Going In Circles

Yesterday, I was sweetly crabby - still laughing but definitely anti-social and not at all interested in cooking or cleaning or accommodating anyone. Apparently, I'd reached the full point on my social interaction scale. After we went out for breakfast, Howard and I avoided people, including each other, for most of the day. In the 30 years we've been together, we've learned when we need space. Good thing - we got a call last night and more company is coming for dinner today.

It's a little nerve-wracking living in British Columbia right now. If you've been watching news that talks about us, 85% of the province is under high or extreme fire risk warnings. There are between 500 and 700 fires burning and a LOT of people are evacuated from their homes including - once again - the area around the gallery where my work is on display. How difficult to be evacuated, returned, and then evacuated again.

Like the smoke, the risk of fire hangs over all of us. We're posed and alert, wondering and waiting, for when it will affect us more closely. Howard and I have a basket of important papers and our negatives ready to go at all times and a list of the order of things to take for whoever is in the house if we are evacuated. That might sound paranoid but then again, the hill behind my house was on fire two years ago. It's not.

Sunday, when we drove Kyle to camp, we left the instructions with Aryck. They included my Bernina, my new serger, the three pieces I've already made for the exhibit, and the three pieces up on the wall. I told him just rip it down and put it in the van. I'll figure the rest out later. I piled the parts on my work station for him so he could scoop and run. Of course, these are way down the list so if anyone was leaving quickly, I could be starting over.

My insurance agent has been looking for ways to insure my business under an agreement for people like music teachers. I received the paperwork Friday and one of the things she'd checked off as "yes" was that the contents of my business did NOT exceed $25,000.00. You can see why I have to call her as my fabric alone is worth way more than that. Howard and I were talking at breakfast about what is reasonable. It's impossible to insure or replace a lifetime collection. That takes a lifetime. Perhaps I'll be completely rather than semi-retired.

I did make some progress on the circles. They're now painted. First I fused them to interfacing. Not only did this make it easier to paint them, but it will also make the circles firmer so that they stand away from the piece and don't show through the stitching below. Because I'd already applied Misty Fuse, it worked to fuse them to the interfacing over a Teflon sheet and now I can fuse them to the background.





The interfacing also made it easy to paint off the edge of the circles and turn them as I worked. I fused them in sheets for each section of the piece so I have greater odds of success at getting them somewhere in the right region. I have a photograph of all of them in place but in the end, it never really matters. I'll work out something wonderful.




Here's the point. From a distance, the circles are still ghost-like floating bubbles HOWEVER, the thin edge of metallic green helps them to stand out just a little bit against the background. I'll use a spaced zigzag in green to hold them in place around the outside and and perhaps a copper around the inside to give them more interest. I'll see when I start stitching.

First, I have to cut out all those circle again and then decide. Before I do that, coffee on the porch. Today is BC Day. It's a holiday so those that can are relaxing. LOL - good idea. Howard has another week of holidays so I imagine I'll be moving slow and spending time with him. I'll get to the piece when and if and as I can knowing I'll have more time next week.

Talk soon - Myrna

Grateful - holidays together