Painting Progress

This morning, when the alarm went off, I rolled over and went back to sleep for another hour. I'm the boss. I can do this. I'm also tired and sore and making a difference. The townhouse is becoming more "us" each day.

Other than the large area in the downstairs where my studio and the storage closets will be, the ceilings are finished. They were beige and had never been painted before. White makes the whole place a LOT brighter.

The closets were a lot of work. So were the ceilings. Now, rooms are starting to finish. Our room and Kyle's are done and the guest room - above - will be finished today. In the past, I've used Moore Style paint from Benjamin Moore. Aubrey - the manager - talked me into trying the Ben line this time. AMAZING.

The Ben paint is latex, almost odorless, thick and smooth to apply, highly controllable, doesn't drip, dries in an hour, is self levelling, and can be applied, left, and come back to. I started the guest room two days ago and I'll finish it this morning. The only thing you have to watch out for is overworking previous areas. If you see something, you can't go back because of the self levelling feature.  You have to trust the paint to figure itself out.

I'd have finished the guest room already except for the yellow factor. It's a hard color to paint and often needs three coats at the edges where you cut in. This morning, I'll use a narrower brush, cut in one more time, and then roll thickly and DONE. The closet in this room is a Myrna mix of peri-winkle blue. Fun.

Our room was still the original carpenter beige from eighteen years ago. I find that amazing. That in eighteen years none of the previous owners wanted to paint the bedroom. So not me. I paint partly as a way of cleaning. BUT...

... things are certainly different now. Our room is a blue-green, Kyle's is purple, the guest room is yellow, the main area upstairs will be Pasture Green and downstairs Strathmore Blue with one wall of my favourite lime - Woodland Hills Green. We're going to shock the neighbours. As I was driving home the other night, I glanced up at the living room windows facing the road and ALL of the visible ones were beige. When ours is lit up too, it's certainly going to stand out and change the neighbourhood. Oh well. That's standard for me.

Talk soon - Myrna

Grateful - painting progress

Cleaning And Painting

We got the keys. After that, most of the weekend was spent cleaning and painting. On Saturday, it took four and a half hours to clean the kitchen that was - supposedly - professionally cleaned. Somehow I doubt that or at least I question the term professional.

There were dribbles down the front of the cabinets and hair and crumbs and paperclips and paper inside to say nothing of the stuck on whatever. There was sticky dust on the exposed shelves and moldish looking stuff and grease underneath the upper cabinets. Luckily the cabinets go to the ceiling so I didn't have to brave the top. The back-splash felt rubbery. I thought it was some kind of wallpaper until I washed off the grease and discovered it actually was tile. Yuck! I could not live like that and I cannot understand it. We are so blessed to have what we have. I think part of being grateful is taking care of our things but... that's my soapbox.

On Sunday, I painted the inside of the pantry, the coat closet, and the laundry closet. With all the in and out and around of the shelving units, that took all day. Closets are complicated rooms. Yesterday, I painted the walk-in closet in the master-bedroom and the closet in the guest room. Same story.

Paint is expensive so I'm mixing whatever can be stirred together to make enough for the closets. It works. My primary objective is clean. After that, I think it's fun to open the closet and find another color although Saturday's painting was all in Pasture Green to test the new color for the main area. LOVE it!

Today, painting ceilings. Hard work that looks like nothing except they haven't been painted in eighteen years since new so it may look like something. YEAH.

Talk soon - Myrna

Grateful - that I was taught how to and to appreciate clean

Wanted And Welcome

Did you feel the earth shake? My husband took today off. It's so unheard of that the guys at work wanted to rush him to the doctor. After we go for breakfast, he'll start packing his garage and getting things ready to move so that by next weekend the entire garage and all the outside things - like the patio furniture - are over at the townhouse. We get the keys tomorrow. I'll be painting. Three weeks from now we'll have moved everything.

Most of the waiting time this week was spent knitting. After way too many configurations, the garter ridge baby sweater is now in five pieces - one back, two sleeves, and two fronts - although I've knit each piece at least three or four times. It has not knit gently and as you can see, it's now bagged. This is the equivalent of the magic closet. Hopefully when it emerges I am more in love with it than when I sealed it up. Right now, I'm not thrilled with the fronts. I can see myself re-knitting them... again... but not right now. I need a break from that white and those ridges.

I was rolling a ball of yarn when Howard came home from work yesterday so - of course - he asked me what I was working on. You should have seen the look on his face when I said it was a baby blanket for our non existent grandchild. I got one of those you're certifiably insane kind of looks except that he knows me and this is exactly the kind of thing I do.

One of the gifts of possible cancer is the way it clarifies things. At least that's what it did for me. After the stress of the last three months, I've decided not to waste my energy on several questions that were consuming me before. They don't matter any more. Instead...

... I'm having fun making things with others in mind. I'm planning a thank you purse for my realtor and one for my surgeon. I'll start on those once we're settled into the townhouse. Right now, I'm knitting welcome baby sets for my future grandchildren. Call me silly but...

... my potential grandchildren were one of the topics I thought about while dealing with the "what if I do have cancer" situation. Whether I'm here or not, I want them to know they are wanted and welcome. So I'm knitting, starting with three baby blankets. The first is in a soft grey which is my favourite baby color of the moment. I'm using the same basket weave stitch used on the wrap-scarf and the yarn is Red Heart Soft Touch which is exactly that - soft and easy care - perfect for babies.

Talk soon - Myrna

Grateful - clarity

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Personal Growth - I'm not saying that I have this all together, that I have it made. But I am well on my way, reaching out for Christ, who has so wondrously reached out for me. Friends, don't get me wrong: By no means do I count myself an expert in all of this, but I've got my eye on the goal, where God is beckoning us onward—to Jesus. I'm off and running, and I'm not turning back. - Philippians 3: 12-14

A Ball And A Bit

The blog will be hit and miss for most of the next month and when I do post, it'll mostly be about moving, painting, or knitting because there's not much else happening here. We've signed the papers at the bank. We've signed the papers at the lawyer. We've arranged to meet with contractors at the house on Saturday when we get possession. Our realtor has the key lined up and ready. We've ordered and picked up paint and have a plan. And now we wait. I'm knitting. My concentration isn't there for sewing and - quite possibly - it's not there for knitting either but it is keeping me occupied. More about that in a minute.

Speaking of paint. We've had the same shade of blue/green in the living room for several houses. This time, I wanted something different not only in the living room but everywhere - all over the house - only paint is expensive so we're using what we have by shuffling colors to new spaces. There's not enough for larger spaces - YEAH - so we've picked a color called Pasture Green for the main area upstairs and one called Stratford Blue for downstairs. The blue is a shade of denim.

When I was sorting out the paint cans the other day, I came across the remainder of a quart of CC830 and couldn't remember the number or what it was for. When I picked up the Stratford Blue yesterday, the number on the can was CC830. That prompted my memory. It was the blue I painted my kitchen cupboards before streaking them with cream and green in my last house. Apparently even when I chose "new" colors, I end up with "old" ones - LOL. At least I know I like it. 

This gorgeous design from Drops is called Checco's Dream. The pattern is free. It's knit in one piece. You start both the fronts, add on for the sleeves, and knit over the back and down to the hem. There are only two continuous seams under the arm and down each side. The stitch is a version of seed stitch using two stitches and two rows alternately. VERY easy.

Glancing at the instructions, I saw that the largest size called for 350 and since I had 440 meters, I started. And then I realized I had 440 METERS and they were asking for 350 GRAMS. Half way up the back I quit knitting. And that seems to be the pattern. I've been starting and stopping a white baby cardigan for two days now. It started with the pattern below.

This is the Garter Ridge Baby Cardigan from Lions Brand Yarns, another free pattern. It's also knit in one piece starting at the bottom, splitting for the armholes, and joining at the shoulders. In this case, the sleeves are added separately. I started it in a small size and then realized I had more yarn then that so started it again in a larger size and then decided I didn't like the strain on the armhole splits so took it out and started the Drops pattern and then realized I didn't have enough yarn so started the Garter Ridge one again in the middle size only this time I...

... divided the pattern into five pieces - the back, two fronts, and two sleeves - only part way through I realized that my gauge wasn't what I thought it was and that I'm actually knitting the largest size. I don't think I have enough yarn for that. If I do, it's just. The back took a ball and a bit. If the fronts take a ball and a bit as well, then there's a ball and a bit left for the sleeves. I started knitting one sleeve at knit night last night to see what happened and was most of the way through when I realized I'd forgotten the ridges and pulled back to the first ridge. I should finish that sleeve today and have an idea about the yarn IF... my mind can stay on the same page long enough to figure things out - LOL. I am at least quite occupied.

Talk soon - Myrna

Grateful - three more sleeps

Knit And Reverse Knit

Saturday morning, we woke up to heavy snow fall and it snowed most of the day. The students and teachers were especially not thrilled as it was the first day of spring break. There's no spring - even if technically it starts this week.

In the morning, I sorted the paint closet deciding which cans would stay here, which needed to be taken away, and which would be useful in the townhouse. My goal is to use the paint we have as much as possible although I'm changing the color of the main areas. That means some rooms may have closets of a different color which is fine with me as long as they're freshly painted and clean. There is enough left over paint for the new wall in my studio, the storage closet, the guest room, our room, the main bathroom, and part of the garage along with the assorted bits for the closets. YEAH!

After sorting paint I knit and reverse knit the wrap-scarf. It's not done yet. Earlier I'd mentioned that it was either too long or too short and that I'd opted to knit another skein of yarn before seaming the ends together thinking that longer would be better. However...

... since I didn't know for sure, before stitching the seam I added a life line to the provisional cast on stitches. A life line is simply a thread passed through all the stitches so they won't pull out. It's typically in a contrasting color. When you pull out the work or the seam, the stitches are caught on the line and won't unravel into the work. It's commonly used on complicated lace patterns.

Here's how it looks before the seam is stitched. I also placed a marker on the ending edge so I'd know which one was the least important since it was either going longer or shorter.

And it was a good thing. I seamed the ends together, tried the wrap on, pulled out twenty-six inches, tried it on again, pinned where I thought it should be, and now have another sixteen inches to pull out. That's a lot of reverse knitting. Oh well. That's the length that it appears it will look good at. We'll see when I get there.

Yesterday, it sat on the couch waiting while I debated whether I really REALLY needed to do this and I think I do and then again, I won't be surprised if next I report that I'm knitting it longer. Too funny. In the mean time, I've started a small, simple, easily knit, baby sweater while I think because I have to have something to do and sewing is getting more difficult with all the packing going on here - LOL.

Talk soon - Myrna

Grateful - that I paid attention when I thought about adding a life line and wasn't so arrogant as to believe I had the wrap right the first time

Gourmet Away

The wind blew and blew and blew yesterday. It's been doing that for days which means spring is definitely on its way even though winter hasn't decide to make its final curtain call just yet. We've had a roller coaster of temperatures this winter and that's okay - it's almost over. We're just glad to be moving in spring as opposed to winter with dry sidewalks instead of snowy paths. It's easier and so much cleaner. One week tomorrow and we have the keys and I can start painting the inside of closets. YEAH!

Janine wrote - What has really helped me keep my purchases down is documenting every piece of fabric I own - I was quite surprised the first time I did this which took 2 days - I had over 200 meters. In the four years since I have done this I have reduced my stash by 25% - I have bought a lot of fabric over those 4 years but not more than I sewed. I still have enough material to create a whole complete and very full wardrobe and knowing those figures just makes me stop and think - do I really need this and mostly I don't.

It always surprised me when - with all the fabric I have in stash - I don't have the piece I want at that particular moment. It's equivalent to opening up your closet and exclaiming that you have NOTHING to wear. I have lots to sew just not the thing I want to sew.

Last year, I tracked how much money I spent each week on books, fabric, and studio related expenses and this year my goal is to lower that amount. So far, I'm doing good. Several years ago - like Janine - I measured and documented my fabric purchases. At that time, there was 238 meters in stash. While I'm an attention to details kind of person, I'm not an attention to those kinds of details person and documenting things like fabric flow drives me crazy. I never kept up with the sheets. Flipping through them, very few of these pieces are still in stash but a whole lot has replaced them.

Telling myself I can't spend money is a sure fire guarantee that I'll spend money. Telling myself that I can't buy more fabric is a sure fire guarantee that I'll buy more fabric. Telling myself that I can't have more books or more yarn or more notions or more potential is like being on a diet. Suddenly, all I can think about is "food" and I'm shoving it down my "throat" as fast as I can.

Since clutter completely overwhelms me, the most guaranteed way for me to limit stash has been the assigned space method. Considering that there is less storage space in my new studio, adding a pay cash only criteria  - with a budget to match - may be the only change I need to slow things down although I really like the idea of output exceeding input while reducing the stash over the remainder of my sewing years. PLUS... I want to consider higher quality and more unique fabrics. Since those aren't available in town and I rarely buy online, shopping basics here and gourmet away could work too. We'll see. It sounds good. In theory. Real life is entirely different.

I've been knitting steadily on the wrap-scarf and it's long enough now to loop from my neck to the floor. That makes one nice drape and too long of a tail at the back so it either needs to be longer or shorter. Since I have a lot of this yarn, I've decided to go longer one skein at a time. I love how the knitted fabric feels. Linen is a wonderful yarn to knit with. Finishing this is my weekend goal. Hopefully by Monday I can show you how it looks done and draped.

Talk soon - Myrna

Grateful - healthy again

Write New Rules

Yesterday... when I suggested painting my husband's new office a shade of beige... he said... and I quote... not beige, it's too beigy. Two years dating, thirty years married, and the man has been converted to my colorful way of thinking. After the I don't really like purple comment last week, I'm not sure my system can take any more shocks - LOL. We're debating denim blue.

When I cleaned out my closet, these two t-shirts went in the jammie drawer. Whenever I wore them over another garment, they would rub and get funny white lines on the surface. Apparently that's the Lycra content but I've never had that happen to a t-shirt before. Have you? Luckily, they go perfectly with the housecoat matching pajama pants.

Another appointment I cancelled was taking the fabric for our new bed quilt to the longarm quilter. She lives just over an hour away and I wasn't up to a day trip so I'll wait until after we're moved and settled.

I had been debating purple as a wall color to go with the quilt fabric. Obviously that's out now. I wasn't sure what to pick until I pulled the textile art piece below out of storage and realized the colors were perfect together. Our bedroom walls will be a similar blue-green shade. I'm "stealing" the paint color from a friend's living room.

An interesting observation from the sewing room sale was the change in buying habits. Fifteen years ago, when I had my previous sale, people were acquiring. If the item was a good price and they wanted it, they bought it. Most of the women were ten to fifteen years older than me at that time so 35-50 and this time they were predominately in the 50-65 range. Along with a shift in the economy, you could see that their shopping was much more purposeful and thought out and there was way less just buy it because it's a good deal. I guess that's not surprising since that's the way I feel as well only I'm not used to having so much company. There won't be a tremendous amount of buyers for our "stuff" as my age group continues to age. Something to keep in mind.

One thing I like about change - whether that's moving, a change of seasons, or some other form of change - is the opportunity to write new rules. I've been thinking about how to limit and maintain the studio stash and about how I need to learn to live within a budget before we retire. I think those two could work really well together. It's what I'm pondering now.

Talk soon - Myrna

Grateful - surgeon appointment today

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Personal Growth - Saying no can be the ultimate self-care. - Claudia Black

Breathing Room

Now that I've cancelled going to ArtFest, it feels like I have a bit more breathing room in terms of getting ready to move. I've packed just about everything that can be packed in advance and now I'm waiting until we have possession to start moving things over.

We have three weeks between possession and moving in so it'll be okay once everything starts to click together. I'm glad I won't be away and I'm glad that we only have to wait another ten days to get the keys. I'm ready to get on with it. Today, I'll stop at the paint store to get some sample chips. My son wants a purple room - LOL.

After I started the housecoat, I wondered if I'd even need it. When I wake up in the morning, I put a sweater on along with my pj pants and t-shirt. The housecoat is for after a bath while doing my hair and make-up and for walking between the bathroom and the bedroom only the master bath in our new house has a bath tub so I won't need to go far and nowhere in "public" but - just in case the coat does make a public appearance - I sewed a belt to go with and give it more shape.

The fold is at the front edge of the fabric making that scrap along the far edge double. I cut a strip four inches wide, sewed the long edges with a 1/2" seam, pressed, and top stitched to make the belt. It was nice to have a continuous piece without a bulky seam in the middle. As you can see, there was just enough for the pj pants.

Here's the housecoat finished. It's warm and cozy but not too thick and bulky. Perfect. I was worried about it looking too old lady but I think it's okay. The colors are very pretty.

Talk soon - Myrna

Grateful - one ticket to ArtFest is sold and there are two potential buyers of the other one

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Personal Growth - ... when he concluded that creativity, not time, would best heal his creative wounds. - The Artist's Way

I should probably have written down who this example referred to. If I'm remembering clearly, it was a producer who was devastated by having his own film taken away from him resulting in a seven year break from film making until he realized that a break wasn't going to heal the hurt - getting back to creating would. Many different kinds of hurts in my life have been healed by spending time being creative. Time in the studio helps me work things out. It grounds and centers me. As I've said before, I breathe in fabric.

Me In My Studio

Howard arrived back home just before noon yesterday. He was away for eight days at a training conference. It was bad timing and the way things seem to be going in our household lately because after a whole lot of empty space when we could have easily moved, our move has now been snuggled inbetween a bunch of other plans. And then the surgery too.

Every night when he phoned to see how I was doing, he'd ask if I'd been in my studio. For him, me in my studio is a measure of how well things are going. He was getting more and more stressed when I kept saying no so when I did finally get in there for a few hours on Sunday, it made him feel a lot better. Yesterday, he commented that it was great to see me sewing. He has always supported my creativity in a big way. I'm very thankful for that.

I'm working on a housecoat. Mine was so ratty that I finally threw it out in desperation or I'd have kept wearing it. My preference is for flannel housecoats that button up the front like this OOP McCall's 3445 pattern. It's basic with dropped sleeves and a one piece collar. My pattern is a Lg, Xlg and the shoulders on the jacket seemed quite wide except... when I compared them to...

... the shoulders on the small size of McCall's 2476, they were actually narrower. Go figure. A size tells you nothing. This second pattern is the one I sew pajama pants from which is a good thing. I bought the flannel for the housecoat on Friday when I still wasn't thinking particularly straight. As I drove into the lot, I calculated that 1 1/2 meters for the front, 1 1/2 for the back, and 1 for the sleeves should do it. And then I bought five. And that is - apparently - enough for a housecoat and a pair of pj pants. I'll sew those next.

The housecoat is almost finished. I'm ready to sew on the buttons. There were eight green ones in stash that matched perfectly. LOVE when that happens. It'll be done by tomorrow I hope.

This morning, I have an acupuncture appointment and then I'll go to Starbucks for an hour to journal and study. I was there yesterday as well and it's nice to be back in my normal routine even if it's with not quite my usual energy levels. That'll come. Tonight is knitting. I haven't decided if I'm going yet. We'll see. Inbetween - finish the housecoat.

Talk soon - Myrna

Grateful - the doctor's office phoned yesterday afternoon and the biopsy results came back fine, fibrocystic changes only. Just the visit with the surgeon left and then everything - hopefully - is settled out and on its way back to normal.

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Personal Growth - ... and I have put wisdom in the hearts of all the gifted artisans that they may make all that I have commanded you. - Exodus 31:6

In Experiencing God, the author talks about how when God calls us to an assignment we won't necessarily have the skills that we think will be required. God will call us first and equip us second. The author gave the example above of Moses being called to lead God's people out of Egypt and to build the Tabernacle. The example was about Moses but what caught my eye was the verse about the artisans. They were already gifted. They were being called to a bigger task, one that they would define as beyond their ability. God gave them the wisdom to accomplish that task. This example made me think about artistic experiences that I might define as beyond my abilities and whether those experiences might be ones that God is calling me to for His purpose.

Tickets To ArtFest?

In the past - when we've said we're moving - Howard and I have received a lot of teasing or negative comments. This time the response has been different. Almost everyone has said that they think what we're doing is wise and that they've been thinking of downsizing and moving to a townhouse as well. It seems our age group is ready for less and that was certainly evident with the Sewing Room Sale.

Compared to my previous sale fifteen years ago, this one was disappointing. If we could have repeated the first hour, over the full day, over two days, sales would have been similar but that isn't what happened. The first hour was busy and after that, only a few people came and went. Even so, sales were enough to pay for the foam and the feet for the loveseats, the fabric for the chair, and a bit more. That's money I didn't have the day before so good and enough.

Before the sale, I put about a dozen patterns back in stash. Along with my recent BMV order and the patterns I'd kept there are roughly 225 patterns in the pattern cabinet. If I sewed one a week, it would take me four and a half years and I don't sew a pattern a week which means that when my BMV subscription comes up for renewal, I won't be renewing.

A few years ago, I made the same choice with the Burda pattern magazine. At the end of a one year subscription, when I hadn't cut out a single garment, I didn't renew. The same thing happened with the Verena knitting magazine. No garments knit. No renewal. Ditto the Quilting Arts subscription. I wasn't using the information and if I'm not using it, what is the point of stockpiling it?

After the sale, I put back these twelve balls of yarn. I'd only included them to see what happened. They will make three beautiful baby sweaters. It's just that I have a lot of baby sweater yarn and not a lot of babies. Oh well.

What intrigued me about the yarn sales was that people predominately bought the acrylic and acrylic blends that were balled from pulled out projects sometimes accompanied by an un-knit skein but not always. They ignored these brand new skeins of natural fibres - the good stuff at a great price. Strange.

Two pieces of fabric and four art pieces were returned to stash as well. The blue fabric is silk and would make a delicate camisole. The black eyelet is a quality piece with a wonderful scalloped edge too pretty to unknowingly part with just yet. I flipped and folded the art pieces determining how they could be cut up to make purses. It's possible and an interesting challenge.

My friend Sharon has been a God-send this week helping with the surgery and the sale and packing up afterward. She took several things for herself and two quilts to give to her mother and her aunt. So did another friend and another - who is a painter - asked for a piece to experiment with. What fun! The rest is going to charity.

As we were packing, there were a few moments with the traditional quilts where I couldn't decide whether to give them away or keep them. In the end, it seemed to me that the definition of hoarding must include when you know for a fact that you don't want something and yet you're not giving it away because you're not sure that the great unknown actually deserves it. Who knows. That's not for me to decide. What I knew for sure was that I didn't want them, my children didn't want them, my friends didn't want them, and it was time to stop being responsible to a piece of fabric and move it along. Done. Gone.

And then... over the next day... they all found homes. How strange. It was as if my putting them in the box symbolized something. The last quilt - a hand quilted Lone Star - went to the sister of a friend who lost her home in a fire. We also sent her a box of books and magazines, a crank sewing machine, and a flat iron. Things with character to fill up the empty surfaces of her perfect new furniture.

If you've been reading my blog for any length of time, you'll know that I'm very good at setting challenges and not so good at keeping them. One of my best challenges kept is The Handbag Project from this past fall. My goal was to make nine bags, one for each person whose hands were on the original quilt, using only supplies in stash. Accomplishing that goal was incredibly positive. I'll be able to do something similar with the art quilts above and hope to set similar parameters around my knitting and fashion sewing. I'm giving it thought. What will help...

... is that the floor space in my next studio is larger but the closet space is smaller. One thing that has kept me from purchasing unreasonable amounts of stuff - which I prefer to refer to as potential - is having strict limits about how much space I occupy. I designate storage space for yarn and books and fabric and just about every other item in my house and those items cannot exceed the space allotted. I believe that my stuff needs to stay in my space just as I believe that my husband's stuff and my children's stuff and the kitchen stuff and all the other stuff needs to stay in its designated space. That keeps me sane and is not a way of being that I'm willing to change however, it is one that will help me work with new challenges - I hope - because I would really like to use the patterns and sew the fabric and knit the yarn that I already have.

And then - knowing how much I also like to acquire potential, especially at phenomenal prices, and acknowledging that acquiring potential is a part of how I operate, and recognizing that the ability to acquire potential is what keeps the cost of creativity low - I'm debating a system for more clearly defining which potential I buy. Do you have a system? How does it work?

I'm not sure who took this picture but it's of the lighthouse in Port Townsend near Fort Worden where ArtFest is being held the end of this month. It's a gorgeous area and I absolutely love the town of Port Townsend. It's a quaint, organic, artsy place.

My friend Barb and I signed up for three days of workshops at ArtFest, four nights shared accommodation, and all meals for a total cost of $810.00 US. I'm mentioning this because I won't know the results of the biopsy until shortly before we'd leave which is two days after we get our townhouse and all that is too much at once right now so I'm cancelling. I suggested that Barb invite another friend to join her but she doesn't want to do that so we're both cancelling only there's an absolute, no refund for any reason, policy which I knew about in advance HOWEVER... the tickets are transferable and the new person is able to take the registered workshops or change to any other workshop with openings. Our tickets are for sale. We're open to offers. Would you and a friend like to attend ArtFest? Let us know - myrna AT myrnagiesbrecht DOT com.

I'm amazed at how quickly life can change in sixty days. At the end of December when we planned this trip and paid for our tickets things were radically different. Since then we've both had a major shift. You are never sure what's coming your way. That's learning to pay attention to.

Talk soon - Myrna

Grateful - When I drove by the townhouse yesterday, the front door was open and the visible rooms were empty. With the stress involved in the purchase, there was some concern as to whether the current owner would actually vacate the premises. It seems that they have and that's a relief.

The Fat Studio

Like we're doing, one of my friends recently moved to a townhouse and another is redecorating her living room. The other day we were talking about becoming tired of this or that item that at one time we were so totally thrilled with. I commented that it would be sad if that didn't happen. It would mean we were stagnant and not changing.

On Sunday afternoon, I put out all the items for the Sewing Room Sale. There is probably more in this sale than some people have in their studio. My studio is a 37 year collection. It's fat - but not in a derogatory way. It's a space filled with potential and flavour. In the eight years we've lived in this home, my creative life has grown tremendously. Back then, I sewed traditional quilts and the odd garment. In between, I've learned an incredible amount about a variety of subjects and as you know...

... I'm a lover of knowledge and tend to be a bit obsessive compulsive when exploring a new topic which leads to an overload of books. In the same eight years, I have - thankfully - become a lot clearer about the type of work I enjoy creating and what I want to learn and the directions I'm moving in. I am leaving this studio in a much calmer, more settled, and better focused state of mind than when I moved here. I think that's fabulous. I'm grateful and ready to let go of some "old" books to make room for "new" books which in my mind equates to making space for new learning. 

One thing I didn't know is that after a b--b altering experience, it's hard to type. Who knew those activities were related. They are. Which is why this posting is short and sweet. The surgery went well. I have far more empathy now than I did before. That was my first surgical experience and it's certainly interesting. About the time I had the right arm out and attached to the blood pressure cuff and the left arm out and attached to the intravenous drip and they were strapping down my feet and laying sterile cloths over my nearly nak..d body, I changed my mind and wanted to go home. Good thing for sleepy juice. Results in ten to fourteen days. Since they called me the day after my last biopsy, I'm going with no news is good news. Hopefully by Monday I'm feeling more chatty. For now, back to the couch.

Talk soon - Myrna

Grateful - the support of family and friends

Two Purple Pillows

One of the things I love about fabric is that - for the most part - it's completely adaptable. There's the odd piece that stubbornly refuses to be anything at all or insists on being only one specific thing but for the most part, fabric is flexible and willing to become whatever you're willing to sew it into.

I originally purchased this purple basket weave for a coat. It may have originated in the home decor department although I'm not sure because it was bought a VERY long time ago. Last week, I purchased some fuchsia cushions (50% off) to go with the green love seats in the new living room and on Saturday I sewed these two purple cushions to go with. I really like them. Purple is one of my favourite colors.

The weave was slightly loose so the fabric is backed with a tight cotton in a yucky yellow that wasn't going to be used for anything else anyway. I love the challenge and the satisfaction of using up my stash. Unfortunately, I didn't have any purple zippers which meant a trip to Fabricland.

This floral chair and ottoman were a gift to my husband from an elderly woman who lived down the road from where he grew up. He used to help her with lawn work and groceries and other chores. My in-laws recovered the chair in a tapestry fabric as part of our wedding gift and we recovered it again about fifteen years ago in this floral.  I'm not sure if fifteen years is how long the fabric lasts or whether that's the boredom factor. All I know is that I am SO DONE with anything floral-country-ish and this chair is not going into the new living room unless it gets a make-over.

Knowing that the choices were reupholstering or the garbage, we got a quote for labour and fabric yardage - 10 meters and a lot of money - and Howard and I discussed whether the chair meant enough to him to spend that amount to have it recovered. It sounded like a big number but really "that much" is the difference between buying a new chair and having this one recovered or in this case about $350.00. He said it was worth it to him.

For several months, I shopped for purple or lime green love seats for the living room. They were impossible to find so I talked about recovering the love seats in a purple or lime green fabric and then decided that was too expensive and instead revamped the darker green love seats that we already own. I'm happy with that choice especially as I can now use purple in other ways - like these pillows. Whenever I asked Howard what he thought, he said he trusted me to pick things we'd enjoy just as I always have. SUCH a nice man.

While buying the zippers at Fabricland, I found this upholstery fabric that looks far more purple in the picture above than it does in our living room. In real life, it's more fuchsia with shots of brown that go well with the woodwork on the chair. It was regular $24.00 a meter on sale half price which means I got it for $12.00 a meter. The fabric that I was looking at in the upholstery store was $37.00 a meter for a difference of $15.00  x 10 meters or $150.00 plus taxes which means we're only paying an extra $200.00 for sentimentality.

Imagine my surprise when - after thirty-one years of marriage - my husband tells me he doesn't really like purple! It's only the color I wear more often than black. LOL - I guess that's how you keep life interesting. Don't share all your secrets at once.

He later told me that the purple pillows were "actually" not "too" bad and that he was sure he'd like the chair when it was finished because it was only certain hues of purple that he didn't like. I was impressed with the color terminology but - IMHO - this is another case of speak up or forever hold your peace... like when after twenty-five years of marriage he casually mentioned that he didn't like onions or garlic... which I love... and now use less of.

Ann awarded me the Versatile Blogger award. THANK YOU! Ann is someone that I've met on-line and in-person. We first connected in a discussion forum at Stitcher's Guild and then both took a workshop with Ron Collins in Nanaimo. She lives about an hour away and a couple weeks ago we met for breakfast before fabric shopping. VERY fun.

Now to follow the rules:

• Add the award to your blog.
• Thank the blogger who gave it to you.
• Mention seven random things about yourself.
• List the rules.
• Give the award to 15 bloggers.
• Inform each of those 15 bloggers by leaving a comment on their blog.

I'm not sure that I can come up with seven random things that I haven't already talked about but perhaps they won't be old news to everyone.

1. I get a lot of emails about this color - my absolute favourite favourite color is lime-green and in particular Benjamin Moore 543 or Woodland Hills Green, a blue based lime that is currently the color of my studio, the kitchen, and our bedroom and will for sure be somewhere in the new house.

2. I want my children to memorize that paint number so they can paint my room in the old folk's home - even if they paint a sheet of gyproc and prop it up against the wall - because I do not want to die in beige room and they insist I'm not living with them but I think they're kidding - VBG.

3. I have two brothers, one older and one younger, which is why - if you study birth order - I act like both a first born and a middle child.

4. I have a teeny, tiny, predominately black wardrobe that has room to stretch out in a four foot closet and a LOT of really colorful jewelry.

5. About fifty percent of what I sew never gets worn regularly because I sew a lot of one occasion garments, muslins, and experimental things. I'm okay with that. I'm having fun. I had to learn how.

6. I don't dye my hair and it keeps getting darker.

7. While I'm not at all sentimental, I am incredibly (let's not use the phrase overly) sensitive and often intuitive. In particular, I strongly feel emotional pain which is why I never vote for best of show or choose winners in anything and is why I am not passing this award on to fifteen bloggers while leaving out the rest SO... if you read my blog five times a week, thank you and consider yourself awarded. Please leave a comment and a link to your blog and I'll visit you. YEAH!

Tomorrow is my surgery appointment so I won't be blogging Tuesday or Wednesday. I may be back on Thursday depending on how things go. If I'm not here, I'm lounging on the couch. Since I've booked appointments for Friday morning, I fully anticipate feeling better by then and the Sewing Room Sale is on Saturday so I'll definitely be functioning that day whether I am or not - LOL.

Talk soon - Myrna

Grateful - melting snow and chirping birds

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Personal Growth - Whenever I am willing to ask "what is necessary next" I have moved ahead. Whenever I have taken no for a final answer I have stalled and gotten stuck. I have learned that the key to career resiliency is self-empowerment and choice. - The Artist's Way

There are times when even though you know the right answer, you are still stuck, most often due to fear. Making a decision, and doing the one thing that you can do, moves you forward and allows that one thing to lead to another. Almost always God only shares one step and we are required to move in faith. My failure to move keeps me from doing the work that He has for me. I'm a big picture kind of person. I want to know all the answers first and it rarely happens that way. Learning to create my art step-by-step without knowing the end first also taught me to learn to live more fully, one step at a time. LOL - I'm still working on that. I think it'll be a lifetime task.

The Wrap-Scarf

Yesterday morning was my coffee date with the woman I met at Starbucks just over a week ago - the one wearing the wonderful wrap-scarf. I arrived early intending to journal first only she was already there so we started talking and had a wonderful two and a half hour visit. I'm so glad that I decided to approach her last time as it appears that we have many things in common. We're going to get together again the week after next.

Do you enjoy meeting new people? I'm forever talking to people in line-ups or stores or anywhere else I happen to be and have met some of the most interesting people that way, several of whom have gone on to become good friends. When I worked downtown, I would eat lunch at a European deli and get a table for four so I could invite people to join me. Canadians and Americans are more reluctant to do that which meant I met a lot of people from Europe and learned about life in their country. People fascinate me. We're all alike and yet so different.

When I'm the one travelling, I like to look up students from my on-line classes or people whose blogs I read or members of any chat group I'm on - basically anyone I know who lives where I'm going. In a few weeks, on my way to Port Townsend, I'll stop for coffee with Carrie, a blog reader. Several years ago, I met Lori while taking a class in Nanaimo. This year, at the end of June, Howard and I will be in San Francisco and I'm hoping to meet with Shams - although I haven't mentioned it to her yet as I don't have any dates or times to compare but I will soon.

I love the way meeting people and finding out more about what they are interested in stimulates my own growth. I learn about their experiences, what influences them, and why they think the way they do and their creativity inspires mine. Lori is an amazing cook. She moves like a ballet dancer around her kitchen with such ease and grace that I think that I too may be able to cook. When I'm frustrated, I remember how she moves and I realize that with practice I can become better. Shams - as you know if you read her blog - is unbelievably creative not only with trying new patterns but with the skills and techniques she incorporates into her pieces. That ability and way of thinking is always fun to be around and pushes me to higher levels with my own creativity.

Even though I only saw it that once ten days ago, my initial impression of the wrap-scarf has been tickling my brain ever since and led to my latest project. Whether or not mine will be a similar wrap-scarf remains to be seen but that one is definitely the creative spark for the one I'm making - even though they are nothing at all alike.  Starting points are like that - the gift of a beginning.

The wrap-scarf was a long cowl that reached from her neck almost to the floor. I'm not sure if I have enough yarn for that so mine may be a shorter version. I'll knit to a length I like or to the end of my yarn, whichever comes first. In order to seam the length into a circle, I used a provisional cast-on and then started knitting. Six inches along, I'm still happy although that's not saying much since I've been completely finished numerous projects before ripping them apart. It doesn't matter. The purpose of this scarf is to get me through next week's surgery - the waiting and the recovery - and if it turns into something wearable, that's a bonus because right now all I want is to enjoy the rhythm of the stitch. It's a...

... basket weave combination of knit and purl stitches in an eight row pattern using a multiplication of 8 plus four stitches - or 68 in my case - although I cast on two extra for an edge stitch each end. I like this pattern for a scarf because there's no right or wrong side. The rows are:

Row 1 - knit four, purl four, alternate to the end
Row 2 - purl four, knit four, alternate to the end
Row 3 - repeat row 1
Row 4 - repeat row 2
Row 5 - purl four, knit four, alternate to the end
Row 6 - knit four, purl four, alternate to the end
Row 7 - repeat row 5
Row 8 - repeat row 6
Knit to desired length

This is the same stitch used on the black cardigan shown earlier in the week. When I first learned this stitch years ago, something wasn't clicking and I couldn't seem to make the transition between rows four and five and was forever messing up and ripping back. This time around, it's simple and soothing and a fabulous example of how practice perfects and gets us to the point where our hands move with ease while our minds are free to ponder other possibilities.

Talk soon - Myrna

Grateful - meeting new people

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Personal Growth - Trust that still small voice that says "This might work and I'll try it." - Diane Mariechild

God speaks softly. My ability to listen and to follow are more important than my ability to lead.

Knit To Nothing

My days are filling up with many little things with small amounts of studio time which translates to feeling like I did nothing all day when in actuality quite a lot was accomplished. I've decided that some studio time each day is critical even if they are knit to nothing like yesterday.

The pattern for this scarf finished with two inches of garter stitch which falls along the pointed edge when the scarf is complete. Proportionally, that was too heavy - IMHO - for the pattern. Three rows seemed like it would be better. Because of where the last ball of yarn joined, I ripped back to the stockinette stitch, joined the new ball there, stitched the rows, and cast off feeling pretty proud of myself for having finished this project. And then, I tried it on.

I don't wear turtle necks and a scarf typically comes off part way through the day. While this scarf may have worked well with a coat where it was being taken on and off, my intention was to wear it with t-shirts for a casually elegant look. I wanted something loose and light. My neck is short and I have the start of a double chin and I can only tolerate so much bulk around my neck before everything looks and feels congested. This scarf was right at the edge. Because of the soft linen yarn, it might have been doable if....

... the ends had been long enough. As you can see, they needed to be a good four or five inches longer for the scarf to stay tucked around the front.... and I was going to knit them longer... only every time I ripped back and tried to pick up the stitches, there seemed to be a problem and finally in a fit of frustration I ripped back...

... to nothing and started over. The ladies were just teasing me Tuesday night that I hadn't ripped back this project yet and I was smuggly thinking and I won't, I like it but apparently that wasn't true. It's back in balls. I more than get my money's worth with yarn - LOL.

Talk soon - Myrna

Grateful - that I'm not frustrated by my "failure" rate with knitting - it's the fine art of refashioning

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Personal Growth - You must make major adjustments in your life to join God in what He is doing. - Experiencing God, page 50

While doing my bible study yesterday, I found myself stopped on the point above that was part of a list to be discussed in more detail later in the book. What bothered me was the word major. Without further study, I don't agree with the author. While God does move in big ways that show He is God, in my experience He also moves in small and simple ways and that each day contains numerous opportunities to show that He is God, to give Him thanks, to give Him the glory. I've tried to be increasingly aware of those small opportunities and follow them up. In my opinion, that's an important way of being so I'll be intrigued to see if I change my mind later on in the book.