2021 Maker’s Intentions

I started this blog in 2020 during the global pandemic. While making was not new to me, I felt a strong urge to share my projects with the world. I hoped my sharing would help others to discover crafts that would bring them the same comfort and satisfaction that I find from my own projects. I started strong with some initial blog posts on my making adventures, then burned out pretty spectacularly by mid-year. As the name of the blog suggests, I’m a casual weekend maker, and I think of myself as a true hobbyist. So I must ask myself, what is the source of the pressure and the burnout?

After months of reflection, I concluded that I was not being intentional with my making or my online presence. I was making items for the sake of making and filling some little void in my life. And despite furiously churning out projects, I hesitated to share very much of my story or progress with anyone else.

It has recently occurred to me that one reason for my hesitancy to post is my frequent visits to the Instagram fiber community, where I consistently encounter beautiful content, mostly aimed at selling patterns, yarn and courses. While I enjoy that community, and love the way it makes these crafts more accessible than ever, I slowly came into the feeling that nothing I do or make is enough. After all, there are so many other people sharing their fiber journeys, and doing so as their full or part-time job. Their photos are professional and polished. Their designs have been tested, perfected and vetted. Some have generated huge followings that hang on their every word. They are activists and successful business people. Is there really even room for one more person to share some amateur projects and personal musings?

So, I made a lot of items in 2020, and shared very little of it, because I felt like nothing I made was good enough. For 2021, I decided to set out more intentionally on my making journey for the coming year, fight back against the pressure that comes from feeling like an amateur in a world of professionals, and focus on the reasons I love to make (and share what I make) in the coming year.

1. Slow Down

My version of slowing down in 2021 looks like:

• Being mindful while I’m making and living in the moment.
• Aligning my making with my personal values, including being thoughtful about the items I bring into my life (and the lives of others).
• Never creating content for the sake of content. Always seeking to add value with my work.
• Paying attention to the details. Never rushing. Starting over if necessary.
• Letting go of projects that no longer serve a purpose or add value to my life.

Even this post was a struggle with this intention: I didn’t push myself to publish this on New Year’s Eve at midnight, but instead gave myself time to think about what was important and how I wanted to share my intentions.

2. Participate

As an extreme introvert, I tend to shut down during tough times. Unfortunately 2020 was full of tough times, so I kept to myself a lot. There is nothing wrong with hiding a bit when you’re overwhelmed, but I never really participated in the fiber community the way I want to. In 2021, I’d like to set my intentions to reach out in small ways to other makers. I want to leave more positive comments on projects I find beautiful or inspiring and offer my advice and feedback when asked. I also want to invest more in the small business side of the fiber community by buying from small businesses more often.

3. Blog

As I mentioned above, I burned out quite quickly in 2020. For 2021, I’ve scaled back my expectations. I already share my projects fairly often on Instagram, so I want to focus on creating a detailed blog post only when I think it is helpful. As part of this year’s blog, I have a few related intentions:

• Inspire at least one person to make something, or take up a new craft, by sharing my work.
• Given that a lot of what I make is either self-designed or includes major changes to another pattern, I’d also like to share my design process in detail at least once this year.
• Post more about the aspects of making not directly related to projects. For example: mindfulness, design/inspiration/creativity, sustainability, community and motivation.

4. Experiment

While I finished plenty of projects in 2020, I didn’t experiment as much as I would like until the end of the year. This year, while I don’t have any plans to become some kind of mad fiber scientist, I want to make more room for trying something new. At the end of 2020, I learned to spin using a drop spindle, which opened my eyes to the infinite possibilities of fiber. I can’t wait to try a few new things in 2021 as well.