I'm Baaaaack!

Yeah. I had a busy winter. Between school, holidays, and a production of Cabaret, I lost track of a lot.
One thing I decided was to not go back to school. It'd take too long at the rate I was going. Not that I didn't do well (I aced Textiles) or didn't like it (who doesn't love to learn new stuff?), but I simply can't afford to go full time and, since I was starting over with a new degree, going one class at a time would get me done in about 20 years. Please. I got sh*it ta do.
I also put myself on self-imposed semi-retirement from the stage. If I'm going to do this other thing (I'll get to that soon) I need to take time away from performing. Cabaret was particularly physically demanding as well. I would have a dance rehearsal one night and then spend the next day in bed from the pain and fatigue of the Fibro. It's fortunate that I don't have a day job because a lot of cast mates got sick, but I managed to not get sick at all. I think a lot of that is due to my being able to rest during the day.
But now I'm getting restless. I'm anxious to get started on the Next Big Thing.

Tequila Diamonds.
I've done a lot of prep work, mostly R&D and some massive soul-searching trying to figure out how I want to move forward. What is my purpose? My Mission Statement? One thing I know is that I want to take one thing, and make something totally unexpected from that thing. That's really the underlying philosophy to Tequila Diamonds. Making the ordinary extraordinary.
I've narrowed it down to a few items (comparatively few, I should clarify). I have the fabric line, I used some of those images and made some items on Zazzle (jewelry, stuff like that). I even sold a Happy Harriet tee-shirt!
Anyway, I've set up a few goals. I've taken pix of some things I've already made. I'm going to set up the etsy site in March. My hope is to use the money from those items to fund my new fashion line made from my fabric designs.
I've sketched and colored, manipulated fabric and practiced my stitching. I'm going to be working as a stitcher on the next production going up at Bloomington Civic Theatre (where I just did Cabaret), which will provide more of a learning environment than going to school. It'll also pay a little bit, so I can put that toward supplies.

So, yeah, not a lot of quilting going on. I'm still pecking away at the hand sewn quilt I've been working on for my great-niece, but no new quilting projects have been started or even thought about for the moment. If the quilting was why you were reading, I'm afraid the future posts will be disappointing. However, if exploring creative outlets and starting a creative business is something you're interested in, stay on dah boat!

Quilty as Charged...

Busy month! Had a table read for a play I wrote (went very well), opened Crimes of the Heart at the Bloomington Civic Theatre on the 18th (Also doing very well, I'm playing Lenny) and last week, through a miserable cold, I went to 6 auditions (and was cast in one of them). Also got my eldest son set up for his IEP at school and found him an amazing therapist. Then our washing machine broke. Tomorrow the new one arrives. I had a load of fabric pre-washing when it went down, so I don't have the backing ready for Lillian's quilt. Needless to say, I didn't get a whole lot done in the quilt department. Quilty as charged.
On the other hand, over the last weekend, I put together the top of the pink quilt and made 26 multi-colored blocks for my niece's baby. I then made a bed runner from the pink/black/grey scraps, organized the other scraps by size and color, cleaned the bathroom, helped my husband replace the mini-split (heating and a/c) units in the boys' rooms, cleaned my eldest son's room and found him a new desk, a table that was made from an old treadle sewing machine stand. It's got a built in fidgit! (He's on the autism spectrum and has a hard time sitting still) I (finally) cleared the gutters, baked meringue cookies for my friend's Memorial day cook-out and designed two full fabric collections for my Spoonflower account. Not bad for someone who "doesn't work" LOL. I guess I really shouldn't beat myself up about not getting on to blog. I still have to take photos of the stuff I did get done, but they are on their way.
For next month, I have to plan my younger son's 6th birthday (Transformer cake - check!) and figure out something special for Father's Day and our 10th Anniversary. And go to two graduation parties. And attend a workshop on how to audition for musical theatre. And have two more weekends of performances. And... <insert exploding head here>

...then I'll have 6 weeks with no shows. Maybe I'll get something done then?