Sewvember & NaNoWriMo AKA What I Did on My Autumn Vacation

This picture was taken right around when the exhaustion was starting to set it. I was out with a group of friends and having a great time. We were celebrating each other, yas queening and all that jazz. All the while I was trying not to fall asleep. After this outing I had a shift at work and pulled an all-nighter making Incredibles masks.

As many of you know, I have an Etsy shop where I sell all the cool and crafty wares I make.  In the months of September and October I’m super busy because I make felt masks.  Parents love buying these for their kids, especially their littles because they’re soft, yet durable.  They don’t have to worry about a hard or sharp mask piercing their babies’ faces.

This year was a particularly busy Hell-O-Ween.  By mid-October I was pulling all-nighters to keep up with orders.  And by Halloween I was so exhausted that I may or may not have had a minor mental break. Don’t get me wrong, I’m thankful for the business and happy clients make for a happy crafter. But Jesus be a catnap, because I was TIRED.

I decided to take a month-long break from Flair Huxtable to spend some time writing and sewing.  The first part of my plan was to finish one of the books I’ve been working on with the help of NaNoWriMo.  The second part of my plan was to participate in Sewvember. (Click the links to learn more about both.)  But about halfway through the month I found myself still stressed out.  I was pushing to hit word count deadlines that just weren’t happening. 

This right here is the face of writer’s block.

I hadn’t posted one Sewvember pic on Instagram and I was beating myself up for it.  So I decided that my plan was stupid.  I removed the word count restrictions and found that I could write more easily if I wasn’t putting so much pressure on myself.  Then I decided to redefine and reclaim Sewvember.  Instead of sharing with everyone, everyday, everything I was sewing, had sewn or planed to sew, I would share with no one.  I would keep my sewing to myself. I would pick up those projects that I’d been meaning to work on for months and just make myself a bunch of cute ass outfits.  I wouldn’t make a single product to add to the Etsy shop.  And I would just try to enjoy the artform again.

What happened??

It worked.  I didn’t finish my book.  But I have a renewed passion for it.  I began writing this book over two years ago.  I put it down to hone my craft and focused only on short stories for a while.  And while this exercise has been super helpful, I needed to get back to writing long form.  So here I am, with nearly 200 pages completed on my third book and I feel really proud of myself.

I got my creative juices flowing and then got the wine flowing for a pretty good combo. Lesson Learned: I have to take off my glasses if I want to drink wine without pouring it all over my face.

As far as sewing goes, I was able to work on 3 patterns, all of which have been sitting in a drawer for God knows how long.  The first two, a vintage cape and a crop top/fancy skirt outfit, were fairly easy. The last one, however, a vintage 1940s dress pattern, was challenging as a mutha! I let myself get frustrated a few times while working on it.  But didn’t wallow too long.  I have to remind myself that there’s a lesson in every project.  The lesson for this dress was, sometimes you have to go off-script (i.e. off-pattern) and trust your instincts.  I’ve been sewing for over 20 years…I have to trust that I might know a thing or two by now. Full disclosure, the dress still isn’t finished. I need to fix the pleats and add the buttons. And to be honest, this dress will likely be my opus. I’ll finish it on my deathbed, right before I’’m called home to Jesus. But in the spirit of full disclosure…I’ve added a picture of what I’ve got so far…it looks like a Gordon Gartrell, but whatever.

One of the biggest takeaways from my time off was that it’s okay to give yourself a God damn break once in a while.  When I’m feeling burnt out, stressed out, bummed out I have to reclaim my time, take a step back, cash in my vacation days (I JUST instituted 10 vacation days a year for my staff of 1) and just be easy.

As I head into another busy season, I’ll look forward to the break I’ll get to spend with loved ones. And maybe I’ll even give myself another few vacation days at the beginning of the year to finally do that mosaic puzzle I’ve had in the closet for half a decade.

Follow us on Twitter @FlairHuxtable, Instagram @Flair.Huxtable and @HomeBrewedLove, and Facebook at @Flair Huxtable! Then buy Lo’s first book, “The Semester,” HERE!