How do you find time to sew?
 

By the time I get home from work, do the necessary chores, etc. I'm too tired and out of time to do much more than look in my sewing room longingly! Husband is retired and still needs plenty of care (you know!), I have other interests and like to travel when I can, help with church and charities but can't seem to find time to sew. Please share your wisdom , Thanks.

I can see one thing in your favor - you have a sewing room that I assume you can leave your projects out and ready to work on. I find that even if I go in my room for just 10 minutes I feel better. When I am done sewing for the day, I try to make sure the next time I go in my room I can sit down to sew right away - meaning the last thing I do before turning off my machine etc is to make sure the last item is pressed, quilting marked or whatever and ready to sew. I also don't clean my house as much as I use to. It is still clean, but not as often as in the past. I am also very lucky that my husband likes to cook, so that gives me a little more free time. I tried sewing in the morning before going to work, but then I didn't want to stop sewing and would have to rush out the door. Good luck in finding a few minutes a day!

clean or quilt???? QUILT of course

Agreed - maybe try to get Hubby a little less maintenance.
Are you an early bird? I used to sew for 1/2 hr before I went to work. How about weekends - can you carve out a half day if you aren't travelling?

I thought I was the only one with the problem.. I'm hoping that once it warms up, and gets lighter, I won't feel this way. I don't care about the cleaning. I really want to play with my fabric..

I'm kind of like Sophie...I try to make at least 15 minutes a day for some form of sewing/quilting/crocheting. I'm more of a morning person so if I have to be at work at 8:00 I set my clock for 5:30 and that usually gives me at least 30 minutes of sewing time before ever heading out the door. If I have a lot of cleaning to do I make a list of all I want to accomplish that day and then set my timer for 15 minutes and clean as hard and fast as I can. When the timer goes off I leave whatever I was working on (even if I'm in the middle of folding clothes or doing dishes) and set my timer again for 15 minutes and go sew. When it goes off I just keep repeating the pattern until I'm either done with what I wanted to accomplish on the house OR it's bedtime. The way I see it I can and always will find just 1 more thing I need to do around the house and I'll never get around to sewing but this way I've listed them out and just go down the list. If I think of something else it either goes on the next day's list or replaces something on today's list if it can't wait. Give it a try...it really works for me!

Diannia

I am at the stage in life where I have three full days to myself while my dh and dd are at work and my two young grandchildren are at school and Preschool. Tha'ts when I do most of my quilting or in evenings as we have more day light in the Spring and Summer and I tend to be alert longer then in Winter during dark evenings.

Sometimes it's a matter of taking not finding the time.....retired husband..hmmmmm....it's surprising what tasks they can begin to do.....

I agree.

I, too, have many interests and used to frequently get frustrated due to lack of creative time.

The first step is to set priorities. I had to sit down with myself and make a list of interests and discovered I was trying to do WAY too much. (Working full time takes a huge bite out of creative time.) Then I prioritized the list. The top four are family time, sewing/quilting, walking, reading and I do these on a regular basis. The rest of the items on the list are done occasionally. I simply had to let some things go.

I've also used the alarm clock idea and set the timer on the stove or my cell phone for 15 to 30 minutes. It's amazing what can be accomplished in 15 minutes a day.

Another thing I've done is to make an appointment with myself and consider it just as important to keep as a Dr.'s appointment. I'll cook ahead of time and do my best not to let anything interfere with that time. Sometimes, it's a few hours, but a couple of times in the winter during those unbelievably heavy duty snow storms and -30 wind chills, I'll schedule myself for the whole weekend.

If sewing time is important to you, you will figure out how to do it, including asking someone else to share household tasks.

I know I am from another generation but I would be darned if my retired husband required maintenance while I was working full time. It should be the other way around. My solution would be to give him a list and tell him that he has the time to take on more at the house. You deserve some down time and he should be happy to make sure you get it.
I live by the creed that no one takes advantage of us unless we let them.