This is the center medallion for the Heritage Stars quilt I have been working on. Or rather not working on, but I am trying to correct that situation. I am using the beautiul fabric group Allspice Tapestry by Fig Tree for Moda and a pattern I found in an issue of APQ. The center medallion will be surrounded by stars in two sizes. I started out making the smaller 6 inch stars, since there are 44 of them required. My idea was to get them out of the way first and then whip through the larger stars. As I recall, only 24 of them are needed. That is a lot of stars in total, friends.
At this time, only 16 of the small stars are completed, so I have a fair amount of work to do. I figure if I make a few stars every day I will soon see some progress. It all adds up, right?
I would love to know something. I realize that I can't be the only person in the position of wanting to quilt, but having outside responsibilities. Many of you have kids, one or more full time jobs, aged parents to look after, meals to prepare, gardens to take care of, dogs to walk, grand children to baby sit…..
Please share with the rest of us how you manage to fit your quilting into your busy lives! Inquiring minds need to know!
60 responses to “Heritage Stars”
I do 90% of my sewing and quilting after my 2 kids (8 and 5) have gone to bed – and during the school year they go to bed at 8:15, so I can get 2 to 2 1/2 hours in every night. I love these stars – they are beautiful!
Kris
I do 90% of my sewing and quilting after my 2 kids (8 and 5) have gone to bed – and during the school year they go to bed at 8:15, so I can get 2 to 2 1/2 hours in every night. I love these stars – they are beautiful!
Kris
I have those special nights where both of the kids are out of the house with friends or at work. When the kids are back to school I will every once in a while just schedule a personal day off where I can be home by myself and just sew.
I have those special nights where both of the kids are out of the house with friends or at work. When the kids are back to school I will every once in a while just schedule a personal day off where I can be home by myself and just sew.
First of all, I have a cleaning lady. She comes every two weeks and keeps us decent and hence the Board of Health has not come to shut us down. She doesn’t clean as well as I would if I cleaned, but I don’t want to clean, so there.
My job is from 7:30 or 8:00 in the morning until 4:00 or 4:30 in the afternoon. Being as how I’m a Morning Person, this works out very well. I’m also blessed with a short commute. I know y’all will hate me, but my commute is 7 minutes each way; if the traffic is very, very bad it can go up to 9 minutes.
So I am generally home between 4:15 and 4:45 each day and I have from then until it is time to make dinner to do what I want. I generally do the Sudoku and occasionally close my eyes for 20 minutes. I go down to the sewing studio where — again I am blessed — everything is open and out because this space isn’t public or a guest room, and set the timer so I know to stop and make dinner, and get to work. Sometimes I go directly there and save the Sudoku (I’m convinced that if I do it every day I won’t get Alzheimer’s)to work on while dinner is cooking.
I don’t like television very much, but DH does. After dinner he likes to unwind in front of it, and I generally go back downstairs and sew for another hour or more. I’ll usually come up and join him around 9:00 with whatever handwork I have in the works and sit and watch whatever he is watching, or we’ll put on a Netflix, until bedtime.
If I don’t sew a little bit everyday, I get cranky. And no one wants that.
That’s how I manage the workdays.
N, NP
First of all, I have a cleaning lady. She comes every two weeks and keeps us decent and hence the Board of Health has not come to shut us down. She doesn’t clean as well as I would if I cleaned, but I don’t want to clean, so there.
My job is from 7:30 or 8:00 in the morning until 4:00 or 4:30 in the afternoon. Being as how I’m a Morning Person, this works out very well. I’m also blessed with a short commute. I know y’all will hate me, but my commute is 7 minutes each way; if the traffic is very, very bad it can go up to 9 minutes.
So I am generally home between 4:15 and 4:45 each day and I have from then until it is time to make dinner to do what I want. I generally do the Sudoku and occasionally close my eyes for 20 minutes. I go down to the sewing studio where — again I am blessed — everything is open and out because this space isn’t public or a guest room, and set the timer so I know to stop and make dinner, and get to work. Sometimes I go directly there and save the Sudoku (I’m convinced that if I do it every day I won’t get Alzheimer’s)to work on while dinner is cooking.
I don’t like television very much, but DH does. After dinner he likes to unwind in front of it, and I generally go back downstairs and sew for another hour or more. I’ll usually come up and join him around 9:00 with whatever handwork I have in the works and sit and watch whatever he is watching, or we’ll put on a Netflix, until bedtime.
If I don’t sew a little bit everyday, I get cranky. And no one wants that.
That’s how I manage the workdays.
N, NP
I love the routines given for free by this website, http://www.flylady.net it really keeps the cleaning in perspective and I still have time to sew and work full time.
I love the routines given for free by this website, http://www.flylady.net it really keeps the cleaning in perspective and I still have time to sew and work full time.
Just consider your sewing time your unwind and therapy session. Convince yourself that you need it each day and figure the time slot it would fit into best. I know I will not be interupted in the 7-11 p.m. time slot so that is when I do most of mine.
Just consider your sewing time your unwind and therapy session. Convince yourself that you need it each day and figure the time slot it would fit into best. I know I will not be interupted in the 7-11 p.m. time slot so that is when I do most of mine.
Summer is hard, things are a little more unsettled and spontaneous. So I just fit it in where I can. After Ethan gets back in school, I try to sew a couple of hours in the mornings. It is time well spent, no one likes a grouchy mama and mama ain’t happy unless she can create a little each day. ;~)
Summer is hard, things are a little more unsettled and spontaneous. So I just fit it in where I can. After Ethan gets back in school, I try to sew a couple of hours in the mornings. It is time well spent, no one likes a grouchy mama and mama ain’t happy unless she can create a little each day. ;~)
Ever since I started quilting I’ve worked full time. I try to do cutting on the weekends and get a few projects cut out. I put them in storage cases to keep everything organized. What I do is the night before layout a few blocks and for 15 minutes in the morning sew what I can. At night I try to have diner and all that done by 8:00 PM. I then sew for about 2 hours. At 10:00 PM I start to shut it down, we have TIVO and I’m able to watch shows that I missed that night. That TIVO is great you can watch an hour show in about 20 minutes. That what I seem to do and I get alot of stuff done.
Ever since I started quilting I’ve worked full time. I try to do cutting on the weekends and get a few projects cut out. I put them in storage cases to keep everything organized. What I do is the night before layout a few blocks and for 15 minutes in the morning sew what I can. At night I try to have diner and all that done by 8:00 PM. I then sew for about 2 hours. At 10:00 PM I start to shut it down, we have TIVO and I’m able to watch shows that I missed that night. That TIVO is great you can watch an hour show in about 20 minutes. That what I seem to do and I get alot of stuff done.
Age old problem ~ many times I come home from work so mentally tired that I never even go up to my studio (I hate this part). Sometimes I manage 30 minutes or, on a good day, an hour or more of studio time after dinner. It’s hard — very hard. As far as major work sessions, those fall on the weekends (but only if household needs don’t get in the way and demand attention). I’ve learned to sew in bursts (time and energy dependent). I also carry some handwork with me to offer an indulgence during my lunch hour and/or to work on when it is my turn to cover the front desk (once a week during receptionist’s lunch hour)…
Age old problem ~ many times I come home from work so mentally tired that I never even go up to my studio (I hate this part). Sometimes I manage 30 minutes or, on a good day, an hour or more of studio time after dinner. It’s hard — very hard. As far as major work sessions, those fall on the weekends (but only if household needs don’t get in the way and demand attention). I’ve learned to sew in bursts (time and energy dependent). I also carry some handwork with me to offer an indulgence during my lunch hour and/or to work on when it is my turn to cover the front desk (once a week during receptionist’s lunch hour)…
Just catching up Nicole — it looks like you’re adjusting well. And Ozzie too — I’ll bet he’d love to have a companion — if we get a dog again it will be two as I just can’t bear to leave one home all alone. We did that with our last dog and she cried a lot.
A clean house is the one thing that I sacrifice. We’re clean enough to be healthy but that’s about it. Something has to give, so that’s it. I don’t get nearly enough quilting time as I’d like either – I certainly can’t keep up your production level! I’ve always been a menu planner so that’s not a problem. The biggest problem is blogs — finding reading time is really hard sometimes!
Just catching up Nicole — it looks like you’re adjusting well. And Ozzie too — I’ll bet he’d love to have a companion — if we get a dog again it will be two as I just can’t bear to leave one home all alone. We did that with our last dog and she cried a lot.
A clean house is the one thing that I sacrifice. We’re clean enough to be healthy but that’s about it. Something has to give, so that’s it. I don’t get nearly enough quilting time as I’d like either – I certainly can’t keep up your production level! I’ve always been a menu planner so that’s not a problem. The biggest problem is blogs — finding reading time is really hard sometimes!
Well for me working full time and having 3 daughters… it is really hard, but I get some time in when everyone else is out! I also keep plenty of hand work for when we watch a movie or when I sit with my hubby for awhile in the afternoon. Otherwise, no, I don’t get too much done, but I just keep on doing a bit at a time. It is very overwhelming. I have to slack in other areas to allow for the quilting. Sometimes it is a dinner on the run, others it is waiting to catch up on major housework until another day. It is a balancing act. But I LOVE quilting, it is my sanity, and I manage. Good luck! You will strike your balance :o)
Well for me working full time and having 3 daughters… it is really hard, but I get some time in when everyone else is out! I also keep plenty of hand work for when we watch a movie or when I sit with my hubby for awhile in the afternoon. Otherwise, no, I don’t get too much done, but I just keep on doing a bit at a time. It is very overwhelming. I have to slack in other areas to allow for the quilting. Sometimes it is a dinner on the run, others it is waiting to catch up on major housework until another day. It is a balancing act. But I LOVE quilting, it is my sanity, and I manage. Good luck! You will strike your balance :o)
I’m retired but I’m so busy with daily life that I don’t get that much done. In the summer I babysit grandson’s two days a week. My husband is disabled and needs help plus he can’t help me with some of the stuff that needs done. There’s cleaning and cooking and gardening and shopping. By the time I get to sewing I’m too tired. Hubby said he wants me to spend at least a day a week in my sewing room for me. Such a sweety!
I’m retired but I’m so busy with daily life that I don’t get that much done. In the summer I babysit grandson’s two days a week. My husband is disabled and needs help plus he can’t help me with some of the stuff that needs done. There’s cleaning and cooking and gardening and shopping. By the time I get to sewing I’m too tired. Hubby said he wants me to spend at least a day a week in my sewing room for me. Such a sweety!
Your Allspice quilt is looking quite lovely. That’s a lot of stars!!! People always ask me how I work 2 jobs, manage 3 kids and also find time to sew. When I get home from my full-time job, DH has usually already fed the kids, or we have dinner when I get home. Then the kids are doing homework or playing outside, so I retreat to my sewing room which faces the front yard, and sew while they are playing. I am there if they need me, but I get in my hour or two of sewing before bedtime. Sometimes on the weekends, I get a few extra hours to sew.
Your Allspice quilt is looking quite lovely. That’s a lot of stars!!! People always ask me how I work 2 jobs, manage 3 kids and also find time to sew. When I get home from my full-time job, DH has usually already fed the kids, or we have dinner when I get home. Then the kids are doing homework or playing outside, so I retreat to my sewing room which faces the front yard, and sew while they are playing. I am there if they need me, but I get in my hour or two of sewing before bedtime. Sometimes on the weekends, I get a few extra hours to sew.
Working and blogging, you’re already mastering so much!!!
Working and blogging, you’re already mastering so much!!!
I don’t think I have ever seen anyone finish quilts as fast as you. My philosophy is that no matter how busy I am, when there is something I love to do, I FIND the time to do it.
I don’t think I have ever seen anyone finish quilts as fast as you. My philosophy is that no matter how busy I am, when there is something I love to do, I FIND the time to do it.
My husband and I share a study/sewing room, so in the evening after supper, and the kitchen is cleaned up, we spend our time there. He does genealogy and I do my sewing. I only clean house on weekends, other than the kitchen which gets cleaned every day after supper, and I usually do a load of laundry each night. But honestly, the house no longer gets that messy since the kids are grown, and a little dust never hurt anything. My favorite time of all is early morning. Husband leaves for work at 5:00am, I get up around 5:30 – 6:00 and sew until 7:15 – then I have to get ready for work.
Love your star block – those fabrics are so pretty!
My husband and I share a study/sewing room, so in the evening after supper, and the kitchen is cleaned up, we spend our time there. He does genealogy and I do my sewing. I only clean house on weekends, other than the kitchen which gets cleaned every day after supper, and I usually do a load of laundry each night. But honestly, the house no longer gets that messy since the kids are grown, and a little dust never hurt anything. My favorite time of all is early morning. Husband leaves for work at 5:00am, I get up around 5:30 – 6:00 and sew until 7:15 – then I have to get ready for work.
Love your star block – those fabrics are so pretty!
HI Nicole,
I think you have found some good strategies already that work for you.( yesterday’s post)
I tend to quilt in fits and spurts of time during the school year. I don’t have any young children at home now so I have more flexibility time wise. We manage to get the house tidyed up (but only occasionally sparkling) and I am learning to use the slow cooker more often for meals.
A bigger challenge is to come home from work and then find the energy to quilt- some times it happens, sometimes it doesn’t. It really depends on the day.
Your love of quilting will help you find the time to quilt.It will get easier as you get into the routine of the job- its always hard at the beginning when you are trying to learn new things and juggle new schedules.
Your star quilt is beautiful- it is coming along nicely.
Regards,
Anna
HI Nicole,
I think you have found some good strategies already that work for you.( yesterday’s post)
I tend to quilt in fits and spurts of time during the school year. I don’t have any young children at home now so I have more flexibility time wise. We manage to get the house tidyed up (but only occasionally sparkling) and I am learning to use the slow cooker more often for meals.
A bigger challenge is to come home from work and then find the energy to quilt- some times it happens, sometimes it doesn’t. It really depends on the day.
Your love of quilting will help you find the time to quilt.It will get easier as you get into the routine of the job- its always hard at the beginning when you are trying to learn new things and juggle new schedules.
Your star quilt is beautiful- it is coming along nicely.
Regards,
Anna
oooh those fabrics are soo calming aren’t they?
oooh those fabrics are soo calming aren’t they?
Even before you went back to work, I always wondered how you found so much time to quilt. If I get an hour in the sewing room twice a week, I feel lucky. I keep saying I’m going to set aside a period every day and tell everyone that’s my sewing/crafting time, just like I have a job, and no one is to bother me except in case of emergency. But that hasn’t happened yet. I do think that’s the only way we’ll ever get the time we need (and deserve) for our creative stuff. Just plan the time, then claim it. If you wait for “spare time,” it will never happen.
Even before you went back to work, I always wondered how you found so much time to quilt. If I get an hour in the sewing room twice a week, I feel lucky. I keep saying I’m going to set aside a period every day and tell everyone that’s my sewing/crafting time, just like I have a job, and no one is to bother me except in case of emergency. But that hasn’t happened yet. I do think that’s the only way we’ll ever get the time we need (and deserve) for our creative stuff. Just plan the time, then claim it. If you wait for “spare time,” it will never happen.
Well, during the school year I work. Plus, as you know, I am a mom. I tend to get a lot of my sewing done after my lil guy is in bed. I also pretty much hate sports, so when hub is hogging the tv for football season, I sew then too. It definitely isn’t an all day event, but I space it out. For example, when I was working on my NYBeauties…I would try to get 1 -2 blocks done a night and 8 days later, I had that stage done. You just have to make your goals smaller. Say you have 10 star blocks to go, try to do 2 a night (maybe while dinner is in the oven) and in 5 nights time you will be ready to pull it all together. Pulling it all together is something I’d do on a Saturday morning. I wish I could just stay home and quilt all the time, but I just can’t. So, I have to feel accomplished in smaller ways. I love FIG TREE quilts, fyi.
Well, during the school year I work. Plus, as you know, I am a mom. I tend to get a lot of my sewing done after my lil guy is in bed. I also pretty much hate sports, so when hub is hogging the tv for football season, I sew then too. It definitely isn’t an all day event, but I space it out. For example, when I was working on my NYBeauties…I would try to get 1 -2 blocks done a night and 8 days later, I had that stage done. You just have to make your goals smaller. Say you have 10 star blocks to go, try to do 2 a night (maybe while dinner is in the oven) and in 5 nights time you will be ready to pull it all together. Pulling it all together is something I’d do on a Saturday morning. I wish I could just stay home and quilt all the time, but I just can’t. So, I have to feel accomplished in smaller ways. I love FIG TREE quilts, fyi.
I con other family members to clean, I iron once in a blue moon and I food shop online. Even then I haven’t touched my sewing machine in at least 5-6 weeks although I have been knitting.
I con other family members to clean, I iron once in a blue moon and I food shop online. Even then I haven’t touched my sewing machine in at least 5-6 weeks although I have been knitting.
When I am back to work I try to be organized so I have as little to do in the morning and if all goes well I can actually sew for 20 minutes before work. I usually sew after supper too. I find it helps me unwind. It’s easy to sit and watch tv because you are usually exhausted but I find it relaxing to sew. The output definitely goes down in the school year though and that’s something you just have to live with.
When I am back to work I try to be organized so I have as little to do in the morning and if all goes well I can actually sew for 20 minutes before work. I usually sew after supper too. I find it helps me unwind. It’s easy to sit and watch tv because you are usually exhausted but I find it relaxing to sew. The output definitely goes down in the school year though and that’s something you just have to live with.
OH Nicole I am sure you must quilt in your sleep I just dont know how you fit it all in you are amazing.
Hugs Mary.
OH Nicole I am sure you must quilt in your sleep I just dont know how you fit it all in you are amazing.
Hugs Mary.
I usually sew 1/2 hour or hour after I get home from work (to wind down) and then do major sewing on the weekends. My schedule is a little screwed up right now though because DH is now working 12 hr days and every other weekend so he has 2 days off during the week. I don’t get as much done as I’d like, but it’s better than nothing.
I usually sew 1/2 hour or hour after I get home from work (to wind down) and then do major sewing on the weekends. My schedule is a little screwed up right now though because DH is now working 12 hr days and every other weekend so he has 2 days off during the week. I don’t get as much done as I’d like, but it’s better than nothing.
Hi Nicole, I work full time (always have), single mom and have one girl child left at home. Basically, you do what you can and don’t beat yourself up about what doesn’t get done. I quilt usually on the weekends in the evenings for an hour or two. Sometimes on Sunday morning. When you work full time it does eat into creative time but try and make some time for yourself or you will get bummed out. I think we need that creative time to mellow ourselves out. I try to cut everything at once so when I sit down to sew, I can just sew. You will find your good times and just make sure you take those times for you.
I wish you the best of luck and I just want to say I really enjoy your blog and the beautiful quilts you make.
Hi Nicole, I work full time (always have), single mom and have one girl child left at home. Basically, you do what you can and don’t beat yourself up about what doesn’t get done. I quilt usually on the weekends in the evenings for an hour or two. Sometimes on Sunday morning. When you work full time it does eat into creative time but try and make some time for yourself or you will get bummed out. I think we need that creative time to mellow ourselves out. I try to cut everything at once so when I sit down to sew, I can just sew. You will find your good times and just make sure you take those times for you.
I wish you the best of luck and I just want to say I really enjoy your blog and the beautiful quilts you make.
Hi Nicole, trying to persure a hobby and work fulltime is tedious. BUT, here is what I do-
check out Judy Laquidara’a blog, she hosts “Hour a Day” quilts projects that are great!
Stashbusters has a “15 minutes a Day” quilt project going most of the time.
Allow yourself 30 monutes a day of “power sewing”. You will be surprised how much you can get done if you KNOW that you only have 30 mintutes, When your time is limited, it becomes more precious. You will become more efficient, focused and will not make many mistakes, lol!
The other thing I do is take my vacation time when I have a bunch of UFO’s laying around. I sew non-stop until their done and then go back to work.
I’m right with you with living on java, little sleep, a fair amount of stress and wishing I could make about $100,000 a year….quilting my brains out, ROFLMBO!!
you are an inspiration to me and many others. You are going to work out this out. We love you! Amie :o)
Hi Nicole, trying to persure a hobby and work fulltime is tedious. BUT, here is what I do-
check out Judy Laquidara’a blog, she hosts “Hour a Day” quilts projects that are great!
Stashbusters has a “15 minutes a Day” quilt project going most of the time.
Allow yourself 30 monutes a day of “power sewing”. You will be surprised how much you can get done if you KNOW that you only have 30 mintutes, When your time is limited, it becomes more precious. You will become more efficient, focused and will not make many mistakes, lol!
The other thing I do is take my vacation time when I have a bunch of UFO’s laying around. I sew non-stop until their done and then go back to work.
I’m right with you with living on java, little sleep, a fair amount of stress and wishing I could make about $100,000 a year….quilting my brains out, ROFLMBO!!
you are an inspiration to me and many others. You are going to work out this out. We love you! Amie :o)
I don’t know why, but using a sewing machine at night is something I just cannot do, no matter how good the lighting is. Anything machine related gets done on weekends or days I’m not working.
Given that most everything I do is hand pieced or hand appliqued, it works out well — evenings, I stitch while DH reads or does his crosswords.
I don’t know why, but using a sewing machine at night is something I just cannot do, no matter how good the lighting is. Anything machine related gets done on weekends or days I’m not working.
Given that most everything I do is hand pieced or hand appliqued, it works out well — evenings, I stitch while DH reads or does his crosswords.
I started a new job 3 to 4 days a week about 7 weeks ago which has a 1 1/2 in total commute( no traffic though) and haven’t had the energy to blog since then 🙁 I also study at Uni full time and have 3 kids, plus try and do some quilting for customers. I hope you find some answers to share 🙂 I try and plod along with the sewing, but am suffering a lack of creativeness over the two colour challenge.
I started a new job 3 to 4 days a week about 7 weeks ago which has a 1 1/2 in total commute( no traffic though) and haven’t had the energy to blog since then 🙁 I also study at Uni full time and have 3 kids, plus try and do some quilting for customers. I hope you find some answers to share 🙂 I try and plod along with the sewing, but am suffering a lack of creativeness over the two colour challenge.
Hi Nicole…I always feel that constant pull of wanting to be home quilting when I’m at work and then I’m often too tired to do anything when I am home. I’ve learned that for me even just a few minutes of sewing a day helps and I always have a hand project going so I can do that while hubby and I watch T.V. at night.
Hi Nicole…I always feel that constant pull of wanting to be home quilting when I’m at work and then I’m often too tired to do anything when I am home. I’ve learned that for me even just a few minutes of sewing a day helps and I always have a hand project going so I can do that while hubby and I watch T.V. at night.
I love this comment from Margaret Thatcher!
“Look at a day when you are supremely satisfied at the end. lt’s not a day when you lounge around doing nothing: It’s when you’ve had everything to do, and you’ve done it!”
I love this comment from Margaret Thatcher!
“Look at a day when you are supremely satisfied at the end. lt’s not a day when you lounge around doing nothing: It’s when you’ve had everything to do, and you’ve done it!”
Living in a cold winter climate – I tend to sew alot more in the winter than summer. Plus, my business is very busy in the summer and I work long days. BUT – I have managed to sew this summer by setting up a plastic tablecloth on the floor for my 5 year old son’s art projects and putting my machine right next to it – we get to spend time together while doing our projects!
Also, when I have the energy I try to cut out more than 1 quilt – sometimes when I am tired just having the cutting all done motivates me to sew!
Cheers!
Evelyn
Living in a cold winter climate – I tend to sew alot more in the winter than summer. Plus, my business is very busy in the summer and I work long days. BUT – I have managed to sew this summer by setting up a plastic tablecloth on the floor for my 5 year old son’s art projects and putting my machine right next to it – we get to spend time together while doing our projects!
Also, when I have the energy I try to cut out more than 1 quilt – sometimes when I am tired just having the cutting all done motivates me to sew!
Cheers!
Evelyn