Ever had a looming project deadline, but you find yourself unable to move forward because something else is literally in the way? Mental or physical clutter that has brought your creative energies to a screeching halt? For me, it came in the form of a pro bono project that literally took over my sewing room.
My main sewing machine was threaded and dedicated to the project we were working on. Parts of the project were scattered around my sewing room in various stages of completion. Adding to my frustration was the fact that the part of the process that was holding everything up should have been completed a few weeks earlier, thus freeing up my sewing space (and my mind) to complete my quilt for hire project well in advance of the customer’s deadline. Life has a funny way of derailing the best laid plans. Crazy schedules of those involved. Challenging fabrics. Not enough experience with this particular type of project. You get the picture.
The looming quilt deadline is what finally prompted me to take action. I gathered up all of the pro bono project materials and put them together in one location. I cleaned up the studio while I pondered how to solve a problem with the pro bono project that was holding up the works. Sunday morning, I sat at the sewing machine and just dealt with it. My solution wasn’t the most glamorous, but surprisingly, it did work. At that moment, the dam burst and my creative mojo was back.
That Sunday afternoon, my pro bono project collaborators left with part of the project completed and the segments that they could complete outside of my studio over the next two weeks.
I worked like a mad woman, but managed to get the full-size t-shirt quilt mosaic completed in less than 10 days. The customer was THRILLED with her quilt and will happily refer my services to others. “A couple of my friends ordered tshirt quilts from online companies that turned out to be crap. Yours are SO much better.” I was happy to hear this because there IS a difference in quality. You do get what you pay for. And she willingly paid a fair price for the amount of work involved to make the quilt to her specifications.
Now that the studio has been cleaned yet again, it’s times for Easter egg placements for me and a memory pillow/wedding hanky gift for a coworker. Then on to the next quilt project.
Come Stitch With Me, LLC 