Kind of weekly update

I have acquired my first private student. I am so glad to be working on all the stuff I learned, "use it or lose it!" We have already worked together several times and have more sessions upcoming.

One thing I need to work on is waivers, oh that pesky necessity of modern life. It seems silly, but is something I can not skip on. The ACA website has canned waivers so I am headed that way this morning. My own coach, Fish Stevens, has a three ring binder full of blank waivers. Every time we met up for formal lessons he would just page through the binder to the next blank page, and have me fill it out. That makes a lot of sense to me, another thing I will copy from Coach.

The Lorax and I have been asked to attend a club capsize & rescue practice. We will not be teaching, it is not a formal lesson. But we will kick off the club practice by running through two paddle float self-rescues, the back deck "back back back," and the heel hook. Then we will perform the classic assisted T Rescue. The club members attending will be invited to watch us. After that we will largely work on our own rolls. I am particularly interested in revisiting the Greenland butterfly roll.

I have taken to rolling every single time I go out on the water. It is warm now, and the chances of going hyperthermic are slight. I start every paddle with two or more rolls, roll when we pause on the water, and then end the trip with a couple more at the put-in. On average I am successful 80% of the time. But every now and then I will have an off day and only complete half or less. Every single person I know who owns a roll has had this experience. Really then, having a roll does not guarantee a paddler will not swim. It is bound to happen. Win some, swim some.

With all this wet wet practice has come the lack of a camera. Even though my phone is in an Otterbox, I am reluctant to risk such an expensive and critical piece of gear while playing with my roll. Yesterday I felt the lack of a camera strongly as we came upon this great blue heron standing in the sun with his wings hanging down like oversized pants sagging around his knees. It was comical, and not a normal thing one sees from the water. I will have to do something about this.

Between working with paddlers and crafting I have recovered some income. I really enjoy all the paddling but that, in and of itself, does not pay my bills. With the lack of an on-water camera in mind here are some photos of recent items I have gotten up for sell on etsy or as custom orders.

This pair of Viking apron brooches was custom made at four inches across. That is a really huge size, my own largest brooches are three inches across. The Lorax made them. First he said, "Hope she's stacked or these will dwarf her chest," and then he said "maybe she should be small after all, because these are going to attract all kinds of attention directly to her chest." Either way, I suspect the patron who ordered them expected them to attract attention. Win/win I say.

This sideless surcoat was a custom order as well. After I photographed the item but before I laundered it i realized I had sewn the trim on the right side on upside down. D'oh! There I was pulling out a yard of stitches, twice and sewing it on again. Measure twice, cut once, kind of thing.

I have made a fair number of hats. From here, I am moving on to lap quilts this week. I sew these kind of things because they please my artistic nature. I have an enormous stash of paintings, hand bags, and hats. Next lap quilts, and maybe a couple of paddle bags. These are the things that keep me busy. Busy is good.