Something has to give...
Friday, September 17, 2010 at 8:04AM Organize, restructure, turn things inside out… I’m always attempting to organize my life better to squeeze more time and more efficiency into a twenty four hour day. But you can’t squeeze blood out of a turnip, and there just isn’t any more time to be had!
I don’t want to give up any of my sewing time, there isn’t enough of it as it is. Huh? Yeah I know, it may seem like that’s all I do, but trust me, it’s the lesser part of my day.
It’s coming up on my favorite time of year, fall and winter… and even spring. I like to spend more time outdoors, more time cooking, more time just being!
Email takes up a big chunk of my time. I belong to a number of Yahoo sewing groups, and used to run one of them, which I let go due to time constraints. Now, I’ve decided to drop the groups. I’ll remain a member of them, but it’ll just be an occasional thing to visit them online, no more emails. Blogging I love, and I would like to keep adding more content to my website. Videos, tutorials, EQ files, recipes…
How do you squeeze more time into your day?
Jim will be home late this afternoon, for a whole week! Then it’s back down to New Orleans. They keep delaying the time frame when the group has to be there fulltime, at which point Jim will be taking the RV down to stay in… I think he’s pretty tired of motels at this point.
;)
I diced up a bunch of dried fruit yesterday, dates, figs, apricots, cranberries and cherries, and I’ve had them soaking in brandy overnight. Today I’ll be making a cake, it’s a light version of a fruitcake. Not that nasty, candied fruit kind, ugh. Dried fruit, brandy, orange juice, nuts… good eating!
I’ll bake some bread today as well, and do a bit of cleaning. I lost a day yesterday;)
as I was sick the entire day with a stomach bug, ugh. I did get a little bit more of my afghan done, having spent most of the day on the sofa, but it’s slow going as my hands just don’t handle that type of thing well anymore.
I have half of the borders on the scrappy quilt, so it’s nearly done. I think I’ve come to the conclusion that I just don’t care for a multitude of prints in a quilt anymore. This one is full of fabrics that I love, but I would have liked the quilt better had I chosen just one of the prints, and used solids for the rest.
I’ve been busy stocking up on more blender fabrics, mainly Moda Marbles and Bella Solids, filling in my color gaps. I don’t know how closely the suppliers fabric costs are tied to the cotton market or how long it takes to trickle down, but fabric is going to go up again, and we all know it’s never coming back down, unlike gas which flucuates.
Reader Comments (10)
I use to belong to about 4 on line quilting groups and I dropped them all at the end of last year - too much mail, no longer had enough interest in them, and it took too much time.
I love the more solid look in quilts and I don't buy much in prints, what I am using now in prints has been in my stash for some time or fabric that I won in give aways.
Cake sounds wonderful, I made an apple upside down cake yesterday i will need to post the recipe.
Karen
http://karensquilting.com/blog/
Hmmm CJ, take the batteries out of any clocks, unplugg all clocks and ignore other clocks.......................it's worth a try lol !!!!
I dropped a bunch of my groups recently, I'm still going through withdrawals. Too much time on the computer, not enough time doing other things I love doing. Some I went no mail on so if I want I can still go in and read.
The afghan is coming along nicely. Fruit cake-I'm thinking pineapple upside down cake but Karen's apple cake sounds yummy...not so much a fan of the brandied fruit.
Hope you feel better today....nothing worse than a stomach bug~
As you noticed CJ, I gave up the Yahoo groups - still listed on two but don't even go to them at all. I'm there just "in case" I have a question down the road. But it's been literally MONTHS since I've even looked at them. I may as well delete my membership from them. It was good thing when I let Yahoo go by the wayside. And I can honestly say I don't miss it whatsoever.
And just yesterday, I downsized my blog. I'm starting to make it "cleaner" and less conjested. You 'll probably see the difference. I'm wondering if I let it go completely...not sure yet.
I now read from "google reader" and deleted my sidebar "contacts".
Too wierd that you've posed this question about TIME because I started "reorganizing" my priorities the last couple days.
I see you noticed my comment on the Accuquilt FB page and commented. Even that "frenzy" is wearing thin to me so I'm stepping back. I love my GO and will do "it" my way. I purchased my own - I'll "design" on my own.
All this "letting go" of things is freeing up time for sewing, for yard work, for family time.
I was a member of Charming Girls Quilt Club for the last year..okay, no regrets, and am still listed there. But, no participation on my part anymore. They may as well take my name off the list.
I have my few fav internet people, you being one of them of course, that I'll continue to visit.
Now - to leave my blog or not? I'm still debating for now.
I've decided there will never be enough time to quilt everything I want to, but to help with the effort, I've dropped out of all my Yahoo groups and rarely visit a Delphi forum that I belong to. I've cut reading a lot of blogs and have kept the ones that are creative with quilts and maybe a recipe or two. I love to see what others are doing with their quilting, so lots of photos interest me. I've decided to turn off the computer except for a couple of times a day. While I'm in my studio, I do have the volume turned up on the email 'signal' so I'll be able to communicate with my friends and daughters.
Let's see.... I've stopped cooking and cleaning --- seriously -- NOT, but there are days when I'd like to NOT have deal with cooking and cleaning issues as it fogs my creative process.--
Personally, I think 24 hours in a day just doesn't give me enough time to do it all. Thanks for the thought provocation, CJ. Guess I need to be off here and back to binding a quilt by machine!!!!
CJ. Do you have a recipe for the fruit cake? That fruit combo seems much better than the candied stuff in a real fruit cake. Willing to share? I agree that there are just not enough hours in a day. I've toyed with the idea of getting off the computer & to the machine. Thanks for the kick in the pants. Diane in CT
Mmm, love the afghan!! It's a stunner! :-)
Yeah, I'm thinking of dropping my Yahoo groups, too. Waaay to much time on the computer. Too little time in the sewing room and kitchen. Not to mention the dusting, etc. But hey, the good stuff comes first. :-) Must definitely be fall and time for contemplation and reordering. Sounds like many of us are on the same page. Good company!
I still get the Yahoo digests for a few groups...quickly persue the topics but usually that's it.
I have a very few blogs that I look at daily- including yours.
It's really hard sometimes for me to keep all my balls in the air and work full time, too.
But sewing is my bliss, so I'm not willing to give it up, but I do take time off from it when it all gets too much. You only live once and you gotta smell those roses, right?
And whatever I don't get sewn up tonight, will still be there tomorrow!
I am spending WAY less time on the computer and I don't miss it one little bit! I have just a couple of blogs that I like to catch up on every couple of days. Yours being at the top of my list, as it is the very first one that I started reading. :~) I don't belong to any online groups anymore. Time not spent on the computer is now time spent at the gym or sewing! And I am much happier!
I'm glad your are not giving up your blog I look forward to reading it when I get home from school. I do understand about having too much stuff and obligations craming up your days and life. I currently have little time for sewing which is very sad as other obligations take me away. I'm always reevaluating to see what I can eliminate so I can simplify my life.