I got a surprising amount done this week, but it doesn’t really feel like it as I haven’t sewn any actual seams yet. This is what I did:

Date: Monday, July 17
Time sewing: 25 minutes; 5 minutes
What I did: I gave myself 25 minutes to serge all of the fabric for my current dress and would have finished had my serger not spontaneously un-threaded itself twice. The baby started fussing at exactly the 25-minute mark, so I had to stop then and couldn’t finish. Later in the day, I found time to finish serging the pockets and it amazingly only took 5 minutes.

Date: Tuesday, July 18
Time sewing: 5 minutes; 20 minutes; 5 minutes
What I did: spin bobbins and thread machine; secure serging tails; read through instructions and wrote a list of steps in my own words

Date: Wednesday, July 19
Time sewing: 30 minutes; 30 minutes
What I did: In the morning, I got to preparing the button band by fusing the interfacing and pressing. I didn’t have time to totally finish the trimming as Little Miss woke up. In the afternoon, I finished trimming then realized my next step also involved fusing interfacing for the  drawstring holes. I got the button holes sewn, but not cut.

Date: Thursday, July 20

Time sewing: 15 minutes
What I did: Disaster strikes!  As I sit down to start sewing actual seams, I realize my button hikes are nit where they need to be. I only managed to accomplish removing them today, (thank goodness I hadn’t had time to cut them) so I’m more or less at a net zero for today. Sad face.

Time sewing: 5 minutes
What I did: I steamed out the needle marks from my mis-placed button holes and fused the new interfacing. The sewing table was being used as a staging area for our cottage weekend packing (I know, I know! Packing is the only time I allow non-sewing things on my table and I am the only one allowed to do this.)

Date: Saturday, July 22
Time sewing: ca. 30 minutes
What I did: I browsed through 10, 20, 30 Minutes to Sew to see if Nancy has any tricks on buttons or pockets I can use for my current project. Unfortunately, her time-saving pocket advice is meant for the cutting-stage and I’ve already done that 😦

Date: Sunday, July 23

Time Sewing: 5 minutes

What I did: I re-sewed those dang button holes. I did not cut them.

Total time sewing: 2 hours 55 minutes 
What I learned:

• Giving myself small tasks with deadlines forces me to focus. When I’ve only got 25 minutes, I don’t have time to check instagram or sip coffee. I’ve gotta get stuff done!
• Cleaning as you go is imperative. When my sewing time is dictated by how long the baby can hang out on her play mat without fussing, I need to be able to pack up in seconds. 
• Make sure to really think through the steps you’re going to take (ie. Interfacing) and write all interfacing bits down on your list as one step to ensure you don’t waste time.
• Un-picking seams (or, in this case, button holes, doesn’t take as long as you may expect.  Doing them right away wasn’t as painful as I anticipated. Normally, I would walk away from a project for a few days when I make a mistake like this, but, right now, I don’t have that option! In truth, it felt really good to get it done right away so I could get back to I was and continue making progress.
• Sometimes it is worth it to sew for just five minutes. That’s five minutes more than you would have sewn otherwise!
• Don’t slice open your button holes until the last possible second. Once you do, there is no going back.