How to be more productive/quicker?

Hi Craftyj, I am fbs810, and I have the same attitude. I was a sewer before I started quilting. I find that I choose projects that don't take as long but still can be integrate and challenging but fun. I use my quilting skills to make jackets out of men's shirts, sweatshirts, I make purses, I make some quilts but have other projects going at the same time.

You don't say what you're doing now or if you've tried any of these, but here goes:

Rotary Cutter. Sewing Machine. Chain piecing. Cut a lot, sew a lot, then iron a lot. Fusible applique. Someone to help measure when you get to the borders. Basting Spray. Machine quilting. Zigzag down the binding.

Oh, and as for "I haven't been quilting too long, so I don't know everything yet, but will soon," we're chuckling and have knowing smiles.

--Lia

If a new idea is nagging me, I just go ahead and start on it. Nothing gets done if it doesn't get started. There are always several projects underway, in various stages of completion. I tend to finish something about every week, so UFOs don't accumulate, and I feel rewarded. The main thing is to enjoy what you're working on. Enjoy the process, worry less about productivity. Some things take more time than others. As long as you keep at it, your projects will be finished in their own time. Roberta in D

schrieb im Newsbeitrag news: snipped-for-privacy@x41g2000hsb.googlegroups.com...

Hi, I work shift work and almost full time so I find that the time I spend quilting/sewing is very precoius and important to me. I used to spin my wheels when I got some free time because I wanted to do it all at once!!! I would get so overwhelmed that I didn't know where to start and then I ended up wasting my limited free time. Now I have a system that helps a lot. I have one shelf in my room devoted to future projects and one shelf for ongoing projects. I arrange something the night before so that it is ready to go and I can get to sewing on my day off. I do some cutting or arranging the peices ready to be sewn and lay them out beside my sewing machine. The next day I can just sit and sew and enjoy the solitude, destress or whatever it is that makes you sew/create. The days that I am working I will plan and gather everything I need for the next day off.The first day off of the month is clean all my machines day and straighten the sewing space.That way I don't have to spend a day looking for that thing I really need and where did I put it. I don't produce a lot of quilts and such by a lot of peoples standards but quantity isn't my issue. Sewing every day for even just 15 minutes is my goal and so far it is going well. Today I am finishing up a spring dress for my DGD because she is home and she can help. HTH Donna inNWONtario

Set up your machine, ironing board and fabrics, and a work table someplace where you can keep them ready for use, but out of the way so you can go to them at a moment's notice. This way you don't waste time setting up or putting away your 'tools' and spend the time creating instead.

-Irene

Does everything *need* to be efficient and productive? I see quilting as a refuge from the managerial world. Nothing about it makes any economic sense at all. You may be using a state of the art sewing machine, but mentally you're thousands of years back in a tent in a long winter night doing meticulous handcrafts since you aren't going anywhere with the snow and the wolves outside.

We tend to do the quicker sort of project anyway, but I get more design ideas when things go slowly. I can't force myself to have creative ideas to a deadline, and having the project around the house for months allows more for them to pop up.

==== j a c k at c a m p i n . m e . u k === ==== Jack Campin, 11 Third St, Newtongrange EH22 4PU, Scotland == mob 07800 739 557 CD-ROMs and free stuff: Scottish music, food intolerance, and Mac logic fonts

Sometimes I have all sorts of time to quilt--an unusually free weekend, or a random day off from work. But that rarely happens-- usually I don't get blocks of time. So I try to work on the "10 minute" rule. If I have 10 minutes free, I do 10 minutes worth of quilting. For example, I've got a wallhanging I want to get done by Thursday as a gift (well, good luck with that). I had almost no free time this weekend but I took 10 minutes here and there to get all the fabrics pressed and ready to go--so when I get my planned hour this afternoon I'll be ready to get to work on it.

I am fortunate enough to have space to have my sewing area set up at all times--and it's in the same room as my home office where I work full-time from home. So if I've got projects in the right stages, sometimes I'll do 10 minutes at the beginning or end of my lunch hour, or 10 minutes while I'm printing off a project or waiting for something to upload, etc.

There are times when it's nice to go slowly, but I also need the finished projects as reward on a regular basis. So I have some projects that are in process and are a little more challenging, taking a little more time (those usually get worked on when I do have random chunks of time), but I also have some faster projects on the back burner that if I only have a few hours and am jonesing for some results that I can show off to friends and family I'm ready to go. I also have projects in stages that can be worked on in different settings--those that need my sewing room, but also those that I can be working on while hanging out with the family watching TV at night or whatever--such as sewing the binding on.

It just takes some forethought and a little bit of practice to get into the swing of how to be as productive as you choose to be. Plus not having overly high expectations of yourself. I think most of us have ten thousand projects we'd love to be working on!

The "10 minute rule" is a good name for it - that's what I try to do to. Sometimes I bring stuff to work for lunchtime/coffee break - altho that only works for smaller projects. Or I do 10-15 minutes in the morning before leaving to work - makes me feel good all day to think I have a little bit more done. When I have a whole evening to spend on sewing I feel quite spoiled. And those little chunks of time really add up quite fast when you consider the alternative is getting nothing done. Allison

I agree the longer a prodject is around the more ideas I get. I modify do to new fabric or some stray thought. Jane

Or when things go wrong - nothing stimulates the imagination like running out of fabric halfway through or irreversibly miscutting something.

==== j a c k at c a m p i n . m e . u k === ==== Jack Campin, 11 Third St, Newtongrange EH22 4PU, Scotland == mob 07800 739 557 CD-ROMs and free stuff: Scottish music, food intolerance, and Mac logic fonts

i try to set aside 2 evenings in the week and sunday mornings for my quilting. i can sometimes squeeze in a 15 -30 minute slot on a saturday afternoon, sometimes longer. of course, i am single and no hubby to cater to, DD is at work or college most of the time and the queen-bee dog sleeps alot. so, i have extra time some weeks. it's a matter of finding those blocks of time to set aside, if you dont, no-one else will do it for you.

amy in CNY

Thank you for all your kind words.

I have realized that it's ok to have unfinished projects. Not everything will get done, and thats ok. Because I can always do it later and I might even have a great idea for it later.

Joan

Joan,

I missed the beginning of this thread, but I have to tell you, I've got projects started over 10 years ago that I'm just now looking toward finishing. Hey, it's part of being a quilter, imho. :-)

Also, it is OKAY to GIVE UP on or GIVE AWAY a UFO! BTDT, am happy about it! (yes, I am shouting!)