Friday, December 5, 2014

Timing

Time.... is on my mind.... lately.  I remember the Rolling Stones sang that line. Although my favorite has to be Bill Medley singing ...."Now, I've had the time of my life" in the movie Dirty Dancing.  Time.  We can't see it.  We can't hold on to it.  We can use it to accomplish much.  We can live it to the fullness intended. We can enjoy it.  
  Yep, time is catching up to me, but I have figured out how to use it with whatever steam I have left.  I may not set world records, yet my goals seem lofty to me.    With so many seasonal demands on our time, I have learned to work in smaller units of time to do what I want and enjoy.  That means minutes, sometimes, in the sewing room rather than a couple of hours.  Minutes to organize, cut, piece, plan.

  Planning has been going on in the evenings.  I set aside a folder for 2015 projects, and pulled out an index card for a list.  I am planning a year of floral projects......so far I have noted 7 projects.  None of this is in stone, so ideas and direction may change.
   Into the folder go the photos/articles/magazines with the project ideas.  Books are noted on the index card by the project.  This helps me remember where I found the inspiration......(time has caught up to me, and sometimes fogs my memory/recall button!) Oh, yeah, and I have been playing with small 4 patch blocks that you can see in the background. You can clean out a lot of odd size pieces this way in a short amount of time.   I was just using up short pieces.....so I have no idea what will happen with them.

   From my stack of items to be quilted is this watercolor wall hanging.  I cut the backing and batting between baking batches of cookies.  It is on the work table and ready to be pinned.
   I also have another top to pin.....I have the batting cut.  The backing has to be pieced.  My Rule of 3 inspires me to at least get it ready to quilt too.  I so detest those UFOs....and want to have an open slot for a new project.




 Carolina Chain blocks are off the design wall, pressed, stacked ....ready for rows to be assembled.  This was accomplished between loads of laundry and bread baking.   I like having things ready to go....15 minutes of time should equal at least one row stitched.

 

  Seriously.....won't this be a great addition to the sewing room?  Lol....we did a little shopping today after getting haircuts.  Big and little boys like to play with trucks, especially if they are remote controlled.  Last year Remy smoked the Mustang's engine on the remote controlled car.  Hope this one lasts a little longer.

   Finally, a new project bin is filled to await its turn.  It actually took about 3 days to get all the pieces cut in between other things.  I pulled it all together this morning before we headed out.  I did one test block this week to be sure I wanted to do this project, called English Garden.
  The book is a very old one I snared last year from Better World Books, so I know it is not readily available.  But there are some very good project ideas inside---I marked 4 of them!   I won't start on this one until after the first of the year.....but I am set to go.
   There goes my timer....another batch of bread is done.  And it is almost time to pull some dinner together.  Tomorrow it will be time to put up the tree, and the wreaths, and all the other items.  See what I mean.....time has caught up to me.  Grab those moments of time and happy stitching.  

6 comments:

Mary said...

I love this process you are sharing. I also need to give some thought to this.

Vroomans' Quilts said...

Lovely presentation of how to use those bits of time at the end of the year to prepare for the new year.

Sylvia Anderson said...

Debbie, you and Wanda blow my mind! All those beautiful quilts, one after the other. I admire you both and look forward to reading the newsletters every day. You're already planning a to do list for 2015, and all I can think about is being able to rest after all the Christmas gifts are finally finished and in the hands of the 30 recipients!
lv2bquilting2@comcast.net

Dana Gaffney said...

Well now I see how you do it all, you're organized, LOL.

Terri said...

Love your new? banner! I don't remember seeing it before... or have I lost touch.
I know the problem well... the forgetting thing. I'm not a planner. My mind is on finishing the two wedding quilts I have set for myself... one is not even started yet. OMG
You are baking - MMMMMMMMMMM. I don't do that so much anymore. We are both diabetic, so shouldn't have that stuff, and if I spend time and energy making it, I want some.
Hugs

Lynne said...

Sometimes snatching bits of time is all we have!

You are very organised. I am still finding my way through trays and bags of scraps, ironing, cutting, sorting and storing. When it's all done, I'll be able to start sewing something. I do have a couple of projects in mind but most of my scraps are not lending themselves to those projects so I think I'll use my 2" scraps to start a "Trip Around the World" quilt. After all, it's simply a matter of starting lith light/dark pairs made into four patches, made into sixteen patches ... I feel some sewing time coming on!

Related Posts Plugin for WordPress, Blogger...