Long term temping

It is rather strange to be sitting in someone else's seat while they are out on medical leave. On one hand you wish them the very best and on the other, you are hoping that they will be out for an indefinite amount of time. In my case, I am looking at being in this chair for three to five weeks for this position and possibly sitting in another seat for an additional five to seven weeks. It means that someone else is looking at going out on medical leave due to surgery.

The person going for surgery does not have a date given as of yet and is under a lot of stress due to everything that goes on within her life. I feel sympathy for her as the dr sprung the news on her in a way that has her very uptight about what is going on with her body. She did not get a lot of explination about what level of surgery she is going to go thru and that is adding to her stress.

All that to say that I have been busy at work... though today the computer system that I work on more often than not, is down, so I am at a loss...

As for my sewing...

this is sort of what the totes for the kiddo's are going to look like... right now they are in pieces. I am going to only take these with me tonight to FUF so that I can get them done!!! Tomorrow I am off to a class given by the speaker at the guild meeting this past Tuesday night. It is to make a Kaleidoscope block. Something along the lines of the red and white one... but I do like the other one... I think that I need to check them out...

I'll need to remember my camera to take some pictures during class tomorrow.

In the meantime it is back to work...

Thank you for stopping by :) Ciao for now!!!

J :)

Sunday Open Studio

I love the 4th Sunday of the month Open Studio at Quilter's Way in Concord, MA! It's 5 hours of stichin' and bitchin' with friends! What a way to spend the afternoon. :) I have missed going as it is was one of the those items cut from the budget when I was unemployed last year. But we are off to go sew/quilt/laugh the afternoon away!

I am hoping to work on my jackets, the totes for the kiddo's, make binding for the baby quilt, and finish fussy cutting the other two baby quilts I started at FUF  this past week.

The camera is back, so I plan to take some pictures at Open Studio... but I didn't... I forgot to bring the camera with me to Open Studio. Ah well it was a great time! There where seven of us in Open Studio today. We all where doing very different projects.

I brought a few projects to work on that I have been trying to get done. Fussy cutting a couple of baby quilts, cut the crayon tote fabric, cut the sleeves of hubby's favorite shirt from long sleeve to short sleeve (the elbow had worn thru), and pinned the sides of one of the sweatshirt jacket that I had started in December.

It is great to be able to spend a block of time just cutting. It was wonderful to be able to just do the preparation to just sew over the next few days. So, I am off to sit with my sewing machine at home, as I did not sit with my sewing machine at Open Studio. :)

Thanks for stopping by :) Ciao for now!

J :)

busy... busy... busy...

It is rather amazing how busy I have gotten now that I am working full time. I think this is the reason that I had thought that I would love a part-time or 3/4 time position. That way I would be able to keep up with the sewing/quilting/blogging items that I love and work to support these habits... Nice thought, just didn't work out that way ... so far.

It looks like I will only be in this position for another (maybe) six weeks as the person who is out sick is undergoing an operation today. I hope that she comes thru very well and that her recuperation is smooth. Of course I will then be looking for work once again when that happens... but we will cross that bridge when the time comes. In the meantime I am enjoying myself doing what I'm learning about here.

I need to start planning a few baby quilts this week and finish off the art totes for the kiddo's before the new baby is here on the 3rd of April.

On that note I need to get back to work as my lunch time is over...

Thanks for stopping by! Ciao for now :)

J :)

Crazy weekend

So hubby is off at a business meeting for the week. He left last Thursday morning, so it has been quiet at home for the past few days. The thing is that I have not been home during that time... I think I see my bed, the bathroom, and the dining room, and that is all!

I worked on Thursday and Friday, had sewing on Friday night with the ladies. Saturday I was in the middle of planning a quilt when I realized that I needed to be out of the house before 11 am and it was 10:45 am when I looked at the clock. So much for doing any more quilt planning.

So, it was off to my girlfriends house on the South Shore area of Massachuetts (or about 35-45 minute drive from my house). I would have been on time if I had not gotten behind two funeral processions. One on the highway that the State Police stopped all movement on the highway so that the procession could be all together. It appeared that they where headed towards the Cape Cod section of Massachusetts. There is a large cemetary that a lot of military choose to be buried there. The 2nd one was after I got off the highway.

I spent the afternoon with my girlfriend, got her on gmail, twitter, and pinterest. Funny thing that I needed to have an email address for her 1st, in order to get a twitter account, in order for her to accept an invitation to pinterest from me. She is really into Quilling and there have been some fantastic examples of quilling on pinterest. I have tried for the past ten years to get her online with no results. All it took was seeing the wonderful examples of quilling to get her very interested on getting online. Funny how that happens.

Then it was off to my Mom's for a wonderful boiled dinner with her, my stepfather, and stepbrother.

All this translates into not being home on Saturday. Nor did I get a chance to get online to do an update of what I was up to... Then on Sunday, I had told another girlfriend that I would take a ride over to her house to pick up a crib that she was giving to me. I got over there and realized that my car is too small to carry all the parts. Still, I was there for a few hours, spending time with her and her mom, daughter, and brother. I got home and started on the quilt that I had been planning on Saturday morning and stiched up a storm! The top is done, but I need to take a picture with either my phone or the older SLR camera and hubby took the point-and-shoot that I love to use.

So, yes I have been among the missing... but I had mentioned that before. Hope you all are doing well and getting a chance to enjoy the weather. It has been wonderful here.

Thanks for stopping by, Ciao for now!

J :)

Time is flying!

I forget how fast time flies when you get into projects, family, and work! It seems that I am loosing take of my days here.

Work is interesting, a challenge which is nice. I am learning a lot about working within a manufacturing plant. Very different from the wold of healthcare.

I have not had a chance to correct the issues with the basket linings, nor work on the baby quilt.

Hubby is off to Baltimore and Atlanta for the week, so I am going to try to get some work done around here... Might be among the missing for a few days. We will see...

Thanks for stopping by! Ciao for now :)

J :)

Sunday Sewing

One issue with working a 40 hour work week is that I miss my sewing time... I am going to have to follow Victoria Findlay Wolfe from Bumble Beans advise and just play for 15 minutes at a time...

In the meantime, I have been sewing the basket liners for the bassinet for the new baby due to arrive April 3rd, this weekend. Maybe I am tired... whatever, I am making mistakes... so this is the basket that I am making the two liners for...

This is one liner that is correct...

This is the 2nd liner...

So that you are not guessing what I am talking about, check out the two elephants... they are upside down. Which means that I put the end flaps on wrong. I am off to rip them off and resew them correctly... not my idea of a fun time.

I am also working on the baby quilt, I'll have to take some pictures soon!

Ah well, thanks for stopping by, Ciao for now!
J :)

Work Week

So I have been among the missing this week. I have been trying to adjust to being back in the working world. It is rather strange, after being out of the corporate loop for the past 14 months. Though I was only there for less than 90 days. Prior to that it had been six months. Still, I am not even in the healthcare field any longer, not research, not management. I am very tired from being at a 8 am - 4:30 pm job. I am driving to work, which adds to the day, and while it is not a lot of traffic, it is much more than I was doing before.

I was hoping to be able to fit in at least 15 minutes an evening sewing, but I'm not so sure that is going to happen for awhile. I also want to go to the gym on a regular basis... That too is going to take some time.

In the meantime, I am on my way to sewing tonight!!! Yea!!! And going to work on the new baby quilt and start the quilting. Looking forward to see the ladies :)

Thanks for stopping by, Ciao for now!

J :)

1st day...

So I have been searching for work for over a year... Today was my 1st day back in the corporate working world.

I have taken a temporary position, which I am happy to say, Was very nice to start at today.

I will be sewing/quilting on the weekends as I am wiped out from not working a straight 8.5 hour work day. Add to that the 1st day jitters... Makes for a slightly stressed day. But I survived and am looking forward to tomorrow.

In the meantime, I need to get the baby quilt for our new (April 3rd) grandson, basket liners, and a few crayon totes for the big kids done between now and the end of the weekend. I hope to do at least twenty minutes a night... We will see how that goes. Also want to make a mini quilt for the wall in my cube :)

Thanks for stopping by, Ciao for now!
J :)

Slumber Saturday...

It has been a roller coaster of a week. I live just outside Boston, Massachusetts and the weather this week has gone from the low 60's to the low 20's within days. Crazy weather! We also had a dumping of snow... Not as much as my friends in New Hampsire, but enough of a reminder from Mother Nature.

In addition I was out in that snowy weather for interviews, filing out paperwork, and accepting a temporary position. As of Monday, I will be among the corporate working, once again. No, I will not be giving up on my creative side, I have to work within the corporate world to support my creative world.

Now I need to create some clothing for me to wear. :) Such a problem... I am still going to follow the UIU pledge as my stash has to shrink down to a regular closet size. I would like to set up the 'hidden room' that I use right now, as my crafting space. I will really need to cull through me stash of fabrics, books, craft items, and such to create my space.

I saw a 'pin' on Pinterest the other day that really hit the nail on the head. It stated 'Pinterest is online Hording' and I have to agree. I want to aim to have that space as the only space that looks like I am hoarding.

Ah well, time to get up and start the weekend...

Thanks for stopping by, Ciao for now!

J :)

February 29th ~ Happy Leap Day!

Ah ... It's February 29th and Google has a tribute to

 "Gioachino Rossini — the famed Italian composer behind The Barber of Seville"

Gioachino Rossini turns 220 today, or, depending how you’re counting, he is 53 today.

As many Leap Year babies know, your 'real' birthday only happens every 4 years.

I could not resist the cuteness factor of the day with this Google Doodle. I hope you are enjoying your 'extra' day today :)

So it has been a very quick, less than 24 hours, since my last post. Thank you all for the emails of encouragement! My mom called me to offer encouragement, congratulations, and support for both the interview and the teaching the mini workshop last night. Yes, my mom does read my blog... :)  I think it is wonderful. 

So I was the 1st candidate interviewed for the position yesterday, so it will be a while before I hear back from them about the job. In the meantime, I did get a chance to network about my fiber arts passion while I was there. That will also take some time to develop. 

I did not get a chance to take any pictures last night at the Guild meeting. Ms J picked me up and we arrived a bit early, but that was wonderful. I grabbed a corner table, away from the 'maddening crowd' and set up to get ready to teach. As the guild meetings typically start at 7:30 pm and we where there at 6:45 pm I started giving my mini workshop at 7, much like the others. There where 8 of us teaching workshops last night. There was something for everyone. 

It went very well :) Ok, yes Ms G and Ms J it was fantastic, while I did not see everyone who was there at the meeting last night, those who have daughters and granddaughters with AG where the 1st to come over. I think I taught the workshop about 5 times last night. The feedback was fantastic, and I had a fun time. 

I had made the jacket an exact replica of what I do for a full size jacket, so the details that I explained to non-seamstress could be translated from quilting terms easily, giving many the opportunity to contemplate making a garment. Those who all of a sudden had a 'light bulb' moment (eyes open wide with realization that they can really do this themselves) where enough that it really registered with me that I was able to pass along something that is fun. 

 I had cut up a pair of sweatpants and a sweatshirt to make the different samples and the visual teaching aids.  These are the main parts that I had in the box above.

I also brought along a crew sweatshirt, a hoodie sweatshirt, and this jacket that has not been completed as of yet. This is the front...

 The back...

 The sleeves...

Having the examples, the sweatshirts, the miniature pieces done up at the different stages, all equaled being able to teach this in about 8 minutes or less. Explains how I taught it at least 5 times last night :)

So, yes I did have fun, I would do it again, and I would teach it as a full length class if asked. 

I was also encouraged to make a dozen or so of the doll size jackets for the boutique shop at the guild show in October... hmm, while it took about 12 hours to do the multitude of version that I made, it would not take that long to make a dozen over time... need to think about this some more. It would end up on my WIP list if I was not careful.

Now it is off to finish the baby quilt for baby M, who will be appearing in less than 35 days. Also need to finish off the basket liners...

Thank you for stopping by! Ciao for now!

J :)  


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