The gap between taste and ability

Last week, while I was writing the post about perfectionism I came across this quote on pinterest by the super Ira Glass of This American Life. And wow! So very encouraging and so very very true. 

“Nobody tells this to people who are beginners, I wish someone told me. All of us who do creative work, we get into it because we have good taste. But there is this gap. For the first couple years you make stuff, it’s just not that good. It’s trying to be good, it has potential, but it’s not. But your taste, the thing that got you into the game, is still killer. And your taste is why your work disappoints you. A lot of people never get past this phase, they quit. Most people I know who do interesting, creative work went through years of this. We know our work doesn’t have this special thing that we want it to have. We all go through this. And if you are just starting out or you are still in this phase, you gotta know its normal and the most important thing you can do is do a lot of work. Put yourself on a deadline so that every week you will finish one story. It is only by going through a volume of work that you will close that gap, and your work will be as good as your ambitions. And I took longer to figure out how to do this than anyone I’ve ever met. It’s gonna take awhile. It’s normal to take awhile. You’ve just gotta fight your way through.””

— abridged version of a transcript of a video of Ira Glass from This American Life

You can find the original video of Ira here  (note: the quote above seems to paraphrase it a little. I can't figure out whether he rewrote it or someone else did?). And some clever person has done it poster style here.

An example of my knitting and my photos from nearly six years ago - Anna and I looked through my Ravelry page last night and could clearly see a massive change in ability and style occurring gradually over those five years. I didn't know how to compose a photo (still learning this one) and they were all pretty dark as I was still learning about light and didn't know anything about editing.....nothing. 

Like many people who enjoy making, there is often a long period of time when I am learning a new skill or even a new craft. And boy can that be a slightly demoralising process - not quite achieving the thing you were trying to. Especially when, the version in my head is perfect, so perfect.

Again, it really reminded me again of the quote from my lovely friend Anna's friend Gina (who I talk about in this blog post about being stuck) who says that "sometimes the piece you are working on is the piece you need to make, so that you can make the piece you really want to make". Or in other words, "sometimes you need to make bad art to make good art".

As the lovely Amy said to me this week on Instagram - sometimes we need to hear this stuff over and over again.

So - 2014 is the year where completionism is the name of the game! And that it is only after creating a body of work and making many mistakes along the way, that we can create the things we imagine. 

This quote made the process just a little bit easier. As always I would love to hear your thoughts!!

Felicia x

Moving on from perfectionism

Hello lovely people. I am hoping you had a wonderful holiday season – whatever it looked like for you. Maybe in involved a cup of tea and a few minutes of uninterrupted crafting? I hope it did.

 2013 was a pretty big one for me. Many many things have happened including the wonderful first ever Craft Sessions retreat. And given that this time of year is often about reflection, I thought that I would share something of a realisation I’ve had over the last year which may very possibly have changed my life.  

I’ve never been too into resolutions but I am into practicing a new habit. I truly believe that we can change ourselves over time, bit by bit by making a conscious effort to change a behaviour we know isn’t doing us that much good. And so I am going to put the problem out there my friends in the hope that 2014 can shift it.

I am a perfectionist.

I would like to be able to not write that statement. Or to faff around the truth by saying that I am not that bad. Or that I do dodgy craft when the situation calls for it, and can appreciate things that aren't perfect - and that would be true! I do cut corners. I don't always hem kids knit pajamas. I do quick-and-dirty fixes when the situation arises.

But when push comes to shove I am complete perfectionist. And that my friends is a problem in so many ways. The worst of which is the procrastination and not-doing that comes from wanting the outcome to be perfect. I should state here that I don't create things that are perfect. I make a lot of mistakes. But that in my head I am always aiming for perfect. And I am judging myself if it isn't. 

“When perfection is the dream, recurring disappointment is the inevitable consequence.”

— The Good Life by Hugh Mackay

So the goal of the post is to explain why and how this is the year when I start to let go of perfectionism. And why 2014 will now be known as the year of completionism!

Now this is a great point in time to stop reading if you are one of those people that aren’t affected by perfectionism as an issue – I’m mildly concerned that by putting a description of my somewhat not-helpful behaviour out there, you may think (if you keep reading obviously) that I (and other perfectionists) are engaged in some wacky thinking. I keep trying to think of this post as a community service.

Anyhoo, early last year, in the process of figuring out how to get the guts up to put The Craft Sessions out there into the world, I went to a few talks and met with a few smart people. I was lucky enough during that time to see Catherine Deveny speak. The talk was entitled “Criticism, narcissism and getting over yourself. The biggest mistake you can make is not making a mistake”. It was a little bit life changing. And life changing in ways I couldn’t even see at the time because it had a much wider effect on my life than I originally imagined. Yes, it did help to get The Craft Sessions up and running, by helping me to ignore the fear and take the risk. BUT more importantly it has really changed the process of creating and making which is such an important part of my life.

So what did Catherine Deveny say that had such an impact?

“Procrastinators have developed a strong association between their performance and their value as a person. So it’s just like, “I don’t want to look silly or make a mistake because I just will be revealing to myself that I’m not as good as I thought I was.” So if you are worried about what other people say, that’s narcissism, that’s your problem. And if you’re procrastinating, that is also narcissism. Get rid of those expectations of yourself. Get it done, move on to what’s next. And remember, if you write down anything from this, write down “perfect is the enemy of good.”

— Catherine Deveny - Big Hearted Business Conference

Ouch!

 So when I first heard Catherine Deveney speak I was thinking “wow that’s a little bit confronting”. But after nearly a year of watching this stuff in myself, observing the wacky so to speak, I am ready to make some changes and to share some of the things I have learned….like that she was right!

 One of the biggest things that stops me from making/doing the things I want to do (read procrastinate) is my fear it won’t be perfect or live up to my idea/ideal. My fear is that the idea in my head won’t translate. That I will make it and it won’t live up to my expectations, and even other people’s expectations of me. That I will be disappointed.

Let me start by taking you on a little tour of what this behavior looks like in my crafting reality*.

 A typical example is of the latest dress from Tessuti – the lovely Eva. I saw it, loved it and purchased it the first day it was released. I printed it and cut it out (of some Nani Iro I had been hoarding) within the next few days and then it has just sat there. In the basket ready to be made. I know it is a super quick project. I know I could have it done within a few hours and yet I have avoided it, procrastinating, and prioritized all sorts of other things for other people, because I am scared that I won’t like the version I have made as much as I like the one I’ve imagined. And so I don’t make it as a way of avoiding being disappointed! And the disappointed feeling is about being disappointed in myself.

This is soo nuts!

My niece's dress and the mistake that caused the sadness.

And sadly it is only one example of how perfectionism affects my making. I have included a couple of pictures from a dress I made for xmas for my gorgeous niece. I love her and so I want what I make for her to be “perfect” – and I made a mistake. Right at the end when I had finished all the sewing. I took my unpicker to open up the buttonholes and sliced right through the end of one. I did some quick dodgy fixing which you can hardly see. But was still super sad because I wanted to give her something “perfect”.

It’s like my head /heart completely misses the point of making and giving. That the recipient won’t care that it isn’t perfect. That they will feel loved because of the making. That they won’t even notice the small issue. I still felt disappointed. And to me the gift was a little bit ruined. The wacky behaviour then went a little bit further - I also then had to tell my SIL about the mistake so she knew that I knew that it wasn’t perfect. Arrrgghhhh!!!

I couldn’t be proud of what I had made for her. Instead I was almost ashamed that it wasn’t perfect. And I had to let her know.

More nuts-ness!!

Handmade gifting in action - my girl feeling the love in her new birthday socks!

I often find that when this fear is particularly strong in me, that I spend more time thinking and dreaming about projects rather than doing them. I spend more time dreaming about my perfect wardrobe and building my visual diary than making it a reality because the dreaming part of it is free from disappointment. It is all about the potential. In my head things are perfect. Each frock I make myself fits perfectly.

But this is a really empty process because the buzz of potential never translates into actual making and actual outcomes. It is all bubbles and no champagne. And by wasting my time on this "potential" feeling I don’t get the longer term, ultimately more satisfying joy of having made things. And I also miss out on the joy of practicing my craft – which is a different sort of joy again. And practicing means my skills are improving over time, which means I am more likely to achieve the outcomes I am looking for.

Instead I am left with procrastinators regret. The feeling of knowing that if I had spent my time a little differently I would have a different outcome.

The thing that Catherine Deveny simply asked was "have you ever failed?" and then quickly followed up with "and did it kill you?" Just the sort of perspective I needed to hear. What is there to be afraid of? Disappointment can't kill me. Who knew??

Through watching myself this last year I have found that I don’t start, don’t make and don’t complete the projects that are really important to me. Instead I prioritise smaller, simpler and less important projects as they mean I can feel like I have achieved while avoiding dissappointment. Out of fear! In doing this I am wasting my time, my ideas, my opportunity to live my life the way that is a true reflection of what is important to me.

So - 2014 is the year of completionism!

I will be watching myself for this kind of (wacky) procrastination and fear-based behaviour. And when I see it, I’ll be practicing my little heart out to complete things. Completion will be the name of the game to see if I can get a bit closer to living a life free from the expectation of perfection and it's subsequent disappointment.

I’d love to hear your thoughts!

Felicia x 

*I have found that this stuff affects all of my life (putting on The Craft Sessions for example involved a massive step outside my comfort zone) but as this is a crafting blog I am focusing on that.

James - and thoughts on being a beginner

Meet James. A lovely new pattern by Amy Miller. Well written with a beautiful simple shape that is sure to become an extremely well worn part of my wardrobe. James is knit in 5ply and I found a stunning 5ply called Blue Sky Metalico in Silver which has meant a lovely lovely result. The classic formula of simple classic shape and beautiful yarn and right sizing = true love!

Anyway I wanted to introduce my version of James in response to a lovely commenter on my "Mistakes are how you learn" post from the other week. Katisma said that she kinda thought that people who make how I make, don't have to deal with mistakes.

 The comment Katisma left on the other post was this

"Thank you! I think what you say is even more inspiring and strong in effect because it comes from one of those seemingly perfect professionals. Who we learners who may be new to doing crafts assume to get to goals without having to try out and naturally make mistakes, processes that don't work out at once."

Which is not true at all. Many mistakes are still made regularly. But it got me thinking some more about the nature of mistakes, how it changes as you learn to craft and how your expectations change, as does how you deal with mistakes. 

So James. I found him a bit of a pain to knit really. Not because of the pattern but because of me. This project has followed me round over the last few months of The Craft Sessions preparation. Simple enough to knit, with little concentration required once you get past the beginning. And that was the problem. I knit about 10cm of the yoke and ALL the short rows TWICE. Hours and hours of knitting because I kept making mistakes.

Now these days I know how to fix mistakes and most mistakes are fixable. I drop the stitch down to where the mistake is, pick it all up and then knit on. I knit quite quickly and so if I do have to rip something out I just rip it out and redo it. Which means that I don't see mistakes as that much of a big deal anymore. A little disappointing but generally not that heart breaking. This was not that kind of mistake. Both times I knit the yoke it was the kind of mistake that either fixing was not possible OR you would have been left with a big scar on the fabric. 

What this project did was humble me - again and again. Me and my cocky, I can fix mistakes attitude. It took me back to my feelings of frustration of being a beginner knitter. Both times I had spent hours and hours on the trickiest part and thought I had past it before realising the issue. It was demoralising. And I had forgotten quite what that felt like. It almost made me not want to start the jumper for the third time. And got me thinking about how it feels to be a beginner. 

I love the aline-ness of the pattern. 

So good for me and for the lovely commenter. Because it has prompted me to state the obvious and offer a few possibly helpful thoughts.

Mistakes are much harder to deal with when you are a beginner. 

And there is a few reasons for that. The main one is that you are not able to be confident that when you do it the second/third/fourth time that you will get the result that you want. It is a big leap of faith. It requires bravery and trust and stick-to-it-ness. And sometimes because there isn't the foundation knowledge yet embedded in your brain, you might not even be sure if you are making a mistake or not. The whole thing feels a bit uncertain. Again with the faith and the bravery.

The second thing is related to the first which is the barrier that is due to self doubt that comes up when you are learning. There is a tendancy to wonder if you have what it takes and to possibly think that other people have more natural ability. To this I would say that a lot of craft is simply about practice, like riding a bike, driving a car, cooking etc etc. Yes some people have a greater natural ability but with practice most people can do it really well.

Another big thing I think when you are beginning, is the time it takes to make something (because it takes a little longer) means that if you make a mistake it feels like you have wasted all of this time!!  But the learning what you get out of that is so very important, even if it doesn't feel that way at the time. You end up knowing (really knowing) that there is joy in the process, even for those of you that think you are more product crafters than process crafters. Because if there was no joy in the process you would just go and purchase a quilt/jumper/soft toy. Am I right or am I right??

So I wanted to offer some encouragement to all you beginners out there and say that it all does get easier, the learning and even the mistake making. You make them less often and when you do make them you often know what to do to fix them. The emotional energy required to crack on in the face of mistakes decreases with time and experience and practice.

I also wanted to say don't worry if you don't understand half of what the person in the craft shop is talking about when you are buying supplies for your latest great idea (thanks Jen and Martine for reminding me about this issue). Get in there and make. Craft involves incremental learning. Learning that isn't often visible or earth shattering. The "ahhh" moments when you think "I get that now" come semi-regularly when you are just starting out and they are oh-so satisfying. That feeling is fun and I encourage you to really enjoy it at the beginning. Later on you have it but it is less frequent and probably less important. 

And finally just in case you were thinking that having to knit the yoke three times wasn't really all that bad, let me tell you about what happened right at the end of the knitting. The sting in the tail so to speak. The final thing you needed to do in this pattern was to bind off the neckline loosely. I did it waaaay too loosely just in one weird bit. Which would be fine except that it is on the neckline, in the middle and off to one side, in the front. You may not have noticed in the pictures above but go back and have a look. It droops right in the part that people would look at on this super-simple-nothing-else-to-draw-their-attention jumper. Spare a thought for me as I had just finished a whole jumper in 5ply.... Anyway, so at this stage I am calling James finished even though he actually isn't. When I pull myself together emotionally I will get around to fixing it. It might take me a week or two. For the moment I am happy to wear it and trying to remember that noone will really notice the slightly more rolly neckline other than me, and now you. Shhhh! 

See the droop on the right hand side.

Notice the too rolly neckline.

Everyone makes mistakes.

Which takes me back full circle to "Mistakes are how you learn so embrace them". Something good for me to have felt again even if all I learnt was that I really need to concentrate while doing short rows and increases at the same time.....

BTW - James would be a great one for an adventurous beginner sweater knitter that is confident knitting, purling, increasing and decreasing and working with 5ply, but really wanted to practice their short rows. The lovely shaping in the neck of this pattern is due to many many short rows. 

Have a go. The result is worth it!

Felicia

Why all crafters need a visual diary

So I've started with a big statement - ALL crafters need a visual diary! And by visual diary I mean a notebook and pinterest and an inspiration board. Now before you switch off and say something along the lines of "visual diaries are for artists, not for me. I just do a little bit of crafting".....hear me out.

Once upon a time I was the kind of person who said "I'm not creative". I thought that I did a bit of sewing, but that wasn't really creative as I was just following a pattern. Really creative people made stuff up, from their minds, using their ideas and they were called artists. And artists needed visual diaries to record their thoughts. Right??

Now obviously time has moved on and over time I have been shown how terribly wrong I was. I now truly believe that everyone is born creative and sometimes life gets in the way and tells some of us they aren't. Because being creative just means we have ideas - and everyone has ideas right? 

I wrote a post last week about the importance of passion and how to recover your passion when you are feeling overwhelmed. A lovely knitter left a comment saying that "I find that passion is fuel for my creative fire. I try to kindle it whenever I can, even if it's not always the practical thing to do."

And I really think that is so so true. You need to follow your ideas when they arise as a way of playing and making crafting about the joy to keep the passion flowing.

But ideas are tricky things. They aren't always good or useful and the best one doesn't always naturally float to the top. So what does this have to do with visual diaries?? Put simply, a visual diary can help you organise your ideas.

I have a lot of ideas. My friends who are crafters also have a lot of ideas. Ideas about what they want to make and how they could make it and who they could make it for and what they will make it out of. And all these different ideas are swirling about, singing their own praises about what fabulous ideas they are and how you should make them rather than something else. Fine. You pick and idea. You go to the store. The store is full of a heap of pretty pretty things. All of which start singing with even more ideas. Yippee. Good for them, but not so good for you. Because you are trying to get started. You are trying to pick something. And what happens is that you pick up something pretty at the store and buy it. Because it is pretty. 

Herein lies the rub. I do this ALL THE TIME, and what I have found is that on the one hand it really is great. I am following the muse of the day - working with the passion. On the other hand it is ABSOLUTE RUBBISH. Terrible. Annoying. Time-wasting. I end up making random things based on the idea of the day or what was pretty. And I don't make the things that will make me the happiest in the medium or long term. 

A somewhat sad fact of life is that there aren't enough hours in this lifetime for me to make all the things I would like to. And when all my energy is spent following the little idea I have had on any given day (again following the passion - which is great!) there is a massive downside. I don't make the things that I really want to make. The things that would be super useful and give me pleasure every day. And a lot of this is to do with the fact that the ideas that mean the most to me, are the ones that involve the idea being fully developed, which needs some thought and time.

And then there are those slippery ideas that come, are loved and then run off and get forgotten. Or get lost in the sea of new ideas. Sometimes it is just plain difficult to be able to tell if they are any good. Or if they will stand the test of time. Sometimes ideas need to brew for a while to become the best idea they can.

A swatch on my inspiration board taht has been waiting for the perfect project.

Anyway so with all the crazy thoughts I had about creativity and artists then how did I come to have a visual diary. 

I am lucky enough to have a lovely friend called Anna. You may have heard me mention her before - because she is an artist who is super smart, very creative and is helping me with all this stuff (the ideas). I was talking about this idea I had for an embroidery and another one for a quilt. And I couldn't start them because I wasn't quite sure where to start. And Anna suggested that I start a visual diary (meaning that she lovingly harassed me into it). She said anytime I have an idea I should draw it, write it down, and see what happens. It seems obvious now but I wasn't doing it. She then suggested that when I found something I like the look of then I should try to develop it. Colour it, collage it, paint it, whatever. 

Now many of those words scared me initially and I was a little bit (very) resistant. Visual diaries are for artists remember? And she was a bit insistent and I did it. AND it has been life changing!! I have learnt so many lessons from going through this process.

I now understand that visual diaries in their many forms are simply a way for you to organise your ideas. Simply very clever.

Why you need a visual diary

1. Visual diaries help you identify and prioritise which idea to make

When all your ideas are in one spot you can organise and prioritise based on what you most want to make. Not the random shiny idea that came to you the night before because it is most fresh. You can choose to make things with forethought and planning.

I was very inspired the other day by Sophie's wardrobe planning. I love the idea of consciously planning what you need to make for your wardrobe. I'm not there yet - but I like it.

2. The visual diary allows your ideas to develop over time.

Ideas often become better ideas when they are a little bit organised. By writing things down, sketching them, and working on them as they appeal to you they have the chance to improve - not get lost in the sea of other ideas. Sometimes you get perspective and additional inspiration over time, and other times you decide they need to be tossed. Both valid options.

Using a visual diary was essential to how I made my quilt - something I made recently that I love more each day. I drew it, and then did another drawing of something slightly different, and then another, over weeks and weeks. And then I made a start based one of two designs. I was going to do a big circle in the middle and then randomly fill it in with random crosses. OR I was going to do a big circle in the middle and quilt the circle with rings. I put the quilt together, basted and then drew the circle onto the fabric. And then started quilting. And what came out was different again. It was simple lines of quilting horizontally about a half inch apart. And when I went back through the visual diary a few weeks later I found that there was about three different drawings of the quilt that I ended up making. It was a design that kept coming up over and over again. I don't remember drawing it but there it was.

What I ended up quilting.

There are also ideas in my book now that I really liked when I drew them, but that I don't like a few months later. Coming back to things after a while seems to be showing me what will stand the test of time.

3. Visual diaries provide clarity about what your brain really likes - which helps you make better things.

I love this part of it. By having a whole heap of inspiration and ideas in the one place I am able to see more clearly what I like.

What I like is often not visible to me. I think some people are really good at this. I'm not. I get distracted in a store by all the pretty things and buy things that look appealing however my attraction to them is often short lived. What I like and what I make/buy seem to be two different things sometimes. I have fabric in my cupboard that I look at and can't fathom why I purchased it. Not always but often enough to make it a problem. 

Pinterest is wonderful for this. As I pin things I like, I do it in an almost unconscious way. I pin clothes I love the look of, things that I think might work for me and things I would love to wear. However my wardrobe looks somewhat (very) different to my board. It seems the things I like are not what I buy. I get confused when purchasing or making and that is why Pinterest has been such a godsend. By pinning a board over time I can see what truly appeals to me. 

For example it turns out that I really like skirts with a stripe that changes direction in the body of the skirt. Who knew? Have a look at the board to see what I mean. There are many other things that appear too when you look at the board as a whole. I like similar shapes, colours and styles. My wardrobe doesn't currently look like this board but by observing over time what I truly like, I am shifting it. It is inspiring and exciting.

Another example of where Pinterest is helping me to decide what to make, is on my knit board - there are lots of boyfriend cardigans appearing that are long and a bit slouchy. There is also a few garments appearing using semi-solid yarn. I have the yarn swatch sitting on my pinboard and I have been looking for a pattern for a while to modify (as I am a little lazy and don't feel like making up the numbers). This cardigan idea has been a slow burn - but now the idea has set I can't wait to make it as I can see it will be exactly what I want. This is opposed to how I used to do it which is to knit the latest pretty pattern on Ravelry - which I have proven does not work for me (choosing a sweater pattern).

My cardigan swatch in beautiful Shilasdair DK. Colour is natural dyed with Hawthorn.

So to summarise this long and winding post, a visual diary will help you organise, prioritise, and develop your ideas. Over time it will help your ideas become the best versions of themselves. Personally I'm loving the clarity it is giving me about what I like, and over time I can see it providing more and more insight which will mean I make more and more things I love. How ace is that. It looks like all those artistic types were onto something.

So visual diaries - are you a fan, not a fan? What do you use them for? What do you get out of them? How do you use them? I would love to hear.... 
 

Felicia x

The importance of passion

At this time of year I find the lists start to overwhelm me. Lists of to-dos for life, lists of to-dos for the kids, lists of to-dos for Xmas and the lists of crafting that fit in to each of those categories. And I find what happens is that I freeze up and kinda stop making. My production (that is normally fairly ongoing because I stick to my lists) slows to almost nothing and I wander about the house and my sewing room a little aimlessly. It's almost as if I have nothing to do when in fact it is the complete opposite.

Hang on a sec - it has been an hot day here and I might grab a beer to keep me company....

OK. Better. So to illustrate my point, on my crafting list at the moment are 

Must dos

• Three pairs of kid shorts from Happy Homemade with the fake fly and pockets (as opposed to the 1hr plain ones)
• Three pairs of matching Xmas pyjamas
• Two frocks for my darling niece
• The birthday dress for my middle small. Her birthday is just two weeks before Xmas which always ups the ante.

Should be done

• A cardy needs to be finished for my SIL
• The almost finished wedding present for my very good friend who got married 2.5 years ago
• Mending etc etc etc.

Just for fun

• A dress for me
• Another scrap cardy for the small (who needs another cardy - not)
• Blah blah blah blah. This list goes on and on and on

Even reading the paragraph above makes me start to feel a little traumatised. Crafting suddenly becomes a chore due to the weight of "have tos" and "should really's" and the "want tos". What is funny about it is that I really want to do all those things. The only reason they are on the list is because I want to do them....and I even have time to get them all done by their deadlines. But not if I don't shake this thing I have going on - the not-doing-ness, the lack of inspiration, the overwhelm, the not knowing where to start. It is a disease.....

So what to do. The answer for me is one that I haven't consciously come up with. So it isn't my idea but it is what happens. Suddenly something snaps. Some 15yr old I-wanna-do-what-I-wanna-do angst comes flying out of my soul, I pick up some materials and decide to craft something completely random. Something that isn't on the list and hasn't even been pondered to this point. 

Case in point. In the last month there have been two.

Project 1:

A hat. What is so odd about that I hear you say? Nothing except that we are heading in to summer and I already have about 5 knitted hats. Today was 27 degrees - (about 80 for those of you who like your temperatures in F) - but this is what I threw in the bag on the way to camping. Random. Who wants to do a tubular cast on while bush camping with no access to the internet to remind her of how to do one - me apparently. What makes it worse is that I am not even sure that I like the colours...

Project 2:

Patchwork. Same deal as above - what is so odd about that? The biggest thing is a little bit tricky to admit - I don't really like doing patchwork (sssshhhhhh!). I really like it when other people do it, it can be just stunning! but I don't enjoy it myself. On the particular day in question I had many other hideously boring things to do like vacuum and make (another) (nutritious) dinner. I was feeling a little antsy so gave myself 25min to play. I had seen an instagram photo from the lovely Arounna from Bookhou the day before and felt inspired to do some linen patchwork. Random. And the thing is that once I started I couldn't stop. Or rather my 15 year old self didn't want to stop. I took the kids out to takeaway for dinner, didn't vacuum even though we had guests arriving and did my first ever log cabin. I have no idea what for....

But that is the thing about crafting and passion. When you have lost it, sometimes you need to do something random to get the juices going. For some people it might be walking away completely or doing a different-to-you craft, but for others it might just be to start something new. In my case giving myself the space to follow a couple of random ideas which weren't on the list meant that I felt a little bit of freedom. Free of the lists and the have and should and want tos. Free from the responsibilities of life which allowed me to just Craft. Y'know?? And that little bit of freedom seems to have been enough to get me back on the crafting horse. I cut out two pairs of kid shorts last night and they are already 1/3 sewn up.

Bring on the passion!

Anyone else out there a bit stuck? What do you do when you are feeling crafty list overwhelm or just a loss of your passion? I'd love some more ideas....

Felicia x