What an Awesome Week it has been ")

I finally have got to the end of the week...

an wow what a week it has been 

organizing classes

Quilting  

stock arriving 

phone ringing 

tax GST AUGH!!! which i forget about  

kids/school 

house and 
Website Design

the list goes on "/

I wouldn't have it any other way....

But i am glad that I am at the weekend now

So i have been trying to get a work life balance in check this year 

so far so good there are a few things that I might need to adjust 

the kids have had the last 2 weeks with no TV or PC during the 

school week...and I must say it has made a huge difference to there

behavior...we have had a few OHHHHH WHHHYYYY NOOOOOTTTT's

but they have only lasted for a few minutes so not to bad...

thank goodness for that....they have been reading mostly and they seemed 

more relaxed than they were a few weeks ago...

Score 1 for Mum...

Next to work on their Chores

they have white board now and it has their daily 

chores written on it....it seems to be working and they are 

getting what they need to get done...

they have even been keeping their rooms moderately tidy ") 

Score 2 for Mum

now as for me well I have been a little bit 

naughty...I have been walking the kids to school 

on the days that I can...where 3rd parties are not throwing 

spanners into the works "/

I did have a plan set down and for the most part it is working 

you can read about my plan here 

Work/Home Balance Plan

but as for not taking gadgets into my room well that has gone out 

the window with all the catch up work i have had to do 

but I think things are starting to get into routine now...

I think the hardest thing for me is that I Work from Home 

and 3rd parties seem to think that I am open 24/7...LOL 

so training my suppliers and Sales Reps might be a bit of 

a challenge this year...some of them are finally getting it 

that my Family is the most important to me...

Meditation has been a bit of a hit and miss again

not so sure why i struggle with this 

but i will keep going 

and as for everything else it is starting to fall into place 

I am hoping that by the end of the Month of February 

I will have it all sorted ....the girls are loving that I am making 

myself available more for them...So I know that I have made the 

right choices :) :) 

Happy Quilting ") N  

Last Day of My Break

The day has come "( 

my last day of the Christmas Holidays

with the family

Hubby has returned to work today and I have one

more day left "(

It was a massive 2013 for 

Darvanalee Designs I worked right 

up till Christmas Eve

I was feeling exhausted by the end of November 

and knew that I had to book in some 

down time...

 some Me time and 

Family time...

And that is exactly what we did 

It gave me time to think and do nothing and as most of you know 

I work from home so it is hard to get that work/home life balance right

hard to not go out and hangout in the studio and just keep working...

But I did I managed it 

although I will say I did do some sewing but it was something for me 

something that I have wanted to do for a sometime now ....it is still a 

"Work in Progress" (WIP) but it was something for me.

It made me realize just how much I have missed doing things for me and the family 

as I love to create and I love getting the girls creating too ") 

While I was sitting there sewing away and chatting to my little people 

and just generally having a great time....It got me thinking I need more of 

this in my life ") 

So I need a plan and I need to write it down 

where I am going to see it everyday 

Solution:

A good Friend of mine Gail gave me a Diary for Christmas 

so I got hold of it and I started to plan out my year 

seems silly right to start planing our your whole year 

but here is what I have done 

I have booked in my work time 

Monday to Friday 9:30am  to 2:30pm 

Some might say that is not much time for working 

but when you are sewing and quilting and teaching 5 days 

a week you need down time 

and I failed in this last year...

In this time I will be fitting in everything related to 

my work...Everything from pattern creating/Quilting/ Classes and Class

samples ") 

In the past year I have neglected myself and my health and 

I can't keep that up as I will burn out before I know it :) 

although I did eat healthy most of the time 

exercise was a bit hit and miss :(

Goal: to fit in Daily  Exercise 

So to fit in Exercise I booked in every morning and afternoon a 

walk out in the real world by walking my kids to school and 

walking to pick them up in the afternoons while my girls ride their 

bikes to school...hence my Business hours

being 9:30am to 2:30pm Monday to Friday 

and that is that taken care of ") 

its looking good so far 

and I have booked in half an hour of 

weight training first thing in the 

morning at 6am :) 

Next: Time to fit in some time for Creating with 

my Crafty girls 

Solution:

Monday and Wednesday afternoons 

are what we are calling Mummy and Me time.....

from 3:30pm -5:30pm ....once they return to school at the end of January

for now they are just doing craft when ever they want ") 

Now this is going to be a bit of a juggle 

as I have to spread myself between my girls...

but they are excited they have even put it in

their Diaries too....there will be no getting out of it now LOL

and I wouldn't want to anyway ") 

Obviously these time may change a little to fit in homework 

and other school activities ") but for now it is a plan

and 1 plan is better than none 

and we have yet to nominate a day for TV during the week

they can't decide just now...but I think my kids spent way too much 

time in front of the TV last year....and they can only play their computer/tables and 

other devices on weekends 2hrs each day no more...I have noticed that their social 

skills with one another has been a bit average of late...

too much wasted time during the week :) and 

they are not being involved with family life 

Tuesday/Thursday/Friday

we are looking at doing some 

things away from the house so I can't 

sneak off and work in the studio 

at the moment we are looking into

Yoga and things like that...to get the 

kids to relax too...:) 

as they have very busy lives too ") 

weekends are just for family time...time 

for visiting the park going on family 

outings and relaxing with my hubby and the 

kids ") 

WORKING A BIG NO NO 

(Although 1 Saturday a Month is for Markets)

Goal:ME TIME

this is the most important 

time to shut down :) 

So I have decided that it is way too easy to 

get caught up in the world of social media 

email/games and everything else to do with the 

internet...so there is now a ban on all

devises in Our bedrooms 

and this is going to sound really silly...

but I have the kids going to bed every night at 7:00pm

some might say WoW this is early...but my kidelts 

really need to sleep...otherwise I have some 

really angry sleep deprived chicky's indeed...

they will read for half an Hour then Lights out

 I have booked in time for me to do my 

from 7:30pm after a quick clean up...

Except for Tuesday nights I have my 

Quilting Club :) meeting 7pm to 9pm 

but this has nothing to do with work 

this is just for me :) 

Yoga 

Bubble Bath by candle light

and then 

Meditation to try and shut down 

I have not really been to successful with meditation in the past, but this year I am going to try harder and longer and not give up soo quick "/ 

Bed at 9:45pm 

where I have a list of Books that I want to read

an actual book not a Kindle and no Internet

Lights out 10:30pm 

Lets Hope I can keep this up I think 

this will create a good Home/work balance 

for all in the house and I might just find 

that I will have a lot less stress in my life 

well fingers crossed anyway ") 

Good Night ")  N

Let me Introduce Myself

As I am starting to get some followers

I thought I would take the Opportunity to 

Introduce myself 

so here goes ") 

 My name is Nicole Reed and I am a ‘machine quilter for hire’ based in Kingaroy, in Country Queensland, Australia. 

I operate this service using a Avante Q18 HandiQuilter Quilting Machine with the Q-Bot computerised system. Quilting with a computerised system is good news for my clients because the results are better. 

My machine produces even, regular stitches and stitches-out a precise and accurate design. 

A wide selection of quilting designs are available and so finding just the right pattern to suit your quilt will be an easy choice for you.

I have been quilt-making and crafting for many years, so my knowledge about all aspects of patchwork and quilting is extensive and I have been helping other quilt makers complete their quilts since the year 2009. 

I am passionate about quilting so rest assured I will treat your quilt with the highest regard. I aim to produce the best possible result.

If you are looking for a quilter to finish your quilting project, you can be confident that here at Darvanalee Designs you will receive quality service, at a fair price and the work will be completed for you in quick time.

You can see more of my work on My Facebook 

www.facebook.com/DarvanaleeDesigns

If you have not commissioned a machine quilter previously, I will be happy to explain all aspects of the quilting process.

I can help you finish your quilts by machine quilting the top (in either a light custom style or an edge to edge design) and then, if you want, bind your quilt so it is ready to use. This can be very useful for those people who like to make the quilt tops but don't have the time or the inclination to quilt them - these are the quilts that end up stuffed in a cupboard, never to see the light of day again.

Wouldn't it be better to have your quilts finished so you can use them? Or give them as gifts? Or even so you can have the excuse that you need to make some more!! Actually, you don't need that excuse - having more than one quilt in progress is a good thing (though my husband would dispute that!).

I would love to meet and hear about how you came to the world of quilting..

leave your comments below ") 

Happy Quilting ") 

JUST A LITTLE LOST :(

Well it has been a long time since my last post...

I wasn't sure where I was going to go with Blogging

so many people kept asking me if I was blogging 

and not being much of a writer I wasn't sure 

how I would really go about it....

so as you can see last year I made an 

attempt to blog some of my little 

crafty bits and pieces...it was fun,

but I was still not sure how to do this blogging thing 

that everyone was getting into...

So I sort of just stopped doing any sort of 

blogging and just concentrated on Facebook

which when you think about it that is 

a form of blogging lol 

but as I have been quilting along everyday 

since then...this Blog page has been in the back 

of my mind....

 The last couple of weeks it has been really nagging at me 

and with people often asking me how it is going...

and my response  has been "It's Not"

I have decided that I will just blog about 

my day as a Quilter/Crafter :) 

Now as I have so many quilts come my way I have 

plenty of pics to post.....

and I figured that I can put up things that I am working on too.....

and as more and more people are asking 

for tips and tricks for their own Quilting/Crafting

Or do you run classes...

and with a lot of these people not being local to me.... 

I thought that it would be a good place to 

1. Run a Online beginner Class.

2. A place to have tips and advice. 

3. A great place of tutorial for beginner 

and advanced alike.  

 

so over time I will be sharing different things that I 

experience and things that I find along the way....

My hope is that this will become the go to place for beginners

and advanced quilters/crafters alike....

Now as I said,  I am no writer not by a long shot ") 

So if i make mistakes along the way please 

just bare with me...

I welcome advice too...

so if you have any wisdom you 

want to share please feel free

but lets keep it nice and positive :) 

   

I do make this promise to you.

I will try to be entertaining along the way 

and I hope I brighten your day too :) 

Happy Quilting <3 N