Blackbird Mountain Designs was previously known as YarnyBird. Blog posts may contain references to YarnyBird.
I don’t know about you, but the last half of 2019 just FLEW by for me. My oldest daughter started kindergarten in August, my youngest turned 2 in August & with that a party, I sold at a craft fair in October (my first one in over a decade), all things fall/Halloween, husband and oldest’s birthdays in November, 2 birthday parties for my daughter, another craft fair in December, my birthday, Christmas, girls’ trip to Napa with my stepmom and sister, winter break…and about a million other things in between August and December.
January rolled around and my energy was gone. I knew I needed to work on goals for my business for 2020, reviewing how I did last year, prepping all my tax docs, and planning out content for this year…but I just couldn’t do it. I barely even felt like picking up my yarn just for fun, much less WORK. I had patterns in progress from last year that needed to be finished and released, and personal projects that needed to be finished. I tried not to put too much pressure on myself and let myself naturally find my groove again, but it just wasn’t happening. Something needed to change!
I received Dora Ohrenstein’s new book, the Crochet Every Way Stitch Dictionary
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10 Ways to Get Out of a Creative Rut
#1 – Read a book.
Whether you’re reading for fun and it’s completely unrelated to knitting or crochet, or you pick up a stitch dictionary like I did, read something. Book, magazine, blog post…anything. I’ve read over 20 books so far in 2020 – one of my very favorites so far this year is A Court of Thorns and Roses
#2 – Take a break.
Give yourself a break, some breathing room, some grace to just simply BE. If your craft is your business, this can be hard, I get that. I felt like I couldn’t totally take a break from my business in January just because I wasn’t feeling particularly creative, especially since I DID give myself some time off during the holidays. Instead of just doing nothing, I focused on some of the admin work that needed to be done and didn’t require creativity.
#3 – Try a new craft or activity.
You’re a knitter – try taking up crochet. You’re a crocheter – try taking up knitting. Tunisian crochet. Weaving. Macrame. Drawing. Painting. Writing. Sculpting. Woodworking. Axe throwing. Ice fishing. Literally ANYTHING other than your normal thing. Maybe you love it, maybe you hate it. It doesn’t really matter. Stepping outside the norm can be just what your brain needs to get moving again.
#4 – Learn a new skill in your own craft.
Maybe you tried another craft or activity, and your creative brain is still stuck in park. Let’s circle back to what you love to do and find an aspect of that craft that you aren’t familiar with or haven’t practiced much, and work on that. If you’re a knitter, maybe you have never tried brioche or double knitting or lace knitting. If you crochet, maybe you’ve never attempted crochet cables or intarsia crochet or corner to corner crochet. YouTube has an infinite number of videos that can teach you anything you want to learn, and learning something new about a craft you already love may be the ticket to moving forward.
#5 – Join a KAL or CAL.
KAL – knit-a-long. CAL – crochet-a-long. A KAL/CAL is an organized event, usually online, where a group of people are working on the same pattern together for a set amount of time. Sometimes it’s not one particular pattern, but instead is any pattern by a specific designer, or any pattern that meets some specific criteria. The point is that a bunch of people are doing it together, it has a start date and end date, and there is accountability there through a Facebook group, Instagram hashtag, or Ravelry group. Having someone else decide your next project for you relieves the pressure of having to truly be “creative”, but gives you something to keep you busy.
#6 – See what everyone else is working on and do that.
Set aside some time to waste unapologetically scrolling Instagram to see what others are working on. Check out the hashtags #crochetwip and #knittingwip to find a bunch of what you’re looking for in one place. Maybe you’ll see something you want to make. If not, at least that hour you’ve wasted is one hour closer to whenever you DO get out of your creative rut.
#7 – Waste some more time…on Pinterest.
Now, I’m not telling you to just mindlessly scroll Pinterest. I have a very specific time waster in mind here. Create a mood board, or 2 or 3, and pin to it. Color combinations, artwork you like, books you enjoyed reading, vacation spots you’d like to visit. Anything that might inspire you, pin it. Come back to this board in a few days and scroll through it again – see what stands out and what ideas come from it.
#8 – Make an old favorite again.
We all have that favorite pattern that never lets us down, right? The thing you can make a million times and never get tired of. I know it feels counterintuitive when you’re looking for NEW ideas to work on something OLD, but give it a chance! The pressure of coming up with something new, whether you’re designing a new pattern or just trying to choose the next new project, can be daunting. Going back to something familiar and reliable can relax your brain enough to let the creative juices flow again.
#9 – Make something for someone else.
Specifically, something to donate. This is a great way to get all those old favorites from #8 that you’ve just made out of your house before they overrun you like Tribbles. Homeless shelters, domestic violence shelters, hospitals are all great places to donate handmade items. Last year I was introduced to Operation Gratitude and I donated some scarves to them, along with writing up a free pattern for others to use. I have plans to create a new pattern and donate many more pieces this year, and I would love to have you join me. Giving to others may not spark any creativity for your next project, but it sure feels good to do good.
#10 – Shop…for yarn.
If you’re anything like me, you have a stash big enough to last until the zombie apocalypse and then some. I’m not saying you have to buy the yarn, but a little window shopping never hurt anyone, right? Stroll the aisles of your local Joann, Michaels or Hobby Lobby. See the colors, give the yarn a little squeeze, and see if anything jumps out as needing to be made into something. Maybe you have a pattern saved on Ravelry that you haven’t found the perfect yarn for yet, and today’s the day it jumps in your cart. Another alternative is to go to your local yarn store and look at the “fancy” hand dyed yarns. My weekly knit night is held at our local yarn store, so I get to look around every week. I’ve made a rule for myself that I don’t get up and squish anything until the cash register has been shut down. Sometimes I don’t follow my rule. Which came first – the yarn or the pattern? Every maker is different in what starts the making process, but regardless of how you usually operate, when you’re in a creative rut sometimes a little shopping gets you out of it.
BONUS IDEAS!
Okay, I had 10 ideas when I started writing this post, but as I typed I realized I had a few more that really should be highlighted, so here’s a lightning round!
-Find a local knit night to join. Check your local yarn store, local Facebook groups, and libraries. If all else fails, start your own. Seeing what others are working on and spending time together in person can be super inspiring.
-Look at the Hot Right Now on Ravelry. This goes along with #6, but is narrowed down a little by popularity.
-Check out your favorite store, in person or online, and see what they’ve got. I like to see what Target has to offer and see if I can glean any inspiration from there.
Hopefully one of these ideas will help you get unstuck from your creative rut and February brings about all the WIPs!
And now for the rest of the story...
(5 million points if you get the reference. 10 million points if you’re too young to get the reference, but you get it anyway, like me.)
Back to the newly inspired, previously abandoned pattern. I frogged the original piece, caked up that yarn, stuffed it into my knit night bag, and come that Thursday night I was off to the races with my new written plan. I even swatched up the new idea during the week – and I hate swatching! I’d like to say here “…and she lived happily ever after” and tell you that my creative rut was officially busted. But I’d be lying. I hit a few snags with that project, frogged it, and got the help of another maker at knit night to work out some kinks, so it wasn’t smooth sailing. This was baby step number one to getting out of my rut. I spent some time scrolling Target’s “What’s New” section until something stuck. 20 minutes after the initial AH-HA moment, I had my spring pattern collection planned out. And you’ll just have to wait and see what that is!
Happy Making!
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