Whimsicals Threads

must. stay. focused.

This is obviously a problem for me.  And working at home makes it even harder.

Don't get me wrong..... I love being able to get up in the morning and work in my jammies for several hours.  At least until someone comes knocking on the door.  Then, I'm completely embarrassed.  But sometimes when I'm searching for inspiration or lacking ideas and/or motivation, I find it very difficult to stay focused on one single thing.

Take this morning as an example.

I get up, go downstairs for my morning energy boost (aka Diet Dr. Pepper.... not a coffee drinker) carrying my notebook that I've been doodling in.  Feed the dog.  Let him out.  Go into my "room" and get my computer going. 

Huh.  Imagine that.  I didn't finish the drawing I was working on last night. 

So I sit down and  pick up where I left off.

Fifteen minutes later, I realize I haven't let Yukon back in.  That would explain the scratching I've been hearing at the door.  So, I go let him in.  Walking through the kitchen, I see that I left my notebook on the table. 

Hmmmm..... you know, if I put those two little sketches together, maybe I can make it work in a fabric design.  If I just sit down on the couch and doodle that now, I won't forget about it....

When I uncurl myself from the couch half an hour later, I'm wondering where I left my Diet Dr. Pepper.

In the kitchen, of course.

So I go back in there and spot some fabric I was cutting yesterday.    

All I need to finish this quilt that's laying on the floor in the dining room is to add the borders on the ends.  I started doing that 5 days ago.  But what is 5 days when I've had this particular exchange quilt pieced together for two years.

I should just cut those final three squares and be done with it. 

Since everything is right there and I really need to put this quilt away and get back to work, so I cut the squares.  Walking back into my room, I set the blocks by my sewing machine.  But before I can sew them together, I have to put away the basket of fabric I pulled out last night.  I take it over and look at the shelf that I had it on, under my cutting table.

I wonder if those storage bins and shelf that I saw at Target recently would fit under there.  That would be so much better than these mismatched baskets.  Then they wouldn't move when Yukon leans up against them....

So back over to my computer I go, to check the size of the shelf online.  But guess what?  I still haven't finished the drawing I started last night.  And my Diet Dr. Pepper?  Still in the kitchen.  The quilt that just needs the borders?  Still laying on the floor in the dining room.  My notebook is probably still on the couch in the family room.  And I'm still in my jammies. 

I really need to work on keeping my focus.  Hmmmm.  Maybe I should do a blog post about that..... 

I grab my camera, start snapping pictures, and here I am. Writing about how I can't stay focused. 

Go figure.

I really need to get back to work.   

But it looks like it's time for my zumba class......

time for some weeding...

It is time to clean.

Time to purge.  Reorganize.

Time to take stock of what I have.  Decide what to keep, and what I can part with.

Because I'm being over-run by quilts and fabric. 

You see, I've been designing fabric for 9 years, publishing patterns and books for 14 years, quilting for 20 years, and sewing for as long as I can remember.  I've accumulated a lot of stuff.

I spent the last two days out in my yard, pulling and digging out all those weeds that are taking over my flower beds.  It's a nasty job.  The thistles are the worst.  Prickly little things that never seem to go away and will grow anywhere.  And then there's the clover that seem to be choking out the grass in the yard, and the dandelions that are growing between the rocks on the patios.

So, now as I sit inside, trying to straighten out my back and get the dirt out from under my nails, I realize that I really need to do some weeding inside my house too.  To get rid of unnecessary things that are taking over my house.   

There's the stacks of fabric from the fabric lines that I've designed in one cabinet in the dining room (yes, my dining room is slowly morphing into another area of the house taken over by Whimsicals.....)

I mean, really, I can't possibly use all of this fabric!!  

And then there's the fabric from the last two lines that I haven't even gotten off the rolls yet.....

....or the fabric that is in storage bins downstairs (I couldn't even get to them to take a picture).

And I don't even want to talk about the stacks of quilts everywhere.....

I even have some stacked above my desk because, well, there was empty space up there!

....and in this old wooden box.....

And the worst part is that I don't even know where everything is.  So if you were to ask me about a specific quilt, it would take me all day just to locate it, unless it's one that is hanging on one of my walls or on a bed.

It's getting really bad.

Because with each new fabric line and each new book, I just keep adding to the stacks. And now that I'm ready to work on the new, I am so distracted by what I already have. 

So, it's time.  Time to sort.  Time to purge.  Time to make some room for the new. 

And just like the yard work, I won't enjoy it.  But as I sit here looking at it all, feeling very overwhelmed, I am reminded of a verse....

¹"I am the true vine, and my Father is the gardener. ²He cuts off every branch in me that bears no fruit, while every branch that does bear fruit he prunes so that it will be even more fruitful."   (John 15:1-2 NIV)

It will be hard.  It will take time.  But it needs to be done.  And the results will be so worth it.