The Object Of My Procrastination

My next project is cut out and sitting on the work island - my tried and true t-shirt pattern only with bishop sleeves copied from McCall's 7836 in a soft, charcoal grey, knit. It's to go with the colourful skirt from my closet that I've decided to take on my trip. And, it's waiting. Because first I need to deal with...

... the object of my procrastination - which is actually a purple sweater - even though it looks brown in this image. I'm writing this Tuesday night, just after dinner, and it's still not done although I've been working at it all afternoon or - LOL - obviously not working at it. Hopefully, since I typed this I've made progress and if not, that's what I'll be doing first thing today because if I'm not firm with myself, it'll keep sliding down the list. It has become the thing I have to do in order to do the thing I want to do.

It's for the daughter of one of the baristas at Starbucks. I think for any future pregnancies, I'll sew a bunting bag. And my next knitting project will be a top down something like a sweater or poncho... with no or minimal sewing. Normally, I don't mind but right now I'm just not feeling it. I'd rather sew or play with polymer. 

I've always been confused as to why A-line skirts are so heavily promoted for pear shaped body types. They may hide heavy thighs but to me, they look like they just keep widening all the way down. Like I'm wearing a tepee. The skirt on the left is the same one as the skirt on the right only that picture was taken before I added a drawstring to the bottom. Maybe I'm wrong but I think the one on the right make me look (and feel) less frumpy and more shapely even with thick socks and no heels. 

Today is day eight of the 100 day button project. I am learning a lot about what not to do and that's good. On Monday, the complete button kit that I'd ordered at the very beginning of January finally arrived. The cutters are only okay but what I really wanted were the different templates for marking the buttonholes. They are fabulous. Yesterday, I drilled a lot of holes in a lot of buttons catching up to what I'd already made. I have a feeling it'll go that way in the future as well with batch drilling and batch sanding. It's easier and only makes the mess once. 

Of the buttons I've made so far, these are my favourites. Day five is marbled clay that was rolled into an oval and pressed flat. Day 6 is a 1/2" square made with a cutter. And, day 7 is an organically shaped button made by rolling a ball, compressing it, and then running it through the pasta machine. 

This is the hot mess of an ugly bracelet that I'm working on at the same time as the buttons adding whatever colour clay I'm working with at the time. It started with some meandering snakes... and then some added flowers... and then leaves... and then more leaves... and then pressed dots. 

The dots are everywhere. I have a feeling they're going to show up in a lot of my pieces and be a part of my signature style. I didn't choose them; they chose me. And that's how it goes. I like their shape and texture and the way they fill in nooks and crannies. I just like them. A lot. 

And this is the bracelet with a coat of primer. As you can see, it begins to unify the hot mess. The bracelet may actually end up beautiful. We will see. Speaking of beautiful...

... isn't this an incredibly gorgeous button? I bought it through an Etsy shop called Jewelry by Julia Designs from an artist in Russia. I wanted to look at it up close and see how she made it and how it felt and was finished and to support her in the process. Plus, be inspired. I have no idea how it was made to get that amount of small detail but I'll do some research and see what I find out. What I know for sure is that I am nowhere near this level of ability and I would like to be. Practice, practice, and more practice. 

Yesterday, a lovely thing happened. I stopped by the grocery store after journal writing and one of the cashiers noticed and commented on my weight loss. It's the first time someone has said something and it was just the encouraging boost I needed. I really wanted to stuff my face with chocolate cake but not after that - VBG.

Talk soon - Myrna

Grateful - inspiration and compliments