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Thursday, October 14, 2010

Getting things done.

Bri said " gee that wont keep you warm, look at all those holes..."
"It's a SUMMER scarf" said I.



How it sat for a month before deciding to put holes in it......


How it began....




When I haven't made anything for a while I begin to get a bit miserable and frustrated. Life, family and other committments creep time away from the creative process and it's easy to push creativity into 'I'll get to it later mode'.
Thing is, it's a vital part of who I am and want to be. If I ignore my needs and let too much of other people's needs take precedence, I lose confidence and become frustrated. That in turn causes me to not be competent in my other roles. Mother, wife, daughter, business women, friend, community member. My mother used to say that if you don't take care of the mother, who will take care of the children. I think she meant for ourselves to take care of us first so we can effectively take care of the people who rely on us. She was a midwife who saw first hand the breakdown of families when the mother gave her all and was made ill by it. So yesterday, I took time out to finish the scarf that had been sitting on our dining room table for more than a month. The silk scraps came from a shirt from the op shop. The silk merino is a colourway I dyed with the sky above Warrandyte in mind. Even just finishing a scarf made me feel better about myself. A small thing maybe but at the moment- a huge achievement.

4 comments:

  1. That was definitely worthwhile finishing. If it is not too dumb a question, how do you put the holes in it? I am glad you feel better now. I need to learn from you, just leave everything else for a while and do MY stuff. Cheers, Robin

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  2. Robyn, you are a gem and make me smile!
    Since I had left it half done on the table it was dry. You can easily do it wet too. I cut assorted size holes in it and because it was half felted already, the holes heal while finishing and keep a nice, roundness to them. By doing it halfway through and not earlier, the holes don't distort or change in size too much either. Makes it easy to control. I wet it down, put my hand in a plastic shopping bag, apply hand soap and lightly rub around each hole-not doing anything special. The cuts made by scissors self heal or close up making them look organic. I'm a gentle felted so I take my time and enjoy the process. Even if it does take a month.
    Wearing it today, snow in Victoria again. Weird spring.

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  3. looks wonderful Jacinta and to think I am only making circles on my couronne stick and tiny felted somethings....
    Keep the spirit of creativity alive and tell Belle that for 11 hours on the bus we did not sleep and now have knackered knees

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  4. Good for you!! It's a beautiful scarf too :D

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