Creative Challenges

We've been sheltering at home for 10 weeks. If I am honest, it feels much longer in some ways and much shorter in others. I guess because I'm a homebody by nature, it hasn't been as hard on me to be at home as it has been on others. 

The guitar case is very comfortable, apparently. 

I have been very busy teaching virtually and creating classrooms and ideas for next year. In fact, it's been exhausting. We have only two more weeks of school and the children are definitely showing signs of being weary of online learning. So, I've got all my lessons uploaded, I'm slowing my online presence and I have a little more time on my hands. 

There are two things I've been wanting to work on in my personal life. The first is being a better guitar player. I've had this goal for many years. I took guitar lessons for a few months years ago and I learned quite a bit from those lessons. I am not the best at practicing my craft. So, now that we are forced to be at home, I thought I'd give the guitar another try. Mike agreed to give me lessons. We had to come to an agreement about how this would work (having your spouse as a teacher doesn't always work well). He is allowed to tell me anything during the lesson but has to keep his mouth closed while I am practicing. So far it is working well. I'll never be very good but I'm learning and getting better which is all I can ask for.

Cleo on my sewing table.

The other skill I want to improve on is my sewing. I've been thinking about pattern making for many years and have tried it in the past. I have a curvy body which isn't too suited for the mainstream patterns and clothing styles so learning to fit myself has always been a goal. I also just want to do some sewing. I've been working on some presents for my students at school and am almost finished with those. I'll post a photo soon. I've also ordered two patterns from an indie company. One is for a jacket and one for a top. I'd like to make some capri pants for myself as well. I have an idea about how I'd like them to fit and look but figuring out how to make that happen may be difficult. I'm hoping to take some time to work on some of it. 

So, I've got lots to keep me busy. We go into the 'yellow' phase of lockdown in two weeks which means I may be able to go back to school to provide childcare. In the meantime I'll work on these two skills.