It has been another crazy week here. I still feel like I'm behind on just about everything, but I am slowly catching up. It's all about taking things one day at a time.
1. My oldest daughter turned 18 on Thursday. The years have flown by so fast, I can hardly believe it. She is beautiful, talented, and kind. I am so proud of her and can hardly imagine how strange it will be in our home when she goes to university next year.
2. I spent Monday, Tuesday, and Wednesday at girl's camp. Yes, it was snowy and cold, but we didn't feel any need to prove how tough we were. We stayed at a cabin so we were out of the bitter weather. There were only two very small bedrooms, so most of us slept on the floors around the wood burning stoves. There were several tables set up with different crafts, cross country skis to use, a pond to skate on, sleds to ride and a ping pong table. We let the girls pick the activities they wanted to do and didn't really schedule anything. It was about relaxing and spending time together. I have to admit that I was glad to return home to my own bed, though.
3. The last three days, my husband took some scouts up to Camp Impeesa for the Senator Buchanan Winter Camp. Temperatures that dipped into the -40 C range kept them from doing many outdoor activities, but they had fun anyway and everyone returned safe and sound. I'm sure they are all glad to return to their own beds, too.
4. Did I mention that I am more than ready for spring to arrive? Temperatures are still dipping to -20 C quite regularly. Seriously, I'd be happy with a balmy 0 C.
5. I finally started my daughter's grad dress. The pattern making part of the job is driving me crazy. I just wish the pattern companies would produce designs with shoulders and sleeves so that I wouldn't need to draft the missing pieces in every time I sew a dress. Once I get the pattern just right, the rest should go together smoothly. I'll post pictures of the finished product in a month or two.
6. I finally finished Double Deceit and submitted it. Now the fun of waiting begins.
7. The Whitney Awards are quickly approaching and I'm working on reading all the finalists so I can vote. So far I've read 16 1/2. I should be able to catch up now that I'm finished my own revisions. Just looking at Brandon Sanderson's The Way of Kings is intimidating. That is a lot of pages to read, especially considering how many other books are on the list. I'm determined to finish it though.
So that is my week in a nutshell. How was yours?
Showing posts with label sewing. Show all posts
Showing posts with label sewing. Show all posts
Saturday, 26 February 2011
Friday, 19 March 2010
A Student Again
I've had a few people ask me to clarify what I meant when I mentioned the university courses I've signed up for. University is something I've been thinking about for years, but the timing just never seemed right.
More years ago than I want to admit to, I started college with big plans. Ever since kindergarten I'd dreamed of being a school teacher, more specifically, an English teacher. But well meaning individuals talked me out of it. They insisted that there was no call for someone with those skills and talked me into elementary education, arguing that it would give me more opportunities. I should have stood my ground, but I was still young and easily swayed by older and more seasoned family members. But after one year of this I knew I couldn't spend the rest of my life with little kids.
The advice I received when I announced I would be changing my major was varied, but most of it focused around the need to be able to be a mom and have a career I could do from home. What can I say, I come from a very traditional family and I still believe that is the best option when possible. I entered the fashion design department and discovered I had skill and talent that I could put to good use. After I finished two years of college, I quit school to be a stay-at-home mother.
The year I spent learning behind a sewing machine has served me well, and I've made countless prom and wedding gowns. Sometimes I enjoy it and sometimes not, but because of the area I live in, it has never brought in the kind of income that can support a family. And even though I figured I would be a working seamstress for the rest of my life, the knowledge that I didn't finish school always bothered me.
Over the last two years I have been thinking more and more about returning to school and getting a long-overdue degree. I've had to convince myself and my husband that it is the right thing to do. One of the biggest reasons I kept coming back to was the uncertainty of our future. Several different things have left us with no retirement savings and we often joke about working as Walmart greeters until we die. I always tell my husband that I am his retirement plan. With twelve years difference in our ages, I should be able to work well after he retires. If I had any sort of training.
I know there are places that probably would hire me, but that nagging desire for a formal education keeps kicking around in the back of my mind. I want that piece of paper to prove that I did it. So this January, I signed up for a correspondence course, just to get started. The long term goal is to get that English degree I originally planned on. At some point I will transfer to the local university and get my teaching degree. By doing correspondence, I should be able to stay home at least until the two oldest leave for their own university experiences. Once I get into the groove of papers and tests again, I'll do more than one course at a time, but for now this one course is reminding me how far away those college days are and how much I need to do to catch up. It feels good to be taking action though. I'm not really sure where this all will take me, but it should be an intresting ride.
More years ago than I want to admit to, I started college with big plans. Ever since kindergarten I'd dreamed of being a school teacher, more specifically, an English teacher. But well meaning individuals talked me out of it. They insisted that there was no call for someone with those skills and talked me into elementary education, arguing that it would give me more opportunities. I should have stood my ground, but I was still young and easily swayed by older and more seasoned family members. But after one year of this I knew I couldn't spend the rest of my life with little kids.
The advice I received when I announced I would be changing my major was varied, but most of it focused around the need to be able to be a mom and have a career I could do from home. What can I say, I come from a very traditional family and I still believe that is the best option when possible. I entered the fashion design department and discovered I had skill and talent that I could put to good use. After I finished two years of college, I quit school to be a stay-at-home mother.
The year I spent learning behind a sewing machine has served me well, and I've made countless prom and wedding gowns. Sometimes I enjoy it and sometimes not, but because of the area I live in, it has never brought in the kind of income that can support a family. And even though I figured I would be a working seamstress for the rest of my life, the knowledge that I didn't finish school always bothered me.
Over the last two years I have been thinking more and more about returning to school and getting a long-overdue degree. I've had to convince myself and my husband that it is the right thing to do. One of the biggest reasons I kept coming back to was the uncertainty of our future. Several different things have left us with no retirement savings and we often joke about working as Walmart greeters until we die. I always tell my husband that I am his retirement plan. With twelve years difference in our ages, I should be able to work well after he retires. If I had any sort of training.
I know there are places that probably would hire me, but that nagging desire for a formal education keeps kicking around in the back of my mind. I want that piece of paper to prove that I did it. So this January, I signed up for a correspondence course, just to get started. The long term goal is to get that English degree I originally planned on. At some point I will transfer to the local university and get my teaching degree. By doing correspondence, I should be able to stay home at least until the two oldest leave for their own university experiences. Once I get into the groove of papers and tests again, I'll do more than one course at a time, but for now this one course is reminding me how far away those college days are and how much I need to do to catch up. It feels good to be taking action though. I'm not really sure where this all will take me, but it should be an intresting ride.
Friday, 2 January 2009
As Promised...
I mentioned early in December that I would post pictures of my projects. So here is where my creative energies went for the last month...
Handmade books for friends and family. This was the first time I'd tried this technique and I'm addicted. They are so much fun and fairly quick to do. And the possibilities are endless. I learned how from this blog. I think I may make a bigger one for all my blog posts from 2007 and another one for my posts from 2008. I been wanting to print them off as a sort of journal, but wanted to find some other way to store them than in a binder.
Another project was Christmas dresses for the girls. I don't do this every year, but they both needed something new. I thought it wouldn't be so complicated when I first mentioned it as they both tend to go with simple styles and fabrics. Imagine my surprise when they both wanted fancy this year. My older daughter picked this style. The jacket is out of sari fabric - satin with gold threads woven in, and the dress is chiffon lined with crepe-back satin. Let's just say shifty and slippery, but the final product turned out quiet nice. She looks so grown up and beautiful in it.
Without knowing what her sister picked, my younger daughter decided on a jacket as well. She loved this shiny blue fabric I had, so her dress hardly cost me anything. The blue was just too much for me, so I broke it up a bit with some silk ribbon embroidery and swarovski crystals across the front of the dress. With only a little stress I managed to get both dresses done to be worn the Sunday before Christmas.
The next things that had to be done were the things for my brother's family. We rotate families every year and so I got to sew for them. The girls and I decided to make the gifts for my niece and nephew to use up some of the things we had around the house. The leopard was fun and so soft that I almost had to make another one to keep at the house for my own kids. I also made the bookmark to go in one of the handmade books for my sister-in-law. I haven't done a lot of embroidery in some time, but even when I stressed a little over cutting fabric threads (and accidentally did cut one and had to reweave the fabric) it was relaxing and I remembered how much I enjoy doing it. The actual bookmark is only about 2 inches wide and 6 inches long. There's better detail if you click on the picture.
The last things I had to finish were the pajama pants for one of my girls and the robe for my son. I stayed up until 2:30 am the night before Christmas eve to finish them. I'm not as young as I used to be I guess. In college I would do all-nighters all the time to get school work done, but that late night really set me back. I did get a nice nap the next afternoon while my husband was setting up the tables for Christmas dinner.
I had fun doing all this. Making things with my hands has always brought me great pleasure. My only complaint is that people don't say thank you for anything anymore. So many times we give gifts and then wait to hear if the recipient liked it or if it was just another gift that got lost in the shuffle of Christmas. Of course, we don't give just to have people tell us how wonderful we are, but it would be nice if people remembered the basics of good manners and did the whole thank you thing.
I sometimes wonder if it is because we all receive too much. When I had my kids call their grandparents to thank them for the Christmas gifts, they had to get it straight in their heads who gave them what. When people received less maybe they appreciated it more. Anyway, most of the things I made I will never see again, never really know if the person received them and certainly never know if they liked it or not. It doesn't change anything. Next year I'll make myself busy with projects again, because I love doing it.
Of course, I'm starting out with all sorts of good intentions to get going in January, but with renewed focus on writing, several prom dresses to sew and sewing for my daughters ballet classes spring recital, I'll most likely be frantic next December as well. What's December without a few late nights anyway?
P.S. My husband noticed in the pictures that the girls had blank faces. He's wondering what side of the family that comes from.
Handmade books for friends and family. This was the first time I'd tried this technique and I'm addicted. They are so much fun and fairly quick to do. And the possibilities are endless. I learned how from this blog. I think I may make a bigger one for all my blog posts from 2007 and another one for my posts from 2008. I been wanting to print them off as a sort of journal, but wanted to find some other way to store them than in a binder.
Another project was Christmas dresses for the girls. I don't do this every year, but they both needed something new. I thought it wouldn't be so complicated when I first mentioned it as they both tend to go with simple styles and fabrics. Imagine my surprise when they both wanted fancy this year. My older daughter picked this style. The jacket is out of sari fabric - satin with gold threads woven in, and the dress is chiffon lined with crepe-back satin. Let's just say shifty and slippery, but the final product turned out quiet nice. She looks so grown up and beautiful in it.
Without knowing what her sister picked, my younger daughter decided on a jacket as well. She loved this shiny blue fabric I had, so her dress hardly cost me anything. The blue was just too much for me, so I broke it up a bit with some silk ribbon embroidery and swarovski crystals across the front of the dress. With only a little stress I managed to get both dresses done to be worn the Sunday before Christmas.
The next things that had to be done were the things for my brother's family. We rotate families every year and so I got to sew for them. The girls and I decided to make the gifts for my niece and nephew to use up some of the things we had around the house. The leopard was fun and so soft that I almost had to make another one to keep at the house for my own kids. I also made the bookmark to go in one of the handmade books for my sister-in-law. I haven't done a lot of embroidery in some time, but even when I stressed a little over cutting fabric threads (and accidentally did cut one and had to reweave the fabric) it was relaxing and I remembered how much I enjoy doing it. The actual bookmark is only about 2 inches wide and 6 inches long. There's better detail if you click on the picture.
The last things I had to finish were the pajama pants for one of my girls and the robe for my son. I stayed up until 2:30 am the night before Christmas eve to finish them. I'm not as young as I used to be I guess. In college I would do all-nighters all the time to get school work done, but that late night really set me back. I did get a nice nap the next afternoon while my husband was setting up the tables for Christmas dinner.
I had fun doing all this. Making things with my hands has always brought me great pleasure. My only complaint is that people don't say thank you for anything anymore. So many times we give gifts and then wait to hear if the recipient liked it or if it was just another gift that got lost in the shuffle of Christmas. Of course, we don't give just to have people tell us how wonderful we are, but it would be nice if people remembered the basics of good manners and did the whole thank you thing.
I sometimes wonder if it is because we all receive too much. When I had my kids call their grandparents to thank them for the Christmas gifts, they had to get it straight in their heads who gave them what. When people received less maybe they appreciated it more. Anyway, most of the things I made I will never see again, never really know if the person received them and certainly never know if they liked it or not. It doesn't change anything. Next year I'll make myself busy with projects again, because I love doing it.
Of course, I'm starting out with all sorts of good intentions to get going in January, but with renewed focus on writing, several prom dresses to sew and sewing for my daughters ballet classes spring recital, I'll most likely be frantic next December as well. What's December without a few late nights anyway?
P.S. My husband noticed in the pictures that the girls had blank faces. He's wondering what side of the family that comes from.
Thursday, 9 October 2008
How to Focus but Not Too Much
Do you ever have those days when you want to do everything but what you should be doing? There are so many things I could do in a day and so many of them are good things. But I have a 250 page manuscript that needs editing and a primary program to edit. Instead I want to go sew.
I think a huge part of the problem lies in my ability to become completely immersed in a project. Whatever I start doing I probably won't put away until it's done or a child starts begging for food. This has served me well when I am under deadlines for prom dresses or writing submissions, but the self-imposed deadlines I have right now aren't nearly as motivating as those set by someone else.
There are days when I wonder if investing in a timer might be wise. Maybe if I give myself an hour to do something and then when the timer goes off, I can move to the next task. (The timer is necessary because otherwise I'm bound to lose track of time.) I think this could be good for the quality of the things I work on as well. If I stop sewing before my back gets sore and my wrist goes numb the sewing project is sure to look more professional. If I stop writing before my brain goes fuzzy and I fall asleep at the keyboard I would probably need to make fewer corrections.
Since I'm so good at focusing on one thing, it seems a little counter-productive to try to learn not to focus as much. Hopefully more will get done and I can do more of the things that pull me every which way. How do you divide your time among all the things you need to get done in a day?
I think a huge part of the problem lies in my ability to become completely immersed in a project. Whatever I start doing I probably won't put away until it's done or a child starts begging for food. This has served me well when I am under deadlines for prom dresses or writing submissions, but the self-imposed deadlines I have right now aren't nearly as motivating as those set by someone else.
There are days when I wonder if investing in a timer might be wise. Maybe if I give myself an hour to do something and then when the timer goes off, I can move to the next task. (The timer is necessary because otherwise I'm bound to lose track of time.) I think this could be good for the quality of the things I work on as well. If I stop sewing before my back gets sore and my wrist goes numb the sewing project is sure to look more professional. If I stop writing before my brain goes fuzzy and I fall asleep at the keyboard I would probably need to make fewer corrections.
Since I'm so good at focusing on one thing, it seems a little counter-productive to try to learn not to focus as much. Hopefully more will get done and I can do more of the things that pull me every which way. How do you divide your time among all the things you need to get done in a day?
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