Quilting Patchwork Mojo!
Oh dear! What’s a girl to do? What do you do when you have lost your urge to create?
Probably you have projects to go back to??? Maybe you have plenty of tools and fabric??? Your machine is working fine ….or is it? So….what’s the problem?
Who knows? We are complicated creatures, with busy lives and it is very easy to tell ourselves to be doing all the things we are “supposed” to be doing. Grief, fatigue, health issues and worry can be burdensome on the mind and prevent things happening, even when time is available. Unfortunately life is continually presenting challenges.
So how do we rekindle that glimmer of creativity?
My first suggestion is…..Don’t go shopping. If you already have plenty of supplies, you will come home exhausted, with an empty purse and not much to show for your time ( of course there are always exceptions). If you are not making at the moment, there is no point.
Clean up your sewing space. Maybe past projects and pieces of fabrics are cluttering your area. It won’t feel inviting. Take some time to tidy up. Wipe down fabric dust.
Clean up your sewing machine/s too. Make sure they are operational. When you are ready to sew it’s really a downer if the machine is not up to scratch. The most important thing for patchwork is just to be able to sew a nice straight seam. You don’t need a complex or expensive machine. Prepare your machine for when you will be ready and you will feel accomplished.
Take the pressure off yourself. Stop worrying about UFOs. As a matter of fact I prefer to call them WIPs ( Works In Progress) I think UFOs puts a negative slant on a project. Works In Progress is way more positive! Creativity knows no timeline. It’s not about being a chore. So what if you haven’t finished something…. If it’s bothering you, put that project away,. Protect it from light and dust, wrap it up in some fabric or a nice bag or even a pretty hat box. When you come back to it, it will be a joy.
Dont feel that a project must be complicated to be worthwhile or beautiful. I’m not ashamed to say I love some of the most simplistic blocks . They can be so beautiful. This is especially important if quilts are made to be used. If it’s not going in a show…..don’t worry. Start back sewing with something easy and economical. You won’t feel bad if it’s not finished immediately.
Remember, it’s not something that has to be done. Give yourself permission. It’s your pleasure and therapy. Solve some problems while you are stitching, instead of feeling like you can’t stitch until the problem is solved.
Once you have cleaned up your sewing space, if you have a bag or box of scraps lying around, cut them up. They are your fabrics. There was a reason you bought them . What I always find amazing is how different a fabric can look, once it’s cut up nicely and in a different shape? or size? to your previous project.
Make some four patches or nine patches or just cut up some 5″ squares. They can easily become a baby quilt or a quilt border or a bigger scrappy quilt, or even be part of a last minute gift. It doesn’t matter if you are not sure of the destination remember the fun is in the journey!
The most important thing to remember, it’s what you CAN do. Not what you might do. So just go to your sewing space, with no intention to sew, just have a tidy up. Take a nice cup of tea with you…… Who knows what might happen!
