After taking some time at the start of last month to really step back and look at the bigger picture of my life, I was in a position to be able to amend my course to stay truer to the things that I want for myself, and the lifestyle that I want to cultivate. Taking that time to reset, I saw where I was struggling to make progress in the areas where I had things that I wanted to achieve. I could see that there was an awful lot of intention, but what was missing was the action that would actually take me forward. Having the intention without the action felt like I was getting nowhere, that my goals were unattainable, and that I was failing.
It was a pivotal moment for me, when I adjusted my mindset and my attitude toward my goals. Instead of feeling like I was nowhere near where I wanted to be, I started taking small actions, each of which would get me just a little bit closer, and each of which would feel like a mini-win in itself. And one of the areas that I did this was in my creativity.
Since the start of the year I’ve been saying that I want to be more creative. Creativity, in many forms, has been a part of my life for as long as I can remember, but it’s something that I felt like I’d lost a little over the past couple of years, and something that I wanted to get back. But I’d found myself constantly thinking of things that I wanted to do, without actually taking any action to get them done. Over the past month and a half, though, I’ve been planning in small, manageable steps, that bring more elements of creativity into my life, with one firm rule – go slow. I’m refusing to tell myself that things have to be created within a certain time frame. I won’t put myself under pressure, because when creativity starts to feel stressful, it’s not fun anymore, and that goes entirely against the point of it all.
So far I spent the whole of March writing (approximately) one thousand words every day, and I’ve been slowly sewing myself a classic white shirt, taking the instructions one step at a time. But now, I’m looking forward to the projects I want to undertake for Spring.
One of the first things I want to do is knit a cotton vest. If you’ve seen my patterns, you’ll know there are a few cropped cotton vests and tees in there, which informed my Spring and Summer wardrobe choices last year, but I feel like I’m missing something longer-line. I love throwing on a pair of jeans and a top, and there’s something comfortable about a vest that sits around-about the hips, but I want to make it sleek and elevate it from the standard casual look. I can’t decide if I want to make it black or white yet, but either way it’ll be the kind of thing that fits with everything else in my wardrobe.
I also want to sew up some napkins. For a while now I’ve been committed to reducing my waste in the ways that I can, opting for solid, package free soap, shampoo, conditioner and deodorant, and ditching plastic wherever I can, but one thing that we use a lot is kitchen roll. We usually clean with cloths, but use kitchen roll to wipe our fingers whenever we’ve got a meal to eat with our hands. To combat that wasteful habit, I want to sew some simple linen napkins to use instead, which will also be a really nice touch when people come over for dinner. I’m planning to make them in a mid-dark grey to match our dining chairs.
In re-evaluating my wardrobe, I’ve been able to understand where my needs will be as the seasons change and the weather gets warmer, and I’ve spotted some gaps that I’m hoping to fill with items that I can sew myself. One of those things is a midi-length shirt dress that I think will be perfect for the Summer. I’m planning to make a black one, with short sleeves and a belt to cinch in the loose and casual silhouette. I’m also toying with the idea of making a pair of culottes. I’ve never owned a pair, and for a long time I didn’t have any interest in them at all, but I think they might make a great, comfortable and hopefully cool addition to my Summer wardrobe. In my head, I look really cool wearing a pair of black culottes with a loose white tee and my newly acquired white Veja trainers, but I just don’t know whether that would translate to real life! In order to test the vision, I’m planning to go culotte-trying on the high street, seeing how different styles fit and whether I can see myself wearing them, before I invest in actually making a pair.
Finally, I want to make something with the gorgeous Woolly Mahoosive yarn I was gifted for my birthday back in January. I’m currently torn between making a blanket / runner for the bed in the guest room, or a footstool / pouffe for the lounge. Either way, I’m so excited to work with it!
Having a solid idea of the things that I want to make over the next few months is so good for fuelling that creative part of myself. I’ll be noting down the small actions that I can take to progress with each of these projects in my Passion Planner, so I know that I’ll be taking steps forward consistently, and it will be realistic that I’ll be able to achieve all of the things that I want to. Have you got any project plans for the upcoming season? I’d love to know what you want to be creating!