Thank you Nursie for your thoughts and prayers. I pulled fabric out of my statch but not sure it's him. Maybe I'll shop the sales this weekend. Thank you for your encouragement.
Thea

when i get that way..i usually do one of two things and sometimes both....i either buy a few quilting magazines..maybe 3-5 and that gets me going ,,or i visit my lqs and that usually does it for me...otherwise if that doesnt work ..sometimes you just need a break..make a blouse or a purse ..or knit or whatever nd eventually you;ll get back to it...good luck

You are welcome. I think that shopping the sales for just the right fabric might be exactly what you need. Have fun and God Bless!

I am in the process of moving . Some day I HOPE. There's been one thing after another and moving has been taking Forever. Well my machine got packed away and so i have just been organizing pressing ans sorting all the scraps that didn't get packed yet. it has been quet and very theraputic for me and if I ever get moved I have a ton of things to sew up and be in the groove again.

Moving is so discombobulating! But the up side is that you will be so organized when you start up again.

Thea, I'm so sorry. Your son is going to love the quilt not matter what you decide on. I know it will be a comfort to him in more ways than one.

Thank you for your thoughts.

Boy do I know what you mean. I started piecing together a quilt and then was dx with breast cancer. My life began to spin out of control and I rushed to get yard work and other things done, leaving my quiltingsitting on the dining room table until almost time for surgery. So I moved it to the sewing room. Now I am 2 1/2 wks post surgery. Just now getting adjusted mentally and physically. Just not ready to sit at the machine and fear that if I don'tdo this soon, it will be put off for a long time. Guess that is just part of the trauma and recovery.

Then you understand what I'm feeling. Glad surgery is over for you and you are feeling better. Best of luck and good wishes coming your way.

Funny you wrote this because I've been feeling the same way lately. But my issues are not being able to afford to have the tops quilted and it's very physically hard for me to do the quilting on my machine.

BUT, when I would get bored with quilting, I'd sew something else like totes or purses or home dec...maybe a wallhanging. That would at least keep me quilting on a smaller scale and able to still enjoy the craft. It could be seasonal too, especially with summer coming on.

Enjoy that new machine - that should get you back in the mood.

VickiG

I switch to a different craft for a while. That's how I got back into quilting. I got tired of papercrafts.

Marla, I wish you a speedy recovery, and Thea, I am sending your son positive thoughts. He will love whatever you make,as he will feel your love for him every time he looks at it. Take care of yourselves - and remember, there is a community here who cares.

I pull out my back issues of quilt magazines, and if that doesn't work, I go straighten out my fabric closet, put fabric in color order, and refold some of the messy ones. Once I go in that room the cat joins me and makes herself comfy on the cutting table, so if I leave she gets really pissed. Loud and crabby is not what you want to hear so it's best to spend some time in there sewing. The humm of my featherweight is her favorite sound.

When looking for fabric for your sons quilt find something cheery, kid like. Maybe something from a cartoon, or a toy he liked as a kid. I did this for my friend when she was going thru chemo. I made her a quilt that had Dick and jane on it since it was her favorite book series as a kid.

I do BOM so I don't get to the point of not sewing. It keeps me going and sewing. Make a committment to do any small project. Good luck

Play my guitar or banjo, maybe throw in the harmonica! :thumbup:

I was burned out from too many choices, and too much indecision. Soooo
I started doing Quilts for Kids. All of the fabric is matched for you and cut for the pattern they send, borders and backing included as well. All you do is assemble, add batting and quilt. This really helped me fall in love with quilting again!

I go through that about once a year and it is usually due to the seasonal change. I usually get with my quilting friends and let them talk me back into it. We are very supportive of that slump time and each of us has gone through it. I am so thankful for my quilting friends both on this site and in my neighborhood and guild.

I have spurts and stalls all the time. I used to feel guilty if I didn't sit at the machine but not any more. It's my hobby, not my job and when I feel like it do and when I don't I do something else. Isn't that the whole point of a hobby, to enjoy it when the mood strikes? I, too have had health issues lately and many days it is all I can do to get through the work day, come home and sit in my chair for a while and then go to bed. I think about quilting ALL the time but spend very little time actually doing it. Do you think the quilt police will get me someday? :)

Sometimes I switch mediums, ie, crochet for a bit instead of sewing or quilting.Or pull out an almost finished ufo or make something to stash away as a Christmas gift. Clean my sewing room or maybe take a couple of days out and read a good book.

I have found that when I go through a personal loss of a friend or relative or other emotional event that it takes time to get the creative bug, but it does come eventually.

I'm feeling the same way. Help!

I know the feeling, I feel better knowing I am not alone. I have been buying fabric and getting excited about different paterns, doing a BOM, have a couple of other quilts in the works, and I can't seem to make that first step up to my sewing room. And when I do make it up there, I usually am not happy with what I do. I even go thru thoughts of getting rid of my machine and all my fabric. Some of mine, I believe, comes from taking on too many projects, as another poster had mentioned. I have more ideas than I have time. I did join a sewing group, which helps a little, but I am not working on my projects there. I know I waste a lot of time I could be quilting and that makes me feel worse. Like everything, I think this too will pass.

Is way I have 3 projects going all in the same time jumping from one to another and if that don't work I bake.

Sounds like you need to take a break from the sewing machine for awhile. Get your mind off it & fabrics & get involved with something else for awhile. I've been at your point at times.

Where is it written that we have to always be into quilting? There is more to life. It's supposed to be fun but we sometimes put so much pressure on ourselves. Maybe I should speak for myself only though. I always manage to come back to it though.

For me, it was finding a new very unusual pattern for a table runner. I had to search for a 9 degree ruler it requires. I won't be able to get to it for awhile though. Got to do some painting around the house first.

How about sorting and arranging your fabrics. Maybe the feel and the colors will inspire you to start with something small. A new machine takes a bit of getting used to. Good Luck

Hi! Congradulations on getting a new machine! When I got my new machine it was intimidating. I spent the first week just reading the manual and learning about it. That really helped my confidence level. It sews like a champ! Good thoughts sent your way. :D

I have not had the energy to quilt not just piece. I have so many quilts that need quilting and I can't get to them. This has been going on for months now. When I was cleaning up my sewing room and wrapping the fabric I came across a whole cloth quilt that I started maybe 8 years ago. It is beautiful and something in me motivated me to do hand quilting instead of machine quilting. I have been doing some every day and enjoying it so much. My fingers are sore now so I went in and started a quilt on my sewing machine. I am now in the mood again. Watch out!!!~

I have not had the energy to quilt not just piece. I have so many quilts that need quilting and I can't get to them. This has been going on for months now. When I was cleaning up my sewing room and wrapping the fabric I came across a whole cloth quilt that I started maybe 8 years ago. It is beautiful and something in me motivated me to do hand quilting instead of machine quilting. I have been doing some every day and enjoying it so much. My fingers are sore now so I went in and started a quilt on my sewing machine. I am now in the mood again. Watch out!!!~

Summer time is a little harder to quilt all day. However, I always have some project going from easy to "pay attention". That way I don't get bored. What I do get bored with is housework, garden, etc. Never quilting. I even have projects that are ready to grab if I have to stay at the hospital with a relative, or travel, or overnight stays. I always have a project with me. So to get motivated, sounds like you have been given some great ideas on this post. Sometimes you sit down and start and then it all comes back. Put on an audio tape and listen to a book or watch a good series or dvd's you like..Listen to music. I like Vathy Miller. She has cd's on quilting songs and they are wonderful. She has about 6 or 7 out. You can only get thenm online at her site. So grab a chair, have a seat, and let the quilting mood just flow back in.........Happy quilting

I look at everyone's pictures here and am immediately in the "mood" picking a patter, fabric, etc. I'm ready to sew!

It happens every once in awhile. Clean up and organize your sewing room and go thru your fabric and organize and colorize the lot. It will come back. Also start looking a magazines after you accomplish that. Before u know it u will start to become inspired again .Roz from Maine!

I will either knit or crochet just to give my mind (what little I have left) the break it wants or needs. By the time I'm done with my knitting (I make dishcloths), then I'm ready to get back into the quilting..

Tuesy: How about some pictures of your dishclothes? :)

I look thru the quilting magazines I have, or the sewing patterns or sometimes I just go play in the sewing room. If I am still not motivated by all this, I go read a good book. Remember "there is a time for everything under the heavens" and I figure it's my time to take a break.

Some days are like this you are not in the mood or not inspired or you get stucked in a project, then I do something else like scrapbooking, cardmaking,knitting ,drawing or spend some time with friends
only chatting , playing a game . This is like taking vacation from quilting. After this I go back to my sewing machine with new enthusiasm.
Looking forward to read more about this. :-D

I totally agree. I've had a "new" machine for a couple of years now (what an adjustment), but I still keep the old one out, and also a treadle. One is good for something and the others are good for something else. Sometimes I have them threaded with different colors so that I don't have to keep switching threads. But my sewing room keeps getting smaller and smaller.

You'll get back in the groove soon! :)

sabrina,

I have machine envy over your 820! Don't worry about feeling uninspired, just remind yourself it's only temporary. Things will change soon, and your quilting life will get back to usual.

Ya know, I think I know just what you are going through. I've been there often in my life. I'm just now coming out of a real funk and it's taken me many many months. Maybe you feel overwhelmed by your new machine and maybe deep down you feel like you'll never be able to do all those wonderful things the sales persons showed you could be done with this machine.

That's what's happened to me over and over again, as I look back on it. Many machines and many blue funks later, I still fight it. I just go into my sewing room every day, even if it's for only an hour. I make pinwheels, stars, whatever, and set them aside, knowing some time I'll get back in the groove.