ROUTINES and ORGANIZATION

I hate routines, I really do. But one thing I have learnt over the years is that if I want to achieve anything, I have to follow one. Even if it is a rough one.

2018 started out ok, but things piled on top of each other, I couldn't get myself organised. I had all these things I wanted to do, but because I wasn't organised, didn't focus, didn't have a routine, I didn't achieve as much as I wanted to and I got overwhelmed with family and health problems.

Towards the end of last year things started to settle down and I realized that I was just too unorganized to achieve what I wanted.

So I got my garden redesigned, and mostly finished, having to stop after hurting my back - again. Then I got onto my computer, organizing and resizing embroidery files, not just for me but for selling laces. 

I made a list of things I wanted to do, found designs, chose sizes for different projects and then wrote it out in a rough plan. 

I then went through different ideas and projects I wanted to do and chose what size to do them.  I have no idea why but choosing what size to do a project seems to be a real stumbling block. Now I just look at what it is I want to do and I decide what size would look good.

I now have 'Postcard', A5, Fabric Book, Scrapbook, and My 'Coffee Table Book' as sizes to work on. And these will all be made into Fabric Books.

I also have a set size for the other projects I am involved in. TAST (Take a Stitch Tuesday/ and Beyond), Joyful Embellishing, Kathy Shaw's Crazy Quilt Embellishing. Now I have fabric pages set up and ready to sew out and I don't have to worry about what size.

Such a small thing, but it really makes a difference.

 The front cover of my 'Coffee Table Book'

 Using my own 'rusted fabric' for the cover of my fabric book 'Postcards from Down Under' which just needs to be embroidered and stitched together. Below is the 'Postcard' that will be on the bottom of the 'page'

 This was the inspiration for my 'Postcards' fabric book, the buttons on the right are in the form of the Southern Cross. 

 And below are two of my 'Under The Sea' (UTS) pieces

Using 'Washaway' as part of my creating

 I put some washaway on a small frame and simple drew a grid across.

I did running stitch around the outside and along the straight lines, and did a long blanket stitch up to the line, and a knot type blanket stitch at the bottom to hold it firm after washing. 

This is how it turned out. 

Postcards from the Southern Cross

I have wanted to do many different styles of embroidery, Textile Arts etc for awhile, but have always thought 'big'. this put me off quite a bit as I felt I needed to 'have' lots of things and 'have' lots of time.

This year I am going to think 'smaller'.

My daughter has been patiently!! teaching me how to use Photoshop for simple things, which is all I want at the moment, and I have been sizing many designs and colouring pages of Pinterest, Dover etc to use in this way.

I have also decided to do a lot of my work as 'Postcards', this way I get to do some of the things I want to try, and not be overwhelmed by anything to big.

I find it easier to create things if I already have the size in mind. So by setting sizes, it takes the pressure off - silly, but my idiosyncrasy.

 This will be the front cover of my 'Postcards book. It is on fabric that I 'rusted' up

And this is the 'Postcard' that gave me the title of my Fabric Book. I have soooo many scraps that part of this years challenge is to use the scraps in as many different ways as I can. I had started by placing buttons around and realized that the right side reminded me of something. Then I realized that it was in the shape of the 'Southern Cross' if I positioned the smaller button to the right. And so the book was named.

  I have also been playing around with making Suffork Puffs, and plan on using them in different embellishments.  Again using all scrap fabric, this time most of it being my hand dyed fabric.

Again using scrap fabric and my own laces, I plan on doing a lot of embellishing this year as well.

2018, The year that was Pt 2

I spent quite a bit of time at the end of the year, planning, designing and making raised garden beds and shelves for plants. I figured that if I still wanted to garden I had to make it 'back' friendly. I used all types of structures to make it easy to saw, nail etc. And when I couldn't I resorted to kneeling on the ground. I got quite a bit before a pinched nerve and the heat stopped me, but it a start, and as autumn and winter approaches in Perth, I hope to get going again and have my yard ready for spring

Everything is made out of recycled pallets and frames 

2018 - THE YEAR THAT WAS

I had a busy year but just didn't blog so much, it was an up and down year, as my back pain came and went, my daughter struggled with anxiety and depression and I tried to set up a small lace selling gig.

Some of what I did this year

Printing on Washaway and using it for designs to embroider

I will try harder to blog this year as I have so many ideas running round in my head that I plan to take pictures of and share.

Useful Shit Book

Everyone needs one. Scaps of paper,  leaflets,  ideas, information you want to keep,  plans, projects,  everything goes into this book!

You can colour code it

You can write information

No longer have scraps of paper lying around

Mindmaps, ideas anything that is floating around in your head, gets put in here to free up your mind to get on with things

Design ideas, templates etc

I have found that I no longer have scraps of paper lying around,  I don't throw out or loose information,  and once I get it out of my mind I can focus on other things,  and not worry about forgetting it 

It really has given me space to create,  explore, grow and remember. 

Heading down the right Path

Last year was 'Focus', I focused on downsizing, re-organising and deciding what was important to me as a Creative Person.


This year it has been 'Metanoia' meaning growth and change.


I have been focusing on my 'Dreamin' Of Lace' page on FB and on using what I have made in my Textile Arts, Crazy Quilting, Embellishing etc


I have been asked to make Diary Wraps and Book Wraps to sell, and I have been designing them on paper with sizes etc. I have also been asked to make Boho Bags as well, which I still have to finalise.


Getting final sizes planned for the book/diary wraps, fabric book pages to be used for TAST and other projects of a small size. And I am going to be doing the other projects/fabric books on the same size.
The squares etc will be scrapbook size. This means I can do projects in various sizes, and place them all into 'books', not have them just lying around everywhere. Now I don't have to waste time deciding what size my projects will be, I will work within these sizes.


I have always been frustrated by the fact that I couldn't just decide what size each project would be, and I wasted a lot of time stuffing around. Now I have various sizes that I can work with and just focus on the creative process

As well as organizing my project sizes I have also been taking the time to practice my drawing. I start our by doing doodle type designs on the first page. Just small drawings filling up a page. This gives me a bit of practice before I start on the larger pictures. I find that by doing this warm-up I can more easily draw the larger pictures.

 

 

 A lot of these doodle pages and larger pictures will be used in the future for my embroidery and textile art projects

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