It's not chiggers, and it's not bedbugs (thankyouthnakyouthankyou); I haven't had any new bites appear.  I'm guessing a biting fly got a little too enthusiastic and flew up my skirt by accident (bastard).  Whatever it was, the bites aren't itching too much, though they look like plague lesions due to my allergies. 

Stupid sensitive skin.

I was drawing last night while watching TV, and I found myself feeling bored - and I never feel bored when I'm drawing.  I think I'm in that annoying transitional phase between one set of projects and the next, where I'm waiting for inspiration to strike and my mojo to spark.  I can't start anything when I'm in this phase, because I'll just end up hating it, and since I'm supposed to be making clothes for Bob, I really shouldn't do that to him.  I've tried knitting, but I just rip out everything I start.  Over the years, I've experienced these lulls, and I've learned it's best not to push it.

Speaking of ripping things apart, I'm using part of this uninspired time to rip out and take apart some of the partially-completed projects that just went wrong at some point, and are cluttering up my tiny sewing room - the mohair (oh, and it's gorgeous, but delicate, and a beautiful peach colour) shawl that ran out of wool (hand-dyed, can't find more), the doublet that I decided I didn't like, half-sleeves, etc.  This is, I suppose, a good time to patch and sew on buttons (though it's terribly hard to find the motivation for such a boring task at any time). 

I'm reluctant to do an entire overhaul of the sewing room, as this week (technically, when the boxes arrive, which is uncertain) I have to pack up my office in preparation for new furniture I didn't ask for and don't want (other people do; I was voted down), and doing the same thing at home as I am doing at work seems a bit much in my current mood.  I am not happy about the work overhaul - I will fill boxes when they ask, but I'm not shifting them one inch (they want to whinge about liability, I can introduce them to the concept of worker's comp).  *sigh* At least at home, I can control what my environment looks like - I have no idea what my office will look like, since admin and research aren't always on the best of terms (they're exchanging snippy e-mails as I write this).

I'm pretending it's happening to someone else so I don't have to care about it too much.  What the hell, I can always quit.

This uninspired phase always gets me down - usually I'm working hard on something, because working hard makes me happy (except when it makes me a bit manic, as happened with the embroidered jacket - but I was still happy), and I feel vaguely wrong sitting on the sofa with nothing to do.  But the down time passes, and soon enough I will be working away on something.  In the meantime, I'm sketching embroidery ideas and collecting images for inspiration.

I just wish the insipiration would hurry up and get here.  The waiting is giving me more time to realize my bites are itching.