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Wednesday, June 26, 2013

Working in mixed technique with knits

And here's how's my three-step program working: STEP 1 was printing, STEP 2 (as here) - making surfaces, STEP 3 - finishing. Well, it's working, with some delay here and there, but it's working for now. And I'm pretty well following my plan. The accomplishment ratio is not quite 100% though, it's like about 70-80%, and my plan puts all my activities in perspective, and that's what I'm appreciating a lot, that's really helpful. I'm slight past of what I've put down for those three days, and I'm Okay with that. I'm seeing the things moving forward, organized and steady, but forward.

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Saturday, June 22, 2013

How I'm gonna (or hope to) get better organized with two children

Hey there! Here's my To Do list for coming month. Yes, July starts in about a week, but I start it now, this way I have a bonus week till the month ends up, and hope that I'm gonna tackle the most of points. Last weeks I felt like time was slipping away and nothing really happened. Well there're lot of things that happened actually, but they started spontaneously, moved on haphazardly and if I had some spare time on my hands, I had sometimes trouble focusing on what better to do during it, so mostly I've knitted or read blogs.

Blame my poor "baby brain"!

That's why I'm talking today on organizing, making lists, dressing simple plans – my „baby brain“ needs some guidance in written form to switch from one thing to another, otherwise it overheats with too many options.

So about work pattern that does not work any longer: I used to stand up, have a cup of tea and think/sketch something bold new, that I was pretty sure to be able to get done during the same/or same plus another following morning. That was not about much planning, but going with the flow, and it was perfect. That's not working any longer. Better now is getting a plan dressed up for a definite amount of pieces for the next week/month to get done and stick until they get accomplished. Anything else remains in the sketchbook for the next month to come.

And I need plans. To Do lists and fixing smaller steps to get my work done, for my „baby brain“ cannot keep and manage complicated processes, so I have to simplify them.

Like „sew new cloth diapers“ is the best way to postpone it to the day my baby boy doesn't need them any more, but „Monday – cut the fabric, Friday – pin together, prepare Velcro strips etc., Sunday – sew together“ should get me moving, for it looks as simple as can be, and my „baby brain“ is not overwhelmed with those steps.

So here we go with BOLD INTENTIONS IN JULY:

CHILDREN
  1. Dress up a plan of routine and creative activities for a week ahead with my little girl.
  2. Implement small PEKiP sessions with the baby boy regularly during the day.
  3. Make a walk of at least 30 minutes a day with children – not counting the grocery shopping tours etc, but really a simple walk with empty head, no intended racing somewhere to get something, and all about spending time with kids, and paying attention to them.

ME (as much as I'm willing to share here without getting too private)
  1. Get back to yoga, shortly, but daily, even half dozen of asanas count.
  2. Keep track to what I'm doing daily and yes, making little To Do lists.
  3. Go thrifting twice this month.
  4. Reads: a couple of chapters from „Die Oekonomie von Gut und Boese“ of T.Sedlacek would be just fine
  5. Piano play – no, that would be something for the next month. But I do have to find some time to get back to continue to learn finnish.

CREATIVELY (planning ahead - work planning, posts planning)
  1. Work on my little girl's room – I need a couple of nice girly, but not too girly pillows, I need a couple of frames and a big piece of chalk board, and I need a rug. I'd like to frame a couple of her own drawings and something else, I still have no idea what.... That's definitely gonna be a quote out of Winnie-the-Pooh. And I need two posts on it by the end of the month.
  2. Come up with one sewing project in mixed technique per week, and post about it three times a week till it's done by Sunday each week (weekly three-step-program). One week can be off.
  3. Sew a teddy bear - another two posts. 
This way I'm at about 13-14 posts a month. Hopefully without stress and trouble about what next am I gonna write about, not anymore.

BONUS would be if I
  • get to make new drawings, no matter which, a branch of rose on our house wall counts!
  • lace making
  • start knitting a baby blanket and a bonnet for a baby boy
  • sew a dress for my little girl
  • repaint my studio desk in gloss white
  • and in the month of August I'd like to think about blog revamping, September would be about shop relaunching. October is about promoting and marketing.

That's it! Let's see how me and my "baby brain" keep up with the plan!

And here's the fist of three-step-program on getting work done - fabric printing for mug rugs and tote bags. Next steps (Step 2) are making front sides. Finish steps (Step 3) are sewing together and photo shoot.



Monday, June 17, 2013

Mug rug - linen/knits

I'm currently playing around with combinations of knitted elements and free motion stitching. It's still geometric and linear, but I'm also working on how to integrate another bits and bites like fabric scraps and printing. Stay tuned.

This mug rug measures appr. 21 x 21 cm, backside with birds appliqué, padded (quited appearance), and with binding. It's a bit too "clean", I'd like to get it more playful and asymmetrical for the next try, and more "mixed technique". I'll keep you posted.


Saturday, June 15, 2013

Linen/knits

Here're just a couple of things that were ready since awhile. And then I've decided that I needed more colour around our place. I've spent last week moving furniture around our place and painting it, and soon I'm gonna write a couple of posts on this subject. But as for now, I'm sharing today a couple of pouches that I've made with knitted squares and some elements for new mug rugs. More details, more photos and some outlines about the technique are coming soon. I guess as soon as I'm pleased with my furniture revamping, I'm gonna take a deeper plunge into work back again.
 


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Saturday, June 8, 2013

About task-splitting

I'm still adjusting, and one of the first step/lesson I take on my way is task-splitting. Always. Each and every day. Doing chores. Working. Reading. Blogging. Constantly and with no mercy. Splitting everything. With the exception of baby care and taking time for my oldest girl. Everything else maybe interrupted, dropped and taken on, and I'm now Okay with that. If I want to work, it's the only possible way of getting there. For I need to work, and I need to keep up with projects and ideas. It's important for my sanity, hence the way how I'm living my life these days and how I feel about it. I've noticed, that a half-decent amount of creative activity makes the most tedious tasks easy doable and refills my batteries with new creative energy, even if I'm feeling physically low, and lot of time I still do. The aforementioned refill influences the family life A LOT. It keeps me sane and sound and my family reflects that attitude of mine. By the end of the day I'm tired, but happy. So I don't want to miss it and I'm hunting hard to get to be creative and work.

I was  uncomfortable with "working shorter - working constantly/very often interrupted" at the beginning, and tried to wait for longer nap periods to get with my oh-so-long pondered projects started. And I was filling shorter nap periods with baby knitting, baby care reads, catch up on blog reading etc. Till the moment I realised, that I will ONLY/or MOSTLY have those SHORTER periods. And longer periods of nap come usually after extensive nursing, which mean I need a nap as well. Or later in the evening, which mean I have to step back and do NOTHING  (well almost nothing, except baby knitting or sketching), to keep up with nursing during the night.

Now I'm ALL task-splitting, not only creatively. And since it's the only option of getting things done and I'm not struggling against that obviousness any longer (that I didn't want to reckon for awhile), life, household and creative projects are running more smoothly. So it's all about mind setting and accepting to change the cherished patterns, which do not work any more.

Here we're with some panels I was talking about yesterday  - knitting meets linen/free motion messy stitching. A peak into behind-the-scene for some new products.

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Friday, June 7, 2013

It's knitting time!

I've been knitting - for new upcoming product line. I'm gonna use those knitted elements, linen, messy stitching, and maybe some motifs from "Forest friends"-serie, because the colours are pretty the same (my faves): pink camelia, cherry blossom, warm green, aqua light and dark, fuchsia and raw sienna. I've mixed different qualities - wool (pure and blended), cotton. No, I'm not preparing a blanket in "granny squares"-style, not gonna happen! I have something more modern and fresh in mind. And I have a lot of ideas where to put/how to mix them up with other techniques. But for now there're gonna be only those geometric elements combined with linen, for yep, I have to be realistic about my time ressources.

Going big

And here's how it all gets bigger - the piece simply didn't want to end up as a pillow, for that design cried for something more, so it made it to a blanket, appr. 85 x 85 cm (without binding). It has to become one, after I finish the frontside, find an appropriate backside, put some batting in between and decide about hand quilting or not (rather not). So now we're on the way of having a nice handmade blanket, finally. It's gonna turn to blanket/playing rug. And I'm thrilled about having almost accomplished something that I had in mind as a vague idea since quite awhile - a big (well, big on my scale, for I've never done something that large) patchworked piece with my appliqués and free motion messy stitching on the one hand and more puristic and clean patchworking on the other.

Today/next days I hope to get to another project, that I would like to introduce here - something fresh and new - knitting and free motion stitching, geometrical shapes, straight lines. Stay tuned.


Monday, June 3, 2013

Work in progress - working on a large scale

Here's the preview of that design recently made on iPad – here's the big block (appr. 42 x 42 cm), that's gonna turn... still thinking of. 

After having finished the applique I've realized that something was missing, so I've added the dots – matching colours, same size, all over the piece. Before there was something incomplete in that surface. I needed some connecting element through all those different yet corresponding shapes. Well, they were corresponding on a small scale, and suddenly appeared drifted from each other on a large scale. That's why it's all wild dotted now - forest friends' motifs meet polka dots.

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