My Cat, My Pantone Color Bridge, and Other Random Thoughts.....

We have had a cat named Maddie for about 4 years. She was supposed to be my daughter's cat. You know, daughter would take care of her and then someday when she moved out- take cat with her. But, you can guess what happened: since I am the one who is here all day, and I am the one who usually feeds her, she has become my cat, whether I like it or not....  When I walk into the kitchen, cat cries for treats. When I stop moving for more than 5 seconds, cat plops herself on my feet- and then I feel guilty for moving! I will actually stand somewhere longer than I need to be there so I don't disturb her... Same thing goes for the chair in my office- I will find myself standing to work for a couple of hours because she is sleeping there, and then it finally dawns on me- Hey! that's MY chair! And she will be dismissed.... but not before I have an aching back from all of the standing and bending over my desk. Sometimes she is naughty and gets into the papers and files on my desk, wrinkling them and putting claw marks in them. How in the world did this 11 pound furry thing take over the house??? (In the photo above, she is making herself comfortable in my studio, her favorite bed is a couple of quilts I have completed for my next book.... I can't fight her so I just fold them wrong-side-out and let her have her way...) But for all of my grumbling and complaining and saying that she is NOT my cat- I kind of like her now. I guess she IS my cat. sigh.

I am working on the computer most of today. My work falls into several categories: drawing and painting artwork for fabric lines, books, and other projects (a NEW one which I am really excited about and I will be showing you this summer!); sewing samples and projects for patterns; and working on the computer, either writing patterns, books, blog posts etc. or using Photoshop to lay out fabric/surface designs and other fun stuff. 

It seems that when I am working on the computer for several days in a row, I can't wait to start drawing and painting again. Today I would like to be sewing, but I'm not. In a couple of weeks when I am busy sewing up samples for Quilt Market in May, I will probably wish I was just sitting at my computer! I guess I'm lucky to have a "job" that doesn't feel like a job at all (until it's time for paperwork- that's another story) and that allows me to do a lot of different things. Sometimes, though, it makes it really hard to focus. I have so many things going on, often times I'm really not sure what to work on next- and that is a real time killer!

Focus, focus, focus! It is definitely something I need to focus more on! Ha! But seriously, it's so easy to be distracted.... I start painting and then think of something else I have to do, a block I wanted to design or a blog post I wanted to write.... or I get an email or 2 or 3 that I feel I have to attend to immediately.... or I decide to throw in a load of laundry....  Lists help me, but I feel like I need much more, like someone standing over me with a whip forcing me to just do one thing at a time.... my brain oftentimes feels like a ping pong ball just going back and forth and everywhere. Can anyone else relate?? I'm sure many of you can. Any suggestions? Sometimes (oftentimes) I actually feel guilty because I think that if I were more focused I'd make better use of my time and get lots more done. (Is the guilt just a female thing? I have a hard time imagining my husband feeling guilty about something like that....)

So anyhow.... where was I? Oh yeah. Working on the computer today, and playing with colors. I am importing some recent artwork into Photoshop, and I am "playing" with my Pantone Color Bridge. Oooooh- it's kind of like paint chips on steroids. The best thing about using a Pantone Color System is that it is standardized so I can tell a manufacturer EXACTLY the green or orange or pink I want. I just say "Pantone 376U, please!" and that's (hopefully) what I get. (You may remember I started working on this artwork a few weeks ago. Also note that in that post, I talked about feeling scattered. Obviously, things have not changed.)

I am loving the hot oranges and pinks in this art. So spring-y/summer-y. My favorite colors seem to change a little bit with the seasons, how about you? What are your favorite colors right now?

And don't forget, I need advice on how to focus and not get distra...... oooh look: a bird!!

OK so I feel like my train of thought for this post totally derailed.... so you see what I mean.... OK I need to go do something now.