Work and Sewing Life Balance

This week marked the end of summer for me because since Monday I have been back at work.  Having six weeks off in the summer is the best perk of my job and I like to make the most of all that glorious time.  This summer I was really fortunate to be able to spend time with friends sewing, usually two days in the week.  I love sewing with others.  I get to admire other people's fabric choices, take a look at their ideas, share and learn tricks and tips and it's always good fun (we do have a world to put to rights as well as all this sewing).  I find that sewing with my friends increases my creativity and improves my sewing.  

I'm already missing the luxury of time.  Today is the first day since being back at work that I have touched the sewing machine and I felt that I just had to sneak in a couple of hours and plod on with an ongoing project, rather than get my creative juices flowing and start some new ambitious project.  Work is already reducing the time I can devote to my creativity.  I know time with my sewing has done me good today so I am determined to find the time tomorrow to do the same.  For me, my work life balance has to feature sewing.

I learned to make Cathedral Windows in June.  Since then I've seen two of my friends finish adorable Cathedral Windows quilts, whilst mine has been a "dip in and out" kind of project.  I love the look of these quilts; I think they are as charming as a quilt can be, but there is just so much preparation and the progress is slow!

In July I started my quilt.  I chose a simple and cheap pink with white dot fabric for the "lead" and low volume fabrics for the "glass".  I like the way these look together, and I am pleased I made the lead in a colour because I think it makes a change from the typical white fabric I see all over Pinterest.  I am certainly pleased I used a cheap fabric for the lead.  I have two metres of this dedicated to this project, yet you see very little.  It easily uses twice your normal amount of fabric.  Now I understand why people tend to make Cathedral Window cushions; cushions don't eat up lots of fabric and are a lot less time-consuming.  

I have had to add low volume fabrics to my stash for this project because I didn't have too many of those before.  As someone who loves novelty fabrics, this is a great project for showcasing them by making them the centre of the circle.  (Incidentally, this is just a small section.  I have done way more of this since July than you see here.)

As I am now back at work, progress with this quilt will probably be slow but at least I have taken back some control today and asserted that sewing time is important.  Regardless of my work commitments, I have to spend time at the machine to feel balanced again.

Thank you for visiting.