Thursday, March 24, 2011

Fifteen Minutes

"Busier than a one-legged man in an ass-kicking contest..."

That expression has always made me giggle.*  When it applies to me, though, not so much.

Working three jobs with but a rough framework of a schedule sounds like a flexibility lover's dream, and for the most part, it is.  When one or two jobs are status quo or slack, the other often picks up.  When all three get a little busier at the same time, however, it becomes more of a logistical conundrum.  Sit down to do one thing and another brushfire pops up.

And so it goes.

Flowers from a thoughtful employer on my five-year work anniversary this week.
That's why Kate's idea of carving out 15 minutes of sewing room time per day appealed to me.  Fifteen minutes seems manageable even under the busiest of circumstances, and allows me to keep moving forward, even if in baby steps.

I've been trying to do that since last Monday, and I fully intended to report on my progress through the linky on Kate's blog on Tuesday.  But since blogging about anything takes me longer than 15 minutes, the post didn't happen...until now.

Monday 3/14 - Create and post tutorial for St. Patrick's Day mug rug.

Tuesday 3/15 - Trim fabric for a friend's planned Sudoku quilt and get ready to mail.

Wednesday 3/16 - Look through fabric stash for Paper Piece Quilt Along fabrics (nothing suitable found...put "shop for fabric" on to-do list).

Thursday 3/17 - Pull and cut fabric for Just One Star block.

Friday 3/18 - Make Just One Star block.

Saturday 3/19 - Fabric shop for PPQA fabric and fruit & veggie prints for Mom Wald's quilt project.

Sunday 3/20 - Prewash fabric and cut blocks from fruit & veggie prints.

So there you have it.  Nothing mind blowing, but action I'm happy about nonetheless.  I plan to keep it up.  Whether I get around to posting about it every week, I can't say for sure.  So far this week, I'm only one for seven; two if you count the post office run to mail some fabric and a quilt block. 

Next on the agenda is to get another PhD (Project Half Done) finished.  I intended to quilt the cross stitch veggie wall hanging for my sister in time for her birthday.  That didn't happen.  Today is her birthday.  Happy Birthday, Nita!  I promise to get it done before anyone plants a garden around here.

That may be a while.  Winter came back for a visit this week.  

There is a frozen sap-sicle on the river birch in the front yard.  We had the tree trimmed last fall, and when it was warmer last week, the sap fell like raindrops from where a branch had been lopped.

Speaking of things on hold, like springtime in Wisconsin, Sunday Sundry will be doing likewise for a while.  Since I'm having to work more on weekends, I'd like to spend the free hours I do have away from the computer and in the sewing room instead (or the thrift shops, or with family).  When the wave of work passes and things have smoothed out again, Sunday Sundry will be back.

Did I ever show you this crocheted apron I found at the thrift store a couple months ago?  

I love the rickrack and ribbon waistband.



It reminds me there's green grass under the white stuff outside, new green underneath the pile of paperwork, lovely things waiting to pop and grow.  

All that from an apron.  Who knew?

*I thought about cleaning up the language, but it just doesn't have the same effect.  Thanks for reading, if you made it this far without taking offense.  Now go kick some ass!

9 comments:

thea said...

Although you only sewed one day, you did something sewing related everyday. I think that counts!

pwl said...

LOL

The language made me giggle.

I was thinking about not doing my 15 minutes tonight, but maybe once I can convince the cat that I'm not a piece of furniture for her, I'll move and get something done. :-)

Sarah Craig said...

I'm sorry you're limited to fifteen minutes a day, but isn't it amazing what you can get done in a short period of time? Hopefully it will get better soon!

SueWis said...

Wow, so much to comment on, where do I begin....

The phrase would not have been as cute if it was cleaned up. :)

I need to follow your lead. For some reason I think I need an hour or more to sew. Silly me!

Did you stitch those veggies? That wall hanging will be absolutely beautiful when it is done. So much work!

Pokey said...

I say "hooray" for even that 15 minutes of sewing! The best way for that to happen is to just sit down at the machine every day. Good for you, P, even on your busiest of weeks. (I think making time for creativity helps us from getting too cranky when the pay job is so demanding!)
:-}pokey

Elizabeth said...

That cross-stitch veggie wall hanging is amazing! Can't wait to see the whole thing finished. And the sap-cicle is the craziest thing I've seen in a while. Sorry that the snow came back :(.

Those flowers from your boss are so beautiful. Love how you've arranged things in the photos of them. And that saying about the one-legged man makes me giggle too.

xo -El

Michelle said...

I love the 15 minutes concept! You've been making strides. Thanks for sharing all the pretty pictures.

Shay said...

Love the crochet apron. That's something you dont see much these days and it's beautiful. I can imagin some 60's? housewife wearing this after she'd cooked all the dinner as a hostess apron.

Great 15 minute efforts this week P...I have been slack since about Tuesday . I have no excuse but exhaustion. But you're rocking the challenge.

As you can probably imagine I wasn't the least bit offended by the profanity (in fact I wondered if I'd missed it and had to scroll back because frankly I ddnt recognise ass as a swear word..reinforcing the fact I am a complete potty mouth )

Kate said...

I'm with Tea, you managed 7 quilty related activities for the week. Some of that stuff you have to do to make progress on projects, so I count them just as much as the sewing stuff (though I admit, I like the sewing best of all). So a great week. I'm with you on the posting, that takes time to do. So link up when you have time.

Pretty veggie quilt and love the apron.

Hope life calms down soon!