It’s been a long time. Blogs are patient. The last two years have been intense. I wish I could say that lost weight or won the lotto but that isn’t the case. I did untangle myself from a 20 year marriage and found out that just because you get the job, that doesn’t mean it’s a good job.

I now own a house. That’s a change. Been paying the mortgage a long time, but now the house is mine. I did a major clean out of some old landscaping. Hung a beautiful chandelier in the dining room and a Rieker fan in the master bedroom to heat it. Let’s hope that the market improves in the next 10 years and I can get some money back out of it. In the mean time, I have a house.

The job – love the paycheck, don’t like the work. Sitting in front of a computer 8 hours a day doing spreadsheets is not for me. I did manage to hang on to my training work and can have up to 4 weeks/year to teach classes. Now that work makes my heart sing – I just can’t make a living out of it. The downturn in the economy doesn’t give folks many options. I am truly glad to be working. I would just like to be working at something else.

Still sewing and quilting. I realized last week that 4 out of 5 days I wore clothing to work that I had made. I just published my first review on Pattern Review. The stash contest interests me and I might join the contest. The big news – at Expo this year I am going to pick up a Janome 1000CP. I have wanted a cover-stitch machine for years and finally got the courage to purchase it. The timing couldn’t be better because Janome came out with a newer version and I got this one at 50% off. Can’t wait to get it; to learn something new and improve my sewing.

Up here in the Pacific Northwest, night comes very early in the winter. I love this time of year and have taken to calling it “The Deep Dark”. Our day/night cycles change so much, but the times of intense dark and light are very short. The change is like a sin wave which has a very sharp maximum (long days) and minimum (dark days).

At the minimum, our sun will rise at 8:30 am and set by 4:30 pm. You go to work in the dark and come home in the dark. People sleep longer and being inside doing inside things is just a perfect way to spend the time. To some, this would sound terrible, but I find it warm and cozy. A perfect setting for the holidays and that wonderful time of relaxation after the holidays.

Right now, we are watching the dark creep in a little bit more each day. By the end of January, the days will be getting longer. By April, day and night will be about equal. See, it doesn’t last long. I have a lot more trouble handling the long days, but more about that later.

Sewing has been happening or rather I think about sewing. I have some sweater knit from JoAnn’s that I want to make up into a Loes Hines Criss-Cross Top. But first there are still some gifts to make. I bought the cats some Meowie Wowie Cat Nip from Over the Rainbow, a great mail order fabric shop. When it arrived, the cats ripped the envelop to get to the stash. I want to make a bunch of cat nip toys up for my friends with cats. Maybe M. can held during sewing class.

Sundays are my day. The kids leave with their dad and I have the day with no obligations. But wait! There is cleaning, shopping and errands, yard work, and the other jobs. I am saying the heck with it.

Sundays are for reading emails. I get one every Sunday from eQuilter and love to browse all of the gorgeous fabrics. Sundays are for reading my favorite blogs. Sundays are for “fun shopping” – my choice, not have to’s.

Sundays are for sewing. Lately, I have been having Sewing School with M. He is a very unique child. Extremely smart, very athletic, amazing violinist at age 10. Because he is in the 99% percentile of just about everything, he does have some trouble fitting in. He really likes sewing school and I try to do it with just us, no other kids around. Last week we mended some of his jeans. We ironed on patches, both inside and outside patches, then I taught him how to sew them down. We did a nice zig-zag around the outside patch, and then did some crazy darning on the inside patches. He even used rainbow variegate thread on one leg (we had lots of jeans to play with). We have fun. I work on my stuff or just iron clothes and help him along. This week we are making his mom a table mat for Christmas using a flip and sew technique. The fabric is picked out, pressed and we are ready to go.

Now, it is off to Costco to get gas and cinnamon for Cub Scouts (apple sauce/cinnamon ornaments for Tuesday night’s den meeting), then I need to mail the rest of my Christmas packages. Laundry is almost done. Did I say that the day was mostly for me? Nice thought, but hard to put into action.

I got to sew today! It has been a long time. The sewing wasn’t fancy (just pillow cases), but it sure felt good. My Christmas gifts are done! It was so nice to iron fabric, use a rotary cutter, and turn on the machines. I love the sound of sergers and sewing machines. To make something out of flat fabric, to have mastery over the process was very nice. My kids remind me that I get cranky when I don’t sew. It would be nice to do that every day, but that might be a thing of the past.

My next project will be some more PJ’s for K. Then a blouse for me. It would be really nice to have a well fitting blouse pattern. One that I could wear over t-shirts for work. There is so much great quilting cottons out there. Instead of seeing quilts, I see shirts. The fabric that I am really intrigued with is called Full Moon Forest by Moda.

All of the ornate designs make owls. Very cool looking. Maybe not a blouse for work, but it is certainly an interesting design.

It has been so long since I have posted and it is time for an update. My “To Do List” has been overwhelming, but slowly I am clearing off my plate. Eating pieces of the pie.

New Job: Getting better. Last week, the people that I work with (and expect so much so fast) realized that no one is training me. This is a new position, my boss is too busy, so I am on my own. That was a nice realization and will make it easier to say STOP! Please rewind the tape and fill me in!

I still have a very hard time with the sitting for 8 hours a day. It seems so unhealthy and un-natural. My back went out a week after starting work. Could it have been the stress? Lots of pain. I hobbled around for awhile, but it is much better.

Training Work: I leave for a teaching job on Sunday. So in addition to a new job, I have still been working the old one. The old job I adore, that comes so easy to me. It really does hurt to leave this work. I will not burn my bridges and plan to keep my business infrastructure intact and look for chances to do some training. I just need to get some vacation days saved.

Direct Sales Work: Still doing that too, but will take a two month leave to figure out the plan on that. I’m just so tired…

Volunteer Commitments: Getting through those as well. Delegate. That’s a good word.

Now to the fun stuff:

Kids: They are handling the changes really well. School grades are up or stable. In my mind that is a key indicator of how things are going for them. S. finished basketball and made the JV team for volley ball. We had a really fun Halloween with 10 teens going out for their last Trick or Treat and one 9 year old. I sent them all out with The Kid’s Dad (he, he). The moms stayed home, talked and drank hot cider.

Sewing: Does making a “no sew” fleece throw count? I have been working on that for days. Cutting a little here, tying a little there. I also have some pillow cases in progress. On the list are more PJ’s for K. and I would love to make some blouses for me.

Once I eat some more of the pie and make room on the plate, I feel like I can get back to the sewing machine. Now that the weather is getting colder the grass will stop growing there will be more time. When I stop working three jobs and there will be more time. Earn some money, get a house keeper (even for one week/month), there will be more time.

But – just when you think you are out of the woods, the holidays start to loom… I can feel them, just behind me. Creeping up, ready to pounce. I try to keep it simple, but I adore January when it is all over.

Whew! I have not sat down for 1.5 weeks. This working thing is really cutting into my time. There is no down time between coming home and running right smack into kids and their activities. It is going to take a while to get everything sorted out. My kids are used to having me at home, so picking up some of the slack is not what they are used to, so there has been some retraining going on (like emptying the trash, putting dishes in the dishwasher, etc…).

Today K. said that they read a book at library called “One Potato, Two Potato” about a family who can throw a potato into a pot and have it double. He said that he would want to throw me into the pot so there could be two of me – one to work and one to stay home. That would be wonderful.

In reality, my job is 5 minutes from home. The people are great. I do feel like I have parachuted into Outer Mongolia, but that is getting better each day. I couldn’t have asked for a better situation. It does seem almost magical, so while it hurts to be away from the kids, I am very thankful to be given this opportunity.

I did manage to get my nephew’s birthday gift done. No pictures, but it is done. So a little sewing has been done. I also want to make some blouses for work. When to find the time? That is the next big thing to figure out.

Wow! This job is so perfect for me. And it pays well. Plus the commute is 5 minutes. In the summer I can walk or ride my bike. I feel like I have won the lottery!

I am sad to be losing the freedom of working from home. Before the job was offered, I agreed to teach another class in November. My new employer will give me time off without pay to do that. It will be nice to say good-bye and get some closure on my training work. I really loved my 9 years at home, but it is time to go back to full time work. Being self employed means not having benefits. One of my biggest fears is not having health insurance, but I will now.

I will definitely lose some sewing time. Or maybe not. I remember sewing up a storm when S. was little and I worked full time out of the house. But then again, she didn’t have all of the kid activities that come as they get older. I did purchase 3 yards of fabric at full price to celebrate. The fabric will be used for Xmas gifts so I can’t say more.

I start on Wednesday, so have a little time to sew between now and then.

I feel badly because I haven’t posted lately. Life just got in the way. Most recently, my computer crashed then rose again when I replaced the keyboard. Very strange. I bought a service policy on it and a “Geek” will be visiting in about a week and a half to replace the power source. I just want to make sure that when I press the on/off button something happens. Over the past two days, the machine did not turn on and later when on did not turn off using the button. Like I said, strange.

I have also been interviewing for the job that I really, really want. Two interviews. One with the CEO and one with a panel of folks that are part of administration. I have an telephone appointment to talk to the CEO this morning. Could it be a job offer? He called on Wednesday, but we couldn’t speak until today. Of course during all of this interviewing a class came up and I agreed to take it (on Tuesday before the CEO called). I just felt that I would be foolish to turn down real work “just in case” I got the job. That will be a condition of employment to let me off for a week in November to teach. I am very sad to be going back to work full time. My time at home has been very special and I just loved the jobs that I worked during that time. But on the other hand, to have money to buy laundry detergent and to pay the gas bill without taking out a loan will be a good thing. I should also purchase a Lotto ticket because to get a class after 6 months of nothing and a job offer in the same week is pretty lucky. I am not absolutely sure about the offer, but why would they call me rather than sending a letter?

The sewing machines have been going too. So far this school season, I have hemmed 16 pairs of pants! M. finished making his PJ’s at sewing school. I made a pair for K. at the same time. After the jacket project, I wanted something a little easier to do, so I made another bag. This time it was the Zippered Bag from the Kentucky Quilt Company. I purchased the double faced pre-quilted fabric on sale (of course) at Fabric.com. It was easy to put together. A large needle is a must. When it was all finished, I turned it right-side out and then zipper would not close. It was broken. After cutting it off, I ended up using the Lazy Girl zipper application which let me add another fabric element to the bag. This bag is pretty large, more of a tote, so losing some height was not a problem.

Current project, a cloth book, coordinating pants and top for my nephew’s first birthday. The fabrics are left over from K’s babyhood. I also need to make a polar fleece cap for a new baby in the family on my SIL’s side.

Finally. Done. Here it is.

I wore it yesterday to curriculum night at school and got one complement. Since I don’t usually get any complements, I would say that was good. It will not be something that I wear a lot. One of my friends said that the colors looked good on me, but the print was a bit flashy. I agree. What was I thinking?

The really big deal is that I finished my first lined jacket. Other firsts include inseam pockets, princess seams, and two piece sleeves. I learned much from this project. Next time I do this, I will use a better pattern. No more MacPhee Workshop patterns for me. My next jacket will be in nicer fabric in a solid. I need to work on fitting too.

Next projects. Some easy stuff. Pillow cases. Baby clothes for my nephew’s birthday gift. Then on to the pants.

I don’t know why I was so nervous of bagging the sleeve lining. I did what everyone told me to do and it came out great.

You can see the lining inside the sleeve. The hem is turned up nicely. I went to do the other sleeve and got distracted. This is what happens when you don’t pay attention.

My daughter was just in hysterics about this and wants me to let you know that there is an arm in there trying to get out. My mother used to say that the difference between a bad seamstress and a good seamstress is the former knows when to use the seam ripper. I am ready to remedy this and also fix the lining weirdness at the facing.

I will finish this jacket. My mantra for the day…