Friday, October 20, 2006

Rounding the Final Bend

The last of the dyeing is done:

SOAR yarn 2006

I think there are 22 skeins here, raw silk. Barbara asked which class, and it is for the workshop, Silk Cut Pile, at the end of this month at SOAR.

I woke up this morning at 3 AM in a panic about all the unfinished details I need to accomplish in the coming week. This is typical behavior, I tend to work through my to-do list one portion at a time, ticking things off, and when one part is done (the dyeing, in this case) look on in a panic at how long the list still is.

Workshop prep takes time, and lots of materials. I sometimes wish I taught the kind of spinning class where I could throw down a pile of fibers, and people could just have at it.

Not so for me: there is calculating, ordering, gathering, breaking down, dyeing, sorting, piling, packing, cutting, building, re-writing, printing and finally, either shipping or (hooray!) loading the car and driving it all there.

I feel accomplished as the pile of boxes grows higher, as items are checked off the list. But I am not fully satisfied until it's all at the site, and everyone has what they need, in their own little hands.

I have been stymied by customs, airlines, broken boxes in shipping, and miscommunication. But we always manage to manage, we can be resourceful when the need arises. Most places have stores, and some stores even have what we need!

The actual fun begins when the workshop is underway, as people are busy working through their process, the next step, the project, or visiting. That's really what we are there for, too, the visiting part. The rest is icing on the cake; the fact that we learn something new, or share something we know, is secondary. We are there to be together.

At no time was this more clear than SOAR September 2001, when people had driven, braved the airlines, arrived from all over this country and from countries far away, to be together. It's always fabulous to look around a room full of people who understand, more so when the world outside seems beleaguered.

Much Rheinbeck blog-fodder this week, and next week I hope to be entertained by stories and pictures. It will help me with the last push, building looms, panic buying, making sure everything I might need is loaded a ready to go.

Meanwhile, Autumn is here: crisp mornings, the smell of wood smoke and moisture in the air, the Sandhill Cranes flying overhead, with their high-pitched calling. Let's hope the weather holds, sunny and clear days, cool nights and stars everywhere. Friends are on their way, the show is about to begin.

4 Comments:

Blogger Spindlers2 said...

Hang on to a crane until we get there!
I am sure your class will be as well organised and wonderful as ever. Just pour another drink and don't panic.
See you soon!
Carol

7:24 AM  
Blogger Sharon said...

What is it in our circadian rhythmns that make up wake up at 3:00 a.m. when we're stressed?! Such a self-defeating behavior. I always feel like my body isn't playing fair when that happens. Amy and I are going to hook up with Birdsong at SOAR on Friday. No doubt you'll be buried in the bowels of a class, which I'd love to be attending were I the fortunate possessor of annual leave. I threw you over for Disneyland with grandkids.

5:51 PM  
Blogger Sharon said...

You posted on my blog at 3:47 a.m and wrote your post at 5:33 a.m. This is indeed serious. Have you thought about Tylenol PM? I think at this point it qualifies as a health food.

7:41 PM  
Blogger Shelia said...

I survived Rhinebeck, and am now heading home to pack for SOAR. I am so happy to be a participant, it is so much less stressfull than getting ready to teach! Now I just need to figure out which wheel(s) to take. See you soon.

6:29 AM  

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