I am well

This is just a quick note.  I have been spending six to eight hours a day on my sewing machine making masks.  The rest of my day is taking care of family.  I do believe I would like a stay in a Hermitage when leaving the house is a saner decision.

Well.  Back to teaching second grade for Koda Bears online school.  And do not get me started!  Baking buns so I have a breakfast I would like.  Sewing.  I am grateful for every stitch.

I hope every one is well.

face masks with pockets

My life revolves around the sewing machine.  The place I was going to volunteer with is making wonderful shields and a few medical masks but they could not source enough medical materials for all of us to use.  That was about the time that the suggestion was made for everyone to wear a mask.  They said "sew for family and friends."  Which I have been doing. And I have been sewing for my shop.

The Tall Short Person has a good friend that needs a mask for work that can hold a filter.  I looked at the patterns for those and my brain was not working this morning.  I finally worked it out and decided to modify my already modified pattern.  The two I needed to make went together much easier then I expected.  I expected them to be much harder.  

I am going to need to resize them a bit but maybe not.

I know I am not in this space much.  I walk.  I feed people.  I clean.  I teach.  I sew.  When my hands are already done, I crochet a few stitches.  Then I start it again the next day.  I am trying to be kind to my body and get more yoga in but not so far.  It is all about sewing masks.  That is okay because that it is what is needed right now.  

I do have a funny story about bread but that will have to wait for another day.  I hope to have a few moments to breathe soon.  And sometime soon I want to go camping and I want to go the the Georgia O'Keefe museum/gallery.  That was on my list for this spring.

yes, white dress and blue hands

I have been wanting to dye and just have not had enough time.  There have been chef rolls and face masks to make.  Family and business.

I decided to take some of the ecoprinted cotton I was intending to use for a dress and dye it with indigo.  It will become face masks or I will sew it together to cut out a different style dress then I was first planning.  Yes, those have been my thoughts about fabric recently.  Why did I cut something out that way?  Sew it all together so I can cut it oug in a different way for a different shape dress.  Completely where my head is.  

This morning I got dressed in a white dress, put an apron on, and then had Koda Bear helping me.  The help started with making two different doughs.  One for bread and one that is sweeter that will be turned into cinnamon rolls and hot cross buns.  I can eat hot cross buns year round and do!  I had been requested to make cinnamon rolls this week as well so that was on the agenda.

Earlier this week, I had put the ecoprinted cotton in a bucket of water with alum added.  I needed to make sure the indigo stuck.  After the dough mixing, Koda Bear and I mixed up the indigo pot.  Then the fabric was added.  Now, it is wait and see what the end product looks like.  But we both have blue hands.  My white dress seems to have weathered the indigo pot well and is still fairly white.  Tea and small Blue hands are why it is fairly white.

I found the marigold while I was looking for the indigo.  I am thinking I might go there this coming week.  Being creative when I am doing much of the cooking, cleaning, small human watching, and sewing face masks is hard.  I take a break from face masks by working on chef rolls for Serenity Knives.  So being able to put fabric in a pot and see what happens is a nice creative place.  I started a soft cozy shawl from leftover yarn to work on when I am fading in the evenings.  

I wonder what marigold and indigo might make......

more face masks

My life right now appears to be revolving around making face masks.  The place I was volunteering with has had problems sourcing materials and then the CDC said everyone should be wearing a face mask.  I am making fabric masks for family, friends, and in my Etsy shop.  The pattern keeps getting tweaked due to face shapes and better fits.  

But my life seems to fit quarantine and staying at home.  I could even do with more solitude.  What helps to keep me sane is a walk a day.  Face mask and hat is a requirement.  If we are under house arrest, that walk a day will be greatly missed.  Maybe just more outside is needed.

I did find that I cannot watch a drama that has an earthquake and rescue in it currently.  Or maybe ten minutes at a time.  My chest gets very tight.  

I am also finding words hard.  But the family is digging up the yard so I have pulled out seeds.  Bread gets made.  Dinner at home.  School on computers, both second grade and college.  I am at my sewing machine a lot.  I wrote on Instagram I am thinking of making myself a dress that I can ecoprint and dye.  Do I need a dress?  No.  Do I need the creativity?  Yes.

I am going to make camping happen when I can.  I also want to go to the Georgia O'Keefe musuem.  Something I was going to do this month but not happening now.  

Everyone stay sane and healthy.  Let me know if I can help.

celebration

I have come to realize celebrating right now is hard.  

I am another year older.  The movie I was going to see was not released due to COVID19.  I chose to stay home instead of going camping.  I did concrete surf up and down my block.  The most I have left the house recently is walking.  I did miss my Mom.  She always remembered.

I do not feel like I am suffering from anxiety or worrying too hard but I do find my chest is very tight.  It did not help that I had a fairly bad allergy attack early this week.  I would love to go camping and walk through the mountains or go to the beach and surf.  But no.  Maybe later this year.

My celebration is just being grateful.  Grateful that my Dad seems well but is bored.  Grateful that no one in my family is sick.  Grateful that the friends I reach out to are healthy.  I know this could change.  So I am grateful for today.

And I may just make myself a pumpkin pie soon.  And when the live action Mulan comes out to the theater, I am going.