To pay the bills, I work in a non-art related
profession. I contract but am a full
time, salaried employee of my contract firm.
That means that when I’m not on a contract, I’m not panicked
generally… I am getting paid (bench time is the term).
I had been contracting at the same place for almost seven
years and I really liked the place. However,
it’s been changing, and the last few months haven’t been as pleasant as most
other were. That’s all I’ll say there.
I knew that I was ready for a change when my high level
manager told me (professionally, privately and compassionately really), that my
contract was being terminated due to an internal change (nothing I did) and all
I could think of was that I hoped she’d stop talking soon because I wanted to
get to my glass studio time that was pre-scheduled for an hour after she called
me aside.
Yes, I have to find a new contract.
But, I’m still employed and I’m actually welcoming the
chance to get some projects done!
Escaping
Hubby and I own timeshare, a points system, and we own a
fair bit of it. Say what you will about
it, but it’s served us well and it gives me an ability to organize and host get-togethers
with friends who might not otherwise be able to attend such things.
Being timeshare, it also means that we get LARGE rooms –
condos – with multiple bedrooms, full kitchens….
….ironing boards (essential to quilting; this will be a
point)….
And no daily maid service (that’s actually a positive)
Anyway, why this is important to me and to art (craft). ….
I figured that my first couple of days without an office to
go to could be a little disconcerting (more on this later). I checked the “balance” of points in the
system and discovered that I had some that had to be used quickly as our year
end is March 31st. Not using
would be a loss.
I’m also really good at finagling the system for the best
possible.
We go to the Wildness in the Wisconsin Dells a lot (Glacier
Canyon is the actual Wyndham timeshare side, but Wilderness/Dells will show you
the property). Typically, a two bedroom
condo is 65,000 points for Friday/Saturday nights. Since I didn’t have to make it a weekend, I
chose Sunday and Monday nights.
·
Our “VIP Gold” status (told you we had a lot of
points there), gives us a 35% discount on points if we book inside of 45 days.
·
Same status also gets us an upgrade to the next
size up room, if available.
My points that I had to use just about covered a one bedroom
for two weekday nights with the discount (had to take a few from the next use
year, but that’s kosher to do).
I then instantly upgraded that one bedroom to a two bedroom.
I “spent” just under 20,000 points for that room!
Reservation in hand, I made some calls….
Ok, I won’t lie…. I didn’t call; it was all over text and/or
Facebook IM…..
I’ll spare most of the planning details – the trucks and
minivans belonging to my companions weren’t long distance road worthy, our big
truck doesn’t have a good backseat and the mileage sucks (it’s for car hauling
really), and the trunk on my commuter car just wouldn’t suffice. Through some negotiations and promises of “alternative
payment” (got with that however you want!), the decision was made to trade with
my OSO Perry for his Jeep Cherokee, stuff four women and enough sewing
machines, fabric, beads and food to occupy us and head off.
The deciding factor on vehicle was that he has a cargo net….
It was used…..
Here’s what that looked like:
My Projects
I brought my sewing machines and several projects. I actually finished the main thing I intended
to and a couple other things!
·
My entry for the MN Quilter’s show
challenge. I will not be showing any
pictures of that yet. I finished the top
and now have to lay it out.
·
A runner kit that I bought at a Nancy’s Notions
show a few years back. It’s traveled to
several retreats with me and never got touched…. So, high time!
See the pink in the picture? It’s actually supposed to be a
pinkish red. I don’t know where my head
was, but I totally horked up cutting the fabric for that. I dug around in the project bags that I had
and came up with the pink… it fit in pretty well. I think it made the runner brighter. I tempered that with the brown binding. That also was my own fabric. I don’t remember if the kit had binding
fabric (probably was supposed to be of the red that I totally massacred with a
rotary tool)
The fabrics for the kit were pretty accurate in amounts and
nice fabrics…. Except for the backing.
It’s a very thin muslin. Beige…
nothing exciting and, as I said, thin.
It baffled me…. Nancy’s notions is a good quality place, and everything
else in the kit was good quality. While
the muslin wasn’t scratchy, stiff or overly sized, it just wasn’t what I
expected.
I quilted it with orange thread. Not sure what you can see in the photo of
that, but I think it pulls it in nicely.
·
Table topper of scraps of the above. No picture yet…. Next blog entry because it’s
almost quilted. Basically, I took some
scraps from the above project, made a small block, then bordered it with an
orange (same fabric family as the brown actually – quilting classic or
something from Connecting Threads) to make it a good size for a small table
topper.
· 25 patch
I've been making a lot with batiks in green/purple/pink and
related blends lately (couple years) and had a lot of small bits, especially 2 ½
-inch strips from a couple projects. I
hate to waste, and usually trim all my leftovers like that to uniform widths
and roll them onto existing rolls. I
have 1 ½, 2, 2 ½ inch, etc, rolls in blues, greens, etc. However, these were batiks, nicer, and I
wanted to make them stand out a little.
I've been compiling them into strips of 5 – 2 ½ inch squares
and setting them aside. I counted them
up and made 16 blocks – 5 rows of 5 of them, so thus a 25-patch block. I then dug around in the fabrics I brought
(just a few!) and sashed them. Originally,
I thought that would be it, but when I laid the “finished” product out, I wasn't
happy… I think it needs more.
And, then, when cleaning up to head home…. Found some more
of the strips of 5 – 2 ½ inch blocks…
Not enough for another whole row….
But too many to discard….
Ok, maybe some people could discard them….
I can’t….
So, I set them aside, and I’m going to see if I can find
enough same/similar/complementing scraps to indeed add another row.
The quilt is four rows of four blocks right now. Each block is about 9 inches, and the sashing
is 3 inches IIRC. That makes a decent
sized lap / crib quilt; another row would fit well.
·
Pink stars.
No picture again…
I made 24 paper
pieced blocks with pink and green batiks and a white batik background.
I’m working on sashing them with black.
That combo could be awful…. Or awesome….
I’m currently leaning towards awesome! I’m doing something neat with the sashing and
it’s quite a dramatic look to the whole piece.
The Players
I name people in this blog.
I’m not giving away secrets or outing anyone for anything, but I am
keeping it to first names. You know who
you are.
Pam came with and brought beading – polymer clay beads. She also brought grown up coloring and has
the most awesome collection of pens!
Anna came with and brought crocheting. She’s starting up an etsy store and making
some very precise little things with #10 crochet cotton.
Judi came with and also brought quilting….
I am not alone!
She worked on a “stack and whack” and I stole (ok, she gave
it to me) a good sized piece of the fabric to make something. She used a black backgrounded fabric with
yellow leaves, red grapes and some greenery.
It strikes me as a Perry color combination and I may try to make something
out of it for him….. as if he doesn’t have enough of my stuff crowding into his
space already!
And, here's what it looks like when women get together and produce fantastic art/craft work....
Friendships
I’ve spoken often here of friendships and problems I have with
people. It’s hard for me, and this past
18 months has been some of the worst in my life. I’ve felt more “Aspie” than I ever have
before, shed more tears, and experienced more frustration with relationships
than I have for a long, long time. I’ve
walked away from a couple friendships, been estranged (and still am) from my
daughter Ana, and have experienced some deep depressions.
In all of that, I’ve also discovered myself in a way I never
have.
I’ve also started “real” friendships with people –
especially women. New friendships and converted
existing acquaintanceships to friendship.
Besides being temporarily unemployed as I headed into the
weekend, I was also ambulatory challenged.
I wracked up my leg skiing (did NOT break or tear anything though!).
This wonderful group of women took care of me. They brought the food, they fixed the meals
(ok, I ordered the pizza one night!), carried things, supported me, etc.
They also seemed to all like me.
That still amazes me.
I got compliments…. On my sewing, on my packing abilities,
on other things….
I got teased – in a friendly, amusing way – for things that
I should be teased for….
I got thanks… and appreciation….
I needed all that.
Thank you.
Wrap Up
Going back to my “resolutions” theme started last entry.
I’m going to write more – soon to come will be pictures of
the aforementioned projects.
I’m also going to get a LOT of projects done during my
employment search (and after too!).
Today was a productive day:
·
I quilted, attached the binding to, and
hand-stitched the binding down on the runner shown above.
·
I attached the binding to, and hand stitched it
complete on this topper:
·
Anna came over and we dyed fabric, yard and some
clothing blanks from Dharma Trading. Hopefully
I will have some good pictures of those soon!
