We are all busy people. I work full time and I have a family, and I have a blog to run and house to clean. So how do I find time to sew? I'll share 5 tips on how to make the most out of your probably limited crafting time below.
To be honest I used to get major jealousy when I read other people's blogs that mentioned all the lovely sewing they had time to do during nap-time. I had dreamed about sewing during nap-time. But nap-time barely existed for me. Tahlia was never a great sleeper.
I started sewing quiet books during the one hour I had after bedtime before I was completely exhausted and had to go to bed myself. It gave me something to think about during the day.
I guess this question could be phrased a little differently... How can I stay motivated? If you are motivated, you WILL find time to sew!
1. Do SOMETHING every day.
It doesn't have to be much, but eventually you get there! Some days all I do is cut off the ends of the cotton that I sewed the day before. I might even just change the thread to the right colour on my sewing machine. Sometimes I cut out the pattern, or even just part of it... I've still done something!
2. Pack everything you need for your project into a bag.
Obviously you can't pack the sewing machine, but you can pack scissors, material, pins and get a lot of things ready to sew when you do have time at home. And because everything you need is right there, you don't need to get discouraged that you can't find what you need and will have to go through the mess in the garage trying to find it when you really just want to go to bed. When everything is ready to go, you will feel more motivated.
Now you can take it with you to work or the doctor's waiting room (if you have to wait hours, you can get started on it - if Murphy's Law works for you, you will not have to wait long). You can take it anywhere! I started a new job a while ago and the tea room was a little icy to begin with. I couldn't be bothered trying to break into a friend group. So I just took my sewing to entertain myself. It broke the ice with a few people for me, and soon I had plenty of friends and an opportunity to share my faith.
I try to do the cutting out and pinning etc when I'm out so when I do get a second at home, I use the time on the sewing machine which I can't take to work. That way I am more efficient with the time I do get at home.
3. Celebrate small successes :)
I show my progress to my husband and text pictures to my sister and Mum. There are lots of interest groups on Facebook that are great to get inspiration (and admiration) too.
4. Don't worry too much about small decisions or lack of skills.
My sister pretends she is making her quiet books for someone else - that way she doesn't worry about the details so much and finds she can get things finished quickly. If you can't choose between colours, don't worry, it will probably look great either way. And your child will probably enjoy it either way. Also, they won't complain that your sewing is not professional enough. It will still be tons of fun and learning, and therefore achieves the goal.
5. Do the easy bits first.
That way you haven't got much left when the hard bit comes, and you want to see the outcome.
To be honest I used to get major jealousy when I read other people's blogs that mentioned all the lovely sewing they had time to do during nap-time. I had dreamed about sewing during nap-time. But nap-time barely existed for me. Tahlia was never a great sleeper.
I started sewing quiet books during the one hour I had after bedtime before I was completely exhausted and had to go to bed myself. It gave me something to think about during the day.
How do you set aside time or find time to sew? This post is part of a blog hop - to read up on some more ideas on how to find time to sew visit the other lovely blogs listed under my tips below:
I guess this question could be phrased a little differently... How can I stay motivated? If you are motivated, you WILL find time to sew!
1. Do SOMETHING every day.
It doesn't have to be much, but eventually you get there! Some days all I do is cut off the ends of the cotton that I sewed the day before. I might even just change the thread to the right colour on my sewing machine. Sometimes I cut out the pattern, or even just part of it... I've still done something!
2. Pack everything you need for your project into a bag.
Obviously you can't pack the sewing machine, but you can pack scissors, material, pins and get a lot of things ready to sew when you do have time at home. And because everything you need is right there, you don't need to get discouraged that you can't find what you need and will have to go through the mess in the garage trying to find it when you really just want to go to bed. When everything is ready to go, you will feel more motivated.
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| Items I take to sew (plus scrap felt) - everything goes into plastic kitchen or stationary containers so they don't get lost or fall out (pins)... plus there is a sneak preview on an upcoming quiet book page :) |
Now you can take it with you to work or the doctor's waiting room (if you have to wait hours, you can get started on it - if Murphy's Law works for you, you will not have to wait long). You can take it anywhere! I started a new job a while ago and the tea room was a little icy to begin with. I couldn't be bothered trying to break into a friend group. So I just took my sewing to entertain myself. It broke the ice with a few people for me, and soon I had plenty of friends and an opportunity to share my faith.
 |
| Items I take to help draw up my templates |
I try to do the cutting out and pinning etc when I'm out so when I do get a second at home, I use the time on the sewing machine which I can't take to work. That way I am more efficient with the time I do get at home.
3. Celebrate small successes :)
I show my progress to my husband and text pictures to my sister and Mum. There are lots of interest groups on Facebook that are great to get inspiration (and admiration) too.
4. Don't worry too much about small decisions or lack of skills.
My sister pretends she is making her quiet books for someone else - that way she doesn't worry about the details so much and finds she can get things finished quickly. If you can't choose between colours, don't worry, it will probably look great either way. And your child will probably enjoy it either way. Also, they won't complain that your sewing is not professional enough. It will still be tons of fun and learning, and therefore achieves the goal.
5. Do the easy bits first.
That way you haven't got much left when the hard bit comes, and you want to see the outcome.
I hope these tips will help keep you motivated and sewing!
For more tips on how to find time to sew, visit:
Jen at Faith and Fabric
Amanda at Fabric Engineer
Karen at Tu-Na Quilts
If you have any tips on how to make time to sew, please share in the comments below!
You've listed some great ideas. I do like the celebrate even the small successes. So often, I beat myself up by thinking that I could have done it faster or better or earlier. You are also right in that indecision leads to stalled projects. Sometimes, I just want someone to tell me what color to use.....and then I'll probably change it anyway.
ReplyDeleteIt does feel good when someone tells you to use the colour that you wanted, but yeah... why not change it anyway if they don't! Sometimes I do a quiet book page in two different colours so I can see which comes out best. Then I can keep one and give the other away.
DeleteOh, and I forgot to mention, if you are too tired, GO TO BED! You will only make a silly mistake that will take all the next sewing session to fix...
ReplyDelete