After this weekend, I have to admit that crafts often act as a procrastination device in my world. For some reason, I have no problem devoting 6 hours to knitting or embroidery or (and on and on and on), but it usually pains me to take 30 minutes for some household chore. As a result, I end up looking very productive on the "fun projects" front, but fall miserably behind on day to day life projects.
I completed the ruffled cowl Sunday morning and it looks great - just needs a button. I'm still surprised at how much I didn't mind the short rows once I got the hang of wrapping and turning. For a fleeting moment, I considered knitting on in order to make a scarf instead of a cowl, but I really don't need another scarf at the moment. I was also anxious to get to my dishcloth project.
Even though partners haven't been assigned in the dishcloth swap, I couldn't resist starting (and ultimately finishing) one and casting on for a second. Now, I'm secretly hoping that my swap partner hates the colors I used for the dishcloths so I can keep them myself. This sort of thinking does not help in conquering the craft as procrastintion device dilemna.
One project on the household chore list that really must get done soon is organizing my second bedroom AKA office/craft room. Over the past couple years, I have managed to accumulate WAY too much stuff (stash) and it is not organized. While making purchases, I always used the excuse that I would be prepared for whatever I decide to make on a whim. I am now officially prepared for hundreds of whim projects but am still seduced by new products or even new hobbies.
So far, I've made minimal progress on this project. Progress is mostly in the form of purchasing large ziploc bags to hold supplies, sharpies to label said bags, and even little bags for embroidery floss. I've also had dreams about organizing (scary) and have seen some very impressive shows of organization on the web.
Ugh! I just have to buckle down and do it. If I did, then it would be much easier for me to do what I want to do tonight . . . start putting together colors for a tea towel set. If the area were already organized, it would be a breeze. Since it's not, I'll have to tear through several boxes to see what I have or at least part of what I have to work with for the set.
All of this highlights a personality trait that I have never possessed and am amazed at when I see it in other people - the desire (even enjoyment) of organizing big bunches of stuff. I stand in awe of people who take delight in organizing and even organize for other people. At times, it's tempting to hire one of those organizers for my own collection of items; however, I fear that whatever processes they would wish to put in place would bug the hell out of me very quickly.
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Oh how I can relate to the first paragraph of this post!!! I do some work part-time from home and inevitably find myself putting my crafting aside at the very last moment so I can hustle and get my paperwork completed by whatever the deadline may be. In fact, I will be doing that very thing tomorrow ;-). I keep telling myself that I work better when I work right up at my deadline, and it does seem to be true, but it can get a little stressful. I don't mind doing household stuff, but I'm at home most of the time so it's easy for me to jump back and forth between household stuff and crafting. It's that darn paperwork that I get paid to do that I procrastinate about the most! (Yes, my boss, who is also my mom, is aware of that LOL -- she's the same way.)
Ohhhhh, I *love* to organize stuff. And I love to keep it organized. We have a small house and I do not have a craft room or nook, so I cannot horde crafting goodies or books like I used to when we had more space, but that's turned out to be a good thing. Have you seen that turquoise and red craft room that's one of the 2008 Craft of the Year posts on Craftster??? The shelves with all the jars . . . now THAT is right up my alley!!
I think whatever craft organization process works for you is what you should stick with. I get overwhelmed with having a lot of stuff around, and even more overwhelmed when what I have is not organized. So I organize my stuff, and keep what I have to a minimum. That's what works for me. But if keeping stuff organized in a way devised by someone else would drive you nuts, I say just do what you can happily live with =).
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