A Distracted Week

I'm letting this knitting and crocheting kinda distract me, anxious to cast on the next knitting project and spending time checking to see if I have the right size needles for what is lined up. As if not bad enough to have at least 3 projects ready to go, I keep looking through patterns I've printed out but not paired with yarn yet, and a nearly gone skein of yarn I'd really like to use up. Yup, knitting, like quilting, leaves you with "scraps" left over that you can't toss but can find it difficult to use up. But as my mind has wandered, it occurred to me that there would be enough yarn on that skein to do the ribbing on a tam and there was a tam pattern with a sweater pattern I'd printed out so I couldn't resist starting that. This may all be because I'm finding myself a bit intimidated by that crochet cardigan. Right off the bat it requires me to learn a new stitch with a yarn that is very slippery. I didn't think that the bamboo viscose yarn would be like that but then again, it is actually just rayon, and rayon is definitely slick.

The pattern does give a link to a video showing how to do this foundation double crochet stitch, a good thing because I couldn't quite figure it out from this copyright 1959 book that, along with a 8-1/2 x 11 multi-page how-to pamphlet I'd was given way back in gradeschool is how I taught myself to crochet. 

Me and my sister-in-law crocheting away

This book was bought in 1970 before heading out on a 3 week family vacation that included one brother and his wife. Sue wanted something to keep her occupied in the car and decided she and I needed to get yarn and this book. I've made several things from it and it is a good resource to have on hand. I have to be honest, I'm really struggling with this stitch and that slippery thread, as I work to make 109 of these stitches before turning my work and doing the next much easier row.

I had hoped to spend more time quilting Venetian Tiles but the distractions also included catching up on correspondence and end of the month bills plus baking my annual rhubarb pie. Still, I'm probably about half done quilting the green parts around the outside, easily done echoing using an adjustable bar attached to the walking foot set for half inch spacing . The green thread I chose definitely blends in nicely, leaving me wondering if it is too safe a choice. Nahhh, as I've mentioned before, I'm generally not into showy quilting, texture being enough for me. Click on the photo for a larger view to see just how those stitches blend rather than stand out.

Yesterday as I was looking down our greenbelt, I noticed the syringa has started to bloom. It's been lovely to watch the procession of blooms throughout the neighborhood. Certainly brings a smile! How is spring in your neck of the woods? 

Are You Getting Anything Done?

Besides Superbowl Sunday and the Olympics, I haven't gotten much done creatively. Every once in awhile I've stepped into the studio for a few minutes and arranged leftover magazine pieces from the Collage Breakthrough Bonus class. But even with my new-found set of rules and eye for value over image, this one has been a bit of a struggle. Primarily, I did not have a good range of values and textures to choose from. And today I had to give up on a piece that I really wanted to include but just wasn't working. Oh yeah, I've done that pretty much all my quilting life, that trying to make something work just because I liked it so much. Old habits die hard! Setting that one piece aside allowed me to move forward, and my main goal became to strike an overall balance of the dark pieces throughout the collage. That big one at the bottom was the first piece I laid down and it felt like it anchored the piece. But as I drew things to a close, I realized I needed to have more dark at the top and in a few other places. Not a masterpiece, but I'm relatively happy with this arrangement, and will also happily dispensed with the few pieces of magazine left, and clear off the table. I feel an itch to go back to a fabric project (as my resolution of "realign" alluded to), either piecing some split nine patch blocks for a wall quilt long on my mind or finally quilting a smaller Stack n Whack quilt top that would look good thrown over the big trunk in my living room.

I've made some progress on my knee-high socks. I'm a few inches away from turning the heel on this first one. When I get to that point, I'll go back to the second sock that I paused after completing the toe and start the ribbing to the heel. But with Olympic competition having my eyes glued to the tv while I watch the sliding and figure skating, it might be awhile before I can make the switch!

Decisions Were Made

 

On my next grocery run, I was pleased to see my store had expanded its selections of bedding plants. No hesitation now; I picked out three geraniums, more snapdragons, a couple of begonias (I've not had these before), a marigold and whatever that lovely lavender bloom is. Also picked up potting soil while at Walmart on a different day, so with the weatherman predicting weekend highs around 80, I'm prepared to set up my deck garden.

I thought by now I'd have strips cut and maybe even a few blocks sewn for the rails baby quilt to show but alas, the day set aside for that was spent dealing with a dying tv screen. It had been giving me warnings so I was not surprised when the screen suddenly went black that morning. Couldn't help but research what might be causing it and if I could fix it myself, but without buying parts and wielding a soldering iron, it wasn't going to happen. These screens are so inexpensive that replacing them is the better option. Mine was not "smart" and just like the phones, I don't really need a smart one, but of course, that's all that's available these days. I wryly scoffed at the instruction manual promising I'd be up and running in minutes. Took more than that to screw on the feet! Won't bore you with all the hoops I had to jump through to finally be able to watch my Directv and synchronize remotes, but the upside is I can now access my Paramount+ subscription through it and be able to watch those shows on a big screen relaxing on the couch rather than on my PC screen sitting in an office chair. I've always been a pretty independent woman, but I tell you, it's times like these I really miss my late husband! I would have handed it all off to him and had my studio time.

So what have I decided about the rail quilt fabric? I gave up on the lavender, everything being just too dark or not working with the pink on the table. And then I gave up on that pink as well and shifted back to a slightly different stack of pink. I definitely was feeling that I had the above problem and wondering why nothing I was seeing felt right.

I decided to assess my blues and pulled batiks. Getting closer but still . . . I'm really struggling to feel like they work with the raindrops fabric, they are so "clear" while it has that nagging off-white background.

I was actually leaving the studio when it dawned on me there was one place I hadn't looked yet, and that was in the drawers holding my many fat quarters of reproduction fabrics from the "club" subscription I had for so many years. And there, in the top drawer, I think I found the answer to my problem. Not just blue fabrics but pink ones too, and some with children's themes to fit better with the Noah's Ark backing fabric I'll be using. Way more than I probably need but plenty to choose from. Maybe I can start having some real progress on this project.

I do some of my best problem solving and decision making when turning things over in my mind while going about the regular routines of my life. Over several days, I caught myself working through options on what to do with the lavender sweater I started and probably don't have enough yarn to finish. If no more yarn is to be had, I think I could easily turn it into a sweater vest, so I decided to just keep on knitting the back and see how much yarn it actually uses. In the meantime, I did go back to the store where I'd bought the yarn, and as I suspected, no more of it there. However, the owner said she'd just put in an order for more of these mill end skeins, but she had no control over what colors they sent. They won't arrive for awhile so I will knit away while I wait for her call telling me if I am lucky or not.

Racing, Skating and Taxes

As the weekend neared, I was surprised to find that two of the three motorcycle roadracing series that I follow had rounds scheduled AND that World Figure Skating Championships would also be broadcast. Hours of racing to watch, hours of figure skating to watch, over 3 days. So much for making progress on the Rails quilt! It also dawned on me that the deadline for submitting tax returns is quickly approaching and I'd not done a thing except load the tax software that I use. Believe it or not, I did get a little work done on the taxes while listening to pre and post race commentary, but really need to focus on it this week. Oh, and it's the end of the month and there are a few bills to pay and budgeting figures to work out, so I don't think much studio time will get squeezed in. However, I did run across this new Zentangle that I really wanted to add to my "Just Add Red" sketchbook and decided I may as well spend a little time with it this afternoon. Sometimes you have to take a moment to treat yourself. I intend to add one or two more lines of what they have named "Puppy Hugs" intertwining behind this one before doing the shading. This tangle looks good at several stages so the behind ones will probably be partials of the main one. Instead of the Micron pens I usually use, I've chosen these Uniball Air pens because the red one works so well in this sketchbook.

What, if anything, has been keeping you away from your studio?

Diverted and Distracted

Late in posting this week, partly because not much has happened since I last checked in. I'd mentioned that I'd made a trip into the somewhat big city last week, something that at minimum takes up 3 hours of my day, but then I had to go again a couple of days later. The first trip really wiped me out - sometimes my auto immune syndrome doesn't mind the extra energy tap of trips like that, other times it hits me with debilitating fatigue once I get home. No way of knowing which it will be in advance or how long it will take to recover, but was glad that the second trip didn't bother me at all. At any rate, I didn't make progress on much of anything before the weekend, although I took a stab at reducing part of a studio pile by getting back to catching up on my documentation files.

There were back to back motorcycle races to watch on Saturday and Sunday so a few more stitches got put into the stitch camp piece. I decided to do the spiral running stitch in the two oblong blotches as well as to squeeze it into the smaller blue circles after I finished a bit of the twisted running stitch. I can see a few more areas where I can work that stitch in, hoping that I will use up that teal rayon embroidery thread. Pondering where I can work in some different stitches like seed stitch and satin stitch and what color thread I might use to do that.

I thought there'd be more to catch my eye and add to my downstairs sketchbook but there really isn't from my place on the couch. However, I realized that in watching tv, I'd become a little obsessed with eyebrows, especially as I watched different newscasters. These are just experiments as I tried to remember some of the ones I'd noticed that were different from the usual arch. Then I found myself adding some full faces which to be honest I'm not very good at. But it exercises one's imagination.

I can report that in the space of a few days we went from bleak winter with nothing showing on the branches of trees to full-on spring with bright lime green leaves unfurling and beautiful blooms emerging. The chokecherry in front of my place obliged with not just blooms but heady fragrance. I'm really feeling the urge to get out and sketch some of the trees around town before the blooms fade. The weather will be heating up again, and I am free of obligations for the rest of the week so I have no excuse not to!

Still Distracted

Disruptions continue, including a day devoted to my pre-op appointments, and I totally forgot to post what I did get done last week. I finished the satin stitching on the second Peace Quilt and I guess I should have used some stabilizer. The first quilt was all done with tightly woven hand-dyes while this one trades one of those out for the less stable sateen fabric. I good press got most of the draw-in flattened out and hopefully the quilting will do the rest. I've decided to back it like I did the first one, same dark hand-dye used on the front with the intent to turn it to the front to make the binding. But I don't think I'll use felt again, even though that will mean a lot of thread burying. Felt is good for smaller projects but I was not totally happy with the way this larger piece hung, the felt not being as firm as I thought it would be. I think I will go back to Hobbs 80/20 in black, which has more stability to it than regular 80/20 for some reason. Will see if I can get it sandwiched up before the end of the week, along with the continuing straightening and preparing of the house for my post-surgery recovery, and of course gathering what I will need to take to the hospital.

I'm lining up things to work on for when my bending/twisting/lifting is limited. I have one really old hand applique piece in mind. Have laid out supplies for several books. And printed off photos of quilts I've yet to fill out documentation sheets for. That seemed like an excellent project I could do sitting.

Perhaps I'll finally try some Gelli printing. I already have a 5 x 7 plate, going with the smaller size partly because they are so darned expensive and partly because it is a good size for printing in some of the sketchbooks I've made. But all the demos I watch show using a larger plate, one you can pull printer paper size prints when playing with masks and stencils. So when Michael's was having a particularly good sale, I was able to pick up this larger one at half price. As for the Scor-Pal, I admit I got sucked in by the "ooo what a cool tool gotta get one" thing after watching it being used to score for folding accordion style the spine for this challenge journal (and here also to see the folding of the spine) as well as other scoring chores in bookmaking. But again, this tool is a little pricey so I'd been putting off getting it. Then I realized I had a bunch of credit card points I could apply to an Amazon purchase so was able to get it there essentially for free. Am looking forward to trying it out when I make this book again, only bigger.

A Week of Disruptions

Nothing creative got done this week, much to my chagrin. I got my date for back surgery, then this week got a call rescheduling it to July 20th (only a week later) which then generated a flurry of phone calls from various sources at the hospital asking questions and imparting wisdom. All good but time consuming as I look around at what I should take care of in the coming few weeks before movement and lifting restrictions take effect. I look at this as I did my cataract surgery last year about this time - knowledge that much of my life will go on hold while I recover, but at a point where it simply must be done so I can get back to activities that now are literally a pain to do. Oddly enough, sitting at the machine doing that satin stitching didn't seem to bother me but the distance I can drive without setting things off has gotten shorter and shorter and I can't walk very far either. Not the way I expected to age but I know I am not alone in this.

And then on Friday I had scheduled an internet upgrade from my provider. They've been putting in fiber lines in the area for awhile and now my neighborhood was ready to be hooked up at bargain introductory rates. Sure, why not? But I have yet to have any technological change or upgrade go smoothly and this was no different. Suddenly my laptop could not access the network without setting up my pc with a mobile hot spot that it could connect to. The installer couldn't figure it out though he tried many things and finally hit upon the hotspot idea as a work around until I could contact Tech Support or figure it out on my own. I looked at so many things on both computers that didn't make a difference and discovered that the installer was wrong about being able to put my pc in sleep mode as I usually do and still have network access with the lap top. When I have more time to spend on the phone, I'll see what Tech Support says, but in the meantime, I discovered I couldn't print or scan from the pc! I originally set up the 3-in-1 printer to connect to the pc through blue tooth but now it wouldn't do that. NOOOO, this printer now wanted me to connect directly to the network (which actually went fairly smoothly) but I still couldn't communicate between the pc and printer. Now I can't remember what I stumbled on to change that magically turned on the scanner, and now it would take print jobs too - hallelujah! But it did take hours of messing around to get it all working together again. Not sure this extra speed and quality is worth it . . .

So this week I share an article on inspiration that I'd set aside but failed to include in any blog post as near as I can remember. If I have, it's been long enough that it's worth a second read. The title alone is wonderful and speaks a bit to what I'm going through at the moment: "Artist Agnes Martin on Inspiration, Interruptions, Cultivating a Creative Atmosphere, and the Only Type of Person You Should Allow Into Your Studio".  Here's a taste:

"An inspiration is a happy moment that takes us by surprise.

Many people are so startled by an inspiration or a condition of inspiration, which is so different from daily care, that they think that they are unique in having had it. Nothing could be further from the truth. Inspiration is there all the time for anyone whose mind is not covered over with thoughts and concerns, and [it is] used by everyone whether they realize it or not.

It is an untroubled state of mind. Of course, we know that an untroubled state of mind cannot last, so we say that inspiration comes and goes, but it is there all the time waiting for us to be untroubled again. We can therefore say that it is pervasive."

I do love that part about it taking us by surprise and that it is there all the time waiting for us to be untroubled again. I've gone through several long droughts of inspiration in say the last 5 years and suspected it was partly because I was troubled. As for interruptions:

". . . Martin urges artists to create a sanctuary for inspiration — a space devoid of busyness and dedicated to unburdened clarity of mind, with “no telephone,” where one is “to be disturbed only if the house is burning.” . . . Because the studio should be a sacred space for the untroubled mind, Martin recommends avoiding physical clutter in order to prevent mental clutter. . ."

Let me tell you, my studio is nothing BUT clutter these days, has been for quite awhile, more so than just the normal kind of clutter that actually sparks ideas unbidden. I long to find a happy medium to that. Maybe I can address some of that while I convalesce. 

Everybody's Doing It

In a few days, Feedburner - the service that sends blog posts to your mailbox - will be no more. When I learned of this, I did do a little research into alternatives and had decided that if I wanted to offer that e-mailing option again, Follow.It would be my choice. But I don't think many readers are taking advantage of an e-mailing option and I suggested any who did look into Feed Reader services like The Old Reader. However as the ending date for Feedburner grew closer, I've seen several of the blogs I follow as well as their readers singing the praises of Follow.It, making the switch and noting how easy it was. So I gave it another look, started following directions, and before I knew it, I had the new Follow.It e-mail subscription sign-up gadget added to my blog (in the sidebar to the right). So out with Feedburner, in with Follow.It. If anyone does give it a try, I'd appreciate it if you'd get back to me about if it worked and how well you like it.

In the meantime, I'm still muddling along with results of cataract surgery, the second eye being done on Monday. I guess I'm just too impatient, thinking I'd be able to see better right away since I'd been seeing pretty good with just the one eye fixed. I've actually had a harder time reading with eyes tiring more quickly (or so it seems). But everyone said the surgery went well (and I must admit the whole process seemed smoother second time around) and my first followup showed the eye is healing well so calm down about how well (or not well) you think you are seeing. And in fact, every day I have noticed improvements. Still, I wonder how much of my initial out of focus feeling is due to my brain being so used to heavy glasses on my face that when it senses those are gone it just assumes I'm seeing out of focus. Takes some effort to convince it to get to work!

Still not feeling like I can do anything much with any creative ventures. A day or two after surgery, I did pick up something off my work table to bring it to my other hand and totally missed that hand! Yeah, there were some depth perception issues at first but those seem to have resolved. I've been in contact with a friend who had her second surgery the week before my first and it's been interesting to compare notes. Unlike me, her near vision is not good now and she has opted for some Dollar Store cheaters which she said are a little weird. But she is a quilter and crafter like me and is trying to work on a project, impatient as I am to get through this healing 4 weeks before new corrective glasses can be ordered up to, as my clinic dr said, provide my best vision. And to be done with eye drops 4 times a day plus lubricating drops in between.

So still marking time, but getting really antsy. I love my afternoon reading stints on the back deck, a summertime pleasure that goes back to my childhood days, and there's always things on-line and recorded on my dvr to fill my time but those studio projects are definitely calling out for my attention. I'm looking forward to when I can tackle them with ease.

Marking Time

Brilliant deck flowers that winter over

I had my one-week follow-up with my eye doctor this morning and he says things look good. Still not all the way healed but getting there and that eye is seeing "20/20-ish". Of course, the other eye only sees that well with corrective lens but it will be fixed soon (Monday) and the two eyes can stop fighting each other. In the meantime, I've been able to read without glasses more than I anticipated and even took the short drive to the grocery store 4 days after surgery, albeit using glasses for better far vision. I really appreciated Kathy Loomis' comment that jogged my memory about being able to increase the size of text on our computers and tablets. That's one of those features I knew about but put to the back of my mind as I never dreamed I'd be in a position to use it. Much less squinting at the computer screen! And as she says, who could go for weeks without being able to read a book - or blogs - or newspapers - or any number of things that keep me entertained and informed. I only wish I'd been thinking more clearly when I picked out a book from the library and didn't even think about a large print version. Luckily, after a few days I found I could read normal text in books, at least for short stints.

I do feel like I'm just marking time though. I slept a lot the first few days (reminding me that this is my standard solution after or during stressful events). I watched on-line so many motorcycle races over the weekend (World Superbike Series at Misano, Italy). Made that shopping trip on Monday. And have slowly figured out what I can and cannot do in this space between surgeries. Not trying any sewing or quilting yet, not even sewing in the signatures of that blank journal. Think it would be too much squinting. (Had to laugh at my first thought when the clinic doc said things might look smaller since my current prescription is a "bug killer" - think kid with magnifying glass on a sunny day. What? Needle eyes will be even smaller???) No drawing or painting or writing yet, although I may give a letter a go. What I find I CAN do is:

• Watch tv, although not tackling the few foreign mystery programs with sub-titles
• Do most of the daily on-line stuff like reading e-mails, blogs, articles and of course, Facebook
• Prepare meals, although some of my recipes' type is tiny - is that 1/4 or 1/2?
• Take walks, leaving the glasses at home
• Continue with a not very strenuous yoga practice
  
• Balance my checkbook and figure the month's budget - a bright desk lamp helps
• Shred shred shred! I specifically saved this post tax preparation job for now since there's no reading involved
• Do light housework like laundry and cleaning bathrooms - have a weight lifting limit so am saving hauling the vacuum out.
• And best of all, enjoy the brilliant flowers in my deck garden.
  

Replacement geranium

 

A Little Housekeeping and Other Distractions

Not THAT kind of housekeeping, although lord knows my place could use it. No, this is about my blog site and a message I got from Blogger recently:

FollowByEmail widget (Feedburner) is going away
You are receiving this information because your blog uses the FollowByEmail widget (Feedburner).
Recently, the Feedburner team released a system update announcement , that the email subscription service will be discontinued in July 2021.
After July 2021, your feed will still continue to work, but the automated emails to your subscribers will no longer be supported.

I added this widget quite awhile ago when I realized it was an option. I have a couple of blogs that I follow that I've opted to get notice of new posts or even entire posts via e-mail and had at least one reader that was interested in getting notifications from me that way. But now everyone agrees that Feedburner is dying a slow death and it is time to move on. I don't know if anyone else is using this service to receive my posts but if you are, be forewarned that the e-mails will end in a few months. My recommendation is to sign up for a free blog feed reader like the one I use: The Old Reader. Just pop in the name of the blog you want to follow and like magic, whenever the blogs you have chosen publish a new post, it will show up there. Just one site to go to in order to stay up with all the blogs you follow. Most posts can be read in full right there. A few you may have to follow the link to the post on its blog if the blog owner has it set up that way. And if you wish to post a comment, you just click on the post title and it will take you to it on its blog where you can then comment. Here's a screen shot of what mine looks like when I log in:

 

As for the distractions, there have been many keeping me from any creative progress. It was time to quit procrastinating on doing my taxes which meant I had to quit procrastinating on upgrading my computer to Windows10 so the tax software would run. I'd heard rumors that my aging 3-in-one printer would not work well on this new operating system, and it had already started scaring me with hiccups I had to search online for workarounds. I spent quite a bit of time researching new printers and the new one arrived almost two weeks ago. Really no more excuses not to get on with the upgrade, except for my perpetual fears about losing data, old software not work, or the dreaded computer crash.

Although it was a bit time consuming, none of the above happened when I loaded the software and completed installing Windows10. As expected, many things look different, are in different places on the screen, in different drop down menus so there's been a bit of a stumble and learning curve figuring out where to find how to do even the most basic things such as put the computer into hibernation. But I'm getting there.  I've tested all my old software and every one is working just fine. All the data is right where it belongs. The programs even seem to run a bit more quickly than before. And my taxes are ready to print. Time to unplug the old printer and set up the new one.

I'm a huge Epson fan so I was looking for something in their newer line that would do all the things my old RX500 does (especially sizing copies to enlarge or reduce images) and not more than I need (I'm not running an office here). I found it in this xp5100 which, due to how difficult a time I had finding one I think is an older model not being made anymore. So far I've only run across a few differences from the RX500: It only uses 4 cartridges instead of 6 (eliminating the light versions of cyan and magenta), it loads from the front instead of the back and can print double-sided (yeah!!!), the scanning bed is oriented with the top to the right instead of the left, and it can be connected either by wi-fi or the standard USB cord. I've had multiple people tell me that the wi-fi or blue tooth connections are often problematic but Epson doesn't include a USB cord in the box. No problem. I stole the one off the old printer and it works just fine.

Of course, you don't just plug in and go. There's software to load, which wants you to register the printer and click on multiple options before it downloads.

And there are multiple alignment checks to go through to be sure things print correctly.

And while a bit time consuming of course, I jumped through all the hoops and have a working 3-in-one. Did a test print - check. Printed a double-sided copy from a pdf - check. Scanned an image from a catalogue - check. Still fumbling around a bit understanding how to navigate the functions from the printer screen but I'll get there. Now that it is all set up and performing beautifully, I'm wondering why I put off setting it up for so long! It's really a compact unit with a smaller footprint than my old printer which you can see lurking on the floor to the right, not as high and has a flat, not curved lid. Yup, I'm happy!