Back in the Office

 

This was my OLD office (after I emptied it out last year). The cubicle walls were high, and we each had an overhead bin for storage.

This is an example of the new generic cubicles. Lower walls, smaller surface area, no overhead bin. I was told mine would be bigger to accommodate the printer I need.

 

When I got there the cubicle was totally empty. I had to move it all from the car to the office, unpack it all and assemble everything. I put it where I thought it would all work. It took me three hours. I set the printer on my right, because it has a fan on one side and I didn't want it to blow on me, but as I worked it was too crowded and unwieldy. I had lunch and then moved the printer to the other corner.

It's much better, and that big space in the middle is great for sorting and organizing. 

As you can see the workspace is fine. Thursday was my third day working in it, and it will be great. The lighting comes over my shoulder and I may need a small lamp but that's an easy fix. The closest person is in an office fifteen feet away.

Yesterday it was announced that 77% of the folks in the company are fully vaccinated and by the end of June that number is expected to be 90%. Effective Monday June 7 our company will be returning to pre-pandemic conditions. Masks and social distancing will no longer be required, however anyone who feels more comfortable wearing a mask may continue to do so. We were asked to be respectful of other people's wishes to continue to wear masks or social distance themselves. I can't really ask for more than that.

It was very nice to see everybody, and to hear stories. I had not realized how fatiguing it would be until mid afternoon when the CEO swung by and told me to "pace yourself. This is more stressful than you think, and we've all been through it." At 4:00 PM I was beginning to believe it. My boss came by shortly afterward and told me to leave a half hour early. By that time I was running on fumes, so I gladly complied.

THE COMMUTE HOME was everything I hated about the old commute home. Crazy traffic, stop and go, cars jockeying for position in front of me... I had forgotten the stress. My least favorite part of working at the office, is still my least favorite part - the drive home. But I know that, and I know how to manage it, so that's OK.

THE BEST PART... OMG, working AT the office, everything is so fast. Files that took 45 seconds to save when WFH now take less than a second. And if I need an answer to a question, I just get up and walk to somebody's office. 

AND... the IT guy told me to keep the laptop in case I needed to work from home. 

I worked from home for fourteen full months. At no time during this pandemic did I feel like I was being taken advantage of. The leadership at my company took steps to protect and support the workers every step of the way. I am very lucky. I am well aware that this is not common. I have worked for this company over 32 years. There's a reason for that. The last fourteen months were proof.

 

Details and Updates

 

A couple of weeks ago I showed a picture of the wrong side of one of my finished flimsies. Part of the reason the backs look so neat is that I don't overhandle my pieces. I work on one quilt at a time, so I don't take them off the design wall, store them somewhere, and then take them out later. Once a block is sewn together I put it on the design wall and leave it there until I sew all the blocks together. I don't use any kind of starch or pressing spray. Some fabrics just fray like crazy no matter what you do. I was fortunate not to encounter them in the quilt above. 

When I posted about matching the pattern of this fabric for the backing of a quilt, Karen wondered if the seam allowance was sewn into the backing. I'm not quite sure what she means. We all know that the selvage edge should be removed because otherwise it will behave weirdly and pucker. After I sewed the seam above, I trimmed that outer edge away, so there shouldn't be any problem.

I received a comment from someone who said she didn't have any room to set out a jigsaw puzzle. Neither do I, so I purchased a "puzzle board." This one has four removable drawers (two are shown at the left) that slide out from underneath the puzzle surface. It has a cover that holds the puzzle pieces in place when I am not working on it (and keeps it safe from my cat). But the best thing about it is it that it slides under the couch when not in use.

I did think the 1,000 piece puzzles sucked up a big chunk of time, so I ordered a 300 piece puzzle. The pieces of this one were quite a bit larger - about the size of a dollar coin - and when I put the edges together in less than 20 minutes, I figured this was going to be quick.

An hour and twenty minutes later it was done. I'm pretty sure there is a sweet spot in between the facility of this one and the complexity of the 1,000 piece ones, but I think that is a problem for another day!

By the time you read this I'll be working back at the office after fourteen months of Working From Home. It isn't just working at the office, it's getting back out in the world. I'll let you know how it feels when I figure it out.

In Pieces

 

You know me with puzzles (of all kinds). Once I sink my teeth into one I just can't let go. The other night I was working on this after dinner and when I looked up it was time for bed.

This is another 1,000 piece puzzle. I love doing them, but clearly it distracts me from the sewing studio. Actually, if I had a project going it wouldn't, but I am between projects. My dad wants me to make a quilt for the lady priest in his parish. She has been very good to him. I will make a quilt, but I have to figure out what I want to do. Actually I have an idea and part of a plan. When I am done with these oranges I'll get to it. Probably this weekend.

My new cubicle is set up at the office. It's just about where my old one was. I've been in touch with the IT guy about what I need (keyboard, wireless mouse, two monitors, two network connections, etc...) I have started to pack stuff here. And I'm going through all my papers. Clearly I don't need to lug it all back. I'm kinda looking forward to going back to the office to see people, and to have my own home office back to myself.

Time to Pick Up the Pencil

This is my granddaughter in a photo taken yesterday. (Yes, that is the Deco Rose quilt.) OMG! Is she adorable!  My Mother is now in Baja Mexico for a weeklong visit with my brother. My nephew is proving indispensable around the house, lugging baby stuff and getting things off the top shelf that is too high for my DIL to reach.

I'm back at work, and we're in the process of replacing a big piece of very specialized equipment that's been giving us fits for the last month or so. That and the normal "year end" processes are keeping us really busy.

It's time for me to get back into the sewing studio and pick up the proverbial pencil. You can read that post here. It's about NOT waiting for inspiration to hit, to just get to work.

Maybe I'll make some birds. A reminder that the bird tutorial is available here, at my Etsy shop. It's forty pages of photographs, detailed how to's, examples and suggestions to make your own unique free-pieced birds. (Free-pieced means improvisationally pieced. There is no "pattern" because a pattern isn't necessary.) The tutorial is an instant download, so you get it right away.



Wouldn't you know it, but the damn sewing machine has cut each and every thread since it got back from the tech. Go figure!

Advantages

This was hanging in one of the ladies rest rooms at the American Visionary Art Museum. I thought it was fun. Click the photo to enlarge.

The vacation is over, and I am back to work today.