dealing with disappointments and 'discharge'
Only 5 more to go and then I
would be done, twenty face masks for my hairdresser, so she could get going as
soon as the ban, otherwise known as ‘intelligent lockdown’ was lifted (which
btw it is not). As I didn’t have enough shop-bought binding to make the stringy
things, I made my own which I thought were a lot more fun than the originals.
Into the washing machine and out they came…..what a disappointment: the purple
ties had unravelled completely and some light blues as well, the odd white one, including several greens….what the f***! All that work and effort, for what? This was
a disaster. Can’t I do anything right? Why did I say yes to making them in the
first place? I did notice the home-made ones had survived the machine
onslaught, so there was a way forward, only not just now….first I had to walk
briskly and get rid of some of that negativity, followed by quite a lot of
not-so-nice mutterings in the privacy of my studio, harrrumpf.
A day later I decided to look
again and see what could be salvaged: 11 were fine, so that meant 9 needed
attention. A couple needed only one or two ties replaced. Was there a lesson to
be learned here as well, as I have a tendency to move way too fast and not get
lost in details like learning from my mistakes…….The purple was definitely of
inferior quality as all those had come undone, but the others: maybe I was a
bit lacking in precision and oh, to be honest I don’t really know what went
wrong there.
So having had a short moment to
reflect I began making the new binding once more and now have 17 finished. I
texted my hairdresser and told her of my misadventure, and her reaction shows she’s
a real sweetie. When I mentioned that some of the ties might become frayed after
a couple of washes, comparing this to my life in general, her reply was: ‘hey
but that’s okay Saskia, so’s mine.’
Now this red-white tie (what dĂł
you call them?) accidentally dropped onto this Small Allotment piece and I
thought those reds definitely lighten up the cloth. Making smaller versions hopefully
to sell as the large one is gonna be expensive if I do decide to sell. More on that below.
Also continuing with the fabric
strips for the Allotment Quilt.
Warning: this is not for the fainthearted
Meanwhile, in the house, the entrance hall to be precise. (That makes it sound much grander than it is, as it measures appr. 2 x 3 meters, we live in a small house 84m²) There was a problem. Of the olfactory kind. In short it stank as soon as you entered the house and it was getting worse…….this is where I get to ‘the discharge’ part mentioned in the post title. It’s a euphemism for rats and mice excrement, poo and pee to you and me. My husband bravely went where I dared not venture. First he emptied the hall of all of its contents. Then, up the ladder he climbed, armed with a screwdriver he removed the ceiling boards and with the vacuum cleaner, rake, broom he got rid of the insulation and literally thousands of droppings. All of which he stuffed into bin bags. It was a dirty job and he did it. Today I drove the bags to the municipal dump, where I had to wait an hour as everybody's tidying up these days with the lockdown, ha.
I like to observe rats out in the open, mice too. But indoors and the smell.....it's just too much to bear.
I remained outdoors tackling the wild clematis growing
on the east-terrace up along the rain pipe onto the roof. I know it looked very
romantic, lush and green. It was in fact the rat highway to heaven and, as it
turned out, their route into our house…….It had to go. That is why there is now
an empty white corner to the house in the photo. Reminding me I must finish the
mural, haha. I added an extra shelf made from reclaimed zinc gutter and have
bought an evergreen climber: Tuscan Jasmin, which will not grow as high or as
abundantly as the other one! We will have sweet scents once more.
Whilst typing I noticed how much I liked the silk
flower (Jude) and then saw all those tiny stitches on the next photo and did
not like that at all. Second-guessing what I do is my second nature. But seeing
what I had done so clearly I knew what I had to do: cut them all away; now all
that’s left is the almost invisible basting. I pressed both sides and although
there’s still a faint imprint left I much prefer it like this.
I
will end with Nature’s inimitable majesty, namastĂ©
Comments
I don't know why I have so much trouble seeing the differences in your stitches, but perhaps it is because I like everything you do!
Take care.
The red and white tie is a bit of a spark for the allotment quilt. I'll be interested to see how and where you incorporate it.
And I love that strip of patches in the process of becoming ...
beautyfull the Hawthorn , i love there fine smell and love most the pink one's .big hug to you
we are all frazzled Nancy, love that word!
well, we sure are lucky with our men Dana; I can forgive him almost anything now....;-)
so true Liz, seeing how it actually looks rather than how I imagined it would turn out; countless stitches undone, all over the world I guess....now that's a thing to ponder
I don't even mind the critters that much Dee, the mice were definitely here in the house before we arrived, but the stench was just too much to bear, plus I do not want to become known as the RatLady here in the neighbourhood, hihi
that is great Maria, I don't think I've ever seen a pink hawthorn, not around here anyway