DIY Zippered Pouches (and Thoughts on Being Instead of Doing)

This year I decided to make presents for my closest colleagues. I used to be that kind of person, but motherhood kind of erased it from my muscle memory. 

I had to make 11 in all, so I wanted something that was manageable. 

I decided on this zippered pouch. I find that "Batch Processing" helps a lot. I cut all the fabric at the same time, ironed everything at the same time, sewed on all the zippers, etc. The process of only focusing on one thing at a time makes the process more efficient. 

In retrospect, I should not take on a project like this in October/November. It's a time of year that gets too busy. I'm doing a good job of staying ahead of things (like holiday cards--which are ready to mail after Thanksgiving!), but there are too many things on my to-do list, and it's pushing me into "to do" mode instead of allowing me to be a person who can just be.  

I recently teared up while watching this video, entitled, If I Were a Young Woman Now...

It's about modern womanhood and the pressures we put on ourselves to be the perfect mother, the perfect friend. I think a lot about how I'm part of that pressure (which comes so heavily from the emergence of the blogging community). I also run e-courses about trying to have the best possible pregnancy and how to be the most purposeful parent possible. 

There's such a fine line between trying to intentionally and purposefully live your best life and frittering it away by overly focusing on all the wrong things. 

These kinds of lines really stuck out to me: 

If I had my time again, I wouldn't create a to do list. I'd create a "to don't do" list...If I were a young woman now, I'd spend less time doing and more time being. 

The truth is, I do want to be the kind of person who makes handmade gifts for friends but not because I feel pressure to be the perfect friend. I want to do it because making things with my hands feels good to me and gives me a deep sense of accomplishment. It's meditative to cut and iron and sew. I want my boys to see me start with a small nugget of an idea, research how to make it happen, work hard, make mistakes, demonstrate resilience, and feel successful in the end. It's a great way to spend long, Sunday afternoons while the boys just want to play creatively around the house. 

So next time I'll start earlier in the year. And not in any pressure-kind-of-way. No, I'll just start making handmade gifts and collecting them so that I can use them at the right moment. 

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