i've been up since 3:45, walked the dog, fed the cat & dog (who turned her nose up at *gasp* dog food), made pancakes (including a teeny heart-shaped one for the dog) (yeah, i know), poured resin, drank coffee, scheduled my day & re-scheduled my week, let the dog out again, cleaned up after bulimia cat, started a necklace, took a nap, read 4 whole pages of a book Sue sent me, showered (finally), let the dog out, made more coffee, checked resin for the umpteenth time, cut resin out of hair, and now here i am. feeling mighty productive for a 1000-degree day. am grateful for A/C and will worry about the electric bill another day. I'm pleased with the new designs coming out of my studio...they remind me of spring and farmer's markets and lemonade and candy...they make me smile, so sitting at my workbench for 18 hours isn't so bad! I figure if I can stand them for that long, someone else is certain to like them also! i'm working on a commission right now that involves making beads out of dried rose petals. the problem solving has got me energized, and I'm hoping the resin sets up well. i decided to try a new resin in a syringe-type pump, and it doesn't actually pump out as evenly as the makers said it would, so cross your fingers that i got the 50/50 ratio correct. i'll know in 6 more hours. this necklace is bittersweet...it's main feature is a dried sweetheart rose that was given to JC by her husband. He died in a car accident a week later. she wanted to have this somehow incorporated into a talisman necklace. i said yes, of course. These are exactly the things that get me up at 4am. memento necklaces, talisman necklaces...call them whatever you choose. but to be asked to make a piece of jewelry that is a reminder of a special event, or life changing moment...it's an awesome responsibility that i take very seriously, and am humbled by the trust given me. so many stories of the memory quilts i used to do, back in the day...baby clothes, husband's favorite work shirt or flannel shirt, varsity sports jerseys...each had a story, and as heart wrenching as it was to hear the story, i knew it had to be told, and i knew i could. not. screw. up. there was no fabric at Joanne's to replace a mis-cut. nothing would smell the same, or be worn in just the right spot. oddly, one of the happier quilts i've had to work on is still unfinished....many years after the shirts and skirts and pants being dropped off - my angel-friend Georgia's. and i don't know why this is...my guess is that it needs to say so much more than fabric and thread can be expected to say, and the design and redesign and redesign again will never meet my expectations of what i want it to do. (G just wants to be warm in the winter, at this point, i'm sure!) so - enough rambling & blathering...off to check resin, twist sterling, and find just the right vintage components and chain for a necklace!