It’s National Sewing Month and we should be sewing! So many fabrics, so many threads, zippers and amazing ideas . . . and yet, seemingly, so little time. There are solutions to that dilemma and I’ve gathered help for you today from several blogging sewists. They’ve all faced and conquered the “no time to sew” monster and you can, too! Image Source: City Stitching blogCity Stitching – Christine Haynes Popular pattern designer Christine Haynes lives a life that revolves around sewing, works from home and still finds that she has “no time to sew”! As a work at home sewist myself, I definitely appreciate the perspective she presents in the post on her City Stitching blog. Christine’s emphasis on the importance of sewing to our mental health and well-being is the basis for the daily sewing time schedule she set up for herself. Whether you start with every day or just a few days a week, her suggestions for your own personal “Sewing Happy Hour” are fabulous! Image Source: National Sewing Circle videoTips for Sewing Time – National Sewing Circle Video Z J Humbach is a skilled Long Arm Quilter who often finds it hard to get her own sewing and quilting done. Sound familiar? If you’re involved in sewing professionally or do most of your sewing and quilting for others, you still need time for your own sewing! In a National Sewing Circle YouTube video, Z J shares her hints for finding time along with some of the reasons why we may feel that we haven’t “earned” time to sew. I love this video – its short and offers suggestions of helpful books along with three very practical tips. Relax for a few minutes with Z J and you’ll learn a lot! Click here to view her YouTube video. Image Source: Sew My Place blogSew My Place – How to Find More Time to Sew Decide what you want then look at what you’re doing with the moments of your day. That’s the message I found on the Sew My Place blog. This is an inspirational and insightful post for today’s technological age where we are always accessible to everyone and the world is always accessible to us. How much time do you spend on social media, email, browsing the internet, roaming the mall or watching TV? When you are online, are you spending time on blogs like you’re reading now that increase your sewing skills and knowledge? Or are you mindlessly giving away time that you could devote to what you love? Wouldn’t you rather be sewing? Click here for the Sew My Place post and learn to evaluate how you spend your time. Image Source: Sew Can She blogSew Can She – 9 Ways to Find Time to Sew Caroline of the Sew Can She blog gives us 9 Ways to Find Time to Sew in a post that will make you think and have you laughing, too! She and her friend Sarah brainstormed a wonderful list of tips that are so practical you’ll wonder why you didn’t think of them already. Her premise that “taking time to sew is not something you should feel guilty about” is an essential component to finding time to sew. Caroline’s post includes doable steps to make it sew as you learn to give yourself permission to shut out life for just a bit. This is a delightful post that will have you smiling as you realize “I can do this”. Click here to read Caroline’s entertaining post. As the Sewing World Turns – Hints From My Own Sewful Life I’ve used similar approaches to find sewing time through the different seasons of my life and it’s been worth every moment! As a stay-at-home/work-at-home mom of small children, a long-commuter empty nester and now a work-from-home blogger, there have always been obstacles to work around. But, I know the value of sewing in my life and where there’s a will, there’s a sewing machine! These are the strategies that work for me: Commit to a plan! If you fail to plan, you’ll fail to sew. Schedule sewing appointments with yourself on your calendar. Even 10 minutes a day means progress! Cut out multiple projects to sew with the same thread color. Sew in batches – all the straight seams first, all the finishing last. Assemble project bags that include everything you need, so you’re not hunting instead of sewing! Are you ready? Right now, surrounded by your needles, threads, zippers and fabric, take the time to read these posts, find what works for you and create your own sewing time plan. You’ll never be sorry that you did!
