Like a Climate-Change-Induced Tornado…

I’m home. Palm Springs was tiring and hot, and my brain is full of ideas (as always), but also frustrated by the limitations caused by being a public school. Like I would be the radical alter of Betsy de Vos if I could and upend the entire standardized testing system, but I know someone like me would never get to that position. And my dad told me to work within the system to change it, so that’s what I keep trying to do. Surprisingly, I think my superintendent and I agree on that, the part about getting rid of standardized tests. So it’ll be interesting to see where things go…especially after these conversations about not teaching all the standards (I’m like, dude, no teacher I know makes it through all the standards…it’s fucking impossible). Anyway. I’m not getting much of a break on teacher brain this summer, that’s for sure. It’s whirling around in my head like a climate-change-induced tornado. One more conference before school starts…it will be local, thank god.

Today is a catchup day, get everything I can checked off the list before I relax (ha!) into two days of art classes that were my gift to myself for the summer. I need to pack up my stuff for that as well, and make sure I have food…because it’s an all-day thing on the other side of town. Ah traffic. You are not my friend.

Days like today feel overwhelming. I have to remember that I need to finish one task before going on to the next one. Multi-tasking is not always your friend. I got up early to sweep the driveway again because they’re resealing the whole private road I live on, including my driveway, and the ficus tree had dropped tiny balls all over the place since the boychild swept it on Monday. As I was sweeping and the balls were flipping sideways and backwards all over the place, and I was thinking, 45 minutes isn’t going to be enough time to sweep the whole damn driveway, the guy in charge comes up and says, “Hey. Don’t worry. We have blowers. They’ll do it in like 5 minutes flat.” I may have told him I loved him. It’s all good. On to the next task.

While I was in Palm Springs, exercising the teacher brain, I drew a little bit…I actually started this some other day, I don’t even remember when. I went back to my room for 30 minutes between sessions to make tea, but I often feel anxious when I’m just waiting for things to happen. Staring at the phone and apps is a common way to deal with that, but it often creates more anxiety than not, so drawing really is a better way to occupy my brain. I sat there for 20 minutes or so, tea steeping, and drew some more…so here’s before…

And after (can you tell hot flashes have been prominent?)…

Nah. She’s not done. But I really should work on waiting with a sketchbook instead of waiting with a phone.

Honestly, there wasn’t a lot of alone down time at the conference…this statue of Zeus (?) on the way back from a happy hour with my co-workers…

The shuttle driver gave us a quick tour of houses owned by people…but mostly this is what Palm Springs is…

Very flat. Big mountains. Hot as hell. Palm trees everywhere.

This was an awkward bad-design moment…the bathrooms…you could see the person next to you through the toilet-paper dispensers.

Very awkward. I don’t know who thought that was a good plan.

We left Tuesday a little early, kinda done with the brain part, and my new driver was just as awesome as the first one…I still stitched. (My original driver stayed an extra night.)

I didn’t get very far…I did more when I got home…although this guy wasn’t helping.

Ah…stitching…

Another thing that relaxes me. This will be the 8th pattern for Global Artisans…

It was nice to come back to drawing…I really am trying to keep this relatively simple (I could put a LOT more detail in, trust me)…but I think I’ve finished the one side…the yang.

On to finishing the Yin tonight, I hope. It’s got a pretty good start.

I was on Etsy the other day because they’re changing their shipping policies in kind of a weird way and I had to deal with it…and this popped up.

You know, I never actually search for anything that specific on Etsy…interesting. I was thinking of putting the embroidery pieces on here. I guess that could still happen, but I have to think about how to finish them then. And increase the prices to cover that and shipping…makes them kind of unaffordable, I think.

Anyway. Back to today. I’m going to need more tea.

Stitching and Learning

I’m sitting and listening to a keynote speech about technology in schools while using technology to write this. I made it to the gym this morning…good. I didn’t sleep much…not so good. A comment was made yesterday that a lot of what we hear in speeches and workshops reminds us that we already do some of this. Now how to completely redesign schools so kids learn better. So hard to know where to start.

I stitched on the way up…

We’re in Palm Springs…115 degrees during the day, 104 degrees at 10 pm. Ugh. Not going outside much.

I did get a balcony, which I like.

I even sat on it for a while…in the dark.

Too dark to stitch or draw though, so I came into the cool air and finished this…

She took 14 hours and 45 minutes…not fast. I think this one took me the longest and I almost ran out of the blue thread…and she needs a bath and an iron.

And then I started the next one…

I didn’t get far. Too tired. More later. This one is a desert mother…

Meanwhile I’m trying to figure out how to put a couch in my classroom…and a bouncy rolling chair for me.

You’re So Funny and I Kinda Like Your Band*

Happy Pride y’all! San Diego has two cool things every summer: ComicCon and the Pride parade. And I’m going to neither of them. Ah well. Enjoy if you’re there…

There’s something about the routine of school that keeps me more on task. I guess it’s because my available time is so short…and there are a lot of things that I just let fall by the wayside during the school year. I rescheduled one of today’s events, which is good, because I might just get most of what I NEED to get done before I leave for Palm Springs tomorrow…there’s things that have been on the to-do list all week that still won’t be done, but I can’t help that. It is what it is. I’m not packed for the trip, and the food is an issue, that and the temperatures. Ugh. Hot. I am ready and packed for my class next Thursday and Friday though…priorities! It’s an art class and I’m really looking forward to it. I don’t often take classes any more. This is my summer treat.

Anyway, before that, I need to get my teacher ass (and brain) to Palm Springs with appropriately casual and cool (temperature) clothing. More importantly, I need enough stitching for the the drive up and back. Seriously. That’s important.

Yesterday was busy, but productive. I’m trying to figure out my retirement…yes, it’s at least 10 years out, but I have bits and pieces of funds and plans all over the place from being self-employed, privately employed by multiple companies, and publicly employed. Talk about chaos. I just want to know if I will be able to afford to retire…like ever. So I’m working on that. Yesterday was the first step in getting that managed.

We walked the little dog…the big dog is still not physically up for that. It’s possible that she thinks she up for it, but that back leg is still not in compliance. It was pretty hot yesterday, so the boychild picked a location I hadn’t been to before, but that has a significant amount of shade. It’s good that it did, because the heat kicked my ass at one point.

I haven’t drawn the superhot hot flash woman yet. Maybe while I’m sitting in a hotel room at night? Who knows.

So this is Oakoasis County Preserve, which isn’t far from here and isn’t a long hike, around 2 1/2 miles, but that’s a good dog distance, especially when it’s hot.

There are still lots of flowers…

But things are definitely drying out. And there were bees buzzing so loudly it sounded dangerous…

The Cedar Fire came through here, so the brush is about 16 years old…

But the oaks for which it’s named are still standing…ah shade! It’s about 15 degrees cooler under there than out in the sun.

And fungus!

I’m fascinated by these…

The shapes and colors, plus their ability to grow on something that is dead in the full heat of East County.

Nature is so cool. That’s why I keep drawing it.

Some parts of the trail obviously have more access to water than others…

This tree is dead now, but forced itself out of the center of that rock…

Science!

We went in the late afternoon…there’s a peek of San Vicente Reservoir…

Nice to see water when it’s so hot out.

We haven’t been hiking…dogs recovering from surgery, plus hot, plus chaos. Next week is the worst for that (chaos) this summer…but on the 22nd, I think it all mellows out. A bit. So hopefully we’ll find some cooler weather and hike a bit more.

Nice meadows…

And flowers…

And more fascinating fungi…pretty sure the one below is a gall…so pretty though.

The boychild had seen California Horned Toads here a few weeks back, but we didn’t see any. They are funky little beasts.

So yeah, a short hike for the two of us who don’t like heat. We left this old lady behind.

She’s still searching out the best stick for throwing purposes. Even though none of us will throw anything for her at the moment.

Both of them want outside…

The two oldest in the house, I think…although a tie with Kitten, who’s turning 11 next month.

We got a lot of boxes yesterday…just for Satch.

He appreciates them…

I did eventually let the dogs out (I won’t babysit the cat outside…his daddy can do that) so I could try to draw the next embroidery pattern…I need something to stitch in the car.

Although it was warm out, the sun is not on the deck in the afternoon and it’s usually much cooler. There’s a breeze.

No. We won’t throw you a stick.

There’s a fire down on the border and we watched this helicopter transport water down there a few times…

The fire is 40% contained so far…mostly it’s on the Mexican side of the border. Good thing there isn’t a wall that would stop people from fighting the fire. Well, there might be in this part of the country. Walls don’t stop fires. People do. And defensible spaces. Anyway.

We came back and I did some of this during dinner. The never-ending embroidery.

It really is relaxing to stitch…I just know I need to get 6 done this summer, and I’m three weeks in and haven’t even finished one. Sigh.

So then I worked on that drawing again…

I added a snake and some other stuff later. I’m not sure I want everything I added though. So there might be some editing before I scan it for the pattern. Basically I’ll need to decide that today. I’m also going to add an embroidery page to my website so you can see them all. The patterns and kits with the threads I used are available on Global Artisans. Of the finished embroideries, one has sold and one is traveling with Global Artisans…the rest are available. They’re not cheap though…embroidery takes time.

It was late when I started working on the drawing for the next quilt. This is about 49″ square…

I wanted the bodies penciled in before I started in ink. I often just draw in ink with no pencil, but this is big and fussy enough that I wanted to be sure the main figures worked before I inked anything.

I added some ink last night, before realizing how late it was.

Oh yeah. Bedtime. Ugh. Too late. Animals don’t understand sleeping in. I think it’s because they just sleep when they want to…

Too bad really. I don’t know how much of this I’ll get done before I leave tomorrow, but hopefully some. I already have a post-it note with a list for today. I should get going on all that. Food, mop, pack, draw, computer stuff…

*The Fratellis, Stacie Anne

That’s on Me…

OK, business stuff. First of all, I loaded three more quilt photos on Society 6 here…if there’s something you see on my Gallery or Recent Work page that you want on a poster or a cutting board (really?), let me know. I’ll see if I have the right resolution photo for it. There’s also a link in my sidebar to Society 6 (or you can just search for my name). Wall art is 30% off until midnight tonight and I think your first order is also 20-30% off, if you’ve never used Society6. Just to be straight up, I don’t make a lot of money on the stuff on there, but it is a cheap and easy way for y’all to be able to own my work without being fabulously wealthy. I’m OK with that. When you win the lottery, you can come back and buy the original. You can tell your rich friends to go buy one. Seriously, I just had a phone conversation with a financial planner about my future retirement plans, and I’m panicking (it will be FIIINNNEEE).

Second, I’ve had a couple of commission requests in the last few days. I do commissions, usually small ones, and I’m usually pretty up front with the fact that I’m not cheap. I can’t be. My time is worth something, whether I’m copyediting, teaching, going to conferences (yes, I’m getting paid for some of my time there), or making art. I’m going to respect that and charge for my time. So if you came to me and said, “Hey I’d like one of your quilts, about this size, with these kinds of things in it, and I have this much money”, I’d suggest you go look at my Gallery and Recent Work pages, because sizes and prices are on there. I keep track of my time using an app, so even if a quilt is small, if it’s super complicated with a lot of pieces, it won’t be cheap. This one, And Then There Was One, is smallish…only 16 x 24″, and it’s priced at $2760 because it has 819 pieces and took over 56 hours to make…

Fussy stuff. It was not a commission. But this one was…

It’s only 8×10″ and was a simplified detail from my Mammogram quilt…

Which is 39“ w x 52“ h and $2900…relatively big, but not a whole lot of pieces.

If you’re still interested in a commission, know that my schedule is tight on a good month…right now, I’m running out into November sometime I think. Maybe longer. So I’d put you on the schedule, and then I’d do a drawing for you, usually for a drawing fee. That kind of depends on whether we have a past working relationship…some of my commission people are repeat users. I trust them to pay me. They trust me to hit the range they asked for. The drawing fee is just because once I’ve done that, you might decide, nah, I don’t wanna do this, and I don’t want to be out my time.

If you’re OK with the drawing (and I’ve edited before at that stage for the client), then I will start on the piece, usually with 50% down payment on the estimated total (includes the drawing fee; also depends on previous working relationship). I make the quilt, finish it so you can hang it, and then send it to you. You have a period of time to decide whether you really want it or not. If you don’t, you send it back, and we’re done. I’m partially paid for my time, you didn’t have to pay for all of it, I still own the quilt and can do something with it…maybe…depending on what it is. It is a bit of a risk for both of us, but that’s the wonder of commissions. If you like it, you pay me off and hang the quilt on your wall. Fini! Anyway, feel free to ask me about commissions. I’ve done a few that are pieces of larger quilts…one owl that someone really liked (actually all of my bird quilts are from larger quilts and can be remade) and then that part of the Mammogram quilt.

All that affects my ability to make my own art quilts, so that’s what I’m working on next. I’m debating how to handle it. There’s a show I was planning on entering that has one theme, but I could subvert it to this other theme in my head, but I probably wouldn’t get in. Probably wouldn’t get in anyway, just because I’d already changed it up and away from probably what the juror/curator are thinking. And I want to work with the ideas anyway. So let’s do it! I had started a drawing last week that I really didn’t like, but it was a way to play with the ideas…so last night, I taped big paper together (dangerous…I usually draw too detailed full size and that’s why it’s better to draw it smaller in the sketchbook and then enlarge it) and started sketching stuff out.

So the original unliked drawing is on the left, the larger paper and the revised drawing on the right (they don’t have a lot in common), and then my journal with all the words I had floating around when I was trying to think about all the ideas I wanted to corral in this space. It’s a start. I’ll hopefully work on it tonight some more. I’m gone a good chunk of next week, but if I’m going to get a quilt done by the end of the August, I need to get a significant bit of it done in the next month…before school rears its ugly head. Plus I have a copyediting job coming up.

Meanwhile I’m financial planning and trying to refi the house plus dealing with a road redo and dogs and appointments and all that. I don’t feel relaxed. Nope.

That’s on me.

Dogs. Stitches out Wednesday, then we can bathe her. She’s doing OK, but is definitely recovering slowly. He’s fine. Just a dick.

Well, we’re trying to keep him from licking his leg. She’s not licking anything, so she gets to be cone-free. Ironic, because he has no stitches and she has two batches of them plus shaved legs and side.

This thing is taking so long! I spent another 2 hours last night and did NOT run out of the blue (oh yes, I almost did)…I’m always closer to done but not actually done.

I’ll be stuck in a car for 2+ hours on Sunday and again on Tuesday. Please let it be done. Please let me get a couple more drawn before I leave. I rescheduled one of tomorrow’s events and I’m blowing off one tonight. I need time to get stuff done.

See my neighbor? He’s kind of a dick too.

But cute. Didn’t seem to care that I was out there. He wanted a drink of water. OK cool. You do you.

Today has gone by very quickly. We’re going to walk one of the dogs later, when it cools down a bit. I’m unapologetically ordering pizza for dinner. Cannot deal. I’m going to do some computer stuff that needs doing, try to draw for embroidery, and hopefully get some of the big drawing done. I should probably look at that hellacious to-do list as well. Damn thing. Rules my life.

Again. That’s on me. I can admit it. I can’t fix it.

Long Words, Excellent Words*

I’m a ninja again today. I even did laundry, so I’d have more clothing choices, but the reality is there’s a lot of black in there. I might want to rethink that for full summer heat. I say that every year. Eh. Good news! I get to keep my teeth too! To summarize, this week, I have confirmation that my boobs and my teeth are just fine and I may keep them. Woo hoo. Today I’m getting my hair cut. It’s OK. It grows back. Always. Most annoyingly in fact. Can I grow more Einsteinian white spazzy hairs? Yes, yes I can.

Like promised, I went to the quilt store yesterday for the binding on this quilt. Of course I bought more. It was a delight. No, I don’t need more fabric. But I didn’t have these. Sigh.

I tried for some real variety, although some are obvious fillers to the stash. The one on the bottom left is the binding. There are three others in there that were possible bindings but got rejected…the green on the almost bottom right, the darker reddish brown three fabrics above it, and the dark blue that is three down from the top left. The other one won out.

I also bought some grays for possible future embroideries.

I’m supposed to pick Kona or Free Spirit, and my quilt store doesn’t have a lot of Free Spirit, so Kona it is. I haven’t actually designed the next 5 embroideries, but they’re on my list for the next two days. I need at least one done before I leave for Palm Springs on Sunday…hopefully two or three. I have ideas…I just need TIME. Always time. That bastard.

The fabric for the binding had these cool color things (covered wagons for each color in the fabric printing) on the selvedge.

One of the women who cut my fabric (I required two cutters…not really, one had to take a phone call) said she recognized fabrics right away, like the designer/producer, just from how it looked. I have to admit to Almost Never looking at the names on the selvedges…unless I’m trying to get more of it, which is pretty rare. Seriously never look. Maybe I should? I don’t know…I have a pretty wide range.

So then I finished quilting in the afternoon…poor old lady dog. She’s better but not fully herself.

She did bring me a toy and tried to get me to throw a stick for her. Huh. How you gonna run, babe?

Quilting took a total of 6 hours and 17 minutes. Not bad. Then late last night, after all the other stuff I did (book club for one), I trimmed it…sewed the binding and sleeves on…

And pinned them down for hand stitching.

With help from the fam. This is after midnight, of course. The humans are asleep. I don’t know when I’m going to do the hand stitching itself…it’s not crucial and there’s some other stuff I’d like to get done before next week’s hell in a handbasket of scheduling horrors.

But it’s all folded up and ready to go.

I need to stitch this down…

It’s for this weekend’s conference. I don’t like polyester. I don’t like wearing men’s T-shirts. Those were the two choices. So I gotta do this, and then my co-teacher wants me to attempt a V-neck on her shirt (I might kill it). She sent me a video. We’ll see how that goes.

Meanwhile during all this, they’re tearing up my road…way down there, is the only access to our private road. We can get in and out for now, but not apparently this afternoon (could be problematic)…

And then next week, they’ll seal the whole road and my driveway (it’s only been like 15 years since the last one).

Meanwhile, Calli is still resting and recovering…she needs more meds. Gotta go get those.

I have a magenta post-it note with my list of errands, since I won’t be able to come back up the road all afternoon. I’m debating taking my computer with me…but probably not necessary. I think I can walk in, even if I can’t drive.

Simba is still confined to the cone, because he keeps licking the leg where his IV was, and now it’s scabbed over. It’s kind of nice, because you can check his feet for foxtails and he can’t reach you to bite you.

He’s not really a fan of the head thing though. Poor guy. All of them! So sad.

OK, off to errands and appointments and hopefully getting a load of shit done before I get home, right? Don’t even talk to me about the load of things that’s on my list here. Sigh. Never going to catch up.

*Peter Gabriel and Laurie Anderson, This is the Picture (Excellent Birds)

I’m a Ninja on the Side

So first of all, if you’re ever wondering why I always have white fur on my ass, this is why…

That’s my chair. Covered in white fur. Also covered in cat, which can be an issue sometimes. Yes, I could stop wearing all black, but where’s the fun in that? Plus then no one would know I’m a ninja on the side.

I think I have 17 minutes to write this. Go!

Good news…got my annual boob squeeze (go get yours now if you are over the age of 35 or whatever your insurance says and you are female or have female hormones that affect breasts, because those damn things are both lifesavers and horrid toxic things…the hormones, not the breasts) and there is nothing wrong. Woo hoo! I can keep them for another year.

Then I spent three hours…THREE HOURS stitching with Susan in some random coffee shop that I didn’t even know existed. It was freezing in there, which was great with my hot flashes. She was spinning fiber…on the other side of the table.

With three hours of stitching time, you think I’d be done with this thing. You’d be wrong…

I even came home and stitched some more and I’m not done. And I’m worried that I will run out of blue. I might need to rethink the hair. That’s OK. You can buy the kit and do it just like me, or you can buy the pattern and do it however you freakin’ want.

I was going to draw more last night, but I got sidetracked by something…who knows what. I don’t. My brain is like a bug at the moment. A bug being chased by a gecko.

I finally started quilting after 11 PM…and I quickly finished the outlining…

There wasn’t a lot left of it…

She’s pretty simple…and then I started on the background. I’ll finish that today and go buy binding on the way back from the dentist, which I need to leave for in 13 minutes. THIRTEEN MINUTES.

It sounds like a lot of time but I don’t know where my shoes are, so that could take eleven minutes right there.

Anyway, I still have 17 thousand things on my to-do list because I only did two or three of them yesterday and then I added more. MORE. I am crazy. I’m also trying to clean and straighten up and get rid of shit, a little at a time. It’s not working. Well, maybe it is. I don’t know. I have this pile of checks I’ve deposited electronically that need shredding. I’m pretty sure there’s a shredder in the garage. (Hey Phil, is there a shredder in the garage?) But first! Dentist for X-rays only (don’t even ask, so stupid, health insurance drives me bonkers) and then quilt store (danger danger Will Robinson!) plus they’re tearing up the bottom of my road (finally!) so the check I wrote that is the money I wanted to use to trim the trees is finally going to be cashed in the name of new asphaltum. Woo hoo. Exciting being a homeowner, isn’t it? Oh yeah. I think I have book club tonight too…if only I knew what day it was. Dayum.

Like a Human

I think I need to leave in like half an hour. Oh my. Mornings. Kick my butt.

Hey, so I called yesterday about the sewing machine and made an appointment to bring it in, and made sure they had a cord for the other machine, so I could see if it was really having stupid needle-freezing issues or if it was the fact I was borrowing a cord from a recliner chair to test it. But just to check and make sure, I tried it again. And you know what? It freakin’ worked. I don’t know why. It’s an asshole is why. So I quilted yesterday. In between driving around a lot, because you can never get everything you need at one store, which is why Amazon makes so much money. I hate driving around and doing errands. But it sometimes needs to happen because you need it NOW and you don’t want to contribute to the crazy shipping of everything all over the world.

I only quilted for a little while in the afternoon, because it was the Man’s birthday and we had this 2-hour tour of the bay that was expiring today. So we went…this is the outside of the harbor bathroom. Very exciting. I have no idea what all of it spells out.

I’m assuming it looks different at night with the lights shining through some of the letters.

There’s a bunch of Groupons for these tours all the time. As San Diego County residents, we often forget to hang out in our own city…although I’ve done pretty well with that.

Coronado Bridge…

I went on this trip (on a different boat) last summer and thought the man would enjoy it. He did.

San Diego Cityscape…

It was a nice day for it…not too hot and not too cold…

Seagull above us…it flew alongside us and then managed to land up there.

Impressive skillz.

Wildlife…

This one waved…

More sea birds…

I really don’t go down to the water enough. It’s too far, I guess.

We ate dinner downtown and passed this positive message for the new birth year…

Oh yeah. Good times. His real birthday present is in about two weeks. And there are no baby goats. Too bad.

When we got home, I quilted. I did offer to hang out and watch a movie with him, but he had to go to work today and he was too tired for a whole movie. Maybe tonight.

Like I said, the machine magically fixed itself. I love that stuff.

I really don’t. I like things to make sense. Machines anyway. I realize they probably do on some level, but it’s like machine fairy level. You know? Tech fairies. Magical beasts who fix tech when you turn it off, swear at it, and walk the fuck away.

This thing isn’t that complicated. I quilted for about 2 1/2 hours yesterday and got the whole bottom part done…

All that’s left is everything above the shoulders, which isn’t that much outlining, and all the background.

I’d really like to finish today. I’m not sure if I can, though. The annual boob-squeezing is in less than an hour (shit, I need to get ready to leave), and then I’m hanging out this afternoon in a coffee shop with Susan, who had the balls to move to freakin’ Portland, which is a million miles away. No sewing machines in coffee shops. I’ll have to bring hand work and pretend to be a well-behaved seamstress. First I have to try to get the old lady dog to eat some foods. OK. And brush my teeth. Like a human.

Stupid Machines

I’m so busy lately that I haven’t been writing regularly. Plus I’m getting on average about 2 more hours of sleep a night. I should stockpile those for the school year. I’m a slow mover in the morning on a good day. During the summer, I hit molasses mode. This is not a good thing for next week, when I have a conference with 7 AM meetings (do they hate me?) and a class that starts at 9 AM but on the other side of town (ah morning traffic woes). It’ll be fine. I’ll survive both. With caffeine.

This week has a bunch of stuff going on too…trying to get all those silly annual or semi-annual appointments out of the way. Check my teeth, cut my hairs, squash my boobs.

Anyway, Saturday’s axe-throwing event was successful…

No one lost a limb or even a finger. And we all enjoyed it.

Calli made it back from the vet. X-rays showed nothing. We’re assuming it’s more arthritic stuff, so she’s on even more meds, including anti-nausea pills because she wasn’t eating.

This morning, she ate most of a bowl of dog food, but mostly out of our hands. Blech to the dog saliva, but if it gets her to eat, OK. She’s on a lot of sedatives and pain meds, but she is walking better in the last two days. She will put some weight on the back leg, so that’s promising. She’s done this before with a front leg, but she seems less stable losing a back leg. The reality is that she’s getting old, and moving is not as easy as it used to be. Hopefully we’ll continue to see improvement this week. Because it sucks. Simba is confused about why Calli gets to eat anywhere in the house. He’ll survive. He’s young.

We have bunnies at my house. Here’s one who was not scared when I opened the window…

I don’t think I’ve ever put a bunny in a quilt. Maybe now is the time.

Speaking of quilts…well, hang on. Yesterday, my school team met at the beach for a BBQ/hang out/team-building session that went pretty well…certainly there was enough food for all.

Egret…

That’s a bird I have put in a quilt. Unless it was a heron. It might have been a heron. See, even after my science co-teacher explained the difference, I still can’t remember.

I stitched for a while. It’s relaxing.

More progress on her…but it’s slow. I need to draw a couple more this week so I can take them to the conference and stitch them. I’ll have to decide whether to make them on dark or light. Maybe I should do a gray. Hmmm. I don’t have gray fabric. Do I need an excuse to buy fabric? Well, I will still need a binding fabric sometime…although so here’s the deal. I came home from the BBQ and exercised and tried to get my to-do list organized, and then I was going to quilt. But then my machine really was being an asshole…seriously, I checked all the settings, but the feed dogs won’t stay down. I can quilt in a straight line, but when I try to free-motion, the thread keeps breaking because the tension is wrong. It did this once before, like a year ago…and it was just in for its annual cleaning, so I’m a bit annoyed. I’ll call the machine guy in a bit, once I’m awake and showered…

So because I’m persistent (really, I am), I pulled the old machine out. It should work, if I can figure out how to thread it (it’s been a while). But then I can’t find the power cord. Seriously? Was that the cord that was lying around the office and I finally (I think) threw it out? Fuck me. Seriously. The boychild had a cord, but we aren’t sure it’s ideal…but I tried it…

My old 1+ quilts quite nicely…until the needle freezes. And then breaks the thread…

It only did that 5 times before I quit. So I don’t know if that’s related to using a cord not made for this machine, or if it’s something wrong with the machine. My plan? Call about getting the other one fixed, sooner rather than later (he’s usually booked like 6 weeks out, but this is an emergency and sometimes he’ll do those), ask about getting a new cord for the old machine, then see if it still has the needle stoppage problem, and maybe fix that too. More things on the to-do list. AND…it meant I couldn’t quilt last night for very long. Which was very frustrating. I need to get this one done.

Anyway, so I didn’t have a choice. I finally sat down with my sketchbook and did something as a start for the next deadline…

It’s not great…but it’s a start. I can do something with this. I’ll probably draw the other side and then redraw it better. I don’t like the hair and head. Or more. I don’t know. It’s too much like the Bill Nye quilt too. I need to do some brainstorming with words before I do this again. I just didn’t have the brain space last night. I was expecting to be meditatively quilting…not wracking my brain for ideas. Stupid machines. Plus when I haven’t drawn for a while, I need to do more to get loose. Let it flow.

Simba agrees. He’s sitting on the couch next to me while I’m on the stationary bike…

It was the closest he could get to me. Poor baby. Not enough attention.

OK, shower, call sewing machine fixit guy, it’s the man’s birthday, so we’re going on a boat and doing stuff. I need dog and cat food too. Busy day. AGAIN. Stop and brainstorm for the the drawing, because it looks like I might be doing that tonight instead of quilting. Sigh. It’s fine. I just was on a roll. I don’t like starting new pieces while I’m still finishing the old one. And I need to post my Patreon video! Oh yeah. Go do that.

Brain on break. Messy thing.

I Reach Out from the Inside*

Some worry this morning for the big dog…she won’t put weight on her back left leg all of a sudden…

Same side as the lump removal, so that’s a concern. She’s off to the vet in about an hour…hopefully it’s an easy thing, like muscles…she’s had muscle and arthritis issues before. Good thoughts, baby girl.

She was fine yesterday afternoon when I was pinbasting…her biggest worry was that I kicked her off her favorite floor to lie on…so I could clean it and baste the quilt…

Cone head.

Oh yeah, I finished stitch down yesterday…maybe 3 1/2 hours total.

Pinned…ready for quilting.

I was going to start that today, but I got sidetracked by many things, including the dog.

Yesterday, I was totally sidetracked by all these…

I’m just putting them here…

So hopefully a year from now and a bit…

I can rejoice in his loss…

And we thought Palin and Quayle were idiots.

Sometimes I truly love the internet’s ability to take on stupidity in a humorous way.

We gamed last night…two different games. I did OK on the first one, but killed three characters in the last one. Impressive.

I did not win. It’s all good. I’m OK with dying. And losing. Well, here. In a board game.

Today? I might die. We’re trying axe-throwing. Plus I have a meeting. Plus I’m tired. Plus I’m worried about the dog. I’m not sure I should be allowed to throw an axe honestly. I suspect not a lot of art is happening today. Hopefully that will be different tomorrow.

*Peter Gabriel, In Your Eyes

I’m at the Carpark, the Airport, the Baggage Carousel*

Oh yeah. Nonfunctional brain day. Woo! I mean, the phone keeps ringing and I finally answered one of them and it’s people at work. I feel for them. The Friday after a holiday and before a weekend…not a hard work day, I think for some…but hard to go in and think. I just don’t have the brain power right now for anything. Which is too bad, because I’ve got stuff to do. I’ve ALWAYS got stuff to do. This title makes it sound like I’m traveling. Only mentally! Still here in San Diego for another week…

I did label and pack a quilt up yesterday and I need to drop it at UPS today. That will not be hard. Although it’s across the street from a quilt store I never go to, and I went there just a few days ago because I was dropping the rug shampooer and it called to me. It was in the same parking lot, and my brain impulse control was apparently off, so I went in. Ostensibly for Machingers (don’t ask…Google if you need to), but they don’t carry them any more. Oh yeah. I got them online last time. I try to get one new pair a year, because they get really dirty. I should probably just try washing them and see if that does it. Sometimes the rubbery part just rubs off, so that’s a whole ‘nother issue. Definitely need to replace them then.

SEE. My BRAIN is offline. Ramble city.

And I finally figured out why the damn machine wasn’t working right…because I didn’t have all the settings changed correctly. I forgot about the free-motion foot, and that fucks with tension. So I fixed that and now it’s mostly working.

I got most of the bottom half of the quilt done…it won’t take much time to get the rest done. That’s my goal for today…finish that, clean the floor where I pinbaste, and then pinbaste it. Ready for quilting tomorrow.

I spent a good chunk of yesterday staring at this stage…

I watched the whole band before the one I came to see, and then stitched until it was too dark (I actually have a mistake on this bit that I then had to pull out). See that kid sulking to the left? So much kid drama going on at this place.

The band I came to see (well, rode in the truck with all the equipment and 4 of the guys) was great, got lots of people dancing…including me…

But at this stage, it was just the kids…

About halfway through, you could turn around and watch the fireworks at three different locations…and eventually a fourth that started late.

That’s kinda cool, although you can’t hear the booms. Good for dogs, but I like the booms.

I guess I was listening to these guys…

I don’t know what he’s singing there…but that’s my guy on the right…

Here’s the lead singer…

They’re fun to watch and dance to…

I did get a good chunk of this done…almost all the green. Moving up into the mountains.

See the two spots to the right of the arm? I was eating cherries (and here’s where it’s not a good idea for me to stitch on white like EVER) and one of the seeds dropped and popped across the hoop. Spit is the best for removing food stains. Maybe. I guess I’ll wash it when I’m done and if the stains don’t come out, figure out what will get stitched over them. Improvise!

The last of these photos are the marbled fabrics I bought off my friends Dean and Linda Moran at Marbled Fabrics on Etsy.

I don’t know if they’re still selling (they’re still there online anyway)…

Dean is in hospice care now, but he packed my order up and sent them…I’m looking forward to using these in future quilts.

I commissioned some fabrics off them about a million years ago (seriously, when I first started quilting) and still have bits and pieces of them. That’s the one thing about the method I use…I don’t use a lot of big pieces…so it’s hard to run out of fabrics. And yet I keep buying more!

OK, so today is ship a quilt, finish stitching down, pinbaste, and then there’s gaming tonight. I can work on the embroidery, depending on what we’re actually doing at gaming. Board games require a bit more concentration than RPG…at least for me. It’s been ages since we gamed…should be interesting. Happy upcoming weekend for all those who are working. For those of us who are attempting to be on break, happy whatever the fuck day it is!

*Squeeze, Tempted