Project vs. Process

I'm all about the process. I love to crochet, I love to knit. But I don't care whether or not I ever finish what I'm working on. I have many single socks that may or may not ever have a mate. It took me a very long time to understand why I'm that way, and part of the answer came after we participated in the Myers-Briggs Personality Indicator years ago at the company where I worked at the time. I'm all INFP, baby - no answers in any other category except those, so I'm pretty extreme in my personality.

As an INFP, I'm extremely introverted. That doesn't mean shy, although I am a little on the shy side. It just means I'm exhausted after a morning of talking to people at market on Saturday. I enjoy talking to them, I just need a few hours to regroup and get my energy back afterwards. I'm also a "big-picture" person. I can see the end result, just not the steps to get there. Or I can see the steps, but I don't care about taking them. I want to get from Point A to Point B without having to go to points A.1, A.2, A.3, etc. I'm a feeler - I care about what other people are feeling. I want to know that people like what I'm making. I spent a good deal of time with my market customers asking how something makes them feel, and I'm very interested in their answers. And I'm never, ever on time, and if I am by some chance on time, I had to work very hard to get there, often managing to convince myself that I had to be where I was going a half hour early so that I managed to arrive somewhat on time. Time doesn't matter much to me, except that it passes much too quickly most of the time.

So all that leads back [somehow] to my original point of being a process crocheter/knitter rather than a project crocheter/knitter, which I really think ties into my personality. I love the feel of the yarn running through my fingers. I love counting my stitches. I love looking at the pattern the self-striping yarns make as I work with them. I love imagining how the finished project will look (because odds are not in the project's favor that it will ever actually be finished). I love making all the little pieces for the amigurumi I create. I don't like the stuffing part. I sometimes don't much like the sewing part, so sometimes the stuffed pieces sit for a while until I have so many finished that I have to put them together in self defense. I do love making their little faces, where the slightest variation of a stitch can change their whole expression. After they're [finally] finished, I like to imagine how my customers will feel about them. Will they smile when they see them? Will they give them as a gift, making someone else smile in the process?

Now these bowls? I love the whole stinking process, which means I actually get finished projects!

 
I love the crocheting. I love watching the colors shift or blend, and I love thinking about how they'll look when finished as I'm working on them. I love the felting process - I stand by the washer the entire time, taking them out every few minutes to see how much they've felted and how much they've changed. I love taking them out and rinsing them in cold water and feeling the fabric draw together and seeing how the colors emerge or recede and this happens. I love shaping them into the perfect bowl - big or little, deep or shallow depending on how the yarn felts. I love watching them dry in the sun and transform into fuzzy little vessels. I love the tedious process of trimming off the fuzz to see the beauty of the felted fabric beneath. I love everything, start to finish, about the felted bowls I make - maybe because each step of making them is so different than the step before that it seems like a totally separate project? Whatever the reason(s), I'm just glad they're something I can finish!

 Felted Bowls drying in the sun and awaiting defuzzing ...

My Woefully Neglected Blog

Yes, it's been almost three months. In my defense ... well, I have no defense. How hard is it to add a few paragraphs about what I've been up to? Unless, I haven't been up to much, and that seems to be the case here.

I had a craft show a few weeks ago. It was so-so. I did make back my table fee plus a little bit, so that was ok. But then I passed Taco Bell on the way home and I was starving, so I spent money I shouldn't have on dinner that ended up making me just a little bit sick.

I have a craft show coming up next Saturday, 4/12. Hopefully there won't be a Taco Bell between there and home after it's over. Or hopefully I'll have a little will power to resist the siren song of nachos belle grande ...

Here's something I designed for this show, which is the weekend before Easter:

I was internet surfing a little while ago, and I found something really, really similar, proving once again that there are no original ideas left in the world! Or very few.

I'll also be working on zombie bunnies (zombie pigs, zombie hearts and zombie kitty puffs, too) as something a little different for older kids' Easter gifts. I have plenty of soaps left from the last craft show, so no need to make new ones for this show, even though I have a ton of ideas for them.


Market season is coming up quickly. I'm not prepared, but I'm working on it. I'm thinking instead of driving an hour and a half each and every Saturday, I'll just do market on the first and third Saturdays of each month. And we'll see how that goes. It's too expensive with gas and tolls to go every weekend, especially when historically there are some weekends when I don't make enough to cover those expenses.

So that's what happening in my little corner of the world!

Where did the last week go?

Time just flew past last week and here it is Monday already!

I drove back to PA yesterday to pack up some of my stuff. I think I ended up getting about half of it moved, with the other half to come this Sunday. My brother is a genius at packing my car and managed to get just about everything I wanted to bring tucked into all the nooks and crannies. My daughter thinks I have a ton of crap and is looking forward to organizing all my various crafting supplies. She's only seen half of it ... LOL! I still don't have my work table, chair or task light here, so not much crafting will go on this week. But look out next week!

Still not panicking about the numbers - it's just January and I should be able to get started next week.

Finished Crafts 1/12/14
Amigurumi: 0
Soap: 0
Soap dishes: 0
Greeting cards: 0
Jewelry: 0
Miscellaneous: 0

Ch-Ch-Changes ...

Early in October, my daughter needed surgery on her foot to repair a broken heel and a torn tendon. I spent two months helping take care of her--cooking, doing laundry, driving the boys to school and to their daycare provider. She's fine now and back to work, but has now lost her sitter. I made the decision a week or so ago to move in with her and my grandsons to help take care of them. And her. I'm still her mom, and kids still need their moms, no matter how old they may be.

Fortunately, I'm not working a "real" job now, so I have the flexibility to do this for her. I still plan to go to market in Pennsylvania twice a month and to exhibit at local craft shows on the other Saturdays. I might even find a local market down here that needs handmade artisan soaps!

It's a little bit scary, this taking on the mom role again. I have to remember that my daughter is the mom in charge of the household, and defer to her rules so that the boys aren't confused with two sets of instructions to follow. She's stricter than I was in some areas and more relaxed than I was in others, but I think our parenting styles mesh nicely. She's a single parent, and I'm so proud of the strong, confident woman she has become. She's a good mother and tries to provide her sons with a great life while working a full-time job. My oldest grandson has Downs Syndrome, and she advocates for his education and keeps him involved in activities that stimulate his mind and body.

I have a large room in her basement with two big windows that let in both the morning and afternoon sunshine. The Chihuahua Brothers will have a little more room to roam, and I have a door with back yard access so that I can let them out without having to leash them. I have a feeling they'll be spending most of their time snoozing in whatever sunbeams they can find, though!

This is a positive change. I'll have to work a little smarter to squeeze in as much crafting as I need to get done in less time, but I don't usually work very smart, so anything I can do smarter is going to be an improvement.

Not much done on the crafting front. Nothing at all done, actually, but year is new and I don't feel behind since I still need to move all my supplies here from Pennsylvania. Still big plans in my head and I still plan to report here weekly about what I've finished for shows, market and the big show in November.

Finished Crafts 1/5/14
Amigurumi: 0
Soap: 0
Soap dishes: 0
Greeting cards: 0
Jewelry: 0
Miscellaneous: 0