A Mid-Year Check-In
I fall into ruts - periods of no motivation to do anything outside of my 8-5 and it happened again. So, at the end of the year, I prioritized my health because without that, nothing else is going to matter.
I would head down to my sewing room off an on, but still was feeling unmotivated. I did a guild sew day and pieced two tops, but the want to create didn’t last long.
And, no projects, no blogging…was I trying to do too much…maybe. I’m taking it this time as more I need to establish more boundaries with my regular job and working towards building the life I do want.
This May, I took a day trip to Missouri Star Quilt Company in Hamilton, MO. And, it was what I needed. I was again inspired by all the quilts, had time to myself to dream and think about what I want for myself. It was needed and it served it’s purpose.
Back to the health goal I set for myself in November 2022. I’ve been tired, moody, unsatisfied with life, and lashing out. Not a good place to accomplish anything. I’ve since pulled out my running shoes and have been running at least 5 days a week since then. I’ve been happier, fulfilled, and reduced my stress. And in total transparency, it’s a big reason why I haven’t had as much sewing. Figuring out the schedule and trying to become a morning person so I can exercise in the morning and family, quilt/blog, and read in the evening. This is the priority item to get established and everything else I will work around this schedule. I’m setting race goals to keep me motivated and meal prepping on Sundays. More later on the BIG goal tied to the picture below - want to take a guess on what it is?
Another practice I’m getting back into is daily reading with no screen time for at least a half hour before bed. I’ve missed reading and it’s a big part of my business plan. I miss doing my book color ways, but didn’t like that I was making color palettes off of books I hadn’t read, and couldn’t give book reviews so you all could decide if you wanted to read that book. So, enter the practice of reading before bed! I’ve been setting my phone down and have finished two books. To help kick-off my summer, I picked out a tentative summer TBR pile from my bookshelf (thanks to Jen Campbell for this idea). More to come on my current reads, like how to read along with me, future TBRs, and other bookish things, including bringing back my book inspired color ways.
I spent some good time in my sewing room over the Memorial Day holiday. And, I finished my Laundry Basket Mystery Quilt that has been lingering on. This has been on my design wall for, well, for over a year, let’s be honest (it was Edyta’s 2021 Mystery Quilt). And, I found myself wanting to work on other projects and needing my wall. So, I bit the bullet and just finished it. I am SO happy with how it turned out and I learned a lot about this type of quilt project. For example, don’t think I want to make another 15 x 15 block quilt (that’s a lot of blocks). Project got a little intense for me and therefore, I procrastinated. I’ll do a wrap-up post when I have the quilt finished.
We have wrapped up our deck patio project and I now have a beautiful background for quilt pictures. We’re waiting on some more chairs, but the backdrop and props are so gorgeous. I can’t wait to take more pictures for you all.
Reflective these past months, the three main items I want to share with you on the blog are quilting, reading, and running. I’ll be revamping the blog (yes I know, again). From a shop and business, pattern writing is likely going to come last; my hope is to start selling quilts and then fabric bundles. Once that’s established and I know I can handle it, I’ll move more into the patterns. That being said, I’m going to practice my skills with some freebie blocks, but, a full pattern I don’t plan on releasing this year/immediate future.
These last six months I’ve really learned what I want to have in my life and the boundaries I need to establish to make this happen. Now, to take it slowly and surely so as to not get burned out.
