A side benefit of tidying up.

In my last post I talked about how I was using a paper planner to help me stay organised.  One of my sections in my planner is a quilts section and in it, I've listed my works in progress and some of the steps I need to move forward on them.

To list my WIPs, I had to know what WIPs I had, which meant laying hands on each one and tidying the pile.  I kept seeing references to Marie Kondo everywhere, so yes, I went and checked her out and, like many, I've developed an uneasy fascination with the tiny, bouncy, eternally optomistic woman.  I have not KonMari'd my whole house, but I did assess each WIP as to whether it 'sparked joy' in me.

For those of you who have ignored the Marie Kondo fad and don't know what the heck I'm talking about, basically I looked at each WIP while I was tidying and asked myself if I still liked it.  Did I want to carry this into the future with me?  Did I want to spend time finishing it?  If the answer was no, I then dealt with it, either binning it, putting it in the op shop pile, or if it was still in pieces, putting the fabric back in my stash.

I didn't let myself get caught up in any guilt.  Why should I finish something just because I 'should'?  My time is precious.  I'd rather spend it on something I'm excited about!

Working through my WIPs put me back in touch with my projects, a side benefit to tidying up.  I have a presentation that I do about how a little procrastination is good for us.  I believe that putting something away for a while lets the project 'ferment' in my mind, especially if I'm struggling with a problem.  Often, I'll pull out the project again and the solution will present itself.  But that method requires that I keep in touch with my WIPs, or the fermenting process bubbles out and I just forget about it entirely!

So I tidied up, got back in touch, and now I have a pile of things that I want to work on.

Of course I still want to start new things too....

'Heron Maiden' had been having a holiday in my WIP pile.  It was nice to see her again and realise that I wanted to finish her for the GNZQS.  So what was holding me back about finishing her?  I figured out that I didn't know how to quilt the big background hill and if I cracked that nut, I'd be away again.  So I printed out a colour photo and auditioned some quilting lines.  They looked good and I was inspired to continue.

You can see my quilting line design taped to the wall prior to starting to quilt.

So my long and rambling point is: don't get caught up in guilt about WIPs.  Go through your pile, keep in touch with your projects.  Look at WIPs with new eyes.  Is there something else you could turn it into that you would be excited about?  Is there a technique that was holding you back that you now have the skills to deal with?  Can you solve a quilting dilemma now that you couldn't before?

But if you pick up a WIP and truly wonder why you ever thought it would be a good idea, then just get rid of it!  You'll feel so much better.

I look forward to hearing your thoughts about your WIP pile!

A goal without a plan is just a wish.

Goal setting.  I personally find that I can't do it early in January - no serious New Year's resolutions for me - I'm too busy holidaying.  But then, within a week or two, my mind naturally turns to what I want to achieve in the coming months.

I've been doing lots of work towards getting myself sorted, and then all of a sudden it's February!

This year I've gone back to a paper planner in a serious way.  I've dallied with digital, love the idea, but it's just not as tangible as paper, not as flickable through.  I still use my digital calendar because it goes across all my devices and it's quick to refer to.  But for planning out my days and weeks and months, my goals and progress, it's me and my planner.

When you flick through it, this is how it's organised:

• A whole year-on-one-page calendar.
• A master to-do list.
• Months, each one having a month-on-one-page calendar, then a monthly overview planner, a monthly habit checker page and then a page-per-day daily plan.
• After the months I have a tab for goals, with each major goal having a page where it's broken down into steps and dates etc.
• I have a tab for midwifery work, with pages for booked locum dates, mileage, visit schedules etc.
• Next is my quilts section.  In there I have a year over two pages with dates of speaking engagements, travel, quilt show deadlines etc.  I have also decided to list my WIP's and the steps I need to do to complete them (22 of them at this stage, and that's after doing a Marie Kondo on my pile and discarding a heap that 'didn't spark joy'!)
• And lastly, notes pages, which are mainly blank pages for jotting down inspiration when it strikes.

I've used printables from Printed Pineapple, Elena's Papers, and Evy Draws, all found on Etsy.

I've also inserted a few inspirational quotes here and there to make it prettier and hopefully become part of my positive inner talk that I'm trying to nurture.  The quote you can almost make out in the picture above says,

"We become what we want to be by consistently being what we want to become each day."  

-Richard G. Scott

And I want to be an organised person that has a handle on what's happening today and also what's happening in two months time.

What organisational tools do you use?

Not just needle and thread.

I haven't been entirely idle while waiting for the chance to get my sewing machines.  For one, since my Hubby is now semi-retired, I've taken the opportunity to up the amount of shifts I do at work when they are available.  I've also tried out my hand at a bit of woodwork.

Powertools scare me, so I always tend to hand off those types of jobs to my Hubby.  But really, I should just put my big girl panties on and learn to use them safely and then practice to increase my confidence.  It's just like learning to use a rotary cutter!

So I wanted a box.  My son is having a bit of fun playing round with whittling interesting sticks and doing a bit of metal working.  The trouble is, he's doing it in the same space that I dye fabric, and like all kids, he tends to spread out and take over.  I wanted a box so I could pile some of his stuff in and do a bit of space reclaiming.

I could have gone and bought a plastic crate, but I'm so over plastic.  And we happen to have a supply of rustic recycled planks, so I thought, "Why not?"

Hubby gave me some tips and helped me learn the powertools, but I figured most of the construction out for myself.

And here's the finished product!

It was a bit like patchwork.  Square up, measure, cut and fit together.  It's just using wood instead of fabric and nails instead of stitch.  I didn't bother sanding the paint off as it was just a practice run, but also because I really like that recycled look.

I got to use it the same day I made it.  We had a couple of people over for dinner and I used it to take my cutlery, napkins and condiments out to the deck where we were dining.  You can just see it gracing the table with the hydrangeas in it behind me in the photo below.  Fun!  

Problem is, I think I like it a bit much to fill it with my son's bits and pieces.  I might have to make another...

PS The ceramic vase (that my husband loves using as his 'man-size' tea cup) that compliments the box so well was made by my talented friend, Jane Shaw.  You can find her on Instagram as @janeshawartist

Last you heard from me...

Last you heard from me I was procrastinating by unicorn.  The unicorn is still not finished, but I have a good excuse.  December saw us off to the South Island for three weeks camping.  We came back home for several days over Christmas and then went on our usual summer holiday camp - two weeks in an Uncle's paddock with all the extended family.

On the way to the South Island I dropped my two sewing machines off for servicing.  Today, finally, I'm picking them up.  I've got itchy fingers and am dying to see that unicorn finished!

So here's a few photographs of what we got up to in the South Island:

We took 'The Hippo', our trusty four wheel drive camper to get to those spots less common.

Here she is, unfolded in all her glory on the shores of Loch Katrine. 

One of the most stunning places we got to was up the head of the Godley river.  

Summer hadn't quite reached up there and there was plenty of snow to keep the temperatures down.

And because it was early in the season there was no fire ban so we got to enjoy cooking over flames.  

My son got to gut his first deer.  He wasn't too squeamish and the back steaks were delicious.

The Hippo even got us into Fiordland, which didn't disappoint with it's scenery. 

Nor with it's sandflies!  So we only stayed one night before we scrammed out of there as fast as we could.

Procrastination by Unicorn

I have upcoming deadlines.  But none of them are absolute.  I haven't got a contract, I haven't promised anything to anyone, they are just things I 'should do', or perhaps 'could do' is more accurate.

For example, Aotearoa Quilter's Great NZ Quilt Show is coming up in March next year (mark your calendars - it's on 8th to the 10th March, in Rotorua, which is a great place to visit.)  The deadline for submitting a quilt is 14th February 2018.  Ages away, right?!  Well, not so, when I factor in upcoming travel, Christmas, camping and work.  I really only have a few weeks to work on something new, and I have a couple of other exhibitions I'd like to enter too, and they have similar deadlines.

So am I knuckling down and getting to it?  Nope.  I'm playing!

If you didn't already know, I sell a dragon applique pattern on Etsy.  I've had it there for years (I made the dragon quilt for my son's sixth birthday and he's now 14) and it ticks away nicely, giving me a little passive income for the original work I put in to drawing and writing it up.

Now that Dear Hubby is semi-retired, I'm looking for ways to boost our income a bit, without me having to drastically up my midwifery work.  And I've always wanted to make a unicorn....

But unicorns aren't serious!  They're flighty, silly work that 'real artists' wouldn't do, right?!  Well, stuff it.  Real artists have gotta eat, and if I can make a buck or two from some fun, flighty, silly work, then it's still work in my mind.  And if can give someone joy by helping them make a unicorn for a grandkiddy or someone else special, then that's pretty satisfying too.

I started by drawing.  I looked at lots of images of horses and sketched parts from several that appealed, putting them all together into a pleasing image.  Then I added the flourishes like the horn and fluffy hooves and the glamorous 'blowing in the wind' mane.  It took several hours, on and off, to get it looking exactly how I wanted it.

Once the sketch was finalised, I tidied it up and used my photocopier to enlarge it to the size I wanted.  Then I traced each section, working out the order of what piece would go under or over it's neighbour (neigggghhhhbour....sorry, couldn't resist!)

Then it was fun with fabric time!  My first layout was pretty good.  I used a couple of my ombre/variegated hand-dyed fat quarters, which worked really well.  But once I looked at him in a photograph, I realised I wanted more contrast in the mane.  Luckily I hadn't ironed anything down (I'm doing fusible raw-edge applique) and I was able to swap out a couple of mane sections for a lighter colour.  Much better.

Then I worked on the background.  He needed a place to stand on, and who doesn't look dramatic silhouetted against the full moon?

Next I'll be stitching him down and quilting, and then finishing him off as a wall hanging.  And lastly I'll write him up as a pattern and get him all loaded up ready for sale....but maybe not before I procrastinate by unicorn a little more.  After all, we need to know what he'd look like in a different colour way!