FACING THE BUFFALOS

We crafters tend to like to start things but not finish them. It affects our finances, strains our storage resources, and eventually leaves us feeling unfulfilled. Occasionally we have to face this issue before we can move on.

The last verse of a poem by Ruth Hulburt Hamilton reads:

Cleaning and scrubbing can wait till tomorrow

But children grow up as I’ve learned to my sorrow.

So quiet down cobwebs; Dust go to sleep!

I’m rocking my baby, and babies don’t keep.

Even though I no longer have a baby to rock, I do have a young granddaughter, and I’m acutely aware that her childhood isn’t keeping. I want Emmy to remember a “gramma” who had time to play, even if we’re seldom together.

BUT – my little sewing room is filled with unfinished projects taking up space that I don’t have. As they sit in storage, they become “buffaloes.” For whatever reason, I’ve lost the momentum and inspiration of progress. Meanwhile, “sugar plums” in the form of all sorts of teddy bear patterns “dance in my head.” Not all projects can be finished in a flash, but I decided I could face a couple of them just so I would have tote bags for new projects, if nothing else.

First up – the shawl I was making for Hallie to protect her from the chilly wind on her wedding day. The weather was lovely on that day, and she didn’t need a wrap. It wasn’t a great pattern anyway. And there it sat in the closet for the ensuing five-plus years.

My first idea was simply to unravel the shawl and repurpose the yarn, but when I actually looked at it, I could see it would be foolish not to just tie it off and call it good. So, I looked that buffalo in the eye and conquered it – sort of. I’ll take it to the farm where it can serve as . . . . perhaps a light shawl or a pretty bed runner. Hmmm.

That was easy, so I pulled out another bag. This one contained a nearly-finished hooded scarf of bulky yarn, meant to be a gift for someone. In the process I saw that it wasn’t age appropriate. I used to know what was age appropriate, but I lost that somewhere along the line. For one thing, most everything is modeled by a young person. For another, not everyone shares my sense that vintage is cool. Anyway, it was nearly finished, so I finished it. Again, I’ll take it to the farm where it will be useful when I walk the dogs on cold days – practically never.

So easy! In just a few hours’ time, those buffaloes became history! The Christmas afghan and the Halloween quilt will have to wait. On to those teddy bears! KW