Last night I realized that the early sunsets of winter mean I should make more use of my morning hours. So this morning I got up so early I wasn’t even hungry — this is quite unusual — and managed to get halfway through my morning pages before I could even think of breakfast. Then, while I was eating breakfast, I did some more brainstorming on the novel. This made me feel very accomplished, but creative writing (even just the planning) is draining, so at this point I was feeling a little lazy. Did some emails, some tidying, and some crafting foundation work (seam-ripping trim off a vintage curtain), and then ended up hand-finishing and embellishing a bag I gave up on before FabMo. It’s now listed on Etsy and I think it came out very nicely:
I priced it much lower than the time it took me, because though I find the bag charming, a lot of the stitching (and some of the body of the bag) is just kind of awkward.
I spent the afternoon and evening doing some writing/drawing work and some crafting things. I looked up lots of selling info online, bookmarked some new sites, shipped the eye pillows I showed you yesterday, picked up some new shipping boxes, read through Stitch School and was inspired by it to create a birthday card for Mommy with an embroidery theme. I don’t know whether she reads this blog, so I won’t post the pic until after I’ve given her the card. Oh! And I received another order today, this time for THREE items, which is tremendously exciting. 🙂 And I’ve selected and begun prepping fabrics for a new yoga-mat tote. These fabrics are really stunning, so I’m very excited to make something with them! On the writing/drawing front, I skimmed some more Chinese American history books, and fell in love with Errol Le Cain’s version of The Twelve Dancing Princesses. You know how I’ve been pondering how to depict the vast spaces of my dreamworld in drawings? Le Cain has totally done it, and he’s done it in a cartoony, two-dimensional, stylized way that might be much better suited to my style than something very realistic. I had to return the book to the library today but I intend to get my hands on a copy and study it. 🙂
I’m going to be so busy between now and Christmas, and it has only just hit me.
satsumabug.com | Lisa Hsia 
yay for keeping busy! it wasn’t until i spent an extended time with nothing scheduled to do and no deadlines or anything at all that i truly realized the value (for me) of being busy.
It’s good to be as busy as I am, but after last week’s unexpected week of doing nothing, I also value just sitting around and taking things in. 🙂 It’s always about the balance!!
it’s definitely all about the balance. i used to be so busy all the time and would fantasize about spending an indefinite amount of time just vegging out and doing nothing. …but i can vouch from personal experience that if you spend a year or more doing “nothing” you will start to feel a little antsy! 😉
And thanks to my upbringing, even if I spend that year doing something, if it’s not the “right” something, I feel guilty. ;b
oh i hear ya! 😉