Cycling Through the Fiber Arts

As someone who enjoys weaving, dyeing, spinning, knitting I feel pretty cool when I get to the end of the day and realize I've spent some amount of time on each craft. But most days I focus on one, sometimes I go a week or more without knitting or dyeing or spinning because I'm so obsessed with weaving. I'm learning to not worry too much when this happens and trust that each interest will rise in favor again in its time. But it scares me. Because I have a history; every time I find a new thing I am Soo passionate and I think, "this is it, I'm going to do this for the rest of my life." And I look forward to the day when years of hard work have turned me into a master/expert and I can use my skills to help and teach others. And then a year or two later I've completely abandoned the thing. So it's scary to set aside weaving, or spinning or any of my fiber art interests because I'm afraid "for now" will turn into forever.

But if I really don't want to give up any part of the fiber arts I have to let myself cycle through each one in its time. I'm a little burned out on weaving right now and I have a fire under me about spinning. That's ok. The warp I currently have on the loom will keep, just like the spinning project that I have had on hold for the last couple weeks has kept. That is ok.

That spinning project by the way is a 2 ply alpaca and silk blend that I'm planning on using for warp on a clasped weft rug. It took me weeks to fill the first bobbin of singles because I honestly didn't really feel like spinning I just felt like I had to both because I wanted to get it done so I could weave with it and because I had just bought myself the electric eel nano e-spinner and I felt I had to justify the purchase by using it. This past weekend something shifted, I didn't want to weave anymore I wanted to spin. I filled the second bobbin in a day and a half and had fun doing it.

So I'm not going to worry too much about my weaving slowing down right now. I don't want to push and lose my passion for it. When I'm in the right place again I'll weave like a maniac and I'll have some handspun to do that with.

Don't worry handpainted warp, I won't abandon you! I love all my fiber art babies equally, just not at the same time.