Knocking on October’s Door

I must have blinked. What happened to August and September?

It has been a busy year.

In December, I published my first book. 

At the end of June, I released the second. 

Two more are underway but no release dates have been set. 

There has been a fair bit of weaving, albeit in fits and starts. 

The looms are loaded with everything I have planned for Christmas, wedding, and baby shower gifts. It is just a matter of weaving them all off and finishing them properly. 

I even managed to spin a bit of fiber from Desert Panda Fiber Arts in Coffee House Merino/Yak/Mulberry silk. 

I did a Navajo three-ply, which yielded an Aran weight yarn. I am thrilled with it. More importantly, the young man who is now the proud owner of it is pleased with it.

However, before I can return to that weaving part, there has been a good bit of adulting. 

Foremost, the whole day job business consistently consumes most of my waking hours. While I have been saving my vacation time, I have also been taking advantage of a perk my employer offers. This allows me to bank up to twenty-four hours of credit time, which can be used in fifteen minutes increments up to three days. 

During this whole pandemic thing, I have not availed myself of this option, but for the past six months or so, I have steadily worked to keep twenty-four hours in my account as I have taken days here and there, knowing the months of October and November comprise crunch time to weave gifts. 

The plan has always been to complete the weaving by the end of November/first week of December to allow adequate time for all the finish work. 

I currently have over one hundred and twenty yards to weave to meet that deadline, not including, at least, fifty yards of fabric that have already come off the looms since the spring. 

In the midst of all this, I have spent the last few weeks culling, organizing, and deep cleaning the house. We shall ignore the solid two weeks we were without hot water because the tankless water heater needed a part, the hole in the utility room ceiling due to a leak from the upstairs bathroom, or the new dishwasher sitting in the garage that will not be installed until the upgraded water softener arrives sometime in the middle of November. I really do not care to think about any of that… or the ceiling repair and fresh paint which needs to go into the utility room and both guest baths. 

What I will crow about is the fantastic new frameless shower enclosure the husband had installed a few weeks ago! It is gorgeous and brightens up the entire space. 

The old framed one had a hand rubbed bronze finish and was certainly showing its age, as well as a good bit of corrosion.

Cameo appearances from CoalBear and the 1890s Mott claw foot tub the husband bought me when we first built the house. 

All this to say the studio has been sorely neglected, but that is about to change.

I have several days off in a row scheduled beginning next week. The sarong fabric on both the Beast and Evangeline are at the top of the list.

Additionally, I have been rearranging the game room, which also doubles as my office. Desks are being swapped around from upstairs to downstairs, and I will have a dedicated space to leave the sewing machine and serger.

This is HUGE! 

At present, all of the sewing equipment lives at the very top of the front hall closet, which requires someone to get a chair or a ladder to retrieve. I have been setting everything up at the dining room table. 

While spacious, this arrangement then dictates everything has to be put away neatly when I am done. Hence, I save dozens of yards of woven fabric to do all at once because it is a job to take everything out.

For an idea of how high these shelves are, the foyer ceiling is eleven feet. The closet ceiling is nine feet. The husband is not always available or around when I need my equipment. It is a bit precarious for me to pull it all down and return it alone.

Hopefully, the sewing station will be set up and fully functional this weekend. I am so excited!

Then, I will literally be weaving daily. Some days, I may only be able to squeeze in a few minutes here or there, but there will be progress.

Anyone else sweating the slow-made Christmas gifts?