Back to reality

I returned to JCCFS (the Folk School) for spring break and learned a little about making lamp work beads. Because of the high cost of equipment I will never make beads again, but I must say it was artful fun!

I enjoyed playing with colors and finding new ways to manipulate the glass. Every bead was a surprise.

I intend to make some of the beads into jewelry, but many will find themselves embellishing quilts. I have a collage quilt waiting for bling and I would also like to continue making "Gypsy" quilts with my painted fabrics. No gypsy is fully dressed without tons of jewelry. Glass beads are just the thing.

However, my forthcoming move is sucking most of my brain into some kind of a chaotic parallel universe, so my creative efforts may be a tad retarded for a while.

Why that warning was posted

I joined the Ladies Workout Express because the managers promised to call me if I ever missed an appointment. I never in two years received one call.
I paid extra to be allowed to use all the equipment, but when I wanted to use the treadmill I found that one of the two machines was broken (it slipped every third step, causing unsure footing) and the other one was being monopolized by one of the managers. I don't mind waiting for another customer, but waiting for a manager to get off the machine is beyond reason. The theory behind the EXPRESS is that one can get a full workout in 30 minutes. This doesn't work when the managers are hogging the machines.
To add insult to injury, I was charged a cancellation fee because it was I, not my husband, who was paying the bill and it was he, not I, who was transferred out of the country.
These people are jerks. Save yourself some pain and don't join their silly club.

Warning against Ladies Workout Express

To: National Fitness Financial Systems
PO Box 497
Layton, UT 84041-0497

Subject: Cancellation of Membership


I received a dunning notice for payment of $62.91 as a cancellation fee for this account. Over and above the fact that this is unfair, since my home is moving to Europe and I have no where else to live in the US once this transfer takes place, you did not have the courtesy to send me a bill but referred the issue directly to a collection agency!

What kind of people are you? I thought people in Utah were LDS, Christian people who treated others fairly.

We are protecting YOU from terrorism by working in the US Embassy. Our job (and yes, I work for the government when we are overseas) is directly related to finding terrorists plotting against the American people.

I have posted a warning against Ladies Workout Express on my Facebook account. I will also post the dunning letter I received and this letter on my blog, a popular publication to which many, many people subscribe.


Susan E. Haftel

Wonkie Widers, Take Three or Four

What was I thinking? I posted the picture of a crooked, lop-sided mess a couple of days ago. Publishing my failures is NOT me and I have recanted. Gone is the original article and here's the story.

I took Pat Sloan's crooked log cabin workshop on February 15 and produced a bunch of blocks. Then, I complained on her Facebook page about having taken another workshop that yielded another Unfinished Object. Of course Pat challenged me to finish the project.

Now, you have to know Pat. She can be VERY persuasive (she has the energy of a case of Red Bull and the memory of, well, there is no metaphor for her memory). So I've spent every waking minute upgrading the project and posting/reposting tweaked versions.

The top is finished (see it?) and needs to be quilted. Today's question is: How do I quilt it in keeping with the skills and talent of the OCD quilters I've fallen in with? I have no patience for quilting; I have no talent for choosing the proper pattern; I cannot make my machine stitch

evenly even with my fancy stitch regulator.

I thought I was safe with Pat. I WAS WRONG!

Are YOU my Valentine?

This week's snow event left me exactly where I wanted to be: at home in my messy, messy studio making Valentines.

I found a print of Japanese lady portraits at Jo-Ann's that reminds me of ATCs. I mounted the fabric on Timtex, cut each portrait out, finished the edges, and made an effort to use up some of that bling I'm storing. The featured card was quilted, painted, couched, beaded (via glue), and more (that's when I added the tassels). I finished 15 Valentines and now have to contemplate who is worthy enough to receive such original art.

A couple of weeks ago Mike (husband and employee of the Foreign Service) was offered his last overseas assignment and it was made official last week. We will be leaving for three years in Vilnius, Lithuania, in July. Mike is excited about the Jewish community there and I expect him to start growing pay’ahs next month. I, however, will still not convert since it's a sin for Humanists to take up any other religion. And then there’s the shetl thing...

Housing is furnished (Every house gets the same furniture inventory. We will take a few items to make it work for us such as my entire studio) and is supposedly comfortable. There is an APO in Helsinki and mail is shipped down by truck twice a week. I will be supplementing our local shopping via the Internet, or vice-versa. I’ve read other things in the post report but have learned to take those with a grain of salt, or less, since the people who write those things have no idea what’s really important. Tell me, please, where are the quilt shops? (Thought: AMBER!!! There will be a quilt with amber!)

We do not want to rent out our paid-off house (too many problems with irresponsible tenants and with moving our Chinese antiques that would most likely end up as piles of 200 hundred-year-old kindling) but realize leaving it vacant has just as many problems. We have invited a Foreign Service officer posted to DC to be our house-sitter and are hoping this works out for all of us. If it doesn’t, expect a flare!

In the meantime, I am stocking up on items that will be horribly expensive in Europe. This does not include a specific effort to collect art supplies since I will not be curbing my impulse buying at crafts stores. My legitimate shopping for household essentials is creating the kind of pre-packout disaster that only State Dept. employees can fully understand. In spite of the fact that there is no where to put this stuff, I’m enjoying the cash therapy and can’t wait for my next paycheck to add to the chaos.

Inspiration

"You can't wait for inspiration. You have to go after it with a club." --Jack London

What do I usually do to club inspiration? I journal and blog: morning pages are my best source of complex ideas. I list: free-association shows me what's on my mind and gives me some concrete examples to work with. I meditate: sitting still and in the moment can be beneficial as well. I have a white noise machine that's supposed to generate productive brain waves. I must use that more often. I wish I would be comfortable doodling and sketching. Perhaps I should just do it and see what happens.

I'm going through a tough patch right now and can't settle down: lots of stress, lots of unwelcome distractions. My head feels like it's filled with mashed potatoes; my stomach is on the churn cycle. I haven't slept for a long time. It's very peculiar then that I'm getting ideas without the quiet that I usually need. Maybe my angst is my kiva and the resulting visions will be award-winning projects.

Today I will turn off the world and live without the stress and distractions. We'll see what bubbles to the surface.