Those hard questions

Today I am waxing philosophical. My struggle is with a concept I was raised with from very early on. "Work first, play later." This simply means, get your work finished and out of the way so its not hanging over you and you can be free to do what you want to. On the surface this is a great concept, very simple to understand. It is a responsible adult concept, one that really dictates how we do our jobs and live our lives... It is quite a bit harder to put into complete practice. Well, not the "work first" part, there is ALWAYS way more of that to do. It just seems for me that the work never gets done so my "play later" doesn't get to happen as much as I'd like. Job and career aside, I'm thinking more on the household tasks that everyone does.I am a homeowner, I have responsibilities to the property. These include yard work, laundry, remaking beds, etc. These tasks happen on a weekly basis in our house. The thing is, yet again I am doing housework, which would normally not be a problem except I'd like to be able to push aside the tasks that need to be done and "run and jump and play." Now please bear in mind, I have no idea what "play" I actually want to do, just not the work. But my sense of responsibility rears its head and says "no, no, you must get the work done so you can feel free." Why? Who really cares? I see other people put off their work to the point it never gets done, but they seem to have a lot of fun playing while their tasks go unfinished. It doesn't seem to bother them. But it bothers me. So I guess the issue is "why does it bother me so much to not have 'my work' done?" Why is it such a big deal? Who is really watching me and ticking the "irresponsible" box on their list of my personality traits? Am I self-centered enough to believe everyone really is watching me and judging me that way? I get a sense of satisfaction from knowing I have finished tasks. I can point to (fill in the chore here) and think "yes, I got that done" and "yay me, I am such a good little worker," but in the end, what does it matter? Why should I value those tasks so highly that I miss out on the fun things I want to do? If I don't get it done this week, there is always next week, or the week after. If I end up in an accident, I doubt I'll be thinking, "Darn, if only I'd gotten the laundry done." Instead, I'll be thinking "well, no way to get that scarf-gift ready before Christmas now." And yet, the work has to be done and it does hang over my head until it is, so off I go to do another load of laundry. And on the positive side of things, the laundry is the last thing on my list for today, so when it is done, I can play. And I even waited to write this until the laundry was well under way...

Tall trees and why you shouldn't put things off.

There is a storm raging outside, her name is Sandy. I hear the rain beat against the windows and hear the tall trees getting whipped into a frenzy by the wind. This would not be a problem except one of them has a direct path to my bedroom, through the roof, of course, and the other has a direct line to the daughter's bedroom (also through the roof first, except she wouldn't even hear it coming, with her ears out). My husband has gone upstairs to bed, thinking nothing of this because he's been through more hurricanes than I have, but me, being cautious and finishing schoolwork, just can't quite let the smooshed house image go. Did I mention those trees have most of their leaves still on them, so the wind force is rather intense on them. Anyway, I will need to go to bed soon and just get on with the being smooshed or not. It isn't like I can do anything about it. On a second note "Why I shouldn't put things off." Yes, I know everybody knows this, but I did procrastinate and now I am sitting here (doing other stuff, but not SpindlesandMore) with no spindle supplies to create with. I haven't ordered them yet. If only I had, I'd have had two school free days to play and paint and create. But no, I put off ordering the new supplies when I got back from the show a couple weeks ago and now I pay for it with time to listen to a storm I'd really rather not hear. The positive note to all this is that today, both my sister and one of my friends took pictures for some projects they are working on and I helped. I, despite an aversion to pictures of me, volunteered to have my back and hands photographed for the projects. All identifiable jewelry was removed. The agreement was, no parts anyone would recognize, as we were going for the concept of the image, NOT 'hey, I know her!' based on a picture. It was actually pleasantly invigorating to my creative sense to discuss the shots and how they looked, what we liked or didn't, how the lighting really worked or flopped shadows in inconvenient places. Anyway, to bed and another stormy day tomorrow. Good Night.

Ahh, the end

The Shenandoah Valley fiber festival is over for another year. This year was my first vending there and we will be back! After selling 13 spindles yesterday and 6 more today, along with both roving and yarn and a shawl, it has been deemed a huge success. Compared to other venders, I have a minuscule inventory, three small table with items spread out to be easily seen. One of the things that sets me apart from the other shops (in both good and bad ways) is that because I work full-time somewhere else. It is not my livelihood, and so I experience no pressure to make a sale. I can afford to relax at a show and take time to teach the spinning lessons for free. While I think I would like to make and sell spindles and other fibery things full-time, it is unlikely I'd be able to, nor would there be enough income in offering the lessons as a free gift to the greater good. I really enjoy spinning and offer the basic knowledge of how to do it free of charge as a way to bring old information to light and a make connection to our past, perhaps even cultivate a respect for the old skills that still have validity today, if we take the time to practice them. Spinning forces you to slow down and enjoy the process by its very nature. It is hard to rush when you are hand-spinning your yarn.

Oh what a day!! SVFF 2012 Day 1

I am on a bit of a high after today. Hubby and I attended the Shenandoah Valley Fiber Festival today (and will again tomorrow). Sales were good and about 20 people learned to use the drop spindle with several others standing by to observe the process and ask clarifying questions. My newest spindles were the most popular of those sold, so I will continue making those series. One of those series was the "manly spindles" Hubby suggested I make. He located some pretty cool decals for me to add to some of the spindles to make them bolder. The decals can be a bit touchy to apply and then to add the polyurethane layers so they don't bubble is wonderful fun. I did a bit of touchup work on a few older spindles and will have them out again tomorrow with the new ones. Come out and see all the lovely fiber, fleeces, clothing, patterns, hooks, needles, llamas, alpacas, sheep, possibly sheepdog trials, soaps and oils and food (there was a bactrian CAMEL there today too)!! Sunday hours are 10AM to 4PM.

Just a bit further

I made 22 new spindles for the show Saturday. With only 7 more hooks to put in, I am nearly finished. I lost one spindle to a broken hook, no way to repair it by removal, so all the work sanding and layering the polyurethane is lost. Just one more pretty piece for the fireplace. Once the hooks are in, all the index cards for the new ones have to be completed noting their color, styles and marking, hook type and setting, identification number and date, weight, and the various measurements I use to track which concepts are more popular. Considering the show is Saturday, I'll be bustling a bit tomorrow night. It is too late tonight to do more. The newest concept I'm working on is one my husband suggested. He wants some "manly" spindles. Until now, this has translated as a few plain ones in dark colors. Now, thanks to his suggestions I have a new idea for some spindles, but have only been able to make two in time for this show. You'll need to come to the show to see them. :)

Less than a week to go!!!

This coming weekend I will pack up my lovely spindles, roving, clothing items, camp tables, table covers, brochures, business cards, signs, and a host of other items into the back of my truck and head to my show. Until then, I will be dashing about trying to finish all the other things that need to be ready for the show. This evening I added two more layers of poly to the spindles. This finishes about a dozen of the spindles, but the others are still in need of one more layer on the shafts. Tomorrow I'll put in the hooks of the finished ones and do the last poly for the small batch. Now to print the spinning brochures and head to bed.

7 started with 5 waiting

I am happily anticipating the SVFF on the 29-30 due to its location close to my home (no hotel stay required this time) and the chance to see friends while selling the spindles and roving. I have seven spindles in paint now, a few are gradients of black going toward midnight blue and there is a silver and a copper. I am debating how many to leave natural and seal with polyurethane. I'd like to treat a couple with the WoodBeams beeswax, but in a moment of insanity, I reorganized part of my craft room and haven't seen the WoodBeams since. That's what I get for trying to clean the space up. I will continue the search and this Friday evening and into the weekend, I'll be working on the spindles. I love the creation process, I just wish I could sell all the spindles so I'd have more space to create more of them. I picture my spindles as making the world a brighter, happier place.