(First a quick shameless plug for this vase I bought from my friend and fellow artist Gina Desantis with a hydrangea bloom from Stems Fleur who are just below my studio.)

Summer is drawing to a close. The weather, as I sit here writing, is caught between summer and fall. It’s grey, wet, and some of the first leaves are beginning to drop, but the air is still clinging to me with its insistent summer ardor.

I’ve just wrapped up two new collections. This summer’s cyanotype collection came out in July and then I followed that with what I ended up calling the Scrivener collection. It is a series of notebooks and pen holders. I’m trying to focus in a little more on making things I’d want to own and I love me a good notebook.

I’ve got a few bag orders to wrap up before September is out. It’s nice to switch up doing something creatively intense like working on special collections, and doing something I’ve done many times before. Those long stretches of quietly stitching seams let my hands do the thinking and my brain take a rest.

I just finished stitching the interior pocket onto this Lamplighter. I always try to take a picture of this pocket since you can’t really see it once the bag is done.

While I’m stitching I’m thinking about what projects I’d like to work on next. The holidays are closer than I realize which means I should be starting to restock all of the standard colors. I also have yet to do an indigo collection this year. I loved last year’s but I don’t want to just repeat myself. I’ve been admiring some work dyers do with wax resists. I’d love to incorporate that somehow, but I fear the learning curve on that means it won’t be part of this year’s collection.

I also don’t really feel done with the Scrivener’s. I’ve taken up writing as a daily practice. I start every day in the studio by writing down my thoughts. It really helps me figure out what is important for the day and keep track of my larger goals. To be honest I’m mostly doing it because I’ve fallen down a fountain pen rabbit hole. It’s really interesting to me how enjoyable it can be to write with a nice pen on a good notebook. It’s one of those little life enriching activities that I love to find. I especially love the idea of having a giant stack of filled notebooks to look back through some day. Old man Jordan shaking his head at today’s Jordan.

End of Summer Upate