Hello 2017

Hope everyone has had a great Christmas and New Year. We had a fab time here, but once 2017 hit, so did illness. Feverish and sick is not the best way to be to usher in a new year. But the family are now finally surfacing from the arena of the unwell.

Have you made any New Year's resolutions? I need something to change in my life. My number one priority is to get some purpose. Those of you who know me personally will know I do a great deal of voluntary work, and obviously I also do and enjoy the sewing intern work too. However, making the jump from voluntary to paid work in my chosen sphere (public sector) has eluded me. Over the past three years I have applied for more jobs than I can remember, each application taking days to fill in. I am not even getting close; not even an interview in three years. Feedback is always the same: you are a strong candidate with good experience, but we were inundated and can take our pick.

To say it gets me down is an understatement. I have given up a large portion of my adult working life to raise my beautiful babies, but they have all started school now, and I need to do something challenging. But here's the rub... I need it to be part-time.

So, why am I writing about this on a sewing blog? Sorry folks, I just needed to say it 'out loud' to hear myself think, and this is a space I feel safe in. The sewing won't stop, I love it, but I need to acknowledge that life cannot carry on like this. So what next?  Short term, more voluntary work with different charities to gain more skills. Long term... I don't know; back to university, maybe? Expensive, but possibly worth it if I finally get to use my brain again.

Well thanks for reading if you got this far. I just needed to put it out there to make myself realise that I need to find a solution.  Come on 2017, reveal your secrets.  Louise xx

P.S. As far as sewing resolutions go, mine is to sew what I enjoy, plus to try hard to use up the fabric I already own before buying more!