Some of it is because I'm making a list of garments (okay dresses) that I want to sew...and the list of garments are inspired by fabric and/or techniques. I even want to dust off my Janome 8000 which has embroidery capabilities and attempt to replicate this Oscar de la Renta skirt.
photo courtesy of www.neimanmarcus.com
My list is inspiring but I'm not sewing it and I'm not sharing it. You know sharing the list is the kiss of death...nuthin gets made from it! Some of the not sewing is the amount of events that have been happening with the family...some of it is that I've been swamped at and tired from work...but most of it is that I'm just overwhelmed by the possibilities...the things I want to create and not having enough time to make them. Now in all honesty, this "feeling" happens to me at the beginning of every season. And every season I manage to throw off that feeling, dig down deep and make some pretty awesome outfits. But it's always the standing at the abyss and waiting to tip over to see if I can actually fly ~ creatively that is ~ that's stymieing me.
Anyway, so no Easter Outfit emerged from the sewing machine. I wore the Christine Jonson Princess Seam Dress with the green cardigan. It looked springy and I was happy with it. I would have been happier wearing the Easter Outfit I'd planned but it didn't happen, so que sera sera. The desire to sew was just absent...and the one thing I've learned is that I can't force the creativity. I wish I could but I usually end up with wearable junk when I do. Junk that just takes up precious closet or drawer space...and I just didn't want to go there.
So I have nuthin new to share...and may not have anything before the weekend...when hopefully I will be able to ensconce myself in my sewing room and let my creativity run wild. I can honestly say that I really wish I had 5 or 7 days where I could just wallow and let whatever come to pass, come to pass but that ain't happening any time soon...so I'm sew frustrated.
...as always, more later!
When I finished my studio I felt the exact same way. I know that feeling ALL too well.
ReplyDeleteIm the same way, have sooooo many ideas for spring but I'm not sewing any of them.
Sending some sewing mojo your way!
So sorry. THis happens to all of us.. and It is so frustrating.. Here's hoping that this weekend brings sewing inspiration to you and you have a fun sewing weekend.
ReplyDeleteI do a lot of "just sitting" in the sewing room too.
ReplyDeleteWish I had just sat instead of sewing when not in the mood, then I wouldn't have had to unpick next day!!
ReplyDeletePoor thing, I know exactly how you feel. Sometimes I feel I can't start sewing unless I have a big block of free time. Other times I have the free time but am overwhelmed by all the things I want to make. And then there are the times when the energy just isn't there.
ReplyDeleteYou are so exactly right to stay away from the sewing if you're not feeling it. Nothing worse than trying to force something and then hating it later.
Take your time!
I so relate to this post on many levels!!!! I have been very work-focused lately and have little energy for sewing. It will come back, so I'm not going to worry about it. But this is a great post. :)
ReplyDeleteI TOTALLY know how you feel. I have done quite a bit of stash accumulation lately, and I really want to dive into my new fabrics (there are so many of them that the diving would be quite literal actually) and make cute springy/summery clothes using some of my TNTs. But I am actually doing a lot of skating costume sewing right now, not just for me, but for others as well. And it isn't that I don't want to be sewing for others, it is just that I want to play with my new fabrics! So I am feeling a bit frustrated because they are sitting there taunting me and I don't have the time to do anything with them.
ReplyDeleteAlso, I have been a bit sick this past week, so although I did manage to sew up 2.5 skating costumes and make an alteration to another one, the amount of time I spent sewing compared to the amount of time I could have spent sewing is somewhat abysmal. Especially considering how much hand sewing I need to do and could have done while I was feeling sickly in bed (or in front of the TV).
Added to that - one of the people I am sewing for is my new skating partner and we just found the most AMAZING fabric to use for costumes - except that I am already half done with costumes for this year and we decided to save the extra special fabric for next year (after we get better as a team and after I have experience sewing for him) BUT I am so inspired and totally want to make those costumes NOW. And I am obsessing over it because that is what my brain likes to do.
Sigh. I used to stash fabric and wait for inspiration to hit. Now I am being overwhelmed with ideas and inspirations and wanting to make things but lacking the energy to actually do it, or being distracted by the shiniest things I can find and then frustrated because I need to finish other things first.
So, ummm, yeah - you are not alone. But at least you have a lovely sewing cave to sit in! You should enjoy your space, let inspiration come to you, and eventually something great will come from it.
Sorry you are having an off week. It happens. I have not been quite as quick to sew since my serger broke. But tonight I mustered enough motivation to make a sleeveless blouse in fabric I have had at least two years. It is not one of my better garments, but the busy fabric helps deflect the less-than-perfect seams! Cheer up, Carolyn; you will feel like sewing your awesome creations again soon enough. Just take whatever time you need to rest up for the next big sew-a-thon.
ReplyDeleteLol. To me you are always sewing, at first I thought I was reading someone elses blog.
ReplyDeleteI know just how you feel. Fortunately, the one thing you can count on is that things will change, so hang in there. Hugs to you, Carolyn.
ReplyDeleteIt happens, but the good thing is when you are ready... I know you are going to blow the roof off. Loving the embroidery inspiration skirt.
ReplyDeleteSeems that we all go through these stages. It passes and then we go on and create lovely things.
ReplyDeleteThat embroidered skirt looks absolutely amazing. Wonderful inspiration.
There is definitely something about sharing the sewing queue that spells certain doom. Every time I make a storyboard and share my enthusiasm about completing the projects, they never gets done. I've decided to let the creative juices flow where they may. If I feel like working on a dress, then I will. If I don't, then I'll work on whatever my spirit desires.
ReplyDeleteI sometimes spend a lot of time in my sewing room, thinking about sewing but not actually sewing. If I start to feel this isn't"'t a productive use of my sewing time I sometimes remember this story...
ReplyDeleteA wealthy art collector went to a famous and wonderful artist and commissioned a painting of a rooster. Paid a big deposit. He waited (and waited and waited etc). Occasionally he enquired about the progress, and as the years passed his enquiries became a little hysterical. After 14 years he went to the artist's studio and begged for his painting. The artist went to his easel and painted the most beautiful, glowing, emotionally moving image of a rooster you can imagine! It was stupendous! It only took him five minutes. The collector said '"This painting is certainly worth the wait, but why didn't you give it to me years ago? It only took you 5 minutes." The artist replied "No it didn't! I've been thinking about it for 14 years!"
Ahhh so that is why I made nothing in March, note to self never ever share your to sew list. I know the feeling, all too well. But I'm not worried,.you'll be whipping out dresses before you know it.
ReplyDeleteKnow exactly how you feel, but remember you sew for yourself not for us. I go through family periods when I just don't have the focus left. Take it easy and it will come when it comes.
ReplyDeleteThe absent sewing mojo is a common ailment in our sewing world. It's like the flu. Once you get over it you will find your mojo renew and full of energy and ready to crank up the sewing machine.
ReplyDeleteBeen there, done that. If you can't force it don't. Why not immerse yourself into sewing related reading. It does the trick for me every time.
ReplyDeleteForcing the mojo is NOT usually a recipe for success! Everyone needs a a breather.
ReplyDeleteYou've been sewing for a long time so I know you've had these issues before. This too shall pass and more wonderful projects will emerge.
ReplyDeleteYou're in good company. And I understand the Easter thing... I wore my dress from last year. I'm attending a new church so it was new to them but I felt like I was cheating wearing something old that I didn't make. :)
ReplyDeleteSending good vibes your way.
I know the feeling. However; I sit in my sewing room and just enjoy the scenery until the FLOW COMES :)
ReplyDeleteThis is off topic...sorry. When using the elastic that you do for pants am I sewing 2 pieces of elastic first, one the front pieces and one to the back? Then after doing so zig zagging to tack followed by sewing the side seams? Obviously I have sewn along the little blue lines and pulled. Any help would be greatful!!
ReplyDeleteAlicia
I so understand how you are feeling. I just went through some of that phase. Participating the Starting at the Top, helped me get going again.
ReplyDeleteSorry you are going though this, but you can take comfort i the knowing how many people you help by validating their down times. This weekend a trip to our storage unit turned up all kinds of sewing books, and fabrics that I forgot I had. Just going through everything left me somewhat confused. I wanted to do *everything* I also love to machine embroider and that skirt with the side embroidery is to die for! Sometimes some cool embroidery is a great starting point for an original garment
ReplyDeleteYou are smart not to force it! I have a million ideas but no time to sew, and when I do have a few minutes I am just too tired. I need to not beat myself up over it.
ReplyDeleteChiming in late: Is there any chance that it's genuinely, biologically, about the season?
ReplyDeleteSee, I'm mainly a perfume blogger, and I've more than once noticed that my sense of smell undergoes a transition when the weather shifts from cold to warm or warm to cold. There's a period when I don't like any of my perfume enough to blog about it. I even proposed the Meadow Vole Theory, which I won't fill a bunch of space detailing, to explain it.
But skipping the details, my more general theory is that when the seasons change, there are a bazillion things that we need, or at least our ancestors needed, to change as well.
Our scent cravings, our food cravings, our inclination to be inside versus outside, with a crowd of humans or all alone, all shift. My theory is that our brains evolved when that shift was a survival need, and that they still "remember" and make our actions and emotions shift as the seasons turn.
During that shift, we're not fully motivated to the old or the new, so we go through an unmotivated period until the shift is done.
It's a theory. It seems to work for scent cravings. Maybe it works for creative impulses, or visual and spatial interest, or some such thing.