So if I haven’t mentioned it, though I can’t imagine that I didn’t, the kid’s moved out of the house again. But this time it seems as if it might be a bit more permanent than last year’s six months. She managed to get herself a job up in Durango– that’s in southwestern Colorado not far over the New Mexican border. About 3½ hours from Albuquerque. Fabulous little town, not even too much snow. I’m rather jealous. Anway, she found an apartment (with deer in the back yard!) and needed minimal parental assistance in securing it. Hurray for her! We’re proud of her.
Tynan just had to get in the pic of the soon-to-be studio/guest suite. Pray that the kid loves Durango.
But this means that once again her room is available for new use. Like…as a rug hooking studio. Okay, not completely dedicated to that, but almost. A twin bed purchased just this week will allow for guest quarters when necessary. I can deal with that.
Again, if you remember last year I’d just ordered the shelving from IKEA when she moved back in. Damn, she arrived before they did. Been in the garage unopened since early last October. Well, they’re opened now! (Thank goodness they were the right color…) They’re even installed, and Tom attached them to the wall just yesterday. (A wall of rug hooking materials falling on someone would be a crappy way to die.) Unfortunately, she says slightly red-faced, everything won’t fit into the room. There aren’t THAT many shelves. Luckily, my kick-ass closet and laundry room are both still available.
Consequently, I’ve been distracted by sed studio and implementing my plan for its best use. Oh, and did I mention that we’re expecting company next week. Just in time for Balloon Fiesta here in Albuquerque. (If you haven’t been here for that, put it on your bucket list this very minute!)
Tynan presents “what’s on the frame” this week. Does anyone know who designed this rug??? I inherited the pattern. More on that later.
I have managed to hook more on my primitive rug. Tynan models it for you to the right. I’m actually liking it; it being my first primitive rug. Oh, did I mention that I’m hooking it in t-shirt? The plan is to finish it this weekend and start something new right away. Hooking, hooking, hooking. I received confirmation that I’ll be vending again at the Fall Fiber Fiesta November 16-18 at Santa Fe’sScottish Rite Temple. It’s a great event. Will I see you there?
A new mug rug set: “Meanderings.” And it’s all wool! Not a t-shirt or bedsheet loop in sight. It “debuted” at Albuquerque’s Rail Yards Market Sunday.
So last week’s post was all about making changes; not necessarily BIG life changes, but the small ones that you hope really take hold. This week is about the progress I’ve made in the last week. Or not made.
The good news:
I did not turn on my laptop two whole days last week.
I managed to make one journal entry. And one is better than zero.
I did NOT freak when I decided not to pass on various blog and Facebook posts.
After such a busy two months, I finally got to clean up some of the dirt and clutter piles that had grown in my house. I have more to go vis à vis “life clutter,” but more on that later.
I’ve realized that looking at Pinterest just before I go to bed results in brain-racing and too many ideas all at once which in turn results in no sleep. Knowledge is power…when I choose to use it.
Today I took a whole day to make a field trip with friends. Cathy, Melinda, and I headed up to Española Valley Fiber Arts Center to drop off some guild donations. After that we investigated a thrift store (where they were selling four – 4 – iced tea spoons for $600!) and had a leisurely lunch in Santa Fe. No one looked at her phone during the meal. (I think.)
The bad news:
I spent more time on my phone and tablet on the days that the laptop was off. At least I can’t play Scrabble on my phone. Thank goodness; the game is a HUGE time-suck.
While I’m glad about being off the laptop and doing other non-electronic activities, certain things haven’t gotten done that need to be done, particularly, updating my Etsy shop. That’s a definite negative especially as I’ve sold a couple of listed items at shows.
Since I can’t seem to come up with another negative, it appears that there’s been progress. We’ll see what happens this week and beyond.
How about you? How do you manage the whole balance thing when it comes to electronics, real life, and what you really want out of that real life?
Tynan brings you “What’s on the frame” this week. It’s long and narrow. Hang it horizontally over a door or vertically down a wall.
After a super busy two months of fiber art shows and vending, spending a slow three days at Casa San Ysidro last weekend demonstrating and attempting to sell gave me some down time, a chance to think, to come to a few epiphanies.
This was the kick-ass set-up that Cathy and I had at last week’s Heritage Days and New Mexican Fiber Crawl, both happening at Casa San Ysidro in Coralles. They were very generous in providing us space; what a change for us! Though we both made sales, we hope that next year there will be more vendors and better publicizing of our location in the Crawl.
Hooking and husbands Cathy Kelly and I would have a wicked hard time (yes, there’s still some New England twang left in this now Southwestern girl) vending without our husbands Bill and Tom. (Sorry, never got any pics of them Sunday evening.) Between my recent RA flare-up and Cathy’s emergency appendicitis (the same night as our last vending gig!), those display grids were not going up or down by themselves. Thank you, Bill! Tom, unfortunately, has been suffering his own autoimmune failure – gout – for the last two or three weeks, but he gamely showed up with iced tea and helped with break-down. Hooking – it’s best when it involves a village, but it’s nothing without a helpful spouse.
Living or reading about living?
During last weekend’s New Mexico Fiber Crawl, we were at Casa San Ysidro from about 9:15 to 5:00. Those were three long days, and we didn’t see the traffic we expected. But what a great place to hang and hook! By the time I made it home each evening, though, my laptop was the last place I wanted to be. So, I wasn’t. Lo and behold, the world didn’t cave in because I didn’t share as much on the three Facebook pages I manage (my own two and the guild’s). Don’t get me wrong. I managed to do most of my daily computer and email “toilettte” on my phone as I sat enjoying the weather and the ambiance of the old casa’s courtyard. But I didn’t worry much about passing anything further down the information highway. Sure, if a blog or Facebook post came along that had an easy share button, I’d click it away to others. If not, oh, well…
Here’s how “Zinnias” looked finished. Now to get them up on the Etsy shop.
This got me to thinking about how tethered I am to seeing info and, more importantly, passing it on. Which I generally think is a nice thing to do for everyone. But it takes time, time I want back. Summer is perfect for letting go of the self-imposed idea of me as the town crier. After this weekend’s Rail Yards Market, I’ll have a couple of months with only one gig each before fall festivals and such heat up again. I have products to make, a BIG rug on the Anderson frame, a friendship rug to finish, and a whole slew of new ideas running through my brain after I turn off my light each night. And…I think it’s finally time to try some weaving. Starting with a triangular loom, but it’s a start.
So…actually working, playing, and experimenting more are on tap this summer, less so reading and passing on other folks’ work, play, and experiments, much as I like to do all that. Don’t take it personally, anyone. And thank goodness that Instagramonly requires pressing that little ♥ button. We won’t even mention my late night Pinteresthabit right now.
Change happens
Awhile back I mentioned how I really wanted to get back to writing short fiction. I spent years writing and even had some bits published. It was creative and incredibly challenging. But emotional family issues got in the way making it difficult to access the place in my head where
Not about writing or even hooking. Just about freeing your time up to do the things you want to do, making a change. I was getting pretty testy; with everything going on, Tom and I hadn’t managed to plant anything this spring. We live in New Mexico; it all could’ve gone into the ground or pots over a month ago! Finally did some today like this mini-succulent garden. We managed it without the usual domestic squabbles that crop up when we do this kind of thing. Even after another very prickly cactus kept biting us.
stories came from. Hooking showed up too, gradually taking up more and more of my available time. Frankly, making rugs, visual art, is easier for me, and it’s been quite healing. Still, every few months I’d beat myself up and drag out the pen and paper. It’s part of who I am I’d tell myself. After countless false re-starts, though, sometimes we have to grasp that CHANGE REALLY HAPPENS, and I think I’ve finally gotten to a point in my life where I can admit that writing short stories is more about who I was. It’s a hard thing to admit, but it’s where I am NOW. And it’s rather freeing. Fiber art’s it for me right now. I’m happily looking into things to become better at and new techniques to try. Maybe I’ll even pick up my journal again now that I can ignore the guilt monster. Even better, it gives me more time to read. There are so many great books out there just waiting for me!
Like I said , ramblings… Nothing earth-shattering; in fact, most is stuff I already knew, but so often we need a good reminder about just those very everyday things in our lives. Three quiet days can give you that, can remind you of the life you really want to live.
Happy Memorial Day, all! Remember those who should be remembered. And enjoy this first summer weekend.
Tynan’s back with this week’s “What’s on the frame.” It’s three mug rugs destined for Sunday’s Rail Yards Market here in Albuquerque. After that, I’ll have a bit of a break and finally be able to clean up all the clutter-piles that have collected around the house these past two months. Tom’s been very patient, but don’t tell him I said that. Usually, I’m the clean one.
It looks like it’s finally going to happen. I’m getting a studio. Woohoo! It’s been five months since the child moved out, leaving an empty bedroom. Tom repainted the room last week while I was at my guild’s retreat (what a great husband I have!). So, we should be a go.
The two pics below show what we’re starting with:
Studio construction zone. That mess on the right is part of my mobile shop.
The soon-to-be studio, otherwise known as a bedroom. Yes, those are t-shirts that were donated to my cause sitting in that laundry basket.
Okay, it’s not a completely empty bedroom. Some of the child’s clothing and her dresser remain here, as her apartment situation is not good for storage. Not a problem. I still have my kick-ass closet.
For those not familiar with my kick-ass closet and laundry room, they’re where I currently store all my fibers (t-shirts, wool, bed sheets, ribbons, etc.) and other rug hooking paraphernalia. I wrote about it here not long after we moved into this house almost two years ago. If you look at those pics, I can tell you that the real estate, while still fabulous, does NOT look like that these days. Between all the hooking I’ve been doing for various sales opportunities and the fact that my RA has been kicking my ass all summer long (thank goodness that my hands don’t take the brunt of it), continued organization has not been taking place. And, frankly, I’ve just got too much stuff. When people hear that you can make art with their old t-shirts, their kids’ and husbands’ old t-shirts, you get gifted a lot. Not that I’m complaining. At all.
Fortunately, we’ve got a room I can use. The closet can take back any overflow. And I can move linens I regularly use to a spot not requiring a stepstool. In the meantime, I need to do some second-hand shopping for furniture and storage units of some kind. A daybed (or a single bed overflowing with comfy pillows) will give me guest room if I need it. I’m really missing the big Ikea shelving units we had in our house in Massachusetts. Of course, Ikea has no presence anywhere in New Mexico. Boo! Now if I can only muster up the energy to head to the many thrift stores here in Albuquerque.
Still working on plenty of hooking, though. Below is the friendship rug I drew up Saturday. Ostensibly, tomorrow I will turn it over to a member of my guild and not see it till sometime next year. Nine of us are participating in the project. We’ll all hook about 64 square inches (8″x8″ or some similar permutation…) of each other’s rugs. The plan is to have a rug for one month and then switch. We’ll see how that goes.
“Wild flowers…for wild women,” reads my friendship rug. (Because we all know how wild hookers can be. Drinking all that tea, listening to all that folk music.) Can’t wait to fill in all that background. Oh, and the letters too, of course.
Last, but not least, I did not forget Tynan or the Boucherouite-esque rug that’s still on the frame. (The friendship rug’s gotten in the way of my hooking.) I’m hoping to finish it by next week.
I’m loving this “bedsheet Boucherouite” rug. Check out how the orange goes with the other colors. Very fun this one is.
How do you deal with or without a studio? Work strewn all about the house? A hooker’s hide-away (you know, like a man-cave). Share your pics here or on the High on Hooking facebook page.
It was finally time; organizing had to occur. Welcome to the closet that Laura and High on Hooking now share.
If you read last week’s post, you’ll know that I’m energized going into 2016. I’m in a new house in a new town. I’ve been cleaning it up, clearing out the final moving boxes, and organizing. I’m looking for a job in Albuquerque. A resume or two have actually gone out. (Will let you know if anything comes of them.)
Like I said, the honeymoon is over, and I’m embracing life in New Mexico. Even if it’s cold. (At least the sun came back. Yea!)
I’m feeling so much better now that everything has a place. Although it’s quite the climb up to the top when I need RED (hidden in the green basket).
One area where I was dragging involved both my closet and all my hooking gear. The latter includes, but is not limited to: a small wool stash; a considerable t-shirt stash; magazines; twill tapes and other ancillary materials; felting “stuff”; pads, rulers, and other art items; sewing and other sundries. Stuff, in other words. A fair amount of it.
Maybe I was psychologically resisting making the final transition to the new house. But I have this utterly fabulous walk-in closet, and because we elected Tom to be lord of the very nice and very large office, I got that closet. It’s a fair trade. I can still keep a small desk and bookshelves in the office, but because it’s so very public given the home’s open concept, it was never going to make it as a studio/hooking containment zone.
Don’t those little shelves look like they were made for my hooking needs?
Anyhow, for whatever reason, I hadn’t gotten around to organizing High on Hooking’s real estate. Last weekend, I finally went there. And I’m damned glad I did. You can see the results yourselves. The closet has shelving perfect for most of my bins and baskets. (I tend to organize by color.) I picked up the little metal shelves at Lowes; they fit perfectly under my shirts and sweaters. Sweet!
Then I turned my attention to the laundry room off the closet. Oh, I did forget to mention the laundry room? It’s much better than my old one. (It didn’t figure into the office-closet negotiations because I perform a family service in there. And I let Tom store the light bulbs in the the cabinets. On one shelf.)
Everyone needs a laundry room like this one. Isn’t that counter the best?
The best part of the laundry room is the counter. At almost six-and-a-half feet, it’s awesome! The bins under it contain GREEN, BLUE, and GRAY/BLACK plus my laundry basket. I ran out of bookshelf space in the office (a topic for another day), but you can see that my Rug Hooking, ATHA, and Fiber Art Now magazines found a perfect home atop the counter there along the back corner. And I still have room to fold laundry!
Now that the organizing is done, it’s back to the job search. Although the new rug on the frame is calling.,,
Are you one of the lucky ones with a whole room or perhaps a cozy, little building devoted to your hooking endeavors? If not, how do you deal with your hooking stuff? A corner? Spread throughout the house? Either way, please share pics below.
