Assembly line pastimes

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A plethora of pleasing prints, just need more batting.

Today's title isn't meant in a negative manner, merely what I thought when making mug rug sandwiches this afternoon as well as reading through the fictional WIP. Maybe crafting a series lends itself to feeling like ticking off boxes; write a book, write another, write another.... As for the coasters, I have many to make and find working on five or so at a time isn't overwhelming. I stitch some together, then arrange the backing, which today meant sewing pieces I had cut previously, lol. Dig through the scrap batting bag, sew some strips together, plop them between the front and back, then pin. One EPP hexie flower amid these nine-patch tops, and one washed and SHRUNKEN, ha ha! The squares are two and a half inches before laundering, the solid from Kona in Buttercup, the prints Kaffe Fassett jelly roll treats! Some blues, reds, and yellows equal lots of bright joy! And many more of those left to construct.

Kinda like how much remains of my series, ha, ha, uh, ha. In reading over what is now the second book, I have plenty to revise, in that the characters feel a little flat. I barely knew them when writing that novel, was just groping around in a grief-fog. Now the mist has lifted, although some days are slightly cloudy, and of course what I am hoping to create looms long in the distance, similar to all those coasters waiting to be pieced together. Yet writing takes a different level of brain power than sewing, and within the writing revisions are less taxing, for which I am very grateful as I'm suffering from allergies. As I read, I'm making notes within the manuscript, also keeping in my head what needs to emerge in the next round of edits in the guise of more dialogue and endearments between the characters. I feel like I know them pretty well now, and that sense is missing in this rough draft.

It would be like making a coaster without the batting; yeah it would cover an area, but offer no cushion for cups and mugs. The batting is essential, even if it's scraps sewn together, just like taking a rough draft and rewriting weak scenes. Or merely inserting notes for later when I'm feeling less debilitated.

I'm kind of a snotty mess right now, so reading over the manuscript is the perfect level of mental difficulty, as is making coasters. Just small projects keeping me busy. One after another at times, then the creative flow will explode, lol.

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