This weekend is the beginning of my ‘birthday week’. Let’s call it a week, because let’s be honest, one day is not enough to see all the family and friends and do all the things that you like to do.

So I like to extend it to a week.

Yesterday I had the pleasure of attending a live yoga event. It was the first time in ages that I did a yoga practice in a group.

This was a pretty big group, but that group energy was really palpable.

It got me thinking about how we as creatives work and if we work better alone or in groups.

I think as a creative it’s very easy to discard that energy we get from groups and think… but I only get into flow when I am working alone in my studio.

Or…

But, I don’t want others to see my work

– whether that is from the point of view of you don’t want others to steal your ideas (more on that in a minute) or from the point of view that you don’t feel comfortable sharing your creativity with others (more on that in a minute too…)

I’d love to know…

Do you feel comfortable sharing your creativity? Sharing your quilt makes, your designs, your patterns?

Or does it make you feel uncomfortable?

If it makes you feel uncomfortable, what is it that makes you feel that way?

The worry that someone will steal your ideas?

Or the worry that no one will like what you have to share?

Or that someone will laugh, or say out loud what you say to yourself in your head… that you’re really not that talented. That your designs really aren’t that good…

LEAVE ME A COMMENT DOWN BELOW – DOES SHARING YOUR WORK MAKE YOU UNCOMFORTABLE?

Hear me out.

Being uncomfortable can be a great indication that we are on the verge of growth. Of doing something that is stretching our boundaries a little.

If we always played it safe, would we ever put ourselves in a position to learn and to grow?

So, if you are fearful about sharing your work because you are worried someone might steal your idea…

I say, flip that script and think, I’ll always have more ideas and better ones.

There are plenty of ideas to go around. (here’s how to process those ideas)

this is an abundance mindset.

And it is fundamental if you want to create and release your creations into the world – whether they are quilt patterns, quilt designs, or sketches, surface designs or anything else you make.

That ‘letting go’ and freeing your idea to let it live in the world can be hard, but ultimately it is what we create for.

We create so we can bring joy to others through what we create.

At least that is partly why I create.

It’s also a way for me to express my own self in a visual, external way.

Next time you feel yourself clinging on to an idea, keeping it safe and hidden, think about what impact it would have on someone else, if they found your design, quilt pattern or surface pattern at the exact right time.

Read more on this here: 3 stages of sharing your creativity

‘This is EXACTLY what I have been looking for’!

Have you ever said that when you finally found the exact right quilt pattern you wanted to make, or the exact right fabric for a project you were working on?

Imagine if the designer had kept that idea close, and not shared it with the world. You and countless others would miss out on that chance to enjoy that work of creativity.

Imagine if your favorite artist hadn’t shared their work with the world.

So, I’m here to say, get comfortable being uncomfortable.

The world needs your creativity.