Hi, hope you're you're all okey cokey.
I'm just getting on with writing (hence the absence on me blog). I have to write a book chapter and make up two bags by early September. The publisher is then going to take my chapter, make it look preddy and then turn it into a mock up of a chapter - sort of a sales pamphlet for the book. Then the publisher is going to take this pamphlet (along with others they have created) to a trade show where the buyers are the book seller folks (least I think that's what happens). Hopefully it'll sell like cakes that are hot. Anyways the selling stuff is out of my hands. The publisher I'm working with is great so I'm sure they'll do a good job, that is, if I also do a good job...
I've moved my book writing activities from my workroom to our kitchen. Because the kitchen is roomy, sunny, and importantly there's no dis-trac-ternet in the kitchen thus making me far more productive. At the moment my kitchen table looks like a crafter's naughty dream. It's covered with heaps of droolsome fabrics; tweed wools, quilt weights, home decs, leather, suede, and faux leather. I have new and funky interfacing to experiment with. I also have some bag making tools, groovy metal bits, and magpie pretty trims, ribbons and corsages. On the kitchen work surface (opposite the kitchen table) I am drafting the bag patterns, so there is my big gridded cutting mat, my lucky sketching pencil, ruler, compass, calculator, protractor, loads of tissue paper, and my scrawly inspiration note book. The creative mess makes (tidy freak) Al's eyes water, but he knows I have a watertight case for turning our kitchen into a crafter's tip. Hopefully the bags won't end up smelling like curries and Chinese food (which we both love).
But please don't be envious of my stash (mwah ha ha!) because I've had a devil of a time trying to balance out different colours, textures, techniques, and bag features across the book. And I'm sure some of you will know that sewing for yourself is one thing whereas, sewing for teaching is something else. Of course I can make what I want, but at the same time I need to ensure that what I like, is what readers are going to hopefully going to like/find interesting/and find helpful. At first trying to get the balance right was like lots of spaghetti in my head, but these last few weeks it has been getting easier to unravel and smooth out, phew! So far it's been a really interesting and fun challenge.
Someone else who had spaghetti in his head; Picasso - who designed this wonderful beech wood bench. I'd love to see the flat-pack instructions for it, ha ha!
Hope you all have a lovely weekend (enjoy the Bank Hol if you're in the UK). I'll be here in my kitchen writing...
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