Productively Unproductive

The goal is 100 quilts. One per month.
It’s a good goal: specific, structured, and ambitious in the way that scratches the part of my brain that likes systems and finish lines. It fits the SMART framework beautifully. It keeps me moving. And putting it out into the world meant I had to build the infrastructure to support it: the website, the patterns, the workflow, the rhythm. All of that has been both daunting and deeply satisfying.

I had a period of breakneck creativity earlier this year. Quilts and patterns came fast. I felt like I had found a current, and I rode it. That burst helped me get ahead, which has given me some breathing room now. But I can still feel the pressure. It isn’t heavy. Not yet. But it’s present.

It’s a pressure I asked for, and in many ways, a pressure I’m grateful for. After years of big work projects, I pivoted into this new creative world by treating it like another big project, only this time, the work is really mine. Still, that same sense of drive is there. And I know myself: if I don’t intentionally build in rest, the pace will take over.

The strange part is that I’m not halfway yet. I’m still on the uphill. And because things are flowing, it’s tempting to just keep cranking. The designs are still swirling. The energy is still there. But I’m trying to learn that sustaining the work means sometimes stepping away from the work. Even when I don’t want to.

Here’s a photo of the current quilt blocks laid out on the longarm. This one went up on the design wall, I realized it wouldn’t work, so down it came until I figured out the solution.

Yesterday was one of those days. Gloomy and wet. Gracie had no interest in getting her paws muddy any more than necessary, and honestly, neither did I. So we had a couch day.

I called it productively unproductive. No sewing. No digital work. Just rest.

Well—almost. I wandered into the studio at one point and picked a backing fabric for the quilt I’m working on (one you won’t see for a while). That two-minute decision was enough to check off my daily creativity goal. Just one tiny act to keep the streak going (yes, I have a habit app).

This is the part of the process that isn’t glamorous or fast. It’s quieter. But I think it matters just as much.

Here’s Gracie from this morning, stick in mouth, on a mission. The weather was no longer offensively damp, so she decided we could resume our regularly scheduled squirrel patrol.

Thanks for reading, Jo