Washing the floor

is going to be quite a chore. We are planning this like a military manoevre. I can see the whole task consuming our lives over the next few days. It would appear that I'm going to have to break down most of my studio, so that we can get at the floor. We'll certainly have to roll up the rug in my little sitting area and we really need to get at the floor in the laundry room. The one with all of the wine spilt on it from last time we transferred from primary to carboy. I sort of don't mind, because a general clean up is part of my ritual when I finish a piece--and I certainly have finished pieces over the last little while. But it's rained for about 24 hours now--one of those slow, steady, soaking rains. Nothing is drying because of the high humidity, and I have to wonder how quickly a wet basement floor would dry. We might be better to delay this for a week, as the forecast is for even more rain.

And that would give me more time to get myself started on a new piece. I have been taking a second look at some of my UFO's. One, that I spent a tremendous amount of time on, will probably be disgarded--although I haven't actually forced myself to do that yet. Another has been re-worked to a certain extent. I'm still sure it will never be a great work of art, but I want to pursue it anyway. However, I need to remember that even though my big deadlines are past, I still have a couple of important things to deal with in September, and it's time I started to worry about them.

Searching

for a piece that I painted some time ago and thought that I could finally actually do some work on. Can't find it. But---I've been doing some cleaning and sorting while looking for it. Where does all of this junk come from? I still have all of the quilts that I took out of the old cedar chest spread around the basement to air out. With all of the other stuff I now have spread around, it looks like a dump. So that'll be today's job. DH wants to wash the floor in the basement, i.e. my studio and sitting area. Talk about needing a major clean-up!! I have to agree with him--it does need washing. There is overspray from my spray starch, and maybe even a little glue and paint.

I had news of a little ( read small) inheritance yesterday. Now DH and I are arguing about whether we use it to buy me a new hearing aid-which I rarely use--or whether we buy new glasses for both of us. Knowing myself fairly well, unless I have a firm list of things to buy, I'll fritter it away on small stuff and not have any left for the more important things like glasses. Some of my first thoughts were to finally get the pedicure that I've been wanting for months, maybe a haircut and some new underwear, but glasses come first in my mind. Or--I could blow it all in the local fabric store! Wouldn't that be a blast? The other two times I inherited money, I did go on a small spree at the fabric store. I also have to admit that a new sewing machine came to mind, too. But I must be strong and talk DH into new glasses.

I've finished the little hanging using the gelatin prints. Once I have the binding on, I'll try to take a picture. Now I have a commission piece that's overdue. I've made good money with my commissions over time, but now they are starting to seem like work. I have no more show deadlines, and I'm not sure what direction to move. I'm thinking of trying some local shows, at a higher level than previously. I'm not sure what work would be accepted, so would be going by instinct rather than knowledge. A stange place to be. I washed and pressed the smaller sunprints I did last Wednesday. I have them all arranged on the design wall and they look great. I've worked the colours differently and I'm quite pleased with the result. I even like the impact of having them grouped together for display. I have to wonder how it will look when they are all stitched and matted. When we were in Sioux Narrows, the lady in the next booth suggested hanging some of the matted pieces on my display grid. I tried it and they sold, so this may be a different way of displaying my work for future shows. But I need the brighter colours for maximum impact. I'll maybe try it out at Ft. Whyte next spring--the next appropriate show on my schedule.

Finally....

something to watch on tv. Two hours of new episodes of Torchwood last evening. Did a bit of hand stitching while I watched, but what a great way to relax! Played a bit during the day. I found some gelatin prints that I made last spring, and worked two of them into a small quilted hanging. I realized that the method I used was the same as the one I use for the sunprints and very similar to one I have used in the past for some larger quilts. So now I have to figure out whether I'm in a rut or if this is a legitimate method that I should take advantage of. Of course, I can't think of any other way of doing things right now. There are at least three other gelatin prints that I want to use in some way. This morning we went through one of the trunks where I keep past work. What a lot of junk! DH is now on a trip to donate most of it to the local thrift store. Two of the completed tops might be worth paying someone to machine quilt for me. They're too big for me to do myself. One of the "finds" was a satin baby quilt that my MIL had a friend make when I was expecting my first child--40 years ago. Being satin and being hand quilted, it can't be washed--and has turned into a bit of a white elephant. Not sure what can be done, but I've brought it out to air. Everything smells coming out of the old cedar chest. I also found some dolls. Some are quite old and may have some antique value, but others were hand made by me, over the years. They have never been touched since, and I'm thinking of my grand daughters. The older one has a doll I made but the two younger ones haven't. So maybe I can deal with most of the stuff. Not what I had planned for the day.

Well, I ran out of steam about noon yesterday, but got a good bit of the kitchen done. Today I had hopes for the bathroom, but haven't even got started yet. I spent time this morning getting a quilt off to exhibition in California. Now that was an expense I hadn't anticipated--almost $40.00. Guess we eat Kraft Dinner for a few days. Yesterday DH found an ad in the little community newspaper for a sale at Fabricland. I've been waiting for one of their famous 50% off sales so that I can replenish my muslin--which I use by the metre. Well, the muslin wasn't on sale, but I found good quality white quilters' cotton that was on sale, and at the same price as the muslin would have been. This has a higher thread count, so will be just as useful as the muslin would have been. So I bought the bolt. Another reason to eat Kraft Dinner over the next little while. We also need to buy gas, but I think the bicycles will have to do for awhile. What more can I say?

Nothing accomplished in terms of creativity. I have a commission that I need to work on before the middle of the month, but I still feel that I need to reward myself with something creative before I go back to work that really is work. I have a bunch of things to do around my volunteer activities as well. And the deadlines for that are creeping up. Oh why, oh why did I retire? Life was simpler when I was working

Time to step back

and take a good look at my house. I've been so immersed in getting ready for the sales that I've neglected a lot of things around here. DH has been so very good about making sure we eat and have clean clothes, but now I look around and see other signs of neglect. For instance, we haven't washed our windows this year--yet. And my pantry is out of control. I have no idea what food we have where because DH has looked after that for so long. So it looks like I'm going to have to dscipline myself and get back into the routine I once had of setting up a schedule of chores, and working creative time into the schedule so that I can get a bit of everything done every day.

I have promised myself that I'll make time for something creative as opposed to spending time making things just because I have a good idea that they'll sell. I've signed up for a class in polymer clay for later this month. Now I need to find a second hand ( cheap) hand operated pasta machine to use in working the clay. She also suggested a dedicated toaster oven for curing the clay. I've tried using my regular oven and the clay overcooked and burnt-which I coverd up with paint. I've since found out that the clay comes in colours that you work to make patterns--that it isn't painted. Guess I need a class.

We're back!

What a weekend! It was a much larger sale than I've been in before, but that didn't mean that I made much money! We covered expenses plus a little bit. After almost selling out of my hangings in Pinawa, and working like a slave all last week to build up my stock again, I sold one hanging. But my little stuff (read cheap) sold very well. I also sold a couple of matted sun prints and collages. There was much more interest in the collages than the sunprints, but if I'd had sunprints of fern, I might have sold a few more. So I've brought home some ferns andhope to make a few small sunprints over the next day or so, that I can work on over the winter months.

Anyway, lot's of laundry to do, and I need to sort everything out, befoe it gets creased or dirty, so off the the salt mines again.