This past week, my in-laws came into town. I had been working on a handful of pillowcases for Christmas, but I realized since they were staying at the house they would need pillows! So the two I had already finished for my sisters-in-law, instead of Christmas presents, became souvenirs of their visit. I then spent the Saturday before they arrived making pillowcases for my mother-in-law and Erica's boyfriend, Zach.
These are the two pillowcases that I made for Erica and Briana back in June. I found the owl fabric a while back at a garage sale on base, the couple was moving overseas and the wife was getting rid of her craft stash. I need to find more sales like that. For the borders on all four I used "leftover" scraps from previous projects or fabric from my fat quarters stash. I think I spent more time ironing while I was sewing (the borders) than I did cutting and sewing. I hate ironing, so I'm glad we installed a TV and the roku in my sewing room.
Here is the pillowcase I made for Darsi, my mother-in-law. I used some fabric I found while shopping for Jessica's baby quilt fabrics back in Louisiana. The scraps along the side pull out the pinks and purples and are scraps left from Kathi's baby quilt.
The last pillowcase was for Zach, who is a Superman fan. I'm sure my brother-in-law Chris will see this blog. He needn't worry: I have more Superman fabric leftover. I'll figure out something for him, too.
I love making pillowcases because they are quick (I can make two or more in one day), they make great useful and personalized gifts, and they help me use up my scrap collection! They are perfect. If you are wondering where I got the patterns for these pillowcases, I found them here and here. I LOVE the AllPeopleQuilt website, it is a great resource for free patterns, especially for simple/beginner patterns.
Other Current Projects:
I am also working on mine and TJ's family trees on Ancestry.com, as well as scanning in old photos. I'm still trying to figure out exactly where I want to "host" all of my photos online--looking for a reliable and preferably free cloud service. Having thousands of photos on a hard drive is making me nervous--especially considering the time it takes to scan them in. I'm seriously considering just using Facebook as that may be the best way to share. I tried Shutterfly but I do not like their setup much at all. Any suggestions would be greatly appreciated!
In addition, I'm working on cleaning up my "memory" box and catching up on my scrapbooking. My next blog will likely include some of these scrapbook pages. I use CraftArtist for my digital scrapbooking--which I love by the way. It means I don't have as much stuff to store in my house (always great for somebody who moves a lot), and it means I can print off the same page as gifts for multiple people (or just send them the JPG). I'm working on going backwards in time and am still in 2014. I have a lot of catching up to do! I use CraftArtist, and love all the features. I have tried StampinUp's MDS but I think I'm just so used to CraftArtist it's hard for me to use another program.
I'm currently working on hand quilting TJ's double-sided T-Shirt Quilt. I still have enough T-shirts to make him another quilt (of his boy scout shirts), and enough to make one for myself. I'll be putting those off for a while since we are expecting our first baby this November! So, I'm working on baby projects. I'm trying to come up with ideas for all of my (many) friends and family that are also expecting this year. I do not have the time to make everybody their own baby quilt--so we'll see what I come up with. I'm almost done with the first baby quilt for our baby and have another cut out. They already have five though! Two from when I was a baby, a soft one my mom sewed (basic one), and two full quilts she sewed. And they have one more on the way being quilted by my Aunt Jenny!
I'm also looking into migrating my blog to a different platform. I have realized this one is not very mobile-friendly when viewing it. Additionally, the customization options are slim to none.
Other Goings-On
Since I haven't updated this blog in a while, here are some quick updates. We bought our home here in Florida and are now entirely unpacked and mostly organized. Still working on finding better furniture arrangements--not my strong suit. We have not started decorating, I'm hoping to be able to paint before hanging things on the wall. But, we cannot afford to do so at the moment.
I have been applying for jobs left and right since February. On average 6-10 every week. I've only received three interviews total. I think my job history of moving constantly and having many jobs in a few years is hurting me, as well as my Bachelor's Degree (I get a lot of "Overqualified"). I hate that excuse, I clearly applied for the job at the pay offered. It is frustrating. I did start one job, but had such severe morning sickness I had to quit. I ended up in the ER twice due to dehydration and one day I was throwing up/dry heaves every ten minutes (including water). The zofran made me dizzy and knocked me out-making my choices vomiting or sleeping. Not working. I am now three weeks morning-sickness free and still looking for a job. My ideal would be a part time, weekday job (2-3 days a week). I was hoping to get more office experience but haven't had much luck. I was really trying to avoid any more pay cuts, retail, or anything that would give me an opposite schedule to TJ. It looks like I may have to take all three of those things, living in a shopping/tourist area. I have an interview tomorrow, wish me luck!
We also have finally gotten our third furbaby back - Agent Zero. We couldn't have her in TLF (strict 2 pet limit), so my in-laws watched her for us while we were house hunting. They brought her to us on this trip and she is settling in nicely - getting along great with Amos and not so great with Bruce, so everything is back to normal.
Jamberry
I am now a Jamberry consultant! If you would like to learn more, let me know! I fell in love with these nail wraps (though, just like nail painting, it takes practice and patience to get going and looking good). Youtube videos are extremely helpful with jamberry! I'm still in the process of completing all of the training, and once I do complete it I will be making my own Facebook page. In the meantime, check out my website at https://sabdalen.jamberry.com/
