While I am sewing, I am either a) jamming to music, b) watching some brainless tv show, or c) listening to a podcast. It depends on my mood, what I am sewing, and how much attention I need to pay to the project! Today, I was hemming dresses (medium concentration) and decided on a podcast.
One of my favorites that I subscribe to is "Raising Good Humans" hosted by Dr. Aliza Pressman. She talks with people who speak to a variety of topics that relate to my life personally, my role as a mom/auntie, and my profession as a teacher. The episode that interested me today is called "Finding Your Unicorn Space," with guest NY Times bestselling author Eve Rodsky, and about halfway through the podcast, I felt compelled to write a blog post about it!
I found the episode particularly fitting and appropriate to listen to as I was sewing because Rodsky explained how people need to find their creativity in order to be truly happy. Creativity does not just mean painting and it does not have to be a solo endeavor. She talked about the 3 C's - curiosity, connection with others, completion. Sewing for sure gives me all three of these things.
--Curiosity in "How do I make that?"
--Connection in others in "Hey Kelsey, can you make/sew/fix ______?"
--Completion in feeling the pride in a job well done, happy customers, and a sense of confidence that I did that with my own two hands!
Sharing gifts and talents activates different parts of the brain, and when people are living a creative life, happiness and meaning overlap. The internal pride and happiness at creating definitely comes from sharing my talents as a sewist and creating things for people to make them happy. Rodsky explains that when a person is living a creative life, they get into a zone, a flow state, and time disappears. I 100% feel this when I am sewing. It gets tricky with a 2-year-old, being pregnant, and having a full-time career to have the energy to sew, and I find weekend naptimes to be my best window of opportunity (hence, it's 2:30 on a Saturday....). I let my husband know where I will be, I give him the monitor, and into my cave I go, to get lost in the next project!
My space itself is a happy place because it is organized, it is mine, and I think of the people who have helped me make it functional and beautiful. The fabric on the shelves tells a story and shares happy memories. The cutting table was created by my dad. The layout was planned by me and my husband and instead of having a second living space, we agreed I should have a sewing room. The furniture was built by me and a friend. The piles of projects are sorted by who they are intended for. It's a nice place to spend an afternoon!
One key thing with this that Rodsky and Pressman discuss early on in the episode is the permission to be unavailable. That is an extremely tricky thing for me to accept and own because I don't want to miss a minute with my daughter. She just turned 2 and she is a hoot! She's so fun to watch explore and listen to her jabber, I feel guilty when I am not with her. But when she is napping, I feel okay giving myself that permission to be unavailable. When I have a deadline to get an order out to someone, I feel okay giving myself permission to be unavailable. When I am so close to finishing a project and I am just grooving, but she is up from her nap, I give myself permission to be unavailable for just a little bit longer.
While this post may not be directly sewing-related, being creative is a part of my life and a part of my soul that needs nourishing. I feel myself get sad when I haven't made anything in a while, and I feel more complete when I my hands have been busy. God has given me a gift and a talent and I love to share it!
More of my space - the view as I sew; inspiration and project books; beautifully (and recently) organized fabric; a completed hemming project with sequins left behind!
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