Some real life goals for this week....

Number One:  Put away my clean laundry without letting it sit in the dryer for 4 days (I am not going to deny that for the last two weeks it has taken me 7 days to complete 2 loads of laundry each week)

Number Two:  Plan what to have for dinner before 6:00 most days.  Yes, that last minute cry of  "what shall we eat" every night is getting a little old lately!

Number Three:  Get my Heart Quilt put away and put up the Irish Chain - whoops, it's already the second week of March!

I guess I have been a bit busy the last couple weeks, but boy, it is time to pick up the slack!  I have one more big sewing project and I'll be back to quilting more.  Here is one of my next projects:

Isn't it gorgeous?  The three dimensional effect s achieved by using netting over half of the star sections, but I am going to try to do something similar using ombre fabric!  This pattern is from the book Simply Triangles: 11 Deceptively Easy Quilts Featuring Stars, Daisies & Pinwheels.  I can't wait to start playing with this - it will be a lot of good creative fun.

I've started my project for March - lots of half square triangle units being sewn so far:  

Yes, the background unit is larger than the triangle, there will be a strip sewn to these to complete them as corner units in the blocks I am making.  The blocks will be more scrappy, but all the corner units are the same and will form pinwheels where the blocks meet at the corners!  I think it is gong to be very pretty when done.  I love it as the small pieces come together and make the bigger units, then become blocks.  I have 200 of these units to make - I think I am halfway there already and I hope to finish these tomorrow so I can start working on the next units.  First I need to finish sewing all the rings on the Roman shades, so I'll be getting on that right away...as soon as I put away my laundry (wink, wink!).

Happy Etsyversary!! PamelaQuilts is 9 years old tomorrow!

Which means this blog of mine is also 9 years old as I started both around the same time!  How about we celebrate with some cupcakes:

Want to see an overload of awesome looking cupcakes?  Just try searching on Pinterest!  Too many to choose from :)

Since I can't actually give you any cupcakes, I will give you a 9% discount in my Etsy shop today and tomorrow with the coupon code CUPCAKE!  That seems like a nice little party favor for all my friends!

In addition to that, I will give an additional 9% to the Calliope Joy Foundation because I am the featured quilter on the Quiltsy Team blog today.  We are celebrating Worldwide Quilting day by featuring team members and their charities all month long!  Check out our Facebook Page to see the new feature each day, or follow our blog.

Thanks for reading my blog!

Pamela

Do What You Love...

and you will never work a day in your life.  Really?  I don't agree, work is work.  Maybe you might enjoy it more than digging ditches, but it is still work.  And what about all those people who do not want to turn their hobby into a job?  They have a very valid point that once you start doing it for pay, it's not as much fun anymore.

I know this is somewhat true for me.  My work involves sewing, so I enjoy that.  But it is still work.  I have to do it.  I have deadlines and people counting on me to finish the job, so I can't slack off or start a new project just because I feel frustrated by the one I am working on.  I actually have two jobs (at least!)  so I can really see different sides of the issue.

The job I earn an actual (small) paycheck for is my position at my LQS (local Quilt Shop).  I started out as just helping customers, making kits, cutting fat quarters - really basic work that ended when I left the shop.  At this point I am in charge of the website, newsletter and scheduling classes.  I also am relied on to provide designs for blocks and create custom patterns and kits for the shop.  My work comes home with me more often than not and I sometimes feel stressed about deadlines and things that need to be done.  It is just a half day a week, but I find it takes up much more than four or five hours a week in my brain!

Another job I do is custom sewing and alterations.  I have been working with an interior designer, creating custom drapes and home furnishings.  This can be quite fun and creative, but also requires sewing to deadlines and being very precise with cutting and sewing.  Plus I have my own clients that I have worked with for many years that bring me their projects - so I can have a lot on my plate at any one time and I really try to make everything work as best as I can, but sometimes I feel like I am chained to my sewing machine!

At the start of this year I decided that I needed to create some more space in my life for playing on my own projects, which keep getting pushed to the back of the line because of work.  So, weekends and early mornings I have set aside for doing what I love - quilting!  During the month of January I spent most of that time working on Bonnie Hunter's Grand Illusion Mystery.  I loved every minute of all that piecing!  The quilt top makes me so happy and I am excited to start quilting it soon!  (Playing is so much fun, and this quilt was definitely play - not work at all)

In February I decided to complete sewing a top that was about halfway done.  This is going to be a pattern - my inspiration was to create a sampler quilt that I could use to teach beginnners with.  This quilt features a huge variety of techniques and is great for helping students to learn the basics.  This is the third top I have made, and I think it is my favorite!  I finished the center last night, after quite a long inner debate about the cornerstones.  They look all right to me, and I think once the borders are on it will be perfect.  I plan on using this as my hand quilting for the spring and summer and will be using it as my fall quilt later this year.  I have been wanting a fall quilt for years, but could never find a design I liked - guess I just needed to come up with my own thing!

I have another large top I want to work on for March.  I think this is going to be the year of queen size quilts for me - but I love it.  I am so happy with my decision to set some time aside to play at completing some lanquishing projects.  I can't call my progress on these work, because it really is play and it makes my sewing work so much less stressfull.

Is sewing work for you, or is it play?  For me it is both - and I hope to keep the balance and spend enough time playing to make the work feel like it is worth it!