Tuesday, January 27, 2015

A Tip for Tuesday

Use "found" time

Are you a Pinner?  Generally, I am not.  I do pin at critical seam intersections and block intersections.  But most of the time I just use my fingers to hold things together.  I also don't make competitive quilts ... there could be a connection ...

Back to pinning ... I DO pin for organization, however, and I try to use "found" time to do this.  I know some quilters do this in the car, but when I'm the primary driver ... well, you can see the problem there.  So I do it in the kitchen.



Because we care for my invalid mother-in-law (a/k/a the Queen Mother) at home, meals have to be at regular times to accommodate shift changes.  Once I move from the sewing room to the kitchen to start dinner preparation, I'm pretty much tied up there, though not continually busy, for at least two hours.

Before you start giving me tips on using a slow cooker and other ways to stay out of the kitchen, let me tell you I use them all.  But this time is also when my husband and I convene at the breakfast bar, enjoy a libation, and catch up (even though we've both been working around the each other all day).  So I don't begrudge the time spent, especially since he covers breakfast and lunch!

I frequently use the down time -- while the meat loaf is in the oven or the stew is perking along on the stove -- to organize my next sewing step.  Yesterday I pinned sections of 9-patches.  In less than an hour I had located the proper square to add to twenty sets of twosies and pinned them into position, ready to take to the machine.


Another hour of sewing after dinner and the 9-patches were done!  (If you read yesterday's post you  may notice that I opted for darker tones/more figures in the light squares and it is really helping to tone down the red/gold hourglass blocks.)



I have also used this "found" time to press units -- I have a folding board in the kitchen -- and to square up blocks on the kitchen counter.  I can still talk to my husband and stir the stew and not feel like the time is wasted.

Keep Calm
and
Find Time



4 comments:

  1. I don't use my found time well. When I have some spare time, I'm usually checking out the internet, like now. ;) Does it help if you have little bits of space in the kitchen or tv room so you can use the time better?

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    1. Having a big kitchen helps. But one could transport things on a tray. I have found that the counters are perfect height for cutting and pressing. In fact, my cutting table is a kitchen cabinet we removed (with permission) from our last house. It takes some thought and preparation but it makes it so much easier to grab a few minutes at the sewing machine.

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  2. I also wanted to commend you on taking care of your mother-in-law. If no one has thanked you for that lately, let me. Thank you and bless you.

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    Replies
    1. You are sweet to say so, Marti. We are lucky to have excellent caregivers. Nevertheless, the pressure for one of us to be present at all times takes its toll.

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