Purple warp turned around in a completely different configuration. Yeah, I know I’m the only one who will notice 😉
While I’m trying to get back in a painting groove, it’s nice to have something else to do waiting for layers to dry, so I don’t just end up here, clicking, losing time and mind.
Otherwise just a pretty lazy Saturday. I should get my rain gear and go water the strawberries! (because the hose is leaking on me) I need to soften and till the ground a bit so I can sow some lettuce.
What with headaches and feeling fed up with house work I’m way behind on the weeding, and they’re threatening to take over my projects. But I’m hoping for a bit of rain to help me, hacking away at concrete will amount to very little besides more headaches and sore hands! And I don’t want to run the sprinkler all over the garden for it. (especially because I tend to forget about it and let it run for 3 hours in the same spot)
Well, my pony post obviously wasn’t a huge succes 😉 so I’ll try a bit of Sunday gardening instead.
As previously linked, I’m going to try making a no-dig bed in the garden. I’m making it with fresh manure as I empty the horse boxes, so it may not be ready this year, I think I started in November. I put a layer of newspapers under, to kill the grass, so I can only top it up when I have enough papers! (We get a ton of free locals each week). I may scatter some carrot seeds just to see what happens, and I know potatoes will do well in nearly anything. Perhaps I’ll just cover it up to keep out weeds.
As you can see, I’m nearly done according to my markers! I’ll top it up a bit as it sinks, to end up with a good layer of soil. We have heavy clay here, and our lawn is seriously compacted, so this should be interesting on many levels.
Other than that, I’ll try to keep gardening at a low this year, it took too much of my creative time last year, so I’ll weed as much as possible, sow a few annuals and the only other new thing I’m creating is a grass free lawn under the hammock. Starting with moving some thyme from the barrels, in which I’ve instead put some bulbs that should have gone in last October, but I didn’t have the pots ready where I wanted them to go. And time passed and it was cold and I tend to hibernate… But today is such a lovely, sunny, balmy day I thought I’d get started!
Thyme for the grass free lawn.Getting all the dead coreopsis out and the bed ready to move my black currant bushes from the jungle. And the grass free bed along the fence.Weld is doing fineAnd so is the kale, which I’m not allowed to eat on a FODMAP diet.Leo is my new garden helper and assures me the mystery plants I found last year are doing well up until now.It’s their first day outside and Emil started out with a fright when the ponies came galloping straight at him down the hill. So now he’s having none of this garden business.
And now I still have half the day for: ?? I know I shouldn’t overdo it with the physical stuff, I have to stop before I’m tired. Otherwise I just push on once I get going and then pay for it by sleeping all week. Paint or weave perhaps. Oh, the dog needs walking and the stable needs mucking. Always something, isn’t there. 😉 I think I’ll save it for later though – when I’m tired anyway.
A couple of weeks ago I had a million things I wanted to write about, words and ideas were in a queue. In fact I was on such a roll that I thought I could take a break and not be stopped!
Well baahaa. Come Monday and my head was completely empty. That was Monday before last. It appears that if I don’t go with the flow, the flow goes on without me and when I look up, the view is different. Right now, my brain is doing textiles, no words. Apparently I have no say in the matter. I’m doing a lot of things, they’re just not what I thought I’d be doing. I’ve not even been reading anything.
Ok, I do know what happened – last week I had some really bad headaches. And these happened. I guess I should have known that would throw my focus.
So we took your seat, you weren’t using it!
I hope I can get back to what I wanted to say on Focus and Intention. Or perhaps what I had to say wasn’t all that important and I was therefore saved by circumstances. 😉
I do keep up the Bullet Journal. It’s not a planner, although it has dates and lists in it, I see it more as a suggestion. I write things down as I think of them and they may get done sooner or later. An upgrade from my previous napkin/post-it/envelope note system. And that works pretty well for emptying my head, I even remember to write down some of my design ideas.
I also work pretty hard on not postponing the little things. Yes, the wash room is cold, but you can go pick up the laundry, it takes 15 seconds. Yes, you can put that crochet hook back where it belongs NOW and not just leave it where you’re standing. All those things that are a tiny bit inconvenient right now but won’t kill you. I even finally whipped out the new sewing machine that I got ages ago when I broke my old one mending horse blankets. I simply could not face it if there was issues with the thread tension or something and I’d have to fiddle for ages and not get it quite right. With some things, I can do that dance forever if I feel out of my league. Well I made myself do it and while not as good a machine as the old one, it does, in fact, sew.
Now I’m in a bit of trouble because I’ve also run out of photos for my other blog. I could use some similar shots and whatnot, but we’ll see if I can keep it up. No painting has happened here since before xmas break, that’s the one thing I need the most quiet and the longest time to wind myself up to, and I just don’t seem to get it very often. So I have to dive into the old photo archives again. Because weather. Yuck. Why didn’t I spend all autumn making huge ponchos and hoods and cowls and sweaters from super bulky yarn on size 10 mm needles? Facemasks. Don’t get me started on the mud, at least we seem to get a short break from that now.
Come to think of it, I’m not doing too well in the quote department either. Do I really have to start writing more bad poetry to fill in?! I mean, it’s not like I can give up on the project less than half a year in… Can I?
I’m thinking of weaving things but I can’t show you the inside of my head. (I should be making more colour sketches, so I don’t forget) So many preparations, warping tapestry looms takes days when you get tired. And make mistakes. I’ve learned tonnes already. But I don’t know what to show you to make this post a little interesting. What would you like to see?
(And then I was saved by Pat Tyler. Off to play with orbs! I see collage-mandala potential here.)
Don’t warp your looms on the floor, you daft wumman!
This is what our living room looks like now, hobby things even get stacked on the walls. (tapestry loom and drawing board) Nobody ever accused me of resembling Hyacinth Bucket…
I’m being followed around the house these days, my every move monitored. Although times like now, right after breakfast, I can hear galloping from the other room and the occasional item crashing to the floor…. I wanted to film their antics, but it’s still dark.
I did manage to finish my sweater dress before they arrived, though, the one that ended up looking like a tent. I’ve even worn it and washed it. It’s still loose fitting, but that was my purpose, so I could wear multiple layers of t-shirts and a thin pullover underneath. But rather more shapely. It ended up a bit longer than intended, but that’s fine.
Emil is helping me block:
And organizing stuff:
Leo is in charge of getting the laundry right.
It’s been 12 years since I last had two kittens together, but I seem to remember they too liked to rearrange my stuff!
