A month without sewing

Here we are, Jan. 31, and I have not even plugged in my sewing machine this month. In fact, said machine is poised to head to the spa for annual servicing (which should have happened last fall, but I was busy sewing). Probably I'll drop it off at the dealer/servicer on Tuesday. Could have done it this week, or even last, but it involves walking into my local fabric store and as we got closer to the end of the month I felt increasingly determined to make it to Feb. 1 without buying even an inch of fabric during January. Staying out of fabric stores seemed like a good way to do that.

I have also been keeping track (hashmarks on a sticky note) of every fabric sale/free shipping offer/special pricing/pattern sale, etc., sewing-related email I've deleted unread. For January that total has reached an impressive 68. Emails read: 0. Fabric purchased: 0. Patterns purchased: 0. So far so good for not adding to stash situation.

Did I miss a few bargains? Sure. Do I care? No. There will always be another fabric sale, probably within a week or two. And another pattern sale. And if I miss out on a lovely print or a particular pattern, no biggie. There will be new and desirable options coming down the pike soon enough.

Downside of focusing on a ton of other stuff this month is that no sewing = no progress on the UFO piles. Maybe I'll find some time to bite into one or more of those when I get my machine back from the spa.

off to a slow start

Ten days into the New Year and I have done no sewing whatsoever. Have hardly even set foot in the sewing room, and my machine remains unplugged. Why this surprises and disappoints me is a mystery, because this is hardly the first time it's happened. Every year I get seduced by the "new year" thing into looking and thinking ahead and forget that, exciting as January 1 may be, December 31 is the end of a month, a quarter, and the fiscal year for both of our businesses, and that means there are many admin tasks to be done. Some of those tasks have leisurely due dates, but getting them crossed of the to-do list sooner rather than later is my primary goal. As much as I like to think that a new year will inspire me to be organized, motivated, and productive in the sewing projects department, all the real-world stuff means I don't get to it.

I can report that I've deleted unread all 17 fabric/pattern sale emails that have landed in my inbox since Jan. 1. So far so good on the "spend less" part of Resolution #1, even if "sew more" hasn't happened yet.