Sew Much To Do, Sew Little Time

This Week

I am continuing to work on my project of putting together a quilted tote bag, following an online pattern. Last week, I had just started trying to quilt lines in the top of my panel after putting all of my patchwork pieces together. I started out this week by pressing open the last of my seams and basting my layers together, so that all of my panels were ready for quilting. (more info on that in last week’s post) Then I started quilting through my layers, also known as a quilting sandwich. I decided to just do straight lines, nothing too fancy, so I just ran stitching about 1/4th of an inch away from my previous seams. I think it looks pretty good, and I do not have too many crooked lines!

Close-up of some of the blocks that I quilted! The lines are sort of hard to see because of the color I picked as it blends into some of the blocks (which was intentional) but it's there!

Quilted vs. unquilted-- The one on the right (laying flat) has lines quilted, but the one on the left (folded) does not have any quilting yet in this photo.

This process took me a while, as I am still a little afraid to turn on the machine very fast, and I did have to unpick a few things. However, I did get started on cutting out some other things that I will sew for future parts of the project. Last week, I also forgot to mention that I realized I had cut up a bunch of extra small patchwork squares of my fabric, meaning that I miscounted when deciding how many to make for this pattern. So, last week I made them into their own panel, and I’ve actually found another bag pattern that I am hoping to try to make as well, so I cut out the pieces for that. I do not want to get too far ahead of myself so it may be a little while before there is another update on that, but I was really excited when I realized that I already had the squares mostly cut out and had some already sewn.

Pinning the paper pattern to the fabric and cutting around it

All of my cut pieces!

Well-being and Occupation

The occupation of sewing/quilting has been something that I feel is now starting to facilitate a sense of well-being for me, due to a variety of reasons. I feel this is more so the case now that I have done it for a few weeks, have had a little bit more experience, and have gained some skills. This is because now I feel that certain tasks do not always confuse or frustrate me. For example, it is now less of a chore to rethread the sewing machine, because I have done it quite a few times now. Or now that I have solved the problem with my bobbin from a few weeks ago, I feel less frustrated while participating in this occupation, because the machine is not constantly jamming. Typically when I have been participating in this occupation, it is a time when I take a break from other things, or when I have completed all of my other tasks, and so it is something that feels exciting and/or relaxing. I often also listen to music or occasionally turn on a TV show while participating in this occupation, which is something that I think can also be enjoyable for me, and specifically in the case of music, something that is renewing. 

This week was sort of an interesting experience in regards to well-being within this occupation, because participating in this activity surprisingly stressed me out. I think that in the context of all of that was happening in my life this week, especially with school and the upcoming anatomy exam (😱), this makes more sense. I was feeling like I did not have enough time to complete all of my tasks and school work, and also have enough time to sit down to participate in my occupation and have enough to write about. As it turns out, that was not the case. I still felt a little stressed while working on my project, and a little like I wanted or needed to be doing something else, but I do also feel satisfied with what I completed, even if it was not what I was planning on finishing this week.

That is something I do appreciate about trying this new occupation, that every time I learn something new or am able to complete something after failing, I feel very accomplished. I think I feel this even more than I would in another occupation that I already have a lot of experience in, which definitely contributes to my self-confidence and perception of myself in relation to these skills and my pursuit of this occupation. I have also found a lot of value in this occupation because it has forced me to set aside time for myself, because this has been something I have enjoyed and have been able to find myself immersed in. While I did so reluctantly this week, I feel it still can contribute to well-being through giving me balance, and in the future, it may become a further part of my occupational identity and continue to provide me with another option of a preferred occupation that I can engage in to find satisfaction and fulfillment.