Five felt starfish finally completed. I'm slowing starting to sew again. These starfish are simple, lovely little things to make and they look so sweet splayed on the rocks in our garden.
Last night I felt well enough to design a new pattern and sew it up in muslin. And even stuff it. It was exhilarating. I need to sew to feel like myself again. This long break has left me with some new ideas.
And I have been editing. Last Thursday the final draft of the manuscript for my book arrived. I had five days to edit 144 pages (that's 19 sewing patterns). I overnighted it back to Colorado on Tuesday. It was amazing to see it all together and I'm proud of myself for pulling through despite feeling so crappy.
There was a great article in the last issue of Harvard magazine about how overscheduled Harvard students feel they need to be, to the point that they hardly have time to eat and sleep and take care of themselves. I'm sorry I don't have the name of the professor quoted in the article, but I love the advice he gives. Really good.
"Like one of those puzzles in which you try to rearrange little tiles – to get the number 1 in the upper left corner, and so on – it's the empty space that makes the other squares maneuverable. Without it, the pattern can be fixed and not open to new permutations."
"I tell students that's a good way to think about their lives: if they don't have any empty space, there's not likely to be any movement. It's really in those moments where they have created windows of free time that they may learn the most about themselves and end up with the kind of movement they're looking for."
oh abby… i am going to have to find the full version of that article… it truly spoke to me. the quote about the number puzzles is DEAD on! thank you for posting it and so happy you are able to feel well enough to create again. 🙂
Sounds like a great article, and I’m so glad you are coming out of the early pregnancy fog.
That makes me think fondly of “Oh
give me land, lots of land, under
starry skies above, Don’t fence me
in,” but I also enjoy being crowded
in by trees, activities, and people
as well.
Am intrigued by the mix of fabrics
in the same pieces. Good!
P.S. But for children, I agree. I was so
disappointed when the schools gave
students who worked sooo hard during
the year, long lists of books for required
summer reading. I felt students should
be free from schedules and requirements
to recover, retool and discover during
the summer…and certainly this applies
during the year as well.
Lovely starfish. And great advice you share here. I fear somewhat for my children as they grow older. I do not want them to feel trapped in overcommitment and multiple demands, which seems the norm for so many teens and college students. My oldest will be 10 this summer. My wish for her is that she can simply be herself and pursue her passions.
I love the starfish! And I love the idea of having empty space in one’s life. I guess that is why I haven’t put my boys in school yet.
Annie