Pivots

 

We are at that time of the year again.  While this photo was taken a few years ago, and we don't have much in the way of snow - yet - we are nearing the winter solstice.

A time for reflection, a time for clearing out the 'old', a time for considering what is to come.

As such I have done some thinking about the latest 'book' project.

Since I spent the majority of my life creating things I hoped people would purchase - textiles, classes, magazine articles, books - when a roadblock popped up preventing progress on the latest 'book', I had to think about whether or not to hold 'em, or fold 'em.

Did I continue to wait and see if the roadblocks cleared?  Did I pursue other options?  Did I just ditch the whole effort - an effort of several months on my part, and the alpha assistance of a friend who read my rough draft and helped me clarify my thinking?

To just ditch it seemed wasteful of both of our time and effort.

But mostly?  I felt that what I had to say *might* be of interest to a small circle of people.

So, what to do?

Reality set in and it became apparent that the cost of getting the information into a 'real' book would mean it would be expensive - as a 'real' book.

However, it is the 21c and we have other options.

Now the plan is to revive the project and 'publish' it as a pdf only and sell on my ko-fi shop site.  The site allows for digital products, not just actual physical ones, and I'm already offering Weave a V there as a physical product.  Since the information in this effort will be of limited interest, it seems like keeping the publication as simple as possible and keeping the price as low as possible is the way to go.

I will be dragging out the thumb drive with the files on it and doing a read through.  There has been enough time go by that I should have perspective enough to attempt a grammar/typo editing, and re-order some of the chapters so that they flow 'better' (one or two are out of chronological order), and then see about offering it digitally only.  Since this IS the 21c, I will include some photos, but will keep them limited to illustrate points, not eye candy/inspiration.

There are still a few wrinkles to iron out, but it feels like a plan.  And, given I continue to deal with chronic pain, it seems like having a 'light' duty task will take some of the load off of me until I see if I can make some gains in my physical condition.

With the end of the mercerized cotton in sight, it begins to feel like a watershed moment.  My goal to downsize and use up stash continues and I have some ideas percolating for the next few warps.  Enough to keep me busy for another six months or more.  And once those are done, I will turn to my rayon stash and see how much of that I can weave up.  I have a plenitude of scarves and zero shawls, so I'll be considering another warp for shawls.  The big roadblock for shawls is the fringe twisting, but I can do it.  I just have to make myself.  And I would sure like to use up some of the fine yarns and turn them into something else.

I don't do New Year Resolutions.  I make plans, then work towards getting those plans completed.  Seems like I've got 2024 sorted.

Anyway - stay tuned about the next 'book' - still some details to sort out and plenty of work to be done.  Sort of like weaving.  Just because the words are there doesn't mean it's 'finished'...