Learned from watching Jenny's tutorials

Last year and part of 2013 was very rough. i moved to Ohio for my spouse's promotion but I was unable to find a job. I hold two masters and have been a teacher for 14 years. I couldn't believe how difficult it was to get certified and then rejected over and over. I had also had to place my mother into assisted living and travel back and forth to get her settled. Six months after she was finally settled into a wonderful living situation she died suddenly of heart failure. I could travel right away because I had pneumonia and was recovering from wrist surgery. Depressed and feeling just awful about everything I knew I had to pull myself out of this slump. I decided I needed to find another creative outlet because music was apparently on hold for a while and I know God had something on the horizon but I couldn't quite make it out yet. So I pulled out my sewing machine and rifled through my fabric sash that I had been collecting for something... I had no idea what, I just loved the fabric. I thought a quilt would be nice and healing but remembered my first attempt. A disaster!! I scanned the Internet for an day quilt tutorial and came across Jenny's first jelly roll race. This was perfect. I was also impatient and this was a race so I could learn and sew fast. Lol. Well that was the beginning of a new love affair. 7 quilts later and other smaller projects including free motion quilting all of my work, I am back in baltimore, teaching full time and decorating my house and my soul with quilting. Thank you Jenny and MSQC for helping me heal through quilting.

Wow, this is such a wonderful story! So glad you are quilting, your quilts are gorgeous. And I'm glad you are back teaching! Enjoy the quilty therapy sessions! And welcome to the forum!

Such a heartfelt story, glad you found your outlet in quilting. Love your quilts

Jean Anne

Welcome to the forum. You have had quite an adventure. I'm so glad things are working out for you and that you've joined us. Barb

Thank you for sharing your story. I send my condolence, I lost my Dad in 2012 and I miss him every day. Your quilts are beautiful. Bless you for all good things in 2015.

Welcome! We are a crazy wonderful bunch here!

Thanks for sharing such a wonderful story with us! Welcome to the forum!

Welcome to the forum. Your quilts are lovely. Having a creative outlet is so necessary for our psyche, it has such a balancing effect during both good times and bad. My god, sister, during the last few years we could have been twins with what was going on. Very difficult times.

Welcome to the forum and your story really touched me. I'm glad you found quilting to be your new creative outlet.

Welcome to the forum and thanks for sharing with us. Happy Quilting in 2015!

Welcome VKG and thank goodness things have worked out for you. I'm sorry you've lost your mother, that has to be one of the hardest ordeals in life. Quilting seems not only a great hobby but a soul healer - for us all for 'sew' many different reasons! Hopefully, we'll be seeing many other 'creations' from you.

Kind of off-subject: I moved to a new state many years ago (Illinois). I got my masters in speech pathology in South Dakota. My course work missed a few things required for Illinois certification. I wrote around to a bunch of states (this was in the 70s) to find out each of their requirements to be a public school speech therapist. Well it turned out I was qualified in Arizona. I had never been to Arizona. But I went ahead and got certified there, via US mail. Then I got a provisional Illinois certificate, which was good for two years. In those years I took the necessary classes. So maybe you can get certified through the back door, as I did. Good luck!

hello and welcome to the forum from Massachusetts. I am sorry you had to go through such a difficult time,but I am happy you found a new outlet for your talent.