There’s a shift happening in our Sewspire community whereby people are moving from what they thought would be short term stress into a state of long term stress as we enter the sixth month of disruption.
I personally have felt my creativity wax and wane and am wondering if you have too?
According to Maslow’s Hierarchy, creativity is in the highest category of self actualization. Meaning our needs for safety and security should be met before we can attain a state of creativity.
With that in mind, it is easy to understand why so many people are expressing a lack of interest in the hobbies and crafts that historically brought them a great deal of satisfaction.
I love sewing for a lot of reasons. Yet, for many months I have felt like a little grey cloud was hovering over my machine.
I’ve spent the last couple of weeks trying to figure out was really happening and want to share my findings with you in case you may be going through something similar.
To begin, I addressed the pain in my back by seeing a chiropractor who recommended I adjust the height of my work table and incorporate a swivel chair and big ball to sit on during my extended Zoom sessions. These actions helped with the physical pain; but, I still didn’t have my usual level of enthusiasm.
After much contemplation I realized it is because I am no longer creating for others. In April I closed my Etsy shop as a result of COVID and the difficulty I had procuring supplies. I definitely do not miss the pressures of a production schedule; but, I do miss interacting with my customers. The time spent helping them choose just the right fabric, customizing the piece to meet their needs perfectly, fixing it if it wasn’t perfect and (of course) receiving their rave reviews when appropriate brought a lot of satisfaction to my life.
Over the last five months my position in the world of sewing has changed significantly. The transition from maker and designer to sewing community moderator has left me afloat in the sea of creativity.
As part of my reflection, I made the decision to procure the proper tools for the trade and upgrade my sewing machine so that I can expand my skillset and explore new realms of sewing, including quilting and garment making.
As many of you know I am an avid planner. As such I like to be working towards a big goal. The absence of such has added to my discontent. As such, I am making plans to move back into the maker space and reopen my Etsy shop in time for the holidays. I will no longer be taking custom orders; but, I will be offering a line of one of a kind pieces from a collection of curated fabric which I am gathering now.
This year I signed on to be a Tools4Wisdom affiliate and launched Plan2BCreative a Private Facebook Planner Community which meets monthly to set goals, share and laugh (a lot!). This week, I expanded upon that opportunity by becoming a Passion Planner Ambassador. I have used both of these planners simultaneously for several years and am excited to share more about why I love the Passion Planner with you soon. In the meantime, if you want to grab yours and join our September 1 chat at 7 p.m. you can save 10% using ANDREAC10 at checkout. Simply email me your order # and I will add you to our group page where you can introduce yourself and get acquainted with our members: [email protected]
If you are more of a fly by the seat of your pants kind of gal, that’s fine too! I am sure the new machine will add plenty of value to my future tutorials and I am excited to be able to sew with thicker substrates! Join me this Tuesday, August 25 at 8 a.m. on YouTube for a full review of the machine features followed by our weekly sewing tutorial.
Until next time, you know the creative genius in me will be celebrating the creative genius in you!
Lots of love,
Andrea