In Mon Petit Atelier

About a week ago, I cleaned my studio. I didn’t actually sew anything then, but I sorted and straightened. I took stock. Since then I’ve been fighting Resistance. Steven Pressfield talks about this foe in his book War of Art. Basically it’s that thing that keeps you from doing what you need to be doing as an artist. You resist making art due to things like fear or doubt. It’s when you actually opt to clean the bathroom to avoid sewing (or writing or painting or whatever.) This past week, I was getting a lot of other things crossed off my to-do list, but not any sewing.

Then, over the weekend, after I took the above photo, I set my laptop up down here in my studio, sandwiched right there in between my serger and sewing machine. I hoped just being in here more would inspire me. (I’m not sure if it’ll stay here though. It wasn’t my original intention to have a computer in here. We didn’t have wi-fi when I remodeled this room and I dreamed of having a place just to create, forced away from all other distractions. That’s my main worry—that it’ll be a distraction, that I’ll chose pinning over pinning, so to speak. Yet, I have a notion to turn this into more than a studio, morph it into a multipurpose haven. I’d love a comfy chair in the corner. And place to sketch and paint again. And yes, perhaps a little place for my laptop. It’s such a small space though, so I’ll just have to wait and see.)

Anyway, finally on Wednesday, I did it. You could hear the hum of the sewing machine, smell the heat of the iron. I sewed something! (Once I hem it, I’ll share photos.) I don’t mean to be cliché here, but it really is like riding a bike—a little awkward at first but soon you find your balance and are cruising along.

Part of why Resistance is so strong right now is the sheer volume of projects and ideas I have on my work table and in my head. It’s overwhelming. I don’t know where to begin. I’ve narrowed it down to a few projects that are almost near completion. I’m hoping finishing projects will be reward enough to fuel this spark and keep me burning.

Do you deal with a lot of “Resistance” in your life? How do you fight it?

And where do you create? Does the space serve more than one purpose? Out of choice or necessity?

Most nights when I go to sit down in front of the computer to type up a post, my brain goes to mush. The busy day catches up with me and my body just wants the comfy chair in the family room and my mind wants silly TV. With that said, I’m sorry for letting your comments linger in my inbox. I also have a ton of unread posts in my reader. Just like with my projects, it’s overwhelming so I avoid it altogether. I’m hoping for a little downtime to get caught up. Do know that I appreciate you visiting and commenting.

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How To Grow A Woman From The Ground.

I’ve decided to share a little garden-chic look from Friday when I went out to pick some beans. I have outfit photos from oh, about a month ago but this one seems more fitting right now. I hope you are all having a lovely weekend.

Details:
Dress – self-made
Shoes – Keds

Title Inspiration: Chris Thile – How To Grow a Woman From the Ground

Yarn Along

Since my last update, I have done a few rounds of my top. Yes, literally, just a few. I haven’t found a way to fit knitting in. I’m either at work or working here at home—keeping up with the garden and house stuff. And when I do sit down to relax, I hate to admit I tend to spend that time in front of screen of sorts.

Link up your Yarn Along for this week here!

When I took up knitting back in September, I swore I would stick with projects that whipped up quickly (so I didn’t get bored) and only do one at a time (starting more than I finish is one of worst habits with sewing.) I’m afraid I’ve already broke the first rule and I’m pretty sure I’m going to break the second soon too, as I hope to get started on socks to have them completed by the yule time season.

I’m almost done with Quiet. Then I’m hoping to fit some light reading in. It looks pretty overwhelming (and perhaps I’m deluding myself that it isn’t?) but most are books just to “flip through” which sounds a bit more fitting for my current schedule. They include:
Canning For a New Generation
An Illustrated Life
Keeping Chickens
A Householder’s Guide to the Universe
Appetite for Reduction
I eat a lot of Stonyfield yogurts. Eventually I decided to plug in the codes on the top of the container and start acquiring reward points. Oddly enough it didn’t take too long to reach a reward that has been long on my wish list: a subscription to Martha Stewart Living. The issues for June, July and August all arrived on Monday. I’m going to enjoy flipping through them (and future ones in the next year.)

(PS: Here is a link to a coupon for $2 off any three Stonyfield products.)

Mini Patchwork Chevron Block Tutorial

Hello all,
I can’t believe it took me all day to get this post up. I just couldn’t seem to get my bum in gear. I was on the computer (finally starting to visit some of your blogs!) a little today but somehow never put together this tutorial! Well, here it is. Hope you enjoy it. (Click the image above to be taken to the tutorial.)
For more of the Mini Patchwork Quilt Tutorial Series, check out here.

(I’ll be back tomorrow night to pick the winner for the giveaway and to share my weekly finds.)

Mini Patchwork Spider Web Block Tutorial.

The next block in the Mini Patchwork Sampler Quilt Series is the Spider Web Block. It’s a fun block and uses some itty bitty scraps. Instead of making a long post here on my blog I’ve decided to whip up a Google document. And you can easily print it if you need to. Just click the photo above to access it!