Where has January gone? It's already the 25th and I am just coming to grips with the New Year! This January we have had big changes in our family. After years of home educating our two daughters they both started school at the beginning of term!!
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| Sewing on name tags took a lot longer than I thought! |
What a change .... for us all. They have gone into Year 7 and Year 5 and, fingers crossed, things are going really well. In fact I have been astounded by their attitudes, their ability to get organised and their all round acceptance of school life. They are both really enjoying it - long may that continue!
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| A very quick make-up-the-pattern-as-I-go pencil case for my youngest |
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| My first finish of 2017! |
For me of course it means I have more time, although truth be told I spent the first two weeks of term in an exhausted, zombie like state. I finally feel that we are adjusting to our new rhythms. although having to wake by an alarm for the first time in well over 13 years is not something I am enjoying!
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| The final blocks for Bee Hive 2016 |
I am slowly going through the house and decluttering (6 months of receipts anynone?!) and have been mentally planning over the last few weeks. I really wanted to join in with Yvonne's Planning Party but realistically I had no idea how school was going to turn out and I restrained myself from overcommitting, although I have been sorely tempted with a couple of things.
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| After learning about Epiphany in Spanish my daughter made El Roscon de Reyes - it was delicious! |
So rather late to the party but I still want to state my intentions for the year. I have never chosen a word for the year before but after lots of pondering it has to be ORGANISATION. In the hubbub of HE and the resulting 'things' you need for it I don't think I have had a really good clear out since we arrived back in the UK. So that's 4 years of things to sort through. It also applies to my studio where I have a lots of ideas to streamline things so that I am not needlessly looking for things or repeating myself with tasks.
To that end, I have joined in an IG challenge #organizedsewingspace2017. On 16 January my studio was still full of Christmas wrapping paraphenlia, projects half done and had become the general dumping ground over the holiday period. The first challenge was to clear and organise your sewing area. My before shot ....
and after .... So much better - I now don't have to worry about the chair toppling backwards every time I move it!
The second challenge was your pressing and cutting area. After an accident involving an overloaded ironing board a few years ago my 'pressing area' is always kept clear and tidy. My cutting area on the other hand not so much. I am lucky enough to have two areas I can cut in and, ashamedly, I could not cut on either ....
But after is a different story all together! Whilst the back table still has some piles on it, these are piles that consist of all the correct bits and are projects to be worked in the near future. The difference in my mind once I had done this was unbelievable. I have vowed not to let it get in that state again!
So that's a start! The other thing I have done was to sort out my projects, WIPs and UFOs and make my Quarter 1 FAL list. I was delighted to be invited to be one of the global hosts this year but almost missed the deadline of entering my own list .... see I really need that word 'organisation' in my life! In my organised, tidy studio I can now get on with these projects. I have already completed 3 and have been working on two more these last couple of days. More of that later along with other commitments and plans for the year.
Another goal I have set myself is to start blogging regularly again and visiting other people's blogs. I really do miss it when I am away from this wonderful community. So with that in my mind, I am going to link up to Let's Bee Social over at Sew Fresh Quilts today for the first time this year. I am looking forward to getting a cuppa later and popping over to visit other people and generally being sociable! If anyone has any tips on how to get in the blogging groove again I would be most appreciative! x
I cannot imagine what a adjustment it would be to go from home school to school school! I'm with you on the alarm clock...that would be the hardest part for me! I'm glad the transition has gone smoothly for you and the kids! Wow! What a difference from before and after! It's funny how quickly things can pile up and easily you adjust to working around the piles! It's always a shock when the organizing is done and you can look back and say 'that will never happen again'!!
ReplyDeleteI hope that your daughter continue to have a good transition and experience in school. I am so glad you decided to share some intentions for the year, and I hope that being organized in your space helps you feel more energized to create!
ReplyDeleteSo glad to hear your transition from home schooling to regular school is going well. Your sewing room is looking great! It's amazing how a little tidying up can make such a huge difference. I have to admit it's my least favorite thing to do, but it is better than washing dishes :)
ReplyDeleteLovely little bunny fabric in your pencil case and your bee blocks are so pretty. I am in that organizational challenge too. I am sort of spinning my wheels now but making some progress.
ReplyDeleteIsn't it amazing what an organized sewing space can do for inspiration and motivation? I know I would be motivated in your space, it looks great!
ReplyDeleteNo tips, other than popping in and out, as I find works for me and helps me avoid the vortex of 3-4 hours GONE out of a day...oh organization is key. I am pretty good at it, but every once in a while that one chair (like Molli Sparkles sorting chair) gets overloaded with 'to do' 'to look at' fabric, projects, books, magazines...so I know what you mean about the joy of seeing the surface of the object (your cutting tables) again! So glad you are hosting (I laugh-snorted when I read you'd missed the deadline) as I linked up through you and just plugged your page in my post today! Yay, for the girls adapting too, and small successes, like labelling, breads and pencil cases!
ReplyDeleteYes, you have done such a great job of tidying up. Looks so inviting! Love the new pencil case. Those bunnies are adorable! Thanks for linking up and joining in the Let's Bee Social party!
ReplyDeleteOrganisation really is your watchword for this year , that's an impressive tidy up . I'm glad the new schools are working out , the early mornings won't seem so bad as they brighten
ReplyDeleteBeing organized is one of those skills that comes in very handy. I learned to keep my sewing space organized when DT was a toddler. I only got 20 minutes to sew (when I got to sew), so if things weren't where they needed to be, I didn't get to sew. Your organized sewing space looks lovely. Good luck with all your goals this year.
ReplyDeleteIt's never too late to make a start! :-). Organisation is so important when you've got loads of things going on so here's to a super organised 2017 for you!
ReplyDeleteGreat clean up, I find that I am so much less stress and can be more creative when my sewing room is decluttered. (I recently finished up a bunch of secret sewing and you could not even walk in the room. It took over 3 hours to tame that mess.)
ReplyDeleteha ha. I love that you almost missed your own deadline :-) That sort of thing happens to me all the time! Great work on your clean up - you're space is looking bee-yoo-tiful (not volunteering to share photos of mine becasue it looks like a bit of a disaster area). And of course there are still *some* things out - you're still making things, so there has to be an "active/working" pile doesn't there :-)
ReplyDeleteI don't have any tips for the re-entry into blogging, other than to just start typing. The thing that stops me is always the photos, but I am letting go of that, and accepting that dodgy phone photos are sufficient for the present, and just trying to get my groove back. Perhaps, as part of your year of organisation, you can set aside specific time for bloggy endeavors?
E xx