SUNDAY SEW-IN

Sunday is laundry day at my house.  My laundry room  (actually only a closet) is located on the second floor, outside of my sewing room, making Sunday the perfect day to dedicate to sewing and crafting while my washer and dryer churn away.

What better way to start the week than with a day spent in calm creativity?

While I would LOVE to spend today working on my dad's quilt (Christmas is getting mighty close, you know!), our area is under warning for Hurricane Sandy and the room where I usually set up the folding tables to sandwich and baste my quilts has been taken over by outdoor furniture hiding from the storm.  So, instead, I am trying desperately to finish up my "Memories of Myrtle" quilt...a project I began back in March.  WIPs are taking over WAY too much space in my small sewing room!  I only have a few more feet of binding to sew on and then I can begin work on the button embellishments I have planned for the center of each hourglass.
 

In an effort to conserve my blood supply and my first aid supplies, I hope to use my sewing machine to sew on the buttons, a feat I have never attempted before!  I anticipate a bit of instruction manual reading and testing before I get down to attaching buttons to quilt, lol.

While sewing on the binding I have also found a few "oops" areas where I somehow failed to catch and lock lines of stitching (who knew that was what the dot next to the stitch display meant on my machine?).  It is way too late at this point to make any adequate corrections, so I will fix the problem as best I can...I am thinking a tiny bit of Liquid Stitch will do the trick.  Thank goodness this quilt is only for our "snuggling" use at home!  I look at this quilt and I am amazed to see just how much I have learned since I began a mere 7 months ago!  In addition to learning how to operate my new machine (somewhat), I have learned any number of tips and tricks to make piecing and quilting easier (i.e. locking the beginning and end of a line of stitches!).  I have learned the rules to be kept and the rules that can be broken...all of which will hopefully improve the quality and creativity of my future quilts.  And, speaking of future quilts, my "To Be Made" list continues to grow by leaps and bounds.  I will be dead a good 50 years before I can finish every quilt I have set my sights on!  I can only hope that my version of Heaven includes a sewing room!

So, what's on your sewing table on this spectacular (or in my case, soggy) Sunday morning?

 

SLEEP...or lack thereof...

WARNING....WHINE ALERT!!!!

Ugh...  It's 3:24 AM on a Thursday and I am in my sewing room - awake!  Like many women of my age, I seem to be having more and more difficulty getting my nightly eight hours of sleep.  Whether it is all from hormonal changes, or partially related to my pain syndrome, is up for grabs.  Not that it really matters.  The end result is a lot less sleeping going on!  Gone are the days when my bed was a haven and sleep a destination at the end of a long blink. 

Unfortunately my dear husband is suffering from my insomnia also.  If I am not waking him up moaning in my sleep from pain that even invades that place of peace, I am bouncing him around as I toss and turn in bed trying to find a comfortable position.  As I said, neither one of us is getting much sleep these days...and the poor man has to get up at 5:00 AM for work!

So tonight, (or this morning...whichever way you want to look at it), when I woke up at 12:50 AM (after just 2.5 hours of sleep...grrrrrrr) I decided to move to the futon in the guest room and give my poor. sweet, suffering husband a chance for a good night's rest.  While moving to the futon may seem a sacrifice, I find the futon (still in the upright position) infinitely more comfortable than many beds I have encountered while traveling.  So all should be right with my world and I should be sailing off to dreamland with ease.  Right?  Wrong.  You see, I have sleep apnea and use a CPAP machine to keep me breathing regularly while I sleep.  Although the CPAP machine computer proves I am the "poster child for CPAP use with 100% compliance" (my doctor's words, lol), I figured one night of not using the machine wouldn't do me too much harm.  But, after six years of nightly CPAP usage I have discovered it is totally impossible for me to doze off without the constant flow of air!  I could go back into my bedroom and disconnect my machine and bring it into the guest room...but that is absolutely certain to wake hubby and then there is a strong possibility he would be unable to get back to sleep for the remainder of his night!  No sense both of us being awake.  I could try to go back into our bed and fall asleep...but that would likely cause him the same problem.

So...here I sit.  Cold.  Exhausted. And BORED OUT OF MY MIND!  I have checked my emails numerous times, visited all of my favorite blogs, spent hours on Pinterest and have finally decided to spend a few minutes grouching and griping here on my blog.  Remember, I did warn you this was going to be an honest account of the ups AND downs of my life, lol.

I guess there is only one thing to do...head back to the guest room futon, snuggle back down under my warm denim quilt and mentally plan my "To Do" list...until my hubby is awake and I can crawl back into bed and collapse.  First thing on my mental ToDo List...buy a backup CPAP machine for the guest room! Or better yet, see if I can have my extra, very old machine reprogrammed to my current flow setting.  Yes, definitely a more frugal way to go.  Here's hoping there is a "free" fix to my problem and future sleepless nights are cut down to a minimum. 

Sleep well my friends!

MY THRIFTY LUMBAR PILLOW

Between time spent at my computer, time spent at my sewing machine and time spent in my rocking chair resting, I spend a LOT of time sitting down!  Whether the results of genetics, posture, my neurologic issues or alignment of the stars, lol, I have a bit more "swayback" to my lower spine than most people.  As a result I find it uncomfortable to lie on my back, or sometimes even sit, without a little something to fill in the gap.  When I finished the cover for my sewing machine (you can see a bit of it in the photo below) I had quite a few scraps left over.  The scraps of each charm square could easily be cut to yield two additional 2" squares, finally leaving me with only a very small sliver of material to discard.  I believe in getting the absolute MOST I can out of any piece of material!  Fabric is too expensive to waste!  Because the back of my chair is really curved (see picture) I needed something to fill in the space right at the bottom of my back... my lumbar spine area.

 

Using the scrap 2" squares, some FREE batting and stash muslin I pieced and quilted the front of small lumbar cushion.  Frugal, right?  It gets even  better!

  

 I used some more of the FREE blue "linen-like" material I had gotten from a fellow Freecycler to make an envelope style back to the cushion. This blue material also lines my sewing machine cover. 

I made a pillow insert from some muslin I had lying around for eons.  But now it was time to "stuff" my insert and I wasn't quite sure what I would use.  I needed the pillow to be very pliable so that it would curve to fit the contours of the chair and my back.  No firm overly stuffed pillow would work.  Then I remembered a "frugal tip" regarding using "old stockings" to stuff pillows...and I thought I knew just where I could find some "very old", but never worn knee high stockings!

About 26 years ago I was working in a medical office and wore knee high stockings to work every day under my white uniform pants (this was before the days of "scrubs, socks and sneakers".  For anyone who wears stockings on a daily basis you know how expensive replacing torn hose can become!  A local store was going out of business and was offering a 4 pack of generic knee high stockings for $1.00.  I bought 20 packages of stockings, figuring 80 pairs of knee highs would last me for years!

I had only used 6 packages of hose when our son was born and I stopped working outside of the house.  My new "mommy" uniform was shorts, t-shirts, sweats, SOCKS and sneakers! My "dirt cheap" stocking supply sat untouched.  Just a year and a half later I found myself boxing the stockings for a move to our new house.  And there they sat...forgotten in a sealed box....until a little "memory" nudged at the corner of my brain.  Could it be?  Maybe I had plenty of knee high stockings that I could use to stuff my pillow (if I hadn't already sold them at a garage sale, lol)!  After 25+ years it was probably all they were really good for anyway, as I'm sure they would have ripped from dry rot within a few hours of slipping into my shoes!

Sure enough...the box containing 14 packages of knee highs was still there.  I quickly emptied out all of the stockings, mixed them with a bit of FREE cut up batting I had gotten from a Freecycler and stuffed my muslin pillow form.  When I thought I had reached the right ratio of firmness and pliability I folded over the open end and used masking tape to seal the muslin.  I can add more torn up batting or polyfill as needed.   Smiling to myself at my thrifty accomplishment I stuffed the form into my new pillow cover, placed it on my chair and sat down.  Perfect!  Just one more instance when ingenuity and frugality solved a problem AND added to the decor of my "Scrappy Happy Place".

MIA...

Sorry I haven't been around for a while.  I had plenty of good intentions when I started this blog.  I was going to post every couple of days and work my way through the projects I have already completed, showing pictures of the completed items and detailed explanations.  Then I was going to post detailed "in process" instructions, pictures, etc. as I started new projects.   I guess I forgot that the whole reason I am now retired is because of my ongoing health issues.  No, I didn't forget...I just chose to ignore that little fact, lol.  But, as this blog is a way to chronicle the "ups" AND "downs" of my retirement I'll give you a little clue as to what has been keeping me away...

Hard to do much of anything when your body just won't cooperate!  Fortunately, at this stage in the game, the symptoms come and go on a daily (sometimes hourly) basis and I'm hoping this latest episode will slink away to some nasty dark hole and I'll be back soon to let you all peek into the life I REALLY want to be living!

MY SCRAPPY, HAPPY PLACE...

When I dismantled my business in 2010 I emptied out the small bedroom that I had used as my "office".  I decided that the room would become my sewing room.   I had always been "crafty", as my mom put it, though I had not engaged in any significant hobbies in many years.  There just wasn't time!  The only sewing or crafting I had undertaken was the denim quilt I made for my son when he went away to college four years earlier.  And between my proofreading job and my own health issues, there really wasn't much time to devote to hobbies.  I had the "room", but didn't have the time or energy to put it to much use. 

Shortly after retiring in 2011 I realized that my brain needed stimulation!  I had worked long and hard for many years and I would go NUTS if I didn't find something to keep me occupied!!!  I just wasn't the TV and bon-bons type! So I decided to work on making my sewing room into a place where I could rest, relax and pursue hobbies as my physical limitations allowed.  However, now that I was no longer working...there wasn't much money to spend on creating my "Scrappy, Happy Place".   Soon, though, I discovered I could still have the warm, comforting sanctuary I wanted and needed...I just had to rely on creativity instead of money!

Join me for a tour of my sweet little haven as I share my creative, FRUGAL alternatives to high priced decorating!

Freecycle:
Before I get into any pictures and explanations, I want to mention a word or two about Freecycle.  It may be one of the best websites ever developed for all of us Frugalistas!  Many of the items used in my "Scrappy, Happy Place", along with many of the supplies used for my crafting, have come from this wonderful FREE resource!  For those who are unfamiliar with the Freecycle network, www.Freecycle.org is an online site where you can "Offer" items you no longer want or need to people in your general vicinity; or place a "Wanted" for items you do need.  There are Freecycle groups throughout the United States and other countries.  You simply sign up (free) for the group in your local area and then receive email notifications when people place items up for giveaway or ask for items they need.  If you wish to keep your email under control you can visit the Freecycle site for your locale and read the posts there.  I, personally, like to receive an email notification, as some things are taken quickly and I just hate to lose out on an item I really want or need...for FREE...simply because I didn't hear about it soon enough.   If you see an item you want, simply reply to the email.  The "Freecycler" will then choose who is going to receive the item and notify you by email of the address where you can pick up your freebie!  Most times I reply to posts that list "porch" or "curb" pickup, that way I never need to physically interact with the giver.  I always "Offer" items with "easy porch pickup" at my home.  If it is an item that is too large to move to the porch (furniture, etc.) I never schedule a pickup when I am home alone...only when I have my husband and/or son here with me.  As always....YOUR SAFETY IS PARAMOUNT!   Stop by www.freecycle.org to join and take a peek at the items listed.  It doesn't take long to feel comfortable with the process and begin to receive many of your own "wants" and "needs" at absolutely no cost. 


My "Whiteboard":
Despite being a family of only three adults, we live very hectic lives...where days can sometimes go by without seeing a family member face to face.  I needed a way to be kept up to date on my DH and DS's lives, along with being reminded of things that they needed me to handle.  A whiteboard on the outside of my SHP (Scrappy, Happy Place) door would be a perfect solution.  However, I refused to spend any money to acquire one!  So, with the hint from Karen at "Sew Many Ways" that unpainted aluminum works well as a whiteboard, I went searching my home for something of the required size to make my message center.   Inside my master bathroom vanity I found a pretty pink tin that once held a perfume and lotion set.  The lid was about the right size and I quickly discovered that the base would nicely hold my stash of business envelopes.  My new computer station had MUCH less storage capacity than my old office furniture and the pink tin was a cute way to corral these necessary stationery supplies on an open shelf.  Plus, the color was an exact match to a pink and green metal toy stroller (Or was it a ride on toy? Hmmm...will have to ask my mom!) I had as a very young child.  It is probably my earliest memory from childhood and those two colors evoke a "warm and fuzzy feeling" whenever I see them.  Not surprising that they are two of the three dominant colors in my home!

I then searched through the stash of free Home Decorator fabric I had received from a fellow Freecycler.  I wanted to make a "pouch" (almost like a fabric picture frame) that would hold my tin lid, along with a dry erase marker (freebie scored online) and a small scrap of batting (Freecycle score) to use as an eraser.  I made the pouch a loose fit for the lid, leaving room to tuck in the pen and eraser.

Using the remaining scraps of Home Decorator fabric I made a small stuffed heart to hang on the 3M hook already on the door.  For years the hook had held a small plaque that read, "Nothing is as overrated as natural childbirth and owning your own business!".  Oh How True!  But, as my business was now a memory, I wanted something that would express my feelings for my new SHP,... my haven,... my sanctuary...the place where I would spend most of my days.  A heart seemed just about right!

So, finally, WELCOME to my "Scrappy, Happy Place"...where my body can rest, my heart can soar and my mind can contemplate the ups and downs of daily life...with a creativity that has been dormant for way too long!

More of the tour to come!

A LITTLE HISTORY...

Up until July 1, 2010 I ran my own medical transcription company.  I started the business in 1998 because our son's health issues required more flexibility than I could find working for someone else.  Oh, sure, at interview time former employers had professed an understanding of his health and a willingness to be as flexible as I needed...as long as the job was getting done.  And, the job ALWAYS got done (I tend to be perfectionistic and anal about my responsiblities), even if it meant being in the office at 5:00 AM to work my full 40 hours a week and stay on top of the work load.  However, my employer still found the frequency of my son's illnesses and need for rearranging my schedule problematic.  So much for understanding!  I have worked in the medical field since 1980 and can honestly say that the healthcare field has no more understanding and empathy with regard to illness than any other type of employer.  A business is still a business and their bottom line is still their bottom line.  The only solution I could see was to become the employer myself.  I knew I understood the needs of business and of my family and was absolutely certain I could find a way to give work the priority it deserved and my son the priority I had guaranteed him the day my husband and I decided to start a family.  My family was, is, and always will be the most important thing in the world to me.  And so...I took the leap from employee to employer. 

For the next 12+ years I worked hard, routinely working 8 to 14 hours a day, 6 days a week.  At one point I typed 8 to 14 hours a day, 7 days a week, for three months straight before I took even one day off.  The only "holiday" I took off without fail was Christmas Day.  My vacations were timed to those of my big clients and my cell phone rang even on the beach.  I was well known in the local medical community for quick turnaround, almost 100% accuracy, and a willingness to go the extra mile.  The business grew and I actually began turning down prospective customers as I held the balance between my personal needs and the level of performance I expected of myself and the people who did work for me.  Compromise on either front was unacceptable.   

Then in late 1999, early 2000, I began to have health issues of my own.  I threw that ball into the mix and began to juggle a little faster.  By the time 2004 rolled around my health was heading downward fast...and 2009 found me barely holding on.   I had a myriad of documented medical conditions/diagnoses, constant pain from Fibromyalgia, Chronic Fatigue Syndrome and neurologic symptoms of an unknown cause...that were progressing.

In 2010 my largest and longest held client announced a business merger that would eliminate the need for my services.  It was the break I desperately needed.  I made the decision to close my business and accept what I thought would be an "easier" job, working for someone else...a 37.5 hour a week position simply proofreading the work of other transcriptionists.  Surely my body could handle that!  Right?  Wrong.  Unfortunately my health continued to decline and just 16 months after starting my new "easier" job it became apparent that I couldn't handle even a less physically challenging position.  My working days had come to an end. 

On October 21, 2011 I left my job and began my new life.

A HANDMADE CHRISTMAS...

Okay, today is September 7th...which means I have less than four months to plan for, save for,  purchase, or make Christmas gifts this year!   Eeeeekkkk!!!!  WAY less time than I would like to have.  I am seriously unprepared for this holiday season.  But, as I am still learning to pace myself and my life, I guess I will have to "make do".  In fact, the "making" part of "make do" is what I hope to accomplish in the next 3+ months. 

In my family we have all reached an age and wisdom where we really have everything we need or can justify wanting.  When something breaks or wears out throughout the year we find a way to fill that need at the time, because it is, well, a need...and we can't wait until a future holiday to receive it as a gift.  Now that we are in our twenties, fifties, seventies and eighties...short of the extravagant "dream" purchases that we still talk about at every multimillion lottery drawing, there is very little within a reasonable budget that we want.

So, I have begun to think about gifts I can make for my loved ones that will show a level of thought and caring that comes close to matching the love and gratitude I feel for the most important people in my world.

This summer my dear aunt mentioned in passing that the small cosmetic pouch I had previously made for her wasn't big enough to take on vacation with her.    I am hoping this tapestry toiletry bag and matching zippered pouch will hold all of her beauty supplies.  It was my first attempt at sewing a boxy type bag and I am happy with the results!

My dear mom has been complaining about how quickly the washcloths she uses to wash her face are wearing out.  I have taught myself to knit and have completed 2 washcloths so far.  I want to do one more for my mom, a stripe of the white and beige colors.  If she likes them I will make more for her as I can throughout the year.  I am still deciding if I want to knit up a few to give to my aunt also.  I guess it all depends on how much knitting my body will allow me to complete between now and December 25th, lol.

My mom likes to drink iced tea with her meals as opposed to tons of diet soda.  She likes her iced tea (and hot tea, too, come to think of it)...sweet, SWEET, SWEET.  Ick!  Through trial and error she has found a combination of Sweet'N Low and Equal that satisfies her sweet teeth (yes, TEETH - too much for one tooth!).  Unfortunately a lot of restaurants carry only one type of sweetener.  Soooo....I made my mom a sweetener wallet to carry in her purse so she always has her drinks just the way she likes them. 

My daddy dear has had some health issues recently and "the man who is never cold" now finds himself chilly when sitting still watching TV.   I have just started working on a masculine looking quilt in Wool & Needle Flannels by Primitive Gatherings for Moda and a poly faux suede to match his recliner.  This is going to be the biggest challenge for Christmas this year!  Quilts take a LONG TIME to complete and given my limited endurance for doing any one thing for more than a few minutes, I really worry I won't be able to get it finished in time.  If not, I guess I will be wrapping up the pieces along with an IOU for delivery some time in 2013!  I am using 5" charms to make half square triangles.  Today I managed to sew 8 half square triangles using (4) 5"charms and (4) 5" pieces of faux suede.  Eight machine sewn seams...40" total in one whole day.  Gosh, I'm SLOW!

Here is the list as it stands today (and I have been working on this for MONTHS!):

• Toiletry bag and zippered pouch for Aunt
• Sweetener Wallet for Mom
• 3 Washcloths for Mom (2 done)
• 3 Washcloths for Aunt 
• Quilt for Dad (1/10000th done, lol)
• Embroidered scarf for Mom 
• Knitted scarf for Aunt

• Dear Hubby...He will be easy this year as he wants his car detailed, but I am thinking of also  embroidering something patriotic onto one of his golf shirts.  He is a PROUD American!
• Dear Son...NO CLUE!
• Dear Son's Girlfriend...NO CLUE!
• Best Friend...NO CLUE!
• Best Friend Birthday (right near Christmas)...NO CLUE!

So...Where do you stand on your Holiday Happenings???