Sewing and me

Thanks for your comments on the craft run. There are a few more projects I'm working on that should be ready soon, including a tutorial for a fun little project I did a couple of days ago. I'm also planning to get my Etsy store together and will post a link as soon as I do.

In answer to Laura's questions about my sewing history and practice:

Sewing and I have a long and uncomplicated relationship. My mom sews and taught me basics when I was a kid, and it's been an active hobby ever since.

Where do I find time to sew? That's easy. It's all about prioritizing and time distribution, getting rid of those time sappers that steal our attentions from more important things.

Grooming takes a lot of time that could otherwise be spent making valuable kitty cat diapers. By simply not wearing makeup, fixing my hair, or sometimes even showering, I can get literally MINUTES of time that would otherwise be lost to not sewing.

Having a clean house is another deterrent to sewing. Leaving the delicate vacuum in its closet of honor instead of imposing wear and tear on it can give you enough time, over the space of a few weeks, to make a finger puppet.

And what about children? Small children may be the biggest obstacle to sewing. Letting children cry in their cribs while you finish that one last thing instead of getting them out and changing their poopy diapers will buy you valuable time.

...

No, in truth, I just have to find time to sew when the kids are taking naps (especially Carmen). Olivia's actually big enough now that she can either entertain herself for a little bit or watch and "help" while I do projects - cutting strings, smoothing fabric, bringing me stuff. I'm also pretty fast, as I should be after more than 20 years.

As far as the quiet book...well, the first incarnation was basically done in a weekend, but that's because I was jamming to get it mostly done so I could use it to entertain Olivia on a plane trip. Afterward, though, I went back and made a bunch of improvements. The second one, which I worked on with Hyde, was quicker because I had already gotten all my stuff together and drawn all the pictures, but still took 20 hours? I don't know. I've been trying to figure out a way to make them quicker and easier. I've had people offer to buy them, but frankly they take so much time that it wouldn't be cost effective for me to sell them at a reasonable price.

Actually, that's kind of my excuse for not selling more stuff in general. People tell me they like something I make and that I could make more and sell them for big bucks. And sometimes I think about it and start counting hours and dimes and dreaming of web sites and Pay Pal transactions. But I have to remind myself that, yes, there are many things I could do to make money, IF that is what I wanted to spend a bunch of time on. But as much as I like sewing, I guess I like Steven, Olivia, and Carmen more. And my kids won't be little forever, and no amount of money can ever buy this time back.