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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