Thursday, January 18

Lying to Yourself.

I suppose we all lie to ourselves, at various points in our lives, and for various reasons.

If we have a dispute with someone, we justify our reactions & reasons, so we dont feel guilty, or at fault.

I suppose it is a natural human trait. (And, do you say, TRATE or TRAY? We always disagreed about this in our family, & according to various dictionaries we consulted, either pronunciation was said to be correct!)

But I digress. I have perhaps been lying to myself about reasons for not getting on with my quilting.

1. It is too hot.
2. I have SG to look after, & I cant sew when he is here.
3. I have other more pressing duties to attend.
4. Friends drop by, & so I need sit and talk.
5. GOM wants to watch a DVD, with my company.
6. My hands just SWEAT all Summer long, so I cant hand sew.
7. Now that GOM is retired, I put off sewing to spend more time with him.
8. I have books to read.
9. I am lazy!
10. The planets are misaligned??


All of the above are true, (or, in the case of the planets, I have no idea) but I am sure I could overcome most of them, if I was determined to get on with my sewing.

I prefer to lie to myself, & tell me I am having a creative 'lull'. Or 'Quilter's block'- haha, what a terrible pun.

I really dont know what the answer is, but I am sure, if my life remains cyclic, as has been the way of it, as far as creativity goes, I will return to my creative activites sooner or later.

I have a 'hug' of adopted, abandoned, pre-loved, bears to dress too. I have great ideas for their clothing. I want to knit for some. Which is another activity that is only for winter, due to the hands problem.

I have several bear patterns calling to be made up. I am paving my road to hell with all my 'good intentions'.

But, I also tell myself it is ok. SG wont be a little chap for long- & the sewing will always be available for tomorrow, when he is grown & gone. I am glad of the chance to spend time with him, while he is young. A lot of grandparents dont get that chance.

I do find he can be trying, some days. He is not a child who amuses himself, he needs company, or he gets very bored, & into mischief. I do find there is a difference between having him by choice, & needing to have him, because both his parents are working. It doesnt happen that often, & once his Pre School goes back, our times to have him will be a little less.

The truth is, I am not really doing much to replace my sewing.
Our airconditioner is functioning again, so I can actually get the house reasonably cool. We also have plenty of fans to use- one for each room, if necessary.

I have learnt not to lie so much to myself, over the years. And also, perhaps more importantly, not to be so hard on myself, if I fail at something.

Noone gets up in the morning & thinks "Today I will be a S**t", or "Today I will be a failure".
Do they??


I am sure we all do the best we can, whatever our circumstances. I think we have to have both sides of every situation, to really appreciate light/dark, happy/sad, busy/slow, production/hiatus.

Well, this is a strange post. It sure was a surprise!
Hope you all have a nice day.

15 comments:

lazy cow said...

I wouldn't beat myself up about not quilting! For me it's a cold weather activity, and I need my quilting girlfriend to be present in order to get motivated. Summer is for lying around doing not much as far as I'm concerned!

Joyce said...

Quilting in the heat is not that much fun. Head over this way if you want some real quilting weather! I agree that grandchildren can be exhausting at times but all too soon they are grown up and we seldom see them so it's good to treasure the times we have with them.

Angie said...

Hi Meggie, darlin! I'm over here (across the big pond) just howling with laughter cause, well you see, I have ALL of the right settings for YOU to get to quilting... and I'M saying "GOM needs me to do this, it's too COLD in my sewing room to take all of the time it takes to pick out fabrics, then cut templates, then cut strips, then sew, I don't have SG to look after, but I have two 4-legged kids that think I have to be in the same room as they are, and they're not 'comfortable' in my sewing room; no friends are dropping by, but law, I do have so much paperwork I should be doing; my hands are so COLD, well, I can't thread the needle for hand-sewing they're so cold; and I too have books waiting to be read (I read like some people eat--lots!! LOL); and the Good Lord knows, I'm just plain lazy...or as my Daddy would say, "girl, you're just simple-minded!" ROFL So, that's one of the reasons you're one of my bestest girlfriends!!!!

Quilting Kim said...

Hi, Meggie. I did so enjoy your post. You just have a way of putting into words exactly what I am thinking/feeling. I'm having a terrible time getting out of this "slump" that I have been in since Christmas. I've been doing too much blog-hopping searching for inspiration and in my search, I have been buying more. This one talks about this pattern or fabric line and I'm "off to the races" to check it out and end up in the check out line...

I think I need to set some deadlines for myself -- I work well, if not better, under pressure.

I would also love to see a photo of some of those bears that are in need of dressing - I just adore bears.

Enjoy your hiatus, your muse will return, and probably with a vengance.

Stomper Girl said...

I'm with Lazy Cow. If it's more than 35 degrees I don't do housework. And if it's over 30 I only do the minimum. I agree that you should continue to be kind to yourself! Like you say this time with SG (and GOM too! although I hope not as limited) is precious and limited so you are spending your time wisely.

Molly said...

I wish you cool weather and functioning air conditioning.

I think that I lie more to myself than to others. I try to be honest to others without being hurtful. I am not sure that resting when it is too hot to work counts as lying.

I say TRATE.

molly said...

This time of year there sounds like July and August here--hotter than Hades!
Certainly not prime time for quilting. Relax and enjoy yourself...

Anonymous said...

You know if we focussed on what we don't do and what is wating to be done, we'd never get moving. Just be happy with what you do achieve and you'll find yourself wanting to sew again soon. I found my post Christmas energy this week. It was slow to arrive too!

Unknown said...

Meggie - I've just been perusing some of your previous posts - I just loved the one about the way men dress - the bit about the Frenchman made me laugh out loud - your blog is lovely, you always have a different way of looking at things - don't worry about not getting enthusiastic about quilting right now - who would in that heat - I'll swap you some of our gales and rainstorms here in soggy Somerset UK :o)

Jeanette said...

HI meggie Its far too hot to Quilt. I use some of those excuses why i cant knit or embroider
Take Care ((((Hugs)))

Mrs. Goodneedle said...

Enjoy that grandson and don't worry about everything else, it will all fall back into place and rhythm when it's meant to. I loved reading this post as you've put voice to feelings which is a hard thing to do. Thanks.

Jellyhead said...

Meggie, I love how you write - sometimes slightly meandering, but always unique, often funny, never boring! You sound like you would be so much fun to gasbag with!

Don't be hard on yourself about not quilting. Everyone needs to have a break from their interests from time to time - otherwise they cease being hobbies and become chores.

Hope you have a great Friday!

verniciousknids said...

I love the idea of a "hug" of bears...and I say "trate"

PS The planets are definitely misaligned ;)

Aunty Evil said...

Well (as I look down my nose at everyone) I never miss a day of quilting, knitting, sewing, cooking and cleaning. I am a regular visitor my gym and my ironing is all done. My house is immaculate, my husband well groomed and my pets never so much as drop a whisker. My cupboards are clean, my bathroom sparkles and you could eat your dinner off my garage floor.

Now, Meggie, do you think your lies to yourself outweigh mine to me? :)

meggie said...

Haha! Aunty, I think you might win?