a bin of projects in nice tidy baggies
People are always commenting or asking about how much "work" I am able to produce. To me it seems like I am never finishing things fast enough. Perhaps it is because, at the current moment, I counted 27 projects in progress and 12 projects on deck waiting. So is this sewing ADD or how it has to be?
uniform project waiting for collar, shirt waiting for buttons and hem
rooibos dress, piping finished and waiting on perfected muslin fitting
apron project near completion: process notes
I work well under pressure and typically push right up to the deadline, but somehow having a due date works for me. Many of my sewing projects don't have a due date, so I start them, get busy with something else and then they sit waiting for me to come back. Or the opposite could happen, if I am totally inspired I can sit down and complete a project start to finish in one helping. I can attest that most everything I start eventually gets finished, sometimes that means a year or more.
another bin of work in progress organized in bags
4 projects started and waiting
dresden plate quilt, no deadline (although I've been motivated recently and the top is complete- I think?)
There is not one type of sewing that I like more than another. I enjoy making quilts as much as sewing a garment or making a bag or a doll. I just like to sew. I have been successful at resisting the temptation of adding another hobby into this "chaos". Although I am often tempted by knitting and, more recently, fabric dyeing. It seems clear to me that if I add another hobby, it would be like putting one to many ice cubes in an already full glass of tea and I would have a mess all over the floor...probably literally.
2 projects: e shrug from lace and habitat quilt guild challenge
12 on the docket
I am curious about how other sewists and artists work. Do you run multiple projects at once? or are you immobilized by an unfinished project? How many projects is too many? Do you have projects that never get finished?
I say it is both sewing ADD and how it has to be :) I say that I have sewing ADD all the time! And I am not paralyzed by unfinished projects. If I'm not making something for a particular person/purpose, then I usually get halfway through it and then push it aside because something new has caught my interest. I have also decided recently that I make a lot of quilt tops and then never get them quilted. I really need to change that because I've made some cool stuff that no one is getting to enjoy. Sewing in general is a passion for me and it usually doesn't matter what type of sewing I'm doing. However, if I'm not motivated on a certain project then it's just not going to happen :)
ReplyDeleteI can only do one project at a time, maybe two if one is in the cutting phase and I am binding another. Any more than that and I feel panicky. I'll buy fabric with a general idea of what I want to do with it, but I can't start until I finish the current project- which for me is motivating!
ReplyDeleteI am a multitasker, too. Sometimes when I'm in the process of making a quilt I'll stop and make a quick skirt for my little girl or something else easy. In recent months I've been trying to focus on one project at a time but it's not easy.
ReplyDeleteLove your dresden plate quilt! Am impressed!
ReplyDeleteI like having a variety of things to choose from when I'm ready to sit and sew. There are projects in my sewing room that may never get finished and I'm ok with that. I recently decided to stop kidding myself about a storm at sea paper piecing project I had, so I re-shelved the fabric & plan to make a mug rug out of the finished block(s?).
I want to learn to knit socks, though... Might try it this winter. I love having something portable. Hexagons are my current portable poject.
As long as I'm creating, I'm happy.
One of my mantras when I was teaching gifted students was "Process is more important than product." I guess I'm taking that to heart because I have about 8 projects going at once right now. I hope they will all get finished at some point.
ReplyDeleteI don't feel right unless I have several projects going on at once: a purse project (generally blanket squares), a hard sock, an easy sock, some type of sweater, some type of shawl, a quilt on the machine and maybe a quilt being cut. Of course, knitting is much more portable than quilting (depending on what you're knitting, that is), so I stash projects in different rooms of the house. I do have hexagons in the family room for long nights of TV, but right now, I don't get much time to do anything. Way to go, stupid baby.
ReplyDeleteWell, you are not alone. I have at least 15 projects in process and many waiting in the wings. I think that is just what happens when you have creative juices flowing; some days one project suits your mood more than the others. In the end, I think it makes things more interesting too.
ReplyDelete