Back to basics

I've been longing to take it down a notch. Get back to a few of the basics and control the insanity instead of it controlling me. From time-to-time, I try to re-evaluate where I spend my time and put a check in place to see if that is still the most valuable draw for attention.

There are many new happenings; spinning, Ravelry, impending college life for my daughter, charity opportunities, and a few projects that don't get off the ground because of the limit on hours in a day.

Knitting remains my first hobby of love, but spinning has been tugging with urgency. Oh, the draw of the fiber...the possibilities...the uniqueness of each strand. I am amazed when the plies are complete and there sits a new skein of yarn that was created by transferring energy through my hands.

Ravelry is, arguably, the most valuable resource to come along for the fiber world in my lifetime. Once my number had been called and I became a newbie Raveler, it was evident that it could become a time-suck. The masterpieces that people come up with are astounding. The opportunity to join communities and meet others who share the same interests is readily available at the click of my mouse. I've met other Ravelers whom are now friends and I am grateful for the chance to 'talk' with them. Need some yarn? This is a swappers dream! It began for me as an online notebook which is what I've needed. A place to organize my stash and future projects. Success and failure has been realized - I have successfully organized most of my stash, but discovered the sheer humungasaurus of it at the same time.

Volunteering for a charity should be easy, right? The squares for the Hope Lodge Charity are beginning to roll in and excitement grows. The perfect way to stitch the blanket, the perfect edging - all are dancing through my mind.

But still, we have college visits coming up and my little girl will be going away in the Fall - and that's all I can say about that right now because it is still too fresh.

So, I am taking inventory to downsize the things I need to cut back on in order to divert energy toward the things that will nourish my soul. A new list is forming and we'll just see how I do at getting through it.

Reduce, reuse, and destash. As I told my dear friend last night - if someone will knit with it... Time will be limited admiring fantastic projects, blog posts will decrease, the basics will be re-located. Family will continue to come first, friends will be held near and dear to my heart and all else will follow.