Talk Back Thursday (Yes, I know what day it is...)

Thank you so much to Faye, Mary, Gwen, Sarah, Patsijean, Katherine, Linda and Becky for talking back to my recent confession! I confessed that, despite a sewing room full of projects waiting for my attention, it took a new purchase to kick start my sewing, and asked how others get their mojo back when it flags...

And what did I learn? Well, first of all, the desire to sew does seem to flag periodically for almost everyone. Seven out of 9 commenters responded that they do have dry spells in their sewing. The exceptions were Linda - who has more of an issue finishing projects, but is pretty much always up for starting something new! - and Becky - who is more likely to lose her motivation for other activities, like knitting.

Why does it happen? I didn't specifically ask this question and so not many people addressed it, but there were two explanations offered. For Patsijean, it can be caused by having too many projects and not knowing where to start. For Becky, having a project not work out the way she had expected can put a temporary dent in her enthusiasm to get back into the sewing room. I can definitely relate to both of those situations!

How do people become recharged? Well, we have as many suggestions as we do commenters! Interestingly, there was only one idea that (sort of) came up twice - both Sarah and Katherine suggested that organizing-your-supplies / cleaning-your-sewing-room could help get you back on track. (Hence today's illustration - although I'm not sure how much good that broom is going to do Snow White as long as all those animals keep roaming around her kitchen...) Katherine apologized for the suggestion, saying that she knows that we don't want to hear this, but I think they're right - this certainly has worked for me in the past.

Faye searches for inspiration anywhere she can find it and Gwen often gets her inspiration from the other sewists in her sewing clubs.

Sarah has been motivated by (a) finishing up quick projects, (b) taking on a big project like a 6PAC, and (c) learning a new skill like drafting.

Mary also reports that it's never the same twice - sometimes her mojo comes back naturally and sometimes she guilts herself into getting back into the swing of things.

Finally, on those rare ocasions when Becky gets discouraged, she finds that permitting herself to take a short break is often all she needs to get her enthusiasm back.

Thanks again to everyone who took the time to leave a comment and share a little bit about your sewing lives! These are a lot of good suggestions that I'm going to keep in mind for the next time my sewing needs a jump-start!

Image credit: Paragon Fine Art