wienerdog tricks.

Rearranging Furniture & Related Deep Happinesses

Unrelated family photo acting as anchor to a post vaguely related to family: all five of us in an elevator at the end of my little brother's wedding. Film: digital. Creative expressionist angle: bounced off elevator mirror while travelling to 7th floor at the moment I realized we never took a picture of all of us actually dressed up at one time.

As part of my commitment to chronicle all of my various Mental Strangenesses, I am sharing here the weird satisfaction I receive from rearranging my furniture.

What does this have to do with a life of making? Get to the part about using old fabric. Are you going to tell us something about polyester? Don't you quilt?

No, friend, sorry. Not today. Today is about special sharing and about giving you some reassurance that you are not, in fact, the weirdest person on the planet. You can always find somebody weirder-er.

Here it is: About every 4 months I completely rearrange all the furniture in my house. There: I said it. I know--you probably do it too, right?

It's not the rearranging that I think is strange. It's this: I am SO HAPPY after I do this. I am strangely satisfied. All seems right in the world. I walk down the hallway into the New Configuration and feel completely assured of butterflies and unicorns appearing to me in the coming hours. I am kinder to my children. I play nice music. I feel like washing the dishes so that the counters will be pretty. Sometimes I write more letters to aging relatives after I do this.

I am, frankly, surprised by the things that make me deeply happy. Other activities in the Personal Deep Happiness Category:  Playing Ms. Pacman while drinking a regular coke with ice, for instance. Not just fun, but Deep Happy Making. Especially when I beat the high score. Sorry to brag. Sorry to brag.

Yesterday's Furniture Rearrangement Extravaganza flipped the little room I've been using the tv room with the big room I've been using for the sitting room. We were just a little too cramped for Movie Night.

And also it was when Mr. WDT smacked Baby Pumpkinhead in the face with the Wii controller while playing Bowling that we decided it was time for a change. I know: we're smart. Super smart.

Limping Toward My Sewing Machine

I have broken every personal rule I have for my own sanity:

1. I haven't sewn anything in more than 11 days.

2. I have talked about almost only abstractions for more than 37 days.

3. I haven't been inside of a thrift shop in the current calendar month.

I am pushing the limits here, People. I am pushing the limits. I am standing in the face of all I know to be good and true and Available to Me In Order to Kep My Own Facial Tick at Bay. I have spit in the face of my own self knowledge. And it's left me in bad shape.

And while there are no excuses, it was because of my day job. Sure. 

I limped upstairs last night and made this.

Weird mirror photo shoot.

And when I came down, I felt much better.

The fray is the best part.

Not all the way better.

Just much better.

   

I really, really like this one uneven hem spot. 

I cut up something old and trashy, touched thread, had to make some guesses. These things all helped.

I recommend them highly if you are on the Edge of Battiness. And if you are, Friend: there there. Sew some straight lines. I promise it will help.

P.S. If you wanna make one of these, this tutorial will do the trick. And if anybody wants more words on how to pull one of these off, just let me know. Happy to jaw more about the how-to of it all.

1) I'm Floorbergasted*. 2) For You.

1) Sure, nice things happen to me. Terrific things, actually. And I am completely committed to sharing these with you. 

But still, I was surprised to receive this in the mail:

 
It was a package! To me! From one of you! Vicki K the Creative Conquistador (so dubbed by me for her smarts about What I Should Do When I Didn't Have a Long Enough Zipper) popped a veritable PILE of goodies in the mail to me. 

A. Pile.

First, I have to show you this:

Hello. Why have I never seen anybody do this? (What? Take something you've said and turn it into stitchwork? Oh--yes, but also why have I never seen anybody use blue thread and red thread and muslin and make it LOOK LIKE A PIECE OF NOTEBOOK PAPER. Sorry if I am completely 15 minutes behind and everybody already made this for everybody else 13 Christmases ago, but this blew me away. I. Just. Love. It.)

Wow. That was nice of her. Oh--there's more.

And they all had super cute little stickers on them.

Sometimes I get excited and open everything in a hurry.

Not kidding: it was better than Christmas. Even Christmas 13 Christmases ago.

Handmade bag (using totally classic weirdish blue retro mushroom fabric that made my eyes water with happiness); little pretty cotton dishcloths; vintage tea towel; HAND STAMPED wienerdog tags (C'-mon.); and a super sweet tutorial for zippers that I totally needed (and will share here so that you can know about it too):

Oh--and GOBS of zippers! I forgot about the GOBS of zippers. And STICKERS. Gobs of stickers! AND some lovely light blue polyester (because no gift is complete, if given to Moi, without the inclusion of some old polyester. Raise your hand if you know my love language. I see that hand. I see that hand.)

2) All of this True Kindness (and the Care of Giving Real Time) has made me want to do something nice for all of you. I remembered this morning that I have a super useful pattern for making a messenger bag over at my cobwebby store and I thought I CAN GIVE EVERYBODY THAT BECAUSE IT'S SO HANDY AND THEY CAN ALL MAKE THEMSELVES A BAG AND BE HAPPY AND IT CAN BE FROM ME.

And I went there to make it free, but those store people don't like things to be free since they send it automatically and all. So I made it a quarter. I was going to make it 43 cents because that's how old I am--but even I get tired of cracking myself up sometimes, so I left it at 25 cents. And somehow I thought that twenty-five cents was sufficiently Free-Ish.

So go over here, friends, for a super cool pattern (I've used it to make this and this and this and this and this and this and this, but I didn't have it all figured out so clearly yet when I made this. Now you will.): A Messenger Bag Pattern Just For You Because I'm Floorbergasted.

*To be "floorbergasted" is to be Floored (confounded, perplexed, amazed) and Flabbergasted (astonished and mystified) at the same time. Of course it is.