November 19: Staying Amused at Home

The nastier symptoms of this virus --sore throat, racking cough, and headaches-- lasted only about two days, which was certainly manageable.  By day three I was feeling well enough to be be getting bored at home, so I decided to work on a design project I had started back in September and not picked up since.  I had cut up a piece of my hand painted fabric, added some white and colored fabrics to turn them into blocks, and stopped there.  Here's the last photo from September. 

The next step involved actually setting the blocks into a pleasing design.  I messed around with various options yesterday but in the end came up with nothing I really liked.  So I snapped photo of what I had and gave it up.  Way too many decisions for my weak state to handle.  But I knew I didn't like all that white fabric and the blocks didn't seem connected in any way.  

 I did manage to notice that what I liked about these hand painted scraps was how the purple paint bounce around in each scrap, sort of like an insect buzzing in the bushes.  Though most insects aren't purple, of course.

But the actual act of sewing was pleasing and easy enough, so I decided to make some easy "improvisational" blocks from two bins of scraps that remained from a project I had completed a couple of years ago using fabrics featuring southwestern colors and themes.  I'd finished this wall hanging and three other related ones and haven't been able to bring myself to get rid of any of the lucious leftover scraps. 

 Improv blocks aren't made according to any plans or patterns.  You just pick up a scrap and add another scrap and happily sew and press and cut so that in the end you --hopefully- have some blocks that please you.  Here's a couple I made in this sewing session. 

I've been doing these sorts of blocks for years and am at the point where I don't need to even cut the scrap to any shape before sewing it on.  Here you see a big bright piece being added on a slant to an existing strip.  Sew, flip, press, trim most of the bright color away and see what you get.  No big decisions, just lots of little manageable ones. It was a nice soothing way to spend a couple of hours while nursing my virus. 

When I was done sewing the simple improv blocks I had a sudden thought about what direction the hand painted blocks should take.  I quickly striped away some of the fabrics and rearranged the blocks into a tighter formation which emphasized the motion of the purple paint.  This arrangement satisfied me for the moment, and that's what's on the design wall now, waiting further attention.  

This morning was the first in four days that I've taken Turbo for his morning walk.  Things are getting back to normal!  Along the route I stopped to admire the lovely colors and pattern of these fall leaves.  Dog walks are fun for a lot of reasons, but seeing what nature has been up to is always one of the highlights.