Friday, May 5, 2006

Quilting IS my passion!

Many readers have commented that they don't know how I get some much quilting done when I work at a demanding full-time job. I've been thinking about this question, so I decided to post some of my thoughts.

My children are grown and have homes of their own. As yet I have no grandchildren. That makes a huge difference. To those of you with children I can only say this: Enjoy every minute you have with them. They grow up much too quickly. You will have lots more time for quilting when they are grown.

My husband has interests that keep him busy. He plays golf at least twice a week. That is his passion. He also loves hockey, so we got him the hockey package on cable. The time he spends watching hockey plus the time he spends on the golf course means I have a lot of "me" time for quilting.

I don't watch TV much at all. Just baseball in the summer and DVD's. I never sit down to watch something without handwork - either appliqué or hand quilting - in my hands. I can't stand to sit with nothing to keep my hands busy. Better to quilt than chew on my fingernails or pick at hangnails.

I received a VERY strong organizing gene when I was conceived. My sewing room is neat most of the time, and I can find whatever I want. Recently I labeled every drawer showing what is inside. I have something ready to pick up if I have even a spare 10-15 minutes.

I have three hobbies that I love - quilting, reading, and gardening. However, I find I am usually focused on one of them while the other two take a back seat. Right now it's quilting. Instead of sitting with a book all evening I read only before I go to sleep at night or when I'm waiting for something like a doctor's app't. My flower beds desperately need attention. There have been years where all I've wanted to do is read or garden, and those years I didn'tt' accomplish very much quilt-wise.

We all have the same 24 hours in a day. I believe it's all a matter of making choices. When we have active families obviously our children and spouse must come first. One's job must come second if one must work. After that it's up to you how you choose to spend your time. If you want to get more accomplished quilt wise then plan for it. Don't sit in front of the TV doing nothing. Don't be without some handwork in your purse. I have an online friend who even works on her appliqué at long red lights! Her latest tale was about sitting on the gynecologist's table stitching away while waiting for the doctor to come in to do her yearly exam. Believe it or not she kept stitching - even when she was on her back with her feet in the stirrups!

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Gratitudes:

1. A venti decaf Americano with a fat inch of nonfat milk
2. Fridays
3. Comfortable new sandals that fit my feet beautifully
4. Dress down days at work
5. Lori Smith, Jan Patek, Jo Morton, Alma Allen, Barb Adams, Cherie Ralston and all the other marvelous quilt designers who enrich our quilting lives

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3 comments:

Anonymous said...

Labeling the drawers sounds like a good idea... but then I think I need to paint the drawer fronts first (very old very cheap dresser in my sewing room.) Then I think I really ought to empty all the drawers, and take them out to the garage before I paint them... so I open one drawer, and see that there's too much junk in it, and I need a box to put the stuff in, so I go off to find a box. And somehow, I get sidetracked, box hunting, and the organization thing never gets done... lol

Anonymous said...

I agree there's a lot of time in the day. I'm not working now but do make sure that if I'm not at home quilting that I have a knitting or crochet project with me and I keep something to work on at home when I'm keeping my husband company by the TV. We watched a movie tonight but I eventually had to put the knitting away - it was too hard to read the subtitles and knit.

Anonymous said...

well said! I work similarly (minus the organization...) on occasion...