Do you ever walk into your sewing room or studio, look at all the projects spread out over every available surface, spin on your heel and go do something else? That's been me for quite some time now. I got all fired up (for about thirty minutes) two days ago to get started on a southwestern quilt, but once it was loaded on Terpsichore I lost interest.
Is this a vitamin deficiency? Exercise based? Perhaps the moon is in the wrong phase?
I still plot, plan and dream quilts. I still ogle people's shirts ahead of me in line at the store thinking they'd be great quilting scraps. Does our quilt drive wane as we enter middle age? Is this one of those things my mother never prepared me for?
A few of my favorite quilt bloggers have also slowed down a bit. Has the government been pumping some kind of anti-quilting chemical into the air?
I couldn't tell you what I've been doing instead of quilting - my days and nights seem to be just as busy as ever - no gaping holes where the quilting should be. I'm just not getting anything done.
Help me out here. Tell me one thing that motivates you to get busy - whether it's quilting or not. I'll try anything that isn't outright illegal or so embarassing that I wouldn't be able to show my face in town. Until the suggestions start rolling in I suppose I can start cleaning up the mess in here. Maybe I'll trip over a pile of scrap batting, fall into my swivel chair and accidentally end up in front of my piecing machine with a scrap in my hand.
Is this a vitamin deficiency? Exercise based? Perhaps the moon is in the wrong phase?
I still plot, plan and dream quilts. I still ogle people's shirts ahead of me in line at the store thinking they'd be great quilting scraps. Does our quilt drive wane as we enter middle age? Is this one of those things my mother never prepared me for?
A few of my favorite quilt bloggers have also slowed down a bit. Has the government been pumping some kind of anti-quilting chemical into the air?
I couldn't tell you what I've been doing instead of quilting - my days and nights seem to be just as busy as ever - no gaping holes where the quilting should be. I'm just not getting anything done.
Help me out here. Tell me one thing that motivates you to get busy - whether it's quilting or not. I'll try anything that isn't outright illegal or so embarassing that I wouldn't be able to show my face in town. Until the suggestions start rolling in I suppose I can start cleaning up the mess in here. Maybe I'll trip over a pile of scrap batting, fall into my swivel chair and accidentally end up in front of my piecing machine with a scrap in my hand.
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My motivation is color and a recipient I can't wait to hand a quilt to. when those two combine, there isn't much that can stand in the way between the machine and I. Or I tell myself that I can't work on one I am itching to start until I finish one that is hanging over my head. Does that help? For me, this week is a stick-as-much-quilting-in-as-you-can-week because I am babysitting next week and I know I won't have time.
ReplyDeleteI am so in the same boat with you. I really think mine is the weather and the lack of energy. I have to get myself into gear though. Lots on my plate of to dos. I am trying to just tackle small project parts at a time as I find myself in the mood to sew or clean for that matter. I find that I get more done first thing in the morning. I get up early and start to work on whatever it might be that I need to do. I put myself right in the middle of it and before ya know it I have made some progress. It might not be done but it's progress just the same. I am finding that when the kiddos are not home I tend to stay up later too and then I use that time to work on something too. I think it all about finding the time and want too to do something. If you set yourself a timeline to complete something that helps too. You feel the push to get it done more than if you just say I'll get it done when I get to it. Gosh! I am writing a book. Maybe I should continute this on my blog. lol
ReplyDeleteUgh...I am in the same boat with you...looking for inspiration or motivation or some such....
ReplyDeleteI'm coming to this conversation a little late but still want to add two cents. The thing to remember is that sometimes taking a "break" is part of the creative process! We must all keep in mind that sometimes the tank of our "quilting mojo" may just need some time to refill itself.
ReplyDeleteShaun McNiff in the book "Trust the Process - An Artist's Guide to Letting Go" said "You have to give art the chance to happen. You have to keep working through painful periods, which is rough, or you must find the strength to return to your art when you are ready. This is rougher. But in either case don't be put off by the feeling that a real artist wouldn't have these doubts, these struggles. It's simply not true."
Which is of course proved by your next post. Don't block the muse with doubts!
Sometimes when I'm in a slump, cleaning really helps. I find it difficult work in a messy room. Or I find something that really grabs me during the cleaning process. At worst, you end up with a clean room.
ReplyDelete