Thursday, March 29, 2012

When do I slow down?

Have you ever felt you don't have an off button? That's me. I've just discovered that I don't have an off button. Here I've decided to take a long break from school because I was too stressed out over it, just to spend all the extra time developing patterns and trying to get an Etsy shop running where, if I'm successful, would mean almost all my knitting time would be taken up with projects knit for other people. Am I a glutton for punishment, or do I just not function well without self-imposed deadlines and pressures?

I have noticed a huge difference between this kind of pressure and the school pressure, though. This kind of pressure is exciting to me. I finally feel like I have my creative spark back, the spark that I lost when I went back to school in the first place. All I can think about is getting back home so I can work on my projects! It's been a long time since I've felt inspired by what I'm doing. I absolutely love the feeling. What I need now is time.

When I get inspired by something, I want ALL the time to be with it. Forget about this work to make a living thing, I want to dive into my craft. Unfortunately my craft doesn't earn me a living and I do so like to live.

I suppose I just have to take a breath and know that there is plenty of time. All things don't need to be done right now. It's a process.

 In all this craziness, I managed to finish the giraffe! The recipient loved it so much!

This project was such a challenge to me to keep my motivation up. Those spots went on forever. But, I prevailed and swore to myself that I would never make another giraffe if my life depended on it. So naturally, when a second co-worker asked me if I would make one for her I immediately responded: Of course!
 Perhaps I'll make the second one with less spots...

7 comments:

  1. The giraffe! He looks so cute! Wonderful work, Erin! He must have been a lot of work though, I'm surprised that you have the push needed to agree to make another. Also, I completely understand what you mean about stress of school, I do the same thing where if I don't have school to worry about, I find something new to stress me out. I also suffer from a huge loss in creativity. But it really sounds like you are moving in the right direction and spending time doing what you really love. I think that with the Etsy shop open and your creativity running wild, that everything is going to fall into place.

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  2. The giraffe is awesome! And you sound like me with my mohawk hats. When I finish one, I swear that's my last one, until someone else requests one, and like you, I say "of course!" aye!

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  3. How cute! I usually am not a fan of the animals but this little guy really is charming!

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  4. I can completely relate. I am constantly saying, I work so that I can afford to have hobbies. And, I do my hobbies in my downtime, but I'm never really "down" because I'm always setting new goals and imagining new projects. It's a conundrum. I recently took a vacation from work. And, I joked with my boss, that it took me 4 solid days before I felt like I could actually slow down enough to experience relaxation.

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  5. Erin he is fantastic - he'll be very loved!
    I know just what you mean about the lack of an off button. I am the same. The more I do, the more I have to do... but crafting is a different kind of stress - it is exciting and deeply rewarding isn't it?

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  6. How can you ever say no to making more of these, their so cute! I love how he turned out. Sorry to hear about you stress worries. Sometimes I feel like that too, like why am I in school when all I want to do is knit? It's so hard sometimes to put down the needles and pick up the text book.

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  7. That. giraffe. is adorable.

    I don't know where my off button is, either. I don't know how not to have a million things going and still feel like I'm not doing enough. But at least I'm never bored, I guess.

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