During these busy times
as holidays tend to be
I am just going to say
this was not the best time for me to be tracking productivity
anyway
it has forced me to look at my process
my early conclusions are
If I Don't Schedule my Time, Little Will Get Done
here are some thoughts, disorganized right now, my two week study will end on the 29th of April. By then my compilations will make more sense.
- i need to define specific goals or i flop about like turtle on my back
- a monthly summary of needs and wants works out the best
- I keep a project book. have done this for years. it is a simple composition book that i list seasonal plans and goals, ideas and inspiration, working sketches and comments on each project. i save fabric samples taped to pages and even cut out selvage edges for general information. i have quite a collection of these, sort of like a biography. i date them on the front at the beginning date and when it is filled up the end date. they bulge and are lumpy but really work for me. someday i might attempt to catalog them, but probably not.
- choose two garment pieces or more that need to be done
- define the quilt goals
- define craft goal if any
- define knit/crochet goals
- each of these have sub groups loosely defined these are also adjusted to suit available time, i must remain very flexible due to many personal obligations
- at the beginning of each month i fill out a piece of paper that i adapted from a former business life and use it and keep it for my guideline. as i accomplish each item a check it off. frequently, some items carry over from the previous month. i will post the template in the near future. it even has a shopping list area, a phone call list etc. i think i have used this for 20 years in one form or another. and when i use it i am very productive.
- per project, my notebook handles the recording of process
- i have a bulletin board with current pattern envelopes attached and another with future projects attached. i need visual ques to keep me motivated.
- I keep a little calendar book where i record my time. i have little symbols that define the activity, for example:
- P=preparation-this includes pattern prep including alterations and adjustment, pressing all the appropriate pieces and mark any notes on the pattern pieces that i have collected during the inspiration phase. i don't usually time the inspiration phase because that is continuous, ongoing, relentless. cutting out pattern pieces with paper scissors.
- C & M=laying out fabric, pinning pattern pieces (actually I use more rocks to weight things down than pins these days) cut out all pattern pieces at once. Marking the fabric as needed. I tend to remove pattern pieces as i use them just in case i need to double check a marking or direction. as the are removed they are mounted onto a a separate bulletin board with the envelope, instructions etc.
- F=fusing interfacing, fussing with seam stabilizers in stress areas, darts, gatherings etc
- S=sewing assembly, includes zippers or other closure applications, buttons, buttonholes.
- E=end of project includes, hemming, final pressing
- K-knitting/crochet
- SM=studio maintenance. I need a clean and organized work space. i am not saying white glove sparkling clean but i need all my tools to be returned to their stations at the end of each phase. i need each ongoing project in its holder (more on that some other time) i try to keep thread tails etc in their proper receptical but we all know that really is almost impossible, so a quick sweep of the floor keeps it from getting all over the house. Assistant Lucy and I prefer to contain this regularly. this helps my productivity because i am not always looking for stuff.
At the end of each week I can see how much time I have spent doing what I like and see what I have to show for all the effort!
since i no longer have a large, dedicated studio space this level of organization needed to be refined. studio A is my main working area, a bedroom outfitted with a nook built into a closet, a cutting area into a window alcove and multiple storage carts for the stuff. fabric is in many places, i am tossing some ideas around as we speak to attempt to better organize that, but it is a work in progress.
Studio B is my dining room table. I need this for quilt work. i need to be able to lay out lots of pieces in orderly fashion (i have a neat little tip for that too for the near future to share) of course quilting in and of itself requires space. if i have a very large piece to layer, pin or baste i use the ping pong table at a local church where my Tuesday quilting group meets.
Quilt frames are another animal
right now i have a Grace Z44 frame (for hand quilting) that is covered and stored in a garage. I also have a Handi-Quilter frame for a home sewing machine, disassembled and stored in pieces, hither and yon. the base table is knocked down and leaning against a wall in the garage as well. ps, there is no car in that garage.
when the Grace frame is up i like it in my living room, in front of a window where the light is clear and bright. after these holidays i will try to get that up and ready for a project.
CONCLUSION: after reading all this one simple statement to define my work process is....wait for it....I Make Lists! Have a wonderful weekend, next week, more lists:):):)
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