My book is out in the world and now I'm just so tired

Reflecting on the intensity of a book launch 📗 PLUS project inspiration and more!

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Hi friends! I’m Clare Albans, a hand embroidery artist who loves craft and colour. I’m here to encourage you to take time out to be creative! Sign up for free project inspiration, honest chats about the ups and downs of the creative process, and tips and tricks to help you find your creative joy. Join my paid space for my hand embroidery patterns and to be part of our growing stitching community (find out more here).

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Yesterday morning I listened to two amazing podcasts by

Claire Venus

from

Sparkle on Substack

. You know when you hear or read something at just the right time and you feel completely seen? That’s exactly how I felt listening to both of these episodes with two brilliant women who have recently published books -

Natalie Lue

and

Gabrielle Treanor

. They both spoke so openly about so many things that I related to, but the way they spoke about how they felt after launching really resonated with me the most. I feel like I needed to hear their words in that very moment, and I’m really grateful to Natalie and Gabrielle for being open about their experiences with publishing their books.

The Modern Embroidery Handbook is my second book, and its launch earlier this month felt like a huge rollercoaster on so many levels (see this post about the delay and this post about getting my head around a 1* review). So many other things have happened along the way and I’m thrilled that it’s finally out in the world. It was so exciting seeing it for the first time (even though the first package I opened contained the wrong book, but that’s probably a story for another time… 😂).

But the main thing that this book launch highlighted for me was quite frankly just how exhausted I am - to the point where I feel like know I’m not promoting it enough. I’m stuck in a weird place where I know I need to be doing more, but I’m also very aware that I’m giving everything I’ve got right now. And that’s okay.

Publishing a book is exhausting in so many ways, and I think I had forgotten just how intense it is. My first book came out in October 2020, a year that was completely wild for many other reasons, and I’m not sure if it was easy to tell what was crazy because of the madness of the year itself or the book launch. So it was just lovely to hear that I’m not the only one who feels like this when I listened to the podcasts! I also read this post by Beth Kempton {Life. This is it, friends.} who also had similar feels about book promotion for her new book too (thanks to

Sarah Raad

for the recommendation).

Getting your book out in the wild comes after a long and intense period of writing (and creating projects for a craft book, in my case, which took over a year), editing, re-editing and endless emails along the way. I found myself reading what I thought it should say by the time we got to the final draft, and you just feel so fully immersed in editing whilst trying to maintain all of the other life things going on around it. This week, Facebook reminded me that it was a year since the photo shoot for the book, which was an incredible experience. Closely followed by the edits, then promotional build up, it’s a seriously intense time.

12 months ago, I promised myself I’d have a proper break after the book shoot. I am still yet to make time for this, and now I can feel it in my bones.

Even though I feel like I haven’t done enough to promote it, I’m reminding myself that my book will still continue to exist in the world after the launch period, and that I can still continue to promote it down the line. Yes, I probably would have done some things a bit differently if I’d had the last few months over again. However, the reality is that although I’m feeling the pressure to be present online more frequently, I really don’t feel like being online that much at the moment. I think quite a lot of creative people (certainly many who I follow online) are feeling this right now too. I’m just so tired.

Do I need to take a big chunk of time off? Absolutely. Is it possible right now? Well, no not really 😂 So I’m trying not to work in the evenings as much as I can, and keep Sundays off completely, and I’m gearing myself up to take some proper time off over the summer. We’ve got some other big changes happening here in the background, and I’m hoping that will ease up some time as we move forward. Fingers crossed! 🤞🏻

Listen to the podcasts here:

On leaving your footprints on the world with Natalie Lue

Staying Experimental in the World of Substack with Gabrielle Treanor

Photo: © Jesse Wild from my second book, The Modern Embroidery Handbook (2024)

WIP

This month I finally found time to have a go at making some leggings, but the results were mixed. It was all going swimmingly until I made a complete mess of attaching the waistband…but you live and learn! I’m really happy with the pattern choice though, which was recommended by my friend Louise. It’s the MyFit Leggings pattern by Apostrophe Patterns, and you basically take loads of your own measurements to create a pair of leggings that are the perfect fit for you. The legs were looking amazing until I bodged it, so I’m looking forward to giving it another go! If anyone has any tips for sewing waistbands using Ponte Roma on an overlocker (serger) let me know 😂

Project inspo

Have you spotted my Trust the Process pattern in Love Embroidery magazine this month?! I’ve seen a few people stitching this on socials this month which has been so lovely. I originally designed this pattern in 2021, and it’s still exciting to see it being stitched! Get your copy of issue 52 if you want to stitch it too, or you’ll find it along with the rest of my back catalogue of PDF patterns if you become a Founding Member here on Substack.

Stitch of the month

I’ve been stitching French knots a lot this week as I finished up the Afro hair for my Embroidery Membership Masterclass this month. They’re notoriously tricky, but once you get the hang of them they’re okay! But did you know that a Colonial knot is a really good alternative to a French knot? It’s worth giving them a go if the French knot is your nemesis!

Watch the tutorial video here on YouTube!

Home ed

My kids are so interested in butterflies at the moment - my daughter always has been, so it’s lovely that her little brother is now joining in! She knows loads about them and always tells us what’s just fluttered by. There’s a brilliant resource from The Wildlife Trusts which will help you to identify British butterflies here.

We might try making this flapping paper butterfly from One Little Craft - it looks really fun!

Another thing we’re enjoying at the moment is bluebell season, and

Zabby

from Nature Notcie Board shared a great post about them this weekend. Read more here!

From the archives

The irony of writing about rest earlier in the year is not lost on me, but in this post from back in February I talked about how rest is a key part of creativity.

It will soon be elderflower season, so get prepared with this cordial recipe from my blog! I love making elderflower cordial, and it has become a bit of a tradition to go out and collect the flowers with my kids. I can’t wait to make more this year!

Wishing you a creative month ahead

Thanks so much for reading this month’s roundup! If you’d like to support my work, you could buy a copy of my new book or come and join my Embroidery Membership (we’re stitching hair this month!). I really appreciate your continued support, and I hope you can take time out to be creative this coming month.

Clare 😊