I was in a virtual co-working hour earlier this week and I spent my time grinding along on a tedious part of a project. There may have been some whining and/or grumbling. I was reminded that I should focus on finding joy during my day, if not during my co-working hour. The simple, gentle reminder has stayed with me for the past week, as I continued to work on my project, which has many steps.
Sometimes I whine or moan while working on a repetitive step like this. As if I wouldn’t be doing something else equally tedious. I must just be programmed to whine, even when I’m actually enjoying myself.
Just so I’m not completely obscure – my latest project involves making 20 rather complex blocks, which you will see on June 28th. (In the mood for Plum Pudding?) On Monday I was working on cutting out 60 skinny strips of pre-fused fabric, taking the paper backing off, fusing it in place, then stitching around them. It’s a slow process, and won’t even be the star of my block, although the block would look pretty goofy without them. Honestly, it’s the counting that is the hard part. I’m almost certain to run out of some of the pieces, because counting past 5 is a challenge for me.
To put my moaning in perspective, last week I happily cut out more than 180 tiny triangles with my Accuquilt then pieced them together into arcs, then attached them to wedges to make pickle dish blocks. No whining. I even stayed up past my bedtime because I was having so much fun. It’s really interesting to me that the “hard” parts are where I have fun. The easy parts – peeling off papers – are just too boring for me.
Anyway. Here I am – finding joy while I work. Even though I’m a little bored with this step, I know the finished project will be totally worth it. I’m so excited to see how my vision plays out, and then to share the finished project with you.
To perk myself up, I’ve got my good buddy hanging out with me, and Spotify is playing some of my favorite music. I’ve got fresh flowers on my desk. Plus, I’ve got seven new friends coming to virtual class to learn how to make an English Paper Piecing mini quilt entirely by hand. I only get to teach because I’ve done the tedious parts so many times.
I’ll probably indulge in a glass of wine with my husband tonight, too. That always helps.
So, while you do your thing today, work on finding some joy. You deserve it!
I do whine too, but, sometimes the tedious work pays off. I love this fabric line and look forward to seeing your vision come to life! I am about to cut up a lot of 2 1/2″ strips and squares and slay the scrap beast – love those die cutters and your pieces look so lovely!