Fiber Monday - Procrastination Station

 

In Which I'm Working...
Just not on what I'm supposed to be working on...

I have been the busiest little bee when it comes to crochet this week!

Just... not the projects I was supposed to be working on (Lady Sibyl shrug I've been working on since 2018 says W H A T?!).

See, I get distracted easily, and when I fight that distraction too hard, I develop project block, which means that now I can't work on literally anything until I find a way around the block. It happens with writing, drawing, crochet... even reading! Yeah. Try and figure out that one :|

Regardless, I got very, very distracted this month, and now I've got about a dozen UFOs (Unfinished Fiber Objects) in my room. I'm working on categorizing those, but mostly, I've been distracted by a Very Old Problem and a Very New Toy.

New Toy First!

I BOUGHT A DROP SPINDLE!

That's right, folks. I'm one step closer to fiber self-direction! Now in order to make my own yarns all I need are materials which.... uh... I ain't buying sheep or alpacas. Maybe I'll learn how to sow, grow, rhett, spin, and dye linen? Maybe? idk.

Regardless, that is a cheapy drop spindle from Amazon and a package of silk mawata I'm looking forward to experimenting with. What's annoying is the silk was cheaper and easier to get than the spindle, but I can live with that :P

That's a project for another day (and believe you me, you'll be hearing alllllll about my botches with this new thing lol).

Instead, I present to you The Old Problem:

Meet Gordon.

Gordon, short for "Gordian Knot", is a pound of blue sport-weight yarn I bought ages ago. Probably 2012 or so. Wow. Wow I totally lost track of how long it's been. I guess I'm not exactly a beginner, am I?

Anywho, Gordon has been an incomprehensible tangle of blueness for ages and I'm more than ready to have him in working order.

Which he is graciously allowing.

Apologies for the blurriness of that photo - I was on tip-toes trying to get it all in frame.

That's not a tablet, guys. That's a laptop in the middle of Gordon's loop.

Hand for scale

Yes, that's how much yarn I've wound up from Gordon. His messiness means that I cannot use the fantastic ball winder I now own for him. I'd have no way of taking the unfinished ball off of the winder, passing him around the mass or through it and then reattaching the ball back onto the winder. It's just not a possibility. I have, however, learned one of Gordon's deepest, darkest secrets.

He's not truly tangled at all.

He's just awkwardly and unbelievably twisted on himself.

So I have him rounded out on my bed, where I put on a playlist of really fun vaporwave/mallcore ambience playing in the background, and I wrap yarn while slowly wrestling with Gordon.

Eventually, I may even get him put to rights and be able to use him, because that's been the goal for 2021 - USE THE YARN I'VE GOT.

Which is hard when 75% of it looks like Gordon. Or worse.

But if I can prove to myself that poor Gordon is not an overwhelming foe I cannot defeat without a knife, then I can untangle every single skein I have. Eventually.

For now, though, since Gordon is literally the only sport-weight yarn I own, I'm going to look for some nice patterns. Maybe a vest. It's a truly shocking cobalt blue, but I think it'd look quite nice as a fancy vest.

I just like vests, to be honest.

Well, that's what I've got going on. Apologies for the lateness of the blog - I've been running all over creation trying to put my bike in the shed, lower the treadmill (I... desperately need to up my stamina, hence the treadmill), burn some of the brushpile, look up videos on how to spin from a mawata (it sounds simple enough...), etc. Basically I'm pooped lol!

It's beautiful outside, though, despite the 21mph (33.8kph) winds. It's a sunny 56℉ (13.3℃), and it's finally drying off. I could do without the barking dogs, but it's spring and that's what dogs do.

Regardless, I've got some quality time to spend with Gordon now, so I must bid you adieu!

Go Enjoy Something!

FC

Talk About Tuesday 325

In Which Today Was Better

Okay, I was a grumpy Gus yesterday. And I started today very much the same. I woke up in a foul mood, snarking and whining my way around. I tried to calm myself down with a shower - it didn't work - had my first cup of the day (I'm drinking my second now), and settled in to read some stuff on the internet.

Which certainly didn't help my mood, but now I am in awe of French firefighters. Holy crap. I also learned about Robbespierre, which was fun and a bit terrifying. I knew the French were kinda Extra, culturally, but not how freaking EXTRA they are!!!

Which again, not helping my stressy mood.

I started making food for when my partner would show up. I didn't time it right (though those five-minute eggs were INCREDIBLE and I wish I'd taken a picture...). I was in a tizzy for the first hour my partner was here, which didn't improve Z's mood either.

But I have to say, working together, we turned my mood around.

I almost certainly have ADHD. I have never been tested or diagnosed, but I literally have every single symptom. ALL OF THEM.

And it's been really bad lately. I can't focus, I'm always tired, I can't sleep, I forget to eat, if I didn't have a very strict bathing schedule I'd forget that too, I lose track of time, I forget to exercise despite having an abundance of energy, I lose all of that energy as suddenly as it appears, I lose track of my sentences as I write or speak, I forget names and times and dates, and so much more goes on...

It's been hellish. I haven't been functional.

But with Z's guidance, I was able to put together some plans to work on.

So here's this week's plan:

• Tomorrow I'll write about something in wrestling, but I'll also be working on some other stuff
• Like trying to figure out how to weigh things so I can make an Etsy shop available to you guys to buy some of the stuff you see me make!
• And figuring out how Discord works so I can maybe learn to stream some games on that.
• And possibly uploading some more art to my Redbubble shop!
• Thursday will be an Art Day
• Which means that if it goes well, there should be more art on the shop on Thursday, too...
• I'll probably be a bit more aggressive about sharing my shop link on Twitter and FB, so if you follow me in either place, it should be easier to find every time I upload something!
• I will also be looking up how one goes about making a repeating pattern. There have to be resources to teach me this - otherwise no one else would be able to do it lol
• I might be switching over permanently to the "Weekend Warble" approach. I hope that doesn't disappoint anyone too much.
• Guys, it's hard to write 7 days a week, but it's really just a lack of content.
• I don't watch too much TV or too many movies right now. My brain fog keeps me from following narratives for the most part.
• I miiiiiiiight be able to talk about books again soon, though...
• I'd love to write more about writing in the future, too.

This is not everything I'm planning to do this week, though. I have Three Major Goals:

1. I want to walk at least 7 miles by Sunday - I know that's not much, but I haven't been exercising enough. We have a treadmill. I just need to be shown how to use it.
2. Gotta put at least 1 square foot of crap away in my room. It's getting ridiculous. I know I can't clean it all at once, but I have to start. It's worsening my symptoms.
3. I own a flute. I haven't played it in years. I want to start practicing again. Maybe I'll record some for posterity lol.

Those don't seem big to some of you, but they're important to me. I have been letting my health, my room, and my skills slide for too long.

Maybe if I get good enough at my flute again I can panhandle a bit this summer? That might be fun. I'll have to look up the rules on public music.

Anywho, I'll also be looking up some info on local craft fairs (if any will be happening this year...), and I'll be trying to tape and cut the pattern I printed yesterday. Worst comes to worst, I'll just draft it out on some wrapping paper or something...

I hope you guys are okay.

Go Enjoy Something!

FC