Since writing my post “New Beginnings” about four weeks ago, I haven’t been able to do anything creative at all!  Clean sheet, blank canvas, new start, etc. turn out  to create total writers’ block, or the equivalent for a quilter….

Perhaps I need clutter, mess, half-finished projects…..   Actually I have plenty of that lying around.  Quilt magazines unread, unfinished quilts, abandoned sketchbooks (not to mention the pile of ironing).  No, just looking at those make me feel in need of an immediate and very long nap….

Whereas there used to be a thrill about heading to the studio to start a brand new project, now I put it off…   I notice some of my colleagues at my studio set have been doing that for months, maybe years….  No sign of any new work, or progress on unfinished work.  Burn out?  Creative block?  Alcoholism?  Or maybe they have just moved on and are ready to do something quite else now in life, or a variant of what they were doing, only they haven’t understood this and keep trying the old thing, the old way, (or just avoid thinking about it altogether…. Watch daytime TV instead…..)  Others nagging you about it really doesn’t help either…..

Perhaps the answer is a disciplined approach, get into a routine.  No good just waiting for a clear and free day, or for feeling inspired.   So I am going to set aside one morning a week for sketchbook ideas, and one day a week to finish quilts….. and then work at those things on the appointed day even if you have to grind through it……

Well, that is my new plan anyway.  I will let you know how it goes.  And sympathy to all those out there who are suffering from a similar creative block!