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I had a good day yesterday, working on a couple of different things at once. I have several new designs that I have been thinking about and trying to figure out which one to do first is sometimes the most difficult part of the process.
I find myself going round and round about each one and it finally gets to a point where I realize it and just stop and pick one and jump in and draw. That usually gets things moving in a positive direction.
The designs that I have been thinking about are not particularly difficult. I have noticed that there are many people that are new to scroll sawing, and I want to gear some new projects to someone who is more of a beginner. I have had many new sawyers tell me that most of my designs are a bit intimidating to them, and it makes me realize that I need to understand that what I may feel is something that is “easy” is really somewhat of a challenge to a new sawyer.
Creating simpler designs causes somewhat of a dilemma in itself for me, as I sometimes feel that when I do create simpler patterns, I am not putting forth my best work. While the practical side of me realizes that isn’t really true, there is still the small part deep down inside where I feel that I am holding back something.
Logically though, I know that we have to walk before we can learn to run. My best assimilation of this situation is to that of a math teacher that much teach addition and subtraction prior to more complex formulas.
Besides – I find that my customers LIKE cute and quick projects. While there are many that have a great deal of time on scroll sawing, woodworking and painting, there are an equal number of people that have only a few hours a week to enjoy these hobbies at their leisure. Much like my embroidery that I am doing in my ‘spare time.’
So with that said, I am going to proceed with these cute and relatively quick projects for a couple of weeks. I am sure after that I will be ready for something more involved. Another consideration for me personally is that I really need to begin the formal preparations for the classes I am teaching in a couple of weeks at the Saratoga Springs show in New York. While we have the design all picked out and prepped for the classes, we need to assemble the information booklets that we will be providing and do some general organization and planning. On top of that, I have another issue of magazine projects and articles to create and send in before I leave and while I know what I am going to do, implementing them is not something that I want to do last minute.
Finally, I have to spend a couple of days completing the information for my accountant regarding my taxes. I have a new accountant this year, as the previous one made a good mess of things and we have been trying to sort through all the errors that were made over the past several years since August. It seems my former accountant really messed things up and then handily retired without telling me in September. While the errors she made will not cost me additional monies, it is very frustrating to have to clean up the mess. As anyone knows, dealing with the government systems is not fun, and I am dealing with both Canada and USA tax departments. Nothing moves quickly there and since figures for each subsequent year are contingent on the previous years, there was a ‘domino effect’ of errors that had to be fixed, one at a time and in sequence. I haven’t said much about it here because really there is nothing much to say except it was wrong and frustrating. I am grateful that it was nothing that I had done wrong, and the company is taking full responsibility for her errors. Nonetheless, it is an area that I would have liked to have had things done without complication. It does need time and attention on my part – time that I would rather spend doing other things – but hopefully, once things are correct, it will be “easy.” I can’t wait until we reach that point.
So in any case, here is a quick picture of part of my drawing from yesterday:
It is a cute design that will be available for both scroll sawing and painting. Actually, it is a derivative of a design I created long ago, but never really properly developed. I took my own idea and I redrew things from scratch. I was happy with myself because I could see how much I progressed since 1997 when I first thought of this. I have ways to make this so much EASIER to do, and I think the end result will be even better.
I spent the evening last night finishing up the third panel of my embroidery sampler. I needed to add on the stumpwork (dimensional) leaves at the base of the leucospermum plant. I am pleased with how it came out:
The third panel is fully complete now. I am happy with it:
I even stayed up later than I expected and began the wisteria on panel 4.
I couldn’t resist working on the little purple glass beads.
I have a busy day planned today. I am going to test cut part of the above design and go from there. If it works out well, I may cut the entire piece. I am also going to continue drawing and in between that do some more work with my figures and embroidery. I have wanted to bake as well and haven’t devoted much time to cooking.
I suppose it is good to have choices. As long as piles get pushed, I feel as if I am making progress. It is a beautifully sunny day out today, albeit cold. I wanted to walk yesterday, but the wind was brutal and biting. Perhaps today.
Have a wonderful Saturday! I hope you find some fun things to create and enjoy! It’s the first day of March, so spring can’t be far!
Today’s Featured Product
SLDK106 – 8 Celtic and Gothic Crosses by Keith Fenton
Source: LumberJocks.com
My Journey As A Scroll Saw Pattern Designer #1258: Choosing a Direction
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