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Welcome to episode 027 of the Me Being Crafty podcast, where we explore creativity in your life.
In this episode I am recapping a few of the early episodes. I look at who I have interviewed on the show so far and I am so glad that my friends have said yes to agreeing to be on the show! I have really enjoyed having these conversations with such creative people and I hope you have been able to learn something new about them and from each show.
We are often alone when we create – I sew and quilt alone in my home and I miss sewing with other people and having that interaction. But being alone when you are creative doesn’t mean you have to always be alone, and it doesn’t mean that it is a bad thing. I talked with Anne Sullivan (Play Crafts) about her work to build a community of people to be creative with. I love that she went out of her way to find like-minded people, even if it was a big step away from what made her feel comfortable in terms of looking for those people.
The first interview I did for this podcast was with my kids, normally super chatty people who had a bit of a rough time being interviewed. Since that interview the older kids have both paid more attention to what they make and what they do. It’s been fun to watch them try new things and get an idea and work on it.
One of my favorite things is to hear the behind the scenes information about something. I love hearing about how something is planned and organized. Julie Dueck (The Intrepid Thread) and Rachael Gander (Imagine Gnats) both shared their stories of getting started with their shops and what they offer. Julie’s shop has great block of the month programs and classes if you are local to her, and Rachael has some really great garment patterns available.
Even if you are being creative alone in your house, sometimes you need to schedule time into your day to be creative. Being busy isn’t a bad thing, working takes time, taking care of your family takes time, maintaining your friendships takes time. And so if you have a hard time finding that time for yourself to sew, to quilt, to do beadwork, to crochet – schedule that time into your day like my friend Andrea Rennick (Quilti). Andrea puts it in her calendar so she is sure to have time for herself.
I had a fantastic conversation with Rebecca Roach and what it means to put yourself into what you are designing. She started out making Hawaiian quilts and quickly felt that it wasn’t ‘her’ because the symbols didn’t mean to her what they meant to Native Hawaiians. It’s important to recognize the culture that is inspiring you and knowing that there are artists within that community already designing things, but maybe they aren’t getting national attention for whatever reason. I am a firm believer in not taking something important to a culture and using it in fabric design because you thought it was pretty. There are a couple of lines out that make me cringe because I think people just weren’t able to see the bigger picture.
Heather Mann (Dollar Store Crafts) shared what her website is all about and gave me a good reminder that we don’t have to spend a lot of money to be creative. Her website is full of projects and tutorials that are made using various supplies from any local dollar store. Some hobbies are expensive so being able to save money on various supplies is always a good thing.
I look back on the episodes I did for my podcast in 2007-2008 and realize I didn’t interview many people. Podcasting wasn’t hip and cool back then like it seems to be now. It may be a resurgence to some people, but this form has been around for quite a while. I hope you enjoy these interviews and I’ll be back next week with more! I am looking forward to talking with creative people and sharing what they have to offer with you.
A reminder of where you can find me – Me Being Crafty facebook page – Tsoniki on Instagram – Tsoniki on TwitterÂ
Listen to episode 027 today! This is a short episode and I will be back soon with more thoughts on other interviews.
Leave me a comment and let me know how you were creative today. Me, I’m on a roll with finishing some baby quilts and so I continue with that!
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