Ongoing projects

Today I just sent off the orchid logo to the client. I made several, and I hope that at least one of them is what he's looking for. It's funny how the paying jobs get finished long before any of the ones I've done for fun. Perhaps I need someone telling me there's a deadline, and then I'll have a compulsion to finish a project, as well as the compulsion to start it!

Here are some ongoing projects around the house, ones that I don't think will ever be finished, but constantly just dabbled with.

1. Rock garden wall. Our back yard is a steep hill that is continually sliding toward the house. I've terraced it somewhat, with rocks found around the ranch. I hope to eventually build these little walls all the way up the hill, and alongside the whole house. Then, when that's done, I might be more inclined to spend some money on plants. I rather enjoy building the wall. Collecting the rocks, placing them. It's hard labor, exhausting. But I enjoy it, and sometimes think I could spend all day doing it.

2. Mares painting. This painting started as an effort to create a very serious, photo-realistic painting based on a photograph I found of some grey mares in a barn in Poland. The lighting was superb, so that the mares' backs looked almost like rolling hills, or just backlit outlines. The heads were barely visible, elegantly curved. I started it ... then felt like I wasn't having much success so I took a break from all that seriousness and started painting those little birds. Then I started in with the stripes, until I realized it looked like the opening credits of "The Partridge Family" so I need to paint over it, and get back to seriousness. But at this point, I'm just using the canvas for doodling.

3. Kitchen painting. Our 100-year-old farmhouse has 100 years' worth of paint in the kitchen. Many, many layers. So when we decided to paint the kitchen, I figured I ought to scrape off most of the old paint. Well ... I got as far as scraping off SOME of the old paint. Never did get very far in the painting department. I was gone one weekend and my husband got a substantial amount done, but only HALF the kitchen is done. The half with appliances, etc., that need to be moved has not been touched. It's got to happen. I keep waiting for a rainy weekend, but there's been about 3 years of drought here.

And the final project, which really will get finished, eventually, is the sari silk purse. I got the pattern here. Probably the only time I've ever bought a pattern, so I should really make that money well-spent by finishing the darn thing. I've attached a photo of the strap, which is maybe halfway done, and then I'll be practically finished. I don't know what's taking me so long, honestly. I think I just keep getting distracted by other projects.