"Hey! Can you sew [insert project here]?" As stitchers, that could be anything from a t-shirt quilt to curtains, or a bag to hemming pants. If you're lucky, it's something you normally do. If you're unlucky, it's hemming pants when you normally make bags or making curtains when you normally sew clothes. This can come with all kinds of complications like not knowing how to sew certain fabrics or not having the notions or skills needed for the task.
We, as a community, sometimes have to protect our peace and say "No" to the tasks outside our wheelhouse or risk losing our sanity and your project if we mess it up too badly. It's taken me several years, but i'm finally starting to respond with this elusive negative when asked to do things. However, there are a handful of close friends and family that I'm more likely to acquiesce to. A friend of ours is one of those people who recently reached out to ask if I could make a baby quilt for her on-the-way niece. I absolutely agreed... but I also had several projects in queue for my LQS, and a finite amount of energy after my day job.
You start bargaining with yourself and studying the calendar to say if I can do 'this' by such and such day, I'm sure I'll be able to complete all these tasks.
Wish me luck, because there's a lot happening in the next few months and I'm pretty sure I've signed up for more than I can complete without experiencing some burn-out. Fingers crossed I don't spiral!
When all else fails, take a break and cuddle with your emotional support cat.
