A Few Days Off??

I am always amused/annoyed when people exclaim over my state of self employment: " You only have to work when you want to. How wonderful!" Well it doesn't work that way. I have no paid vacations, no paid days off, deadlines to meet, and other responsibilities whether I want to or not - and there are many many days that I would fire myself permanently if I could find a suitable replacement. About ten days ago, I decided to re-do one of my "create your own" type design patterns, and put it into e-pattern form for my web page. I spent four days in front of the computer doing text and layout - and got a bit carried away, producing a monster of 26 pages. Consequently, my back "went out" and I was laid low on the heating pad for two days. Then of course, I had to catch up on work that had been waiting. Finally done, three days ago I decided to take a two or three day break and just rest myself, watch trash on T.V., read, and stitch - basically enjoying myself with no pressure. Strangely, every time I do this, I seem to produce a volume of work - and actually enjoy it! Maybe I need a serious new way of looking at this design business thing. Anyway - what I have done now is to expand on two ornaments I did a while back (stitched) in my "jeweled chains" series and draw some new ones for Valentine's and Easter. This, of course, called for some serious stash diving after I had spent time re-organizing the bags and drawers. Had to dump it all out again and dig for treasure!!

These two mini-stockings are a little bit bigger than the one I have already shown on a previous post finished.
I don't know if I'll ever have time to stitch these things, but I envision all of them in various ways with different kinds of threads and metallics - beads, etc. The enjoyment of this design - the "chains" is that different fibers give them different looks. I have quite a few threads (understatement) from the distant past when I first started playing around with "jewels" - first on Faberge' crosses and eggs, and later on jeweled sea shells.

Next - an update on what I had intended to do on my "days off" - just stitch and finish the new Crazy Quilt ornament and an older "rollie," which I haven't yet picked up. Maybe tomorrow - as I just received a huuuuge package of gorgeous silk ribbon from River Silks, which I'm anxious to try. Self employment is good after all - I do have these options at times. The new "jeweled chains" pieces will eventually end up somewhere on my web page as "e-patterns" - the kind you download, print out, and draw for yourself onto canvas, dump out your own stash, and choose your own colors! However, this is another of my options - I will not destroy my poor back again by sitting here longer than I should - will exercise self discipline and a bit of good sense. (maybe)