Tired Fingers

I have been doing a dance of making, creating without a map, struggling to learn and become proficient at my new-found skill in leather stitching, struggling to make the reality match the imagination. I've been working every day on a project that is big and uncharted. With every step, I had to imagine the whole: should I do this first, or do I have to attach that before I can sew this and this together?

It has been a 3-dimensional puzzle, and not without a few missteps.

But I pressed on. Haha! there is no pressing leather: there is hammering! Actually taking a hammer to the seams and stitching. There is also glue! Very smelly and causing some light-headedness. As I apply glue and wait for it to dry, I notice very little odor. But woe to the person who leaves and walks back into the studio: you hit the fumes like a wall. I need better ventilation: I have a fan, and some window openings, but I might need a ceiling fan to vent the fumes out of the top. The things that pop up, when you start something new...

I have done little else, these last few weeks. Suffice it to say, I have been diligent. So much so that my fingers ache. They are building muscle strength, they are learning new muscle memory, and they are victims of stabbings and poundings with needle and hammer.

When I take a break, I spin:



My fingers "run home to mama", using their already learned skills.

Back soon. With pictures!