The yarn order arrived this morning - all fifty-nine balls. It's absolutely luscious with some skeins more so than others. There were several I wish I'd bought adult sized amounts of and I briefly debated ordering more but - luckily - nipped that thought and clicked away. I have enough yarn. Between these and the skeins already on the yarn shelf, there's plenty to knit. What I know for sure is that I'll be buying the good stuff from now on. It feels totally different and we all know how important quality tools are which means that I'll be watching for yarn sales just as I watch for fabric sales while learning to control my yarn stash - LOL.
Talking about circling - when I ordered this yarn it was to knit small, child sized garments to both improve my workmanship and to develop my design skills. How to do something and how to do it better - as in perfecting my skill set - has always been an aspect of creativity that I've really enjoyed. While I wanted more of that kind of learning, at the same time I was debating writing a book about the process along the lines of the textile art workshops that I used to teach. Between placing and receiving the order, there was a shift and I've realized that I don't want to do that anymore. I've written books, developed patterns, and taught classes and that feels old - the beating a dead horse kind of old - the if you continue to do what you've always done you'll continue to get what you've always got kind of old - and it's time for new and fresh, interesting and challenging, activities. As one friend put it, this time in a woman's life is "me" time.
Along those same lines, I won't be going back to hair styling. After my discussion with Tony, I put together a budget of the expenses involved and then developed a payment schedule to eliminate the initial investment based on two months of training followed by ten months of investment reduction. That would require twelve customers per day, three days a week, on a six week rotation, without fail, starting on day one. That's not going to happen and, even if it did, would mean working for free for one year with any work associated expenses coming out of my pocket. It's more likely to take the full four years to build up a client base while working Thursday evenings and Friday and Saturday days which doesn't match the life style I want to live right now. As I said to one friend, if I was hungry I would do what needed to be done and I'm not.
I appreciate the concern over my allergies and the chemical exposure that would have come with hair styling. It was definitely a factor to consider. Unfortunately, chemical exposure exists in every outside my own home activity. This week, I went to a choir performance and while the music was fabulous, the olfactory ambiance was not. Even the friend I went with wore a musk perfume because putting on perfume is part of her getting ready to go out routine and she just didn't think about it which was probably true for several members of the audience. While the awareness around scent has increased, I'm not sure there's a way to totally eliminate the issue so no matter where I worked, I would be exposed to perfumes and other smells. It's something you just have to figure out how to live with while trying to build up your system to eliminate or at least improve reactions.
A few months ago, I experimented with textile jewelry and - in my typical OCD way - I ordered a series of books on jewelry and bought numerous magazines and ordered some cuff bracelet blanks and then put that idea on the back burner. Yesterday, I talked over the concept of picking a path with a friend whose advice I really appreciated. We agreed that at a certain point you just have to pick something and get on with it and see where that leads. One of my favourite quotes, often attributed to Goethe although there's a whole debate around that, is...
Until one is committed, there is hesitancy, the chance to draw back - Concerning all acts of initiative (and creation), there is one elementary truth the ignorance of which kills countless ideas and splendid plans: that the moment one definitely commits oneself, then Providence moves too. All sorts of things occur to help one that would never otherwise have occurred. A whole stream of events issues from the decision, raising in one's favor all manner of unforeseen incidents and meetings and material assistance, which no man could have dreamed would have come his way. Whatever you can do, or dream you can do, begin it. Boldness has genius, power, and magic in it. Begin it now.
Even though I'd put the jewelry making concept on the back burner, the ideas haven't left me alone. They've been flowing through my mind constantly and I've realized that this is perhaps the new and fresh, interesting and challenging, activity I've been yearning for. While I intend to focus on jewelry made from textiles and particularly on cuff bracelets and necklaces, I've signed up for three workshops at ArtFest in March that focus on creating earrings, using polymer clay, and incorporating text.
Because in the past I've had difficulty separating work and play, I would ideally like a studio outside the home in a busier environment where I'd have interaction with other artists and with clients. It'd have to be dirt cheap, like someone was gifting me with studio space, to be doable. I'm open to that possibility and at the same time looking at how to structure our home to separate my personal creativity and the creativity that would be for sale. Starting in the new year, I plan to structure making jewelry as a job putting in a specific amount of hours per week however, it's all theory and testing and see how it goes for now.
AND... because one of the things I really wanted from working was to get dressed up and get out of the house and interact with other human beings, I've decided to look for opportunities to become involved in community groups and have emailed the choir director from earlier this week to ask if they are accepting new members and have registered for singing lessons. Ideally, I want to become involved with other creative individuals so I'm looking for an art group to join, preferably one without a lot of politics and with an abundance of inspiration and commitment. I know... good luck.
SO... switching subjects... the Kwik Sew 3300 bra study is complete. It might have been the changes in body structure throughout the month but - for whatever reason - with one little tweak - the original bra fits the best. I simply stitched the upper part of the bridge narrower and that was good and perfect and pretty. Of course, I made three other prototypes in-between, which is so like me. I'm very particular about fit and have a tendency to over-fit along with an insatiable curiosity about what if that can lead me down paths better left unexplored.
My next sewing project will NOT be jeans. I've been debating a version of Sham's Tablecloth Skirt sewn with a knit fabric and I'll try that out next only I want to clean house first. There's a viewing scheduled for tomorrow that feels very positive. Howard and I have talked a lot lately about what we want over the next few years and, based on our answers, we're both committed to moving to a strata unit where someone else takes care of the maintenance and we can come and go and focus on our interests. Before, I was really committed to that idea and he was sort of committed and now that he's had a little taste of the possibilities since our son moved out, we're both there. After a long time without, there have been some sales in our neighbourhood lately. Hopefully ours will be next.
Talk soon - Myrna
Grateful - picking a path, having a sense of direction, and feeling positive about the new year
If you join the choir (and I hope you do) you might ask the director if there is a performance policy in place for perfume. I've been in, and run, ensembles where perfume and scented products in general were not allowed during performances. Worth asking at any event.
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