Adhering madly to my philosophy that a little time for needlework is better than no time for needlework, I've made some progress lately using the 15-minutes-for-stitching approach.
I'm still plugging along with the Long Dog Sampler I started last year, and since my last 15-Minute Stitching Update, I've made some ok progress, I suppose. It's time for me to switch this project out, though!
I was supposed to switch it out last week and take up my Schwalm whitework project again, but the truth it, it is much easier to sit down and drop in a few stitches on this sampler, than it is to situate myself with the Schwalm project when I'm in a hurry. I just haven't had time to do the switch-out and set stuff up for easy access with the Schwalm work, so I've stuck with this project so that I'd have something to do here and there, now and then, when the opportunity struck....
... which is, of course, the basis for this whole 15-minute-session idea.
But let me tell you - time management has its drawbacks! Take a look at this:
Determined to adhere strictly to the timer one day, I sat down to spend 15 minutes on this bit of the sampler. I only had one white blotch left that needed to be filled in with the green, and when I set the timer, I was confident that, when it went off, I would have this block finished. (And then some, or so I thought!)
When the timer went off, I had three stitches left.
THREE.
Three tiny, insignificant stitches.
But they were significant enough to bug me!
That session was a serious Only-15 15-minute-session, as a minute longer and I'd be late for work. So, the timer sounded, I dropped the frame, picked up my books, and headed out the door. I was not "relaxed" or pleased at the end of that session. Three Silly Stitches! For heaven's sake!
When I came back an hour and fifteen minutes later, the timer was still going off. Hmmmm. I decided I would have to take a much more relaxed approach to these 15-minute things if I were to retain (regain?) my sanity. Rushing through the minutes, trying to beat the clock, isn't precisely the best approach.
For the next 15-minute session, I managed to finish those riffemrackemfrickemfrackem three stitches....
.... and to get out the colors for the next little square I wanted to stitch...
... and to work Nine Whole Stitches on it.
Twelve stitches in 15 minutes?
Perhaps that day, I was a bit tooooo relaxed.
Virtue lies in the middle. Next time, I will be relaxed, but at the same time, I am determined to accomplish a bit more than this!
How are your 15-minute stitching sessions coming along?
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