Did I Make a Mistake?

Since creating my first ribbon skirt for my 3-year-old daughter, I have been in a bit of a pickle. I don’t want my content to be repetitive and once I finished a skirt, doing more would likely be the same process, so I think I may have made a mistake in my choice for my learning project because I feel I’ve run out of content to post. So I’m going to draw out all the pros and cons of my learning project choice.

Starting with the pros;

• this is something I’ve wanted to learn for years.
• It connects me to my culture and my family.
• I accomplished something I didn’t think I ever would.
• I learnt a ton along the way.
• It was challenging.
• It helped me view this art form as more than just “easy” art, I can now see the hours of patience and skill it takes to create.
• This allowed me to express myself in a creative way that I haven’t done in a very long time.
• It pushed me to want to learn more sewing skills, new techniques.
• It was incredibly empowering, when I finished the skirt, I was a little in awe that I had created something so beautiful and meaningful.
• Preservation of my culture, this is a skill I can pass along.
• Possible economic opportunities, if I continue with it, I could potentially turn a good profit.

Now, moving along to the cons of this project;

• It is very time consuming. What I thought would take a couple hours took 3x that.
• Cost of materials, fabric is very expensive
• I don’t own a sewing machine so I had to travel to my parents place to make my skirt
• Poor time management which is personal to me, but I wish I would have made more time to create more skirts
• Lack of content, once I made one skirt, I knew how to do it. The next ones will be created the same way and I don’t want to make two identical posts.
• Physically demanding, by the end of the skirt, my entire body was sore.
• Pressure to create, after the first one, I felt like the next one had to be produced.

So both lists are quite lengthy. As you can see I’ve considered all aspects of my learning project and the only thing I can think of that makes me believe it was a mistake is my lack of intention behind this project. I think what it comes down to is the effort I put in. I wish I could go back and try to do it differently and put in more of an effort. I’ve learnt this semester that balancing a full-time job, being a parent, taking 4 university classes, while also trying to grow my family and plan a wedding, is A LOT. So yes, I did make a mistake, I’ve actually made plenty throughout this project, but my choice of project was not one of them.

I will definitely continue this learning process. I am actually quite excited to continue making skirts. I have fabric and materials ready to go for my next few. I am so glad I chose this idea, I’ve definitely had a few missteps on this journey but all I can do to make it right is keep learning and growing my skills.

I hope you all feel the same way about your learning project and continue on your learning journeys!