sporadic sewing

larisa... if i only had your ambition! with dd now age 9...it would seem easy...but wait! there is DS, age 21 months...and into EVERYTHING. i only get to sew at night, and since i also work...and must do office work at that time (my office is in the home)....well, that leaves me precious little time to sew! if you come up with answers...let me know! betsey "we do not inherit the earth, we caretake it for our children"

Like she said! Keep the machine set up and ready. Have your projects sorted out with all the notions and trims together (I use plastic grocery bags-also doing my bit for recycling) so that you don't have waste time hunting for stuff. Save the handwork to do during the kids' naptime or while sitting in waiting rooms.

Now that my DD is old enough, I let her be part of the project. Your DS is still small, but could he handle sewing cards, using a big blunt plastic needle? He might let you get a few more minutes in if he thinks he's "just like Mommy."

Hopefully you see something in here that works for you.

Ah, those were the days, Larissa. LOL Many nights I spent sewing long after the kids had gone to bed.

Nancy Zieman wrote a book addressing this very problem. Maybe a series? The Busy Woman's Sewing Book, and 10-20-30 Minutes to Sew, are the titles, I believe.

It really helps if you have a place where you can leave everything out, because then you can get back to things more easily.

Good luck! Karen Maslowski in Cincinnati

I made crafts for a living when my daughter was between age 2 and 9. Originally I kept everything on trays or in shallow baskets on high shelves. Eventually I progressed to using styrene shoeboxes. When I was working on a project I tried to keep all the stuff for the project on the same tray, kind of like a lap desk. That way when I needed to stop the whole tray could be put up at once, and gotten down at once later. I worked a LOT at night when she was sleeping, or any time when she had a playdate or visit with family.

I got these ideas after reading about a writer who put together her first published work while being fulltime mom to multiple young kids. She set up a shelf that functioned as a standing desk on the wall between the kitchen and the rest of the house. She'd get an idea while doing something else and scoot over to the desk where she had a typewriter and filebox. Eventually she had a couple strategically placed shelves.

It's all about designing your life, isn't it?

Xena

I keep my sewing machine set up in the family room. I keep it plugged in, outlet is in a safe spot away from the kids, and all I do is move the machine forward and drop the peddle. Most of the time I keep my projects on the same table in the back corner. Then when I get a few minutes I can maybe get a seam in. LOL. A lot of the time I don't even bother to grab a chair and sew standing up, not good for the back, but if I pull out my chair it begs the kids to climb on it. I will read patterns, books, paper stuff when the kids are in the bath. It can take weeks to get a project done from start to finish. Now that the kids are older and sleep thru the night, for the most part, I try to dedicate one night a week to sewing. After they go to bed I sew whatever have I managed to pin together during the week.

Good Luck Sharon, who is going to wash fabric for my next project but may not actually get to the sewing part for weeks yet. LOL.

Keeping a project in a box or tray helped me way back when. And I found that I could do some pinning while the TV was on a program I wanted to share with the kids (something to talk about at supper). I also found that a list of how the project was to be done: 'all darts that have been pinned', for example, then 'pin the side seams' also helped me because I didn't have to think what came next--it was right there for me to do. And my young ones (and DH, too) didn't really see what I was making; they saw fabric, pins, and I kept the pattern picture out of sight.

I've never posted to this group before and all my babies are grown. But what I found worked great for me was to have a special activity for my little ones that they could only do while I was sewing. Mine were all girls so I had a play kitchen set up for them to play with and a record player with fun songs to sing along with. They thought it was a great treat and I could sew for at least an hour without interruption.

I just wanted to thank everyone for their advice and suggestions. I have managed to get the shirt finished and have started the pants. DH and I trade off who gets the first watch with Rebekah, so I have been doing some sewing while she sleeps a bit/before her late feeding, then she gets fed, burped, and she goes to bed, as do I.

Also remembered that i have a set of scrubs from the second hand store, so DS and I will both be dressed as doctors while trooping through the local mall (safest place to take a little tyke). DH will be home with DD for a quiet night as we don't have the money to shell out on elaborately decorated pumpkins (I can't do anything simple), or candy.

Larisa, looking forward to going to be before 11pm on Friday night...never happened on any other Halloween!

I made use of a playpen when I wanted to sew. Now mind you it wasn't hours on end, but for half hour 45 minutes or so, I could sew. I set it up next to me, at the machine, no where near where child could grab anything, (especially iron cord) and got my fix that way.

After the play pen was no longer an option, In our family room, I moved the sofa out from the wall three feet, behind it out of reach from the back of the sofa, I set up the iron/board. My machine was set next to it, with a small cabinet between iron board and machine table. All this was in a line along the wall. A tall toy box blocked enterance into this area from one side of the sofa, and I sat sort of where you would put an end table on the other end. My kids learned that they couldn't go behind the sofa. Period, never. Not even if I was in there, they could come up to my back and I could stop sewing, and tend to them, but they could not cross that imaginary line. Even my daycare kids quickly learned that, that space was off limits to them. I still kept scissors and dangerous stuff up high on a peg board. Kids really do respond to rules, if it is done right.

THis set up got me through about 5 years of little kids. Only thing I couldnt' do back there was cut stuff out unless it was small. But for cutting I used the diningroom table. Had to cut when hubby was home, or nap time. If I chose to sew while the kids were around, I got them busy with something. Playdough on a big floor mat gave me a good hour. The kids could play on the floor the other side of the sofa, and I could happily sew on the other, watching them the whole time. It was a good set up for us.

Sandy Erickson

Just some ideas Sandy

I barricade myself in my bedroom every Sunday, and let my husband deal with the kids :)

Now there's an idea!!! I also do this on occasion but not too often. For some reason he thinks the weekends are for relaxing (isn't that sewing?) and not watching kids. I made the stupid mistake of teaching them to sew. Now they want to sew when I sew and try to get into my stash when I am not looking.

Kirsten Sollie (mother of 4 girls)

After reading all the responses and getting some really good information, I think I have found what works for me. I have been sewing after the DS is in bed, and DD is in her carrier or being fed by DH. I also got a bit done this weekend while the boys were watching Scooby Doo and DD was asleep. Seems that this works the best for some reason, though it also means that I have to start WAY in advance for anything needed by a deadline. Which reminds me...as soon as I finish the scrubs for DS, I will be starting on the pajama pants for my friend and her family (total = 9!) that way, I can get the finished in time for Christmas...and then there is the pair of pants for DH that I had completely forgotten about!!! (well, he and DS always get new pajamas for Christmas, it's an odd tradition, but still......)

Larisa

It's not an odd tradition - I think everyone has something like it. Everybody in our family gets underwear and socks. And the one year I broke tradition, they got upset, said it just didn't feel right, if they didn't get underwear, socks, nuts and an orange in their stockings. Everyone has to have a stocking hung (I'm talking about adults, here ;>))- and my family's ages are: 96 (MIL), 58, 57, 49 (brother), 36 (SIL), 34, and 9.

This year my goal is to make red flannel night shirts or nighties and booties for everyone before Christmas. I bought an entire bolt of red flannel :>) I don't even want to think about preshrinking it. I think I'll just make everything a little large, figuring it'll shrink.

Sharon and then there is the pair of pants for DH that I had

No, not an odd tradition for a sewer/seamstress/whatever. It used to be bathrobes here (well, every other year. I made them big enough to go two years on the kids). One year DMIL gave us all nightshirts and matching caps (like Scrooge wore). Fun!

Watch that you don't try to do to much with a second child. When my 2nd was born I was a fanatic about everything; the kids being perfect, the house, the meals. Looking back, I realize I was killing myself for nothing and I was not pleasant to be around. If I had to do over again, I would take more time with my kids than worry about sewing, the house, meals or trying to make my kids perfect.

Suzanne

CNYstitcher wrote:

Suzanne spray painted on a boxcar:

you know they say, "enjoy them while they are young, they grow so fast...." Suzanne is so on the money. From where i stand, with a HS jr and a middle schooler, the time with the babies is just so short!!

Penny S

suzanne and penny are soooo right. after so many years of infertility...i have DD (age 9) and DS (age 21 months)...time is too short. i sew when i can, and hey, the rest works itself out! but to miss a "mommmy......BUGGGGGGIE" from DS would be awful..... betsey "we do not inherit the earth, we caretake it for our children"