July Projects

I've long known that clutter makes me anxious, so in my home, I generally have things picked up and put in their place. When I am under other stress, such as work or school, it gets worse. I CANNOT focus on anything if there is clutter. Normally, at the end of a tough class when I have a 15 page paper due, I'll be outside, moving the rocks that surround the flower beds so that I can remove all of the weeds, because I CAN'T focus if there is clutter, and weeds that don't belong in the rocks are clutter! This summer, however, I have not only the end of grad school, but also two major website projects for work, and all are coming due in the same month span. I've done my share of internalizing the stress, just like I did at the end of the BS (which left me with a three-month long tic in my eye that nearly drove me insane). This year, my hair is shedding more than normal. I hate to use the word "thinning",  because it's not quite that, but it is definitely not happy. Out of curiosity, I looked at pictures of my hair post-accident / pre-major chop, and my hair had thinned quite a bit then. I didn't equate the shedding with stress, but the before accident / after pictures are very telling. The good news about this is that 1. I don't have crappy hair, it was stress; and 2. I only have a few days until the second work website goes live (yay!!!) and only 5 weeks of the capstone and I will be done with grad school.  But, back to my externalizing my stress, since my house stays clutter-free, I've had to find a new outlet for my tidying up / organizing, and it has manifested in prepping projects in my work queue. I think most people would become more stressed over having so many projects lined up, but for me, the neatly stacked piles are somewhat comforting. I know that if I have a streak of untamed ADHD, I can pick up a pile and sew a dress in a day or two. How awesome is that?? So I've spent the past few months, going through patterns, buying fabric and accessories for each project, cutting out the pattern pieces and then the fabric, stacking them neatly, and putting them in plastic bags. They are stacked in order of doability (when I need to accomplish something quickly to make myself feel better) and in order of desirability/ timeframe needed for something. So it's sort of fun looking at the queue, which is now visible and therefore much more tangible, and see all the cool things I can accomplish when I have time.

So, that wall of text was all to say I didn't get a lot FINISHED in July, but I have plenty prepped and ready to start, and I have a few projects that were started in July and finished in August, so those aren't in my list.

I did finish the first of two knit chemo hats for Knots of Love, in honor of one of my greyhound friend's mom, who passed from cancer just over a year ago.  I have the second one nearly halfway done.

Knit chemo cap for Knots of Love

And, I've been working steadily on the sweater project, but definitely for short periods at a time. Because the needles, and therefore the stitches, are so small, it's a bit of painstaking work, but the result is so worth it. I am really looking forward to wearing the finished garment! I'm only doing about two or so rows every other evening or so, so it might be 10 years before I actually finish this, but I like ongoing projects. : )

Bottom cuff and start of back piece of sweater.

It measures just shy of 6" from top to bottom; at 14" I start the armholes, which narrows the piece and makes the work go a bit faster. I keep reminding myself that this may be only the first of five pieces, but it is the biggest and the widest span, which is always a bit more tedious to me than smaller pieces.

I also did a bit of work with clay for the first time in at least a year, and I think actually in two years. I made the little clay Buckley and a bed for him for my bff to commemorate the one year anniversary of his leaving us.

To round out my accomplishments, I made a giant pair of greyhound jammies, and two little summer shirts for Jesse.  I have two jammies cut and ready to sew for him as well, but it's so hot he can't wear them yet anyhow, so I've backburnered those until I change the thread on my serger to match.

I've already finished an evening gown in August, and have another dress that was the dress from hell that just needs a bit of finish work, and then a major project that I will likely spend the balance of the month on, so August is already off to a good start! And, if I haven't already mentioned it four thousand times, I can't wait to be finished with school and the capstone, I am SOOOO looking forward to having so much more time on my hands!!! : )