There is never enough time....

There never seems to be enough time to get everything done that you want done...because of this I guess you just have to let some things go? 
I have tried to incorporate some things into my day that help me to multi-task to try and get more into my day.  I started a few months ago doing what I call -  "Take 5".  When I say "Take 5" everyone has to stop whatever they are doing and take 5 minutes to do some type of cleaning.  You have to spend the entire 5 minutes doing something.  This seems to help, but if I try and do it too many times in a day I get plenty of grumbles...lol. 
I also recently started to make myself pick something up when I left one room to go to another.  I don't know about you but I constantly have things in one room that need to go back to another room. IE: Quilting Magazines in my bedroom that need to go back to my studio.  That potholder that somehow ended up on my computer desk - how did that get there anyways?
I don't like to spend my entire time off cleaning and sometimes it seems like you could do just that, if you let it suck up your life.  I think I would rather be known as a little bit messy and have some time to myself to enjoy things...what about you? 
I think that next year is going to be a big changing period in my life because I suspect both of my boys will be going off on their own and that will leave me with no one to blame the messes on but myself.  I am pretty sure that things will be much more orderly but then I wonder if I am going to miss the grumbling about getting your clothes to the laundry room, or leaving that glass on the coffee table. Not to mention the quiet...
I would love to hear how you manage to squeeze more into your day, or even how you have decided to let things go...
Today while I let things go I will be finishing up my Summer Sampler Quilt - all that's left is the binding, putting my customers Memory Quilt in the Longarm to quilt, working on a beautiful New York Beauty pattern that I haven't shown yet (its a surprise!) and hanging my Knotty Thoughts quilt up in the living room now that the Horny Toad has been applied to it. :)   What are you working on? 

Happy Weekend Everyone!
Linda

Don't sweat the small stuff...

This morning as I was doing laundry I had a memory of when I was married and my ex would complain when asked to put clothes in the washer and the clothes were inside out.  He would have an absolute fit about this and I would just think, well it only takes,  what? - 2 seconds to turn it the correct way and move on. 
This in turn made me think about people that I have talked to that say "Oh I could never quilt, I just don't have the patience for it". I guess that made me think this morning that my patience must be tied to my ability to not sweat the small stuff. 

I know people that clean their house so much including their garage, that I bet that you could eat off the floors - including the garage floor!  Me?  I can overlook that sock that my son dropped next to the couch until he gets up tomorrow morning and I can ask him to please pick it up.  Granted there are days that I do pick it up, but it is not something that would nag at me and cause me distress. My house may not be the cleanest on the block, but I am certain that it is one of the happiest because I don't stress over small things that I do not feel are important.  If someone doesn't want to visit me because I might have a sock on the floor then they will be the ones that are missing out on my wonderful self. :) 

My passion for quilting does lend itself to a bit of clutter in my studio and my longarm room, but to me this is happy clutter because its where I immerse myself into my creativity which is a zone that feeds my soul.  I am my happiest in this zone and in these rooms surrounded by my fabric, patterns, tools etc... When I see these rooms I feel an immediate sense of self and a calmness comes over me that can only be experienced by someone else that truly understands what it is like to have a creative passion. It is the Zen of my existence.  The fact that you can see these things in my home and they do not "conform" to a normal household set up does not bother me in the least - I just don't sweat it. 

Knotty Thoughts....

While I was at the LQS (Local Quilt Store) today, we got into a conversation about my Knotty Thoughts quilt (the one pictured on my blog page) and how I came up with the name for it.  For those of you that know me well, I am a thinker...well too be more exact and honest I am an OVER thinker. It is certainly a blessing and a curse to be this way and I sometimes wonder if I have been this way my whole life or its something that I have perfected over time?  Guess I should consult with the mom on this question.  Anyhow, while I was in the process of making this particular quilt, I had a lot on my mind and I was thinking about how my thoughts get all knotted up sometimes and wallah!  The name of this quilt was born.
Getting back to the over thinking though...now that I have brought it up.  It makes me wonder if this is part of having a creative mind or do I border on insanity?   I have lately taken to carrying around a small spiral with me to jot down ideas that I come up with when I am in one of these over thinking modes. I don't want to forget the ideas and at my age that tends to happen.  I will admit that I have even called myself on the phone to leave myself a message about a great idea that I have had just so I don't lose the thought. Or I have woken up in the middle of the night and jotted down something that has come to me.  Do you think this is bordering on insanity,  is anyone else doing this?  I guess I have just been too embarrassed to ask.
I guess the creative over thinking part of me has been okay with this process because it has only had positive results - great ideas have blossomed from it and to me that can only be a good thing.  It is the negative part of the over thinking that I find challenging and I am working on trying to avoid.  Things like wondering if I shouldn't have said or did something or over analyzing what someone said to the point where I make myself crazy wondering what they really meant.  I am trying so hard to just let these things go and my mantra to myself has been "Don't worry it away".  I guess the "it" is my sanity?   I think that understanding my weakness is a good step in the right direction, and also realizing that even though this is a weakness it is also a strength because I garner so much creative thinking from it.  I guess in the long run I am saying that I am accepting this as one of my personality traits, one that I realize has good and bad aspects but I will continue to work on the bad because the good overcomes it.  And I think that those that truly understand me and love me will be able to overlook this attribute as well and see me for the wonderful person that I really am...my faults and all. :)  

Layer Cakes...

So I got the most beautiful Kashmir Layer Cake this week and I am just loving it and cannot wait to figure out what I am going to make with it.  For those of you that are not familiar with this term, Layer Cakes are 10 x 10 inch fabric squares that are usually from a specific fabric line from Moda.  You get about 42 squares in each Layer Cake.  Purchasing a Layer Cake gives you a more varied selection of the fabric line as many local quilt shops don't carry the entire fabric line.  I tend to gravitate towards scrappy quilts anyways and so the idea of using lots of fabrics appeals to me. So...now I just need to decide what project to do with it.  I would love it if I could get a few people to join me in a project so I will share my pattern once I have decided and maybe I can get a few more followers to join in. :) 
The Austin Quilt Show is coming up this weekend and I plan on being there!  I love to look at other peoples work and see what they have come up with as well as admire their piecing, applique and threadwork.  I am really looking forward to going and plan on taking photos as well.  Another great thing about these shows is that if you are in to Art Quilting as well you can pick up some really cool products at these shows.  The last show I went to I acquired some silk thread pods that are just incredible and really get my imagine going on things that I could do with them.  Art Quilting is another avenue of Quilting that I really enjoy because it really allows you complete liberty to be as creative as you would like with all types of varied media that some might not even think to use. I have learned how to recycle some really cool stuff that I never would have thought previously to use. Isn't imagination wonderful?   I really need to finish up my Under The Sea art quilt and get a picture posted as well.  I guess I just have my hands in so many projects at one time...but I think from the way all my fellow quilters speak this is pretty normal for us.
Well I hope everyone is enjoying their September, it is National Sewing Month after all!  I don't know about you but I am looking forward to the weekend and my extra quilting time.  Happy Quilting! 

You Tube as a resource.

There are so many free tutorials and just informational videos on You Tube that are free!  I have been watching tutorials this morning on Long Arm techniques and tips that are very helpful.  I am so glad that there are people in the quilting community that are willing to post these videos for free!  I was looking at some of the classes that are offered at the Houston International Quilt Festival this year and would just love to go but don't think its in the budget for me. All of the good classes start early in the morning which means that I would have to get a hotel room the night before (another added expense) unless I wanted to leave my house at like 4am to get there on time.  If I did that I would be so tired in class that I wouldn't be able to focus and learn. So, for now I guess I will continue to watch the tutorials and practice on my own machine and maybe think now about budgeting for next year to take some classes at the festival.  Hope everyone is having a wonderful Sunday, let me know what you are working on too! :)

Short Vacation means lots of Quilting!

Having a short vacation means that I have extra time to focus on my quilting.  I don't want to get caught up in housework over this holiday but instead want to enjoy myself and spend some time quilting and designing.  Lazy days filled with plenty of starbucks, great music and a no hurry attitude.  Hope everyone else is planning to enjoy their holiday weekend as well!