Lately, I have found myself feeling very unmotivated. My time off has been spent in staring at computer screens for hours, not working, not connecting, not accomplishing anything. It has become habitual rather than purposeful. The result is a fuzzy mind and a general bit of malaise.
The thing is I *know* how to fix this. I have learned enough to know that I respond well to writing, yoga, meditation, art and creating things. However, knowing is not doing. The doing is the hard part. Disconnecting from the internet long enough to write something on what is, at the moment, just an internet machine, or hauling out the old Singer seems more like work than a cure. So how to overcome this?
With a five minute craft, of course! Something so simple that will give me that sense of satisfaction I crave without having to plan my entire day around its execution.
I work (as many of you know) at a magical land called Spoonflower as a printer. This means that I see literally thousands of gorgeous prints every week. When a print catches my eye, sometimes I will order it in a fat quarter, even though I have no plan to make anything out of it. That is how I ended up with a piece of performance knit printed with Poppysplashes in my house.
It occurred to me that this print was beautiful enough to display on its own, without making it into anything other than what it was, a piece of art.
So five minute craft time: I took a medium sized embroidery hoop and fastened the fat quarter inside of it. After tightening the outer ring, as you would when using the hoop as normal, I simply trimmed off the excess fabric and I had a lovely piece to brighten up my living room.
In actuality, it took less than five minutes to accomplish, but I think I took a minute or two just to admire it hanging on my wall so I will count it.
Crafting is one of my soothing balms. It makes me happier whenever I finish a project and it spurs me to greater action. This is one of the many tricks I have learned, it isn’t about just doing the stuff that makes you feel good, it’s about finding the stuff that makes you feel good AND motivates you.
I have a few more projects that need to get started and I think I will start on one right now.
I'll Eat You Up, I Love You So 