I have decided to post my best items. I am donating all of the quilts that I made as practice and am looking for an appropriate local charity, probably Inn from the Cold, Calgary's local homeless shelters. Winter is coming and quilts will come in handy, heaven knows warmth is something that many will go without this season. I am feeling better already , decision made...
I have really struggled with the business end of my shop. It is hard for me to have an objective opinion about my own quilts, i have some fears regarding this whole endeavor. My internal dialogue is conflicted; one minute i believe i am under value- ing my work and then i am plagued with more negative self talk that goes a little like- my work is not good enough, i am asking myself, if the quality in the craftmanship is up to par, of course the first few quilts i made are nothing like what i can make today as far as quality, i learned how to sew a straight line, or i should say , i started the process of learning barely 2 years ago, i am in my second year now.. I have not yet made myself a quilt yet, instead i have busied myself with making gifts for my family, last count was 5 quilts for my mom, both my kids, a special aunt and my grandparents. I kept all these quilts simple and was happy with each of them. I am a perfectionist, i have had to make an effort in overcoming this defect of character as it has gotten in my way during life plenty of times. Perfectionism keeps me challenged as one can always improve, which is not such a bad thing over all, however when it robs you of pride in accomplishment or joy of completion it has gotten the better of you, and is no longer a positive motivator but rather a subtle enemy that if personified you would ban from hearth and home due to their abusive nature.
I struggle with balance, finding a happy medium, i wish i could see my quilts through the eyes of a few dozen different individuals so that i could view it objectively, more important, i wish to recognize the value of my own craftmanship and hold on to the love, inspiration, excitement and thought that went into each project, and let that be enough. I guess i am seeing the differences between gifting and selling and hope that i can find some pleasure in the selling department. Would it not be great to be able to earn some money by doing something you love, using creativity ever day in your work? The slight possibility of this is enough reason for me to plug on, when i start doubting myself or my work and start considering slashing my prices to the point where i am paying for the privilege to give my hard work away, i hope i can come back here and take a breath, and remember that all greatness is birthed through some not so greatly moments, to persevere and hang on, maybe one day someone will read this😉 and be able to relate. I am feeling a little lost in blog land and on etsy, like i am in anew place and struggling to find my way around, i dont know the language and am finding a lot of threads that claim to be directions but in fact leave me a little confused. I have found some good advice as far as the blog is concerned and that was to stay true to yourself and hang in there, try to be consistent, have patience as you will eventually get more traffic once you have a bit of a consistent history and you are for sure sticking around. I believe that all efforts are rewarded in time in some way or another, one door closes a window opens, let it be.
No comments:
Post a Comment