Sunday, May 15, 2016

It Only Looks Like Cheating





last week a client dropped off a quilt.

as what normally happens she asked about the computer on my longarm.

i told her it was wonderful.

and one of the perks is that while it's running i can do "other stuff" (e.g. writing a blog post, doing laundry, making food...).

as she walked to her car she said, "that's cheating!"

i chuckled to myself.
smiled.
went inside.

that's when i realized that i used to say the same thing!

i used to think that using a computer meant there was no originality to the quilt.
that hand guided was better, more artistic.

well, that line of thinking nearly trashed my body.

literally, it was a pain in the neck (and shoulder and back).
i ended up with my left shoulder muscle being so tight that i would brace myself for hugging people.
just the tipping of my head wrong sent pain that registered an '8' for me.
and i've got a very high pain threshold.
forget about sudden jarring movements.
that elicited a yelp of pain and would take me several minutes to recover.

people.  that is seriously not good.

plus i had the stress of being home but never getting anything accomplished.
everything was a mad scramble.
if i wasn't working the machine i was cleaning, or cooking, or driving people somewhere...
 and worrying about the responsibility of the unfinished quilt on the frame.

but if i was working on the quilt then i wasn't cleaning, cooking or...

as you can imagine i was a mess.
physically and mentally.

the addition of the computerized system (Intelliquilter, for those who are curious) has relieved the stress.

i still work.
putting a quilt on the frame requires more than just pins.
then i have to monitor it to make sure there aren't puckers, etc.
i also have to roll it up and other essentials.
this isn't a set-it-and-forget-it type of deal.

but i now can do more of my to-do list in a day.

as well, i think this is a dream for most working women (moms to be exact).
to be able to get paid work done while managing the trifecta (house, kids, husband) is really wonderful.

right.

so there you go...

and now i'm going to go sew a binding on a quilt!

happy sewing day!

xo,

~ h

No comments:

Post a Comment