OK, so I already had my first going-to-faire-and-new-garb-isn't-finished nightmare (they started early this year), and it's definately moved non-ren projects/distractions down a notch on the importance scale. But I still feel like I have NO TIME to sew! Here's what's currently eating my time:
1. Full time (mundane, pencil pushing, bean counting, spirit crushing) job
2. Keeping up the household (laundry, routine cleaning, etc...)
3. Errands (appts, grocery shopping, etc...)
4. (Yay, spring!) Booooooo lawn mowing, yard work, gardening, other outdoor maint...
5. House projects (bought a fixer upper 2 years ago and we're finally just about done with round 1 improvements).
I'm looking at this list and it doesn't seem like much, I know! But somehow it just about completely eats my life. AND consider this...I don't have kids, I'm not taking any classes, I never have to work overtime, and I'm not investing much time in fun stuff either (going to movies, entertaining, visiting friends, working on my other hobbies).
Last week I actually took 3 days off from work JUST to get a nice chunk of sewing done. Well...my machine had other ideas and only let me zigzag 2 raw edges before crapping out on me. She's currently at the Dr's for her annual checkup.
HOW ON EARTH do you other seamsters and seamstresses find time for this hobby? Because I KNOW there are plenty of you with much more on your plate than me and you're still able to turn out garb! Does anyone have any tips for...I don't know...sewing time management or something?
I completely understand your position. Hence why I have yet to really pull out the sewing machine yet this year. Usually I'll take an hour or two in the evenings to sew or just say "forget it" on the weekends and let yard work and what not wait just to get some sewing done.
But best of luck in trying that lil extra time to sew.
I'm lucky: this IS my job! But I have to squeeze the personal projects in round the customer stuff.
I'm in the same boat as you except one notch worse: I don't even have my own sewing machine, I have to borrow it from my Mom and work around HER schedule too! :)
No real suggestion toward how you can squeeze it in, but just a tidbit to make you feel a smidge better :)
Sundays are marked off as Laundry and sewing days. I sew what I can in between loads.
Same as Dona here...Sundays. If I can get everything else done in the early morning that I didn't get done on Saturday then I spend the rest of the day sewing what I can . I save hand stitching for watching TV or when I am having a slow day at work and my attention doesn't need to be glued to the computer.
I'm always in the same boat! I sqeeze about 1/2 hr to 1 hr in after I get the kids into bed, but that means then the dishes do not get done until the morning. I leave my sewing machine and serger out all the time so if I get the bug and have a spare moment that is where my husband will find me! The only thing I have to lug out is the iroing board when I need it.
I work full time plus overtime, have two kids, have the house work as well I just do not live off of very much sleep :D
How do I do it? ..... Flylady Best thing I ever discovered. It helped me get the house in order, and actually have time to sew. My house is no longer in CHAOS (Cant Have Anyone Over Syndrom). What does get messy I can clean up in typically 1-2 15 minute rescue missions. It helped get my confidence up, and got my house to the point when I was in full sewing swing I didn't panic when my SIL called and said she may have to stay at our place for a couple days. It also helped me tame my sewing stash and tools to the point where everything is put away and easy to find.
Things can pile up but start with baby steps and you will be amazed at what you can get done in 15 minutes.
I did the Pink Pirates coat in 15 minute shots. The only time it took a chunk of time was the special lay out I had to do for the coat. I lost 2 hours of a SUNDAY. Sunday is home blessing day. It is the day the lawn work is done, the floors are mopped and other "large jobs" but done in 15 minute inciments. I wish you luck!
I have the same problem Nicole and I don't have kids or a pet either.
my biggest problem is that my other half an I live over an hr away from each other and see each other only on the weekends so I don't want to spend the little time that we have together sewing.
But during the week I drive 1hr each way to work so by the time I get home its never before 6 pm and I still have to work out and eat dinner. I'm beat.
I am by myself this weekend so I am hoping to get some much needed house cleaning and sewing done.
Once we move in June/July I will hopefully have much more time to sew.
You have to break up your sewing time. Don't get wrapped around creating the entire piece in one sitting.
I usually read the instructions, and think about how I will fit it together. Then when I have time, I cut out the pieces. Then, as time allows, I start to pin and sew. This can take quite a while, depending on the time blocks I am able to devote.
You'll see progress; sometimes slow, and sometimes a huge leap! But progress.
I had a long post written, but apparently I forgot to hit "post" before shutting the computer down!
You have my sympathy! I've just gotten off work for a few weeks (I'm a writer) and I finally have some free time! When I was working, I finally just packed my sewing stuff away so it wouldn't sit there taunting me.
I agree with a lot of what's been said, particularly Butch's comment to break something down to its component parts. You might not have two weeks free to sew a gown, but you probably *do* have fifteen minutes you can squeak in to cut pattern pieces, or set in a sleeve, or pin up a hem. If you look at it as a bunch of really small steps, instead of a huge project looming over you, it won't seem quite as overwhelmingly time-consuming.
My sewing stuff is in the kitchen, so I can usually do part of a step in between cooking tasks (like one whole machine eyelet while the potatoes bake in the microwave LOL). I've also been trying to set aside a bit of time every afternoon--but I have to drag myself off the computer to do it!
We're in a very tiny house, with a three year old,and a one year old. I generally have to go into the two-weeks-till-a-faire type panic, and forgoe a few hours sleep a night to be able to get each project done. Not how I would recomend doing things at all. I've spent many a late night at the motel the night before with the family passed out around me, why I try to keep my eyes focused on what I'm doing.
Hoowil-OUCH!
Quote from: Hoowil on April 22, 2010, 10:43:17 PM
We're in a very tiny house, with a three year old,and a one year old. I generally have to go into the two-weeks-till-a-faire type panic, and forgoe a few hours sleep a night to be able to get each project done. Not how I would recomend doing things at all. I've spent many a late night at the motel the night before with the family passed out around me, why I try to keep my eyes focused on what I'm doing.
I am notorious for doing those as well. Usually go to faire after getting up early and staying up all night sewing or mending. And crash on the drive home, thankfully cuse someone else is driving, and dont really get up until about noon the next day.
Well it's good to know that I'm in good company! Kate, you are very VERY lucky to get to make a living doing what you love, and Gem too. Both of you have my dream careers.
Butch hit the nail on the head with me. I tend to be an "all or nothing" type. Even though I KNOW I can't finish an entire gown in a weekend, I DO tend to be unrealistic with my "realistic" goals. All across the board, not just with sewing. You should've seen my to-do list for this past weekend...it might as well have said "Pick up house, move 12 feet to the right".
We'll see what happens when I get my machine back and can really get down to business. Hopefully I'll be able to tell the vacuuming, the laundry, and the lawn to collectively go to hell while I try to get something FUN done!
(blush) Thanks, Nicole.
and I'm *totally* an all-or-nothing person, too! I'm supposed to be on "vacation" right now, and in the last two weeks, I've cleaned my entire house, done a convention (where I hawked books for two days straight), had a doctor's appointment, two dental appointments, worked out every day, gone to the vet 4 times, spent something like 10 hours straight sewing, stitched (cross stitch) every day, and helped DH build a retaining wall. I'm exhausted from my time off!
I wish I knew the secret of having more balance. I've just sworn off working weekends, for the first time since 2002. (Revisions during Fair season last fall... yeah. It's a wonder I'm still here... and married!) I wish I could dabble a little in things every day, instead of flinging myself headlong into everything. I always feel like there's never enough time to get anything done.
I was definitely an "all or nothing" person. However, with larger and larger projects - I just never finished anything! My fiancée suggested that I literally schedule time into my days for just sewing. It definitely helped - a little time everyday makes me feel less crazy for the rest of the day, and I'm able to focus on chores and work better.
I had to alter my other habits too, to reclaim my life! Something that definitely helped was finally swallowing my pride and throwing the laundry into one load - whites, darks, and all on cold. Less time, and nobody sees my underwear and socks anyway, if they turn pink. (Which, ironically, has never happened... yet!) And if the amount of laundry gets out of hand, or doesn't fit in our bureau, than we fill and a bag and give it to the Red Cross.
A good friend suggested I get a Roomba, but I felt like that would have been the ultimate lost battle to laziness. Instead I keep a small, inexpensive vacuum on hand for touch-ups here and there for only five minutes. It definitely cuts back on how much time I spend heavy-duty vacuuming. I cut back to one green cleaner for cleaning everything, except for the other necessities like Lime Away. I have no idea what the men in the house do to the shower, but it's definitely needed. I also threw out a lot of useless "dust collector" items that sit on shelves, so dusting isn't that much of an issue. My dishwasher might be my favorite appliance ever. I don't use anything that needs to be washed by hand.
My sewing room is 1/3 my fiancées bedroom, and 1/3 my niece's toy storage. I cram in my sewing machine and serger, always out and ready to go. If I put them away somewhere, such as in the closet, then I never sew. I'd rather swat away some stuffed animals and dirty underwear than dig everything out of the closet. I swear by plastic storage and any organizational furniture from Ikea, or anywhere for that matter!
Maybe a few tips that could help...
Try to organize by project, meaning pattern, fabric, thread, trim, buttons all in one box. I like clear plastic totes, as I know many of you do, too. If you need to move the project, everything is in one box.
I keep my sewing machine plugged in and set up all the time, in a sewing room. I only wish my cutting table was not the dining room table. Sigh.
I make lists of what I want to make, for each person I am making them for, along with their measurements. Cross off what gets done. So what if everything on the list isn't done, at least you can see what you HAVE done. My lists are always much longer than what I can realistically accomplish, but set goals.
When making more than one item from the same pattern, such as blouses, cut them all at the same time, then sew them up all in the same time frame. Might take several days or weeks, but do the whole project that way, it goes faster for me. Sort of an assembly line process.
I try not to have to "unsew" because that takes up too much time! Sometimes, it's unavoidable.
Like Butch said, I read throught the directions first, have it in my mind how the pieces go together, what changes I will be making, etc. If you can "see it" you can "do it."
I sew nearly every day around work and class and everything else going on in my life. I would highly suggest if you can, you leave your machine and everything out...set up a sewign area with all of your stuff so its not a hassle to get it all out dig for each little thing you need and then have to put it all away when you're done...itll save you a good hour...or more if youre disorganized like me. It makes it much easier to sew while doing other things...while dinner is in the oven, laundry is in the machine or whatever else you have to wait for...
I've also discovered that setting a due date helps...not just an "I want to wear it this faire season" I normally formulate a complete outfit and have picked a day to wear it. It helps me alot to tell people I will be wearing it that day...then they look forward to seeing what I made...I feel like I'd disappoint them if i didnt wear it so I feel more obligated to finish it...