adventures of a quilting diva

Did you resolve to make or finish more quilts in the new year? Think you can do it in just 10 minutes a day?

Not all of us can take off on a week-long quilting retreat, but just about everybody can carve out 10 minutes a day for quilting-related tasks. Here’s how it works:

1. Choose a quilting project to devote 10 minutes a day to. Avoid complicated patterns. You want something simple that you can jump right in and out of without getting mixed up.
2. Set aside 10 minutes each day. Schedule it in. Early in the morning works best for some people, while others prefer evening or late night. Choose a time that works for you. Don’t be afraid to mix it up once in awhile as needed. If you’re ironing the laundry one afternoon, the ironing board is set up and the iron’s hot, take advantage of that. After ironing your clothes, take 10 and press the fabric for your 10-minute project.
3. Divide the steps into short, manageable chunks and assign days to them. For example, Sunday: press the fabric. Monday: cut strips for fabric A. Tuesday: subcut units for fabric A. Wednesday: cut strips for fabric B. Thursday: subcut units for fabric B.  Friday: chain piece unit A-Bs. Saturday: press unit A-Bs. And so on. If you don’t have a dedicated sewing space set up and it takes too much time and effort to clear the dining room table and set up for just 10 minutes, then use your 10-minute days for prep work only. When you do have an afternoon or even an hour or two for quilting, you’ll be ready to jump right in and get stitching!

Here are my quilty goals for 2007:
1. CHALLENGE: Complete all 12 each of Fast Friday Fabric and 12×12x12 Portfolio challenges, and finish at least half of them on time.
2. ENTER: Submit my work to 2 quilt shows, contests, or other exhibition venues.
3. FINISH: Finish at least 3 UFOs.
4. GIVE: Complete and give 6 handmade gifts.
5. LEARN: Learn to do real hand-quilting, use the Clover needle felting tool, and Shiva paintsticks.
6. TEACH: Develop and teach 4 different classes.
7. WRITE: Write 1 article and submit it to a suitable quilt magazine for publication.

I scaled the requirements back somewhat in deference to my one resolution:
Be balanced.
Be healthy but not fanatical…
Not too messy, not too neat…
Work hard, but also play, etc.

In reality though, the goals do overlap a lot. Any of the pieces I complete can be used as gifts, the basis for a new class, or a show entry; a class outline can be rewritten into an article, and so on.

have a creative and productive new year!