I’m sure this will come as no surprise to anyone, but I’m taking a break from the virtual world. At least for the summer, possibly longer. We’ll see how that goes. Ciao!
…since I’ve felt much like writing/blogging. Tons going on, which hasn’t helped either. Moved. Went to Maine for Jenny’s graduation. Enrolled in school for the summer. Applying for Federal Aid to go back to school in the fall. Stressing over bills. And dealing with all the typical things that go along with being unemployed. Exciting? No. But busy.
Today I start an accelerated 10-week course in Anatomy & Physiology I. I feel pretty good about it since I’ve already had 3 semesters of it in massage therapy school (no, none of it transferred). We’ll see how much I remember how much comes back, and how well I do. I’d like to take one more class, Psychology, but I may be kidding myself that it’d be an easy 3 credits. Well, compared to Intermediate Algebra, it will be! (Yes, that’s on my list too - dang it - some remedial work WILL be necessary). More as the process unfolds - no sense getting the cart ahead of the horse. Still trying to sort it all out myself - but there are several core courses regardless of what program I eventually choose, so I decided to just jump right in. I’m going to focus on moving over into the medical field. Whether that’s in IT/Medical Records, Radiology, Physical Therapy, or even as an RN…I’m not sure yet. It definitely seems to be a more stable/almost recession-proof field (though I know there are exceptions) that pays well. I’ll also be looking for work in the medical field while I go to school, as often the hospitals offer tuition assistance for those continuing their education in medicine. And besides, Jenny’s boys both agree that their Mom going through Nursing School has been the ultimate/most effective form of torture they’ve ever experienced (and now that I’m no longer repressing those memories of my own Mom going through Nursing School, I can agree!)…and how could I deny my boy’s that same experience?!! LOL…
That’s about the biggest news.
Older, big news would be the move. I’m still dealing with boxes and stuff. It’s just going to take time to go through it all and decide it’s fate. Yes, we downsized, so this was inevitable. Staring at and walking around the evidence of it everyday is annoying. But, I’m saving some money (almost $100) a month this way and after a time (when I get to the “good boxes”!), I’ll be able to sell some things and it’ll all be fine. Less is more, right?
More later…maybe even some pictures - I know all the text is boring! Want to see some boxes? No, I didn’t really think so!
Sh@ron
The long and the short of it is, I was laid off from my job yesterday. When people (specifically our clients - some of them huge corporations) don’t pay their bills, this is what happens. And it makes no sense for 99% of them to refuse to pay on services that they’ve signed a contract for and which have been provided. These companies are doing well - it’s not like they don’t get paid, so we don’t get paid. To me, all it boils down to is greed and selfishness. Well, thank you very much for putting me out of a job. One that I loved, by the way. Things could/might change but it’s impossible to predict. And hats of to the state of Florida…cheapskates…the maximum you can qualify for on unemployment is $275/wk. That’s it. I do qualify for that, but what the heck?!! And as far as I can determine, the maximum duration is 26 weeks. Wow. Time to reinvent myself again. Honestly, it wears on me.
On the bright side, I had lunch with my friend Daniel today (he was laid off back in February, but has a part-time job he’s happy with and can live one ). The weather was beautiful and it really was hard to feel sad about the job situation. I always seem to land on my feet and I doubt this will be any different. More time to finish the websites/quilts/crafts/writing/insert whatever I’ve started but have been unable to finish! The shock of it, that it was actually happening took a bit to soak in. I’m okay with it. Even with the plans to move.
Yes, I’m moving! Because things were iffy at work, I didn’t re-sign my lease, I just opted to go month-to-month. I asked about moving into a smaller, less expensive apartment but was told that I could only upgrade, not downgrade. That bothered me, so I started looking. It was between two different places, but ultimately we settled on a community that is within walking/biking distance of A’s friends & his father. We’ll be on the first floor, have a washer & dryer in the apartment, it has wood floors (except in the bedrooms), a storage room attached, and I can paint! Pets were no problem and I signed up during their open house, so we got a good break on the fees/deposits, etc. Moving day is April 25th with the idea being to get it all moved and have plenty of time to clean the old place and get the new set up before I go to Maine.
It’s not only the annual trek to the great state of Maine, but my BFF Jenny is graduating from nursing school (RN) and getting her degree. The pinning is Friday and the graduation Saturday. So excited and happy for her to *almost* have this all behind her. And then she’s planning on going back to school in the fall - OY! More power to her!
Well, that’s about it from here. The boys are well…T just turned 19 - has his car back, working lots of hours and trying to find time to get his diploma. A is studying for his FCAT and looking forward to attending high school with his friends next fall (not as much as me though!).
Hope you all are well! Hugs…
the debut of a new weekly sketch site. Challenges are posted Saturday morning so that working folks have a shot at making the top 25 on Mr. Linky and getting the kudos and praise they deserve too!
With that, I’ve decided to separate out some of the crafting news from here to a new site: www.everydaycrafting.com so that I’ve kind of got a more personal blog for family/friends and a crafting one that I don’t mind publishing and advertising out for all the world to see. I’ll still share what I’m doing here, but it won’t be so detailed. Here’s my project for the week…and of course if you want to know more, pop over to Unscripted Sketches or to my “other” blog Everyday Crafting.
We’ve assembled a top notch team of ladies to help us out. They are:
Other news coming soon!
in the world of web design including a shopping cart, gallery, blog and more. Hope to be back to normal soon - whatever normal is! Drop me a comment - let me know YOU’RE still out there…
Sh@Ron
Here she is *almost* finished - the top, I mean. Once I had it on the wall, it seemed like it needed something. Actually, earlier it seemed like it needed the white corner blocks AFTER I’d sized and sewn the borders together, but I just agreed and moved on. So, here I’m auditioning some jumbo pink and orange rick rack along the seams between the borders and sashings.
I think they did an awesome job and really nailed the part. We’ll give them a few days before we call them with the offer. What? You’re not sure what rick rack is? Here, let me explain:
Rick Rack dates back to the late 1800’s…but it seems like it became wildly popular in the 1970’s, when I think it was sewn on everything! Well, now it’s back and in a huge assortment of color and sizes. This size, Jumbo, is about 1-1/2″ wide. I really think it “makes” this quilt top and as Jenny says “kicks it up”. (thanks Jenny!) So, now my burning question becomes, when do I sew it on? Now before quilting or after it’s all quilted before I bind it? I’ll give it a few days, but then I’m going to have to make a decision and move forward.
In the meantime, I’m piecing together the backing. I hope to have it layered and ready to start quilting (yes! I’m going to try and quilt this big guy on my machine). Sorry guys, I’ve officially taken over the dining room. TV trays all around!
Much to do, including a web site/store, a church website…and some other non-geeky, but probably creative stuff. Oh, and work tomorrow…still have a job. Thankful for that.
Until later…
Sh@Ron
I’m proud to say that this one is very, very close to being done. I put it away when I just couldn’t decide on how I wanted to quilt it…and I wanted to practice machine quilting on something else first (I’ll show that quilt another day - it’s 100% done). This is another Pat Sloan design … I love hearts, and I especially love these hearts with wings. It reminds me of the Faith Hill song “If My Heart Had Wings” - the chorus:
“If my heart had wings
I would fly to you and lie
Beside you as you dream
If my heart had wings”
I’ve since decided that I want to quilt swirls, like the wind…just need to mark it, quilt it, trim and bind. (Those are quilter’s safety pins you see throughout the top…it holds the 3 layers together while quilting the design in the quilt. You take them out as you work.)
It’s on my to-do list…and I’ve left it up on the wall, just like you see here. Now every time I walk by it, I’m reminded to finish it. Soon. So I can get to the quilt behind it!
Sh@Ron
I’ve learned a few things this weekend. First and foremost, orange is not hideous and can even be used successfully in a quilt that I would use and love. This zig zag one for starters, and this one for another. It’s all about the quantity for me! This weekend’s quilt’s color scheme definitely says “Happy”, “Bright” and “Cheery”! Second, in order to move quickly this weekend and not end up with a pile of fabric that I end up putting aside and do nothing with it and then in 6 months I can’t remember why I even bought the fabric…I GAVE IT UP - perfectionism, buh-bye! In my BFF Jenny’s words this is a “perfectly imperfect” quilt. But I’ll bet when it’s done, anyone will be hard pressed (except Quiltzilla and the Quilt Police) to find my “mistakes”. So, I tossed perfectionism aside and 1) did not pin anything 2) cut everything out first (sort of…did 3 test blocks, then did the rest…huge breakthrough for me though!) and 3) chain pieced the blocks. It worked kind of like an assembly line, but it didn’t feel tedious and boring at all.
I cut out the 3″ wide sashing strips in the white-on-white paisley to go in between the blocks to make the rows, but I really need to bite the bullet and buy a 12″ square ruler to get these blocks squared up properly. I put one row together, but will wait until tomorrow (hopefully I have a coupon somewhere) after I get the ruler. Hopefully, I won’t have to redo that row, but if I do, I do. Rip & sew, rip & sew.
Here’s a peek at some items and material I’ve washed and have all ready to start cutting into. Also, I picked up some 100% wool the other day. I have some cute, cute plans for that…but I’m saving those for the grand opening of my etsy store. It’s taking awhile to get it all together, but after this weekend I can say, I’m primed and ready to go. I don’t know if I could ever make a living & support my family this way, especially in this economy, but it may make us a bit of extra money and alleviate some stress - and who can’t use a bit of stress relief? Details to come.
Here are the first 3 that I finished this afternoon…(I didn’t want to break my momentum to show you earlier though…you’ll see why!)
I did make one change to the given pattern - I made the sashing (blue) strips a little wider - 1/2″ more than called for and added an inch to the length of the longest strip. This allowed my blocks to be 12-1/2″ which when sewn together with the sashing strips, will give them a finished size of 12″ x 12″. It’s not that big of a deal…but it makes the math easier (for me!) when calculating the finished sizes, borders, more sashing, etc.
Here are all 9:
I tried to leave a bit of white space between them to get an idea of how they’d look with white fabric between them. I don’t care for them sewn right up against each other. I think using more blue between them would make it more of a “blue” quilt, which is not what I’m going for. It’s hard to see the white fabric, but it’s a white-on-white paisley print that I love (I have yards of it!). I had a huge piece of felt that I could put up on the wall for the blocks to stick to - a “design wall”, but I’m not sure where it went to…it’s probably with all my quilting rulers - lost. Oh well. I’ll just have to “imagine” the blocks together for now.
Another thing I didn’t do…and don’t think I will, is to add white triangles in each corner of the block. This makes the orange/pink squares look more rounded. I like the look…but it’s more than I want to do at this point!
Off to post my photos at Pat Sloan’s Yahoo and Facebook groups! And then do the math! It’s been a good sewing day!
PS - I just decided I need to make 3 more blocks to get the size I want. Good thing they make up fast and I have more fat quarters! And here they are…one was definitely a stinker and will keep me forever humble!
Thanks for looking and for all the comments and feedback!
Sh@Ron
It was a slow start… but I’ve finally found (a couple of ) my rulers, my good scissors (with all the scrapbooking stuff, I HAVE to hide to fabric scissors), and rotary cutter. My fabrics are now pressed - though I found one of my orange fabrics had a lot of red in it that was rubbing off. I’m soaking it in vinegar/salt water and hoping I can still use it, but I’m not afraid to ditch it if it doesn’t want to play nice. It’s been inspiring to see all the blocks that everyone is doing…and it’s helped me to refine how I want to put my blocks together. I’m adding white to it, and will use BLUE as the accent color. Thanks to all who took the time to vote and/or leave comments. Photos to come after church. I’ve got 9 blocks nearly done. They just have to have the blue sashings added!
Some strips cut…
3 blocks from part one done. This is when I decided to stop, and go back and cut all the rest of the pieces, so I could whiz through the sewing - it went so fast this way!
9 blocks halfway (?) through!
Cutting them up into 4′ths was hard! (The blue strips make a plus sign in between the quarters)
All cut, and all ready for sashings. IF I decide to put them together according to the instructions. I’m kind of debating that this morning. Natalie over at School of Crafts took her quarters and used them as is for a neat top - that has possibilities. But since I want something a bit larger than what I imagine that is, I’ll proceed as per the directions…keeping in mind the other for another day/project.
Tomorrow, I hope to have a completed top!