Yes you really do have time to Quilt/Sew…

Time and project management are the technical/business terms for how you can. But what does that mean in non technical/business terms? YOU CAN DO IT!

I have a very set schedule. I normally get up at the same time every day (5:30am for inquiring minds); and then the structured day starts. The structure varies over time, depending on the demands on my time. If there is a large project at work, or church; significant family event, or holiday…those make changes in the “standard” schedule.

There are some mostly non-negotiable items: A cup of coffee alone in the morning, meditation/prayer time morning and night, that darn treadmill or some replacement activity…AND….no less than ½ an hour of quilting/sewing time a day.

Now I hear the humph chorus all together saying—“yeah, and what can you get done in half an hour!” A LOT!  One half hour a day is forward progress. Forward progress is a good thing—and even seam ripping counts as forward progress because errors must be cured to prevent future frustration and sometimes project catastrophes. Not fixing them as soon as you find them means more time intensive work –a-rounds or more extensive fixes (likely to require even more ripping.)

In half an hour, fabric can be ironed and cut, or blocks sewn. One block a night gets a thirty block quilt top pieced in a month. All but the most intricate blocks can normally be done in half an hour if the fabric is already cut.

I cut 40 2½” blocks while on the phone for 45 minutes on a customer service issue (me being the customer, who actually had wonderful service from Fidelity Investments-thank you Kate!)

 I hand quilt most of my quilts, so I tend to quilt while “watching” TV with my family. We share the show and I get quilting done.  Remember why I quilt? And the Mystery Quilt is now about 2/3rds quilted, and the Patchwork Pennies flannel quilt  by All Through the Night-Folk Art designs with a bit of Whimsy-Designed by Bonnie Sullivan is about that far in the cutting.

Now, there are times I schedule more than ½ hour a day to quilt. For classes, both those I give and take, and around the holidays. I try to make as many gifts by hand as I can, I want the people I gift to know they are worth my time, not just my money. And there have been times in life, when there was no money, and it has been a wonderful ability to have, to be able to create handmade gifts.

And now it is time to make dinner, followed by family TV time while quilting…