09:54
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I'm making another Forest Fairy Coat this morning. It's a big job.. it probably takes me 8-10 hours of work to make one, though it does get a little faster each time I do it. Less thinking. More sewing. Also, it goes much faster when I have all the components "in stock" and close at hand.
It gets me thinking about big projects. How many ideas do I get that never see the light of day because the size of the project is intimidating? Even hoodies, which I've made dozens of, sometimes sit in the sketchbook for months because I just can't find a way to dive into the project.. the whole thing is so big and unwieldy from the outside that I just can't get a handle on it.
My solution: Write down a set of instructions for myself. Nothing fancy. I grab a piece of paper or a white board pen and write a number 1 and then circle it. Then I write down the very first step. When problems arise, I simply write them down in the order in which I'll need to deal with them. It's not about SOLVING the problems at this stage, it's simply about identifying them. It might look something like:
1) Find a workspace
2) Get some more gromets
3) Trace pattern A onto some paper
4) Modify pattern A to become pattern B
5) Cut the pattern out
6) Design and do the embroidery
7) Assemble the sleeves
etc etc etc.
This takes all of 5 minutes and absolutely gives me a firm handle on the project. Suddenly it's all laid out before me in easy-to-follow steps, and if I get sidetracked or lost at any point, I can just look at my list and breathe a sigh of relief. Also, the further-down-the-line problems don't distract me since I can see that I don't have to figure out how to put that seam together until step number 12.
Without this list, I will simply not start the project at all because I don't know what the finishing embroidery pattern is going to be yet. This is some powerful stuff, yo.
It gets me thinking about big projects. How many ideas do I get that never see the light of day because the size of the project is intimidating? Even hoodies, which I've made dozens of, sometimes sit in the sketchbook for months because I just can't find a way to dive into the project.. the whole thing is so big and unwieldy from the outside that I just can't get a handle on it.
My solution: Write down a set of instructions for myself. Nothing fancy. I grab a piece of paper or a white board pen and write a number 1 and then circle it. Then I write down the very first step. When problems arise, I simply write them down in the order in which I'll need to deal with them. It's not about SOLVING the problems at this stage, it's simply about identifying them. It might look something like:
1) Find a workspace
2) Get some more gromets
3) Trace pattern A onto some paper
4) Modify pattern A to become pattern B
5) Cut the pattern out
6) Design and do the embroidery
7) Assemble the sleeves
etc etc etc.
This takes all of 5 minutes and absolutely gives me a firm handle on the project. Suddenly it's all laid out before me in easy-to-follow steps, and if I get sidetracked or lost at any point, I can just look at my list and breathe a sigh of relief. Also, the further-down-the-line problems don't distract me since I can see that I don't have to figure out how to put that seam together until step number 12.
Without this list, I will simply not start the project at all because I don't know what the finishing embroidery pattern is going to be yet. This is some powerful stuff, yo.
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