There are several general ideas running around in my head as for what I'd like to do in the first few months of 2013. I don't really want to commit to specific goals beyond March just yet, because I'd like to leave room for responding to the first things I weave and quite possibly going off in new directions, following my interests. So, here are three possible paths I'd like to consider following, on the continuum from Should to Want:
- I have a lot of yarn and fiber. I'd like to use up what I've got. This is clearly on the Should end of the scale, and so may very well be too confining, if virtuous. On the other hand, I've often found that setting some outside parameters at the beginning of a project can be freeing, in the sense that some decisions are already made and I can use my brain to push harder on other parts of a project.
- I have some weaving projects planned out that I haven't gotten around it, and I'd like to weave them off in 2013. Some examples: A) I wove Jesh a really lovely shawl of silver Icelandic two-ply and medium-gray alpaca; I have enough yarn left to weave a similar shawl for myself. B) After working with Sara back in July, I wove a two-yard sample of red silk, cotton, and rayon. The sample turned out great, so I'd like to weave 6 or more yards of it and make myself a jacket. C) I spun 3 pounds or so of Rovings Polwarth, Briar Rose BFL, etc., to weave jacket fabric from. And so on - there's a rug warp already wound, the warps I painted with Sara, who knows what else tucked away in various bins. There aren't all that many such projects planned out, but I'd really like to weave them.
- On the Want end of the continuum, there's the idea I keep coming back to of working in a series. Start with samples - maybe a gamp? - weave a scarf or jacket or runner or whatever, look at it hard, and do it again, better. And then better again. By better, I don't mean just technically better, but more better-conveyance-of-idea, instead. If the colors of a blue jay against white snow and dark green spruce boughs inspires me to weave a shawl, I suspect the first such shawl I weave won't quite measure up to what I see in my head, probably because I am lazy and I won't put enough time into the kind of complexity I want to see in such a shawl. I know I need to practice keeping up enthusiasm and momentum over long, complex projects.
The things I like about the above:
ReplyDelete1. Setting some boundaries. For me, "creativity" is easier when I have a box within which to play. I manage to actually get things done without suffering from Analysis Paralysis and Too Many Choices Syndrome.
2. Allowing one project to build on another. This is in line with comment 1 - but gives an outlet for exploration. Which is to say that if you find something you like/didn't like while making one project in a "series", the next project can take into account those modifications and you can learn again.
Now for the caveat based on first blush:
Nine projects seems like a lot - depending on how much planning will need to go into it. One a month feels like "Full Capacity" and, as we all know, life often gets in the way. Personally, I'm in the One Per Quarter mindset, but you need to gauge how much you can reasonably take on. I want to make sure I have time to finish and assess and one a month *feels* like too much.
One other comment - "series" work might encompass the other two paths. Also, if you break apart the focused part of your work from the laundry list of other things you want to get done, I think there's likely time for both. And, having the outlet of "small things I want to get done" may help with keeping the fun of the more long-term projects going. Or maybe I'm just projecting my own hangups. :-)
Oh, you're so sane. What's wrong with nine projects in three months? What else do I have to do in the depths of winter? OK, OK, I see your point - however, I think I can combine some of them, as you note, so that, for example, the weave up the red cotton/silk is clearly also using up my stash, and then I can weave something based on that fabric, and so on. That way, maybe I'd end up with 5 or 6 projects per quarter, which seems very do-able. They won't be Major Projects, necessarily, either; weaving the red cotton/silk counts as one project, sewing a muslin for it counts as another, and sewing a jacket of the red cotton/silk counts as a third. I'm not THAT insane. Mostly.
DeleteAh, but if I look at it that way, then I'm doing three projects for every vest - one project is the sample, second is the muslin, third is the vest! And, of course, other stuff in between like towels and scarves and dyeing and working and and and.
DeleteThe way I'm looking at it is that a vest would be ONE project. But, each project has to go through stages. Stage 1 is "inspiration and sample". Stage 1 weave. Stage 3 is garment/finishing and "what did I just do!?!?"
So I'm assuming four projects for the year as part of the series, and maybe two more (I still want my coat! and there's a shirt or vest for Chris) that are offshoots.
It's a good insanity. I think.
I'm not even sure I know what sanity is anymore. Four finished garments (maybe six), plus towels and scarves and whatnot in between, seems like more than enough. If I see a towel or scarf warp as one project, then weaving off more than one warp per quarter is reasonable. Besides, what the hell does reason have to do with any of this anyway?
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