Tag Archives: Crafts

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Keeping Our Mojo while Pursuing Success

In a world were the pressure for perfection is ever present, the quest for success can overwhelm us, thus causing our creative mojo to get lost somewhere along the journey. This is often the case when we are creating to meet the demand of others, but it can also be the case when we are creating for ourselves. The scale we use to measure success, sadly, is seldom one we create ourselves, thereby placing us at the risk of becoming overwhelmed when our efforts fall short of an unrealistic norm.

As creators, or makers to use another term commonly used in social media, we rely on our creative mojo to keep our inspiration flowing and our ideas vibrant. Our ability to keep creating often relies heavily on our feelings of accomplishment, and therefore how we determine success is instrumental in our ability to create.

In my video today, I ponder the notion of success and the question of whether my latest project is a success. I determine success is achieved when three criteria are met – functionality, structural-soundness, and joy. We are makers not machines. Variables in our creative efforts are part of what makes our product unique and desirable. When we hold onto this knowledge, we can better keep hold of our mojo even as we pursue success.

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This week I have three English Paper Piecing blocks to share.
22-grandmas-broochDownload
23-grandmas-spring-broochDownload
24-flower-basketDownload

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Old Inspiring New

When I made my first gingerbread doll, I used fabric from an old vest. Later I used hand-dyed wool to make the larger doll, and cream muslin for my tree topper. My first pattern was derived from a coloring page I had, then with time, it was modified a bit. Simple shapes like these are great places to begin ornament crafting. They can be sewn so that the raw edges are hidden inside the doll, or they could also be made using felt so that the raw edges could stay on the outside. Cookie cutters are a wonderful way to create the shapes for a whole host of ornaments similar to my little Ginger Doll.

The idea to create a tiny kitchen towel came as I prepared for this week’s video. Christmas and baking go hand-in-hand, and I thought I could make more cookie cutter shapes. However since I have been making towel toppers this year to bring more festive fun into my kitchen, it seemed only natural that I should see if a miniature was possible. With a bit of experimentation, I was able to make my newest ornament. Yes, I will admit, I made my prototypes with my embroidery machine. It stitches so much more accurately than I do, but when I put the pattern together I found the traditional method of paper pattern and sewing machine easy and quick.

So this week, in addition to the English Paper Piecing block, I will share two more patterns with you.

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Download Patterns For All Three Projects
EPP Block 15 – Merry StarDownload
Gingerbread Doll in Multiple SizesDownload
Mini Kitchen Towel OrnamentDownload

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A Hexagon by Another Name – EPP Block 14

A hexagon? A wagon wheel? A snow flake? A Christmas Wreath? Sometimes a simple shape can be the most confusing to name. This week’s English Paper Piecing block is an example of how the humble hexagon can be transformed simply by changing the fabric colors and placements.

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Pattern for this block with both the solid and segmented centers.
Wagon WheelDownload

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The Joy of Slow Crafting

When I started my journey into English Paper Piecing just over three months ago, I never envisioned how much joy I would find in the process. While not my first slow-craft (the trendy way to call traditional crafting), it has been the most surprising. Yes, it is true, my aging eyes need excellent lighting to manage, and a needle threading tool is quite helpful, but the joy of creating with needle and thread is abundant.

Finding balance seems easier now that I have added an additional slow-craft to my life. Without the slower hand work of crafts like EPP, it is easy to feel everything in life needs to be high-speed production in order to have value. Life, yes even crafting life, can speed out of control until one unexpected obstacle or turn derails you. Recovery is then required before the journey can continue.

This week I share three EPP projects: one that took weeks to make, one that is a component of something bigger, and one that is full of holiday joy. Each brings with it the benefits of slow-crafting.

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Three English Paper Piecing Pattern

Blowing in the Wind Wall Hanging Download
Hexie Snowflake Ornament Download
Autumn Leaves Quilt Block Download

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I share a few additional crafting ideas in this week’s video.

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Scrappy, Spooky, So Much Fun

English Paper Piecing dominates my days, especially since there are so many seasonal inspirations simply begging to become EPP projects. This week I am sharing two blocks for my ongoing EPP quilt project, plus a quilt pattern I’ve named Ghosts & Lanterns.

In addition to these EPP projects, I share more seasonal projects in this week’s podcast. With autumn breezes finally cooling the air, I have returned to my sewing room with excitement. In fact, that is were I am off to now.

Happy Unwinding with Fiber and Fabric💜

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Patterns for this week’s blocks can be downloaded here.

04-scrappy-16-patchDownload
05-wonky-16-patchDownload

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Pattern for Ghosts and Lanterns can be downloaded here.

00-ghosts-lanternsDownload

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Important Note: This is an untested set of basic schematics for this quilt rather than instructions.

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Evening Star – EPP Quilt Block 01

Precision and Just Winging It can work together, especially when playing around with paper piecing.

The first block in a series of paper pieced blocks I plan to make (and share) over the next few months. I have a rough plan for a sampler quilt drafted in my quilting software*. For the blocks, I plan to use a combination of vintage fabrics I have collected over the years, hand dyed fabrics I created early in my dyeing exploration, and some unbleached muslin I have in abundance. I will decide on sashing fabric once all the blocks are constructed.

Each of my blocks will finish as 10″ blocks (including the cream borders). I am hand sewing each of the blocks, but will likely construct the quilt top by machine once I reach that point of the process. Many of the blocks are variations of traditional blocks. In most cases, the major modification was to set them into the block borders.

While most of these blocks could be constructed using other methods than English Paper Piecing (EPP), the scale of the blocks makes EPP the best choice. I will provide a pdf with fabric recommendations and template sheets. The template sheets have been arranged for ease of printing directly onto cardstock.

I share the Evening Star block in the second half of today’s podcast.

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Pattern for the Evening Star Block

Evening Star pdf download linkDownload

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Saith Me… Perspective

Imperfection fades away, replaced by snuggly comfort.

In the crafting world, the stress created by seeking perfection is offset by a simple 3-foot rule. Whatever is not noticeable from 3 feet away should not cause the maker angst. While this rule is not always as effective as one might hope, when it comes to quilting, there is an additional rule that usually covers all but the most egregious flaws. The comfort rule.

If the quilt provides comfort, then the quilt needs only be structurally sound to be perfect.

Sometimes in life, we lose perspective, focusing too much on imperfections rather than on purpose.

“What is the purpose of what we do?” “What is the goal we hope to achieve?”

There will always be situations where perfection must be the purpose, but those situations rarely extend beyond life-saving, safety-critical, or technology-focused tasks. In most cases, seeking perfection is a goal but not the purpose of the endeavor.

When we focus the purpose of our task, imperfections fade away to be replaced by the comfort a good perspective on life provides.

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Vlogmas 2021 – Because Why Not?

For many, YouTube Vlogmas has become a way to “break out” of the restrictions of a quarantine and travel without leaving the comfort of one’s own home. I particularly love to follow vloggers on their trips to see holiday lights and visits to Christmas markets.

For many, these vlogs help replace the sense of belonging and community that they feel is lost because of changes in society (changes that may have even happened before a pandemic). For some, simply sharing in the joy of others, even virtually, removes the cloud of loneliness that often accompanies infirmity and illness.

Whether its watching them decorate their homes, knit sweaters and scarves for gifts, or prepare their favorite holiday food, I feel a connection with these vloggers, and not because I now vlog. For me, the connection with these vloggers comes because I feel they share both my love of the holiday season and my love of sharing joy with others. The vlog, much like the physical items we give, becomes a gift from us to whomever is in need of the gift.

So this year, I have decided to make my own vlogmas contributions. I doubt it will be an annual tradition for me, but this year I hope to share holiday joy and inspiration through sharing some of my handmade treasures (many made by my own hands, and some made by the hands of loved ones).

While my first vlogmas video is on the longer side, the subsequent ones should be a shorter and contained to a specific theme.

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Challenges of YouTubing

Each week presents new challenges, and with the challenges, new things to learn.

This week, after becoming fatigued during the many attempts to sound coherent on camera, I realized that the chair I purchased so that I could more comfortably work at my sewing-room worktable, would work really well at my quilt display wall. Sitting rather than standing reduced the fatigue and reduced my anxiety.

It is amazing how much more productive one can be when fatigue and anxiety are scaled back.

The second challenge I faced in getting this video posted was one of an emotional nature. I have become hyper-aware of how fatigue affects my speech and speech pattern. I sometimes struggle with words. Even when the thoughts are there, the words can remain just out of reach. This is one of the reasons I have always preferred writing over speaking – much easier to edit or to find the right word when there the pressure of an audience is absent.

When I went back to school back in 2012, I had to overcome a good deal of foggy brain. I was quite relieved to see that I could regain what I had worried might have been lost. I regained, and I improved my ability to communicate through writing. Now I am attempting to do something similar through the use of vlogging. Of course my confidence with writing was always greater than with speaking, so this challenge already causes a bit more anxiety for me.

Yet with this challenge there is even a greater reward than the degree I earned when I returned to the classroom. This challenge is helping me better accept the person I am – and that is something which has often proven to be an elusive prize.

Self-awareness is very good. Self-acceptance is even better.

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Crafter’s 12 Days of Christmas

Another crafting year is nearing an end, and the 7 days of peaceful rest is upon us. Christmas Day marks the beginning of that period of rest – when all the gifts are finished or relegated to the “maybe by next Christmas” pile. In honor of the crazy rush to finish that we all seem to go through, here is an annoying little tune to hum as the sleep-deprived, caffeinated insanity rules our days.

Crafters 12 Days of Christmas