Project work time/quilt donation

I have a question regarding when most of you work on projects-be they quilting, sewing or any other activity that requires focus. If you have children in the home, are you able to work on projects during the time they are awake,alert and active? I babysit my grandson(he actually lives in my home) and I cannot work on much during the day when he is in my charge. I dislike starting on project activities if there is a chance I may be interrupted. So that means I get up early in the morning to work while he's sleeping or wait until his mother gets home from work. I wondered if I am alone in my quirky approach to needing a somewhat serene, solitary environment to be productve?

Also-I just have to share....the double slice layer cake quilt I donated for the fund raiser sold for $100 today! Perhaps making quilts for donations is my calling????LOL!

Hi Bellasnana. I think it depends on the child age. I have an 8 & 11 year old. So they pretty much entertain themselves. They sometimes want my attention and I will bring them in my sewing room with me. However, I make sure they have something to keep them busy. I think if you have the space in you sewing room, make a space for him with his toys, so he can see you and try to sew. If its the noise of the sewing machine you are concerned about, he will get accustomed to it. Kids are very adaptable. Another thing is, give yourself a time limit, for example, an hour to sew, an hour to play with grandson. Hope these suggestions work. :)

Thanks Precious 1-I forgot to mention my grandson is 8, however our neighborhood is very kid friendly and often 2, 3 or 4 of his buddies like to stop in as they regroup or need something(drink of water, questions answered etc. I am happy to welcome them into our home-but quickly realized I cannot work seriously on any project if I am concerned I will have to attend to him.
Additionally, my mother-in-law lives with us, she's somewhat physically limited and has moderate stage of dementia. I am usually a great multi-tasker- but when working on anything that involves cutting fabric or working on my sewing machine-I don't like to push my limits.

I'm with you on that one, it should be easier when the school year begins. My kids loved Legos and could sit for hours creating stuff. If they were doing things like that, then I could get into a project, but I too don't do as well when I am constantly interupted or distracted. I almost always make dumb mistakes in those few seconds that my attention is divided.

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Originally Posted by bellasnanny247

I have a question regarding when most of you work on projects-be they quilting, sewing or any other activity that requires focus. If you have children in the home, are you able to work on projects during the time they are awake,alert and active? I babysit my grandson(he actually lives in my home) and I cannot work on much during the day when he is in my charge. I dislike starting on project activities if there is a chance I may be interrupted. So that means I get up early in the morning to work while he's sleeping or wait until his mother gets home from work. I wondered if I am alone in my quirky approach to needing a somewhat serene, solitary environment to be productve?

Also-I just have to share....the double slice layer cake quilt I donated for the fund raiser sold for $100 today! Perhaps making quilts for donations is my calling????LOL!

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I definitely am coming to YOUR HOUSE for some quiet . . . You do know that EIGHT granddaughters live with me, right?

http://annalisegreen.files.wordpress...ny-violin1.jpg

Okay, I'm just trying to be funny for you - but believe me, if anyone understands your plight . . . well, I do. Aren't they just wonderful joys though?

(Oh, and I'm the one in this house who suffers with dementia . . . just saying)

Heck, my kids are grown (and all live here too) and it seems the minute I am trying to concentrate on something, they need something RIGHT NOW. It's either them or the cats. They want to help so I wait until they sleep during the day or late night.

Hugs,

Funny Sandy, YCMU... You crack me up. Even when there is no one around and all is quiet here, I get interrupted in my process. It happens. You just work along as best as you can while you can. There is no perfectly serene place to work or craft. I wish there was.

Well once upon a time I did a lot of sewing-5 kids under 8-and I made a good deal of their clothes. At the time I sewed at the kitchen table with them playing around me. they learned at an early age not to mess with mom's stuff. yes id did get interrupted at times but as they got older all i had to do was check on them from to time.
Fast forward a "few" years. I would(and have) sewn with GD around she's 3 1/2 and happy to hang out and chatter at me. would not try it with GSs (almost 2 and 2 mos.) Now I would think with an 8 yo. you should be able to trust him to entertain himself with a minimum of supervision. I do realize a lot depends on the kid.

Finding time is a hard commodity. I try to sew a bit each day. My kids are grown and gone but I do have plenty of family to go around. I am usually sitting at the machine by 6 in the morning and sew some Monday through Wed. In the evening when the hubs is home is when I will hand stitch on COC's and bindings.
Just because I don't have kids doesn't mean I am not distracted and yanked around!
I am so happy that your quilt went to raising some money!
You could always join in the COC and PICU and alternate making small quilties for those who need a good hug. HINT HINT HINT

My kids are grown but one lives with us. When she or DH comes into the sewing room I have to stop because I can't concentrate on what I'm doing with them talking. That's when I usually cut something wrong or sew something backward. My biggest problem though is the phone....as soon as I sit down and put the fabric under the presser foot...the phone rings....sometimes I just ignore the phone because it only rings 4 times before the answering machine picks up. But yes I do need quiet so I can concentrate on what I'm doing.

I can only sew in the evenings, as I work full time. My family is pretty good about leaving me alone when I sew; they (esp DH) understand that it's my cheaper-than-drugs therapy!

When my young 'uns were young, I would sew during their naps/quiet time. I agree that each kid is different; I have explained to DGS age 3 that Grammy's things are very dangerous (scissors, pins, sewing machine, etc.) and that I would be very sad if he got hurt. So far, whenever they come to visit, he has been great about watching from a distance. Mind you, his mom or his 16-yr-old aunt are always around to remove him if necessary... That said, his sister, who just learned to walk, is another story, lol!

Congrats on the donated quilt!

My son is 8 so he is no trouble when I want to sew unless he wants me to cook. My granddaughter is 5 and she is no trouble as long as I set her up to cut fabric (cheap scissors on scraps) and give her a pre-threaded needle to sew with. Sometimes she just reorganizes my fabric or even pulls fabric and tells me what she wants me to make for her and her sister.

The biggest distraction for me is honestly my hubby. If he isn't involved in a project or a movie then he just comes up with all sorts of reasons to come and talk to me.

If I waited for that I would not get much sewing done and only when it's dark (except for now in the summer when we have verrrrry long days when it comes to daylight - that's what living in the north does hehe). I'm kinda like you, I want things organised and know that I have time and peace to work on a project, so I had to work through that in order to enjoy quilting at all, at this point in my life. I work and I have two small children - there isn't a lot of alone-time! I sure would get more sewing done if I didn't have the kids but I manage to get some in when they are watching telly, or like now when both me and DH are off work for a few weeks.

I walked into my sewing room yesterday to find a pair of jeans laying on my table next to my machine. I asked Abby ...she's 10 our youngest...what did you need done? Oh I wanted them made into capris she says. I get distractions all the time I learned to work around them. We have five kids, one is moved out but the other four are 16,14,14 and 10. The teens are boys and never fails when I start to sew all come hang out around me. I take it as a compliment lol most of the time. When they were small I gave them paper glue and they had there own fabric scrap drawer and they made paper quilts.

when the kids were small and I worked full time I found more time to sew and sewed a lot most of my clothes and some of theirs. They kept busy with legos, drawing, reading , video games, with me checking occasionally and helping them here and there. Now that I work less and they are young adults I find it harder to find the time. My main reason is right now the heat. I don't cope with heat well. 2nd reason is my sewing machine and hubbys computer share a chair, with only working part time and unemployment he is home too much so no sewing. But otherwise My biggest interupter is my youngest , we play computer games together (GW2, and in the past WOW). so seems soon as I set up to sew he wants to do a dungeon or something. I never refuse, the games are my 2nd biggest time sink.

My kids are grown and moved out. We keep the grandkids for a couple of days every two weeks. Hubby is here though, and he likes to drive in to town to eat lunch everyday. I'm not complaining. Our life is like a vacation now. We just enjoy being together every day. I get a little sewing done, but I never have to rush anymore. Those days are coming for you all. The trouble is that it doesn't happen until you look up and realize, "What, I'm old!" Enjoy those kids and grandkids,and hubbies. Sew when you can and have fun.