… and the moral is…..breathe.

Boy has it been a busy few months. I have a persistent daydream that consists of me lying on a sofa watching the Godfather trilogy with a block of chocolate next to me. Maybe one day…

Last month I bit off more than I could chew, and it is only now that I am beginning to digest the last few morsels of my spring projects. After Mclean Day and Viva Vienna were done, I packed up my stuff and went home to inspect the commissions that I had got from the markets. While setting myself up to print and sew, I got a ping from a customer on Etsy: another commission, cool! I also had a screen printing party to organize that I was excited about.

Then I got a message from a boutique in Brooklyn that I had been in contact with, could I send them some work? Well it just so happened that I was planning to spend the next weekend with family in New Jersey “why don’t I bring the work to you?”.  Almost immediately, a school that I had agreed to work for next semester chose this  time to send over a sheaf of forms for me to fill out (you know the kind – asking you everything between “What was the flight number of the plane that your immigrant parents arrived on in 1978?” and “What is your favorite ice cream flavor?” I glanced over at the growing pile of laundry I had to do, and my hungry children standing next to it ….and took a deep breath.

So there I was the next day, hair askew, sewing needle in mouth, a To-do list in one hand, standing between two large suitcases. One  full of shirts and onesies to take to Brooklyn, the other to be stuffed with clothes, diapers, swimsuits, and anything that my family might need for their weekend rumpus in New Jersey. I packed in a frenzy, hoping beyond hope that my 3 year old wouldn’t lend a hand.

Well things turn out the way they turn out.

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The Boutique in Brookyln, Junior Lowe, was beautiful – achingly cool,  full of amazing products, and run by the nicest people. I felt honored to have my work in there. Fingers crossed it will sell.

My kids are only slightly traumatized by my frenzied appearance over the weekend. They had better things to focus on, and had a blast with their cousins.

My commissions are all done, and mostly delivered. The printing party was messy but fun.

Unfortunately, I had to turn down the school gig. It was a lovely job working with a great art department, but it doesn’t work with my son’s school schedule.

All’s well that ends well. Time to take a breather. What was that? I have more projects to plan? Summer camps, sewing classes,  maybe more shirts to make, if they sell.  It will all happen, but I won’t over book myself again. After all, as my very wise dad says, “an ounce glass can only hold an ounce of water”.