Project Goals: A Check-In

Last September, I posted this about some changes I felt I needed to make in my project-ing habits (mostly for SCA, but also applicable to my mundane projects).

To wit:

1. Limit the number of projects I take on at a time, so that I don't overload myself. 
2. Establish expected delivery date before committing to a project.  Ditto project parameters. 
3. Procrastination issues: 
1. Work on each project for at least two hours per week - no putting things off til the last week. 
2. Stop putting off things for myself, or mundane projects, until I "get my work done." It just stresses me out. 
4. Clean up and put away my toys when I'm done with a project. 

How have I done? 

You know, I was paging back through my blog, and I came across that post, and I laughed out loud.  Sort of a barking sound, really.  But then I read it through, and really thought about it, and I think I've done pretty darned well in the past four months! 

All of 2014, really, has been an exercise in learning not to take on too much work at a time.  I've had a hard time learning to say "no" and "not right now," but I've done it.  I've learned to do that.  And it's done me a world of good. 

I think going into a project with clear expectations on my part and the part of my clients is doing us all a LOT of good.  My first question is, "When do you need it?", and then we get right down to drawing up some designs, setting expectations, and going over what's feasible and what's not - and THEN I accept, or I can I say that a project is more than I can take on right now; and there are always options at that point (check with me in a month, or, I'll let you know when I'm finished with X, or "Maybe you could ask Lady Whosit, she does this kind of thing far better than I").   I think this process is making me easier to work with. :) 

I'm no longer separating "fun" from "work" - it's all fun, that's why I do it! And I've found that having more than one project gives me relief when I need it.  Something's frustrating me to no end and I'm banging my head against the sewing machine aimlessly?  Switch projects to clear my head and lift my mood! It's great! 

And I AM cleaning up my toys at the end of a project.  My sewing room is usually pretty clean nowadays - no more walking in, throwing up my hands in disgust, and walking out again simply because I just cannot work in there the way it is.  Ditto my workshop in the garage.  It's come in extremely handy in the last couple of months as I've prepared my house in various ways for the addition of a roommate, too, and even in the moving and unpacking process.  

So, what's next? 

For right now, I'm 100% focused on getting ready for Candlemas in February.  After that, it's all about Gulf Wars in March (technically, I should have started that like three months ago, but that's another blog post for another day).  

Now that the Room of Requirement (i.e. having converted my gigantic master bedroom into a craft room for my roommate and I to share) is complete and functioning REALLY WELL, I find I'm actually working more quickly than I was before, and I have a lot more workspace in which to organize the various stages of project completion. Yay! 

A New Frontier

*deeeep breath before I up and say this out loud*

So I'm branching out into actual A&S competition.  For my whole, whopping five years in the SCA I've been perfectly content to work in the background, not calling attention to myself.  I had my reasons, and some of them still stand, to be honest.  Earlier this year a good friend convinced me to display at an A&S table - not compete, but display, which took the fear-of-judgment out of the equation.  A little, anyway.  And I discovered that it was TOTALLY FUN.  I discovered I actually want to start entering competitions, which, to be honest, freaks me out a little, LOL.  I've been lurking around A&S tables at events ever since, examining the process and expectations as well as the staggering and gorgeous array of talent this kingdom has to offer, and I find, I want to join in.  

So here goes nothin'. 

On Project Delivery

One thing I've noticed - I've always noticed, really, but it's been on my mind ever since BAM in November - is that I am absolute pants at delivering any sort of project closure on this blog, and it's driving me NUTS.  I'm only posting "after" or finished pictures of projects on this blog, seriously, like maybe thirty percent of the time, and that's not okay.  This blog is supposed to be a record, a reference for myself on future projects, and a way to show people what I do; and yet it's mostly a slapdash assortment of plans that look unfulfilled.  I HATE THAT SO MUCH.  I do so much more than what you see here! 

So my "New Year's resolution", if it's that, is to get serious about posting finished pictures and project wrap-up posts here, on  every project.

• One problem is that I really don't have a good space in my home in which to photograph myself in my finished outfits.    
• Another issue is that I'm in the habit of thinking, "Oh, it's okay - I'll get pictures at the event coming up" - and then I don't, because I'm too busy or I'm having too much fun to remember.  I ran around BAM with a camera in my hand and never once did it occur to me to hand it to someone and ask them to photograph me!  DERP. 

A friend of mine and I have ben discussing this issue, because we both do it, and have decided to get together at some point in the next few weeks for a joint fashion show and photo shoot, hehe.  That'll catch me up on projects for myself that I've already finished.  From there on out, though, I'll have to really stick to the concept of photography and blogging as the final stage of a project - not an afterthought. 

Oh, and one more thing. 

The other major point in that September post was a commitment to really doing a job on every project - no more working my butt off for other people and then half-assing the work I do for myself.  I'm proud to say that not only have I stuck to that, the ripple effects from that commitment have been a pleasant surprise. 

When you've been sewing for twenty-eight years, things get a little old hat.  And you start cutting corners just to get things DONE.  At least, I did. For a long time. And I was mad at myself for doing it - but I was so overloaded that, well, you know.  

So now I'm not doing that any more.  I'm paying way more attention to detail.  I'm feeling really proud of everything I do.  I'm really feeling that every project IS better than the last.  I'm suddenly excited about refining my current skills and making them even better, and turning out higher-quality work.  

I'm getting really interested in expanding my skill set as well.  I've been reading up on all sorts of new styles of historical dress, new embroidery methods, various types of weaving (I'll be inkle looming by the end of this week, in fact).  I'm also learning a bit about tailoring techniques from a that same A&S friend, and from some online reading I've been doing, and it's really exciting!  (I've always been a seamstress and a dressmaker; but until now I've never even understood that *tailoring* is a completely different discipline, and it's fascinating).  

The moral of the story:  

Never do anything half-assed. ALWAYS USE YOUR WHOLE ASS. 

And, of course: 

A New Mission Statement

This is the part where I don't have a completed project to show you today, so I'm going to babble at you for a little while instead.

I have some very bad habits, as far as sewing/making things in the SCA.  I do the same things in my mundane crafts, too.  I under-estimate the time I need for a project.  I forget how many things I have in the works at a time and get bogged down.  I have a hard time saying "no."  I feel overwhelmed when I take on too many things at once, react to that feeling by procrastinating, and then cram a project into the last few days before a deadline and completely stress myself out.  I put a lot of time and effort into making quality things for other people, then rush through things I make for myself, often resulting in sub-par clothing and accessories (or things that look fine on the outside, but, for example, don't have finished seams on the inside, or are devoid of fine details I'd put onto a garment for someone else).

I'm sure everyone reading this is nodding in agreement and empathy.  We all do it. I don't know an SCA crafter who doesn't do the same things.

In an effort to learn to set boundaries and to pace myself, so that I can turn out better-quality products all around, I've worked this whole year on creating new habits.  It started with finishing up all of the projects for others I had on the line at the beginning of the year, and then not taking on any new ones for several months. And then I set some rules for myself.  I've adhered to them all successfully, and it HAS made my life better.  It's also made it much easier to say to people, simply, "I have a lot on my plate right now, and can't accept, but ask me again in [time frame] and I might be available then."  My fear of turning people away aside, I've found that people really do understand that.

My Rules

• Absolutely no more than two sewing projects for others at a time.  Limit three projects total (only two of which can be sewing).  
• Establish expected delivery date before accepting project. 
• Ditto project parameters. 
• No procrastination:  (1) work on each project for at least two hours per week.  More if I want to, but minimum two hours. 
• No procrastination: (2) as I have a habit as looking at commissions as "work" and things for myself as "play" - thereby making commissions feel like they're looming over me, I now allow myself to alternate working on a commission with working on something for myself, or around my home (the "fun" often as a reward for putting in a couple of hours on a commission when I didn't really want to). 
• When I finish a project, I (a) clean up the entire craft room (or workshop), so that when I start the next project I'll have a clean space in which to work, and (b) often will lay out the materials for the next project as soon as the space is cleaned, so that when I walk in the next time, I see potential, instead of an empty room and a need to begin something. 

There's another rule, that I've recently come up with, and have been thinking a lot about lately.  I've been sewing since I was 9 years old, I've been costuming since I was 17, and have sewn for home decor since I was about 26.  As I mentioned before, I tend to put a lot of work and attention to detail into commissions, but not on projects for myself, which are often cheap, plain, and sometimes not completely finished.  You'd think, with all that experience, that every thing I make is just awesome, but it hardly ever is, by my standards.  You'd think I'd actually work up to my own standards, at least!  So then, my number one rule going forward, and my new sewing motto: 

Let every project surpass the previous. 

Which means: 

• I will put the same attention to detail and quality into everything I make, not just things for which people are paying me. 
• I will fine-tune my finishing skills on every project, and get better at it with every project. 
• I would like to try to learn a new technique, or at least hone seldom-used ones with every project. 
• My work now is pretty darn good, if I do say so myself.  A year from now, I want the things I'm sewing now to look like a beginner effort next to my progress to come.  

There is always something to learn.  You can always do better than you're already doing.   There is always opportunity to focus more, take more time, exercise more patience, and excel your own work at every step. 

And this goes for every craft, not just sewing; although my main thinking lately has been mostly concerned with sewing.  In the coming weeks I'll have a few new outfits to show you, some campsite decor type stuff, and even some nifty woodworking and artwork.  Hopefully each thing will be better than the last one I made. :) 

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