there is only so much they can (or are allowed) to do. The VERY BEST restaurant that I have found for food allergies is Moxie's. They check every ingredient of every ingredient and will often cook my meal completely different than their normal way to ensure I'll be okay. I've eaten in several locations and in every one they have more than gone the extra mile. I really appreciate the service. It makes me feel special rather than a pain in the behind. Usually, I get to chat with the cook about whatever his idea is and I enjoy that a lot because it gives me ideas for at home. Unfortunately we do not have a Moxie's in Kamloops. The closest one is 2 1/2 hours away. Thanks for the link to BC restaurants. The ones listed are all in Vancouver. Next time I'm down there - 4 1/2 hours - I'll check one out.

Cassy - LOL, it's good to know there's a WONDERFUL end in sight. Thanks for your support.

Karen - I know of women who have had hysterectomies and then still went through menopause. It seems to depend on the type. You said you had a total hysterectomy and I think that's the difference. VBG - probably not a solution for me.

Lee - You asked why I am eating out. It is something I've always enjoyed. I like the ambiance and variety of different restaurants. I like exploring new places and I can learn a lot about them from popular local restaurants. I like not buying, prepping, preparing, or cleaning up a meal and especially not having to consider anyone else's likes and dislikes when deciding what I want to eat. I like trying new ingredients and interesting tastes and foods from different cultures. I like long conversations with good friends over coffee and cake. I like getting to know the staff and having them get to know me. Sometimes, I just want quick and easy. I could list a LOT more reasons I'm sure.

Eating out has been one of my more constant luxuries in a comfortable but not extravagant lifestyle. It started when I was a girl and would go for lunch with my Dad. Even as a teenager, I went for lunch with friends and when my children were just young, I'd take them out for breakfast or lunch (and still do) partly because their Dad travelled for work and it got us out of the house and into new scenery and gave me a break. Before my daughter started school, we would regularly get all dressed up pretty - hair and make-up - and go for tea. The boys and I have had similar outings. Just last Friday, I took my oldest son out for breakfast to celebrate his new car. I have many past and current memories around eating out. It's a huge part of my way of life and not all that strange in the culture that I live in.

Cooking is a language just as sewing is one. If you ask me a sewing question, I can quite easily answer it or figure out the answer. I'm not as familiar with the language of cooking. I know how to cook basic meals and that's all I've ever needed to know because I could eat the more exotic food that I love when I went out. The foods that I do know how to cook, I'm quite good at. Most people would say that I'm a good cook.

Not knowing the basic language, it's hard for me to understand the changes to a gluten free, dairy free diet. The points of connection aren't there. While I know some basic substitutions for flour in a gravy such as corn or tapioca starch, there are far more things that I do not understand than those I do. How on earth does one make a gluten free pie crust when one has never made a "real" pie crust? I've always bought pie from a local bakery; I've never made it. You see what I mean. I can't buy a gluten free pie so now I either don't eat pie or learn how to make one. The learning process is quite discouraging to say nothing of long and expensive. It reminds of when I was learning to dye fabric which, if I recall correctly, I said at the time was much like cooking. It makes a big mess and results are not guaranteed.

For me to cook the kinds of food that I enjoy eating in a restaurant requires tools and abilities that I do not currently have. Learning will be possible when I make that mental shift from having to over to wanting to. It would be a whole lot easier if this actually was a lifestyle change, as in a choice that I had made for myself, rather than one that has been imposed on me. It's not. However, since I'm not choosing to eat gluten-packed meals and be sick, that leaves me with very few choices within a life style that I really enjoy. I'm grieving the loss because...

... it's not just food. I'm being forced into giving up a way of life that impacts both my eating and my relationships. It stands to reason that if I enjoy eating out so much, my family and many of my friends do also. Eating out has been a highly social activity for me and especially wonderful because I am at home so much. It gets me out of the house. When I was "only" allergic to shellfish, it was already difficult for my friends. These additional allergies have made it darn near impossible. And...

... it's not just eating out. I've become very difficult to invite over as well. It's easy to say that if your friends are really your friends, they'll make the effort, but why should they? Not only are a lot of these ingredients expensive, my friends work hard and come home tired at the end of the day and most don't like to cook any more than I do. They're looking for easy - like eat out - as opposed to time intensive - like learning new ways to feed Myrna. I would be exactly the same way. I'd want an easy solution and... unfortunately... the easy solution is to buy gluten free foods only most of them taste awful. How do you graciously thank someone for that making the time and effort while telling them not to bother again? It's really hard. As a result, we're limited to coffee - no cake.

It's a curve. I'll figure it out eventually. But, it's not through choice that I'm not eating gluten or dairy or shellfish or bananas or fermented things. The choice is not to be in pain or have other symptoms - like the inability to breath. Breathing is good. If I could find a way to do that and keep eating these things, I would. So far, I haven't been bitten by the cooking bug although I am doing better.

I'm learning (attempting to learn) how to make the best of a "bad" situation until it becomes a good one. That's going to take time - LOL - perhaps a life time. I imagine I'll circle back through doing okay and feeling sorry for myself with intermittent whining. How normal! It's a good thing I realize that no matter what I am dealing with, I am blessed to go to bed each night warm, dry, safe, and fed. YES YES!

Talk soon - Myrna

Grateful: Happy Birthday Big Brother - 49 - wow! I remember you teaching me to read and now look. LOVE YOU!

Living Without

On Thursday, I enjoyed lunch the event but not lunch the meal. After repeated conversations with the waiter and checks with the cook, my salad came not only with gluten but a creamy dill dressing. It ended up going back while I waited for a substitute salad which I ordered quickly to keep up with the other woman. It contained ingredients that I don't like and no protein which I really needed.

On Friday, we went to pick up Kyle from camp and stopped for dinner. Typically at any restaurant there are two or three things on a menu that I can order (if I'm lucky) and they involve plain chicken, beef, or fish. At this one, I could have salmon with no sauce, vegetables with no drizzle, no rice or rice pasta, and no potatoes because they were deep fried with the calamari and then rolled in butter (read dairy and possible gluten and shellfish exposure). I ended up with a double batch of vegetables which were mostly peppers.

Howard's meal started with a salad. I couldn't have one because they didn't have a suitable dressing and weren't willing to mix an oil and vinegar one up nor transfer a balsamic one from a different dish. Howard also had warm bread with garlic butter which I know is yummy because I had it in my "previous" life before this burst of allergies. Other than people can't order shellfish around me because I'll react, I don't believe my family or friends should do without something just because I can't eat it. However, watching him made me want to burst into tears.

Typically these "plain" meals are for more expensive. A few weeks ago when I went on the road trip, I paid $37.00 for a salmon dinner. Hello - there's something wrong. I could have bought two complete salmons for that price. Not only is the food often boring, it's expensively boring.




On Saturday, I picked up the latest issue of Living Without: The Magazine For People With Allergies And Food Sensitivities. Under the letters to the editor section, one woman writes about how insulting the magazine's title is and why she won't buy it because of that and another suggests a different title because this one speaks of deprivation. The editor comments that they've debated the title several times, even polled their readers, and that the majority agree that they are living well while living without. Really?

It would be much better if food allergies happened to someone who hated to eat out and loved to cook. That's not me. As far as I'm concerned, the title is dead on. I am living without. Did I mention that I now can't eat fermented things - like soy sauce and wine? Or that soy has a distinctive taste so all those substitute butters, cream cheeses, and sour creams that are made from soy do not taste like what they are supposed to taste like - they taste like soy. It's like putting ketchup on everything. Suffice to say that the list of what I'm avoiding just keeps getting longer. Pretty soon, I'll just tell people the few things that I can eat. I will be SO HAPPY if this goes away when menopause is over.

Sunday was a rough day. That evening, Howard wanted to take me out for dinner thinking it would cheer me up. At one time, yes. Right now, NOT. The last thing I wanted to deal with was ignoring 97% of the menu and settling for plain and boring after intensive discussions with a waiter who thought I was just being picky and difficult to deal with - especially expensively plain and boring. And even then, I might end up sending my meal back while Howard ate. We stayed home.

As I was picking away at my chili, tears started rolling down my cheek. What I really wanted was Fettuccine Primavera at Pete's Pasta along with a glass of white wine and their amazing house salad. There's not a single thing in that restaurant that I can now eat. It used to be my favourite place to go.

I was feeling sorry for myself and then I was mad at myself. THOUSANDS of people around the world are going to bed hungry every night. Canned chili would be an amazing luxury. I need to focus on the abundance, rather than lack, in my life and I want to but it doesn't always work. Occasionally, I'm just miserable and whiny. For Christmas this year, I'd like a cook!

Talk soon - Myrna

Grateful: resources, even if they're cook books that don't actually cook!

So Much To Say...

So much to say - LOL. Have you noticed that I'm rather chatty. It's true. I could write chapters today however, I'll attempt to limit myself to a short - a relative term - conversation.




This is my new grandbaby car. My oldest son bought his very first car Wednesday. He's continuing our family tradition of buying a quality, second hand vehicle. That's the lovely bonus of having an incredibly talented mechanic in the family. Howard can fix fixer uppers. Not that Aryck's is. We've all concluded that it's the "best" car because it has fewer miles, no dents, and considerably less rust than our other vehicles and only one color of paint.

Before buying this one, he and his Dad had built a Turbo Sprint that ran really well from two others that didn't. Originally, the Sprint was two shades of blue and then, after an accident, it got a new white door becoming three colors, and then Howard and Aryck replaced and repainted the hood black and it was four colors. VERY fun. I definitely knew which car had my kids in it - or used to know and will know again when Kyle drives. Right now, I'll watch for this purple Neon.

This is the view of my friend Lorraine that I see frequently as she bustles off to grab a book or a pattern or a sample or a notion to show me what we're talking about. Her studio is a treasure trove.

Have you seen one of these? Do you know what it's called? Do you know where I can find one? It's like a knitting spool except you turn it and it "automatically" knits cording. PERFECT for making I-cord. I want one.

The pattern info workshop was great - especially spending time with other women who sew. One of the women - Christine - was an on-line student of mine. We'd met once before so it was fabulous to spend time together again. Teaching on-line, I rarely got to meet my students.

At the class, we compared seven different pattern groupings which was more than I expected. I thought we'd just do the big four. We looked at Vogue, McCalls, Butterick, Simplicity, Burda, New Look, and Kwik Sew. As Lorraine had said, they are all based on the same basic block and measurements for each size and are nearly identical in sizing. There are fine tuning issues that make some patterns more desirable than others but overall, a size is a size is a size.

I'd heard Lorraine say this before however seeing the patterns lain over each other was really interesting. It explains why when altering patterns to my moulage, I am making the same changes over and over consistently. Even so, I lean toward Vogue, Butterick, and Burda patterns because of the more interesting design lines. To me, that's one of the best aspects of sewing - uniqueness.

Five of us went out for lunch afterward and continued our conversation. I got the feeling that these women had a lot of sewing experience and would have loved to spend more time chatting with them. Having someone to talk to, who loves to do what you love to do, is such a fabulous part of creativity. It's why I enjoy spending time with my friend Caroline. We can gab forever about sewing and it never gets old even though we are - LOL!

When I say that Lorraine is one of the few people that knows more about sewing than me (and everyone at lunch agreed that that does in-deed sound arrogant) that fact is heavily influenced by the reality that I hardly know anyone that sews fashions. My friend Caroline and I are about equitable in knowledge and skill only she lives 2100 miles north of me. Lorraine knows far and beyond what I know and lives an hour and a half away. Charlene lives in Kamloops and she and Lorraine could chat together with ease except Charlene is a busy business person with little time to talk - all of which makes me glad that sewing fashions is starting to become popular again. Perhaps I'll end up with more playmates - what fun that would be.

After lunch, Lorraine and I went to Fabricland and I bought NOTHING at the sale. What a good girl am I - although - to be honest - I'm popping over to our Fabricland later this morning because the muslin is supposed to be on half price. We'll see. If not, I'll wait because there is absolutely no need to pay extra for something that technically gets thrown out EXCEPT THAT - a brainy idea - if I buy 100% cotton, I could cut up the test garment and dye the fabric afterward. YES YES!

This thread soup is from the smallest texture piece that I started on Wednesday. I cut these thread ends off when stopping and starting stitching and store them in a container under my construction desk. They're mostly silk finish and rayon threads. To make this mix, I sliced through the threads with the rotary cutter and then "tossed" them on the counter top before spreading them over organza and soluble stabilizer.

Because I'm working to a size, it was important that the thread take up a specific amount of the background fabric. I used these rulers to push the bits into place before covering them with another layer of soluble stabilizer and stitching them together.




After the stabilizer was washed out, the thread lace was placed over a piece of hand dyed fabric by Elin Noble (plus batting and backing) and stitched horizontally in tight rows. Along with texture, one of the commonalities of this set will be horizontal lines. The color series has vertical lines and the line and shapes series has curved and flowing lines.

On my way home, I drove out to visit Carolina at the Aspha Naira Gallery. She has been evacuated twice and is still on evacuation alert, most likely until the end of the fire season in the fall. The fire at Terrace Mountain was 95% contained and then horrendous winds came up one night and now it's only 30% contained again. Because of that, someone has to be at the house at all times. They could be evacuated with only minutes notice. They've had so much help - which is fabulous - and most of their things are now stored in town. All of the art is gone, the house and studio are quite bare, and Carolina and her family are living out of their trunk. VERY stressful. I'm glad I went to visit. A hug and a chat aren't much but it helps.

Have a great weekend. I'm off to stitch. Talk soon - Myrna

Grateful: recycling ideas for threads and fibres

A Pattern Info Class

Blogger is being difficult today. It won't allow me to cut and paste pictures or move text around. I had to rewrite this post to get the two together.

This morning, I'm driving to Vernon (1 1/2 hours) to take a pattern info class with my friend Lorraine. She's a professional pattern drafter and we're going to talk about the different companies (Big 4) and their particular pattern lines. There are seven or eight of us attending and I'm looking forward to spending time with other women who sew.

Lorraine is one of the few people I know who knows more than I do about fashion sewing. She's incredibly inspirational. It's FABULOUS to spend time with her talking construction and gourmet details. After the class, we're going out for lunch and then over to the sale at Fabricland. NOT that I need any fabric. I certainly have enough. What I do want is a bolt of muslin for testing patterns. Making a muslin saves a LOT of time.

Earlier this week, Vogue had an on-line sale. Patterns that are normally between $24.00 and $30.00 were on for $5.99 so I ordered the six below. Here's why...




The black t-shirt and jeans wardrobe that I've been wearing for most of the past twenty years hasn't leaned toward soft and feminine. That's something I'd like to put back into my wardrobe. This top is not only easy to sew but flowing and pretty. It would look great longer and belted over a straight skirt. I prefer the simpler sleeve. Too many ruffles are not me. The gathers at the neck will be a big enough change. Most likely, I'll start with a matching tie rather than a co-ordinating one or perhaps I'll make more than one tie.

The grey dress with the three quarter sleeves looks warm and cozy. I can see it in a brushed flannel or a knit with tights and boots. While I wear skirts often (especially as summer "shorts") it's been forever since I owned a dress because my body is not one size. If the dress fits my hips, it's too big in the shoulders and if it fits the shoulders, it's indecent over the hips. Making, having, and wearing a dress is going to be something new and completely different. This one is easy to fit because of the waist seam, which is recommended for someone with a sway back or with high hips like mine.

I mentioned a few weeks ago that I like straight skirts and that my friend Caroline and I were trying to lower our frump factor by making styles that we know look good on us with more interest. This skirt is asymmetrical with some seaming that adds attention without screaming look at my hips - although my husband says that my hips are one of my best assets (no pun intended) and that I should play them up more (along with my eyes and hair). Hmm... isn't he sweet. I also like the softly draped jacket. It's a lot like a sweater I bought a few years ago and wear practically all spring and fall.

The drama of this collar is what intrigues me along with the princess lines. They make fitting my body type much easier. The seams are top stitched for extra attention which is VERY fun. I think this would look fabulous in denim. Again, for winter, I could wear it with tights. The long sleeves are more casual. The sleeveless version says party - at least to me.

Like the collar in the previous pattern, this skirt has drama. The reviews on PatternReview.com were excellent. Most of the women highly recommended the pattern even though it is labour intensive. Apparently, it's worth the work. I don't need a huge wardrobe so I'm intrigued with patterns that are different and challenging with gourmet details that will take more time to sew. This pattern fits that description.

Yesterday, I started on the last set of pieces for the exhibit. These three are on the theme of texture and are 12", 24", and 36" wide. I started with the smallest one hoping to get it finished fairly quickly at which point I'll be 78% done. That sounds fabulous in two ways - I'll have mostly completed the exhibit and I'll be that much closer to my fashion sewing time. YES YES. As you can see, I've got plans.

Anna wrote - I am content but not lazy. It's difficult to explain.

I get it. It's not as if we're not wandering around aimlessly. We have a sense of purpose and direction. We're just not overworking it, which is in itself work although work that is - I'm guessing - well worth the effort. When I think back on how much I have learned and how I've grown over just the past few years, I do the happy dance. Glitches and all, life continues to improve - increasingly so as I trust more and do less.

Elizabeth wrote - I know exactly what you mean about the way in which some people sail through life without seeming to have too many problems.

Thanks for understanding. It's more an observation than a whine. I know you know what I mean by that. Life hasn't been handed to me (us) on a silver platter and in many ways I'm (and maybe you are too) very thankful for that. Through hard work, I have developed a solid work ethic and a strong sense of self respect for and confidence in my abilities. I'm proud of myself - in a good way - although, if I'm completely honest - LOL - it'd sure be nice to try the golden spoon routine just to compare.

I once heard a quote worded something like this - if you haven't experienced difficulty in life, you're simply waiting in line because tough stuff comes to everyone at some point in time. It seems to me that there must be an opposite and equal reaction to that - if you haven't experienced smooth sailing in life, you're simply waiting in line because good stuff comes to everyone at some point in time. Afterall, life is an ebb and flow.

Talk soon - Myrna

Grateful: a day of fashion