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I've had this cloth, a summery linen-cotton blend, for ages but never cut it: today I did. This is an above-the-knee simple tailored skirt with a yoke-type waistband.
I've had this cloth, a summery linen-cotton blend, for ages but never cut it: today I did. This is an above-the-knee simple tailored skirt with a yoke-type waistband.
The sewing project was going really well...
until my helper showed up. How do they know?
All comfortable.
That's OK. I got the skirt cut out and marked and the darts pinned; ready to start sewing next time. (I did take it away from her.)
What's not going particularly well is the drawing. It's the weirdest thing; i was all into it, and then, suddenly, it was like a love affair gone bad. I didn't feel like doing it at all. Practically overnight. So odd! So I'm giving it a rest. At this point in my life there's no point in forcing myself. It will come back; I think I needed to release myself from the pressure of the daily drawings. After all, I've been doing it almost every day since the beginning of April.
A good time to make a skirt instead.
I spent most of the morning at the garden. it's looking pretty nice over there -- lots of things in bloom: late tulips, forget-me-nots, my lilies-of-the-valley are just starting. For the past three years, I've had a bit of a focus on delphinium. Nobody else grows them because they are finicky in this climate, but I always had them in Vermont and decided to try, and so far, they've done well. That is, until this spring, when not one of the Pacific Giants - the tall ones - came up. The small free-flowering ones seem to be OK, and I never grow the mid-size Magic Fountains, because they really aren't reliable here year-to-year. So the other day at the garden center, I bought a bunch of new plants, and today I put them in, after digging out a bunch of anemones that had spread into the area I wanted to use, and then did some other tasks. There's something so satisfying about garden work, even with the inevitable reversals, failures, surprises. I was all grubby and hot and sweaty when I finished, but it felt great.
I'm surprised and sorry to hear about the daily drawing, but it makes me feel good for my eighteen months non-stop! My motivating factors are the small sketchbook with numbered sections, made specially for the purpose and titled 'One Sketch a Day'....and the fact that the books are given to me by my daughter-in-law.
Posted by: Relatively Retiring | May 19, 2013 at 02:38 AM
Beth: Maybe there was a small quiet voice inside? It sometimes takes courage, not only to listen, but to hear. As for cat......don't they ever! Bless them.
Posted by: Tom | May 19, 2013 at 03:28 AM
RR: You should definitely feel good about 18 months of daily drawing! I am even more impressed now that I've seen the commitment it takes - and your drawings themselves are wonderful. Don't worry - I will be drawing a lot, just not posting them here every day.
Yes, Tom. And I've learned to trust it, even (especially!) when it says what I don't expect.
Posted by: Beth | May 19, 2013 at 07:57 AM
As long as you're doing something creative, hooray! (And yes, making a skirt definitely counts.)
Our cats like to "help" me fold laundry. They're also very "helpful" when I make the bed, insisting on getting under the sheets or blanket as I'm smoothing them out. ("Hmmm, what's that lump? Are we missing a cat?")
Posted by: Lorianne | May 19, 2013 at 10:16 AM
Beth, I feel compelled to edit your last sentence, just can't help myself: "I was all grubby and hot and sweaty when I finished, AND it felt great." :-)
Anyway: my cat's preferred time & location for intimacy is morning, on my chest, squeezing & squiggling in between my laptop and coffee cup as I'm trying to use the keyboard. Fortunately for him, he's never been scalded and neither have I, though I do have my share of ever-so-attractive coffee stains on various T-shirts. When I do little Rorschachy exercises analyzing the stains, I seem to have the same response every time: "Damn cat!"
Posted by: Andrew Hidas | May 19, 2013 at 11:58 PM
You are multi-talented. And your kitty knows that too.
Posted by: Hattie | May 20, 2013 at 02:09 PM
I hope we see your skirt finished. Such a subtly lovely weave.
When we release ourselves from the weight of 'having' to draw (or any other endeavour), daily, things move on their own. For me, the balance between discipline and freedom never ends, one of life's polarities.
Posted by: Duchesse | May 20, 2013 at 04:39 PM
Thanks for all of these comments, and the affirmations about the helpfulness and intelligence of cats!
Duchesse: I will definitely post a photo of the finished skirt. Your blog is inspiring me to write more about fashion and construction; I've always loved to sew and have been getting back to it a bit recently. And you are so right about that balance. I'm glad I listened to my inner voice that said, "too much!" and let this particular self-imposed pressure go.
Posted by: Beth | May 20, 2013 at 05:28 PM