Marjorie just went past my house on her boat. And I was so excited, waving, flashing a weak flashlight, and texting that I forgot to take a picture even though I had the camera all set up on the tripod, focused and ready. That is just like me.
The muslin I wrote about a week ago is still sitting there waiting for me to sew it up. It will take less than an hour even if I decide it works as a wearable garment and I decide to finish the seams and/or hem it. I want to sew it, I want to wear the garments I hope to make from this pattern, and yet I am seriously lacking in motivation.
Myrna hit on the crux of the issue in her post yesterday, "Getting to Done" . There are a few things piled up on my cutting table and in my sewing room that "have gone on too long and gotten emotionally heavy". I realize that I must free myself of some of this weight before I can proceed.
My basket that normally holds projects that are "in process" is overflowing. That is the pattern for the shirt muslin I started in New York last November you see on top. I gained weight and put it off, then by the time I lost the weight and was ready for it was to hot to even think about wearing the shirt, so I put if off again. We are now getting into shirt-wearing season and I need to work on that again. There are more things piled up behind the basket, and beside it, behind the pile of file folders: a lightweight sweater vest called Sheelagh, and a fine gauge alpaca cardigan which I could be wearing today. These have to be sewn up and finished before I make anything new.
The pile of paperwork is on my table because I have been seriously addressing a plethora of financial issues. There are no problems, but, even though we have been married 24 years next month, our finances were always managed separately as his and hers. Except that the last few years I have been managing everything. It no longer makes sense to manage the accounts as separate and unrelated entities, and it is time for us to stop saying "what is mine is yours" and actually make it so. I had everything filed and then we went through a period where I was pulling all the files out every day to get at something else or change something, so the paperwork just took up residence on my cutting table until the process was done. We have finally reached that point.
On top of that pile of paperwork is a bag of yarn that arrived yesterday. Although I say I am knitting from stash, it is not completely true. There is a package of fabric on its way to me as well. Don't worry, I will share.
What you don't see here is a large pile of skirts and garments that just need minor alterations or refashioning to make them useful, and an even larger pile of sweaters which are knit from yarn that is too good to give away. I intend to unravel these, wash the yarn, and knit them again into something wearable now.
I don't intend to finish everything in all these piles, but I need to make a dent in them, and get them organized in some fashion so that I actually work my way through them. I need to get these piles to the point I have reached with the front yard: the work is not done, but I can see the underlying structure now and plan what to do next without feeling overwhelmed.
In the meantime I have a busy weekend continuing into the first part of next week. I'll be back on Wednesday, hopefully with some actual progress to share (or at least pictures of fabric and/or yarn)
I already felt exhausted reading all the work you have in front of you. Are you absolutely sure that you need all those clothes? As you know, I have been throwing stuff out all the summer, and I still have plenty to wear. Less clothes, less stress.
Posted by: metscan | September 12, 2010 at 07:07 AM
Happy de-pile-ing. It's a relief to feel focused and functional again.
Posted by: Myrna | September 11, 2010 at 11:39 AM