A Quick Note about Weekly Finish Along Post
Hey Finish Along Friends! Initially I wanted to send the updates every week via the mailing list but, there were some issues with some people receiving them so instead of spending too much time trouble shooting I’m going to still send this to the mailing list and also post it on the ‘ole blog! If you got the email this is mainly a duplicate of that! Sorry for any confusion.
Hey! Hi!
How’s your week going? Did you get all organized? Did you fill out your Goal Worksheet? Did you decide how many rows you need to sew a week to finish your top by end of the Glam Clam Finish Along? Or did you just make a mental note on how you will finish your Glam Clam? Did you give yourself a jump start on sewing your rows this past week? If you’re further along did you decide how you’re going to quilt it? What’s your plan for the week?
Ready. Start. Sew!!!
According to our schedule – it’s time to start sewing! This will be very individual for each of you and wherever you are is perfect. This is sorta a work at your own pace Finish Along take a minute to jot down what your goal is for the week for your Glam Clam project. If you used the Goal Worksheet from Week 1 then use that as a base.
Strategies for sewing
I’ll be the first to say that sewing clams can be a little monotonous. Be thankful if you find them relaxing or meditative. 🙂 That unfortunately is not me. Here are a few strategies I’ve used over time to help motivate me through:
- Set a Timer: I time myself and try to beat my time. Kinda silly but effective. When I sewed the rows for the 8″ Lap Size this week for the Pattern Hack I was able to get it down to just under 20 minutes a row which means that I sewed that whole quilt top in under three hours! And that was sewing African Wax Cloth which isn’t the easiest for curves! Don’t look at my time though. Just try to beat your own WHILE MAINTAINING QUALITY. 🙂
- Set Mini Goals: I am forever counting down when I sew. 🙂 Do any of you do that? How many rows left? How many clams till the end of the row I’m working on? Sometimes my goal is I”m gonna finish a row this evening. Or if I have a long Saturday I’m going to sew three rows.
- Give Yourself a Reward: Yep, sometimes it comes down to that. Haha! Sometimes the mini goal is more effective if tied to a reward. I can grab that Diet Coke once I finish the row. Or start a new book. Or take a freaking break.
- Put on An Audiobook: This is my fave. I like silly not too gory mysteries. What causes you to forget time? I check them out digitally through my library and it’s like gold!
- Put on Music: Something I can sing and dance to. Something upbeat. Something nostalgic. Anything that is slightly distracting.
- Remind Yourself that all you have to have is a FINISHED top to qualify for prizes which I’ll start to announce next week!
Pattern Hack!
I promised a Pattern Hack and a Tutorial during the Finish Along. This week is Pattern Hack time! I will post the Pattern Hack in a separate blog post sometime later today. This will be the link when it is live. It’s all ready but I’ve got to grab a couple decent pictures. I’m super geeked to hack a lot my patterns eventually so that you all can have even more reasons to pull them out.
Finish Along Spotlight
You are all posting SO many amazing Glam Clams in progress on Instagram and in the Sewing with Latifah Facebook group! Every week I’m going to randomly highlight a cool pic from one of you here and award you a little prize! This weeks feature goes to Billie B. Look at this beauty that Billie posted over in the Sewing with Latifah Facebook group! Billie has won a $50 gift card to the Latifah Saafir Studios webstore. Post in the Facebook group or tag #glamclamfiishalong over on Instagram to enter next week!
Happy Quilting! XO
Latifah