Sometimes love ain’t enough…

No, I am not going all cheesy on you. I just had a mad few days, and spent more time on politics than anything else. I love it. I love being a political animal, and I would like to be involved in decision making one day. However, a lot of aspects in politics are really not me, and I worry that I have to change too much to make this work. So it is stressful, and serious, and I want to laugh, and dance, and knit.

So today is a craft day for me. Sadly, it isn’t warm enough to knit in the garden, but so I am sitting at my desk with coffee, knit and muse about my life, about how I can combine crafting and politics and writing, as well as laughing and dancing. Oh yes, and recycling, too. The latter, however, worked out very nicely.

I had this top which was beautiful - on the hanger! But not on me. No matter how many people told me that I looked nice, it never felt like it. I loved it, I loved the medieval-looking sleeves, I loved the purple colour, but when I was wearing it, I kept tucking on it and twisting in it, and just felt…wrong. I altered it. Still felt wrong. It seemed to give me a strange shape that just wasn’t me, partly too big and partly to short. It just didn't fit. So eventually, I had to make a decision. Charity shop, or cutting it into t-shirt yarn? The fabric and sleeves are gorgeous, but did I want to cut it?

Then I thought, why not use those amazing sleeves…as part of armwarmers! Right now I am very much into combining my knitting with textile art in mittens and armwarmers, so I decided to use the sleeves and make something for me!  Luckily, I found a matching yarn in my stash – beautiful, purple, and handspun by Rachel from lindsaycrafts.  So I cut, turned the sleeves upside down, fitted, knitted and sewed, and here is the result (one done, one more to go)!

  So, now I have something I love and love wearing, too! 

If politics were so easy…but then again, maybe it is?

Thowing down the gauntlet and dancing to Bellowhead!

The motivation returns!

Freshly spun yarn

Last week, while I was sick, my motivation reached sub zero temperatures. In fact, it disappeared, and unlike Arnie, it didn’t shout ‘I’ll be back!’

I tried to coax it, used every trick from my motivational books including planning and goal setting, treated myself to lovely food, took it easy…still, my motivation was gone. This, of course, is bad when you are self-employed and have to bring home the bacon.

I tried to use creative visualisation, imagining myself as an energetic, successful and wealthy crafter – that lasted five minutes, and I was in deep slumber on my sofa.

I was desperate for somebody to feed me motivation with a big wooden spoon, because I kept lying postrated on my bed, reading chick lit from years back, and eating nuts.

My knitting was abandoned, my spindle hadn’t been twirled in weeks, and my sewing basket was overflowing.

Even the prospect of new yarn only caused a mild fluttering of eyelashes.

On Saturday morning I wrote a song about why I want to be my neighbour’s dog.
(It is actually funny.)

Things were bad!

OK, I did have some kind of virus, but this seemed to have turned into a motivational crisis, a creative blank, and the desire to sleep all day. Maybe I was knitted-out, but maybe I just needed to get a kick in the proverbial…?

However, motivation suddenly has returned! Not with all guns blazing like Arnie, more with a tentative ‘hello everybody’, but yes, it is back.

Hear the clicking of knitting needles and the whirring of the spindle!

Hurray!

For what it's worth

I had this article in my head for ages, ever since I was in Laurieston Hall in September...

But time flies and I still haven't written it. In fact, I've written so very little these days, that I can probably count myself lucky that I managed to scribble some New Years Resolutions in my diary which scarily sounded like the ones from previous years - something about not procrastinating so much, being more organised, finally learning better time management and getting fitter. At least I scrapped the 'growing up' and 'being realistic & sensible' ones, because these in my view are only other names for 'functioning in somebody else's world'. Finally caught on to that one...

My own handspun yarn in 'sea colours'

So, what did I want to write about.. Oh yes, the worth of one's work. Let's take you back to a few late summer days in Laurieston Hall, a community in Scotland. I don't think I ever turn into a community or communal type, but I was impressed. Not just by the fabulous vegetarian food (which even thrilled the palate of a big baconface like me!), but by the way the community was run. They were so organised that the German in me was thrilled!

However, it wasn't in that horrible stick wielding kind of way many organisations operate, but in a much more meaningful way. People knew that they counted, and that their work counted. You were organised because you knew other people relied on you and your work, not because some mean boss would give you grief. I was on tidying up duty on two evenings of my stay and was amazed how easily I fitted into the routine (I even liked tidying!!!), but at the same time also knew that if I wasn't moving my butt, the stuff didn't get done - my input was needed, even if only for the two evenings I was on duty.

Another example, we spend an afternoon plaiting onions. Yes, plaiting onions! I've actually did write something about it at the time, and you can read it on the Etsy Ireland Team blog.

Onion plaiting was great fun, but also necessary work so that the onions could be properly stored for the winter. Again, your work counted - you were connected to the work and did it well because you knew it was necessary, rather than being bored, thinking of other things you could rather be doing, and feeling that you just couldn't be arsed. No cog in the wheel there.

40 Shades of Grey, unique handknitted scarf by purlsofcolour on Etsy

And that's why I love crafts so much. Not only because I have to express my creativity somehow or else turn into a grumpy and foul-mooded individual who slurps coffee to stay awake, but also because you get a great sense of purpose and worth out of your work. You are connected to what you are doing and while you are doing it, it's important that you keep doing it, that you finish your creative work, because there is nobody else there to do it for you. You totally bring yourself into that process.

And if you sell it or give it to somebody as a gift, you have a feeling that this counts for somebody - that the ideas and hours you put into that piece has worth.

So when I sometimes want to give up running a small craft business, because I feel that I am not getting anywhere, I make no money from this and nobody gives a f... arthing for my work, I have to remind myself that it is worth something - and not just to myself. In a world where everything is mass produced and doesn't have much worth, crafts do, because they have meaning. We might have to convince more people of its worth, but it is worth...a lot.

On the Run - with 'The Bear'