Savouring the Selection Process

I am deciding what handspinning project I should tackle next and in what fiber.

This is an aspect of handspinning I enjoy.  I set criteria, weigh the options, and chose an optimal one.

I can realize satisfaction from selecting the right thing to make from a field of possibilities as much as I can from producing something nice.  The pleasure is a quiet one, savoured behind the scenes.

The fibers in my stash all have associations for me, either from the colour or the type of fiber.  There are certain colours in the stash that make me think of family members who like to wear those colours.  The bump of Cotswold and the wee bags of Shetland are from local purebred sheep and probably the only roving I'll ever buy of those breeds, so I mustn't waste them.

There's a mishmash of BFL leftovers that holds the promise of becoming a very striking item if I can blend the colours skillfully.  There's a fair amount of these leftovers to work with, too.  I put some of the stuff in the photo above, covering most of a tea towel, then found a third more than that hiding in the storage bucket under other fiber.  But since the bits are predominantly orange, there's nothing really in it for me.  I don't wear orange.  I don't even like being around orange.

What do I like in my stash?  There is half a pound of beautiful lapis blue BFL earmarked for a particularly beloved family member.  I love the person but I also love the wool.  I am kept from appropriating it for myself only because I've given my word and the person already knows about the wool's existence.

Also in the stash is a quarter-pound braid of BFL from Gale's Art in the colourway cocktail.  If it is to become a handspun gift for a family member before the year is out, I should pull it out and spin now.  The stuff contains small sections of orange.  I will push through.

As I write down my thoughts about my stash and my planning process, they look rather odd and fraught with "ought's" and obligations.  Really, I do enjoy this.