The other day I was talking to my other half about my sewing room, blahblahblah, anyway he said "I don't think you are a quilter, I think you just like to collect fabric", and I had to stop and think about it, recently I have been having a hard time getting into the sewing room ( a new sewing room mind you) and sitting there and completeing anything, I have many ideas and thoughts but nothing ever materilizes...I make a mistake and I have to pull it all out and do again and I find myself losing interest really quickly, I do like to sew and make pretty things, I am new to quilting and have made two quilts and some pillows but I do not know what my problem is, I have been struggling with my son lately but I am not going to blame him for my Inadequacies, I work all day and it takes an hour to get home, so by the time I get home I do not want to do anything,,,my mom would call it lazy and maybe I am...I am trying very hard not to convince myself I am not capable of doing this whole sewing thing, I love fabric, I love color, and I really do like to sew and create, so what in the world is wrong with me.... :cry:

Maybe you just need to give yourself a break, each of us get started at our own pace and it sounds like you have a lot of life getting in your way right now

couldn't resist putting the cheshire cat in when i saw your avatar. cute!

You are tired !

You have a lot going on so it is no wonder that you are having a hard time focusing . It is normal - do not add this stress to your plate :wink: maybe pick something small and fun - just for yourself and give that a try :lol:

Everyone goes into slumps - maybe just come here and enjoy until something strikes your fancy

AND we have great and not so great relationships with our rippers :roll: LOL

Many of us hit the wall occasionally... sometimes just petting and/or looking at our fabrics. It IS normal :D:D:D Maybe find a small project to get back in the swing? Sometimes I just make blocks... if they never get into a quilt? who cares? :D I enjoyed trying something new or different... maybe some day they will end up in a scrappy or a sampler... BUT I had some fun making them :D:D:D

Maybe you are tired!! I am retired and some days have a hard time to get myself going! Try just taking baby steps for a while. Plan some small project you can finish quickly and easily, like a table runner or some place mats. Don't give up on yourself. :P

I agree - you probably are tired - and so what if you don't
"do anything" with your fabric.

You might have the same problem that I have. I have intentions of working on some quilting project. But, I have to just take a quick peek at this forum to see if there is anything that I am missing. Two hours later, my quilting time is gone and I'm still peeking.

First of all evict all of those negative messages running in your head from your mother, sister, aunt, friend, lady in the market or anywhere else you (and I and most people) have collected them from. What you do and when you do it and how you do it is right for you and don't let anyone tell you diffrently. If you only have energy to sew 10 mins a day then that is what you should do. There is no right way and wrong way to sew. Sewing is something (I have found for me) that you need to be in the mood to do. If I force sewing I will screw it up every time. Relax, this is supposed to be fun. Maybe a glass of wine first.

Boy can I relate to that!

thanks for all the encouraging words, and you are all right maybe I am tired and when you are tired you make mistakes, hence having to pull the whole thing out...and I do hope that I can get back into it soon, because I do miss my fabric...LOL Hugs to you all....

i have the same problem except i'm really old (74) and when i get home i almost never feel like sitting at the sewing machine. most of my sewing is on saturday. i do embroidery or some other hand work while in my recliner. give yourself a break, mother, working outside home, son, husband, etc. have fun but don't beat up on yourself.

Give yourself a break from thinking and do something easy to get back in the swing. Choose an easy pattern that doesn't require a lot of focus to cut or sew. Pick up a couple of charm packs and sew a lap quilt or wall hanging. I too am easily distracted. I save the complicated stuff for when I'm home alone (which isn't often). Once I've got projects cut and bagged, it's easier to sit down and sew a few pieces. :)

I agree. I think you have a lot of things going on it your other life (besides quilting), and it affects your hobbies, the things you take pleasure in. It can be a sign of overload. Anything you can do to change around your regular activities? Does your husband give you support?

I try to set small goals. Then when I go to bed at night instead of beating myself up for what I didn't do that day, I congratulate myself on what I've accomplished. Even if the list is small it makes me feel better about myself.

Ditto!

Seems like good advice!

I understand for different reasons I have been the same.. but have you thought of hand sewing, I find watching the television and hand sewing very relaxing, don't plan too much just grab some fabric, whatever tools you need and off you go, doesn't matter what it is, then maybe you will find like I did that the inspiration comes to go in your room and get planning. No rush it is to be enjoyed. I found it helped to ease other problems in my life too.

nothing is wrong with you-quilting is an art form-you have to feel it.sometimes I go a long time without sewing and then boom and I can't stop.you have to feel ready and creative and it is normal to have lulls

I agree with everyone.Your tired after working all day.
You should see my sewing room.I think i'm a fabric hoarder i buy,i buy and then i can't cut the fabric.

I agree with all of the replies but I would stop buying fabric for awhile and just relax. It is not a job, it is a pleasure. When I am stuck I look for a small project not a king size quilt. Then I play with my fabric a while by putting it in little groups. I walk in and out of the room and something will speak to me. I love doing baby quilts because they are small, cute and appreciated. But don't make yourself do anything creative.

Sounds like a normal artist. Maybe clean/organize your room in small intervals like 15 minutes a day and then work on do able projects 15 minutes a day. Sometimes you need to succeed in order to get motivated again. Sounds like you have a lot going on. I have lots of children so I definitely go through phases like that.

November and December are months filled with stress. You might need to put sewing aside and concentrate on the holidays for now. You don't have to sew every single day, especially when you have other things on your mind.

I have the same problem sometimes, I work also and a hour drive, when I get home it's like, "don't talk to me". I try to work on a quilt (easy quilt) for about an hour. sometimes it 10 minutes, sometimes after I get started it turns in to 2 hours. What is hard to do is to start a new and challanging quilt when you are tired. Go at your own pace and do only what you want.

I made a mess of the way I had sewn on log cabin blocks for a quilt for my DD. I left it in. Sometimes that is OK too.

Not a darn thing is wrong with you. Been there, done (or not done as the case may be ) that and bought the T-shirt.

I haven't read all of the answers yet, so someone may have already brought this up. Is your sewing room a room that you enjoy going in to? Would you go in there just to relax? How easy is it to work in? Are the colors of the wall relaxing or conflicting?

Now that my kids are grown and living on their own, I use one of their rooms for sewing and the other will be used for my quilting frame. I noticed that I really enjoy going into my sewing room. I have a tv in there, plenty of light, the color of the wall is a great color of yellow (relaxing but yet not too relaxing where I don't want to work). Sometimes I go in there, put something in the dvd player and just sew. Other times I go in there to fold clothes or to work on bills. It is my getaway. laughing...I can close the door and forget about all of the other work I have to do in the house.



Take a look at your room and check it out to see if it is a room that you enjoy going into.

I'm in a similar place with exhaustion at the end of the day, coupled with my own ADD and distractability. What I've been doing this week to work my way back into sewing is to wash the new fabrics, press the cut ones and the blocks that got wrinkled at the bottom of the pile, and hopefully will actually cut a few strips tonight. Last night I decided that it was not safe for me to handle a cutter so read a book instead.

Cheers, K

I have been a fabric collector for many years!

That's a long day with out the Quilting, don't be hard on yourself over producing, not like it's another job.
Take on small projects, potholders, runners, lap throws, Baby blankies, even if you don't need them right now, or it's for something now, later will feel good to thinks humm I have just the goodie for that :)
Of course can envite DH to join you might be fun?

How about repurposing your sewing room ~ call it your 'get away' room. Don't let what you haven't done get you down - reflect on all you have done each day. Take time for yourself, just sit and enjoy your fabrics - like you would art in a museum. Play some favorite music & get lost in yourself.

Trying to do things when we are stressed & tired just compounds the problems. Let yourself know it's ok to be a fabric collector at this point in your life. Time will change things I bet

I work full-time and have three kids...I know it is hard to find the time in the day to sew. I go through sperts where I don't sew much and then I make up for it. Usually when it starts getting cold outside, I just want to stay inside and sew. I get the most sewing done in the winter. Summer...I just want to be outside(as long as it's not too hot, then I'd rather stay inside in the a.c.) and don't get as much done.
Maybe you just need to take a break from sewing(just not too long, you might forget how to do it :) )and go back to it when you are ready. Your fabric will always be waiting for you. 8-)

You are a woman with many responsibilities, and sounds to me you have your priorities set correctly. Marriage, Child, Employer, Home, Shopping, Cleaning, Cooking... Sewing is your pleasurable past-time; a thing you do to relax. If you only sit down to it one hour a week, that's okay.

You would not feel pleasure or peace while working on a quilt when a child needs help with homework, and laundry is piling up. At the same time, you can go to your sewing room and ponder and putter when you need Down Time, Off Time, Me Time - without having to Produce. That's a blessing.

When the children were young, my sewing almost entirely was made up of making clothes curtains etc and a huge basket of mending which I used to do in front of TV in the evening with my feet up!! I also had to work on the kitchen table, no other space was available to me. I also worked part time.
Now that the kids have grown up I find I have more time to myself, I have the spare room to spread out a bit and leave my work out. My priorities changed once the kids left home.
I have also found that when you are tired is not a good time to begin new projects and that with any creative hobby you have peeks of creativity and troughs of down time, that is the very nature of being a creative person.
If I am too tired to actually sew I like to tidy my work space and set things up for when I can get back to my sewing machine. I am also not a fast sewer so my output is not the same as other people, do not be so hard on yourself that is what I am saying, we are all different!

Gal

It can a combo of many things..all of which I have experienced...peri-menopause, menopause...can contribute to the inability to focus or concentrate, or stay on task...depression sometimes makes you feel very tired and unmotivated...stress, responsibilities, worries, lack of sleep...life in general can have rough patches...be kind to yourself, and take time to relax...

My other half is not here anymore to tell me that very same thing. I have had a lot of things to do outside of the house that has kept me from sewing as I want to, so to satisfy my desire to create something, I look for more stash to have to use in the ideas I'm thinking up and I'm thinking up more than I can probably ever do. One of these days, I may be selling some of my stash so the rest of you can share in my desires and create your own quilt.

All great advice...we all feel the same sometimes...just be kind to yourself. Sometimes we forget to do that!

Consider this. Go to the doctor. Have your vitamin D levels checked. I had stopped doing almost all my hobbies so I knew I had a problem. I asked to have it checked and it was VERY low. Now on a 1000mg pill, feeling better and better with each day.

I do a lot of "floundering", sitting in my sewing room staring at the wall, trying to decide what to do. I think that is pretty normal. Sometimes I just reorganize my sewing room and refold fabric that's a mess.

Like you, I work and I usually have a take a short nap when I get home to recharge my batteries.

When I do find a project I want to start I go whole hog on it and that's all I want to do and usually end up doing more than one.

So don't worry about it, you'll sew when you want to.