Working in Batches

 

March 1.  Or March 366 as someone put it on Twitter.

It's been a year.  Indeed it has.

Last night I finished hemming the last warp of towels.  Another 16 towels ready for their final pressing, which I'll do today.  

Even though I had hemmed the first 8 a while ago, I wait until I have enough to make it worthwhile to heat up the press and do a batch, all at once.  It makes sense to me to work this way.  It is more economical of my time and resources (electricity).  And giving the final press to 16 or 18 towels takes about half an hour or so.   Or perhaps a bit more, depending on how large they are.  These are larger than my usual tea towels, so they take a bit longer.  

From the time I set up and begin heating the press to final item, the amount of time that has passed is a good session and afterwards I either do something else in the studio - maybe pull more yarns for a future warp, put away things from my previous Zoom presentation.  Maybe even clean up a bit.  Or I go put my feet up and play a few rounds of Scrabble on line.  My latest 'obsession'.

I'm not very good at it but it brings me satisfaction when I see a good scoring word.  If I win, great.  If not, next!

Sometimes it's good to be not-very-good at something.  Doing something just because you want to, because it brings you satisfaction?  That is also valid.  Not everyone has to be award winning at what they do.  We don't have to be 'perfect'.  Sometimes good is...good enough.

So what do I concentrate on?  I try to get 'better'.  Better than I was before.  Whatever that metric means to me.  

Life is a constant learning.  A voyage of discovery.  I knew this, even as a child.  And I have clasped that approach to heart all of my life.  It has served me well.

But everyone has to come to their own understanding of what life means to them.  If something brings you enjoyment, that is enough, in and of itself.

"Forget your perfect offering.  There is a crack in everything.  That's how the light gets in."  L. Cohen