Keep Trying Again.

I just read Elizabeth Gilbert’s new book, Big Magic: Creative Living Beyond Fear.  I loved listening to her podcast, Magic Lessons, and found that each episode related to my own experiences and inspired me in my own creative work. While I didn’t find the book to be deeply revelatory, it was positive, reassuring, and gently inspiring with the reminder that we all need to create and that we all have permission to do so. It's like having a confident and experienced friend or colleague cheering you on.

She doesn’t claim that creating is easy and often, its not. I was corresponding with a friend lately about life with a very little one and once again read this post that I wrote a year and a half ago. It is still so applicable, if not more relevant, than it was then. I lost the nap battle and, while Amos has a bit of quiet time each day, I don’t have a current strategy for getting creative work done. I am lucky to have some time each week that Amos spends with his grandparents. Even so, I find myself letting go of a lot of expectations, which feels like letting go of ambition.

Then I remember that striving for accomplishments is not the most important thing and her book reminded me over and over that creativity does not depend on success, on accomplishments, on audience, or even on passion. Although it may seem hard to take from someone who has had such success as Elizabeth Gilbert, she asserts that it is the writing that matters above all else. She doesn't force her creativity to provide income, wait for her creative work to bring success, or demand that everything she makes must be perfect. This book reminds me that I can let go of expectations, the need to have a greater purpose, the hope of a certain outcome and just create.

Most of my creative projects lately have been simply making, not dancing with inspiration or creating something new out of thin air. But I still believe that making is creative even if it is the same stitches over and over until the yarn forms a hat. And practical creativity is satisfying, even if the hat is a little too big or the pants a bit too small, they still keep you warm. And you keep trying again.

If you haven’t read the book or listened to the podcast, I highly recommend both.

Works In Progress

I've been meaning to make new pillow covers for quite some time. I'm really happy that I got to use some of my favorite fabrics from my stash and I had fun reinforcing them with decorative lines of stitching. I still have two more pillows to cover. I'm not sure if I'll use the same style or colors. It might be fun to do a tutorial on how to make these striped covers. What do you think?

Another project that has been in progress for months. I am planning to hang this on an empty wall in our living room. I just have to figure out how I want to hang it.

I made my first Esme Top last fall and I really love it. I cut this fabric in December to make another one but it has been neglected since then. Hopefully I will finish it soon because I am excited to be expanding my clothes making skills beyond skirts.

Another neglected project. I started this sweater for Amos before Christmas. Then I lost the directions in my house! I have the directions again and I just have to finish the sleeves. Luckily it is a size that should fit him for a while and sweater weather won't be over any time soon.


I sometimes have projects that I am not sure I will ever finish, but I'm always glad to have many opportunities to create. What are you working on?

Ordinary Things

Just some of the ordinary things in my day. Melting snow, morning light, objects that are useful and sometimes beautiful. As a maker, I think a lot about things and their purpose whether useful, meaningful or completely unnecessary. I am intrigued by the stories that objects can hold and the memories they might preserve on top of their immediate use as table or napkin. When we make things they immediately have a known story: the choices you made in creating, the trace of your hand, the process. Other things come to us with stories from our grandmothers' kitchens, an attic, or a friend. We add our own stories to these objects as they become part of our every day lives.


If you want to explore more about the stories we tell when we make things consider my e-course Creating Your Handmade Life.

Fearlessly and Imperfectly

 

I made corn tortillas for the first time last week. Over the last few years, flour tortillas have become a regular addition to our meals but I've always been uncertain about making corn tortillas. Clearly I have some practicing to do before they turn out perfectly round but they tasted sweeter and more like corn than the expertly made tortillas that I buy. I used them to make enchiladas and they worked perfectly for filling with beans and fresh corn and cilantro.

Other day to day challenges can be much more daunting, but when I am in the kitchen I feel totally comfortable, full of ideas and eager to create. When I saw this recipe for corn tortillas I knew I had to finally make some of my own. It didn't matter whether or not they would be perfect. In the world of blogs they are probably not even worth posting since they look far too amateur and homemade. I wanted to share them because I am convinced that creating fearlessly and imperfectly is something that everyone should do.

My days are caught up in making with food and fabric, in capturing the beautiful and simple (and imperfect) moments, in striving to share them in some way. I share a lot of that here, but I am eager to share more ways to create and help you explore the way handmade connects us more deeply to where we are. I won't keep plugging my e-course all the time but I am excited about the possibilities it will open for all of us.