Making Minutes Count
As most of you may or may not know, I am currently a housewife. For the past two years this has been a very comfortable lifestyle for me and I have taken the opportunity to immerse myself in my stitching.
I have been able to track the time I spend on my projects by hours, not minutes, because up until this week when I sat down to stitch it would be for at least an hour at a time and could easily stretch into three or four. In fact, one more than one occasion I have literally spent the entire day stitching because I had nothing else to do that demanded my attention. On those occasions I found it tremendously satisfying to see how much progress I would make on a project in such a concentrated amount of time.
But times change: This week I started down a path that will in the coming three to four years transform my stitching time from something that I do to pass the day into a precious moments that will allow me to temporarily escape from my hectic schedule. However, at the moment I am a little perplexed on how to integrate my stitching into such a demanding schedule.
And though this is not technically this week’s SBQ (I have one already ready for tomorrow) I am actively soliciting the advice of my readers by asking how you manage your stitching time with your other obligations.
It isn’t that I don’t have other obligations: I do. However, at present the majority of my stitching is done during the day when hubby isn’t home so I don’t really feel that I am trying to juggle my stitching time with our time together.
Be that as it may, I know that most of you have far more obligations than I currently do; such as going to school, working, or raising families. Therefore you are required to balance your stitching time with your numerous other responsibilities and I just wonder how do you do it? If you stitch during “spare minutes” (like work breaks) how do you maximize your stitching time?
Because I am used to taking my time when I sit down to stitch, even if I have the project that I am working on kitted up and “ready to go” it seems like it sometimes takes me 10 or 15 minutes to settle down enough to get that first stitch into the fabric. Once I am settled I can do at least 25 full cross stitches in that amount of time, so how do I add those 25 valuable stitches to my project in this time rather than fondling my floss or searching for my needle? How can I make these minutes count?
No matter how crazy my schedule becomes, I am adamant that I will not give up my stitching or put it aside for an indefinite amount of time, so I want to get things under control before they get out of control!
24 August 2005 at 00:43
Congrats on your new career plan! I am excited for you!
I am not the best person to say how to balance life and stitching. I have found it very hard to keep up with my stitching while working. Sometimes I just make myself give up online time to stitch… that is the main thing I do to get more stitching time. There are only so many non-work hours in the day.
I will be interested to find out what your other readers do about this problem!
24 August 2005 at 01:28
Hi Renee,
I work full time (and then some), keep house and I am a Mom to an 18yr old DS. I find that I can stitch anywhere from 2-3 hours in the evening after dinner during the week and between 6-8 hours on both Saturday and Sunday. Sunday is really a Sunday, there is no work for me except making dinner and cleaning our barn.
The secret is to stay organized, don’t let clutter build up in your house and do a little bit of housework each evening. Lists, lists and lists. Also, if I get behind with my chores, I don’t sweat it. Stitching is my therapy and my passion, so it’s a very important part of my life!
24 August 2005 at 10:46
hi, just read your post, i have now found even if i spend 10 or 30 mins doing a bit of stitching it all helps, even tho i do admit it is hard to schedule time for me to sit down and stitch, it must be mental thingy, making yourself, strict and getting things done, hope i make sense, and i love your blog, and blog name!!
24 August 2005 at 19:09
I am lucky and can work on my stitching during working hours however, I discovered I tend to make more mistakes because my attention get distracted too easily.
I have my day broke up into three parts: morning, afternoon, and evening. Mornings are for work, afternoons are for cleaning house and cooking, and evenings after the kids go to bed is my stitching time. Weekend nights are usually strictly reserved for stitching and watching( in my case listening) movies.
Good Luck with school
24 August 2005 at 20:14
I have a pretty hectic schedule and that’s one of the reasons that rotation stitching didn’t work for me. I need to have one active project that I can pick up at a moments notice when I have half an hour to spare, I don’t have time to do a lot of switching to another project, getting items together, etc. What I do is keep the needle in the fabric, and keep the fabric in the Q-snap - both of those things go against conventional wisdom, I know, but it works for me. I find that when I wash and iron the finished piece, any marks from the needle or Q-snap disappear.
I keep the project and chart in a drawer in an end table next to the recliner I sit in when I stitch, and I keep all the floss for that project in a ziploc bag there as well. Then I sit down, grab it, and get going.
As for general making time to stitch, I stitch in the evenings while my husband is checking his email or watching TV. We can still converse while I stitch, so I don’t feel like I am taking away from time with him. Some evenings I just don’t get to stitch because we go somewhere together or I have other obligations.
You will find that once you get used to your new routine, you’ll be able to fit stitching in here and there and you’ll make it work for you, don’t worry.
24 August 2005 at 20:24
Brilliant question. You really should make it an SBQ. In fact, I think I’ll blog about it later today (Hopefully).
I can tell you that when I was working full time, volunteering 40 hours a month, and taking my masters degree, I actually stitched enough to finish L&L’s Angel of Love in 3 months. It is tricky, but it is possible
And it’s worth it - stitching keeps your sanity.
24 August 2005 at 21:46
Renee: In a nutshell, I just love to stitch … just for me. My family is active; however, they know after the evening meal is done, I go into my corner & be creative. It is my thing & they respect me & my creative moments.
I’m sure you will manage everything. You sound driven to success …
24 August 2005 at 22:10
You’ll be amazed at how much you can get done on work breaks! I stitch from 15 min-1 hr at work on a project I keep strictly at work. Then I have another project that stays at home and gets worked on during my TV time at night after everyone is tucked in. Just be sure no matter how busy you get to take time to put a few stitches in every day. I can always tell when I need to stitch as I’m more stressed than usual. Good luck!
25 August 2005 at 10:09
Right now I find myself with the opposite problem; one that maybe you can offer advice on. For the first time in a long time I am the housewife again. We don’t have children so besides keeping the house tidy and cooking supper there is not a lot beside stitching (and blogging of course) to fill my day. I find myself answering the question “so what do you do all day” a lot… In Canada when I worked out of the house, I did most of my stitching in the evenings while we watched TV or movies. Now I am getting hand cramps from stitching all day
Any advice for a new Belgian housewife who wants to stay sane?
27 August 2005 at 17:03
I am a housewife, but I’m also mom to two little monkeys who seem to take up a LOT of time. The bigger one is in school but now that the smallest one is in playgroup three mornings a week I have a little time free in the day time to stitch. I find I only get an hour or so done while he is there (he goes for 2.5 hours at a time).
What bugs me most about my day is how much time seems taken up with going to and from school. It takes me 15 - 30 minutes each time of cycling and then waiting, and I do the same trip three times a day when the little one is at playgroup and twice a day on the days he’s not. Then I have driving lessons, piano lessons, just keeping the house tidy and clean, loads of laundry etc, correspondence, bookkeeping (I do all our bills) …
The way I work it out is that I don’t expect to stitch in the daytime. If I do get to stitch its a bonus. But, after 8.30 pm and til 11.00 stitching is what I do while I watch tv. Everything is done by then and it takes a miracle to move me from my chair
We’ll be fostering babies after December so I’m sure that my routine will have to change, but I can work it out I’m sure.
Good luck with your new routine!