Three to Four Days
Good day, my dears. The desktop is working again. I am able to write blog posts again and make them as long as I please, with as many pictures as I want. This lantern picture is two spells in one. I bought the lantern at an estate sale. Finally, I hung it on my mantle. I decided to get an LED candle because live flames tend to get hot. I found the perfect little LED candle at DollarTree, but the thing is the exact diameter of the holder. I have not figured out how to resolve this yet.
But anyway, I wanted a few candles for daily work. I decided I needed a candle for writing/creative endeavors. And maybe a business candle, so customers can find my art. I decided the lantern could be used for all of those. Whenever I solve the holder problem, I will polish the lantern and add a few runes. Most of my writing/art is for my shop anyway. This makes sense for me.
I have some ideas about the shop. I am still developing them. AI is flooding the handmade market, offering things that can't really exist. AI usually combines macramé and crochet, believing it to be the same process. Or it combines knitting and embroidery. Which sure, some things can be combined. But it wouldn't be the seamless, smooth transition shown in AI pictures.
AI shows a lot of quilts that are damn near impossible to sew. I am wondering what someone would get if they ordered one. I think if they got anything, it would either be a mass-produced quilt, or it would be a print of a quilt. But it wouldn't be pieced, and I doubt it would be quilted.
A stained glass artist has corrected the patterns of the AI things that can't be made. Then she copyrighted those patterns. She's selling real stained glass art and if she gets any flak, she's going to say AI stole her work.
I think AI can be used as a starting point. It could give you prompts. A skilled artist could use that prompt as the basis for a real pattern. AI can generate ideas, but it can't tell you size, thickness, type of fabric, thread, or how to cut the pieces, or even how many pieces will be in the quilt. I think since people now accept AI as reality, it makes more sense to use it to my advantage, rather than trying to work against the tide.
Monday
Good morning. I started writing over the weekend, but I am not sure on what day. My husband took Friday off, which disrupted my routine. I can't get anything done when he's home.
But back to the AI discussion. I started coloring quilts. I will turn these into stickers. I am debating making actual quilt blocks. I don't need another fucking project. But if people are wanting quilts, and AI can't provide, then theoretically, the quilts would sell. Theoretically. In reality, people would probably walk right by, thinking that they couldn't afford them. We have a horrible mindset of expecting nice things to be cheap, then wondering why cheap things don't last very long. We expect to be well paid for our time, but we don't think other people are deserving of a good salary. I spent a good while coloring. Some people will think it doesn't count because I was just coloring, not making real art, and I did it while watching TV. Really and truly, I do not wish to hussle every single day. Sometimes, I would just like to rest while I watch TV. I struggle with the concept of rest being productive because it's what my body needs.
I made a purchase. I bought the Zodiac mirror from Michael's Bound By Magic series. My store only had one on the shelf. I do believe a few influencers were making videos while I was shopping. One girl sat the parking lot and a few times I thought she was filming me, though when I was eating my lunch, I don't think she could have known what I intended to buy. I don't think anything about me screams witch, but I did do a spell so other Witches could find me. Of course, maybe she wasn't filming me. But it felt that way. I really love the Bound By Magic line, though I think it is overpriced. I am hoping it will get marked down at the end of the season. I refuse to pay $30 for a pillow. I wanted to buy three pillows- of my sign, my husband's, and my daughter's. I think a $30 pillow should perfectly align my spine for a decade. Or at least make me forget that I ever broke my neck. I couldn't justify spending $100 on pillows that wouldn't be used, so none of the Zodiac sign pillows came home with me. I will use this mirror in my practice, though I haven't decided exactly how yet. Currently, the mirror hangs in my library. I do lots of spells in the library. I paid $33 for the mirror, which I think is very reasonable given the size and details. I was expecting the mirror to be much more. Last year I was going to buy one of their mirrors for my daughter. It was smaller than this one and $40 at the end of the season. While debating, I found a full length mirror at the thrift store for $25, so I got that for her birthday instead. I feel like the Zodiac mirror will be used often.
I also did a spirograph spell. You can see the spirograph box in the picture above. The design is hanging on the closet door. I put the spell on social media; I don't know if the spell worked. It is a protection spell, and I won't have any evidence of success unless it fails. At that point, I will need to cast another spell. Protection spells are sort of like locks. You have no idea how many people have turned the knob, unless you have a security camera pointed at the door. You just trust the lock is keeping thieves out while you sleep.
I also started doing water spells again. I have started a decisions page. I speak my intentions into water, and then I drink it. I was doing this last year, then the habit sort of faded away as I got very busy. Water spells work great for me. I think I need some way to gently bring me back into focus if I get off track. I have lots of ideas. Most of them work. But I am inconsistent with my habits.
I just saw art of a book entitled "Astrology Codex." I started wondering what that would look like. I think I will start compiling all my notes about astrology. I'm going to call mine the Zodiac Codex. Hey, look! Yet another project! More ideas!
In personal updates, my mother looks very bad. I went to check on her over the weekend. I thought she was dead. She was very still. Her skin was an awful gray color, and her face was drawn tight. Then she opened her eyes and spoke. It was unnerving. I will be very surprised if she survives the summer. Her voice sounds weak. I have the sense of her slowly fading away. My husband says evil lives forever. I don't doubt she will haunt the house, but it is obvious her body is giving out. I still have emotional baggage. I can't talk to her about any of it. If something makes her uncomfortable, she refuses to speak. She will stare at the floor while she avoids the subject. After a while, she forgets the conversation. Maybe instead of trying to work through these feelings, I should just let them go. If there's a lesson to be learned, I am too overwhelmed to grasp it.
That's all for now, my dears. I have a lot of catching up to do since my routine got out of whack. Maybe I'll get that Zodiac Codex done so I'll have something interesting to write about. Blessed be. Happy Summer Solstice. Stay safe and well. Don't let the fascists win.
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