Puttering along

My first test class is a "go" for the last two Saturdays in January. It is all written, so now I just have to assemble the kits. Getting everything down on paper has left me much more confident about the whole thing. The down side is that they weren't able to get the room I had asked for, and now I'm in a room without a water supply. Should be interesting. Thank Goodness I found out ahead of time, and I can make plans for dealing with it.
There is a second class that I had volunteered for, andticipating a very informal "drop-in" type of arrangement. But yesterday I received a formal contract requiring three hours of teaching. This is a bit of a shock, as I am not that comfortable with my skills in the area. This means spending the next month developing those skills. This is a good thing, forcing me to work and stretch myself.
Stretching myself is one thing that I've commited to doing over the next few months. I believe that I'm just too comfortable working within my comfort zone. Now, I have no idea how to challenge myself, so I'm anticipating participating in things like internet challenges, and working through some of the magazines I've been stockpiling. Machine quilting appeals to me. I have subscribed to Machine Quilting Unlimited, and received my first issue about a week ago. Talk about intimidating!! But when I look more closely, I can see that the pictures are coming from some very high profile machine quilters. Of course, I'm not working at that level--yet! The beading, too, is an area where I've spent lots of $$ collecting supplies--and now need to do something with them.