Stalled in First

There's too much cleaning and organizing going on here. All my projects to start the year off are in neat little piles with the threads, textiles and notes.

 All these blank pages. It is much too neat.

Normally, there is a huge mess on the floor and I step over it and mix things around and then pick things out and put them in a pile and then do it again. Eventually, I get a few main ingredients sorted and then the stitching begins. This pile has been growing incrementally over the fall and the messy process has taken place over a long time.

The first step hasn't been missed, but altered. So instead of having several messy piles, I have calmly found containers and even rearranged a shelf so projects can be neatly stored away when not in my hands.

Sheesh, it feels too administered, too closed down for improvisation. Knowing me, I'll kick out against it and toss things into a heap again.

All these neat little baskets and bowls are making it hard to begin though. Which one to start with, which one to put aside for a few weeks.

They feel equally important and not important.

I decided to begin with the orange and red colour palette.

Being winter, it helps to have a good brisk colour in my hands and by the time the spring comes, I'll be ready for some blues and greens and can move on to that project. I have been excited by the prospect of the two pillowslip edges and that is also started now. Today is the first day of a new Karen Ruane class, and I have watched the first day's videos.

I have pulled out a few fabrics I knew I would want for this class and prepared them. I believe this class will be mostly about stitching and embellishment.(here) Go to her shop for more information. Karen has figured out a few new approaches to embellishment and I am looking forward to once again stitching while watching her videos.