One Bit(e)

scarf 45

Weaving, like life, is accomplished in the same way as one eats the proverbial elephant - one bit(e) at a time.

Big projects can become overwhelming from the sheer volume of effort it takes to get them finished.  I tend to dream up 'big' projects and then minimize the number of steps it takes to get to the end of it, to successfully get to the end point and say 'done!'

To tackle a big writing project (Magic in the Water), set out to achieve the Master certificate (Guild of Canadian Weavers), or even to just get sufficient inventory ready for the upcoming show season - all seems so simple.  When one encapsulates the 'big' project in a short sentence, it is easy to forget that getting to that point may take several months, perhaps even years, to see the thing actually finished.

So while I can say with a certain sense of satisfaction that AGY: L&H is 'done', it is only a certain value of doneness.

Yes, the samples are woven.  Yes, the bulk of the text has been set down.  BUT!

I still have to:

Design the cover (source a nice photo, assemble the image and text)
Correct any errors in the text.  Re-read for clarity and content (have I forgotten something crucial?  Are the drafts correct?)
Write the files to a cd and deliver to Staples.
Buy the binders and plastic pocket pages.
Pick up the box of paper from Staples.
Insert text pages into plastic pocket pages.
Insert cover into binder 'cover'.
Assemble. (One word.  Soooo much work!)
Buy shipping boxes.

And then the marketing.

And then I'm still not done because the orders (assuming there are any) have to be processed, the binders packaged up and then everything taken to the post office for mailing.

If I consciously thought about all that before I came up with the thought "I think I'll design and weave samples, write a publication about fibre characteristics and sell them" I'd probably come to a dead stop before that thought even finished forming.  But the optimist in me sees that reality in the corner of her eye and blithely goes ahead, anyway.

And with a pretty much blank teaching schedule for next year, on top of everything else I have agreed to sit on not one, but two volunteer boards.

Someone want to give me a smack upside the head?

Currently reading Made to be Broken by Kelley Armstrong