seven habits – tierneycreates

This week I started a new schedule for my health care job (the job that keeps the lights on) – I work Tuesdays to Fridays and have Mondays off from work. Mondays are now a day to focus on tierneycreates – making handmade items for my tierneycreates Etsy shop and working on art quilts for The Wardrobe Meets the Wall.

In my previous post, The Seven Habits of Highly Effective Crafters, I discuss my crafting goals in the context of Stephen Covey’s 7 Habits of Highly Effective People. Covey’s habit #1 is “Be Proactive”. On my first Monday off in my new work schedule, motivated by revisiting Covey’s 7 Habits, I was actually PROACTIVE!

As I stated in my previous post: “Those projects will not just start or finish themselves, Tierney!” Today I worked on 24 new miniature kimonos for my Etsy shop. Miniature kimonos were the first items (besides my vintage Barbie collection) that I offered on the tierneycreates Etsy shop when I first opened it in late 2013. They ended up being more popular than I anticipated and I am adding a new batch. I may stop making them after this batch as I would like to focus on other small items for the shop.

I experimented with some new colors and combinations I have not tried before. I will finish them up with their own unique decorative button and possibly a tassel (if the tassel works with the button and color combination.

A new batch of miniature kimonos in progress, July 2015

It felt good to be proactive and get a new load of kimonos started, even if it was tedious and tiring at times. I am still working towards to achieving my 2015 goal of having 100 items on the tierneycreates Etsy shop and the only way to achieve that is to be proactive and make stuff!

Do you have a favorite inspirational book of all time? A book whose message you have woven into the core of who you are as a person?

I do – Stephen Covey’s The 7 Habits of Highly Effective People. If you have not read this book, I highly recommend that you do.

Recently revisiting this book got me thinking: “how would the habits discussed in this book apply to creativity, making handmade crafts, and creating a collection of art quilts?” Can I apply Covey’s The 7 Habits of Highly Effective People to the work I do on my tierneycreates business: striving to make a catalogue of handmade items infused with smiles to offer to my Etsy shop customers; and to working towards my dream of becoming a professional artist?

I came up with The Seven Habits of Highly Effective Crafters, based on Covey’s 7 Habits. If you have read Covey’s spectacular book then you know the background on each habit listed. If you have not read the book, read it, it is a life changer!

THE SEVEN HABITS OF HIGHLY EFFECTIVE CRAFTERS

Be Proactive: Those projects will not just start or finish themselves, Tierney! This habit reminds me that if I want to move forward with my goals, I have to get off the couch (and stay away from those highly addictive iPad games) and start working on projects and actions to achieve my goals.
Being with the End in Mind: This habit helps me when working on an art quilt. When I get to the point when my intuitive and free-form design appears to have gone awry, I step back and think: “What do I want this piece to be? What do I want it to truly express and represent?” Taking a step back and thinking about what I want the end (the completed piece) to accomplish helps me refocus.
Put First Things First: I use this habit when deciding on what priorities of projects to work on. It is very attractive and fun to work on another set of log jam blocks (read about my addiction to “log jam” blocks on my post “Log Jamming”: The Sequel) but it does not move me towards my goal of becoming a professional artist. What I need to put first is working on a new art quilt to build my catalogue of art quilts. This habit is also important when there are times I need to step away from the sewing machine and focus my attending on spend time hanging out with my husband and dogs.
Think Win-Win: This has been a helpful habit on rare Etsy shop issues. Recently a customer mistakingly ordered the wrong fabric for a quilt project she was trying to complete. I did not carry in my Etsy shop the hard to find exact color she needed, only a similar color. I offered to accept a return on the fabric and I spent a bit of time researching for her where she could find the hard to find color in rare fabric line. She decided to keep the fabric she ordered by mistake and she used the links I sent her to work on locating the rare fabric for her quilt.
Seek First to Understand, Then to be Understood: The meaning of this habit is actually much deeper then how I am about to apply it to crafting: Sometimes you have to step back, slow down and try to understand why something is not working on a piece in progress. I get so focused on trying to complete something it is as if I am trying to force a square peg into a round hole. If I take a step back and try to understand what is really going on with the piece then I can come to solution. This habit is also an invaluable habit when working with other quilters on projects and working with my Etsy customers.
Synergize: This habit comes into play when I am consulting on designing and piecing a new quilt with my quilting friends. Their external ideas help fuel and enhance my internal ideas.
Sharpen the Saw: I am an experienced quilter but I need to continue to take quilting classes and workshops to learn new techniques and refine existing ones. I also need to continue to network with other quilters and crafters, both those doing traditional quilts and those doing art quilts and experimental art quilting techniques. Inspiration does not come to me in a vacuum.