This'after' picture didn't load with the rest of the post, but I have to show it to you so that I can brag about the fact that this spot hasn't looked so good in ages! I hung up 2.pictures and a poster....all by myself, no less!!!!.I also put away a few tools that I didn't need. Yay, spring cleaning!
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I have been wrapped up in the whirlwind of concert season, and have only been spending a moderate amount of time sewing. BUT! What I have been accomplishing has made a tremendous amount of progress in reducing the chaos in my sewing room. Take a look at my before and after pictures! I've still got a ways to go, but hopefully you can get some inspiration from my spring cleaning. Hopefully this will post the photos in the order that I loaded them in. If not, I will have gifted you with a little more chaos. Happy spring cleaning, and happy quilting!
Spring has finally arrived, and I have been over indulging. I have been pushing to meet my fitness goals every day with my fitbit, even though that means that I am dragging my carcass around by the end of the day. I took my 6 year old to the local amusement park TWICE this weekend (it was a looooong winter in PA). I sprayed 2 cans of paint on my patio furniture. (I had to pry my fingers open because my muscles had frozen around the rattle can.) I weeded a 16' garden for an hour. And today, I drove for 250 local miles, catching up on my errands.
The end result of all of this over indulging, is that I am so stiff and sore that I can barely walk. I had to ask my hubby for help with the can opener tonight when my hand froze again. (It's nothing serious, yet...just a case of sore muscles. But, if I don't wise up and stop abusing my hands, I could start doing permanent damage!) And my hamstrings are so tight from gardening that I hobble when I walk. So, how does a quilter recover? I have a plan that has previously worked for smaller aches and pains, and tomorrow, I am going to implement it to see if I can speed up my recuperation while I get some sewing done.
Keeping the last piece of advice in mind, I am going to trundle off to bed, now, because I keep nodding off and getting some weird typos. I'll let you know how my recovery plan works tomorrow! G'night...zzzzz.... I had a house guest this week, a very good friend who is nearing retirement. We had a luxurious visit in front of the crackling fire, with sparkling conversation and a crisp red wine. We spoke of upcoming concerts and speaking engagements, professional networking, and family gossip.
The next morning, my husband had to dash off to work, but Ann and I had time for a cup of coffee and some girl talk over a fresh baked tray of sticky buns. l essentially retired from the work force six years ago when my daughter was born, and it was a major transition. I went from working15-18 hours a day to taking care of a baby. (For the most part, being a mom is waaaaay easier than being a teacher.) But the biggest challenge was relearning to value myself and my skills without the measuring stick of a salary. Finding a rhythm that keeps me balanced between slothful indulgence and a reasonable amount of work is something that I am still learning. Retirement is a big transition, any way you look at it. And Ann's retirement is fast approaching. As she was leaving, Ann asked me what I was planning to do for the rest of the day. I think that she was trying to imagine what her life will be like in 5 weeks, when everything changes. I smiled, and gestured to the sticky buns. "I have accomplished the sum total of my plans for the day. Nothing else has a deadline, although there are a few quilting things that I should accomplish." We said our goodbyes, and I never quilted that day. Twenty years ago, my parents bought me a Nintendo, and a lovely collection of games. One of the games I played for hours and hours and hours, was 'The 3 Stooges.' The goal of the game is to make enough money to save an orphanage. I probably played that game for five years before my Nintendo stopped working, and I never beat it. It's always bugged me that I never won....I even began to wonder if the game was winnable. Fast forward to this week, and I found a cool new gizmo that will let me play the old game cartridges. I played for days and it was just like old times! Unfortunately, it was just like old times, and I couldn't win. So, I did what all gamers do when they are stuck...I went on line and found the walkthrough. (In gaming, a walkthrough is a fan-made, detailed set of directions. If quilters made walkthroughs, it would be like: "Use your right hand to gently lower the presser foot onto your fabric while your dominant foot rests on, but does not press, the rheostat." This goes way beyond 'Use string piecing to make a nine patch block, finishing size. 6. 1/2 inches) There was one piece of information I needed: How much money do I need to save the orphanage? I found the answer in the walkthrough, ($5000), I turned the game on, AND I WON!!! I have been trying to beat this game for twenty years, but I couldn't do it until I knew what my goal was. Now that you have heard about my 20 year payoff, why do you think that I didn't sew at all on Wednesday when my friend left? I didn't have a plan, I didn't have a goal, and I forgot that I was trying to sew every day this week. Yesterday, I had a plan, a list of things to sew...Still no deadlines, but I had a very clear idea of what I wanted to accomplish for the day. As a result, I finished the border on my scrappy quilt, I did nearly 2 hours of hand applique, 5 hours of fussy cutting, and about 20 minutes of charity work for the local animal shelter. So, when you want to make progress in your sewing room, do you tend to whip up a batch of homemade sticky buns or do you make a walkthrough for yourself and start sewing? Happy sewing! I do a LOT of scrap quilting, and I've got some pet peeves... Feel free to disregard my opinions, but I feel very moved to share my scrapping experience and my quilting philosophies today. Some people only save scraps that are 1/8th of a yard or larger. Kudos to these people for being so discerning! Hopefully, you have scrappy friends and will share your schnitzels (non-uniform pieces that are'too small' for you to use). For those of you who save those schnitzels to use "some day,' I implore you to scrap responsibly! What do I mean by that? Here are my guidelines.
• For the truly thrifty, miniscule scraps can be used as stuffing. This might be going too far for most people, but if you cannot abide ANY waste, just be sure to use your storage space as a check/balance system, like the precuts. My system is very easy, and makes scrappy quilts go together VERY quickly. (Honestly, who doesn't love the luxury of precuts!?!!) It also ensures that your sewing space is not over run by the chaos of unruly scraps. You are taxed on the square footage in your house, and it's a shame to pay taxes on space that is unusable because it is full of rubble you aren't using. Another advantage of precut scraps is how well the fabric holds up when it is stored without creases. Whether you like my system or not, I hope you can find a way to scrap responsibly! Tomorrow, I need to finish my little paper piecing wall hanging because I started it three weeks ago. My next priority will be to use up the rest of the stuffing, because the storage space for stuffing has overflowed by 100%. And then, if I can stand to face more piecing, it will be time to empty the storage space for the 2 7/8ths" squares. Happy Quilting, friends!!!
Here's a peek at my scrappy top. I now need 11 yards of 4" pieced border...Do you think that I can do that much piecing tomorrow?
A little more than a week ago, I challenged you guys to spend15 minutes a day at your sewing machine. In case you didn't try my challenge last week, I'm here to challenge you again. Why should you try it, now? Well I have brought you the tantalizing tale of my own epic fail last week. Wait...what!?!! Since I challenged you guys to sew for 15 minutes a day, I figured I'd participate, as well. Guess what? I didn't succeed in sewing for 15 minutes a day, but the challenge was SO successful that I have to brag about my accomplishments. I ran my challenge from Monday to Sunday. I fell off the wagon on Wednesday(didn't even think about sewing), meant to sew on Friday (but didn't), and thought about sewing on Saturday morning before the weekend adventures began (but decided to play a board game with my6 year old instead.) I REGRET NO-ZING!!!!! I slacked off all of those days, and I still accomplished a ton!!!! I did the binding on SEVEN quilts, and finished piecing FORTY EIGHT scrappy blocks. And I have beaten back the chaos of my sewing room.(see pictures below) Now, I didn't accomplish this much in an hour. (Four days of 15 minutes) BUT, by committing to sit down for 15 minutes with no higher expectations, I triggered inertia. You, know, 'An object in motion tends to stay in motion, a quilter at her machine tends to stay at her machine?' Check out the progress that my inertia won me, this week! Forget my household responsibilities for the day, I WANNA SEW
RIGHT NOW. Bindings are starting to be like potato chips this week....you can never stop with one! Yesterday, my sewing room was a heap of chaos. But, then I spent about 3 hours, with help, sewing 2 bindings. This morning, the first thing that I wanted to do when I woke up was sew! So, I did 2 MORE bindings this morning. Then, I had to stop sewing in order to cut more bindings. I'm now halfway through the binding on the quilt you see. I want to play some video games this afternoon, but if I finish those last 3 bindings before I do, I'll be able to go back to piecing tomorrow....Happy sewing!!!!
Last week, projects flew off of my sewing machines. This week, I feel like I've been rolling boulders uphill on my sewing machine. Every heap of fabric in my sewing room is a chunk of hours that I need to spend in my sewing room.
Last week, I had a sewing hang over from my productive weekend, but I still managed to get a few things done from Tuesday through Thursday night. Friday, Saturday, and Sunday, I shifted my focus away from sewing, and spent a few lovely days on real life. Monday has brought the return to productivity....Or at least,that was the plan.... But it took me forever to convince myself to sit down and sew. I needed to finish reading a book. I needed to do some laundry. I wanted a nap. (I laid in bed playing cell phone games, which is almost a nap) Finally, I was ready to step up to my machine. I bribed myself up to the sewing room with caffeine, but I still didn't want to sew. So, I puttered. I moved the tv so that I could have more room to sew bindings. I sorted batting scraps, set up my new cutting mat, put away the spare. I got out my pre cut binding strips, and I thought, " Let me just sew these together..." And suddenly, sewing was the most fun thing, ever!!!! Has anyone else had this experience either as part of my challenge, or simply at random? Happy sewing!!!! Okay, so a few days ago, I talked about the differences between an artist's approach to creating and a musician's approach to work on their art form. Arguably, neither approach is better than the other, and every one has the potential to exist within both mindsets.
The intuitive, spontaneous need to create, and the inability to work without the right 'feeling' is how we are naturally artistic. A select number of professional artists learn how to create the feelings that inspire them to produce work, right here, right now. The process of learning music is much less reliant on creativity than learning art. (That comes much later, to a select few who, after reaching a high level of music proficiency, transition to creating music.) Learning music has much more in common with problem solving, time management, goal achievement, and self discipline. Once a musician has enough mastery to play with others, you can add teamwork, verbal and nonverbal communication, responsibility, and ownership to the list. Once a musician crosses the line from amateur to professional or semi professional, you get into the necessary skills like networking, interpersonal relationship management, and so on and so forth. It is only beyond these skill sets and the technical music skills that correlate to them that a musician has enough knowledge to be deeply creative. This can be a15 or a 20 year payoff for the few who make it that far. (I'm not talking about pop music, that's a whole different system, and is as unrelated to the art of music as a toothpaste ad is to what you see on the walls of a gallery. There is value in both, but the arguments to justify pop music and print ads as artwork has more to do with the cultural implications and impact than with the technical integrity of the work.) So, learning art and learning music are essentially the transverse of each other. An artist creates first, then learns the technical skills to execute their work, and, at the highest level, incorperates discipline into their process. A musician must first learn enough discipline to acquire enough skills to execute their art, and eventually, learns how to be creative. We as quilters start out with the artistic need to create, but like musicians, need to have enough self discipline to acquire the technical skills to execute our art. But even when we have the necessary skills to make the quilt of our dreams, some of the work springs from internal impetus, and some of it can only be accomplished by sitting down at the sewing machine and putting in the work. So, what is the next step in becoming a better, higher producing, more consistent quilter? Practice, practice, practice. Want to try a challenge? Dedicated 15 a day, for the next week, and show up at your machine. If you feel inspired to spend more time playing, go ahead and enjoy your self. Just remember that you are only promising to spend 15 minutes working. This is the same way that we bribe young musicians to put in the work when they are 5, 7, and 9 years old, and if it works for children, then it should be an easy commitment for an adult. (It's not easy for the kids, they know that they are working hard, and 15 minutes is a long time when you are6.) If you have a low day, and don't feel like sewing, just go to your space and tidy it up a bit. Dust your table, vacuum and oil your machine, wind a few bobbins, read your pattern, and lay out the materials for your next step. If you still don't want to sew, pat yourself on the back, and walk away from your project. Sewing the next day will be all the more appealing because you turned the 'next step' into low hanging fruit. Let me know what you think! This works really well when you are learning an instrument, and I have been applying this concept to sewing for the last 5 years. I can't wait to hear all about your experience and your projects!!!! Happy Quilting!!!! |
JanelleaLet's be Quilting Friends! I want to share my quilting progress and hear about all of your projects, too. Archives
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