You know those days… where you want some stress relief to sit at your sewing machine and make all the pieces fit together perfectly BUT… the kids get sick, you forgot about a project you volunteered for, a spontaneous playdate at the park eats up a whole afternoon, your 15-minute dinner took 45 minutes somehow, nap time was… ha, what naptime?… Maybe you’re just grumpy and your tolerable level of all things grown-up was surpassed before 3 PM. Here are some practical tips on what to do when life won’t let you quilt!
Grab your coffee.
Momma heart to heart convo here:
As modern moms, we are a jack of all trades and look cute too. I don’t wear heels, because it makes me feel like a baby giraffe, but I can rock a pair of yoga pants while running errands! *high five*
My google calendar looks like somebody is about to level up on Tetris but could also watch the whole thing crumble down at any second.
I’ve accepted this as my fate as a busy mom.
To be clear, I’m not bragging. It is a rather unstable way to live life and I don’t recommend it to anyone… but I know I’m not alone. My ‘tetris’ does tend to crumble from time to time, but I love my life the way it is. I love my babies and the chaos they bring to our lives. We have a TON of fun in our house. Crazy, busy fun.
I often dream of a carefree Saturday where daddy takes over and I have 10… 6… 4… heck, even 2 hours to myself to sew without interruption…
Reality is me being my very own fairy godmother at the end of a long day and telling my kids “You can stay up an extra 15 minutes if you let mommy sew, ok?”
It’s awesome. Let me tell you, we ALL get really excited about those extra 15 minutes… Good times.
So, you want to know what to do when life won’t let you quilt?
If life is so ‘tetris’ like for you that a scheduled time to sit at your machine is a far-off dream… try to adjust your course with these steps to move you in the right direction towards your sewing dreams.
No, these steps aren’t technically sewing (yet). But if the clouds ever part and you find yourself with time in the future, you’ll be socked piled and ready to take action! Canceled plans? Is the baby STILL sleeping? Boom. Go! Now is your chance!
- Pick out a pattern. Even if it is just browsing Pinterest while you wait for the spaghetti to boil. Get your game plan on. – You can download a FREE Quilt Pattern from me and be one step closer!
- Fabric shop – Again, it’s not sewing (yet) but you’ll be ready when the occasion does arise! I prefer to shop for myself (I know, I am so thoughtful!) If I go into the fabric store with someone else in mind, I lose interest more quickly if I can’t finish my self-imposed deadline. If the opposite is true for you, and you find motivation in a project for someone else, by all means… shop and gift away! You can read about how I save money while shop for fabric.
- Prep your fabric/supplies – A cutting mat and some fabric is a much more mobile mess that doesn’t demand as much attention as a full on quilt does. Get your pieces cut to size and organized. If you have to stop 3 minutes in to fill up a sippy cup, it’s ok. You can start back up pretty quickly. Just take extra care in making sure your rotary cutter or scissors will not get into the hands of the little ones!
This Quilt Shopping List has everything you’ll need to make a quilt, so when the time comes you won’t be missing anything and have to stop sewing.
I promise you this…
Even when it seems like you will NEVER have time to sew or life is just too crazy right now (and for the foreseeable future)… these steps will help you get there.
If you have to work in chunks of time that are 10 minutes long while waiting for dinner to finish…
If you have to shop for fabric on your phone while laying in bed or while sitting in the car pickup line at school…
You are still making progress!
Perhaps it’s not the ideal glamourous progress you had hoped for, but hey… (some tough mom love)… you get what you get and you don’t throw a fit! — I’m so sorry, I will try not to use my mom words on you again.
There WILL come a day when the clouds open up and you will see a quilting window and because you’re a rockstar (be honest, you totally are) you’ll pull out all your prep stuff and hit to floor sewing! It’ll come together quickly and you’ll feel radiant in all your fabric glory!
Woohoo!
If you want some other tips on how to work quilting into your busy day (it’s possible, *pinky promise*), I share my busy momma secrets in this free e-book download! I’m happy to share and it is helping many other mommas out there that are struggling to juggle mom lide and quilting life, just like you!