Finding Time to Quilt

Today I would like to do something quilty, anything quilty. I would like to quilt on the quilt I have on the machine downstairs, or work on one of my patterns, or finish one of the projects I have half-completed. Why am I doing none of these things? Because I have to work. I am typing a sentencing hearing today, and then a long civil trial, and then a series of small transcripts about who knows what. I see no break.

It's one of the great frustrations of my life (and I'm sure many others) that I don't have much time in which to be creative. Living, working, eating, cleaning, sleeping, those seem to take up vast amounts of time, leaving me with crumbs, some of which I'm too tired to enjoy fully, and so I end up watching TV or doing some other mindless activity, wasting yet more of the precious little time I have.

I have tried various methods to squeeze quilting into my day. I have tried setting aside a specific time each day. I have tried working like a dog, day and night, so I can have a whole day off. I have my sewing machine right next to my computer, hoping that maybe I'll get five minutes here and there in which to sew a block or draw something in EQ 6. They are none of them very satisfactory. If I work hard to get a whole day, I'm so tired by the time that day comes that I often don't quilt much. If I take five minutes here and there, I don't get anything really accomplished because it takes three of those five minutes to figure out where I left off.

So what is my solution? Well, this summer my sisters and I are having a quilt retreat at my home. We are taking a week and quilting. My sister, Gayle, is not quite the avid quilter that Lori and I are, but she likes to putter around with it some, and the three of us just like to be together, so she'll quilt with us to get some sister time. We are each taking one day of the week and teaching something, a new technique, a new project, whatever each of us wants. I have something fabulous and very sister-esque for my day, and I am counting down the days until July 19, 2008.

The great thing about this retreat is that not only does it involve a whole week of quilting with no guilt feelings, but it involves quilting with my two best friends, the ones who understand me better than anyone else. We never run out of things to talk about, laugh about, maybe cry about. We are sisters in every sense of the word, and I often whisper a thank you to heaven for allowing me that privilege.