I'm amazed at all the quilts that each of you make. My question is how do you find the time? I work all week, come home, walk the dog, (most of the time) make dinner, clean-up, spend some time with my honey, and then it's time to make coffee for tomorrow. By then there's no energy or time to quilt. I squeeze it in on Friday and Saturday nights usually. I probably quilt once or twice during the week, but for no more than an hour. Are you at home during the week that you accomplish so much quilting? Do you have a cyber sew clone? Please tell me!!

I sew when I should probably be cleaning! LOL

I wonder how these people do it too. Like you, I have a full time job, a toddler, and everyday choirs are just too exhausting to pull out my sewing stuff to sew.

I think I just need to make time for it.

Can you believe my goal is only to make one quilt a year? So far, I'm able to achieve my goal for the last three years.

Good luck!

All the time!! That's why I need a maid . . . so I can quilt. :)

Well I am a full-time student...work part time and have 6 kiddos and DH. I sew because it relaxes me. I usually sew after the kids go to bed...and dh works early hours so he goes to bed early as well. SO I have the house to myself and sometimes I probably should be cleaning or studying ...but sewing helps me.

I can sew without thinking ..so night time is a good time. I study better during the daytime hours.

I was laid off last April so I am at home most of the time and have time to spend in the sewing room.
When I worked I had to make time to quilt. I sometimes got up early and had a short time before going to work. If I had an evening that after supper I was free I took advantage of that time.
I did have to make time to spend but I enjoy it so much that I managed to do it.

I am retired, and use the crock pot alot for dinner!

I go in spurts anyways..sometimes i get on a roll, and sew for 3 or 4 days, other times, i may not sew all week,or two weeks before i touch the machine.
i could of never done this when i worked, i worked swing shift and raised 3 of my own kids and had 5 foster kids too..Don't know how i even got through that! (alot of help from husband)
i think if i were in that position again..i would designate a day and time, that was for just me..even if it was for only an hour.
If mama's happy,they are all happy..

I don't work, my son does most of the cooking and I clean up.

Plus I have insominia. :(

My business is slow, so I find time during the day when kids are at school...I rarely sew at night cuz I'm tired. Weekends are a good time too!

When DH and I were working I got home at 5:00pm, made dinner, and DH and the kids helped clean the kitchen, including the floors. One load of laundry went to the washer and by 7:30 I was in the sewing room. We worked in the same place so we had time to talk in the car and during lunch. I used to sew until 10:30 or 11:00 and watch th enews with him. On weekends we dedicated 2 hours every Saturday morning for cleaning, everyone with a chore. Sometimes a little more. By 2:00PM I was sewing. Then most of the day sunday. My room was big and open, so DH could come and watch TV there with me and the kids could come do homework or draw while I sewed. I made more quilts then than now that I am unemployed. I am also not up to sewing yet since surgery. Hopefuly soon.

I didn't start quilting until several years after I retired. There's no way I could have spent this much time on any hobby when I was working and had kids at home.

i work 3rd shift so i quilt alot on weekends when everyone else in the world seems to be asleep. ;) Also this time of year my hours at work have been cut from 40 and 60 to just barely 30. I spend all kinds of money when i am working all the overtime and don't have time to quilt so that this time of year I have plenty to do and don't have to worry about the cost so much. Kind of like a fabric savings account. I still manage a trip every 2 weeks or so to a quilt shop though! :)

I have to agree. it is very hard working full time-especially when the commute to work is one hour one way, have a toddler and a home to maintain. I try to go at least once a week to my mom's to get some sewing in and once we are done with the basement I think it might make life a little easier too who knows :-) I try to sneak it in where I can lol
Hugs
April

I just told my husband yesterday that between him, quilting, my new "baking bread" hobbie, and my beloved Tivo - I don't have any time. I told him I had to give up on one of them :) I also work full time - early hours so we are in bed early - by 7:30 I am in my jammies ready to watch some tv before bed.

We don't all put out a lot of quilts! I have yet to make anything bigger than 60x70. But I do have a dedicated sewing room and no kiddos. So I can work for 15-20 minutes and just leave everything as is. I sew binding on a quilt during my lunch hours, when I finish one!

I like spending time with DH, so don't get as much done as I could!

I sew when I should be cleaning too. I'm retired, my husband is encouraging and helpful, I worked hard for many years and now my time is my own. :-D

I am retired, and quilt whenever I can. Some weeks I get a lot done, others I hurt to much to quilt so I read/watch videos/surf the internet for new techniques and tips :D:D:D

When my kids were still at home, I did take time in the evenings for myself, even if it was only a half hour.
I think it was good for them to learn and know that their playtime was good and healthy for them, mama's playtime was good and healthy for her too! As they got older I could get an 1 to 1 1/2hours some nights, but we ALL shared the daily chores, and none of us spent more than 30 minutes each (excluding laundry) each afternoon/evening :D:D:D

I too work full time... kids are grown and gone but now I take care of a senior for a friend of mine..I also do accounting on the side for extra income ( quilting money!) so I usually only have Friday nights and Saturday nights to quilt... unless I'm deep into a quilt project.. then I put the house on hold for the weekend and work on the quilt...Spring and summer steal my time as well .. working on my huge flower gardens.. I learned to do hand quilting so that I could sit out on my deck in the summer evenings and hand quilt with a light on!!! I piece it together by machine and then handquilt the top if I want to spend time outside...I look foward to the day I am retired ( not for at least 15 more years) than I can devote more time to quilting!

1. Got the dog a buddy and they run eachother ragged. That eliminates dog walking.
2. Crock pots, take out, microwave, or sandwiches are awesome in making dinner fast and painless.
3. Cleaning had to go. Hey, can't do everything and cleaning got dropped in the priority list. (Shoot, it never made the priority list) Besides, it's highly overrated.
4. Checked out the 10-20-30 minute sewing book. There is so much prep stuff one can do in a short time.
5. Sleeping - also highly overrated. I cut back on that and menopause helped. lol
6. DH works late shift so my evenings are all mine.

I will admit that I probably spend more time than most of you with my fabric. I am disabled with a rare autoimmune disease. My husband still works. There are only the two of us at home these days. I always found time to sew even when my daughter was very little and I was also raising a step-son. Since I got involved with the Linus Project I have probably made at least 150 quilts for them. They are very basic top, back and batting, machine quilted or tied. Most of them are whole cloth novelty prints or very simple piecing. I have a woman who comes in every three weeks and cleans my house. Not to my former specifications but tasks I can no longer do. I save my limited energy for my quilting and sewing. I cook from scratch 4 nights a week and we eat out on the weekends. Since changes in temperture, like hot water, really bother my hands my husband has been doing the dishes for the last ten years. I do laundry once a week and usually get my groceries in small batches whenever I am out and about.
At this point I probably only make two or three bedsize quilts entirely from cloth to quilted a year. As for handquilting I do a lot more of that. Last sunday I made a 43"by43" pieced quilt top for a sample of a quilt challenge at one of my guilds. It is already 3/4 of the way quilted. Two more nights of TV viewing and quilting and it will be finished. I also very simply pieced and constructed a baby quilt for my nephew's second child due Feb. 4. It I machine quilted. I also enveloped another Linus quilt. I should get the macine quilting done on it by tomorrow night. My e-mail name is mpspeedy for a very good reason.

I'm with you, Love2quilt. I work full time too, thats why I have so many UFO's.

I work full time, teach two nights a week and have a grandson who is with me. My sewing time is usually evenings after8:30pm, and when the chores are done on Saturday. On Sunday, everyone knows that after Mass it is my time alone for sewing.

I'm a stay at home mom with 3 kids in school...........and my husband travels a lot for work......gives me lots of "free" time......but, of course, it's never enough. I can definitely understand how it would be very hard to find the time if I were working or had little ones at home or hubby was home all the time, or God forbid all THREE :)

My son is grown, but I cook 5 days a week and bake. I teach Sunday School for a class of 2 to 12 kids . I always prepare for 10 and I make quilted wall hangings for SSdecor to change out quarterly. I also make costumes and props for my SS kids to act out the Bible story lessons and I make them some type of bag every quarter (Wild west decor I make them saddle bags) to put all their crafts and treats in. I make all my clothes and I make baby items for 2 charitable organizations plus wherever I find a need. I make most of our Christmas and Birthday gifts and just started school to become a medical transcriptionist because I need more money for sewing and quilting ,SS and crafting!!!! My house is messy but without sewing and quilting I would be VIOLENT sooooooo I just TAKE the time as often as I can. Sleep IS overated and menopause and sleep apnea seem to concur . I often stay up over night to work on the things I love and the world is a safer place for itlol111

I'm amazed at the incredible quilts that are posted on this board, then even more so when I find out that they were completed in a few days or weeks. I'm not a fast sewer. But, like you, I work full time, come home to do dinner and do whatever needs to be done around the house. Sometimes I just walk into my sewing room, look around, then walk right back out -- other times I get a little bit done. Most of my time on the sewing machine is during the weekend. I'd love nothing better than to retire and be able to devote more time to it.

I feel so much better after reading this post! I am a very slow sewer and I work full time and have two preschool aged kids. If I am in my sewing room, one of them, usually DD, is in there with me. honestly, I've completed a couple of baby quilts, wall hangings and table runners but nothing bigger! I always felt like I was missing something,like why are these women abel to get so much done and I'm not?!?!? Glad I'm not alone on this and I think I just need to keep it in perspective. I also think I need to train DH that cleaning is very low on the priority list. For some reason, he wants to see our house clean :wink: At least he pitches in!

I homeschool my children and I also work part time. I usually take a bit of time in the mornings to work on some quilting, maybe 30-45, just to get my mind working. Then we usually focus on school studies in the mornings, since there are two of them and they get individual one on one attention, we can get things done a lot faster. After lunch it is time to do what each of us wants. That is when I usually quilt. I have everyone help prepare meals and help with clean up and then we all have certain chores that we do. Sometimes, if my hubby is working from home in the evenings, I will go down and quilt for a while. I have found, I just have to make time for it, because it is relaxing for me.

How DO I find the time??! I work full time, take call (Hospice patients), active in my church, take time for my honey, and now I have bitten of too many projects: Choco-Rasp swap, boomerange, IRR, plus projects that I'm doing on my own, like baby quilts for friends, grandkids quilts when they turn 5, etc. I just try to make time. The best is when I do laundry, since my sewing room is the other half of the laundry. Also, I find it is relaxing, as many of you have said. Most of all, I LOVE it!!

Working moms do too much an feel guilty if they take time for themselves. I learned to say: do it yourself. When I worked full time no way was I coming home and have the cooking and cleaning to do too. DH either did his equal share to help or he could eat cereal and wear dirty clothes. Or marry a maid. His choice. Once the kids reached 8 years old, they did their own laundry and did all the kitchen clean ups after dinner. Saturdays were errand and house chores which were done by the whole family. Sat night was family night (until teen years) and Sunday every one did what they wanted on their own. It worked great. Now that I don't work full time I get up and decide what I want to do for the day.

I sew while I should be cleaning as well lol. Seriously though, I am blessed to be a SAH mom and I sew while my kids are in school. I am also a part time student but I do most of my studying in the evening after the kids go to sleep. I dont make as many as say... Eddie who every time you blink has a new one. He is amazingly quick and super talented. :D

When I worked, I found that the only way I could get everything done that I wanted was to have a schedule and be very organized. Also, my DH was always willing to lend a hand so that I could do the things I enjoyed. I was a stay at home mom when our 4 kids were little but I made almost all of their clothes and mine, canned almost 1000 jars of fruits and veggies, baked everything from scratch and all the rest. A schedule and organization made all the difference. I quite honestly never just sat down. I was always doing some sort of handy work. All of the kids had chores that were age appropriaste. Of corse we did not have a computor or all of the electronics that can eat up do much of our time. Also, the TV did not go on until all chores were done! I guess the bottem line is we make time for the things that we want to make time for. Was I sleep deprived? Absolutly! But when I look back, I wouldn't change any of it. Now I don't have the demands, so am more layed back, but still try to stick to some sort of schedule.

I also work full-time from 8-5, but I'm a night owl too (and hate to get up). My DH does 80% of the cooking, and my children are now grown, so lately I've been sewing about every night, sometimes until 12:30 or 1 am. But I also embroider and sew lots of other things besides just quilts. I've got three quilts in progress, two that I started over a year ago! So don't feel bad if you can't crank out as many as others do. At least you're doing something you enjoy.

Ok...I feel so much better. I literally have to schedule time to be able to sew. I have so many things I would love to do and can't ever seem to find the time. Ihave been trying to make it a habit to sew every evening for at least 30 - 45 min. Once I have my new sewing room organized it will be easier since I will be able to just leave what I am working on and pick back up the next day.

We own a busines that keeps me busy 5.5 days a week. I have two children that are involved in after school activities so I am MOM'S TAXI. No one helps me with any chores, maybe time to rethink that one!!! I do all the cooking ect. After supper and cleaing up I usually head to the "dungeon" and quilt away. I do laundry while sewing and I have a t.v. down there to keep me company. Since DH and I work together it's nice to have our separate time at night.

Before I retired I just made time even if something else had to slip. My sewing machine used to be in the family room which is also where the tv, computer, and homework table used to be. Now that I'm retired I have my own little room (7x10) that was meant to be an office but it is too small for my hubby and all his magazines and paperwork so I snagged it as my own sewing area. Sewing still takes priority over housework. When the house gets unbearable we both pitch in!

I am very VERY lucky. I am unemployed. Jim works. I quilt.

I am retired but did do a lot when working. Mostly I could only concentrate on one project at a time. Although I have some projects that will not get completed, I'm sure. When I built this house I chose gray carpet, it is the color of dust. Dishes are done and beds are made and the rest is okay by me. I am a collector of antiques and it shows. I can't go to anymore sales because I will have to move to a bigger house. Two of my bedrooms are storage and I sew on the kitchen table. I don't feel right being upstairs. Everything is here in front of me and I can keep going when I want. On another online site there is a "Sew daily challenge". The goal is 15 to 30 minutes a day. Reading about quilting also counts. After all you have to plan the next quilt/project.

I had a friend,not too long ago, who used to tweak me about never completing a quilting project. She did it a few two many times and in public once! This was when I was teaching fulltime and finishing grad. school in addition to all of the regular family stuff. Grad. school was over at the end of this summer and now I can finally see some time ahead of me to be more productive. It is hard during the week. I just get worn out sometimes and it's all I can do to keep up with things at home and jump on the treadmill for some exercise.
By the way, that 'friend' is no longer. Not due to the teasing but now that I think of it, I sure don't miss that. It started to feel a little mean spirited.
lots2do

I love this thread. I have often thought the same thing .

I am retired as well and still find it hard to cook, clean, go to guild meetings and sew. but I try to sew some each day. Even at that, I am not as prolific as others.

I haven't been quilting in a long, long time. I started a baby quilt for a friend. Baby just turned 1 year old. Quilt is still on the frame.

I plan to put myself on a schedule so I can get it done. Having some minor upheaval so it will have to wait before I can get back to it. (oh, well...)