Fiber Arts Friday: Too Many Projects?

The other day, Hubba said to me.... "So you have 6 knitting projects in work.  How do you decide which one to work on?"

I laughed and pulled each one out and told him about the purpose/benefit/challenge of each project... and then talked about a few of the others that are in the planning or waiting stage.

So yes, there are six active projects, and many more in the queue.  

• Some are simple so I can work on them when my brain is tired (which is most of the time) or when I only have a few minutes available.
• Some are small so I can work on them when I'm on the road, in a waiting situation, or when it's hot outside.
• Some are much larger so they provide warmth while working on them.
• Some are about commemorating something.
• Some are about doing something for someone else and therefore have a rough deadline.
• Some are about learning new skills or achieving a challenge.
• Some are crochet, or spinning, or weaving, so they use my hands/arms/body differently than knitting.
• Some have periods of intense focus, so they release my brain of clutter.
• Some are meditative, which allows my brain to rest, which then often leads to forming solutions to un-related, complex problems.

I choose which to work on based on my physical needs, personal goals, and time available in the moment.

This is a visual manifestation of how my brain works...  I am always thinking about and planning much more than what is physically in front of me.  Which means my ToDo List is always way too long.

My current Day Job has these benefits as well, but this has not been true for most of my career.  So making has been a way for me to be myself when the Day Job did not allow or value it... and all of it was put on hold while we were moving recently.

This whole conversation was sort of mind-blowing for Hubba.  He chooses a project and works on it 100% until it's complete, with little room for other things.

We know this about him.  We call it All-or-Nothing or All-in.  ;-)  But I think this is the first time he truly understood how my wiring works.

All that being said, I think 3-ish active projects is the sweet spot for me.  The good news is that most of these are past the half-way point, so this number should be coming down in the next few months.

Happy Fiber Arts Friday!