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Friday, November 30, 2012

Sometimes life just doesn't go the way we plan.  It's been a difficult year, and I find myself in a new lifestyle that I never thought I would living. In addition to that, I worked for for Snap-tite, Inc. (which was a manufacturing company) a total of about 25 years.  The last 19 years I had been the administrative assistant to the president and vice president, and it was a job I loved.  In April Snap-tite was sold to Parker Corporation which was our largest competitor.  And then Parker began to make changes, and my job was eliminated October 31. 

But my faith is strong, and I am confident that something will come my way.  And that's not to say that I haven't had difficult days.  It was very humbling to know that so many of my co-workers both in the factories and in the offices were shocked when they heard the news about me.  And to know that many cried, really touched my heart.  I have lots of friends praying for a new position, and I'm doing my part looking for work.  I'm fortunate that Parker is paying my medical insurance, granted my unemployment compensation, and gave me a great severance check.  So in the meantime, I've joined the volunteer group at the library in town, am babysitting some of my grandkids, and working on finishing up unfinished quilt projects.  Oh, and now I'm a Law and Order CI and SVU junkie!

And I have a new grandson.  Masen James was born to Julie and Travis in October.  He's a little honey and is the spitting image of his brother Max.  The phrase 'double trouble' comes to mind; heaven help us all.  lol

Let's talk quilts.  My quilt group had our fall retreat in early November.  Every year I think Donna and her helpers do a terrific job, and this year was no exception.  The door prizes and gifts were outstanding.  The retreat was two weeks after I lost my job, and it was excellent medicine for a hurting heart.  Here are the baby quilts that we sew and donate to a local home for unwed mothers.  My donation is in the upper left -- charm squares set with white strips.   Quick and simple.  The remaining squares from that charm pack will be used in next year's donation.


Now some of our members have challenged themselves to work through a quilt book and make every quilt.  This is one of Donna's, and I can't remember the book she is working from.  She is terrific with scrap quilts; I loved this one.  And check out the apple box next to the quilt.  It was full of her small quilts.  Every one was a winner.
  
And Mary Lou was working through one of Carrie Nelson's Schnibbles books.  Each quilt was more beautiful than the one she showed before.  And the best part of her project?  She donated 10 of her quilts to the nursing home my mom lives in.  The ladies in my quilt group have donated approximately 60 wheelchair quilts to the nursing home.  I took 19 more quilts collected from last meeting and the retreat to the nursing home this week.  The head nurse is also a quilter; and when I arrived with two large bags of quilts, she was thrilled.  And it's also nice that while she and I were going through the bags oohing and aahing over the quilts, other staff members stop their work to check out the quilts.  She told me that many of the residents have taken to hoarding the quilts in their rooms.  It's so precious to see a resident wheeled through the halls with one of our quilts on their lap.  Thanks ladies!
 
 
And for the past few retreats, we've been challenged to finish up a quilt project using only the materials on hand.  This is the quilt I finished up.  I machine pieced and appliqued this top and then hand quilted it.  My hand quilting skills need a lot of work; and now that I have time on my hands, I'm practicing on the huge stack of tops I have in my sewing room.  And I lifted this picture from my cousing Audrey's blog.  She has several nice pictures of the quilts from the retreat, so please check out her blog as well.
 
 
So there's my update.  I hope to be posting more regularly as I have lots of projects I'm working on.  And one of these days I know I'll be telling you about the new job I have.  God is faithful; He hasn't let me down yet.


11 comments:

The Old Parsonage said...

Hi Mary I was just thinking about you...it's deer season and I remember your posts from years past. So sorry to hear about your company. This economy has been so hard on many.

Yes, put your faith in the Lord.

Blessings of the season!
Leann

Flat Creek Farm said...

Oh Mary.. sending you some *big hugs*!! Hubby has certainly traveled down that road before. He worked 30+ years for a company, only to have his job shipped off to Germany. But, know what? Those 10 months of unemployment turned out to be a big blessing for us in a lot of ways. And now he has a job that really is a better fit for him. Talk about blessings.. another grandchild!! That is wonderful news - congratulations! Will say some extra prayers for you and the job search ♥ -Tammy

Elizabethd said...

So sorry to hear about the job. you sound so positive, and I'm sure that something will come along soon...it may be even better!
What very beautiful quilts you showed us today.

Melanie said...

The Good Lords goodness is at every corner..... Love this post. Enjoy the season....

Siobhán said...

Mary, I have been thinking of you! I am sorry to hear about your job. I can only imagine how life altering that can be. I will pray that you find something even better soon. Congratulations on your new grandson! The quilts are amazing!

Anneke said...

I'm so sorry about the loss of your job. Our economy is going through hard time too. Our social laws are a bit better though.
Hope you succeed in finding a job. You are doing a great job with your volunteering jobs and quilting. Hopefully you enjoy the things you do at the moment.

Plain Ol' Vanilla said...

Mary,

I'm so glad to see your post. I thought something must be going on in your life because you hadn't posted for sometime. I know the Lord will continue to provide for you. Blessings to you Mary.

Joyce

the ark said...

I am glad that you have your faith to fall back on. Transitions can be a challenging time and it is good to know that you are so beloved by your friends, ex-coworkers, and family! Try to take care of yourself and know that we out here in Blogland are sending good thoughts your way!
Tricia

Anonymous said...

Mary, these quilts are BEAUTIFUL! I've missed stopping by lately and am catching up with your news. I'll comment, also, on the newer posts but wanted to say how much I love this quilt. It's my kind of art work! :)

Karen Sue said...

Mary-
Somewhere along the line here, I missed this post where you said you were not working anymore! I'm so sorry I didn't see it and post a note to you. I left a job after 10+ years and it wasn't on a good note and it was hard. I spun my wheels for a bit, then someone called and said hey! your name was mentioned and would you like a part time job. So that's where I work a few days a week and I work with the hubby for tax season some other days and I putter and it is still an adjustment...but God puts you places for his reasons and sometimes you've just gotta roll with it!! Hoping your new prospects are enough to keep you rolling along. Hey, if you make enough for fabric and yarn, it can't be all bad! Oh, yeah, that dang insurance issue!! Anyway... keep smiling...it makes people wonder what you're up to!!

Karen Sue said...

Mary-
Somewhere along the line here, I missed this post where you said you were not working anymore! I'm so sorry I didn't see it and post a note to you. I left a job after 10+ years and it wasn't on a good note and it was hard. I spun my wheels for a bit, then someone called and said hey! your name was mentioned and would you like a part time job. So that's where I work a few days a week and I work with the hubby for tax season some other days and I putter and it is still an adjustment...but God puts you places for his reasons and sometimes you've just gotta roll with it!! Hoping your new prospects are enough to keep you rolling along. Hey, if you make enough for fabric and yarn, it can't be all bad! Oh, yeah, that dang insurance issue!! Anyway... keep smiling...it makes people wonder what you're up to!!