Is DONE really better than perfect?

On Monday, of this week, I spent the better part of the day preparing, recording, and editing the CarryAll Diaper Tote Bag Tutorial I promised you last week. The bag turned out even better than I imagined, and the video quality was supreme. Little did I know, I had set the bar too high for my editing software and I would spend the next 72 hours trying to outsmart my iMac. I tried everything I could think of including:

·      Reducing the file size

·      Reuploading the files

·      Uninstalling the software

·      Reinstalling the software

·      Restarting the computer

·      Command + Option resets (didn’t even know this was a thing!)

·      Splitting the segments up

·      Begging, pleading, screaming (lol)

One trick, although FAR from ideal, was to screenshare the video through Zoom from iMovie (that’s the software I use). The result is a very grainy video…which exported and uploaded with ease. If you can get past the poor quality video, focus on the audio, and be grateful you don’t have to listen to my repeats, sniffles, and audible pauses for two hours…it will walk you step by step through the process of making the CarryAll Diaper Bag Tote.  

In contemplating this muddle, I pondered what my lesson might be here. What could I learn from this experience? A few questions came to mind:

·      Why are you giving your work away for free?

·      Is there a way to streamline this recording process?

·      Should I quit making YouTube videos?

Gulp. These are hard questions to answer and yet quite relevant to the work I am doing here with this newsletter focused on sustainability. You know the saying “be careful what you ask for because you just might get it”...

This week proved to me my own efforts here at Sewspire are not sustainable. It’s a one woman show and when the proverbial sh*t hits the fan there are no experts to ask for help, no one to delegate this problem to, and few tangible benefits to help offset the opportunity costs of spending so much time troubleshooting.

✨ What IS there is an innate desire to bring JOY and CREATIVITY to the world. It’s bigger than me, or this annoying software issue, and the work must continue!

👉 Yes, there are ways to streamline my process. One of them is to eliminate the editing all together. Imagine what life would look like if you lived it knowing there are no edits allowed. Wait! That is how it works. LOL.

🥰 Yes, the video and intellectual property are technically free. The tangible benefit, for me, is in building relationships. One way to do that is by publishing these videos. This is a long slow process that barely covers its costs but has given me so much joy, light, love. I wouldn’t trade my friendships at Studio 365 for anything.

So, now having been humbled and tortured, I present to you my FREE and less than perfect tutorial:

I hope you enjoy the project, learn from my lessons, and will share photos of your bags with me!

❤️ Andrea