Monday, January 17, 2011

A Rant...

Whoever said that finishing a large knitting project is like saying farewell to an old friend............IS LYING. It's more like plodding through a marathon while sporting a migraine headache.

I recently undertook to knit a lace wedding shawl for my lovely daughter-in-law who married my oldest son in December. It was finished in late November, just in time to keep me from going over the edge. It made use of three different patterns, a sideways edge and was knit in the traditional Shetland style. Sounds romantic, eh?

Well, let me tell you, mittens look mighty nice to me right now. The sideways edge seemed to take an eternity and when it was finally finished and blocked, I could not wait to get it out the door and away from my home and my needles. Bleh!!

Oh, the grinding of teeth and the headaches this shawl inspired. The weight gain in my backside and remolding of my posterior profile while I sat and knitted. The gross neglect of my responsibilities. I honestly hope it becomes an heirloom, is well loved and is passed down from generation to generation--because if it ends up felted or torn, I may well kill the person who perpetrated such an action against five months of my life!



Enough ragging.

I'm done.

So...how are you?

Sunday, January 16, 2011

A Resurrection of Sanity?

After months, no, years of blogging inactivity, I'm here to say that I think I'm going insane and need to have a life again. I tend to be a single minded person and immerse myself completely in one project at a time. Most recently, that project has been Triangle Cross Ranch. It's a wonderful place, and the people there are really special people. However, it's only taken me two full years to realize that I'm exhausted. I'm tired. I'm wrung out with giving 100% to the Ranch.

My first step towards restoring my sanity is this blog and recording my thoughts and activities for no one but myself, for the most part, so that I can look at them from the outside as time goes on. My second step is returning to my love of all things wooly and of making things from scratch with my animals' fiber. My third step is to shelter my private life from my Ranch life. More steps? Probably. I don't want to abandon my role at the Ranch, but staying on the track I'm on will ensure that eventually I'll burn out and leave just to keep my sanity intact.

Hmmmm...everyone grows up sometime. Better late than never, I say.