I have not been able to sew anything in about one year.
Please, my blog readers who sew regularly, tell me how you manage it!
I was able to get a few outfits sewn after Margaret was born because I had parish volunteers bringing us meals for six whole weeks and the newborn slept a lot or was content in my sling. I think the last thing I've sewn might have been Margaret's Easter outfit last year, the only other sewing occurring in a whole year being the children's All Saints' costumes.
My time is used up tending to all my duties as a homemaker--and with that I feel like I'm barely hanging on, meals are extremely simple, and I don't take on too much outside the home. Even though I have an afternoon sitter a few days per week for the two older kids, that time is used for me to do necessary errands and chores. And, sure, some activities I do are extraneous, like planting a garden, but a garden is something I can easily do with children and, in fact, they love it. Sewing is not something I can do with children.
Early mornings: The children are up by 6:30. Before that, I'm drinking coffee, not sewing.
Nap time: The kids are good about staying in Quiet Time now, but the baby's naps are not highly routinized. I have no idea how to get a baby on routine naps while having a life with two older kids who have places to go and things to do. Plus, Chris is gone very often (for example, for the last three of four weeks!), and when he is gone the baby takes most of her naps on my back in the Ergo because I can't take the time away from the big kids to nurse her to sleep oh-so gently and peacefully. And, yes, I tried outright crying it out over the course of months and it didn't get us anywhere better.
Regular old daytime: The big kids can occupy themselves if I tell them, "This is Mama's sewing time," but the baby does not tolerate it. She doesn't even tolerate my being on the computer. She just sits there and screams. I've tried outlasting her, but it's hard to have a baby screaming at my ankles for half an hour and just keep on ignoring her. I do it, but it hasn't improved in a year.
After the children's bedtimes: My brain is so fried after the children are finally asleep (7:00-8:00 p.m.) that I can't even follow a sewing pattern. Plus that brief two hours or so I need to finish cleaning the kitchen, then have about one hour of computer time because I try to make it a rule not to be on the computer for more than a few minutes while the children are awake.
So how on earth are you ladies getting so much sewing done? Clearly, my girls are not going to have homemade sewn dresses for Easter this year and I'm very disappointed about that.
I don't do much sewing, but I do knit and it has been hard to get time in since Beatrice was born...and often when I do have a few moments it is the last thing I want to do (much preferring to stare into space mindlessly). But sometimes on a Saturday I will ask Cla if I can go to the fiber shop to knit for an hour with the ladies (the fiber shop is walking distance from the house). And as of last week Beatrice is settled enough that I am able to go one evening a week to knit for an hour. But this is why I have still not finished a pair of mittens for Ben and now it is Spring!! I also have a few SMALLLLL Easter projects I wanted to get done for the Easter baskets and I am not sure it is going to happen.
ReplyDeleteSo with Chris away I doubt one hour one a weeknight is possible, but if he is home on weekends then maybe he can give you an hour on Saturdays or Sundays to just get some sewing done? Claudio, thankfully, sees my knitting as part of my work and not just a mindless craft so he is usually happy to make the time for me to get it done.
The only way to do it is to abandon the notion that you will be sewing while the kids are otherwise occupied or asleep. There is no idyllic moment anymore. You have to grab the moment by its hair as it tries to run away. They will be at your feet, in your hair, under your desk, and everywhere. They will occupy themselves with your pins (not necessarily as dangerous as it sounds) and play with your buttons, elastic and notions. You will get your stitches in, between tending to spills on the carpet and managing fights. Eventually you might even construct something. You get used to it. Just don't think of sewing time as "alone time" and you'll be ok. I know it's super rough to manage anything while Chris is away, but at the same time I like to use nights that my husband is not going to be home as an opportunity to push my daytime sewing a little longer and my afternoon cleanup a little later (or save it for the next day - yes, gasp! leave a mess). That gives you a little more time to get a stage of a project finished. Good luck. Giving up the idea that you'll capture the perfect moment is the hardest part.
ReplyDeletePS I have never been able to sew after dinner, either. My brain shuts off around 7:00pm.
ReplyDeleteSarah Faith: What you say is very useful. Thank you. More death to self. Does it ever end? Nope.
ReplyDeleteI don't sew but I used to do elaborate counted cross stitch projects. I haven't finished one since perpetua was born! Of course I choose to do things like read and check email during my "free time"... I just hope that when/if the opportunity arises for me to do another project my eyes are still strong enough for it!
ReplyDeleteChristine: A fellow cross-stitcher! That is so neat! I used to love cross-stitch and did elaborate, large projects for years. It really suits my temperament. I have a cross-stitch project basket up in my guest room and I've put in a few stitches at a time for years now, making, you know, almost zero progress!
ReplyDeleteLove cross stitch too! Haven't done any large projects probably since before I am married though!
ReplyDeleteAnyway, Katherine I was thinking of you yesterday when I needed just ten minutes to FINALLY finish a pair of mittens for Ben. In that time the box of playmobil tiny accessories were dumped on the living room floor along with a bag of chocolate chips, Anna, who is potty training, peed on the floor and then walked through it, a bowl containing popcorn remnants got knocked over onto the couch, and the baby started crying. BUT I got the mittens done...and that gave me plenty of time to clean up the messes LOL
Jamie: That is so funny. Thanks for giving me a smile.
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