Saturday is New Year’s eve, time to make those annual resolutions aimed at making life happier, healthier, and–perhaps–more productive in the months ahead. For dedicated stitchers like the four of us at See How We Sew, this extends to our creative lives as well. Here’s what we’ve each resolved for 2012. Somehow, putting our goals out there in writing makes them seem more real…and exerts just the right amount of “gentle” pressure to see them through.
Christie wasn't keen on showing her current workspace...but this should give you the idea!
Christie: I’m finally going to put together the sewing studio that I designed years ago. This goes beyond cleaning and organizing the hideous mess that is there now. It involves getting the proper furniture and storage cabinets so that everything has a place. I’m tired of tripping over fabric stacked on the floor and wasting time looking for tools that hide under the multitude of projects. Goodness only knows what lurks beneath the stacks that haven’t seen the light of day for a decade or so: it could be exciting, or maybe a bit scary!
Laura does her homework before starting a new project.
Laura: I generally work best with deadlines. I purchased some new video equipment a few months ago with the goal of learning to use it properly and to put more instructional videos on my personal website and here on our blog. This is something I’ve wanted to explore for awhile. I love teaching and sharing techniques and hope that this resolution will give me the push to move forward toward my goal.
Jennifer vows to "express herself" with a quilt this year.
Jennifer: I want to make a quilt that represents me and not a project for any particular purpose. There’s an idea that’s been floating around in my head for many months and now it’s time to let it “bloom.” I’m going to feature dimensional-applique flowers, of course, but the quilt will also have beads used in more atypical ways. We quilters have a tendency to let our personal projects drop to the end of our to-do lists, perhaps because those projects demand the most of our capabilities and skills, but they’re the ones that truly represent our creativity. I’ve got one more project to finish and then, no more excuses!
Darra: I resolve to devote at least 30 minutes a day, everyday, to doing something creative. Granted, there will be some days when I spend more than 30 minutes playing with fabric and thread; messing with beads, buttons, and other embellishments; doodling in my journal; experimenting with my camera; visiting a show, a gallery, or a museum. My hope, however, is that this promise-to-myself reminds me not to let a day go by without indulging my creative side, for I know how easily a day becomes a week, a week becomes a month…and the “habit” of creativity becomes lost. Thirty minutes a day is a reasonable goal, and a creative Darra is a happy Darra. As the old advertisement used to say: “I’m worth it!”
The countdown begins for Darra's "year of creativity."
So there you go! We’re all on the record, and we promise to let you know from time to time in the coming year how we’re doing with our individual intentions.
What would you like to accomplish in your sewing life in 2012? Give yourself that added incentive by putting it in writing. Leave a resolution as a comment below by midnight (PST), December 31, and we’ll enter you in a drawing for a special, secret New Year’s giveaway. Christie will announce the winner in her January 3 post, our first post of the new year.
Don’t forget to check in later this week for our final post of 2011 😉
Until then, happy stitching!
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