This is somewhat of a follow-on to my last post: 'Making time to sew'. At work I came across Oliver Burkeman's blog and, in particularly, his post, "What if you're already on top of things?" Oliver Burkeman is a writer and journalist who seems to write about productivity, time management and happiness. I don't know his writing well, but in this post he writes about how many of us feel we have a never-ending to-do list that we cannot catch up on. He flips this on it's head by suggesting that we keep 'done lists' instead. This was quite a novel concept for me! I am a list person - mainly because I can barely remember anything, but also because I always feel like I have a thousand things in my life that I want to keep up on and keep moving forward.
His main point was that we are already enough, though we feel the need to be achieving, producing and engaging in so many different facets of life throughout our days, weeks and months. He wasn't writing, in particular, about making time for hobbies or passion projects, but moreso focusing on spending time with loved ones, working on our careers, and contributing to our communities. I commiserate with many of his points in these arenas. However, I also constantly feel like I have so much to learn about sewing and that I have so many projects I would love to be working on, but don't always have the time or something else takes priority. The last week I have been sick and have managed to work on some curtains for the laundry room, but overall really have not moved many of my projects forward. Instead of focusing on what I haven't yet sewn, here's a 'done list' of what I have made since I started sewing in 2018.
Sewing Done List:
A table cloth (my first ever sewing project)!
A tote bag (in the first and only in-person sewing class I have taken)
A skirt (from the same in-person sewing class as the tote bag)
Fabri-art of a tree I made for a friend to hang in her window
Pillow case with fabric I got in Cote d'Ivoire
Fabric bookmarks
An infinity scarf
Two ties out of Boston Red Sox fabric
A teddy bear out of Boston Red Sox fabric
A shawl with a hood for my friend's baby
Little booties and bibs for my friend's babies
Curtains (in process)
The Tamarack Jacket by Grainline Studio (in process)
Slopers for a skirt and a top
Another top from a large pattern company
There are so many more I'm sure I'm leaving off of this list. It is motivating to create this 'done list'. It's a tool to help reflect on my progress and see how far I've come and how much time I do manage to devote to my sewing. It's especially striking as many of the pieces of clothing take 15+ hours to prep and sew. If I total up just the pieces of clothing I've sewn (what I can remember sewing, at least), that's 195 hours, or 25 8-hour days! That's more leave than I have in a year from work!
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