It’s funny how life tricks you sometimes. My keyword this month was Health, and I guess I was taking it dead seriously…
I’ve mentioned Pain – and there’s been a lot of it to focus on. I’ve had headaches going on for weeks, my recurring gut problem has surfaced again and no painkillers help with either. So I get really, really tired, falling asleep around 2 pm, drag myself around to do just a few things so I don’t get cranky AND depressed. 😉
Here I was thinking I’d do all sorts of clever meditations and evaluations, reconnect with that body and get us all ready to be tuned up. Well, none of that esoteric stuff, I just ended up going to the doctor’s. Further examinations await, in the meantime I just practise nursing unhealth, ponder and accept.
I hope to be back on line for more ramblings about taming the artist’s mind, digging into my own behaviour etc. soon. But right now I think I just need to leave all that difficult stuff on a shelf and do everyday plain things and thinking. When I’m not worrying 😉
My activities are plain too. I can’t get my mind into tapestry gear although I’m participating in a Ravelry challenge, this is as far as I got:
So it’s repetitive motion, simple designs, clicking the interwebs, reading when my head allows. (it seems to have cleared up for now at least) But it’s a great stash buster, this plain weaving. And if anyone has some advice on linen/linen warp/weft, I’m all ears, because that’s next! I can imagine some stretching and buckling, but how about shrinkage thrown into the equation?
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!
I had decided beforehand to make a report whether I succeeded or failed – and really, if you make the effort, can you truly call it a failure?
I did make an effort. In good spirits too, no pointed fingers. I didn’t exactly make the finish line with 3 items done, but I’ve decided to be pleased with myself nonetheless. (is that one or three words?) I could have knit every day and met more goals. Worked really hard until my fingers bled, but I’m also determined to only hurry so much that I don’t get stressed out about it, since that is (still) poison to my system. I don’t know if I’ll ever recover from that completely, and perhaps it’s a good thing if I don’t. The only “danger” is, once you allow yourself some slack, more slack has a tendency to follow when it’s not a life or death situation. So yes, I could have knit more. But I did finish one big thing without getting caught in second sleeve syndrome or starting up a number of random displacement activities.
Of course in my eagerness to have at least one sweater not fitting like a sausage skin, I made this one enormous. As in, I really should reknit the whole thing…. And this is why I made my no-knit resolution! I must be some sort of closet masochist. It’s a bit odd though, I swear it was ok when I tried it on around halfway through?! A shapeshifting sweater?
Ribbit!
Worse is, the slack oozed over to my paint challenge. In fact, I more or less forgot about it. Resistance does that to you. We’ve determined that faking it doesn’t work, I do in fact have to be “in the mood”. And Resistance makes sure I’m not in the mood if I know I only have half an hour before somebody visits/turns on the tv/asks for dinner. I could say that I lucked out on opportunities for uninterrupted worktime, which is true, but there were things I could have done to prepare for “the moment” in advance, such as making sketches in the relative safety of my kitchen office, and I carry the full responsibility for ignoring that option completely. The truth is, I did not touch my canvasses AT ALL apart from clearing them from my work table to convert it into a dining table for a family visit.
Played a bit with my new waterbrush today just to have something to show. We are NOT quite friends yet, all of a sudden it gushes a huge drop, making all the colours bleed and spread. I guess here’s my chance to try working on the same image multiple times! 😉
It’s a bit like writing with ink and old fashioned pens, the way they splatter just as you’re working an elaborate curve or dotting the i.
And I know I said I’d been getting better at keeping a schedule, but the real truth is, I spent most of the time planning projects, not doing them. Oh I’ve played with photos, made yarn, knitted, read books. Gotten more ideas for things that are not paintings. (I now desperately need a rigid heddle loom 😉 ) So I need even more focus. I’m going to keep pushing until I find the right combination of work flow for me, if that’s even possible when you don’t have control over your workspace.
When I was running my bizz, I had the house to myself most days, but the last couple of years, G has discovered the joys of working from home too. I was grateful for this while I was feeling poorly, but now I’m having a hard time kicking him back out LOL. And I can hardly blame him!
My brother brought me this thinking cap the other day, when I wear it nobody is allowed to talk at me. Just have to remember to take it off when the doorbell rings…. I think it’s made for grown up heads, but if I tuck my hair in it stays put.
How about making a habit of doing housework in the evening before bedtime, when I’m too tired to think useful thoughts anyway? Tidy up especially, but even laundry and such (no dusting). Fewer things to clutter my brain during peak hours so to speak. Because I AM getting things done, it’s just the wrong things, you know? It’s usually tv time then and it’s an excellent way to avoid that. Never met anyone who felt accomplished after 2 hours in front of the box. As for entertained, no, not really, only thing I watch is The Doctor. Oh well, it’s worth a shot.
And now, for a new calendar. Are you doing anything new this year?
Really, just to kick my own butt in public, I’ve decided I want to make 2 sweaters by end of the year + a hat AND tell everyone how it’s going. Talk about setting yourself up for failure! Are we scared of failure? Hell no! Bring it on…. 😉 In fact, after I started the countdown I never did anything about it for the first 4 days, and I didn’t give a hoot. That bodes well for my stress levels I think?
I’ve started with the blue mix, wanted the green more after knitting the all blue sweater, but was unsure what to do. Now that I’ve progressed I can see how far the yarn type goes, so I think the green will be a jacket with some sort of thin yarn along too, I’ll have to see what I’ve got. In just 5 days I’m past the waist of my blue tunic and have used 2½ skeins of 6, so I think I’m good since I’m planning on short sleeves?
My hands are screaming bloody murder each night, but I haven’t been in the mood for doing something “complicated” the last few days. In keeping with the tradition of both knitting method and of contradicting myself, I’m making it up as I go along rather than use a well documented pattern.
You can see under the arm it looks a bit big on Mimi, and it is, I didn’t pad her yet to match my new dimensions and I also made sure this time that it’s wide enough for me to wear clothes underneath, as I can’t wear wool against my skin. And, well, just in case I keep growing (Heaven forbid, it’s not in my budget!). I just hate the feeling of clothes that are like sausage skins ready to pop. Or if you wear a belt on your jeans the buckle sticks out under the sweater like a huge belly button! And I believe that’s as much of a fashion statement as you’ll ever get from me.
