Welcome to week 2 of #QuiltySlowvember! I hope you had a chance to slow down and simplify some of your quilt practice last week. I spent my time by making a priority list to simplify my overwhelming to-do list, editing my digital intake by unsubscribing and unfollowing accounts that did not meet my new criteria of inspiring, educational, or entertaining, and by tidying my sewing space. A simplification of my messy surroundings always clears my mind for more creating.
Week 2 | Contemplate
This week I am going to take time to contemplate my quilt practice and contemplate while I am quilting. To do this I am going to start by evaluating what kind of creator I am. I’m sure so many others like me have been stepping slowly away from creating art and quilts, and without realizing we have stepped into creating content. By content I mean that we have drank the Kool-Aid, swallowed the pill, fell for the trick, of making content and posting to social media. Don’t feel bad, it’s designed to make us do this. Admittedly, I have been in front of the camera doing a silly dance when I should be on the other side of that camera making a beautiful picture. Trust me, my dancing is not that great. For me, photography is a big part of my art. Not only am I a quilt designer, textile artist, and pattern writer, I am also a trained professional photographer. Quilting and blogging back in 2009 brought me to photography and it is still a big part of my creative practice. I am making a deliberate choice to be the creator I want to be and I will focus on my quilts, art, patterns, and photography. I will resist the pull to create content just for the sake of content. What kind of creator are you?
As we move into the colder months in the Northern Hemisphere, I am going to find time to enjoy the sun on these last few warm days of the fall. Looking ahead at the weekly forecast, my region will be cold at the end of the week. Maybe that’s the same for you. I encourage you to find a window or at least a comfy seat and a quilt to snuggle up in to do a little bit of work this week. I will probably choose to do a little bit of handwork, slow stitching. You might decide to cozy up with your laptop and answer emails, or get out a sketchbook and draw a new quilt plan. However you spend your time, take a moment to enjoy the season we are in right now.
The last thing I want to encourage you to do is to stop multitasking. A way that we can stop multitasking is to focus on only one thing at a time. Right now I’m juggling 2 kids, a new puppy, and home renovation projects along with my quilting. I know it’s hard to shut the world out and completely concentrate on just one thing but we can make it easier on ourselves. We can start by sewing in silence by shutting off the podcast and the Netflix. Really focus on what you are working on in front of you instead of trying to also pay attention to another thing to. Lessen the stimulation in your environment to enrich your quilting experience. If you can only manage this for 20 minutes, that’s awesome. Take that 20 minutes to enjoy your quilt practice and then get back to life with a more relaxed mindset.
After all the contemplation this week, I’ll be ready to explore next week! I hope you’ll join me then.
