Hello, my dears! I hope things are going well. Here in my pocket of the world, we’re speedily careening toward Halloween, which is the best and brightest spot in my calender. I’m home all the time now, doing my best to make my talents bear some fruit. I’ve been enjoying putting up art on Redbubble, and this week I started a Youtube channel, so I can offer some spinning videos. It turns out spinning is as soothing to watch for others as it is to do it myself.
So now that I’m home, and home all the time, I’m definitely having a reevaluation of what my time is good for. I cook more, and have more time to experiment. I draw more, and have more time to try new things. I spin more, and I’m finding it gratifying to work my way through the big bales of fluff that are begging for new exciting forms. This yarn below started out as a nice big bundle of alpaca locks, reminding everyone who saw them of a huge litter of calico kittens…
I’m always torn between keeping the yarns and knitting them up myself, or sharing them with all of you. I think I need to make a few of these for the shop, just as an excuse to keep one or two for myself.
Anyway, time. It’s such an unsettling feeling now. I used to be in a rush all the time, desperately trying to cram as much as I could do into whatever seconds I could do it in. I did a lot of multitasking. Now that I’m working on projects and new art and yarn and whatnot, my work schedule is…flexible. Start spinning at 7am? Why not? Do a quick sketch to expand on later, right before bed? No reason not to, right? Embroider something, take a 2 hour break to eat lunch, clean the living room and play June’s Journey? That seems to work, funny enough. Make something for dinner I haven’t tried? Why in the hell not?
I still have to get the hang of how I work best though. When I’m not working on something specific, I can be all over the map about what to do first. I guess that will come with practice. But it’s such a different experience from what I’m used to doing for years and years: Set schedules with little or no room for deviation, where lateness was the ultimate taboo and speedy multitasking was the order of the day. The reasons I’m home are horrible, but I gotta say,the freedom can be kind of exhilarating, if I don’t think about the whys too hard.
I hope you get time too, in ways you didn’t have before. I know it’s different for everybody, but I know everybody I’ve talked to is reevaluating their time, and what they value and how to make room for those values now. I hope there’s room for good sleep and a cherished meal, and talks with friends no matter how far away they are.
Be safe, keep knitting, and be well, everyone. And make time for yourself.