I am struggling with inspiration; I either have jone or too much!

[KatyMac]

After months of barely sewing, doing as little as I can get away with; & no good ideas.... I suddenly have so much inspiration I could cry!

I cant draw so I can't sketch what I want to make and I'm scared I'll go back into the doldrums and have nothing again

How do people manage this?

& now I flicked back to not being able to do a thing

I used to take lithium, now I just roll with it. Do you need to be ‘productive’ in the sewing room each day or - what do you feel like doing when you don’t feel like sewing? Could you start a blog, sell patterns you’ve drafted, take up another creative outlet?

Could you teach others how to sew?

I do teach

But I need to be making stock for markets and festivals in the summer

It's so frustrating - today I am tidying and doing 'housekeeping' so inventory and labels and storage

What sort of things do you usually sew?

Practise drawing - meanwhile, just draw whatever will remind you of your idea when you look at it again. Alternatively, record it in words instead of images.

Look at what others are making, for inspiration. Or look at source material.

Steam punk/cottagecore/fairytale mainly

Plus the obligatory repairs and hemming!!

I have been combining hanging up fabrics on hangers on a rail so I can see them with word notes

It seems a bit better....maybe

Do you need to add to the stash? Car boot sales are kicking off again soon!

How about keeping a journal of ideas? If you can't draw, just write down a detailed description of your ideas when they come to you, so you've got a record of them when you're ready to make something.

I can't sew, but I knit and crochet. I use a bullet journal anyway, for general life stuff, but I have an ongoing series of knitting/crochet pages in there, where I make notes about how I'm getting on with any current projects, keep a record of new things I've learned, instructional videos to come back to, yarns I fancy buying etc, but also jot down ideas for future projects.

my stash is SELE (STASH EXCEEDS LIFE EXPECTANCY)
So I can't have any more

I am trialling this method and I'll see how it goes

Some lovely ideas here

Is any of the stash ‘dead’ (ie hanging around for over a year, sick of the sight of it, don’t even want to touch it or in any other way just doesn’t owe you anything?) and could you sell/donate and replace? I really like identifying dead stash, it’s someone else’s dream stuff!

I had a lovely sort out over Christmas

I only keep natural or very inspiring fabrics

This was a Nancy costume I did in December with leftovers/recycled bits

And today I finished a commission which should give my brain some room

Oh wow! 👏 amazing! That’s some pretty inspiring stuff right there! Can’t wait to see what’s next.

I cull the stash a couple of times a year

The conflict between paid work, working to sell and art work is complicated

Sometimes 2 of these collide- the Cinderella dress is paid work and inspiration (although it ended off track) and the Nancy dress was too

But often paid Commissions are difficult to be inspired about as the are too defined or structured (mother of the bride/a skirt I can wear for work)

It's so etching I am thinking about and discussing in real life too

Hanging up my inspiration fabrics so I can see them has definitely helped

Another cosplay assembled (not made)

Got 2 days of free workshops now - did it in 2020 too

They are fab for inspiration