Starting to Change My Thought Process

Yesterday had interesting weather. The snow was gone by noon and by mid afternoon, it poured rain for a short period of time. Then it brightened up and was clear by 7 p.m. The weather forecast was for a lot of snow but that is gone also. We could get snow but not as much as they forecasted yesterday. The storm can't make up its mind where it will go. 

Lifestyle

In the morning, I started spring cleaning the kitchen. Yes, things get pulled out and the shelves are wiped down well. Less filled shelves get items moved around and wiped. Doors are scrubbed clean. I got about 1/3 of the kitchen cleaned up. 
Grandson came over for a couple of hours in the late afternoon. After talking for a bit, he played on the Wii. 
I have been doing a lot of thinking the past while. Where am I going on my journey this year. I do have my explore goals which are keeping me focused. But....... Am I barreling along at top speed and not enjoying myself? Am I taking care of myself? Am I being creative enough? I have decided that I will allow myself to explore but at a slower speed; like a kayaker explores. I need to get off the speedboat and enjoy life again and take care of myself. More on that as time moves along. I will probably be putting ideas to follow in my bullet journal. 

I need to be more like Elliott - relaxed and enjoying myself. 

Sewing

I spent part of the afternoon in the sewing room. It was my time and I did as I pleased. The first thing was to cut out the Spousal Units' shirt. Not all is done as I need to mark the body pieces for the pockets so I can match up the pattern. I am starting the bias cut pieces and have to have parts of the shirt sewn up before they can be cut out. I need to make sure the bias pieces are going in the right direction or the finished appearance will look wrong. 
I sewed on the first pair of doll's jeans. I took the time to enjoy the job and to work on precision. I did a lot of thinking while I sewed slow. 

What is sewn on the jeans.

The thoughts roamed through my head and that was when I discovered I needed to slow down rather than be production oriented. When the joy leaves, I want to leave the sewing room and it was getting to that point. I felt like my creativity was leaving me daily. 

This is what is left to sew on the jeans. One back leg is only partially shown.

I am also making other decisions with sewing. Will I retire Kate and donate her and a wardrobe to a charity for a fund raiser? Will I put it all together and sell it? I am not sure but I feel like I will be retiring Kate sometime in 2019. I would love to get an American Girl doll to sew for. I will be adopting another Gotz doll and could move forward sewing for them only. Or designing patterns for them. It is tickling in my head. 
I realized last week what I have been doing with my sewing: production sewing. That production sewing has to stop. Making the spring wardrobe in peach and aqua taught me a lesson. I am making identical wardrobes for two or three dolls. I would love to move towards creating ensembles. I am thinking more in lines of 

• dress, hat, sweater, necklace that goes well together. 
• slacks, top, sweater, shopping bag that are well coordinated.
• leggings, t-shirt, bag, sweater
• coat, mittens, hat, scarf

Another learning curve while I explore. I can still sew from the stash as I have lots to work with. Next month is sewing items from the 1850's to 1920's and I am working on ensembles. June could be taking the aqua and peach wardrobe and making them into ensembles. What do I need to add to the pieces? 

• leggings, t-shirt, sweater and shopping bag is one idea I had thought of. 

There are a lot of free knitting patterns out there to use and I have lots of patterns to sew from. It is just having me focus on ensembles rather than wardrobes. 
I also have realized I need to keep sewing something for people each month. If I don't, I will not get that part of the stash sewn down. 

Knitting

I am over half done the foot on the one sock and will continue knitting on it daily so it can be done this month. I will not start another pair until late April or early May. 
Anna's red cardigan has had the sleeve stitches put on waste yarn and is now ready to knit the bottom. I have about 37 rows left to knit before I do the bottom ribbing. I have to do 2 rows of beads on the bottom and one row on the sleeves so it coordinates with the short sleeve sweater. 
I also did a bit of knitting on a sample. I am redoing the garter stitch sample as I didn't have the right number of stitches on it. It is something I pick up and knit on before I leave the sewing room. If I choose to watch TV, I can knit on it then. It is my downstairs knitting. 
Between knitting and looking at Pinterest, I have decided to knit items with added features. I would love to do sheep on one doll's sweater and pair it with a top and pants. It is doable and I can figure it out if I take the time. The ideas can be jot down in my bullet journal as knitting in May is going to be part of the sewing theme and will complete an ensemble. 

Today

My plan is to do more cleaning in the kitchen, do one week of bullet journal, and finally sew for an hour. I may or may not knit as we are out for dinner tonight. 
Until the next time............................