Be Careful What You Wish For

So Tour de Fleece is here and I've managed to spin a bit each day.  Many of the yarns are currently waiting for wash day and then they're off to dry and maybe then, I can find the battery charger to my new camera and take pics of them.  However, until I find it, blurry phone photos will have to do.

About a year and a half ago, I was busy taking care of my little munchkin and wondering what the heck I was going to do with my life?  I wanted to spend as much time with Lucas and didn't like the idea of sending him off to daycare so I could make an hour trek to my office, see clients, then drive another hour back home.  Some days I would have to drive to my studio for only one client, and that didn't sound practical.

So I decided I'd work one day a week at the studio (or maybe two days, depending on in-laws' availability) and spend the rest of the time working with fiber.  So I started stocking up.  Rovings here, fiber there, lots of locks and fleece as well.  Two drum carders - one 46 tpi and the other 21 tpi - and 4 spinning wheels.  Looked like I was good to go and my little craft room was all stocked up.

Then one day in January, my son returned home after losing his job in November and he promptly moved into the craft room and my craft supplies, well, had to move out.  In August, I was asked to take over some classes at the college which were scheduled at night and weekends, and I accepted the offer.  When they later offered me the main instructor position for the massage program, I accepted that, too.

So now our little cottage is full.  Books and student papers lie about, boxes of fiber and yarn are tucked in the corner but they manage to creep into the main living space now and then.  And the closet - well, at least my closet houses 2 spinning wheels besides my clothes.  The kitchen table is now a mini-office, with a laser printer sitting on top of it and tons of books and papers as I try to design the curriculum for ongoing and upcoming classes.

I look back at the time when I wondered what I needed to do with my life and earn a decent income being self-employed, and well, I got my wish - though not the way I planned it.  Fiber has to take a back seat and even though I'd love to wash, dye, card and spin some lovely fleece and yarn, there just isn't enough hours in the day (or night) for me to do that. 

Am I busy? You bet.  Am I exhausted?  You betcha.  Does that leave me with no time for fiber?  Well, to be honest, it doesn't.  But that doesn't mean I don't sneak it in here and there.

So, I could post pictures of the house in its present state with all my boxes and bins of fiber, and books lying about, but if you're a crafter, a mother, a wife,  a teacher, and a massage therapist, you'd probably understand why I wouldn't need to :)