We’re just over a week into February, which means we are almost to the eighth anniversary of Rake and Make! Since I started blogging in 2012, many bloggers have left this sphere in exchange for the shorter form of Instagram. I understand why and sometimes think I should do the same, but what keeps me coming back is the record it keeps for me personally. I am list person. I love the sense of accomplishment checking things off can make me feel. So of course I like setting goals. For many years, I was working on five and ten year goals, much of which I have achieved. As I got older, I found myself easing off the goals a bit. The lack of a plan freaked me out at first, because I had always had one, but then I started to enjoy the release of that pressure.
The goals I make here are mostly gardening and craft related and usually don’t include big personal goals. These days, I mostly like to map out some projects for the year I have been wanting to get to. I have learned to be realistic about goals and make them achievable and I enjoy looking back at the end of the year and seeing how much I accomplished. This year, I have been feeling especially unmotivated to write a goals post. It’s not because I don’t have projects planned, it’s just that the act of writing them down feels like a chore for some reason.
One thing I have done in the past is pick a word for the year and usually they come quite easily. One year, it was “balance” and another it was “intention”. Matt and I dubbed last year “the year of getting shit done” (and boy, was it)! The word that finally came to me this year is “slow”. I want to slow down, achieve less. I want to create more space within my free time for hanging out with friends and family, being spontaneous, and relaxing.
Like the slow food movement, there’s slow fashion, which is a big part of why I got into sewing in the first place. The basic principle of “slow sewing” is to not just sew to end up with a final garment as quickly as possible, but to slow down, focus on craftsmanship, and really enjoying the process. That is my goal this year.
Let’s be real, I’ll still be a list keeper, but I don’t pack my lists like I used to and I have zero guilt when I don’t finish everything on them. And I do have some exciting things I plan to do this year like teaching, working on the greenhouse (we hope to finish it in time to be a host on the Tilth Alliance Tour and I have some fun mosaic plans for around the sink), and organizing Seattle Frocktails 2020. I also plan on gardening, sewing (undies and a new pair of jeans are high on the list), and knitting (the Weekender Sweater is still next in the queue after I finish Matt’s sweater). Otherwise, I just want to see where this year takes me.
Nice news letter,great to see you guys putting together a greenhouse, I have a heated hoophouse going on 5 years and enjoy it very much,especially over wintering some of my delicate plants,also starting seeds on heat mats and grow lights for a early start.
Hopefully I will be able to see your greenhouse this summer!