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Friday 30 September 2011

My Interview Outfit

As you know, I've been applying for jobs at the university. Yesterday, I learned that they've been receiving hundreds of resumes for each position. Considering how much I want to work there, that was somewhat discouraging. Luckily, I'd already decided to take a positive approach and - presuming that I'll eventually need it - work on my interview outfit. It's irrelevant that I don't currently have an interview scheduled. I'm getting ready. Eventually, I'll get the inevitable if you keep applying because persistence eventually pays off, please come and see us phone call.




From what I know about interviews, a suit is always best in this type of job situation so I'm beginning  with this Vogue 8459 boucle jacket from a few years ago. It fits fabulously and the color is very flattering. It's perhaps a bit heavy for the weather right now and will be better in a few weeks so it's a good thing that I'm not expecting a call tomorrow however, if there was one, I'd wear this with...




... the Vogue 7937 skirt, view C, bottom right that I started sewing yesterday in an electric, shot with black, that looks like navy, but is a somewhat brighter, blue. I expected it to be an easy sew since I've sewn view D at left three or four times already only the back pattern piece is very fiddly. It's drafted as...




... one pattern piece ( 9 ) that is cut out with the edge at far left on fold. The seam above is center back. The zipper is in the side seam but easy enough to move to the back which works better for my shape. Added to the fiddly-ness is the fact that...




... you're expected to trace the uneven stitching lines and match them side to side. As you can see, they start at 5/8" and widen and they're not the same on both sides of the seam. I'm sure there's a reason for this only I don't know what it is so I didn't bother. When I traced the pattern, I reduced the width to 5/8" meaning all I had to do was match the edges and sew, stopping at the large dots as indicated. That was fussy enough. Pressing the folds took forever.




The instructions say NOT to stitch across the pleat on the right side of the fabric however, the black thread is virtually invisible on my fabric. You can only see the short, narrow zigzag in the image above because of the chalk lines underneath. Once those were brushed away, the stitching disappeared while the pleat was held more securely. That works for me. I will hand stitch the hem though.

The design has a faced waist. I've decided to add a 3/4" waistband with elastic instead as per the instructions in Pants For Real People. I used a similar technique on the Marcy Tilton skirt a few weeks ago and it's smooth and fits and works with my fluctuating waist. For now, I'm embracing elastic. I'm sure I'll waffle on that at some point in the future but... for now... elastic.




Jeans are not my best look. When I saw this profile of myself in the mirror yesterday, it made me think of Debbie Cook's posting earlier in the day. She'd been wondering how to decide whether you're slim, average, or curvy for Simplicity's Amazing Fit patterns. Apparently, they left out those instructions. I have a few Amazing Fit patterns and I've never even looked for instructions because I know I'm curvy.

Click on the image above and you'll see the side seam on my jeans weaving in and out. It shows clearly that my back waist is smaller than my front waist while my back hip is much larger than my front hip. Add to that, I have forward thrusting thighs and protruding calves. It would take a lot of darts to follow my shape. No wonder I look better in skirts and trouser cuts.

Knowing what I know about my figure, for the interview skirt I cut the front one size smaller than the back and then took the four back seams in an additional 1/4" each from the waist tapered to the existing seam line seven inches below. That's a total of 2" at the waist in the back only because the front fits smoothly. This distribution of measurement for my waist is something I discovered only recently and has already been quite helpful. Before, I'd have taken the skirt in at the side seam distorting the front in a way that wasn't needed. Where to adjust and why has been good learning.

My plan is to finish the skirt and then sew a top and then, if I have time, sew a matching jacket which will give me two suit options. Initially, I wanted a white knit top only I don't have any white knit and neither does Fabricland. I checked yesterday and the choices weren't good. I was in the store about 45 minutes. I walked in fine and walked out with a screaming headache, swollen eyes, itchy skin, difficulty concentrating, and nausea. Obviously, I quit for the right reasons and now I have time to sew my interview outfit.

Talk soon - Myrna

Grateful - a lovely electric blue, perfect for an interview, bought on sale for $7.00 a meter, wool blend fabric in stash

Thursday 29 September 2011

I Don't Need Another Pattern

Anonymous wrote - Your dress shop experience reminds me a bit of your post a little while ago about Ron Collins and Sandra Betzina.

Since Anonymous didn't sign the post or leave any contact information, I couldn't inquire as to the intent so I'm not sure whether it's a positive or a negative comment. At first, I thought the comment referred to a posting from February in which I mention a visit to a shop in Nanaimo and later I wondered if it referred to the posting How Original Can We Really Be? Either way, positive or negative, it doesn't really matter because it did get me thinking.

The shop in Nanaimo was wall to wall clothes with details and designer sewing techniques. It's a shop that I've been in numerous times and on that particular day, I was invited to tea and then to try on anything that appealed to me and to just have fun. It was a wonderful experience that led to an in depth visit to my favourite shop in Salmon Arm where I spent about three hours trying on fashions. Although I already knew it, both experiences reinforced the importance of trying on ready-to-wear fashions and especially of trying on styles and shapes that you're not really sure about. Not only did I learn a lot, the feedback from the sales clerks was invaluable.

If you're a fashion lover, and particularly a boutique owner, there's something extra special about a client who truly appreciates the details that you yourself love. That's most likely why my friend Lorraine often gets a call from the shop around the corner ( South of Pine ) inviting her to come and look at the latest shipment. The owner knows that Lorraine sews her clothes and that she won't be buying and even so, she wants to share those details with her.

When visiting a boutique where I'm going to spend a lot of time looking, I'm very careful to mention early on in the visit that I sew my own clothes and that I'm here to admire the details. I think it's important to be up front. If I get a negative reaction, I leave. The stores that I visit time and again find the fact that I sew fascinating. In one shop, one of the sales clerks also sews, incredibly well, with gorgeous gourmet details. She'll pull out garments that I might have otherwise overlooked just to show me this or that feature.





What I like about these visits is the energy and inspiration that I come home with. That's why I'm there. To absorb. In the originality posting, I talked about a pattern that Ron and Sandra produced for Vogue that appears to be an exact duplicate of a blouse designed by a Canadian company. What the real story is, I have no idea but I do know that many people want to recreate designer fashions and that's great for them and not what I want for myself. I'm there for the inspiration and to take away ideas like half a zipper, lace and knit inserts, random tucks, a mix of buttons, small ruffles, asymmetrical lines, snapped up pleats, and unmatched plaids at all angles.

These phrases are ideas that can be transferred to my own garments. Occasionally, I wish I'd taken a picture of a particular detail or had at least drawn a diagram so I could remember what it was that caught my attention. But I'm talking about a detail, one small portion, and not the whole garment. And then again, the ideas that really tickle stay with me. Perhaps the phrases are enough.

Visiting a boutique is a deliberate search for inspiration but not completely necessary. Inspiration is everywhere. While having coffee with a friend yesterday, a woman walked by wearing a tweed suit with princess seams. The skirt had pleats at the back hem and a one inch, frayed, looked like organza, trim around the bottom. The contrast of fabrics caught my eye and made me think about a purple and black tweed-ish fabric in my stash and a similar McCall's pattern.





On the drive home, a student walking toward the university was wearing a plaid shirt with a seam across the back at waist level and gathers below. Although I'm not interested in a plaid shirt, that design element (which could be gathers or pleats with exposed raw edges, exposed finished edges, or an enclosed seam) would work perfectly for my high back hip. I drew the not so great illustration above when I got home.

One of the things that Lorraine and I talked about at lunch on Tuesday is a wearable art group that she is a part of and about how to combine wearable and art so that the resulting garment is both. One suggestion was for the group to tour the shop we'd been to and then create a piece inspired by a garment they saw there. Lorraine has since approached the shop owner with the idea and she was thrilled. Fifteen women, touring her shop, enjoying the clothes, and creating a buzz around it will lead to more sales even if none of them buy a thing although I imagine someone will. That's just the way it usually goes. Stores benefit from our inspirational tours. Not all of my friends sew.

Another thing we talked about was designing and how to incorporate the ideas we see into garments we can wear. For those of us who sew, it starts with a pattern. I have a lot of patterns, many of which were bought for the details or the design lines or to see how that particular garment was sewn with no intention of actually sewing the specific design. These patterns are my collection and - in a way - are similar to visiting boutiques. I bought them because I wanted to use some small part - if only the inspiration - in a design that works for me which may or may not be the context in which I'm viewing the detail.

I view patterns from two perspectives. Some are perfect for highlighting a fabric such as the Burda pants combined with the Guatemala fabric from a few weeks ago or the Marcy Tilton skirt and the graphic black and white print that I don't think you've ever seen a completed picture of. With these, the fabric is speaking the loudest although in an interesting design. Other patterns, such as the New Look 6735 t-shirt that my T and T evolved from, are perfect as the starting point for design. They're basic. I can do a lot with them knowing that the structure fits me well.

Lorraine and I also talked about the number of people who seem to think it's the pattern that will make them creative. They're always looking for a new pattern. That's not how it works in my opinion. I think it's about what you do with a pattern and that's why basics that fit and flatter are so valuable. When it comes right down to it, I don't need another pattern. I need to use the patterns I already have more effectively by combining them with the inspiration all around me. Carolyn of Diary of a Sewing Fanatic is amazing at this especially with her T and T dresses. I'm enjoying the designer inspired pieces she's been sewing recently. Carolyn of Handmade by Carolyn features the same pattern time and time again and each version is vastly different.  She's a master at incorporating what inspires her into patterns she has already fitted and perfected. THAT's what I'm aiming toward. Well developed patterns that fit and flatter, that can then be used as a blank canvas.

I want to take the details from the clothes found in these shops and combine them with my T and T patterns to create unique to me, inspired by what I see, creations. It could be that THAT is what Anonymous was referring to. Time and again, I visit these shops, extol at length about the garments and how they inspired me, and yet I don't seem to produce a whole lot beyond basics. There are various reasons for this - which are completely valid - after all, we need supporting garments to go with those designer ones - BUT... that's not the total reality. My more limited than I'd like it to be - really creative sewing is something that I have been increasingly aware of and it's a frustration that will - eventually - I hope - resolve itself - at least that's what I'm aiming for.

In yesterday's talk with my friend, I wondered if the answers I received on Tuesday - knowing for sure that I want a job outside the home - knowing for sure that I don't want a business especially a creative one - knowing for sure that I want to sew for myself - knowing for sure that I want fashion sewing to be my stress release and my creative outlet - will allow me to now settle in to doing exactly that. Time will tell but one thing I know for sure is that I feel a whole lot more settled today than I did Tuesday morning. And that's good.

Or maybe Anonymous just wanted to let me know that I'm repeating myself. Yes. It happens.

Talk soon - Myrna

Grateful - inspiration

Wednesday 28 September 2011

Yes - No - And Only Okay

Yesterday was a fabulous day that happened in just the right order. Even the weather co-operated. It was a beautiful, sunny day for a drive.

At my friend's house, we discussed the coat she's sewing and some ideas for felting a design around the collar as well as possibilities for a knitting project from a mixed and multi-colored collection of yarn that she'd been given. After that...

... we walked around the corner to a high end dress boutique operated out of one of her neighbour's homes. The shop carries the same clothing lines that I've talked about before, the ones I visit at Crazy River Clothing in Salmon Arm. Lorraine and I poured over the yummy details together and discussed how to recreate this or that technique. It was even more fun being there with someone who sews and can appreciate what you're looking at and understand what you're talking about and contribute equally. My mind buzzed with ideas.  We discussed those and more over lunch.

It was a morning filled with my favourite things to do.

After lunch, we stopped at a gallery that carries what I call statement art - like dead rabbits on the ground in a pool of blood with a white spirit rabbit suspended from a hangman's noose above. That's not my kind of art. I am drawn to and create pretty pieces, both functional and decorative, that if they have a message is a message about relationships with ourself, with others, or one object to another. Most statement art leaves me wondering what do you do with that. It was a discussion about statement and political art a few years ago that had me concluding I didn't really belong in that world. I'm not obsessed nor compelled in that way and while I've studied design, I haven't studied art history and I couldn't care less. Our visit was an excellent reminder of what's important to me. I'm glad we stopped there.



And then, I went for the jewelry talk. This gallery owner - Carolina - is one of the best I've ever met. She will discuss the subject thoroughly, tell you the truth, and then do everything in her power to help you attain your goal. She's an incredibly talented artist in her own right and her respect for my work means a lot to me.

We talked about the art of creating jewelry, about the importance of real gold and silver findings and other quality ingredients, about keeping up with clothing and color trends because those are the garments the clients will wear your jewelry with, about price points, and about how many bread and butter products would be needed to support how many high end, real money making, pieces. Of those high end pieces, she told me to anticipate selling two a year.

For our visit, I'd printed out a pile of pictures gathered from a variety of sources. Each had sparked ideas that were transferrable to textile jewelry. Carolina sorted the pile into three groups based on the strength of their designs. Of the thirty-nine, there were 6 yes, 28 no, and 5 only okay designs. What intrigued me was that the 6 were the type of designs that I was most drawn to and the direction that I was most likely to begin in which tells me that I probably could do well in this area.

On the drive home, I thought about the the dress store and how excited I was about those possibilities. I kept wishing that I'd taken a camera with me or sketched some of the ideas. Already, I want to go back. I thought about my time, money and energy and how I could spend it attempting to develop a creative career that may or may not fly or I could spend it attempting to develop a wardrobe that may or may not flatter me. In either case, there is an investment and a return. In the later, the odds of a positive return in my favour are much greater. And the thought came to me that of all the things I enjoy creating, if I were to risk in one of those areas, it would be to write another book otherwise, I'm all for spending my creativite time on sewing for me and I'm ready to raise the bar. YES YES

Talk soon - Myrna

Grateful - how delightful to start the day with questions and come home with answers. It doesn't always go that way. I'm grateful.

Tuesday 27 September 2011

On Jobs And Jewelry

Most of yesterday was spent editing and proof reading my latest job application - and then editing and proof reading it some more. I wanted to feel really confident before I sent it off because the opening is for a Curriculum Assistant at the university, a position that I am particularly well suited to and very hopeful of getting.

For a variety of reasons, having a job has become important to me. Even though I was only at Fabricland for a short time, I really enjoyed working outside the home. It took me forever to make that decision and once I did, it had lots of pluses one of which was financial. I had more money - LOL.

Have you noticed with all the talk of recession lately that your spending habits have changed? Even without giving it much conscious thought, I've found myself buying very little which is one of the reasons that the jewelry explorations are on hold. I'm the type of artist who gets an idea and then acquires a whole lot of options to test that idea. For example... if I was working on a textile piece and it needed a purple fabric and I didn't have the right shade in stash, I'd buy a half meter of seven to ten fabrics and auditioned them in the design. And then, if none of those worked, I'd buy and try some more options until I found the right piece. That's expensive if you're creating a single product and not so bad if you're acquiring a stash for multiple pieces as I was then.

I noticed myself going in that same direction with the jewelry ideas. With my first piece, I bought chain and wire and beads and small tools and closures and a few books and before I knew it, I'd spent well over a hundred dollars. I'm just not there right now. I don't want to invest any major amount of money in a new outlet. There is plenty of room for creativity with my current outlets and yet...

... later this afternoon, I'm having coffee with one of the gallery owners who used to carry my textile work. We'll discuss jewelry, what's important in terms of quality, design and originality, and which price points are more favourable. Already, that's too business-like for me because as fascinated as I am with the possibilities, I'm really not sure I want to be in business again and I'm especially not sure I want to be in a creative business. And yet... you wonder... I've applied for numerous jobs and so far, I haven't been hired. Will I be?

If I had my way, yes. Any one of the jobs that I've applied for recently would be perfect. Just because I haven't been hired so far doesn't mean I won't be soon. I might. But then again, I might not. And that's my dilemma. If I had a full time job, I wouldn't want to be in business not only because I don't want to spend all my time working but because I don't want to spend all my creative time focused solely in one direction. There's so much to explore. HOWEVER...

... if I don't get a full time job, then creating jewelry is the most interesting, most creative, and most viable business opportunity I've considered lately. It has potential only, when I think about being self employed again and about having a designated work space and designated work hours and strict boundaries for separating work and personal creativity, it all seems like too much. What I really want is a traditional job where I show up at the appointed hour, work hard, do excellent work, get paid, and go home to my private creativity.

Can you see how I'm circling in and out and about? It's this eternal waiting game of not knowing. I've never been much good at waiting and right now, I'm waiting to get a job, waiting for my son to decide what he's doing next, waiting to see what's developing with my husband's health, and... LOL... waiting for our house to sell. WHAT? I know...

... that's probably one thing too many only after we had the house all cleaned up and sorted out, we decided that now - while I wasn't working instead of next spring when I (hopefully) will be - might be the time to test the (incredibly slow) market. If I really could have my way, our house would sell immediately and we'd be moved and settled into the strata unit of our dreams just as I started an interesting, challenging, well paying job. Why not shoot for the stars? Only time will tell. Until then, I'm grateful for knitting. It...




... gives me a challenge to think about, something to keep my hands busy, and it's practically free. I have plenty of stash - LOL. For the front of the little girl sweater, I chose a simple, four row pattern. Knit. Purl. K1, P2 repeat to end. Purl. Repeat the rows. It's simple and pretty. I'm half way up the fronts and hope to get most of the rest finished at knitting tonight... IF... I'm back in time.

This morning, I'm driving to Vernon (1 1/2 hours) to see a friend. We'll catch-up, visit a dress shop to check out the designer details, have lunch, and tour a gallery before I head off to talk jewelry. And there I go, circling again.

Talk soon - Myrna

Grateful -  that eventually, given time, both the questions and the answers become clear and life settles

Monday 26 September 2011

Bubblegum Pink And The Sweater Saga

This week is back to life as normal. Our holiday is over. Along with all the cleaning and sorting, there was lots of stitching only the knitting kind not the sewing kind. There was not a stitch of that. In fact, there was no fabric shopping, not even any fabric looking, or even any fabric stroking. I did shuffle through some patterns getting them ready to mail to Carolyn. I had several duplicates and patterns that just didn't work for me and she does such amazing things with basic patterns that I can hardly wait to see what she sews with these. It'll be inspiring.




Above is a the back of a little girl's sweater, size 6-7 years. It's two inches of ribbing followed by stockinette stitch. Basic knitting. I did most of the back Saturday afternoon. If I were to follow the pattern, the front has...




... kangaroo pockets, a zipper or button opening, and a fold down collar. I'm ignoring that and viewing it as a blank canvas with the intention of developing my own stitch pattern within the number guidelines AND of experimenting with an idea for adding the sleeves. Neat, efficient, and well done construction steps are really important to me whatever I'm creating. That's how I ended up writing my book Press For Success. Since returning to knitting, I've been frustrated by the lack of neatness when sewing the pieces together. So far, I've learned to use a three needle cast off to form a clean shoulder seam and to knit the first stitch of every row so I can sew the side seams together bump to bump. I've also developed a combination of crochet and knitting for picking up collars that results in a neat edge inside and out. Now, I'm working on the sleeves because...




... it was the fateful sleeve that led to the sweater saga that follows. In the image above, I've pinned it in place, tried it on, and the length and width are fine. What's hard to see in the picture is that the shape of the sleeve cap is very square, which led to pressing, which is probably not a good thing to do with acrylic yarn, even if you use low heat, and a pressing cloth, but especially if you forget to turn off the burst of steam. Although the sweater looks quite lovely on Millicent from the....




... front, and even from the back if you don't look too closely, in real life on the...




... back you can see the shiny, iron sized, mushed spot where I totally crucified the yarn. Not. Wearable. After nine months of knitting, that was rather upsetting so I've chosen instead to focus on the positive. Let's call it an unwearable muslin. The style looks good on me. I'd make a few changes. Next time, I'll knit instead of rib the sleeves and curve the sleeve cap more and I'll add short rows through the bottom back to allow extra length for my high hip and I'll knit a larger size on the front to cover my bust but overall, its good. The front...




... is not as originally designed. The original cable came out of knit stitches and was right up against the garter stitch of the button band which I liked knit on but preferred in a ribbing stitch so I started over. And then, I started over again because I wanted pearl stitches on either side of the cable to push it out more. And then...




... I laddered down some stitches and picked them back up switching knit stitches to purl stitches on the front, again to highlight the cable more. And it all worked. Which goes to show that it's fun to experiment and that there's lots of learning involved even though knitting takes forever longer than sewing, which is why I'm knitting child size this time.

Talk soon - Myrna

Grateful
- the ability to let disappointment go and carry on instead of feeling inadequate and quitting

Monday 19 September 2011

Holiday At Home

If you want a pair of comfy funky pants, sew Burda 7400. I am SO in love with these that I'd sew a gazillion more only my girlfriend said no, two pairs are enough - LOL - I assume she meant for now. Maybe after a few months, I can sneak some more in or...




... at least check out Burda and/or Marcy Tilton patterns for similar styles. I wore the Guatemala pair on Friday and received numerous compliments. That always makes a girl feel good.




For these, I taped the side seam together for less piecing and better stripe management and extended the top for a cut on elastic casing. All I need to remember in the future is to make the elastic VERY tight to keep the waist at the waist plus... I may curve the front for my tipped waist. The front crotch length is a bit too long. Otherwise, they fit great out of the envelope... with my scooped back crotch curve of course.

Switching subjects - other than the side board in the dining room, I am done cleaning the inside of the house. I'd be done it too only it's full of cd's so I want my husband's help. He's more musically inclined than I am and I'd hate to give away something he wanted to keep.




Outside, we finally painted the brown trim in the carport white. I'd have included a picture only it's pouring rain this morning (edited to add). I know all about the power of paint and even so it has made such a tremendous difference that I wish we had done it YEARS ago only we had plans first to build a garage and later - when the city wouldn't approve the garage - to have rock posts put in. And it didn't happen. And now, we've finally accepted that it won't any time soon so we had the brown painted white and it's way Way WAY better... especially because someone else did the work. How lovely to watch. He's also going to paint the brown under the back patio. Perfect.

Another big and needs to be done job is cleaning out the dumping ground under our front porch. It's 10 feet by 20 feet and has become the dropping spot for things we don't know what to do with. Howard is off work this week and we're having a holiday at home, which we don't intend to spend working but that's one task we will get to. AND...

... I won't be blogging for the rest of the week. I'm going to sleep in and move slow - hopefully. It would be boring anyway. The only thing I'm working on is knitting that sweater, which I made some progress on over the weekend but it's not finished yet. Hopefully by next Monday. 

Talk soon - Myrna

Grateful - our son Kyle - it's his birthday next weekend

Friday 16 September 2011

Two

Two sleeves...




... done.

Two fronts...




... started.

PROGRESS ! ! !

Talk soon - Myrna

Grateful - approaching the end of the to do list

Thursday 15 September 2011

A Really Long Time

Yesterday was a lot of work. I started the to do list early in the morning and finished up late afternoon. A few of the jobs were things that had been put off forever like washing all the baseboards and touching up the trim on the stair railing. It looks great done. I didn't sew so I can't talk about that. I did...




... get about an inch knit on the sweater. I'm working on the sleeves. Two at a time. Together. From the cuff to the cap. It seems to take a really long time that way as the rows get longer as you go BUT... the same number of stitches is the same number of stitches or so I keep telling myself. There's another inch to go before I can start shaping the cap which will feel like progress.



I started this project so long ago that I had to pull out the instructions the other day and look at the picture again to see what I'm knitting. The cables on the front were part of the attraction. I get to knit that part next. YEAH!

Talk soon - Myrna

Grateful - a touched up house

Wednesday 14 September 2011

The Carpet And Cuffs

The carpet cleaner showed up early which is a massive improvement on the window cleaners who didn't show up at all earlier this year. YES YES ! ! He was so thorough that the stairs are still wet this morning. That tells you how extraordinarily dirty they were. He spent a lot of time on them and even so didn't get everything. Last night, there were still some marks on the edges of three or four as they dried so I took that pink laundry solution, rubbed it on, let it sit, and then used a cloth to rub it off. That worked perfectly. Today, everything looks clean.




While he was cleaning, I worked on the Burda 7400 pants from the Guatemala fabric. Because of the metallic threads, it was scratchy so I fully lined the pants and now they are absolutely luscious to slide into and slither beautifully when you walk. I'm going to enjoy wearing these.




When I sewed the elastic casing closed, I inserted my usual tab to indicate where the back is. It's so much easier to get dressed this way. These pants, the other pair, and my Marcy Tilton skirt all have elastic waist casings and they are all SO COMFORTABLE to wear. It could be that I'm falling in love with the elastic waist. It's easy and it fits even when I fluctuate. That's a huge plus. I'll explore some of the methods I read about in Marcy's and in Pati's books and try variations on future garments.




I didn't want to worry about matching lines on the cuff especially with the pleat. It'd be virtually impossible, so I put the stripes horizontal rather than vertical. Because the cuff is curved they're more slanted than straight but it worked although - LOL - it's rather busy. These need a nice plain black t-shirt and some fun jewelry and funky shoes to go with.

After the carpet and cuffs, I went for coffee with a friend and came home to a phone message that Vanessa was coming to look at the yard. Weird. When I queried Kyle, he said that she said that Howard had asked her to. Double weird. Vanessa is a master gardener and when she showed up she said Howard had asked her for a quote to thoroughly weed now and then take care of the gardens until winter. I was a bit miffed that he hadn't discussed it with me first but when she gave us a phenomenal price, pulled our her tools, and started immediately, I thought what a great gift. It's looking even better this morning which is a weight off my shoulders because....

... Kyle was determined to move to the basement bedroom so he got his brother and his friend to help him last night. When I returned home from knitting, everything had shifted which means his "old" bedroom is now empty and in need of paint. I'm trying not to put things off just in case I get the job so I'll work on that today along with finding new homes for the items that were stored in the guest room closet.

Speaking of knitting. I've decided my next project is to finish that sweater. I've been working on it since January and I'm ready to be done. Since, I only knit at knit night and I haven't attended regularly this year, it's been slow going. I'm going to pause sewing, knit at home, and hopefully get it done this week. My next project will be something small and easy and quick to knit.

Talk soon - Myrna

Grateful - no major dings in the walls from three young men moving furniture

Tuesday 13 September 2011

Shiny Objects: Part Two

I imagine every home has a black pitt - maybe more than one - that place where things get shoved and piled until you can barely move around anymore. We have a few. Along with pending employment, having the carpet cleaners come today was exactly the push I needed to do a thorough clean of the basement.




The under stairs storage was so full we could barely get past the door and now, it's been whittled down and sorted. Those blue tubs are of things for grandchildren. It's rare for me to keep things we aren't using and there they are - three large tubs for non-existent children. I find that rather fascinating and yet I know these are toys that children would enjoy... or I hope they will in this computer world. Will children still play with Lego and blocks and Barbies years from now? Will I have kept all of this for nothing because they'll read e-books instead of printed ones? Time will tell.





In the furnace room was this tub of bubble wrapped parts. It's a Handi-Quilter that I bought second hand off one of my students about ten or so years ago and have never even unwrapped. My intention when I bought it was one thing and my life went in a completely different direction. Yesterday, I called a woman in our church who I know quilts and asked her if she wants it. She'll let me know today. If she doesn't, there's another woman I'll phone. Hopefully one of the two of them will take it otherwise...





... I may donate it along with this pile of quilts to - hopefully - the local quilt shop or quilt guild to be raffled or auctioned for charity. These are some of my earlier traditional work as well as pieces from my books. Longer than I've been moving the Handi-Quilter, I've been carting these from house to house and it's time for them to move along.  The space they freed up in the linen closet was FABULOUS. I can actually see the shelves and everything is neatly arranged.




There are two more closets to clean before I'm done downstairs but already Howard took a car load of stuff to charity and I have another pile ready to go. We could have had a garage sale. I don't do that. I think of giving to charity as one way of supporting others in my community. If I'm not using it, let someone else have it. More than the money, cleaning does something for me. Not the every day dust and vacuum kind but the deep down, getting rid of stuff, kind. Clutter always makes me feel trapped. Opening things up, giving things away, creates flow. It energizes me, my studio, my creativity.

I've thought a lot about being creative in the past few weeks and especially about the direction I want my creativity to move toward. In September 2009, I wrote a posting called Shiny Objects. In it I talked about sewing for fun and how important it was to me to be able to explore ideas. Collecting the bits and pieces for jewelry, having the galleries ready and willing to take it, suddenly put a lot of pressure on me that I didn't like. It shifted the focus from personal learning and exploration to making money, and that's not a place I want to go again. IF - and that's a big if - I were to create pieces for galleries, it would have to be because I was so involved in learning that I'd produced an excess of pieces and NOT because I'd gone into mass production. We'll see. That's not likely to happen because...

... I'm like a crow. I see those shiny objects and I want them. I read a blog about lingerie and I want to sew another bra. Then I read one about Japanese pattern books and I want to try that. Or one about sewing a coat and I think about needing a coat and all my coat patterns and the pile of coat fabric and maybe I should sew a coat. I'm pulled here and there and I'm okay with that. Following shiny objects works for me right now although, it'd be nice to follow the shiny objects already in my studio - VBG.

Talk soon - Myrna

Grateful - less stuff, more flow, the ability to give

Monday 12 September 2011

Guatemala Scraps

On Saturday, I repainted two of the walls in Aryck's old bedroom. On Sunday, Howard cleaned the light fixture, the blind, and the window while I washed the doors and baseboards. Tomorrow, the carpet will get cleaned and then I'll touch up the paint on the window frame and it's done. One room. It certainly makes you feel like leaving the rest. A house is such a lot of work.

I've been reading Barbara Sher's book It's Only Too Late If You Don't Start Now. Her first book - Wishcraft - is one of the most influential books I've ever read. In fact, it's one of the few books I've reread more than once, usually every five to ten years. This other book is tough slugging. It presumes that I'm in a constant panic about aging while at the same time assuming that I haven't accomplished many of my goals and - having realized that life is passing me by and that I may never get to the things I want to do - keeps telling me how old I must be feeling in some attempt at hand holding. I'm 30% finished. It's rather annoying by now.

I wouldn't have picked up the book if I was unaware of aging but that doesn't mean I'm distraught and hysterical over the fact or that I've never accomplished anything in my life so far. I'd be incredibly unaware if I didn't realize I was closer to the end than the beginning of life BUT... that doesn't mean I'm going to roll over and play dead and give away the rest. I have a feeling those people aren't reading these kinds of books and we who are want realistic help.

From a list of possible factors, one question asked which was holding me back from attaining a goal. My answer was money. The next prompt was what would you do if you knew you only had two years to live and my answer was borrow against my life insurance. The third prompt was along the lines of well then, what's holding you back. Hmm... lets see... the hope that I'll live more than two years ? ? ? and the need to be financially responsible... and the lack of a terminal illness to justify the borrowing. That was so NOT helpful. Normally, I enjoy reading self-help books. Lately, I've found them irritating. Maybe that's a sign of aging like...

... being really annoyed when pretty young things make such stupid and immature comments that they have no idea are insulting to women my age. A while ago, one of the girls at work was talking about visualization and goal setting and how that's the way to get you want. When I inserted that there is reality to factor in as well, she indicated that if I hadn't attained my goals, I hadn't worked hard enough. Having worked my behind off, and having it allude my grasp how to control the world economy, that was insulting. I recommended she read Malcolm Gladwell's book The Tipping Point which talks about that exact factor - that it's not just about how good you are or how hard you work, it's also whether or not the stars align. Yesterday, another young woman told me that I couldn't possibly understand the mixed emotions of returning to work with a one year old child. Really... yes I could... I've done that.

I'm sure when I was their age, I said some of the same things. Undoubtedly, I insulted someone. Sigh... the cycle of life.




I cut out another pair of Burda 7400 pants from the Guatemalan fabric my husband brought me. First, I taped the side seams together on the pattern so that the pants were two pieces joined at the crotch and inseam. Then, I matched the grain lines on the pattern together to find the new grainline so that the stripes would fall straight from the side. After that, I attempted to match the plaid. In-between the bright colors of the dominant stripes are vertical and horizontal stripes of gold metallic thread. Apparently Guatemalan weavers insert these randomly. They were no where near evenly spaced however, I managed to find a way to closely align them through the front and back crotch. The inseam is completely off... but then again... it's doubtful anyone will be crawling around under my legs checking out my plaid so it's all okay.




There was a huge pile of Guatemalan scraps left over. I put them to one side thinking they'd be perfect for fabric beads. That's the third scrap pile I've saved which means that jewelry making could be worse than scrap quilting. You need such a little bit of fabric that you're tempted to keep everything. The necklace shown Friday used one strip of fabric 1 1/2" wide and the common consensus was that the necklace was too deep - a 1" strip would have done. You can see that a pile of scraps would make a LOT of necklaces and the danger of keeping everything.  Some controls will be necessary.

I don't have much in the way of plans for today. The sun is still shining and encouraging me to be lazy and enjoy. Howard has the day off. We'll spend some of it together including moving things out of the way for the carpet cleaners tomorrow. They are cleaning the empty bedroom, the stairs and hallway, Howard's office, and the family room. It should be all nice and fresh. And then, I have to decide about shuffling furniture.

Talk soon - Myrna

Grateful - reality checks

Friday 9 September 2011

My First Necklace

You know that feeling when you try something new - like you're all butterfingers and can't put two thoughts together. You'd think I'd never held a needle before or strung beads or tried to fold fabric BUT...



... my first necklace is finished. What you can't see in the image is the single black bead between each fold. It's a half inch down from the top and a quarter inch back from the front. The end result isn't perfect and that's okay. It's a muslin of another sort. I have ideas for what to do differently next time. I'm pretty proud of this first attempt. It's not quite as big as it looks from the angle of the photo. The fabric part is 3/4" deep, 3" high, and 3 1/4" wide.

 


After the fabric, there are five small beads like the ones between the folds and then three larger beads and then twenty-one chain links and finally a lobster clasp closure. A fun beginning.




I made the necklace in the afternoon after cleaning the whole house, all of the hall closets, and my clothes closet. It was a good start on the upstairs. Above is our hall closet. It's walk-in with coats to the right and shoes to the left. I now have two shoe shelves. LOL - it's still not enough though. I've put away the summer shoes for now.

We have lived in this house eight years which is longer than I've ever lived anywhere. I'm itchy for change but the kind where you'd like to be in another place as opposed to do the work of getting there. We're going to shuffle the house a bit and see how that works starting with touching up the paint in what was Aryck's bedroom, having the carpet cleaned, and moving the guest room up there. Then, I'll touch up the paint in the guest room and move Kyle down which he thinks is fabulous and I think may be a sanity saver. The room is closer to where Howard and I spend most of our time so we'll see more of him BUT... it's also at the end of the hall and has a bigger closet so - hopefully - we'll see less of his mess. He's a "collector". That leaves his old room to become a second guest bedroom with the single bed that we've been storing for a few years now.  And then, I'll decide about the rest of the house. I may be tired at that point... or employed... I sent in the application yesterday.

Talk soon - Myrna

Grateful - two shoe shelves - YES YES!

Thursday 8 September 2011

Easy And Obvious

The sun is so beautiful that I feel like writing about it over and over again. How boring that would be except - after what felt like the dullest of summers - it's such a delight. Apparently, it will be hot like this for most of the month so I will stop talking about it and just enjoy, especially as it's unlikely I'll be working again before the end of September and I can actually get outside.




Downtown, where I had breakfast yesterday and wrote in my journal and worked on my fall plan, there is a new yarn store. It opened on Tuesday. The owner is a young woman, about thirty, very nice and friendly. She was part of a knitting group I was in a few years ago. I don't need any yarn. I have more than enough for how little I knit. That said, I did want to support and encourage her so I bought the ball above for couching and embellishment. It has such a wide range of colors that it should be useful in a lot of projects.




I had lunch with one friend and then met another at Fabricland where we shopped the Simplicity/New Look $1.99 sale and then went for coffee. I bought two basic patterns, a skirt - 4188 - and the Amazing Fit shoulder seamed princess blouse - 2151. With the skirt, I wanted the longest look which needs lots of a really soft fabric. That will take a while to find at a price I want to pay. With the blouse, the style suits me and I wanted the cup sizes to make fitting easier and to transfer to other patterns.  The picture above is of ribbon with a wire edge. It was discounted to $0.33 per meter. Twisted and embellished, it'll make interesting "chains" for necklaces... at least I think it will. It's something to explore.




There were also packages of beads although the pricing was obscure. It appeared as if you bought one for $1.95 and got two for free only the truth was that $1.95 was the sale price per package normally but on this sale, you paid the regular price of $4.98 and got two for free. Hmm... based on that I bought one group of three instead of five groups. I don't want to amass a bunch of supplies and then find exploring jewelry is not what I want to do... plus I'm minding my pennies.

This morning, I'm doing the general clean on my house and then I'll start the thorough clean with some cupboard or closet. Maybe the shoe closet. Now that my son has moved out, there's a shelf available and I certainly have more than enough shoes to fill it - LOL.

Talk soon - Myrna

Grateful - Howard and I were exploring the option of moving to a strata. We found the absolute perfect place with a big garage and a fabulous studio but have decided to stay here. I was praying that the decision would be easy and obvious and after we read the strata minutes, it was. I'm glad.

Wednesday 7 September 2011

Fall Planning Session

The last few days have been absolutely gorgeous. The sun is shining. The air is hot. It's the summer we never had now that I've started to think about fall sewing. How typical. Just as we start to move in one direction, things shift. Take for instance that tomorrow I will be applying for a full time job. While there's no guarantee that I'll be hired, if I was, I haven't worked full time for someone else in twenty-five years. What a shift that would be.

The job sounds interesting. It's at the university which is where I would really like to work so I'll be happy if I get an interview and thrilled if I get hired and okay if I don't because I know that eventually - when the time and the situation are right - I'll be working again. However... ... just in case I do get the job...

... I plan to spend the next few weeks giving my house a tip to toe cleaning. Now that the second of our three children has moved out, I'm looking at some of those books and games and videos with a what do we need that for eye. It's time to shift them along and be open to new possibilities. For me, deep cleaning the house has always been a way of allowing flow. It's as if by eliminating what we don't need and opening up space, I allow more to come into my life. It sounds strange. It works. I find this kind of cleaning incredibly soothing. For me, it's stress reducing.

Yesterday, on page 172 in The 12 Secrets of Highly Creative Women, I read - Stress is a creativity killer. The secret to living in abundance is learning the art of making positive life choices.... While meditations, exercise, and vacations all have the potential to reduce negative stress, you can lie on the floor all you want and relax, but if your relationships are lousy or you hate your work or your creativity is being stifled, you will remain stressed out. Your life choices, positive and negative, determine your well being. Negative life choices steal your peace of mind and compromise your potential as a creative conduit. True Positive Priorities living means productively resolving the problems in your life and activating life choices such as living where you want, doing work you love, surrounding yourself with mutually fulfilling relationships, and taking care of your mind, body, and spirit. By learning the art of making positive life choices, you can resolve the stressful challenges in your life and free your creative energy.

In part, that's what my Fall Planning Session is about - making positive life choices. I don't believe it's possible to live a picture perfect life, especially if you live with another person or persons. There will always be compromises to make however, by choosing those compromises myself and knowing that I have weighed and measured them to the best of my abilities, as much as I am able I can create a situation in which I exist peacefully and creatively.  That's as good as it gets. I think it's better to act than react.




The books I'd ordered from Chapters.ca arrived yesterday morning. I enjoyed flipping through them. There was a lot of eye candy and yet... of the twelve I'd ordered... I'm only keeping the one above for myself and debating one as a gift for my daughter and that's it. The rest were either too basic or too off the subject.

Creative Embellishments features quite a few products that I haven't previously used like fun foam and air dried clay. They'd be useful in textile jewelry... the creating of which will start slow while I clean... and possibly sew a work wardrobe. We'll see how that goes. First things first. Today, a planning session. Tomorrow, the start of cleaning. Definitely, I should sew/create a little each day so I need to start something tonight.

Talk soon - Myrna

Grateful - job opportunities

Tuesday 6 September 2011

The Two Week Pants

My son moved out on the same weekend that my job ended and I experienced a particularly nasty episode of PMS. Just in case you were wondering, these are not a good combo. Don't try it. It's not pretty although - now that the weekend is over - it feels as if progress has been made along the path of growing up.

Why when we were children did we think we'd be grown up once school was over? Who failed to teach us that we'd forever be in the process and only full grown when we died? Who forgot to mention the twists and turns and voids or... were they mentioned and we just didn't listen?

In my work as a creativity coach, I often talked with my students about the vacuum of the unknown - an itchy, anxious place between what was and what will be. It's a place I know well. It's a place I have been before; a place where I am again.

This past weekend, I started re-reading Gail McMeekin's book The 12 Secrets of Highly Creative Women. On page 59, she writes... In the creative cycles of birth and death and rebirth, there are times when we are empty of ideas, adrift in a sea of ambiguity and nothingness. These times can be labeled the neutral zone, the void, a vacuum. No matter what they are called, they are part of the creative cycle, and wise women accept them and trust that when it's time, their inspirations will percolate again. This void beckons like a doorway to transformation and new beginnings. Yet fear can be a fellow traveler on this path to who knows where. Surviving in the void demands a range of skills: being willing to let go, staying in the dark long enough, nurturing your visions and dreams, following the clues as they present themselves, remaining true to yourself, and having the belief that something will appear. The void often feels like a test. It may be escorted in by job loss, illness, death, betrayal, burnout, disillusionment, or other life crises we didn't sign up for. While we long to restore the old, its time has passed, even if we wish otherwise. Such passages force us to redesign our internal selves and often produce surprising results. But they also involve loss, grief, and despair as well as communion with our darker side. Change thrusts us into chaos, and it takes time to reorder things and find a new route. Courage is mandatory.

Since moving into this house in the fall of 2004, I have been in the void three distinct times. This most recent "visit" has been the most painful probably because it overlapped with other things and I wasn't rested and ready for another crisis - if that makes any sense. That said, this visit also appears to have been the shortest - I hope - as right now it feels more like I'm on the edge of the void than in its midst. I haven't yet moved in a new direction and there are several twists and turns that could yet still redirect my path and even so I'm excited about the direction my mind has gone in creatively. I'm enjoying the inner bubbling and enthusiasm and energy and drive and motivation and... and... and... If you've ever experienced that feeling - and then not - you'll know what I mean.




Between this past weekend and the one previous, I've spent hours researching artists who create textile jewelry as well as inspirational resources and technical details. One resource was my collection of Quiting Arts Magazines which are full of how-to articles. It would have been so like me to have cleared them all out when I closed my business but... to my utter amazement... and delight... I had kept the entire collection. Apparently, my subconscious knew they'd be needed.

After reading through them and other books, I have far more directions to explore than I can ever head off in and will have to pick one and begin and see where it leads me. That's VERY exciting. At one point in my creative journey, I couldn't have come up with an original idea if I'd tried. That was before I learned that if you are open to ideas, they are everywhere. It's such an amazing concept when you grasp it fully.




I read and I sewed. For such an easy pair of pants, these took me two weeks. As per the instructions, I started with a ribbed waistband and then took it off because it was too high, thick, and fattening. Instead, I added a sewn on elastic waistband. Next time, I'll cut it on. These pants are more dressy than jeans, less frumpy than sweats, and incredibly comfortable. That's exactly what I was looking for although they feel quite...




... old lady with my top tucked in. Perhaps with a belt... and heels... and the right top... and my hair done... and make-up... basically a more finished look... they'd be better. But if we'd waited for that, you'd never have seen a picture so this is it.

Today is the first day of school for those who have students in school. NOT ME - YEAH!!!!!!!!! I didn't realize my husband had today off. Since he's home, I'll spend it with him and organize tomorrow for my Fall Planning Session. I can do that because - for now at least - I'm the boss of me - LOL.

Talk soon - Myrna

Grateful - I'm finished the two week pants

Friday 2 September 2011

Paisley Happy

LOOK what I did...


SEWED ! ! !

... the side seams and cuffs on the Burda 7400 pants. The instructions called for a labour intensive method of sewing, turning, and hand stitching the lining to the seam line of the cuffs enclosing all the seams. I'm not sure that's necessary. The cuff seam is 3 1/2" from the bottom. A neatly finished seam allowance would have worked well too.



Last night, we started moving in Aryck's stuff. He is SO EXCITED and trying not to show it. The basement suite is really nice. Big. Bright. Large windows. Lots of storage. AND... I could not believe the size of the kitchen. It's at least three times bigger than mine. So unfair. Tonight, I'll unpack the kitchen stuff while Howard and Kyle help him move in the furniture. And then, we'll leave him there and he's officially moved out. They don't mention this stage in the baby books either. It's so happy sad.

Yesterday was my second to last shift at work which meant saying goodbye to some of the women I won't be working with tomorrow. One hugged me and then started crying, saying that she was going to miss me terribly. She refused to say goodbye. What a lovely way to be leaving a job - missed - as opposed to kicked out the door and good riddance.

On Monday, I mentioned a quote from Barbara Johnson that I've thought about a lot over the past few days. Here it is again - So give your ______ to God and then focus on getting your own life in order. Also keep in mind that you are not responsible for what you cannot control and that God has only called you to be faithful. He did not call you to be successful.

Once again, I am being forced away from a job I enjoy by things beyond my control. I will miss getting dressed up and going out, having coworkers to care about and who care about me, the customers, and especially the respect for my expertise. It's not often that I get credit for what I know about sewing in the general world. Missing that interaction had the potential to create a lot of stress and anxiety especially as next week is also the start of school and many of my friends who are teachers will be back working full time. I've been worried about what's next, about becoming depressed and lonely at home. That would not be good, which is why...

... I am VERY thankful to have the jewelry to focus on. My mind has been buzzing with ideas, the kind that wake you up in the night and cause vibrating energy. I sent emails to the galleries that used to carry my work to get feedback. Two have already said that they'd take the jewelry and I haven't even created a piece yet. It's fabulous to have that kind of belief in my artistic abilities however...

... I have decided to focus NOT on making jewelry for profit but on being faithful to my gift of creativity. In the past, I've struggled with what's the point because my focus was on financial success and the bottom line. This time, I want the point to be being faithful to the gift of creativity. I want to have fun, explore, create, use the products in my studio, see what I come up with, and allow God to decide what happens next. If I can manage to shift that focus from financial success to being creatively faithful, I will consider that success as well.



Lorrie asked about my first day of school tradition. It evolved over time however - by the end - I would take whoever was going to school that year out for breakfast and then to the school. The first day was usually short so after filling out forms and writing cheques - while they were meeting their teachers and catching up with friends - I'd go to a coffee shop and journal about my goals and plans for the next year and then go back and pick them up. That's why I can so easily shift it to the Fall Planning Session as opposed to the Back To School one. I - of course - start with a fresh, new journal. This year it's a paisley happy one.

In the past, my planning has often been about my business. This year, because I have no idea what's next in terms of paid employment, I'll focus on personal goals. In particular, I want to improve my health and attain/maintain balance and not get all wigged out in a new direction. It would be so like me to start mass producing jewelry and forget about walking and reading and writing and bible study and cooking dinner and... and... and...

Talk soon - Myrna

Grateful - a focus on being faithful

Thursday 1 September 2011

Glitter And Dance

There was a sun shower last night. How different the rain looks with a backdrop of golden yellow. Suddenly, the same water falling down from the sky is all glitter and dancing.  Perspective is everything. I was on my way out to Michael's when it happened or I might not even have glanced outside. Something so rare and beautiful should not be missed.



I think in the United States that Michael's is a fabric store. In Canada, it's a chain of (overpriced) craft stores. I was looking at jewelry supplies - just to see what was there - and came home with two silver necklace blanks, a bracelet blank, and three sets of lime and blue beads. It'll let me experiment. I've never made jewelry before however, ever since I left Lorraine & Gail's exhibit on the weekend, I've had a jewelry idea tickling at the back of my brain. More later.

Because of the tickling, I spent a whole lot of time yesterday researching jewelry artists. If you want to see some amazing zipper art, check out Katie Cusack. OH MY! When I got home...



... look up - look down... BOTH of my sons were cleaning out their closets. Aryck to move. Kyle I'm not sure why but I wasn't going to complain. I took pictures. THIS is not going to happen again - LOL - especially as Aryck is moving out, partly today, everything for sure tomorrow. His land lady called last night and apparently, the previous tenants left burn holes in the bedroom carpet in their non-smoking suite so it's being replaced today. They wondered if he could delay moving in by a day and he can, excited as he is. He'll have a fresh clean bedroom at least...



... and a LOT more stuff because his mother spent yesterday morning at WalMart buying a "few" things he might need and has a list on the counter of what she forgot. We don't pay for university. I believe it's cheaper to set a child up in the first apartment but it could be close - LOL.

I'm off to work this morning, four hours, and then we'll see. Still no sewing. Eventually, those pants will get finished.

Talk soon - Myrna
Grateful - sun showers