Media Diet

I listened to portions of the book "The Four Hour Work Week" by Timothy Ferriss recently on a car trip.  Don't really know why I picked it out--just in self-help gotta-get-more-organized mode, I guess.

Several of the author's suggestions were familiar: along the lines of "Eat That Frog", get your most important tasks out of the way first.  But he also advocates eliminating ALL time-wasting activity, and severely limiting contacts.  The "severely limiting contacts" is what got me started on my recent unsubscribe mission.  He weans his colleagues and business associates off of the expectation of rapid email responses, in order to only have to check and respond to email once or twice a week.

Guess what he has to say about social media, blogs, and the internet?  Exactly: they are time-wasters.  (After all, his premise is that, without all these constant distractions and non-essential non-work-related activities, you could get your job done in only four hours a week.)

Well, the advice gets more strident: go on a media diet for a week.  This means don't spend time keeping up with the news on television or radio or internet.  In fact, avoid any and all media, unless it is critical to getting your work done.

This intrigues me.  As an adult with ADD, I often get sucked into the internet vortex, horribly distracted and off-task, even when I start with something as innocuous and simple as checking the weather before getting dressed for the day.

Maybe there is a lesson hidden here: severely limiting the inputs to my brain can be a helpful thing.  I know I love being exposed to a daily dose of new and interesting (and often nerdy) ideas by listening to NPR, but is this really causing me too much distraction?  Would I be more productive--or at least have an easier time focusing and feeling less stressed--if I severely cut back my media exposure?



My Social Experiment: we'll see how this plays out over the next week.  (Disclaimer: in looking for images to accompany this posting, I spent about 30 minutes actually reading and digesting other ideas on media diets, including a blog post that resonated with me.  But it also took 30 minutes away from what I wanted to do with my time this evening.  Damn.)

Unsubscribe

Sometimes I feel like I just discovered fire.  Or invented the wheel. 

Today I am proud of myself--even though what I have done is so simple that a *facepalm* might be the appropriate gesture (why, oh why hadn't I thought of that before?)

Unsubscribe

Yep, I just discovered that most of the annoying email newsletters and endless sales pitches from retailers and "educational partners" have a link on the bottom marked unsubscribe.  And that this magical button has the power to transform my email inbox.

Who knew? 

I was too busy slogging through the daily pack of emails, hitting delete before even opening over two-thirds of what came my way.  And it seemed that the influx was getting heavier over time.  Since when does Store M have a daily deal so awesome that it needs a daily email?  And how about C Online University, where I can finish my Master's degree program?  Do I really need to hear about every opportunity?  In a word: NO.

Do I feel sorry for the site that greeted my efforts to unsubscribe from their annoying emails with a sad graphic?  Not at all.

My gain: freedom from hundreds of artery-clogging, bank-balance-depleting, time-wasting emails a week.

Setting Goals for October

I normally spend a moment at the beginning of a new month reviewing my progress in the previous month.  This time, however, after several months of floundering around, I want to set some goals.


What would I like to accomplish in October?  What is actually realistic for me to accomplish in October--given all the multitude of other demands on my time?  (And, remembering that I am slower than I think when it comes to getting things done.)

 

1.  Complete SIX of the aprons that will be Christmas gifts to the nieces and nephews this year.  Six may sound like a lot, but I have thirteen of them to make; and I don't want to still be sewing these in December (goal: stress-free Christmas).  I intend to personalize each one to the recipient, so I know that adds a level of complexity, too.

2.  Finish this month's Buck-a-Block in time for the final monthly meeting of this 12-month BOTM adventure.

Planned circle quilting location

3.  Quilt some circles into the baby quilt (from last year's Buck-a-Block BOTM extravaganza) that I am machine quilting on my own. I learned a circle quilting technique on a recent episode of Sewing With Nancy, and I think I can do it.

There.  A plan for October.  Might even get it all done--unlike most of my ToDo lists, which are knowlingly too long for human accomplishment.

I'm linking up with A Year of Lovely Finishes, so that I can track both my goal-setting, and my actual progress at the end of the month.  Wish me luck!

Mini-goal for this weekend: cut out all the linings for the six aprons, and prep three of them for dyeing.

Donna

In honor of my friend Donna whose hobby is scuba diving.  I took this picture while she was away enjoying a luxurious week of diving in Hawaii...

Notice how dreary the skies are overhead.  Maybe I was feeling a little jealous, stuck enjoying delightful fall weather in Oregon.  Oh, but this picture wasn't supposed to be about the weather...

It's about the SHARK.  So clever, the way the shark's shape is formed from the letters.  Of course, the black shading doesn't hurt any, either.  *Sigh*  Last season's Project Runway All Stars flashback: the designers got to use spray paint on fabric to create wearable art.  Where are those amazing spray-paint-artist vibes when you need them? 

I just keep wondering if there's a way I can do something fishy (ok, something fabulously fishy) with Donna's name.  With fabric, of course.

Sorting through this summer's vacation photos.  Sighted on our Florida trip: a sticker on a truck that reminded me of the shark.  But this seemed more do-able as a Donna idea, as the entire shape didn't need to be created from the word.

Ahh, as always, more ideas than time.  Just a trip to fabric fantasy-land...

Surrounded by T-shirts

So... I may have started another quilt last night.  Umm... before I finished the previous t-shirt quilt.  Before I finished anything significant at all, really.  I feel guilty for doing this, but I just got so excited about starting a new project with t-shirts.

I spent the evening cutting out and stabilizing t-shirts that youngest daughter had saved from most of her drama productions in high school.  How many t-shirts did I end up with?  17!  Heavens, what am I to make with 17 t-shirts?  Most of the ideas I have seen with t-shirts don't have room for quite so many shirts.

Colorful collection of drama t-shirts

 I have bought coordinating fabric in blues, greens, and browns.  Not too much of any one piece, however, so this has the potential to be a scrappy mess.  Unless I can tame things down by having a unifying idea.  What ideas have I seen lately?

This is the Surrounded pattern from Four Paws Quilting.  I took a picture of it on the wall of Piece by Piece Fabrics.  I wonder if the larger blocks can be t-shirts.  There don't seem to be enough of them...

Same pattern, different effect:  I first saw this quilt in this colorway on the PBP Blog. From this photo, I count 16 "large" blocks.  Maybe it would work.

I also flipped through a book--Terrific Tees: I Can't Believe It's a T-shirt Quilt--just to see what other ideas called to me.

My favorite quilt in the book is a mixture of t-shirts and intricately-pieced related blocks.  The t-shirts mesh so seamlessly with the rest of the quilt.  The overall theme (both of the t-shirts and the pieced blocks) features the city of San Francisco.  So there is Lombard Street and the Golden Gate Bridge, cable cars, Victorian row houses, Alcatraz Island, and the like.  All in coordinating colors.  And tied together with rows of flying geese.  So lovely!

Quilt by Roberta de Luz, in Terrific Tees book

The design seems a little too much to tackle, but I am intrigued nevertheless.  I have lots of ideas for coordinating scenes to go with the drama theme: parting curtains over a stage; a yellow brick road and ruby slippers; comedy and tragedy masks; a bust of Shakespeare.  Too many ideas to list (or complete, naturally.)

T-shirt layout idea from Terrific Tees book

Finally, the book had some layout sketches, showing different ways to integrate t-shirt blocks with pieced blocks and sashing.  I like the layout shown here because of the pieced sashing.  Not saying I would use the particular design shown (trees and stars don't exactly match my theme), but I can see this idea being one I will continue to play around with.

Much design work needs to happen before I move forward, but I have made a start.  And thus, I can post this to the New FO linky party at the end of the month.  A new project!

Rainbow bag idea

Was sorting thru photos I took over the summer and came across this picture I snapped in a student-friendly store near Duke University

The bag on the left is made out of strips of t-shirt that were stitched together with exposed serged seams.  It is fully lined with a woven material, so the stretchiness of the knits won't be a factor in the integrity of the bag.  Also, the strap is woven (and lined).

I have a rainbow of partially cut-up t-shirts hanging around!.. But alas, no plans to do this with them.  Yet.

Think I'll hang onto this idea for later. 

(And yes, for the record, I also adore the plaid bag on the right with the large exterior pockets--could they be made in a competing plaid?--and big chunky buttons.)

Xmas in July...August...September...

Drat, the calendar moved past August before I could complete this posting...

Ok, I am all set to go: Christmas sewing project.  Won't post too much about it, as some of my blog readers are family members who will be getting said home-sewn gifts.  But they all know already that I am sewing aprons.

Have had this plan for sewing gift aprons for many years.  Have a unique twist, and a reason these aprons will be loved and cherished.  But, why now?

Thrift sale find

Well, I found a slew of identical aprons on sale in a thrift shop.  $1 each.  Done!  I knew this was a sign that this is the year I need to make this project a reality.

The aprons were an advertising item for a company, so they have a large logo on the front.  No problem, I have a solution for that issue.  Also, the neck strap and waist ties are a little skimpy.  I have a fix for that, too.

Taking apart the aprons to add personal touches

Removing the existing pocket and bias-binding straps will allow me to personalize each apron to match the taste and decor of the family member who will be receiving it.

Apron neck strap plan

So excited to get going on this!  I must finish in a reasonable amount of time, however, because I refuse to be sewing on December 24th.  I learned my lesson last year:

no last-minute holiday sewing = less stress and happier me!