The Concept of Time-Poor (Friday Foto Fun #25)
Can you believe March is almost over?! Where has the time gone?! The concept of time-poor is something I've wanted to discuss for a while. I keep saying and treating time as my most limited resource to get everything accomplished. I apologize that this post is going to be a bit more wordy than usual. Do you remember the Frame It Up v2 that I was making with the Longitude batiks? I finished all the blocks 7 weeks ago. I JUST now got them sewn together into a quilt top!
Now why do you think it took me so long to get that complete? My answer would be time and priorities. From the time I finished the blocks till now, I've been on a marathon of projects that MUST be done, so any of the fun personal projects were put on hiatus. If you remember my planning goals for 2018 (read the whole list here), I made a big mistake of not accounting for the time it would take if certain quilts or designs got accepted to publications. I also did not account for being picked as an Island Batik Ambassador (which I absolutely love!).
I need to do an adjustment to my goals and expectations of myself because I am becoming MORE time poor. Some of my mental goals were to be kind to myself and understand that I am doing the best I can right now. Here's a little story for you that happened earlier this month. There was a call to submit designs for the Island Batik Fall/Winter catalog a few weeks ago. Super awesome, right?! I submitted 2 different designs for consideration. I was so excited when one of the patterns was selected and as I waited for the decision on the second pattern, my anxiety grew. Why? I knew my time constraints to get these quilt samples done, and I was so worried if both of my designs got accepted I wouldn't be able to finish them both. I was actually RELIEVED to have the second proposal turned down. Now seriously, one should NEVER be relieved from a rejection.
So what are my adjustments? Good question. These days if I'm sewing anything, it's for a QAL I'm hosting, an Island Batik Challenge, a bee hive obligation, or a sample for either a catalog, magazine, or new pattern. I've actually taken off any personal sewing and any extra design challenges until I get caught up. Hence the delay for the Frame It Up v2 quilt. However, this seems like the road to burnout.
The first adjustment I will make is to mandate myself to stop feeling guilty about not making progress on my personal sewing and personal fitness goals. Next, I need to realize that the travel I've been doing has taken a lot of my time whether I bring my travel machine or not. Lastly, taking time to actually relax is OKAY. In fact, embroidery seems to be very relaxing. I should do it more often and maybe it will help ground me. Here's what I have gotten so far with the Autumn Mandala, but you can't really tell the difference between the white print and the white floss.
Next Wednesday I head off to Salt Lake City for Sewtopia! I can't bring any secret sewing since it'll be in a public space, so I'll capitalize the time by working on some personal sewing. Maybe I'll bring my Ombre Gems quilt to work on since I haven't touched it since I made my first block!
Available time for quilting this next week:
Monday PM, Tuesday PM, Sewtopia!
Projects I want to work on:
PBQ107
Ombre Gems
Goals for the Projects:
PBQ107: Make blocks and trim
Ombre Gems: Make a few blocks (have fun, don't stress!)
Your turn! What did you accomplish this week? A block? A quilt top? Link up below!
A few reminders:
- When you link up a post, please try to support the others folks in the linky party! Let's spread the motivation and support to help everyone make progress in their own time.
- Your post does not need to be something quilty you accomplished, but definitely encouraged. Sometimes life just gets in the way, but feel free to share something you are proud of this week.
- In your blog post, please include a link back to my blog or grab the Friday Foto Fun Button and put it on your sidebar. This way others who visit your blog can also join in on the fun!
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Sounds like Sewtopia is just what you need to get a little personal sewing in. That looks like it’ll be a blast!
I haven’t gotten any sewing done this week. Nada. I did, however, get a few posts written ahead of time, so that was a good thing. I think you are processing well, Sherry. You do well with noting what you need to get done. While you are scheduling things out, I would suggest you schedule time in for your personal quilting. Your personal time is just as important as the other quilting. It feeds your creativity. My QALs are slowing down now, thankfully. I’m ready to have more free time to play in my quilt room.
On one hand it’s great to be so busy with work quilt stuff, but always working on a “work project” and not being able to do things for yourself is completely the path to burnout! I hope you have a great time at Sewtopia and that you’re able to recharge a bit for yourself. Your Mandala is absolutely stunning, I thought a machine did it at first!
The Mandala is beautiful! Have fun at Sewtopia!
Interesting post, Sherry. I’ve heard this from a lot of quilters who are quilting/designing as their business, the more successful they become, the less time for actual quilting they get. I’m glad to hear that you are having such success with designs, but am sure the time constraints are frustrating. It sounds like you are very self aware and are being kind to yourself.
On another note, I love your embroidery. I really liked the last ones you showed, too, and while I haven’t bit the bullet and subscribed to the kit-a-month program you linked to, I keep thinking about it. The designs are so pretty!
Your Mandala is looking beautiful Sherry!
Congratulations on all your achievements! And I’m glad you are taking time to be kind to yourself, relax without guilt and enjoy Sewtopia 😊
The mandala is gorgeous. Re: time, there is never enough time for sewing. I’m in my sewing room every weekday evening for at least 2 hours. Sat and Sun from 8 or 9am until 7pm.
It is interesting that I live 3 hours from Salt Lake City and haven’t heard of sewtopia. Have a blast there doing what though want to do with your time.