The recession has changed the career paths of many people, no news there, and our family has also been touched by the events of the last year.
A few months ago, I made a decision to try to make a living doing custom machine embroidery. I have always loved sewing and hand embroidery of every type, but it is very hard to make any money doing it, since the time and energy to embroider one kitchen towel exceeds any possible profit. My hope is that with machine embroidery I can create some wonderful, one-of-a-kind pieces, with labor and materials costs that will allow me to manage a profit. I also would like to use my creative skills to create my own line of designs, using what is called digitization software. For the geeks out there, that means creating a vector graphic of the design I wish to embroider, then assigning instructions for the machine on how to lay down the colors and what order to do the stitching in to make it look as professional as possible while keeping stretching, puckering and unwanted overlap from occurring.
So last week I spent four days attending a conference for professionals in the "decorative garment industry" learning all I could in classes, seminars and workshops. My poor little head is on the verge of exploding.
Meanwhile, I had to upgrade to a more robust computer to handle the digitizing software and so I have been busy setting that up and installing and learning my new embroidery software. Then last night, the CD/DVD drive just stopped working! Arghh! I had only had the machine 10 days! So I called Toshiba and the only solution is to send the computer back and be replaced. It will take 2-3 days for them to get the computer, then another 8-10 business days to build a new one, before they can send it back. *bummer*
So, to cheer myself up, I decided to work on my doll house, and get the electricity repaired in hopes of making my end-of-month deadline to finish the downstairs.
I carefully stripped all the wallpaper in the kitchen, with a mixture of water and vinegar.
I carefully repaired the wiring in the areas I had identified as having problems. Then, I went to test my work.
No joy. No only did my test light fail to light up, but the fuse immediately blew. *sigh* I replaced the fuse, tried again and that fuse went as well. Four fuses burned, nothing worked. I am so bummed. I will not make my end of month goal and now I have to order new wiring and pull out all the old stuff and start over with new wiring. Something in the old stuff is bad and shorting thing out the system and there is no way to isolate it at this point I am not getting any breaks this week!
I guess being discouraged makes successes all the sweeter! Speaking of success, I have been following Weight Watchers since early November. I have made it through Thanksgiving, my birthday, Christmas, New Years and way too many cravings and I have now lost a total of 18 lbs. Hmm, maybe it isn't all gray clouds and gloom! Find something to smile about!
P.S. Any and all warm thoughts about my venture into a home business would be appreciated! I am scared to death and am not entirely sure I am sane! LOL!
Wow - good for you! I think you might do better with the digitizing, but don't know your area like you do. I've learned some digitizing, but I really hate it. I wish you great success!
Oh - and congratulations on the weight loss!
Posted by: Allie | January 29, 2010 at 08:52 PM
I wish you all the luck in the world! To make a business out of something you love doing would be wonderful!
Posted by: Lisa | January 30, 2010 at 01:26 PM
I know you can do it! My sister has always been able to succeed at whatever she puts her mind to do.
Posted by: Beth | February 03, 2010 at 04:02 AM
What a love/hate relationship I have with these darn computers! It is so unbelievably frustrating when they fail you but without them you can't connect with all the kindred spirits out there and I love that. Having watched from the sidelines while hubby set up my new computer I must say I was very impressed to read about you setting up, installing, digitizing, etc. on your own. My goodness, if you can handle all that a home business should be a breeze! All best wishes to you dear friend, natalie jo
Posted by: natalie jo | February 04, 2010 at 11:35 AM
Jane, The best of luck in your new venture. I know you will put the same meticulous effort in to your creativity as you do in everything you do. Your dollhouse looks like a real house! It is so wonderful! It is just fascinating to see the actual process and the detail involved. I hope you have a lovely Valentine's Day! Elizabeth
Posted by: Elizabeth | February 14, 2010 at 02:08 PM