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northbound_gw

Looking for old info

northbound
17 years ago

I've been a lurker on this forum for a couple of years and have just recently gotten around to posting a bit on the quilting forum. The question of planning, starting, and finishing a project has come up a couple of times there. I think it was on this forum that the job of organizing craft materials came up. There was a very interesting post from someone who had come to realize that she had a gift for coming up with new ideas for a project, but not for completing it. So she would make notes, sketches, whatever of her inspirations and keep those. I think she ended up getting rid of her craft supplies after she realized that they were just clutter for her. Or something like that. The post was maybe a year ago, but I can't find anything in the old posts--it may be too old. Does anyone remember this? I'll post my question over on the crafts forum as well.

Sharon C.

Comments (6)

  • Maura63
    17 years ago

    Sharon --

    I don't have time to help y ou "look" at the moment, but perhaps a forum search may yield the thread you are looking for??

    Good luck!

    Here is a link that might be useful: Look here....

  • northbound
    Original Author
    17 years ago

    Thanks for responding so quickly, maura63. I did several searches using words that I thought had been in the post. I'm hoping that the person who wrote about her epiphany would see this.

    Sharon C.

  • Marsha_OK
    17 years ago

    Sharon, I think I remember it. I believe that it was Talley Sue who said something like she liked the "idea" of and planning and organizing of the craft more than the actual "execution" of it. I remember thinking "that sounds like me". Since then, I have dumped a lot of half finished projects that I had been feeling guilty about spending the amount of time and $$ I had and not finishing it. I gave myself permission to get rid of them, and now they are not an issue. I just had to get smart enough to realize that my interest wasn't in the finished product, just the initial process. If I'm not remembering right, someone correct me.

  • talley_sue_nyc
    17 years ago

    That does sound like a post I made once.

    I finally decided the part that was fun was the pipe dream. And that it was OK.. I wasn't required to do all the stuff that I thought of. Crafts, home improvements, etc. (Kids get to play "pretend," why can't I, LOL!)

    I love saying, "gee, if you cut a piece of wood and installed it there, you could have a neat shelf," but it was OK not to actually DO it.

    Right now I'm saying, "wouldn't it be neat to learn to crochet, and make a yellow thermal blanket out of cotton yarn, just the size I want? I wonder what stitch would give the right amount of air spaces?" But I'm not going to go buy yarn, and a crochet hook, etc. I might even ask someone at the Crocheting forum, or flip through a crochet book. I might talk to my friend the knitter about whether knitting would be better, etc. But I won't actually DO it--and I won't have any GUILT about not doing it.

    I spent as much time planning, investigating, dreaming, discussing, etc., as pleases me. THAT is my leisure.

    And now that I've stopped myself from BUYING all the doodads and stuff that I would use for the craft project, or the sneato little way of modifying the store-bought whatever to do exaclty what I wanted it to do (sewing on curtai rings, or whatever), I have a lot more room, and a lot less guilt.

    I don't spend lots of time and KEEP the drawings, etc., but I feel free to MAKE them, if I'm so inclined. And I also feel free to toss them, just the way I'd flip through a catalog, admire stuff and think about buying it, and then just toss the thing without ever ordering.

    I probably went on for much longer in that original post.

    And Marsha, I'm so tickled that you got something useful out of it!

  • talley_sue_nyc
    17 years ago

    I was thinking about it this morning--comparing it to window-shopping.

  • northbound
    Original Author
    17 years ago

    Thanks, talley sue, that was the post. What made me think of it was a thread started by a person on the quilting forum who had never finished a project. I thought perhaps that she was like you--a gifted creator/planner--but as the thread ran on, it appeared that her problem might have been a space to work in. She is close to getting that, and time will tell if that was the problem. Several people mentioned in the thread that they had trouble finishing projects as well, so maybe this is fairly common. I admired your ability to realize that, for at least the time being, you could find happiness in putting a boundary on your creativity.

    Sharon C.

    Here is a link that might be useful: quilting forum thread