i attempted to get a lot of sewing done this weekend. it didn't happen. but what i did get done was fun and even though i had made a "to sew list" i got distracted and whipped up a partially finished new project for me! but wouldn't ya know...right when i was getting some good sewing mojo on the hubs leaves the wee one with me napping and a few minutes after he walks out the door she wakes up. darn it. sewing time over. i'm already dreaming of next weekend. those unfinished projects are already haunting me :)
because we rent and live in our condo i have what used to be our dining room for a sewing wall (first pic above) and the area (shown shown directly above) where our table now is as a makeshift workspace that i use only on saturdays when the hubs takes the kids out for a few hours so momma can work. the ironing board monster is always looming and storing odds and ends, stacks of fabric, books, equipment, supplies...you name it...the ironing board monster holds onto it. all that stuff on the table there is usually on my ironing board and as you can see in the first pic of this post that ironing board is already quite full. oh how i dream of a sewing room with real space.....one day, one day...but for now..it's chaos in a somewhat organized fashion. i just clean off the ironing board when i need to work and move it all onto the table. not ideal but you gotta do what you gotta do. or as tim gunn says "make it work".
and speaking of project runway (my fave show), i've been hooked on project runway allstars and keep forgetting to show you all my autographed pic of mondo :P yes, mondo guerra. i love mondo. he's one of my fave project runway designers and when my pal alex was in the states last fall she saw him at macy's and even though she doesn't watch the show she stood in line to get this for me cause she knows how big a fan i am. so sweet! thank you again alex...xoxox. needless to say mondo is on my shelf right next to my sewing machine reminding me to think outside the box, be creative and stay true to myself. i find him and his style very inspiring. yes, again, i'm a dork..lol.
remember last week when i told you a special parcel had arrived from a friend? well let me tell you...what a wonderful surprise!!! anna from the awesome blog noodlehead and i were chatting and we got to talking about fabrics and i was moaning and groaning about how i always have to order online for prints i like and never have a budget to buy any unless i know what the project is for and she said she was getting rid of scraps and would i like them? heck ya i would!!!!
so i was expecting a wee envelope with..well, scraps. what came was a big ol'box filled with fabric deliciousness. seriously. i'm still drooling.....i can't even put them away on my fabric shelf because they are all just too lovely to look at. anna - i heart you and you are sooooooo awesome!!!! thank you soooooo much! sincerely and straight from the heart. fabric makes me cry i love it so. sometimes i don't even want to sew with it, i just want to look at it. wanna see what she sent me?
and there was real scraps in there too! i feel so blessed. that's not even all the little goodies she sent! i now need to find time to sew with them all! i've been struggling with juggling everything the last few weeks and it's been weighing on my mind a lot lately. how to fit it all in, find time to just be mommy, be a wife, clean the house, blog, write, design, sew, knit, keep projects organized...and the list goes on.
i think we all, as moms, and especially creative moms, find this especially difficult. creative energy comes on even when you aren't asking for it. i know for me it's strong and drives me nuts until i either make something, draw, sew, write it down, knit...whatever it is...my hands will tingle with excitement until i...well....just create. it may sound weird to some, but i've been like this my whole life. i wake up in the night filled with ideas and thoughts and have to get up and jot them down. i can be driving to preschool and feel a strong urge to pull over the car to take a pic or draw an idea of a new project out. i love this about myself but i also sometimes find it very hard to control when life is busy or hectic. i need to find time to push those thoughts further and allow them to become reality. they can't always just sit on a page waiting or folded on my ironing board begging to be sewn...sometimes they just need "to be". how to always find the time is my current dilemma. the more i create the more thoughts i have and the more energy that i need to get out. it just takes over.
it's tough leaving most of it for saturday and then when saturday comes to not be able to finish...aiyahahaa..then it leave me here writing to all of you about it..lol. i used to sew at night but man, when i get to 8 or 9pm i haven't even started blogging yet and the house needs tidying and i find if i sew tired (which i always am at this time) i just mess it up. i used to sew when it was nap time but now my oldest daughter wants my full on attention during the babies nap time so that makes it hard to sew then too. i also get really distracted and cannot focus when the wee ones are running under foot when i'm trying to sew during the day so that brings me back to saturdays which is a new work in progress in our house. but then isn't life a work in progress? i'm sure i'll find some semblance of an answer soon but in the meantime i thought it would be fun to hear your thoughts on the subject.
do any of you have the same issue? what do you do to help fit that time in to create? time blocking helps me but i feel like i need to start doing more than that. let's chat, i think this is a topic that a lot of you deal with daily and i'm sure we all have some tidbits of wisdom to share with each other. coffee's on :)