Projects

I have this bad habit--A neverending and always growing list of projects that I never seem to complete. I often spend a ton of time researching these projects, then never even start them. To Jeremy's dismay, my latest project has been landscaping. I discovered sites online where I could buy plant and flower seeds and bulbs very cheaply. So, after several days of researching all these different plants and finding the most inexpensive places to order them, we have now been inundated with seed shipments (the bulbs will come later when it's warmer). I then organized them all, putting together a table that lists the plant names with a picture, how tall they get, when they flower, what color they flower and what type of sun they need, grouping them by where I think they should be planted. This took another afternoon. I also discovered I have roughly 10 packets of seeds that I have no idea what to do with. Now comes the hard part. At some point, I am actually going to have to start these seeds, take care of them, go out and create the flower beds, transplant the plants into them and weed all the beds.

Jeremy seems very skeptical that I will actually accomplish all of this. I have no idea why he's so skeptical. Maybe it's the Vacation Scrapbook project (all "paper souvenirs" all still nicely tucked into a large ziplock bag and I still haven't had prints made of the pictures). Maybe it's the wallpaper border project (see previous blog). Possibly, it's the organizing his shop project (that one I'm still developing in my head, and I haven't acquired the necessary supplies, so that's not really my fault). Maybe it's the stained glass project--I did do all the research for how to do that, but the equipment seemed a bit expensive, and it looked a little complicated. For now, the landscaping project is quite organized. The problem's going to come when I actually plant all the plants and then have to do something with them. That's where things start to get complicated. It's not like I can simply stash the project away like the others. This time I really have to finish the project. I'm pretty sure I can actually do this one though (well, creating the beds and weeding is going to suck a little. . .).

Fortunately, he's always very supportive when I come up with project ideas. I'm not sure why. Maybe it's because he knows they'll keep me occupied for a while, yet not really cost him any money (see stained glass "research" above). I think half of it is just my love of researching things and organizing them. I excel at both, but then when it comes to actual implementation--which is usually where you start buying things for the project-- most of the time I sort of lose interest. That could be why he's so supportive of my latest project idea. By rough count, I believe our house has 33 windows, almost all of which are huge. That's an awful lot of expense if we have to buy curtains for all of them, plus, what kinds of curtains would best showcase the woodwork around them? So, I decided that I should check into actually making the curtains myself. I spent about two days researching curtain types, fabric types, sewing machines. . . I decided that Balloon curtains (or shades) would be the best type. They're somewhat ornate, plus, they hang down the window and wouldn't cover up the woodwork around it (not that you probably really wanted to know that info). I even found a site online where, for $10, I could order a pattern/instruction book for creating 10 different kinds of these curtains/shades.

Now comes the hard part. I have never really sewed anything in my life. When I was forced to take home ec my freshman year of high school, I made one item on my own--a pair of shorts. Nobody told me you had to do something called backstitching, so you can imagine my dismay when I first wore my pair of shorts. After that "fiasco," I just did the minimum sewing in class on the projects we had to do, then took them home to my mom, who got me As on a skirt and a cardigan. I still have the tiny sewing kit I purchased for freshman home ec to this day. It has a itty bitty pair of scissors, several tiny spools of thread, and several needles and pins. The only reason I've saved it all these years, and the only thing it has been used for all these years, is so I have a needle to remove the occasional sliver.

I'm sure a ton of things ran through Jeremy's head when I told him I thought I should make the curtains for our house (all 33 of them) and showed him the intricate shades I had picked. I can somewhat imagine his thought process: "What the hell is she thinking? She can't sew anything. How is she going to start sewing, out of the blue, and create these complicated shades? What will they end up looking like? Am I going to be stuck hanging them in our house? Wait, she's only on the researching and organizing phase of the project. That means she'll quit when it comes to buying equipment (like the fact we don't even own a sewing machine). I'm safe!" So what actually came out when I mentioned this idea was: "That sounds like a good idea."

But, I've actually moved a bit beyond my initial research and organization phase for this project. Last week, in our local shopper, I saw two sewing machines for sale. They didn't list prices, but I figure they have to be relatively inexpensive. I'm going to wait and see if they're still in this week's shopper, then call about them. That means I'm almost to the project phase I never get to--purchasing equipment! I figure, if I can get a cheap sewing machine, I can at least try and see if I can make something. I even planned it out--buy cheap, discount fabric, then practice making a few sets with that. The problem is probably going to come when (and if) I actually get the sewing machine and then realize I suck at sewing, which is a strong likelihood with me. I don't think Jeremy realizes I've moved on to this phase in my project yet, otherwise he'd probably get that look on his face--the baffled/consternation look he often gets when I mention some idea I have that's completely absurd. So, I think I'll just wait a bit before I tell him I'm getting a sewing machine (if I get one--I'm still in the sewing machine research phase). That way, he can quickly work through his thoughts: "Crap, she's actually buying a sewing machine. How long am I going to have to listen to her swear at it? How long will she actually try to learn how to sew? Can she actually make curtains? Am I going to be stuck hanging these things? She's going to know I'm lying when I tell her they look 'nice.' What are we going to do with the sewing machine when she quits using it?" And what will come out is: "That sounds like a good idea."