Thursday, March 29, 2012

My Work Space

I had no idea shipping and handling would be so time consuming.  I really thought life wouldn't change much after releasing my ruler and patterns.  I could carry on with my Longarm Business...continue piecing and designing for fun...in ALL MY SPARE TIME.   Well I was wrong!  The Post Office workers and I have quite a good relationship...it took a while for them to warm up to me though ;o)

I have quite a small work space, this is my little shipping station:


..now don't get me wrong, I thoroughly enjoy every ruler I ship out, it's very exciting to me!  I've worked off and on in the shipping department at Lowe's for the last 17 years...I am quite good and fast at it...you do need to have everything organized though, or it can take longer than you would like it to.

This is my work station:

 
The yellow bins hold my patterns and of course there is the design wall (1 of 3)....I love having it right there, so I can always look at my quilt blocks when I'm cutting or packaging.  This is my shipping table and my cutting table...and at time's......actually a lot of the time it's a big fat mess!

And of course the floor station:


I cut out the rest of the fabric for my Echo blocks last night.  I'm going to love this quilt when it's all done!  It's so easy to put together too!

This is my longarm station:


I loaded this customer quilt the night before last with full intentions on quilting it yesterday....but shipping took longer than I thought and of course, that mom stuff too!  

So my work space is small but it works.  Someday I'll have an amazing work space...someday ;o)

Tuesday night I organized my customer quilts.  I have quite a few to do before I can get to quilting my own quilts....and more to do after that.  I have to admit I had a little "panic moment"....an "overwhelming work load moment" that night.  I've got a plan on how to get it all done though and when it is, I'll feel I can breath again.

Just a random post today and maybe thinking out loud a little to much, but this is who I am....a part of who I am anyway.  Someday I'll show you my other work space, my whole house and who I am as a mom.

~Jenny~
 

21 comments:

Lynn said...

Love seeing you work space! Thanks for sharing.

Teresa Silva said...

You are such a talented lady...I know you will find time for all soon. The pressure can be hard sometimes but you just need to tell yourself that this is all I can do today. People will understand. I'm sure they will be happy to wait to get a quilt longarm quilted by you. You're fabulous.

Kathy Schwartz said...

Thanks for the peek into your work space, looks like you have a great system worked out. It is amazing how we can make things work in the little spaces we get!

Annabella said...

Thanks for sharing Jenny - it is great to see a little of `where it all happens`!

Danih03 said...

It is hard to do it all. Give yourself a break. Maybe dedicate 1-2 days a week to shipping! :)

Terry@ a quilting blog said...

Thanks for sharing a peek at your work space Jenny! :o)
~Terry~

Trudi said...

You are not alone in the 'overwhelming' feeling! :) We all get it (I don't believe it's just you and I!) You WILL achieve it all, you have a great plan I have no doubt :) thanks for thinking out loud and sharing, and reminding us all to keep on keeping on :)

Denise said...

I love all of your stations and how you have specific places where things get done! I was supposed to have just one room in our house and now I'm nearly at three!

I was feeling overwhelmed with shipping too, but then I discovered Click and Ship. No more standing in line! I bought a scale and I print off the labels @ home and then just walk by all of the poor people waiting patiently in line and put my packages on the counter for the nice lady to scan. They'll even come pick them up directly from you :)

vivian said...

Thanks for sharing! you are braver than me if you ever show your whole house! I keep the part customers see clean and that's all I can do! And I don't have kiddos-just four-legged furbabies! You are a SuperQuilter!

Sherril said...

You continually teach me everyday. Thanks for sharing.

Unknown said...

And, having me send you 'nasty' ideas to you via email, doesn't help..... :o)
Thank you so much for sharing your workspace/s with us - oh how I wish I had a lovely design wall - there is one wall in my work room but I don't think I'd be able to step back far enough to get the full benefit of any design - 4'-5' is a bit too close.
It's great to see what you are doing and how you go about the whole process - you are way more organised than me.
Take your time and go with your gut when it's right to do longarm work, you will know, then go for it ;o)

quiltmania said...

Even though having a pile of customer quilts to do can be a little overwhelming, image how you would feel if you had none. Good luck with your time management!

Esther said...

I love seeing other's work space, I am always inspired and get some ideas. It looks very organized. Each shipment and quilt order is it's own blessing. I know you know that, I just hope you can take a deep breath and enjoy the work, which is a testament to your success and talent.

Melissa said...

Thanks for sharing! I love seeing everyone's space. Your design wall is awesome and full of great inspiration. You can get it all done, just remember to breathe :)

Aunt 'Reen said...

you have a great workspace! You're so organized - love how you utilize every available space.

MariQuilts said...

Jenny, those Urban Nine patch blocks look amazing, all together on your design wall. And wow to your work space as well.

Diane said...

thanks for the peek-always like to see how others organize and if maybe I can learn something that would work for me as well.
I think it's a 'mom' or a 'woman' thing that we think we can do more and more and still have time; probably because we usually can :)
I hope you still find time to step back and enjoy the success you're having, even if just for a few minutes.

Judi said...

Jenny - I hear you! I have customer quilts that are still waiting. The business end always takes soooo much time - I have been helping Clint with shipping lately and it's really cutting into my work time. And of course, the Mom kid time always comes first. Here's hoping you can balance your life better and get more done that I can! We so need to get together sometime!!!

Kasia said...

Jenny, so fun to see where your amazing creations take place. I love how you're so humble...I love the different "spaces" you illustrate...floor space made me laugh...that's a lot of my space. I dream all the time about a cute sewing space of my own, all with built- ins, fun wall paint, and cute "mini bolts" of color coordinated fabric with a huge wall of fun threads and design section! Fun to dream, for now back to the dining room table....cheers!

Mama Pea said...

I am always waiting for someday on my workspace, too. Someday, I'll have the ideal quilting space, but not yet. And I'm such a packrat, it will still be a cluttered mess!

**nicke... said...

xoxo i hope you are feeling better! you are so organized in your space! my sewing room perpetually looks like a bomb has gone off!