"NO"!.......

Not to be a 'Debbie Downer'......

but I've had a rough week...

and was feeling pretty sorry for mySelf....

I am fine, so don't cry for me....

as the song goes....

But I have hit a wall.  

Actually I've hit the wall over and over and it has become very apparent that I may need to find the way around it,
or head in a different direction.

It seems like

"NO"

 is all I've heard for the past few weeks (OK, months, or more)......

it starts out in a strange way......

I won't get too far into it, but nothing I seem to try or want to accomplish in the way of moving out of my living situation and moving forward into a more creative setting seems to open it's arms to me.

I  found a new place to live.....

affordable and sparking new

"NO" they said...after many meetings...

(I need to have more pieces of the puzzle in place before I'm 'allowed' to pursue that place and path.)
  

OK, I thought, I'll just get a
great studio,

and once again put what's left of my personal comforts in storage...and do that.

And a great studio space I found, complete with atmosphere, comfort and storage......

and then once again....

"NO."

I could not have that, even with a fully funded checkbook in my hand,
 another was there just before me...
and I was assured I'd be put on the 'top of the list'.....

as I am 'well liked' and most seem to want me around them.

(I would have a picture of that place except my camera was among the things stolen from my car this week....
along with my little statue of Ganesh!)

But as it goes......everyone seems to want 'me' around, but no one wants my accompanying 'stuff'....

What's up with the 'stuff'.....?

Am I meant to be a monk?

 Hmmmmm.

 And that is what I prayed for last weekend.  

To accept

'what is' 

with Love....and Grace.

and to top it all......

my refuge of metal....

that was this......

has gone to this.......

as a renovation at this studio and...

 more change are in motion.

Once again I packed up that part of my life.

so as I was feeling very sorry for mySelf the other day.......

on my way home to the middle of NoWhere, New Mexico.....

out my car window...

I saw this...

;-)

Tedious.....continued

Don't try this at home.

In my effort to prepare for a sewing spree.....

I suspected cutting this stencil from the Alabama/Chanin website would be difficult, but had no idea.

First of all, did anyone notice that the Peace Sign stencil pattern was justified in a less than desirable way?

And in my opinion not condusive to stenciling a skirt, that's for sure.

(Well I guess it depends on how short the skirt is, and mine won't be a mini.)

So I set out to correct this.  And I'm sure there was an easier way.

However,  this is how I approached it.

First I retrieved two of my enlarged copies.....

and taped them together,

cutting away the unusable parts....

I made them the size of the original paper.

Then since I ran out of pennant felt I searched for a suitable masking material for the stencil.

I found a large sheet of lightweight chipboard left over from my bookbinding days and decided to use that.

I forgot how sturdy that board is.

Then I sprayed the pieces with light fabric adhesive and set out to cut the stencil.

Which, using a scalpel, is very painful on the fingers....

AND tedious

But I found a way to have fun with it and appreciate it's beauty and light.

 My advice is to take your time if you are so ambitious to tackle this project.

And so will I.

Give Peace a Chance

Remover of Obstacles.....

Ganesha......

Om Sri Ganesha Namaha - Great Lord of Wisdom,

Here I stand with so many decisions to make,

with so many ways to turn.

I beg your Grace.

Please fill me with righteous judgement and clear discrimination

as I lay all confusion at your feet and immerse myself solely in Your Being.

Om Ganesha Saranam.

The process......

In my effort to move forward with sewing some frocks for myself.......

I am making some preparations.

I have some ideas brewing.......goodness knows I have enough clothing to last me forever really......

but it's nice to have pretty new things (and a stitching project in hand) to change it up a bit.....

and I have some 'favorites' I'm toying around with the idea of copying to make some patterns.  

Now this will require A LOT of thought, since I've not done it before and I will keep you posted on that.

So this is what I'm doing now.

I've downloaded some stencil patterns from Alabama/Chanin's resource page

and taken them to the printer to enlarge them 300%

This is an effort to save pennies since they are all available on their website....

I have chosen two patterns to start.....

the 'bit tricky' Anna's Garden,

and the potentially tedious

 Peace Sign

...all the while KNOWING it would be more satisfying and reflective of my esthetic if conjured up some designs of my OWN....

But even tho this is a lot of work, it seems more judicious to move forward this way for now.

The process involves spraying the backside of the large copy with light adhesive and adhering it to 'pennant felt'......which I've used here
(and can also be purchased on the Alabama/Chanin website here)
or other sturdy masking material.  

Then......it's just simple (not exactly) cuts away with a scalpel from being 'done'....

and on to the the next part....

whenever I decide what that is

An exercise.........

A friend of mine has opened a gallery......and she asked a few of us to make some heart related items for 

Valentine's Day......

Note:  I am NOT a heart person and this was a stretch for me........

Although I must admit....

It feels good to stretch

If at first you don't succeed....

DYE, DYE

 again.

Well after the pent up dye up in November.....which, by the way, took me a month to clean up....

I almost gave up

this pursuit.

There are so many better suited and more inclined than I, I thought. 

and I live in the DESERT for gosh sakes....not much color here except in the sky 

Why was I so down in the mouth?

The results after gathering nuts here in New Mexico and bags of eucalyptus leaves in California
were disappointing

to say the least.

There could have been many causes, but the main one I think was I did not cook the bundles long enough....

so this week I was determined,

since, I thought, gosh...... I have studied with the 'master'

and my friends, although more practiced than I

are popping out brilliant results...

so 

with my new equipment

 courtesy of the Family Thrift Center
(Op Shop for those down under)

I set out

to tame this dragon of desire in me

 to get some orange marks on this fabric!

so with

these

 reluctantly purchased from Trader Joe's floral department.....

I had another go at it.

and after 2 ++ hours of 'almost' simmering

and steaming....

I was very pleased