I wasn’t sure if I’d blogged about this before, but a quick glance through old posts says no. Get a cuppa (go find the cup you started if you’re anything like me) and settle in for some random musings.

My crafting time, of late, has been sparse because of a whole lot of RL. A healthy chunk of that RL is due to people around me moving from a larger space to a smaller space. Sometimes willingly and long planned, and sometimes abruptly and with little warning. The former is not so bad, you at least get the time and opportunity to go through and give away, or donate things in a thoughtful manner. The later? Well sometimes it’s not even you who might be going through your things to downsize. It’s hard, it’s emotional, even when you get to take the time to go through things, and it sucks. There wouldn’t be entire TV series about decluttering if this was easy.

Dalla’s opinion of winter

In the helping to pare down (and in my own decluttering, which has no reason or timetable, save we own too darn much stuff), I’ve noticed a lot of things that were tucked aside as just for show. Or too nice to use. Or kept for a special occasion. Still in their packaging, and clearly many years old. Now, as we downsize, sent off to the thrift store (or my house).

And so I sit sipping my morning coffee, with a lovely little crystal candle holder, and a candle that was ‘kept for good’ for so long that it’s lost both its scent and it’s colour due to age. It’s not ruined, it still burns, but would have been so much nicer in its prime. The same with now expired treats from the back of the pantry. The never opened pretty napkins. The yarn ‘too good’ to dare use.

Special yarn becomes special mitten.

That last one is a big one, and could be any craft. I read about people finding ‘hacks’ to use lesser quality materials while they are learning, because they are ‘scared’ of the good stuff. Except that the ‘good stuff’ is actually pretty average stuff, and their great hack to use the cheap stuff might well turn them off the craft entirely. There’s a line here, certainly. I don’t advocate a beginner scribe going for the fancy real gold on their first scroll. Beginner knitters might want to explore cotton a few times before heading to silk. First garb out of cotton rather than linen? Makes total sense. But there’s a limit. Shredding up acrylic yarn to learn to spin when you have wool roving available is not helpful, IMO. Use the basic wool roving, there’s more sheep. There’s more roving, it’s fine. Knit with wool after you have the basics down, give silk a try. You’ve got thumbs, you got this. Weave with the nice stuff, get the feel for it.

Fortune cookie wisdom from my desk.

Life is short, and it’s unpredictable, and you’re worth it. Yes, even you who feels totally not worthy, are worth it. Burn the candle, use the pretty napkins and knit with the special yarn.