The only problem....I don't always get time to sew. I'm like a lot of WAHM's – BUSY! I have two munchkins at home...a husband....pets...and a household to run, supermarket trips, post-office drop-offs, playgroup, exercise, and other appointments, not to mention some down time to just relax and do nothing (which we all need sometimes!).
So how do you balance sewing and life – first let's talk about general sewing for family/friends/fun. I am sure I'm not alone when I admit to sometimes feeling guilty if I spend too long in the sewing room when I should be spending time with the kids...or the husband...or even the pets. What I think you need to do is accept that it's okay to have some 'you' time. I opened with the fact that sewing centers me and it's true, I feel so much better at the end of the day if I've been able to indulge in my hobby and passion. This then has a roll on effect that I end up being a better mum, wife, friend...
So all of that said you also need to know when to stop – if it's approaching dinner time and the kids are going mental it's probably time to turn the machine off for a while and step away – for me any-time any stressful feelings come into my sewing I stop – even if it's just long enough to make a cup of tea. Now I know what you're probably thinking... “she said sewing centres her so why would she get stressed?” Well that brings me nicely to my next bit on sewing for business. I run my own home sewing business and like any business I work to time frames, deadlines – add the extra pressure of custom orders and from time to time sewing can be stressful.
I do find that giving realistic time frames help and if I do get bogged down (or a child gets sick) admitting to customers straight away that a delay will occur helps 100%, as the worst thing to do is lie to a customer!
For me maintaining a good balance between sewing and life here is a matter of sticking to a schedule and even though it's fairly flexible (did I mention the munchkins?) It's still there as something to fall back on and help when you loose track of time. I set an amount of time every day to sew or prepare for sewing (designing, tracing, cutting etc) then I estimate how much time a job/pattern will take – and forgive me here as I'm a little pedantic! I time myself on the first make so I've got an idea of how long things will take in the future – remembering and allowing that the first time is usually the longest time.
The other thing I do is admit I'm not superwoman and can't do everything so some days I won't get much done but on other days I'll get a million things done – so it's a matter of looking at the whole rather than the individual times.
The biggest most important thing to remember though is to enjoy yourself....sew with love and unleash your creative self and go wild!
The only problem....I don't always get time to sew. I'm like a lot of WAHM's – BUSY! I have two munchkins at home...a husband....pets...and a household to run, supermarket trips, post-office drop-offs, playgroup, exercise, and other appointments, not to mention some down time to just relax and do nothing (which we all need sometimes!).So how do you balance sewing and life – first let's talk about general sewing for family/friends/fun. I am sure I'm not alone when I admit to sometimes feeling guilty if I spend too long in the sewing room when I should be spending time with the kids...or the husband...or even the pets. What I think you need to do is accept that it's okay to have some 'you' time. I opened with the fact that sewing centers me and it's true, I feel so much better at the end of the day if I've been able to indulge in my hobby and passion. This then has a roll on effect that I end up being a better mum, wife, friend...So all of that said you also need to know when to stop – if it's approaching dinner time and the kids are going mental it's probably time to turn the machine off for a while and step away – for me any-time any stressful feelings come into my sewing I stop – even if it's just long enough to make a cup of tea. Now I know what you're probably thinking... “she said sewing centres her so why would she get stressed?” Well that brings me nicely to my next bit on sewing for business. I run my own home sewing business and like any business I work to time frames, deadlines – add the extra pressure of custom orders and from time to time sewing can be stressful.I do find that giving realistic time frames help and if I do get bogged down (or a child gets sick) admitting to customers straight away that a delay will occur helps 100%, as the worst thing to do is lie to a customer!
For me maintaining a good balance between sewing and life here is a matter of sticking to a schedule and even though it's fairly flexible (did I mention the munchkins?) It's still there as something to fall back on and help when you loose track of time. I set an amount of time every day to sew or prepare for sewing (designing, tracing, cutting etc) then I estimate how much time a job/pattern will take – and forgive me here as I'm a little pedantic! I time myself on the first make so I've got an idea of how long things will take in the future – remembering and allowing that the first time is usually the longest time.The other thing I do is admit I'm not superwoman and can't do everything so some days I won't get much done but on other days I'll get a million things done – so it's a matter of looking at the whole rather than the individual times.
The biggest most important thing to remember though is to enjoy yourself....sew with love and unleash your creative self and go wild!
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