I Took the Pledge

One thing I love about sewing is that there are a million possibilities. Times ten. I can make anything within my and my machine's abilities. It's just an amazing power, and a little daunting when I think about it like that.

Petal Pushers: link to post here

The real trick is the actual ability to do all those things rolling around in my head and my sketchbook.  Like many quilters, I keep a sketchbook for ideas and use it for a variety of purposes. I try out color on blocks, I sketch ideas of future quilts, and I make lists. I figure cutting math and fabric requirements, and I keep current WIP lists. I love my little sketchbook.

Butterflies in the Garden: link to post here

 But I already have so many things in that book that I don't have time to make. That can be frustrating. I see so many professional quilters who produce so many more quilts than I do and I wish I could keep up because there's so many that I want to make. I know even they have that same problem: there is too much beautiful fabric and so many millions of ways to cut it up and put it back together.

Sunny's quilt: link to post here

I only started this blog a few months ago, but even then, the idea of balance was already rolling around in my head. I had tried, unsuccessfully, to start THREE different food blogs. I'm also an avid cook. But each time, I lost steam. So, when I established this blog, I decided that I wasn't going to hold myself to any rules like I had tried to when I started those food blogs. And, I reasoned, it wouldn't be as much pressure because the amount of posting on a quilting blog cannot possibly keep up with that of a food blog. Whereas a food blogger really needs to publish at least three to four times a week, there's just not that much to show on a quilt blog. In my opinion.

I did set some ground rules for myself, to be honest. The first one was no guilt. I set up this blog for me because I like writing, because I like photography, because I thought it was the perfect way to blend three of my hobbies and keep a record of my sewing. If it stopped being fun, then I was going to stop, and I didn't want to push myself to post when I didn't have anything to say or didn't want to post. The second one was to be me. I didn't want expectations of what it means to be a quilt blogger (if there are any) to shape my blog and the way I posted. And the last one was privacy. I don't mention my family on here much at all, aside from the fact that I have one, and I will not post pictures of them. People have differing opinions on this one, and that's okay. See rule number two. My kids are still really little, and for their privacy and potential safety, I prefer to keep their photos and names off of the internet. I know I love reading personal posts on blogs and getting to know other sewists in that way through their blogs,, and that being real and sharing real life is important in a successful blog, but for me, that's just not what I want to do.

When I saw Amy Gibson's For Keeps Pledge, I didn't even think twice about taking the pledge myself. And it came at a good time. I had just finished my girls' bed quilts a week earlier and felt real joy in watching them love the quilts. The pledge made me think through why I am doing all of this and who I am.

Spin Cycle quilt: link to post here

This has been a really long post already, but I want to end by telling you exactly who I am. I am Becca. First and foremost, I am child of God, and I am a wife and a mother. I am privileged to be a stay at home mom, and in my opinion, it is the most important job I could possibly have right now. It is exhausting, and frustrating at times, but it is who I am. I am also a Mormon, and my faith is important to me. I am, of course, a quilter. But it is a hobby, not my day job. I do it because I love having finished quilts, because I love giving quilts, and because I love picking out fabric and designs. I need to remember this. Sewing is not a job for me. Yet. And possibly ever. Sewing is a hobby and it should come after my responsibilities to my first priority: my family.

Hazel Hedgehog accent pillows: link to WIP post here

This isn't a goodbye, don't worry. It's just a way for me to explore this issue and to encourage you to also think about why you sew and how it fits into your priorities. I love Amy Gibson's pledge; it's a beautiful idea to keep sewing special. Because it is. It's a beautiful, creative power that truly brings happiness.

So, go and create. And remember why you create.