Computers, Podcasts, and Quilty Life Thoughts

Having your computer next to your sewing machine is just a bad idea. At least it is for me! I've been thinking about a bunch of different things lately; quilting, bills, preparing for a new school year (we homeschool), and how I run my life and what (or who) is important in it. Plus I've been working on a quilt that just doesn't float my boat. (Pictures tomorrow) It is just too darn easy to slide over and start "researching" or just plain surfing the web!

I have found a bit of help with my time management by using the alarm function on my cell phone. I just have a cheap prepaid phone, but it has a timer function for 10, 30, and 60 minutes. Plus an alarm setting. I have it set to go off at 10pm every night to help me get to bed at a decent hour. The 10 minute timer is great for all kinds of tasks.

One of my joys during our daily 2 hour quiet time each afternoon is to listen to podcasts while I stitch. (OK, a 2 hour quiet time is a big joy all on its own!) I listen to quilt podcasts mostly, some sermons and encouraging programs, and an occasional story. I'll post some of my favorites in the next few days. But right now, I have been listening to Craftcast.

The serendipity of the last few shows I've listened to has been incredible! I apologize for not giving you the specific show links, I've been listening to random older shows.

In one show they mentioned the Western culture tendency to view a laid back life (or season of life) as being lazy. This really resonated with me as we chose to step off the merry go round of 'normal' American life to really enjoy our children's childhood. We also haven't jumped on the over-scheduled homeschooling bandwagon in an attempt to prove that our children get enough 'socialization'. We're poor but happy! Sometimes I wonder if I should be doing "more".

In an interview with quilter and fabric designer Jane Sassaman, there was some talk of the pursuit of a creative career and sometimes we must just "do the work". Sometimes it's not fun or particularly creative, but the work is necessary.

So last night at my evening quilting group, now called the Quilting Ladies of the Night, I showed how I use monopoly and a blanket stitch to finish my binding by machine and finally got that uninspired quilt done! And now to figure out what to work on next....

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