THE LAST WORD

Found yourself in a bit of a funk? Amanda Carye knows how to get your creative juices flowing

Found yourself in a bit of a funk? Luckily Amanda Carye knows just how to get your creative joices flowing… Find out her top tips for jump starting your creative muscle

Some days you wake up and you're ready to make. Some days you wake up, your mind is blank and you know you’ve run into a dreaded creative block. And sometimes… those some-days turn into some-weeks or even some-months. But don't fret, here are five exercises that I turn to when getting fresh air or taking a shower just isn’t enough to jump start my creative muscle:

1 DOODLE

First, grab a sharpie/pencil/pen and some scrap paper. Next, pick a basic shape (square, triangle, rectangle) and pick three transformative verbs (like magnify, minimize, multiply, rotate). Then set your timer for 15 minutes and start applying your verbs to your shape and see how many iterations you can come up with. You’ll be amazed where this exercise will take you!

2 GET SCRAPPY

Grab a couple of handfuls of scraps from your scrap bin and just start sewing. Don’t worry about what it looks like, or if the colours go or even if you like it. Focus on the shapes, how they work together and how you need to trim (or not) to fit the puzzle together. Maybe you’ll love what you make or maybe you’ll hate it, but you’ll definitely end up with something to react to (and you’ll definitely have discovered something new in puzzling the puzzle out)!

3 MAKE A CLASSIC BLOCK

Find a block that makes you smile and just make it. Maybe make it again in different colours, or make it bigger, or make it smaller, or make a dozen of them (and watch a secondary pattern emerge as you go). Step back. I dare you not to admire it (because, sometimes going back to basics is the best thing to rediscover and recharge your love for the craft).

4 PATTERN TEST

There are so many wonderful up-and-coming designers looking for pattern testers on the #igquiltcommunity (feel free to DM me if you need an idea of where to start!). And sometimes being accountable to help someone else, plus having a deadline to work against, is the absolute best thing to force yourself to get back behind the sewing machine.

5 TAKE A BREAK

Take the time to challenge yourself to try something new: whether it’s knitting or painting or screen printing, trying a new craft or skill can really get those neurons firing in the most surprising ways!