The reason people don’t find time to quilt is that they don’t prioritize it … and the reason they don’t prioritize it is that they don’t believe they deserve to spend time quilting. Your hobby is as important, or more so, than many other things in your life that take up your time.
You deserve to quilt!
It is your calling, your passion, your creative outlet. It brings you satisfaction, fulfilment, and joy. It’s good for your mind and is relaxing as well. You work hard every day, so why shouldn’t you have the opportunity to do your craft? It isn’t fair that you can find time to do lots of other things, but can’t find the time to quilt. If quilting were a priority, you would make time for it.
Everyone has responsibilities and sometimes they seem to suck up all your available time, but the reality is if something is important enough, you would find a way to do it. We always find time for our priorities, don’t we? We just don’t make quilting a priority as we do with other things in our lives.
When quilters say that they don’t have time to quilt, what they are really saying is that they don’t make quilting a priority in their life. This article is your call-to-action to make quilting a priority in your life.
Why should your creative passion take a back seat to other, and sometimes other’s, priorities?
Let’s explore a few examples which might sound familiar to you:
A person decides to spend at least $50 and 4 hours every Saturday to pursue their passion. They meet with their friends, share the experience and may even have lunch as part of the time away from home. If this person is your husband (the golfer) he probably arrives home happy and fulfilled and ready to start his weekend. If this person is you (the quilter) then you probably arrive home feeling guilty from shirking your family responsibilities and may encounter at least one family member who is complaining that someone did not make them their lunch. Okay, maybe that’s just in my household.
What is wrong with this picture?! First of all, it is unlikely that you spend $50 every weekend on quilting (hopefully you’re not like me!) and secondly, the time spent on your passion results in a beautiful creation whereas all the golfer has to show for his money and time is a (hopefully) good score and a sunburn.
Let’s look at another example.
It is the day of your bi-monthly quilt guild meeting and you are really excited about tthat evening’s program. Around 4 o’clock your son/daughter phones and asks if you can babysit the grandkids because there is a movie he/she wants to go to with their spouse. You say yes because you love your grandkids, but why should you have to make this choice? Being a grandparent doesn’t mean you are an unpaid babysitter on call 24/7 and why should your passion take second place to everyone else’s priorities?
And my last example:
As a special treat, you spend a weekend at an out of town quilting retreat. You have a great time and get an amazing amount of work done. Your project is coming along perfectly and you have had a wonderful time with your quilting buddies. You walk in the door and your good mood evaporates as you realize that nothing has been done since you left. All the housework is still sitting there unfinished and your family is waiting for you to prepare dinner.
Why do we put up with this?
Do any of these scenarios sound familiar to you? You will always have responsibilities, but if you’re tired of never finding time for your quilting, it’s time you took control of your life and managed it so that you can find that time to quilt. No one else is going to do it for you so you need to learn how to organize your life so that you can carve out the time you need for quilting.
There is no guilt in wanting to spend time doing what is important to you and feeds your soul.
Less Guilt – More Quilt!
Creatively,
Download the free Get Out of the Ditch! guide to learn how to start free motion quilting by clicking here.
P.S. Do you strive to improve your quilting skills? Do you want to have fun doing it? Do you want to meet other quilters in a supportive, safe environment? If you answered “yes” to these questions, you need to join The Quilter’s Way. The Quilter’s Way is the only quilting membership site that includes both training and an active, supportive online community. It’s not your grandmother’s quilting circle! Don’t wait another day! Join now.
P.S. I am an Amazon affiliate and, if you purchase items by clicking through the links in this post, I will receive a small amount of commission. This doesn’t cost you any more $$$, but helps me to continue creating free content for you. Thanks!