i am multiple days deep into what is turning out to be one of the greatest sub-migraines in recorded history. for now, i am trying (but mostly failing) to avoid anything that might cause me the slightest measure of additional stress... which is not as easy as it sounds.
him: just close the drapes.
me: that almost makes sense.
so, i did. then i started wondering aloud about the parts i need to replace the brake system on my loom, which resulted in us walking across the hall to the studio to give it a closer look. a few minutes later, we were back in the living room.
me: i just closed them a few minutes ago.
him: oh... are you coming to sit out here?
me: do you listen to anything i say?
him: open one side so the plants can get some light.
me: if i do that, the light will start doing that eyeball stabby thing again.
him: open it a little bit on the end by the plants.
me: what is more important to you right now... my sanity or the damn plants?
him: just open it.
then i gave him that look that said he better sleep with one eye open. speaking of which...
i know the cosmic algorithm has shifted so that it is no longer socially acceptable to complain about...well... anything. however, it should be noted that i have been feeling a bit overwhelmed of late. i have not slept through a whole night in days for starters, which would probably explain the ever-present sub-migraine. no exaggeration, i found myself sitting in the bathroom in the dark at like four o'clock one morning, surrounded by the three cats. i was trying to figure out where i went wrong in life, while they were mostly concerned that i would not be able to see my way to feed them with all the lights turned off.
yes. i am surrounded by so much love.
sleep deprivation aside, it continues to be (mostly) uneventful around these parts. we had a touch of rough weather earlier in the week, which resulted in all the things you can usually expect when you mix high winds with the bitter cold. one of the animator's colleagues lost power when a transformer—the electrical kind, not a robot in disguise—in front her building exploded, melting part of a car that was parked nearby. you know... usual wintery hijinks.
we were prepared for the power to go out at some point, a not uncommon occurrence in bad weather. so, when it did a day later, we just took it in stride.
him: there it goes. power's out.
this sort of thing would probably have been met with a bit of grumbling back in the olden times, but one finds very little to complain about since the shift. so, we threw a couple blankets on the sofa and pulled out the Codenames Duet. that stuff in my jar is just a berry tea bag in water. and, yes, i am using a face mask as a snack container. we are living in crazy times!
we have been stuck at Washington DC for weeks now, which—some may say—is a metaphor for life.
we have a system for keeping track of who did what in the game. the upside down cards are my clues that he guessed correctly, and vice versa.
i used some of that time to check out my latest random purchase from a local business that was started by two dads with a beautiful message.
i was not a fan of Barbie per se when i was growing up, and the dolls were only ever used as models for the tiny clothes i would make when i was learning to sew. i get the feeling that little eight-year old me would have loved this doll. looking at that hair alone makes my whole life make sense. i will definitely have to return to the world of tiny fashion in the near future.
i also did a bit of knitting during our game. this is the start of a sleeve.
it is part of one of the two projects i have been working on (for far too long, as i have zero enthusiasm to get them done). for him, there is the iconic cardigan that he has been wanting for years now. this is the bottom section. i have to do some math and redraw a few charts before i can continue working up to the top. good times.
for me, there is a sweater that is being worked from the top down in a mighty bright green yarn. said yarn was the result of an important life lesson... which i will talk about some other day.
i tend to blame coming of age when Grunge was at its peak for my decidedly melancholy approach to fashion. still, i am grudgingly coming to terms with the fact that i look fabulous in bright colors. well-played, Mother Nature.
oh, and i am using a stitch marker on this project that was one of many i made from my frighteningly-large collection of beading supplies... which is yet another thing i need to get back to one of these days.
'twould seem that i need fewer hobbies... or a few more lifetimes.
it's been awhile. Im so sorry about your migraine...there is nothing more debilitating than migraine, and nothing more annoying than the human who says, "it's just a headache. I get them all the time. You need to exercise more."
ReplyDeleteLove the Barbie, and it does look as if there will be tiny outfits in your future, as well as tiny knitted things, too.
My mother loved dolls way more than I did, and when she gave me one she spent days making tiny hand sewn dresses and knitted hats for them...I think I was the excuse for the dolls, not the reason...=)
I think I may have righted the Blog. A hissy fit can do wonders for motivating the help, sometimes...
i had a doll that sat on the living room sofa when i was a little girl. i never really played with it. she just sat there on the chair where i would often sit and read. my (maternal) grandmother was a seamstress, and she used to make little dresses for the doll with scraps from her sewing. like your mother, she probably got more enjoyment out of the doll's presence in our home than i ever did.
Deletewell dayummm I know I commented, it must have been eaten by dwarves.
ReplyDeleteDo love the loom, It looks a lot like mine, except mine is a floor model. I've lost a winter with it, for some reason, but the urge to start up again is growing. It's amazing how much you forget if you don't do this all the time.
hello there! i have been neglecting my blog of late, and gmail tends to suck at letting me alerting me about pending comments.
Deletethe loom is still in the same spot. the ratchet-and-gear crank system on both beams need to be replaced before i can start using it properly. i dream of one day having a proper floor model, but there is not enough room in my place for one at present. i had a friend back in grad school who had a floor model. had i known at the time just how far i would end up falling down the fiber arts rabbit hole, i would have taken advantage of her experience at said thing.
I have a big old floor loom (barn loom, and it's huge) upstairs, but the thoughts of restringing all those heddles (it's a six harness, 48") so you can imagine why Im not using it. When I did, I could get some really good stuff out of it, and I love the sense of being inside the thing.
ReplyDeleteThe floor model I have now came from a friend who was a master weaver, and im slowly learning that the problems with it aren't me, but the loom, which needs some small repairs and replacements. sigh.
Of course, the way our brains are structured, if you had taken that loom you probably would have decided that crochet was the only acceptible art, or crewel, until your thumbs gave out. We can't know, can we.
dressing the loom is the most intimidating part of the whole process, especially as my very limited weaving experience to date was on one of those rigid-heddle beginner-level looms. i've watched videos of people patiently threading all those heddles for complicated weaving patterns, and it causes me anxiety as a spectator. they use words like "zen" and "meditative" to describe that part of the process, but all i see is the potential for screwing up the order of all of those little strings. i would probably have to be sedated after just looking at that beast of yours with the six harnesses. and you are right about the way our brains work, as i have returned to being obsessed with spinning and dyeing yarn. anything to avoid looking at the loom.
Deletesuggestion: start with a fairly easy tie up, no fancy dan pattern involved, maybe just 1.2.3.4 1.2.3.4. across the whole thing, and then for fun use the treadles in an easy treadling mode until you get the feel of it. and always mark the place where you stopped on the paper.
ReplyDeleteyou can play with it, two treadles up, two down, for one row, and reverse the direction for the next. you can make a pretty pattern very easily.