A couple of friends and I went to LaPlata (MD) to visit a new-to-me quilt shop.  I was impressed with the size of the store but not so much the fabric selections.  I did find one collection that I liked well enough to buy for purposes of making a quilt.  It will be elegant and I’m looking forward to it.

Following the shopping, we went to a local “tea room” for lunch and it was divine!  Lots of darjeeling and Earl Gray tea along with delicious salads, sandwiches and soups.  Wonderful!

When I got home, I was just in time to help Brian with part of his project(s) today: moving my long arm up from the 8′ basement version to the 12′ library version.  Yowza!!  I’m in the big leagues now!!  (He is the BESTEST husband in the whole wide world, by the way– he moved the long arm stuff all by himself so I only had a few things to help him with when I got home!)

My cutting table is back in the fabric room and my embroidery machine is on the wall opposite the design wall so I’m a bit more spread out, literally in this case!  I’ll have pictures of the rooms when I’m finished organizing them (probably Tuesday at the rate I’m going).

Monday: Look for Job; Sew

Tuesday: Look for Job; Sew

Wednesday: Laundry; Look for Job; Sew; Quilt Guild.

I spoke with my friend, Jennifer, on Wednesday afternoon and, this is a direct quote: “I had the laundry done by 11am this morning and now I’m wondering why that’s the highlight of my day.”

<Sigh>

Thursday: Look for Job; Sew; Bible Study at night.

Friday: Look for Job; Sew; Watch Movies on Netflix.

I really, really, REALLY need to find a job!!  ARGH!!!

. . . but seriously. Now there’s “sequestration” that’s messing with the economy. First it was the “Fiscal Cliff”. Can I catch a break here? ARGH!!

I started a second quilt at the retreat this past weekend and had hoped to have it done by Monday morning.  That was not to be, however, because the pattern-maker made a mistake in the pattern.  The measurements should have been 2-1/2″ for the center piece and thereafter 2″ WOF (width of fabric) for the “log cabin” rounds which would’ve resulted in a block 6-1/2″ square.  Would’ve been nice to know that before I cut everything according to the pattern which had everything off by more than an inch when all was said and done.

<SIGH>

So I added another round of “logs” and that made it a bit bigger so I’m very glad, at this point, that I had fabric left over.  One of the ladies at the retreat said she wanted my fabric if I had any left over and I thought I would be able to accommodate her but I do not think that is the case now.

Anyway, I should be done with getting it together (pardon the pun) today and then I can get back to quilting the quilt I have on the frame and ultimately, to my nephew’s son’s quilt which really has to be next.

I have spent the last few days at a Quilt Retreat with my guild– fun and fun and sewing and fun!  After arriving on Friday afternoon, I emptied the car and realized that I had forgotten to grab my suitcase.  So, after setting up a bit of my stuff, I decided to go home and get my clothes.  Hey!  I remembered the important stuff:  Fabric, patterns, thread– why did I need clothes!!  ARGH!!

So, after returning to finish setting up my stuff, I chose a pattern and fabric and began to sew my first quilt of the weekend that has since been named “The Happy Quilt”.  It is from a pattern that I found on the internet using a “layer cake” (a precut stack of fabric) and I had to use my ruffler foot.  Boy, did that raise an eyebrow or two!

We had a potluck supper on Friday night and then on Saturday morning, the compound where we stayed began providing meals for us (breakfast, lunch and dinner through Sunday lunch).  My guild had exchanged names and we each had a Secret Sewing Sister for whom we gave presents and received presents.  On Sunday morning, we each revealed who we were giving presents to and then the people giving us our gifts identified themselves.  It was a great way to get to know each other and there was a definite spirit of friendship in the sewing rooms.

Sunday morning lead to several people packing up and by 5pm, we were 9 less but still sewing like crazy. By this time, I had finished the Happy Quilt, with the exception of borders, and had moved on to a second quilt that featured Gerber daisies in orange.  We had a dinner of grilled cheese sandwiches and chilis to which we each contributed a bit of money and shared in the set up and clean up.

I left a little after lunch on Sunday but it was with a heavy heart– I had gotten to know everyone so much more than I had for the previous two years that I had attended the guild meetings!  I had a whole new group of friends, it seemed.

And then, reality set in . . .

I’m back to looking for a job which appears to have thinned out even more while I was out for the weekend.  I’ll keep going, of course, and hope to find something soon!

Brian and I went out for dinner last night because we didn’t want to deal with the crowds on Thursday night.  It still meant the same for us but just two days early meant a lot emptier restaurant as a result.  Very pleasant evening with my hubby.

Back before I met Brian, when I was dating someone, if I really liked him, I didn’t tell my friends about him. I was superstitious about telling someone and then, never hearing from the guy again.

What does that have to do with now?  Think about it: I’m looking for a job.

Nothing much new to report except that this weekend, I’m going to be going on a quilt retreat from Friday to Monday. Not to worry– Brian will be on Lexi duty, which I think she likes anyway. It is “special” for her to have daddy at home and walking her, etc.

I cleaned my office and organized my files a bit today. I actually cleared out quite a bit of stuff, shredding more than I should through the shredder.

Tomorrow there will be more job hunting to do along with the laundry and a bit of quilting, if I’m lucky.

. . . I do have some good news and that is that I have been contacted by the friend of a friend about doing some quilting for her interior design business.  Sounds promising and hopefully, I’ll hear more.  Hopefully, they won’t go dark on me, too!!

I’m not hearing ANYTHING from ANYONE!!  This is just annoying!!  How can I not hear from people when their ad reads like my resume?  Talk about a perfect match but NOOOO, I get nothing.

ARGHHHHHHHHH!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!