Under the needle

I've been sewing with my Janome sitting atop the Gidget 2 table. Works for piecing. But when machine basting the sandwich, I discovered how much more bulk and weight I had to carry. Never mind the extra bulk and weight already around the middle.

It was time to really make use of the table I got last year. Fiddled with the platform height adjustment for an hour. Not because it was difficult. Because this older woman doesn't get up from the floor so easily. Because this finicky woman was re-engineering the height adjustment mechanism. After adding a second table in back for more support, I was set up.

I've mapped out quilting lines with pencil and paper. I've tested tension with small samples. I got into the groove of fmq. I was ready to start. This will be a lap quilt, so no heavy quilting. A couple of hours, right?

The first block: uneven stitches and uneven tension. > !@#$%^&*()_+! < Unstitched the rest of the first hour.

Off with the fmq foot! On with the walking foot! Oooh! Aaah! Sooo much better! Less fighting. Less tension. Another hour. I've quilted 5 of the 15 blocks. Called it a night, laid my gloves down and let the quilt be.

Say the word

. . . and you'll be free
Say the word and be like me
Say the word I'm thinking of
Have you heard the word is . . .

procrastination! Dear readers think I am procrastinating?!

Nancy Crow uses that word often. When we are slow to get anything up on the design wall. When we take frequent breaks. When we reach for that comforting piece of chocolate once again. When we've little to show since our last workshop. When we let life get in the way of art and quilting.

What is the definition of procrastination? According to Piers Steel, PhD the author of The Procastination Equation: to voluntarily delay an intended course of action despite expecting to be worse-off for the delay.

Do I procrastinate? Yes. 95% do to some extent. 15 to 20% consistently and problematically. That last certainly doesn't apply to me. Nope!

Why do I procrastinate? According to his TMT (Temporal Motivation Theory) of procrastination: motivation = expectancy x value / impulsiveness x delay. So what does that mean?

You're more likely to procrastinate when you are less proficient; when the task is more unpleasant or you have less need for achievement; when you are more distractible, impulsive or have less self control; and when the goal is in the distant future. One definite Yes. Two Maybes. One No.

Steel offers two quizzes to determine your procrastination profile. Complete with tips to tame it. How helpful! I'll take the quiz tomorrow.


Procrastinate now, don’t put it off. - Ellen DeGeneres