What I Love About Being Creative

I recently joined the Modern Sewcialites, a membership club being run by Stephanie, the host of the Modern Sewciety podcast. It’s a place where we look into our journey as a creative, and includes extra podcasts, a block of the month, a private Facebook group, and more. Click here to learn more about it!

The theme for February is “What I Love About Being Creative”. When I picked this topic to blog about, I had forgotten that I actually wrote a post (quite a while ago) about this very thing! It was my first post back after being absent from my blog for almost two years. You can go and take a look at it here if you’d like!

There are just so many things I love about being creative. But before I get into some specific reasons, here is the definition of creative that I like to use:

Producing or using original or unusual ideas (Cambridge Dictionary).

I am not creative in the “think up something original” way that a lot of people define it. I’m not original, but I am authentic (as I mentioned in that old blog post I talked about back at the beginning!)

I am a lover of pretty things – prettiness just makes me so happy and puts a great big smile on my face! So being able to make pretty things…it just doesn’t get any better than that!

Here are 4 things that I love about being creative (there are more, but these are the main ones!)

Something just for me

The time I spend creating is my time – it’s time that I can spend thinking my thoughts, or watching a movie, or sewing with my sister, etc. Some of the time my family is around, if we are watching TV in the evening, but most of the time it’s just me, doing something I love, for the sake of being in my happy place. None of my immediate family are involved in the same hobby as me, so it’s all just for me! Having the responsibilities of a wife, daughter, sister (twin) and being a mum can make it a bit tricky to have something that’s just for me – but it is well worth the effort to spend a little time looking after yourself. It definitely makes me more pleasant to be around.

Quiet time

Silence is how I usually regroup! I have 4 children, a hubby and a dog, and I do love them. Although my eldest is now married and there is one less person at home, our house is still noisy- there are people everywhere! I am an introvert – I love peace and quiet and silence and being alone. And that doesn’t happen very often. But when it does, you will usually find me sitting at my sewing machine enjoying every bit of the quiet!

It makes me happy to play with pretty fabric

I can’t tell you how smiley I get when I get to make things with pretty fabric. It makes my heart sing! I love looking through my stash and choosing fabrics for a project. I get to do a lot a touching of pretty fabric when I’m cutting out a quilt or pattern. Then more fondling as I’m sewing it on the machine or hand-sewing an English Paper Piecing project. And finally, as I snuggle under a quilt or use a bag I made, I get another high from the pretty fabrics!

I have an organized mind so I enjoy following a pattern

I’ve only ever written one pattern – I much prefer to use someone else’s pattern and put my spin on it. I love reading through it, thinking over how it goes together, and then watching as little pieces of cut fabric become a quilt, or a dress, or a pouch! It’s like magic!

Being able to make things is just about the best thing in the whole world! And I feel very blessed to be able to create pretty things for myself, my family, and my friends. And all the time being authentic to who I am, and what I love!

Till next time,