Boy, am I behind again!
I’ve been keeping myself so busy between sewing, videotaping, and occasional trips to Rosamond for woodwork, that I am getting behind on posting.
The days, as usual, whether you’re busy or not, seem to run together, or at least for me they do!
One day I helped a friend do some painting, while another day I did a video shoot for another friend, then three or four days in a row I did nothing but sewing, while working until around 10:30 at night.
Today I’ve got to edit that shoot, while also take a trip to Rosamond to continue with what pieces are left of the furniture, with staining, and the sealing. I’ve got one shelf left to sand and stain, then three coats of sealer to the top and three to the bottom, while a door that sticks on one side needs to be sanded down so it won’t stick, then refinished, while the top of the entertainment center needs an additional coat of sealer. And since I am able to use their workshop to do any woodwork of my own, I usually take a few projects with me to work on, with hope that I can get to them all! The last time I took some of my own projects, I made sure to get started on them so they would be closer to being finished, while I could always finish them at home if need be, though I don’t always feel comfortable any more doing my woodwork, or even cooking and baking at home, which is sad! If I do any baking especially, I have to move my woodworking table since it is in front of some boxes that have my baking pans packed away. I’m not allowed to keep any of my cookware in the house unless it can be put away – out of sight – especially when visitors come! I’d like to get some baking done since this Sunday our Church is going to the Devil’s Punchbowl to join the Victorville Unitarian Universalism Church, but I can always purchase something if need be. Am not giving up though! I could still take the time to move the boxes and my woodworking setup, then put other boxes or something in place of the boxes so when I do want to cook in the time I have left here, I could.
Though I’m struggling, like many other Americans, I haven’t tossed in the towel! I’m pushing myself to exhaustion at times while sewing as much as I can, plus I finally cut out a maternity top on Monday and started putting it together, while I hope to be done by this Friday. I’ve also got another ‘Everybody Top’ to cut out from the alteration of the pattern I have. It’s a Medium, and I made the pattern two sizes larger with the Pellon Grided Pattern Paper, which is more like a sheer ‘easy to tear’ fabric. I’m also going to be cutting out a Caftan pattern in an extra large size out of the Muslin that I purchased a few days ago specifically for the ‘Everybody Top’ and ‘Caftan’. I’m making what I can that’s somewhat simple, though the maternity top isn’t, but what will be good for the summer weather, while quick to sew or fairly quick! With so many folks looking for bargains, I’m looking at many of my patterns thinking what is easy to make; won’t cost an arm and a leg in material; and can be sold at a reasonable markup, and that’s why I purchased the Muslin, which is 100% cotton, and am going to be working on the Top and Caftan soon! I also know of other designs I’ve seen in the pattern catalogs that are fairly simple for me to copy and make, but for now it’s what I’ve got at-hand!
In the background and while typing on this, and working on other projects like in Illustrator and InDesign (a publishing program), I am rendering out Quick Time movies to .avi so I can edit them in Pinnacle since I don’t have enough memory or the right graphics/video card to do it here on my Mac. Once those are done, I can disconnect the PC formatted drive with the transformed movies, then connect it to my PC Netbook and finally be able to edit them, while many are going to be for sale as documentaries, meditation pieces, and stock footage. Unfortunately since my computer doesn’t have the much needed memory or card, it’s taking quite a while to change the movies from Quick Time to avi’s! I got a program that’s a trial version for a Mac to be able to write so that a PC can understand, and since it expires around the 23rd, I am with hope that they all will be done by then or before so I can push myself even more to get them done along with all the sewing and other work! There’s days though that I want to toss in the towel, but can’t! Time is counting down for me and since I especially love to sew, and am quite good at it, plus love to do other things like video shooting, photography, woodwork, designing, and more, it’s all helping me to keep going! My intentions are to be making $1,000.00 a week after bills, while working towards $2,000.00 a week so I can afford a home, and so much more! I may have hollered ‘Uncle’ a few times – like Debbie Reynolds as ‘Molly Brown’ from the movie ‘The Unsinkable Molly Brown’, but am still going with ‘intention’!
I’ve still got those negatives from the Northridge and San Francisco Earthquake’s to scan and create photo books, while also some documentaries, but finding the time to do them, like with the record transferring to CD’s that I’ve been doing, or started doing for another friend sometime back, has also taken a back seat to me pushing my sewing business with intention of it becoming real big and profitable, while continuing to grow and prosper so I can not only keep myself going, but also be able to continue helping others as well through Church and on my own.
I recently purchased three of Joann Fabrics ‘Fashion Fusion’ magazines to use when getting fabric and supplies, while saving money, but it looks like I ordered them too late since June 19th is not too far away! I have given it some serious thought and if I see that I’m not going to be able to take advantage of the coupons by the 5th of June, I’m going to give them away or ask some of my friends at Joann Fabrics if they’d offer them to customers to use. I know I’m really struggling to keep going and can’t afford much at this time – though it’s changing – it’s always good Karma to help others while it always comes back ‘ten fold’ when you least expect it! I’ve even given it some thought about doing a lot of baking and donating it to Grace Resource Center to hand out to those who come for food when it’s offered, but again I’d have to move a lot of woodworking tools and projects to get to those boxes, then put everything back when I’m done! Just the thought puts a damper on my spirits of cooking, baking, and canning!
In my ‘dream home’ or ‘intention home’, I’m okay to cook when I want, while I’ve got others to cook for as well! And it’s okay to sew as it’s what I love to do and enjoy, but don’t have to stress and push myself so hard to get so much done with the thought of needing to move any time soon, or being tossed out to the streets! In my ‘dream home’ or ‘intention home’ I don’t feel uncomfortable about doing video editing since it’s also helping me to earn a living, pay bills, and keep going; or when working on a publication that’s to sell, while possibly creating positions or jobs for other people, which could happen with a couple publications I have in mind; in my ‘intention life’ I’m happy and content while I’ve got plenty of money to help myself while also helping others and don’t have to think about where my next dollar is going to be coming from! I often wonder what it would be like to have the money of Bill Gates, or Ted Turner, or any other wealthy, but greedy self-serving millionaire or billionaire, and it all comes down to helping my immediate family while being able to see my mother more often than I am able to; purchasing a sizable piece of land like twenty or more acres and building an Intentional Community for so many folks who want a home but can’t afford one, or are losing theirs or have lost theirs to so much corruption and greed, while they’d be open to life on or in a community like that, but it wouldn’t stop there as I’d be helping a lot of folks, and as the need arises or each place fills to capacity, I’d buy another piece of land and do the same thing until either there was very few homeless left or the greedy, self-serving wealthy woke up and realized that helping others is more important that turning your back and thinking only of yourself and your money! It all comes back when you help others – I know from experience!
Soon as I finish making the Maternity top and posting it, then cutting out the ‘Everybody Top’ and ‘Caftan’ and posting those, I’ve got to work on a special vest that I started making that’s going to make me a ‘walking billboard’ while promoting my Tailoring business! After that, I’ve been thinking about doing some banners and quilts to also sell, while I continue to think about making more Western Shirts and Blouses to also sell, along with nice dresses and gowns. The only drawback is that I’d have to go to the Garment District in downtown Los Angeles around 9th and Maple to get the fabric there since it’s a lot less expensive than getting it locally, while I could make some really nice, fancy, gowns. With Wedding season coming up too, I have a few patterns to make some really nice Wedding gowns, though not quite the money for the fabric or trip to L.A. to get the fabrics! Am not giving up though and ‘intending’ that I’ll have the money soon!
Well, until my next posting, which I will try not to be so long between posts or updates!
