I don't know what I'm doing. I realize that is a very loaded sentence that can be interpreted in many different ways. We'll get to that. First, a song.
Patti Smith's 2012 album Banga is the only album of hers I have to listen to in one sitting. While the songs are fine alone, there's something about listening to them as she ordered them on the album. You can listen to the full album here if you're so inclined. The songs aren't related in the same way songs on a concept album or soundtrack might be related, but they all feel like they belong together. Some songs were written while Patti and Lenny Kaye were on voyage (her word not mine) with Jean Luc Goddard's crew as he filmed scenes for a new film. Songs like "Banga," "April Fool," and "Maria" were written during this time. Other songs were written on various travels following that trip. The liner notes for Banga are wonderful to read and interesting to see where inspiration for the songs comes from. My favorite song on the album is "April Fool."
It reminds me of falling in love and the loveliness of other people. I know for a fact it's about the work and life of Nikolai Gogol (because Patti wrote about it in the liner notes) and the friend who introduced her to Gogol's work, so there's that. Gogol was born on April Fool's Day.
Anyway, of all of Patti Smith's albums this is the one I listen to in its entirety the most. I was thinking about the other musicians I've covered in the stitch journal so far, and there's at least one album for each one that I have to listen to in its entirety. The list is from who I've covered so far: Little Earthquakes (Tori), The Velvet Goldmine, Puberty 2 (Mitski), Lungs and Everybody Scream (Florence), Rumours (Fleetwood Mac), Xanadu, Sonic Highways and Concrete and Gold (Foo Fighters). Looking ahead, I know the album for the three remaining bands. Fun. I couldn't pick one song from Banga so I listened to them all this week.
Let's get back to the fact that I don't know what I'm doing. I've spent almost two weeks embroidering the lyrics and quotes because lettering takes time if you want it to look nice. Now I'm finally moving onto the dresses and the coat and I don't really know what I'm doing. I was thinking I could use Barbie clothes as patterns but they're a little too small for the piece and not exactly what I think I need. So this morning I sat down with the white fabric. It's first. In the picture, there's a design of some kind on the neckline, so I decided to start there. I'm not copying the design since I can't really see it. I'm doing a mimosa tree design instead. Mimosa trees are symbols of collective happiness in some cultures, and I feel like that fits. After I finish the design, I'm going to gather the fabric and create the shape of the dress rather than cutting or patterning it like a real dress. I think the white dress is going to be completely attached to the stitch journal page and you'll be able to see the writing beneath.
I'm not so sure about the black dress and the jacket. For the black dress, I may just make it into a bunch of pleats with a hint of a dress shape. That could work. The jacket? I really want it to have the lapels and an actual buttonhole so I think I can make those work too. Perhaps I know sort of what I'm doing but it's like stuffed into my brain somewhere. It's been a weird week.
Here's this week's stitch journal entries:
September 6
September 7
September 8
September 9
September 10
September 11
September 12
The Sewing Cabinet and Other Small Joys
I made a lot of progress on "The Gardens" last weekend. I'm almost done with one side of the Botanical Garden. I had to stop since sitting for too long can still be a little uncomfortable for me. I'd like to finish the last tree on that side of the panel this weekend.
It's coming along nicely. My goal is to have The Gardens done by early October. Then I'll start the Night Forest panel. After that, I'll work on finishing the cleanup of the sewing cabinet frame since it'll be a little cooler outside and I can work on my balcony. I need to do a little sanding on the frame and don't want to do it in the house. Once that step is done, I'll start assembling the panels and working on the interior. I still need to buy the material for adding structure to the panels and the trim for the exterior. Maybe next weekend I'll go to Fabric Basement for those items. I'm pleased with my progress and I like how it's coming along so far.
It's been a weird week. Short weeks are always longer to me, so there's that. I also got a cold so I feel like I've been swimming in fog for most of the week. I feel better today.
My brother got me this fun pillow from Costco. I saw it the last time I was there and didn't buy it, so this was a nice surprise.
Bea had a fun week. Last Saturday we celebrated her adoption anniversary and this week she's been lounging in new places and being her little weird stuff. She spent a lot of time rearranging her emotional support plastic bags, so if you were on a call with me this week and you heard that shuffling noise, you were listening to the work of a cat decorator. It's been an experience.
She doesn't like this window perch and I haven't donated it yet so it's sitting against the wall by the sliding glass door. Bea made it into a fort. My cat has a fort.
Next week I have an event at work so my daily Instagram posts will be up a little later Monday-Wednesday since I'll be posting once I get home.
Enjoy the weekend! I'm going to spend my time trying to figure out if Bea is filming a horror movie when I'm not home. When I got back from the gym earlier in the week, she was in the window staring at me. I assume she's making a horror movie.
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