Motivation and March Blues
MAUREEN BURNS
>Sewing Friends,
>
>Well, I have reached that point (as I do with every project) where I am losing interest. I am working on a slipcover for my sofa. And while it is not _perfect_
>it is coming along better than I had hoped. Most of the sofa "body" is finished.
>I just need to attach the pleated skirt and make buttons and buttonholes. The hardest
>part is over (I think) and yet I just can't seem to find the perseverance (sp) in me to complete it. I still have to do all the cushions (2 seat, 2 back) and the throw pillows. I've spent two full weekends on the project so far and it looks like I hav
>
>What do you do to keep your interest? My first reaction is to start a new project, but
>I already have sooooo many started and all of them have stopped at a similar point...the hard stuff is done and the "easy" stuff yet to go. Your advice and support would really be appreciated.
>
>
>Thanks,
>
>Keerthi McIntosh
>zky...@amoco.com
>
>
I too have many unfinished projects and an ever increasing of new projects
that I haven't even started. I get so excited about buying and starting,
but I get really lethargic about completing. Especially hems. I HATE
HEMS!!!
Anyway, what I do is simply (nothing is EVER simple) talk myself into
picking up that unfinished garment to finish it. I find that I get
involved in the doing, that sometimes I don't care exactly what the doing
is. The hardest part is the "picking it up to restart" part. Once I get over
that hump, I'm ok. It's a mind over matter. When I finally finish it, I
feel great. Then my reward is being able to start something new.
Another trap I've fallen into is this: A garment is nearly finished. I
try it on, and the fit isn't quite right, or it doesn't look like what I
thought, or I find that I hate the elastic waist, or the neckline plunges a
little too much, or something else that makes it unwearable for me. I fuss
with it for a while, then I would shelve it, thinking that I'll get back to
fussing with it later. I fuss with it again, thinking that I will
miraculously solve this fashion crisis. I never really get around to
finishing it because I keep fussing with it. I hate that trap! I have
decided to change. So I have to talk myself into
simply finishing it, resolving to the fact that it will never look quite
right on me, but maybe it will look ok on someone else. Into the Goodwill
pile it goes. Period. Start the next new project.
I've solved a bit of this problem by only buying patterns that have
photographs on the cover, not drawings. Although I'm a well proportioned
size 6, the drawings on the pattern envelopes represent physical mutants
with legs the length of the Nile River and a waist the diameter of my
Quaker Oats box. They just aren't human. They're Barbie Dolls.
ANyway, just my $.02
;)
Maureen
Dawn Burgess
>Sewing Friends,
>
>What do you do to keep your interest? My first reaction is to
>start a new project, but
>I already have sooooo many started and all of them have stopped at a
>similar point...the hard stuff is done and the "easy" stuff
>yet to go. Your advice and support would really be appreciated.
Try taking a picture of the project in several stages of completion.
The incentive to take that last "finished" photo may be just the
push you need. Or maybe have a party in two weeks, and push to have
the new slipcovers in place by then. Or buy something to
match the new slipcovers (lampshade?) and put it in the livingroom
to goad you into finishing.
Good luck!
Dawn
C. Sundaresan
and finish one of these behemoths by setting subgoals that aren't too
big or too horrible. Part of what keeps me from confronting the big
finishing-up job is that it has become too big, in my mind. So I make
these little contracts with myself ... like this ...
"I will work on these curtains for 45 minutes tonight" and I set a timer.
After a few nights of such tactics I have broken through the resistance,
psychologically. Then working on the project for an hour or two is less
daunting. Before I started doing this, I had drapes hung and pinned together
for 8 months! It certainly was easier to live without most of my pins than
to contemplate spending a whole horrible weekend finishing the damn drapes.
I have even used REWARDS to myself, things like withholding the new
garden catalog for a good browse until the 45 minutes are up etc.
Note that these tactics only work if your project still has a reasonable
hope of turning out OK. There is no way to con yourself if the garment
or slipcover or whatever is really dreadfully misconceived. You are better
off to cut the cord on it and bag it, think about ways to use the fabric
for something else, recut it for doll clothes or whatever.
Chris Sundaresan O'Connor
Sue Ellen Adkins
: Sewing Friends,
: Well, I have reached that point (as I do with every project) where I am losing interest. I am working on a slipcover for my sofa. And while it is not _perfect_
: it is coming along better than I had hoped. Most of the sofa "body" is finished.
: I just need to attach the pleated skirt and make buttons and buttonholes. The hardest
: part is over (I think) and yet I just can't seem to find the perseverance (sp) in me to complete it. I still have to do all the cushions (2 seat, 2 back) and the throw pillows. I've spent two full weekends on the project so far and it looks like I ha
ve at least one more (possibly two) but I am rapidly losing interest.
: What do you do to keep your interest? My first reaction is to start a new project, but
: I already have sooooo many started and all of them have stopped at a similar point...the hard stuff is done and the "easy" stuff yet to go. Your advice and support would really be appreciated.
--------
What I've done is to allocate some time every day to the project.
I've found that 15-30 minutes works best. Of course, this works
better if you can keep the sewing area intact without having to
set up the machine every time. It will take you longer to finish,
but I've never found that doing it this way becomes a burden.
It also allows me to go on to other projects AFTER I've given my
time to the large one.
Good luck! Let us know when you finish them!
Sue Ellen
jody.oxley
In article <1994Mar2.0...@amoco.com>, kymci...@amoco.com (Keerthi Y. McIntosh) writes:
> Sewing Friends,
>
> Well, I have reached that point (as I do with every project) where I am losing interest. I am working on a slipcover for my sofa. And while it is not _perfect_
...
> What do you do to keep your interest? My first reaction is to start a new project, but
> I already have sooooo many started and all of them have stopped at a similar point...the hard stuff is done and the "easy" stuff yet to go. Your advice and support would really be appreciated.
>
>
> Thanks,
>
> Keerthi McIntosh
> zky...@amoco.com
>
>
Do you have a sewing friend that you could get together to sew with? My
friend Robin and I try to get together every couple of months to have a
sewing afternoon. It provides encouragement for each of us to complete
projects, and often we are able to help each other if we have questions
about what we're working on. Our next S & B session (Stitch & Bitch) is
in a couple of weeks. Robin is working on an Amish quilt, and I have a
summer outfit to sew up for my daughter, and a couple of dresses to cut
out.
Hope this helps!
jody oxley
jox...@ihlpm.att.com
SALLY BOARDMAN
slipcover in "one swell foop!" I'd call in sick (sick of having
that unfinished project hanging over my head) and spend the
day getting it done. I don't do it very often, _maybe_ a couple
of times per year, but sometimes the pressure just builds up. I
guess it's my type of Mental Health Day.
Good luck.
SallyB
P.S. When I was a kid, we had lengths of fabric wrapped around
our sofa cushions for a LONG time! - seems like 2 years,
although that could be wrong. My mother got me to do alot
of the hand sewing to finish projects (so I would have something
to wear), but I didn't know how to make slipcovers. :)
PENG GRACE
>Well, I have reached that point (as I do with every project) where I am losing interest.
>What do you do to keep your interest? My first reaction is to start a new project, but
>I already have sooooo many started and all of them have stopped at a similar point...the hard stuff is done and the "easy" stuff yet to go. Your advice and support would really be appreciated.
funny you should mention it. i was going through my fabric stash when i
found a jacket that i started in 1985! i had put it away because i was
frustrated with it for one reason or the other, but when i found it
again, i immediately fell in love again with the color and fabric. i
finished it in one night.
i was making a suit when my interest flagged. i enlisted the help of a
sewing friend and we finished it in one day. perhaps if you could find
someone who is also interested in sitting on your newly slipcovered
couch to help?
also, we bought a 5 cd/laserdisk player and 4-5 hours of continuous
music helps speed up the sewing.
good luck
grace
wyl...@csos.orst.edu
Keerthi Y. McIntosh <kymci...@amoco.com> wrote:
>I already have sooooo many started and all of them have stopped at a similar point...the hard stuff is done and the "easy" stuff yet to go. Your advice and support would really be appreciated.
Have a lots of projects in various stages. I reached a point once after
talking with a friend of mine who paints, where I came to understand that
creative energy ebbs and flows as much for me as it does for someone who
works in any other medium. Once I could just "be" with this, I found that
I learned some important stuff about myself by looking at what the energy
was when I applied myself to any given project. I don't worry anymore
about how many projects I have going at one time, or how long I leave
them before I pick them up again. My friend who paints does the same
thing, as does my friend who writes, my friend who works in wood, etc.
Also, my friends who don't do anything, don't get ANY projects done.
So, as long as I see myself (and my projects) in the proper perspective,
it feels "right". As long as I see myself in the perspective of
what I "should" do, I feel guilty and uncomfortable. I find that when
I just let go and trust my instincts, I get MORE projects done and
often they take off in directions I hadn't planned...directions that
are ultimtely more satisfying to me.
So, maybe it's not a matter of having unfinished projects be a "bad"
or "undesirable" thing, but rather just putting them in the proper
perspective, and enjoying being a person who is evolving and changing.
wyldwmn
Elaine Jackson
(neat stuff omitted)
>I've solved a bit of this problem by only buying patterns that have
>photographs on the cover, not drawings. Although I'm a well proportioned
>size 6, the drawings on the pattern envelopes represent physical mutants
>with legs the length of the Nile River and a waist the diameter of my
>Quaker Oats box. They just aren't human. They're Barbie Dolls.
Or use the Burda patterns, designed for human women who live on this actual
planet.
I presume everybody has thought of swapping "most-hated-job" piles with a friend
who, for instance, doesn't hate doing hems. Do it on your (hahaha) lunch hour?
Or, if the garment is o.k. in other ways, but just hung up on a last step, why
not pay some deserving craftsperson to finish it up? You'd then get some nice
new clothes, just for the cost of a hem! ;^) Well, it would seem like it,
anyway. And with color, fabric, etc., *just to your taste*!
Elaine Jackson
I bet UNC doesn't like to do hems, either, but these are my opinions only
Anne Paulson
> What do you do to keep your interest? My first reaction is to
start a new project, but
> I already have sooooo many started and all of them have stopped
at a similar point...the hard stuff is done and the "easy" stuff yet
to go. Your advice and support would really be appreciated.
Other people have made great suggestions. In particular, I like the
idea of getting together with a friend for a "Let's finish those
projects" day. Maybe we should schedule local alt.sewing days?
I have the same problem as Keerthi. I cannot say I am
perfectly successful (I have one polar-fleece sweater half cut out, two
pairs of pants and a play cape cut out but not sewed, two quilt tops
finished but not quilted, a wool pantsuit all but finished, and a quilted
wallhanging partly quilted- and of course hundreds of yards of fabric
and dozens of patterns waiting to be done) I have gotten lots of
things finished.
I use two tricks. One is to work to a deadline. I
got lots of sewing done before Christmas, because I was working on
presents that *had* to be done. The other technique I use is lists.
I make a list of the next few steps I want to do on whatever projects
I'm working on. The steps are small: Cut out contrast fabric, put in
zipper, thread serger, wind bobbins, alter shoulders of pattern, apply
ribbing to cuffs, for some examples. When I have a little time, I do
one or two things and cross them off. It doesn't seem overwhelming,
because they are such small things, and I get great satisfaction in
crossing them off.
-- Anne
Susan Todhunter - (JWT)
>What do you do to keep your interest? My first reaction is to start a new project, but
>I already have sooooo many started and all of them have stopped at a similar point...the hard stuff is done and the "easy" stuff yet to go. Your advice and support would really be appreciated.
When I reach a really sticky point with a project, I put it away for awhile.
"Awhile" can mean months, but I usually reach a point where I WANT to go
back to it.
Maybe you could put this project away for a bit, and pick up one of your
other unfinished pieces. It sounds like you enjoy the challenging parts,
and lose interest when it comes to the easy part, but think of the satis-
faction you'll feel when your projects are completely finished!
Good luck.
Susan
Lara J Allen
gosh....I'll put it aside for a while & work on some other
unfinished projects.
i recently finished a quilt (lover's knot) because I
was "guilted" into it. I'd left it lying in the living
room for about 7 months. I'd asked my fiance to clean
up all of his boxes & stereo components. He did half
& then put his foot down & said "FINISH THE QUILT before
I do any more cleaning." So, this weekend I finished
the quilt & it was promptly Cat Tested and Cat
Approved.
As for clothing, I tend to put it aside when I get
frustrated. Then to get motivated, I look at
the patterns & dream of what I want to make. Plus,
I don't let myself buy any more fabric or clothes
until one thing gets done.
And I keep lots of books around & thumb through
them when I want motivation.
just my thoughts
lara
--
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------
/\ /\ | la...@sgi.sgi.com (Lara Allen) (415) 390-1609
. . |--------------------------------------------------------------
= = |Silicon Graphics Customer Support Division
Leslie Blitman
side is to listen to music. For some reason listening on a personal headphone
set helps the work to go faster, at least for me most of the time. I've
also heard (but haven't tried yet) that listening to those books on tape
helps.
Leslie
ra...@netcom.com
Mary Wilson
>I presume everybody has thought of swapping "most-hated-job" piles with a
>friend
>who, for instance, doesn't hate doing hems. Do it on your (hahaha) lunch
>hour?
I like the idea of swapping disliked (sewing) chores with friends who
view them as adored tasks. Yes, I think I'll share that idea with my two
best sewing buddies.
A friend of mine has an idea for three of us to go away one weekend
without hubbies or kids, simply to sew, eat, laugh, etc. We have gotten
together two-at-a-time, but not all three of us at once yet. We could
try out each other's machines. We all have sewing machines and sergers,
and I have a blind hemmer. One of us has a full-size folding table with
a rotary cutting mat, and we all use the pivot-and-slide fitting method.
---
* QMPro 1.50 42-5794 * Custer wore Arrow shirts...
Tina Rathbone
>One thing that seems to help with tasks that might be a little on the boring
>those books on tape
Yes! I seek out those Lillian Jackson Braun tapes wherever I can find
them in my local library system. P.G. Wodehouse is another favorite.
Tried to listen to the complete works of Machievelli but the reader's
voice was squeaky and wussy sounding!
Cheers, Tina
vpa...@cudnvr.denver.colorado.edu
Hi, I'm new to this group, but I had to put in my $.02. If you're looking for
a wonderful sounding voice, have you tried Patrick Stewart reciting "A
Christmas Carol?" That voice could make scrubbing grout a joy!
-Val
Helj{ M{ntyranta
<vpa...@cudnvr.denver.colorado.edu> wrote:
>Hi, I'm new to this group, but I had to put in my $.02. If you're looking for
>a wonderful sounding voice, have you tried Patrick Stewart reciting "A
>Christmas Carol?" That voice could make scrubbing grout a joy!
I never tried books on tape, but I usually listen to the radio while sewing.
The funny thing is, often when I wear the completed garment or even look at
scraps of the material, I remember the things I heard while making it. Thus,
I have dresses that recall priests telling of their religion, others that
remind me of a song... Does anyone else have this experience?
BTW, this is one of the nicest groups on Internet. I'm sure many Finns read
it, but so far I never saw anything sent in from Finland.
Have a nice day,
Heli
--
Heli M{ntyranta My ideas are candidates
Department of Translation Studies for others to entertain.
University of Tampere (Alan Peshkin 1985)
trh...@uta.fi
Sigrid E. Mortensen
when making it reversible? Since there will be an extra thickness of
(cotton) fabric at the sleeves, I think I should add something, but I
don't know how much (or how to go about it for that matter). The original
pattern is not lined; it just has facings, which, of course, I'll ignore
when I make it reversible.
Thanks for any help!
Sigrid.
Sal Spring
: The funny thing is, often when I wear the completed garment or even look at
: scraps of the material, I remember the things I heard while making it. Thus,
: I have dresses that recall priests telling of their religion, others that
: remind me of a song... Does anyone else have this experience?
Yes! And it's relief to hear that someone else does too!
Sal
Erica Duddy
: Does anybody have any guidelines for how much ease to add to a blazer
Threads magazine had an article about making a reversible
jacket. It was a couple of years back... but if you can find it
in the library, the article may help you. Good luck...
Erica