"Chunks of Time"-- a theory.

    So here we are, two-thirds of the way through January, and I'm already behind on some of the things (but not all) I wanted to sew. This is an update on my current projects-- as well as a theory I intend to put to the test next month about how to MAXIMIZE SEWING PRODUCTIVITY-- it's always a endlessly fascinating topic to me. 

1) Morning handwork-- I'll start with this because I am AHEAD-- I wanted to finish my Baltimore Album applique border by the 15th and got 'er done early-- I'm now back to the Snowman cross stitch. Only one snow person left to go! This could also be done by the end of the month. Feeling confident, I ordered the black tray from Sudberry House it was originally displayed in and you can see, it looks sublime. I was so happy after 23 years to find they still make it! So be encouraged-- pull all those old projects out and finish them up! 

After this, I only have two old cross stitches left-- the House of Hardanger, and the Fruits of the Spirit. If you're a fan of vintage cross stitch kits, I started this WIP odyssey in this blog post and you can see them there: 

Vintage Cross Stitch Projects

2) Alaska Quilt--okay, so my clever new planner is telling me I should be starting Block 8 today. I finished through Block 5. There are four of each, so that's twenty blocks-- nothing to sneeze at. I have enough to complete two rows out of seven. Here it is on my "Design Floor." (clearly we're in need of new carpet-- is this a business expense? Although if the IRS suggested I could have just vacuumed for once, they'd be right.)

 I want to finish four quilts this year-- probably unrealistic, and twelve table runners--complete unrealistic, but I still think I can do it, by trying my new "chunks of time" technique below.

3) Cross stitch cottage finish. While I was stitching the Alaska blocks on my sewing machine, my cross stitch cottage sashings were running on the embroidery machine. So this is truly the zenith of the machine embroidery experience-- yes, you can be sewing two things at once-- a multi-tasking heaven. Thirty-one sashings are done, as well as a restitch of two blocks that weren't the happiest. Now I have a marathon of trimming up and stitching together to do-- and voila-- my first finish of 2021. This is within reach. Soon.

4) Stitches of the Sea-- So-- yes, I have gotten a lot of questions about this, and yes, we are going to close out the twelve blocks and the finishing kit ASAP this year. The octopus is almost done and will be on the site next week. Then we have a tropical fish for February, and a finishing kit ASAP after that. The finishing kits usually have KILLER instructions to write-- be patient. So far, I at least have the idea in my head. I am sincerely sorry this didn't get finished on time-- I didn't know we'd all be trying to survive a worldwide pandemic. Look, ma-- eight arms-- and a zillion suckers!

5) Carefree Highways-- I've been working this along in the background, and we have Maine. Colorado is sketched. Then, as part of the release of five themed to National Parks, we are working on Utah, Wyoming, and Tennessee. I don't have a picture for this-- so I'll give that much away.

6) Coriander Christmas BOM Block 6 came in,  and I got that sewn up almost right away. I needed this BOM like a hole in the head, but I'm really glad I did it. For one thing, it's beautiful. I also really want a Christmas quilt on my bed at the holidays. (Yup, this one is MINE.) This seems to be the right amount of work for me each month-- the "Laugh with Friends" block has 80 pieces, but there's only ONE of them, and it's a hefty 18"x18"--so I'm getting bang for my buck in square footage, too.

So that's SIX active projects for now--I've tried to limit the number of WIPs this year, but this is really as spare as I can be-- there's just too many fun things to do out there.

AND THE THEORY:

Instead of spending a couple hours here, and a couple there, I'm wondering if I just spent a bigger chunk of time on each of these, would it maximize my progress a bit better? In thinking it through, a lot of time may be getting wasted by putting away, taking out, figuring out where I was... 

At the same time, creative work definitely needs marination time-- for instance, could I have given a month last year to JUST doing the entire Stitches of the Sea quilt-- and the answer, for me, is definitely NO-- I would have drowned. Something more repetitive like Alaska could see quite a bit of progress if it just got a few hours one day-- maybe I could even catch up to my made up schedule. 

I intend to put this to the test in the next couple of weeks-- and I will absolutely share my findings... I'd love to hear your input on sewing time management below as we all try to have a BIG YEAR in 2021!

xox 

Carol