Priorities.
What do I really need to create? And what do I make myself because I can’t afford to buy it?
I asked myself this question last week, it came up during some of my creative process.
When it comes to creating, building, designing things I do get very overwhelmed at times, because I would like to learn every skill.
I want to work with wood, I want to know how to build with metal, sew of course… you name it.
Meanwhile some of those objects I would make because I know it wouldn’t be affordable for me, at the moment to buy it.
Meanwhile other things I make purely because I love the process, I enjoy creating them from the beginning until the end. Where sometimes I find myself in the middle of such a process, stopping what I do for a moment to admire the mess I created around me. Admiring the off cuts, the tools or the beauty of my sewing machine or that particular splash of paint that took its place there by accident.
While I am in the process of creating something I had a vision for, I love the esthetic of the process as much as the result.
Which is what I really want to do.
I don’t want to get distracted producing things for their outcome just because I couldn’t afford them. (at least I don’t want to set my focus there, nothing wrong with making myself instead of buying when I have the time)
With that idea in mind, I am working on my two-piece sweater set, using the fabric I printed last week.
Already printing the fabric was delightful. The blue paint all over the place, seeing the Lino print I carved on for so long gathering all over that bright red piece of material in front of me. Placing one pint after the other. I didn’t see the time pass.
After I printed and fixed the fabric, I had to start on the cutting.
I worked until I was too hungry and tired to keep going.
The other day I focused fully on the sewing.
Assemble all the different pieces.
What I thought to be a “few hours” job, ended up filling my whole day.
Nevertheless, I enjoyed it, enjoyed fixing every part that didn’t go according to plan.
Even though I couldn’t wait to wear the two-piece…
The sweater was done in the first part.
Quite easy.
And smooth.
Maybe it calmed me down, to already wear the sweater, while I was working on the second part.
The “trousers”.
Turns out the Leggins-pattern I used didn’t work for that fabric.
I thought it would be a lot stretchier.
It wasn’t.
Therefore, the trousers turned out too tight.
Which I tried to fix twice, by inserting a strip on the side.
Trousers fitted, or should I say at that stage I was just over it.
It was getting dark, and I just wanted to wear all of what I was working on.
Pretending the trousers weren’t too loose around my waist and ankles and too tight around my tights.
I acknowledged that now and will do some more fixing about the trousers.
Meanwhile the paint tinted the saddle of my bike blue.
And I am happy wandering around in the forest.
Not wearing black.
Being my own version of a red autumn tree.
Thank you all to stop by once more, I appreciate you! Have a lovely week!
(all photos are mine taken by me)