Sunday, October 16, 2011

Too much of a good thing?

I have a wonderful gift: I am almost never bored. Seriously, give me two sticks and strong and I'll make a knitted hat. Hell, give me a sheep and a stick, and I'll make the string first.

There is, however, a downside to this. It's a kind of crafting ADHD, where every new project is shiny and fun. I actually have to hold myself back from learning new crafts. Today I was looking at the shelves in my bathroom, and thinking about how much they needed baskets. My first thought was, "I need to learn basketweaving so I can make them!" Since I just picked up a new craft this month though (rughooking, way cooler than it sounds, I'll post about it another time), I am trying to hold off.

I haven't actually printed this out anywhere, so right here and now, I'm going to list all my works in progress and projects. I'm a little nervous.

1) Cutting out a raincoat pattern to sew. Hey, I found awesome black Burberry raincoat fabric, it has to happen. It's also an insanely difficult Vogue coat pattern, just to make life, um, interesting.

2) Weaving a linen-cotton waffleweave cloth that I think is destined for placemats or kitchen towels.

3) Weaving a handspun yellow-black-orange wool fabric destined to be felted and turned into a messenger bag.

4) Knitting...oh god, can I just put all the knitting porjects here? Otherwise it'll take all day!
a) A hilarious Dr. Who themed hat for Neil Gaiman
b) An orange-brown leaf themed shawl because I don't have any brown-orange lace or shawls in my life. Sad sartorial lapse, eh?
c) a garter stitch shawl in handspun that I'm heartily bored with
d) a few projects tucked away that I may get to, or may tear back into yarn and redo. Lace shawl, a scarf, a shrug, and another shawl come to mind.

5) Spinning a gorgeous progression in superwash corriedale, dyed by Amy at Spunky Eclectic, which is destined to be woven into a tartan that will become...maybe a scarf, or perhaps I'll cut and sew it into something when I see it.

6) Also spinning some wool into lace from Spunky Eclectic that I'm thinking will become a featherweight cardigan.

7) I have some polymer clay toadstools that I need to fire, I'm thinking about adding little faces to them, although they make damn cute pins as they are.

8) I'm setting up the Big Loom, a computer-driven AVL 48" 16 harness floor loom. I should just start calling her Bertha, but I really don't want to piss her off, that's a lot of loom that I want to work with me, not drop a beam on my ankle for calling her things like 'Bertha'

9) I've set up my knitting machine, and while I have some of my new designs transcribed into computer, I need to test run them all and make my kid a set of school-color "Hogwarts" style scarves and hats and gloves.  Then I need to make 60-100 of those for the school boutique (that's how you know it's a fancy school, they don't have a bazaar, they have a freaking booootiique!) by December 2.

10) I need to mix the paint colors...no I don't pick them, I mix them myself, doesn't everyone? Anyway, I need to mix paint colors for the bathroom and kitchen, and then paint those rooms. We shall not speak of the rest of the unpacking/organizing that needs to happen, because it's not a craft. And I'm sticking to that excuse.

11) Oh right, and spindle spinning some lichen-colored Tussah silk for a crocheted lace shawl that I'm coveting.

12) I have a couple more pillows for the living room cut out and ready to sew.

13) I'm starting hexipuffs  from random leftovers of handspun for a beekeeper's quilt.

14) I'm rughooking a wool rug for my kid that looks like a big piece of bacon. Yes on purpose.

OK, phew, that wasn't as bad as I thought, since I didn't write down any of the things I have PLANNED. I have two pages of notes on things to knit next. I have a stack of fabric that represents maybe eight or nine projects to do 'next'. I can't wait to start weaving wool rag rugs to give away and sell. I want to spin enough cotton that I can warp up The Big Loom and make some clothes to wear from handspun. I have a whole line of polymer clay jewelry that I want to start. and and old one to finish.  I have one or three rughooking projects to do 'next'. And of course, there's always the project that I come up with out of the blue that derails all the others and takes immediate precidence!

At least I'm not bored :wicked grin:

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