Thursday's Thought: Progressing Towards Patience

This was our dinner last night, which we were able to eat on the porch in the amazingly lovely weather. All of the produce was either from our yard or from our fantastic CSA.

"I try to be flexible and place priority on the proper things but it always feels like a work in progress."
 —Becca, nutmegknitter.blogspot.com



That's the nugget, isn't it? It feels like there's this big pressure to settle ourselves, to get our ducks in a row, to tidy up our lives, to get things in order. But the truth of it is that achieving that orderly state is impossible for more than a few moments at a time. The little adjustments and changes and tweaks are ongoing—and in fact, they are what makes life interesting. So clearly to be able to consider life as a work in progress would probably make things a lot easier for a lot of us.

Except often times, we can't quite get ourselves there. Or at least, I know that I can't.



Take, for example, my efforts to clean the kitchen floor. Every weekend, I vacuum and wash the thing—our linoleum shows dirt like the dickens. And about an hour later, it's like my efforts never even happened. And you'd think that a gray floor would be helpful for camouflaging purposes but no, nope! Plus, when you have a garden as big as we do, and you're constantly prepping veggies that were in the ground not so long ago, dirt makes its way onto the floor. That is just a part of our life.

And somehow, this it still irritates me.

But, on the flip side, there is the plain fact that this way of living translates into us cooking a ton. Which means that we eat really, really well. And we are proud of that fact because we value our connection to the land (it seems like the least we can do in a state that is currently overrun with crop dusters) and our support of responsible farmers. So everyday I find that I am practicing my patience as I prepare dinner, balancing these two opposing ideas, doing my best to accept the situations for what they are—95% enjoyable, 5% frustrating.

Which at the end of the day, aren't such bad odds.

Self, please take note.


So this week I'm wondering:

How do you find patience in your daily life?
Or, what worries have you let go in favor of enjoying your life more?


P.S. Becca is this close to having baby #2 so let's send her all the happiest and speediest delivery thoughts we can, okay? Okay!

P.P.S. Blogger is doing funky things to my spacing in this post, just as an fyi.

Transitions, Focus, and the Search for Balance

 

I bought this lovely embroidery kit from Purl Soho in preparation for our honeymoon. Last year, I loved having a sewing project to work on in the car as we drove around Montana and Idaho and I completed most of the piece. This year, not so much.

Ever since the wedding, I've really not had the urge to make anything—other than dinner!

I know that this is probably a very rational response to the bevy of projects that I did for the wedding, but I can't help but think about a statement that I made to Josh in May or June: "If I ever stop making things, you'll know that something is really wrong with me." To which I now say, well, maybe not. Maybe I just need a break.

And I can say that my lack of sewing, embroidering, crocheting, or otherwise being crafty has opened up a whole world that I forgot about in the spring—the world of books. I've read close to ten books since our honeymoon and have so loved getting lost in the stories. There is something so decadent about reading a book in a matter of days, about really sinking into a story and being right there with the characters. I forgot how much I loved that fact, a fact which is so central to my being that it's why I chose to be an American Lit major in college.

So the books are helping, but to be very honest, my life is in transition. And I am learning (again) that transitions can often suck, requiring more patience than we're used to using in everyday life.

I probably mentioned it in passing in June, but with the close of ReadyMade magazine, I moved over to a different department at my company and am now working as a food editor. Which is awesome because I love food and working with recipe developers and writers. Give me a day on a photo shoot working on a lovely food story and I am a happy girl. But at the same time, it's taking me a while to process just how much has changed since a month ago. In some ways the timing of the job switch was great because I got a fresh start when I came back from the honeymoon. In others, it delayed my realizing that the job I had so enjoyed at ReadyMade—the responsibility, working with the writers that I did, having direct and constant feedback from our readers—was no longer there. I miss the community. A lot. They were really good company to my everyday.

Which I think is where the reading comes in. It's been very therapeutic to have something (books) to help me relax and just be as I readjust to the new state of my daily life. And it's helping me to hang on to some of the feeling that I had on our honeymoon of being able to focus, rather than of always having to multitask. That was a good feeling. Thankfully too, much about our lives haven't changed, and in fact have only gotten better. Marriage, one month in, is quite rad. We're solid, strong, engaged, invested, and perhaps sillier than we've ever been before. I think the amount of laughter that I've experience in the past month was probably the most I've laughed since I was a kid, which does impressive things for one's well-being.

But still, all of that is leaving me with a lot of questions. Over the past year or so—especially as I've been working on my So Pretty! Crochet book for Chronicle that features 12 incredibly talented women women (more on this project soon!)—I've become really interested in how other folks balance work with creative pursuits and their personal lives. How other people create their lives so that they personally feel like they are spending their time in meaningful ways. This has always been something that I've wondered because it seems crazy hard to keep it if you find that sense of meaning, and to find it in the first place. 

So as I sit here in my transition period, I have some questions for you.

How do you do balance it all? 

How do you make time for all of the competing facets of your lives in a way that works for you and/or your family?

Do you make time to craft or sew after the kiddos have gone to bed or after you get home from your day job? 

Do you work a more flexible schedule so that you have time for your family? 

Did you change jobs when you had kids? Did you change jobs to do something that was more of a passion?

And also, why do you put energy into making sure that you have your creative outlet- what drives you to maintain that element of yourself?

I want to hear about it all! I invite you to share because I think being more open about how we actually make our busy lives work will be a great comfort to creative women. Plus we might learn some helpful tips along the way.

Feel free to email me with your story at thingswemake [at] gmail [dot] com or simply post a comment here. If you are a maker, I'd also love to share some of your work, so do let me know if you have an etsy shop or a blog so that I can make sure to include that as well. Feel free to answer one question, all of them, or some combination in between.

I'm not exactly sure what form this content will take, but I do know that this is one of the biggest questions that I have for other women—and I am quite sure that I'm not the only one who is wondering this. So tell me, how do you make it all happen in a way that feels meaningful for you?

Creative Balance and Crochet: Ashley of Blackwell Studio

While it was cold and rainy last weekend, I went through my stash of yarn to see what was hiding in there that I'd forgotten about—as it is the season to knit and crochet after all! And after getting in the mood for yarn, I had to share some of this work from Ashley of Blackwell Studio. It's chunky and cozy looking, sweet and slightly sassy. She's got some great advice to share about creative balance. Enjoy!

Name: Ashley Nunez
Site/Shop: etsy.com/shop/BlackwellStudio
Maker of: crochet slippers, hats, and scarves

Why crochet?
When I first started crocheting I liked it because it kept my hands busy and it was good to pass the time, now I love it because I get to create such wonderful pieces that are handmade by my hands, they are unique, and they are the designs that I love & choose! It's also such a great feeling to touch, hold, and watch something come together that had only begun as a skein of yarn and a needle.

How do you find balance between your creative self and everyday life?
I balance it by being scheduled, but yet I try not to force myself to crochet just because it is the day or time to crochet..I try to keep to my schedule but if I'm not feeling creative I don't want to push it. I don't want to lose the passion, desire, and fun that come with crocheting. So when there is a moment I am feeling extra creative I try to put that first and feed it so I don't lose that drive and ambition...My day job, though more demanding, is quite flexible which allows me to sometimes put crocheting first.

Where do you find your inspiration?
I find it mostly through colors. I LOVE colors! Anything bright, bold, and cheery I am usually drawn to. My creations tend to be very colorful and the spring and summer seasons make it very easy for me to fill that need! I also love the autumn and winter seasons because I can get more into the earthy neutral colors that offer much diversity and beauty. I also love to create things that are bigger, chunkier, and make a statement which is particularly easy in the colder time of the year. So my creations tend to always have an extra pizazz or pop of some sort added to them...I also have a huge soft spot for the more simple and elegant creations which will slip in to my shop from time to time..

Baby Quilt: Done and Done! (With a Preview of My Next Project)

After getting home from work early enough to do a Friday night dinner and movie (saw Eat Pray Love, thought the book was way better...more time to understand the motivation for change), the weekend felt blissfully and properly long.


On Saturday we hit the farmers market to check out a potential wedding band, and get some farm fresh goodies, I gave the house a deep clean, and we started on the beginnings of major changes to the lawn in the backyard. Which meant moving a lot of rocks. And Sunday I baked, cooked ahead for the week (black beans, wheat berries to go into a chopped salad for lunches, a big jar of salsa to be used with baked chicken, and two loaves of quick bread for breakfast Friday—two of my best friends will be in town, I'm hosting breakfast club that morning AND it's Josh's bday). We also took a long bike ride and sat on the couch with homemade popcorn and Mad Men.


And...
I finished the baby quilt.

Hooray!
Both because it's a big accomplishment—I proved to myself that a gifted quilted item does not need to take a year of my life to be thoughtful—and it means I get to start on a project for myself.

A few months ago, I picked up four vintage quilt blocks while visiting nyc. I love them and have been thinking of how to use them ever since. Once I painted the guest room/office, I realized that they would be a somewhat bold, but not overwhelming addition, in the form of a quilted wall hanging to serve as a headboard. I spent some time at the fabric store and got an assortment of fabrics to go with them. It might take me some time to settle on exactly how I want to design this, but I love how well it all goes with the wall color.

And that my friends, was my weekend. We packed a lot in, but I also got three lovely nights of sleep and feel ready to start another week.


P.S. Since I've been so interested in balance lately, I'm going to start a new Wednesday series where I profile a crafty person, tell a little about their work and include a tidbit of advice for achieving work/creative work/life balance. If you would like to share, please drop me a line at thingswemake [at] gmail [dot] com.