By the Yard

I’ve always been a night owl, from my college days all through my professional life as a software developer. Software developers are notoriously nocturnal, but even more so if you are also a working mom. When else are you going to get any work done if not when the kiddos are sleeping? This is especially true for any sewing or quilting projects you have. It’s hard to sew when kids need dinner, homework needs helping, and all of the other tasks that keep a household running need doing.

For years, I’d endured well-meaning but obviously flawed harangues about the merits of “getting up early”, notably from the Goddess of Domestic Endeavors herself, Martha Stewart. She’s famously said on many occasions that mornings are her most productive time of day. How could this possibly be true?

Enter my new husband, a farm boy. As they say, you can take the boy off the farm, but you can’t take the farm out of the boy. I was horrified after meeting my online crush in person to find out he was… a morning person. No matter the season, he is up at 5 am with coffee in hand, ready to take on the day. For years I resisted his pernicious ways. It wasn’t until I left Corporate America (when they tell you when to work…) that I discovered the true merits of getting up early to…. (gasp)… work!

I started getting up early to work frankly, because I was now self-employed and my work suddenly seemed important. Moreover, I wanted to do it! There has never been a greater motivator than working for yourself. I’m still not crazy enough to get up at 5, but I can easily get in at least five hours before noon and I’ve never felt more productive. Dishes and laundry and bills can wait for the late afternoon doldrums. If I ever give myself any time off from work, I might even start working on a new quilt!

You love quilting, but you don’t have the luxury of being able to quilt all day long. You need to work a productive day job in order to finance your hobby, as well as pay all those other pesky bills. What is a dedicated quilter to do?

I used to scratch my itch for quilting while at work by going to a local quilt shop at lunch. This was just enough of a break from the mundane – as well as a good dopamine reward for the ol’ brain – to get me through a rough day. But then, that quilt shop closed. There were no other quilt shops that were close enough to squeeze into the lunch break. Things were getting tough, drastic measures had to be taken.

The holiday gift giving season was fast approaching and I had a deer panel that I was planning on making into a wall hanging. It was relatively simple; I just had to cut the panel out then sew on some nice contrasting fabric for a border, and finally a simple sleeve on the back for hanging. I technically could do that and get it done on time. Alas, that project seemed so lame. I knew I could do better.

I could spice the panel quilt up a bit by adding a border of half square triangles in contrasting fabrics instead of plain single fabric sashing. Since I was already doing all of that, why not sneak in two pairs of cute pinwheels in the corners and a second border with a nice leaf fabric print in order to make the wall hanging into a bigger quilt? Before I knew it, I had a full-blown lap quilt in the making, but I was running out of time to finish it. Fortunately, it was winter and a credible time for a sudden seasonal illness! I ended up calling in sick for the best full day of uninterrupted quilting in years.

I returned to work the next day in much better spirits with my creativity itch scratched and ready to face the challenges of the day. On my lunch break, I brought that finished quilt to the post office and sent it on its way. The recipient loved the deer lap quilt and later remarked that it was so beloved in her house that family members would actually fight over who got to snuggle under it. The next time you are feeling overwhelmed and under-appreciated at work, take a quilting mental health day!