Do
you craft without compromising what you do?
Do you work on projects that you feel you need to make, rather than want
to make? Do you make short cuts in your
crafting? These are some of the
questions that I have been thinking about recently. The reason is because I am not sure that I
craft without compromise.
Before
I go any further I would like to say that today I am showcasing a selection of
beautiful blue items from the daily listing thread on folksy. This month they have named themselves
“November Nutters”. I often think the
title is so apt. We must be nuts to list
daily! We must be nuts to try and sell
in a tough handmade market! We must be
nuts to keep promoting in the hope for sales!
I do hope you enjoy looking at these lovely items. Please click on the photos and have a browse
in the seller’s shop. You may get inspired with gift idea for your Christmas
shopping!
Right,
back to crafting without compromise and the reason I came to the conclusion
that I am making compromises in my crafting.
I love to work on a variety of things at the same time. I have a low boredom threshold! So one minute I might be machine stitching a
zip in a purse or pencil case. The next
minute I might be adding buttons and lace to a project. Or I might be hand stitching the pages of a
notebook or journal. Or I might be
threading beads and making a bag charm.
So, I do lots of different tasks requiring a variety of skills. I can’t help it – it’s just the way I am!
Hopping
from one project to another might not be the best way to work. But I am trying not to be a conveyor belt and
to get the maximum enjoyment with what I do.
However, I am also aware that I am putting huge pressure on myself to
complete items, motivated purely by the need to stock my folksy shop. If I did not have a shop, would I work
differently?
Also,
one of the pitfalls of working in this erratic way is that some projects fall
by the wayside and never get finished at all!
A handmade card maker I met at a craft fair once told me she placed her
unfinished cards in a box marked UFOs! I
suspect that all crafters have unfinished projects and they are unfinished for
a variety of reasons. Sometimes I look
at an unfinished project and asked myself “Why did I never finish that?” Sometimes the reason is no more than a loss
of interest or lack of enthusiasm – whilst it was there at the start of the
project, it has now vanished completely!
What
I want to do is start working in a different way. Not be dominated by the fact that I have a
shop that needs stocking – this is where I am crafting with compromise. I make smaller items because they are quick to
make. I take short cuts in the way I
make things to make it a quicker process.
Now, I don’t want to do this!
I
want to take time, be more creative, to spend time on a project, designing
more, and spending less time using a pretty fabric because it is quick and easy
to make, and you know people will like it and therefore buy it! To really be uncompromising you have to be
dedicated to your craft and not
worry about how long it takes.
This
is where I envy artists. Painting a
picture takes a lot of time, skill and concentration. It can’t be hurried. When I used to create huge collages using a
variety of materials, and also create huge charcoal and white pastel drawings
they took a huge amount of time. I would
spend hours and hours working on the detail, refining and reworking and
sometimes you need to stand back before you finish it, so you are sure you have
reached that stage where you can say – it is finished!
I
want to spend more time working on projects that may not sell. Recently, I sold my Wedding Journal to a
lovely young woman on Facebook who is getting married next year. That particular journal is one of the most
beautiful things I have made and I derived a lot of pleasure from creating
it. It was a one off, unique piece of
work made with white silk dupion, creams beads and a most lovely piece of
vintage embroidery. But, it sat in my
folksy shop for months and months, in fact so long, I have no idea when I made
it. I despaired of ever selling it. It took a very long time, but it SOLD! I just had to wait for the right person!
I
hope you have enjoyed reading today’s post and looking at the beautiful
handmade items from the folksy daily listing thread. Do leave a comment if you would like to. I love reading them.
BFN
Edwina
Shops with featured
items include:
Leanne
Woods Designs
The
Card Jeanie
Uniquely
Your Designs
Clare
Sherwan
World
of Cards
Midnight
Star Designs
Wisteria
Cottage Crafts
Juniper
Spools
I
Love Sparkly Stuff
daisycrazy
creations
Paper
Chain and Beads
