My Work Schedule

Day 2

Working from home is hard.  Like really hard.  There are so many times that I’d rather play with the girls than sew or design or market the Sew Curly shop.

And to be totally honest?  If I ever feel a pull to do one vs the other?  The girls ALWAYS win.

These kids are my life.  They are the best of me and the best of Matt.  I couldn’t pass them up if I tried.

Because of this, I’ve instituted a work schedule.  It’s flexible because it needs to be.

Sundays – I sew during Rebecca’s nap time.  During this time Matt will run an errand with the “big” girls, take them outside, or play a game with them.  Sometimes they all watch football together.  It’s prime Daddy time.  If the shop is busy enough, I’ll work until dinner time (5pm) and Matt runs the ship alone.

Mondays & Wednesdays – All 3 girls are in school in the mornings so after drop off, I rush home to sit behind the sewing machine.  On Sunday nights, I prep whatever it is that I want to get done and lay it in a pile in order of priority.  The minute I walk through the door, I sit at the table, turn on my running playlist, and sew away.  I’ve got a little under 2 hours to get as much as I can done so I’ve got to make the most of my time.  I also try to sew during Rebecca’s nap time on Mondays & Wednesdays.  I’m on such a roll in the morning that it carries over after I put her to bed for a nap.  Caroline will play by herself for an hour and a half but inevitably, she comes in to the studio to be in the same room with me.  She most often lays on the floor to color and we talk away about her day or what she’d like to do.  Recently she’s showing an interest in helping me and just this week she took out all the pins I had in fabric and put them back in the pincushion.  It was a huge help!

Tuesdays – I work on new products.  I make lists of things I want to design.  I research them, which means looking at supplies and determining price points.  I usually do this while sitting on the couch with Matt and watching tv.  Sometimes I’ll sketch out new designs, look for appliqué designs or embroidery fonts, or chat on Twitter.

I often sew on other days, as well.  I kind of have to but the other days aren’t set in stone like those are.
I sometimes sew at night but only after the girls are in bed.  Some days I’ll sew from the time they go to bed (6:30) until midnight, depending on how busy I am.

Let’s face it, our girls are still little.  Kate is 5, Caroline is 4, and Rebecca is 2.  They need their mama.  And I never want them to look back on their childhood and remember me being at the sewing machine more than they remember me being with them.

Some days this is all we want to do:

xoxo

–k