the organization light finally came on

 

I've been working on putting fusible on the back of fabrics for a new commission piece in progress.

As I was folding up the fabrics to put them away, a little light went on in the back of my head and I realized there was a better way to organize these things than what I had been using.

Let's begin with the obvious --- a lot of the pieces I make are either landscapes, or aged objects.  To make these kind of pieces I use fabrics that have prints that resemble wood grains, brick, stone, grasses, etc., in a whole range of colors.

Problem was, I was still sorting everything by the rule of color --- all of the browns together, the greens together --- you know the routine.

I realized it made more sense to the way I do my work if I were to put all the "grass" looking fabrics together, like the ones on the right here

And all of the stone together (left of this photo) and the wood grains together (right of this photo).

The rest of the stash of solids and blenders will still be sorted by color (the non-texture prints/plaids/stripes were already in their own area).

I'm pretty sure this will actually make fabric selections easier, and the put away easier --- and now I'm getting excited to actually get in and sort out the many stacks of fabric that I had been putting off looking at --- YAY!!

Saying Good-bye

 it's been a tough week

I was supposed to leave for a 2 week road trip with a friend a week ago yesterday -- the trip had been in the planning for over a year -- then I got Covid the first week of February, and she got pneumonia the first week of March -- and neither of us was really up to driving 1,300 miles (into an area that was under high wind and flooding warnings) --- so we cancelled our trip

then on Sunday, I got a phone call that my dear friend, art mentor, "other mother", my daughter's "Amma" who was her "other grandmother" had passed away

I knew that was coming -- she was 93 years old, and had been having physical difficulties for several years, but you know how the human mind works -- we always hope our loved ones will stay with us forever

My daughter and I had been out to visit with her about this time last year, and we had formulated a plan that when the time came that she and I would take my car and drive out those same 1,300 miles that my friend and I had planned to drive --- except my daughter and her family were 3,400 miles away on a spring break trip and I had 2 of her 3 dogs at my house

As I told my sister, I was hearing a lot of laughter from on high as we had tried to tell God what our plan was

Tomorrow (Saturday, March 25) is my friend's funeral -- my daughter (who gets home on a red eye flight in the early morning hours) and I will be watching the funeral via Zoom (I for one am grateful that this possibility was one of the good uses of technology that came out of the pandemic) -- it will be surreal -- 

So by now you may be wondering why the picture at the beginning of this post.  That painting was done for me by my friend, it hangs in my living room and I see it every day.  

E. June Ellington      June 29, 1929  --  March 19, 2023

There has been a song lyric constant in my head this week.....

        I've heard it said, that people come into our lives

        For a reason, bringing something we must learn

        And we are led to those who help us most to grow

        If we let them, and we help them in return

        Well I don't know if I believe that's true

        But I know I'm who I am today, because I knew you....

        So much of me, is made of what I learned from you

        You'll be with me, like a hand print on my heart....

        And now whatever way the story ends

        I know you have re-written mine by being my friend....

        And because I knew you, I have been changed

        For good