The Universe has been sending me nudges this week about dormant objects and the stuck energy that surrounds them.

So I figured it was time to throw open the cupboards once more. And why not post about some of the process?

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Way back in May 2018 I tried on a really gorgeous dress in a small boutique in Osaka.

Sadly it was rather more expensive** than I wanted to pay for something which was a little too long and had a split in the back almost to the waist.

i did get those amazing grey pants hanging behind the dress and they were in very high rotation for years^^

such an adorable label

So I left it behind. But I thought about it a lot afterward.

When I returned home I found the dress on the Information Superhighway and decided that the simplicity of the design meant it was likely something I could make myself.

… time passed …

Eventually I found the almost perfect heavily discounted fabric in the Lincraft York Street closing down sale in January/February 2020 and bought the pattern online some time in the first lockdown in mid(ish) 2020

pattern view C – a very decent starting point

And then it all sat, dormant and unloved, for almost 3 years.

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I’ve changed almost beyond recognition over the last three years and this type of dress is really no longer my style. So I plan to set it free so that someone else might enjoy it.

There’s a growing donation pile for the excellent The Sewing Basket.

More dormant objects to come.

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I ran across this dormant things academic project and related wonderful illustrations in my online travels this evening.

It looks incredibly interesting and I plan to spend some time digging in over the weekend. I may report back.

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** current exchange rate JPY 39,000 = AUD436 | EUR 279 | USD 302 | GBP 244

^^ recently passed on to Bessie who looks fabulous in them

Passed this friendly little fellow on the way to the station this morning.

Brush turkeys are not something you see every day (or at all) in the Inner West. It was rather unexpected and astonishing.

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I’m back to the dentist tomorrow to check on an exciting ache I’ve developed in one of the teeth that were hammer-drilled last week.

It did not ache at all before the work, so this seems a bit double-plus-ungood.

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Today at lunch I had in my hand, but resisted buying:

+ a small set of oil paints

+ a resin kit

+ candle wick

+ a small(ish) brass panel

+ balls of Penelope-blue 4 ply wool

+ a length of evenweave fabric

+ a large silver grey cotton wrap (with the intention of shibori-ing it)

+ a light grey cabled snood

+ a small cotton hand towel with sashiko design

I really do need a lunchtime activity for in office days that doesn’t involve wandering about in shops.

One of my 23for23 intentions (as with 22for22), was to complete the Yoga with Adriene 30 Day Yoga Journey in January.

Last year it was very easy to prioritise: mainly because it was released at a really convenient time – and I got so much energy and excellent vibes knowing thousands of people around the world were practicing with me and reading their live chat and comments.

This year – not so much! The time is not so convenient, so I’m not there for the live release of the video. I twisted my knee in a non-yoga related incident. I was exhausted from being in office. The aftermath of dental work. Etc etc. So I’ve missed several days.

But rather than abandon it all, which has been my previous approach with most things streak-related (“I’ve missed a day, time to give up!”), I’ve been gentle and kind to myself and completed Day Five this evening, even though it’s at Day Fifteen of the program. And I’ll keep chugging through as and when I can.

This feels insanely mentally healthy! Who is this sensible person?

I have a vacant role in my team for a … let’s say … tightrope walker. Our previous tightrope walker left suddenly before Xmas after only being with us for a month – after experiencing a litany of quite horrendous personal issues.

The tightrope walker market is, well, tight right now – it’s very hard to find good people and salaries reflect that. My budget is good, but not stellar superstar tightrope walker good.

So I was thrilled when the recruitment agency I work with sent me a brilliant CV on Xmas Eve and we moved fast to organise an interview for the first week back this year.

The candidate is excellent, personable and seasoned and we all loved her – and all thought she was likely way too good for us and could get something much more sparkling.

It’s a contract role, so I quickly made a verbal offer via the agency as soon as the second interview was complete – and formalised after receiving the stellar reference checks.

This was on Thursday.

Agency: “she has a second round interview for another role on Friday which she wants to go through with because she was referred from a contact”

Me: “oh god. of course, I understand”

Friday afternoon

Agency: “she’s been offered the other role and would like the weekend to consider”

Me: “oh god”

Friday night

Don: “you’re screwed”
Me: “yep”

And when I hadn’t heard anything this morning we all felt certain we were firmly on the reject pile.

Lunchtime

Agency: “she will have an answer for us this afternoon”

Me (and team): “we’re screwed”

Afternoon

Agency: “she’s accepted!”

Me: “OMG WHAT!?”

What a roller coaster.

She apparently rejected the more secure permanent role because her heart was with us. Awwww.

This week I kicked off my first craft project of the year!

I saw the wave ball pattern on etsy and could not resist it. I absolutely love the colours and the Japanese-ish vibe of the design.

But gosh! I really underestimated how challenging this would be – definitely a brain stretch and leaning into new ways of working.

The pattern covers 6 separate pdf pages, rather than being a single consolidated large pdf page. I’ve taken to using the laptop rather than the ipad to view the pattern and track my stitches. It means I can see much more of the design at once. I tried printing out on A3 and doing it old school – but that’s a big nope from me.

The pattern is mostly very small blocks of colour, which means very slow stitching – a lot of colour changes and needle threading. I’m trying work with a few of the colours in one area, which is a new thing for me and working well. Usually I try to do as much of one colour as I can before switching to the next.

I’m also using the English method (where you make individual Xs one by one). I usually use the Danish method ( //// then \\\\), but English seems to work better for this design.

After cutting it a bit fine with Mr Sparkle, I’m using way too much fabric and it is a little unwieldy. I like to stitch in hand rather than using a hoop or frame, so there’s a bit of juggling required.

There are roughly 20,000 stitches (double that of Mr Sparkle) – I’m giving myself at least a year to finish.

Now that I’ve settled into something that works, I’m enjoying the process! It’s definitely not a mindless stitch.

On with the (very basic) pix

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Pattern on laptop (pink means I’ve stitched that bit) and progress

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Colours I’m working with. I probably would benefit from slightly larger tiny bags.

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Pattern printed on A3. I’m not going to use it, but it’s a good reminder of what I’m committing to!

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I’m definitely going to need to add other projects into the mix!

Books next?

I’m quite surprised at how exhausted the dental surgery has left me.

Hopefully I will bounce back tomorrow – all sunshine and full of positive vibes.

Meanwhile, behold this … well, abomination is probably the appropriate descriptor.

Yes, that is indeed a vegemite and cheese hot cross bun.

Last week I visited the dentist for a regular annual check up. I expected it to be a tick-the-box endeavour because I didn’t have any particular issues I was concerned about and I am very diligent with dental hygiene.

Alas.

Dentist identified that two large elderly fillings on each side of my lower jaw had seen better days and it was time to replace them with crowns. Of course this is astonishingly expensive, even with health insurance.

So today I went and had the first half of the procedure. I’ll not go into the excruciating details, but it rather felt like being pummelled by a large hammer drill – for an hour. If you know, you know.

All went well and I’ll be back in 3 weeks to have the proper crowns fitted.

Holy!Goodness! I’m feeling very tender now that the anaesthetic has worn off. Even with the help of pain killers.

I’m sure it will ease off tomorrow, but for now, it’s drugs and sleep!

When your skirt matches the hotel carpet:

hotel eden: spiez

Would return in an instant.

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I’m taking the possibly foolish step of voluntarily going into the office tomorrow – making it 3 days in office this week.

I never thought I would be at the point of saying that I’m a bit fatigued by working from home, but here we are. Now that I’m not working on a large project involving intense back-to-back calls all day, and with Mad Bobs gone, it can be a bit quiet and boring at home. I usually can delineate pretty well, but it will be good to have the space a bit less “office”.

At this stage I’ll experiment with extra days in January and February.

What I do know is that I’ll be absolutely exhausted by the end of Day 3 each week. How did we ever do this 5 days a week?