Home Alone

It's reading week for the big kids and teachers' convention for the little one, so the family has scattered to the four winds and I am home alone for the first time in nearly 20 years. No one else to pick up after, drive around, feed, or find keys (wallets, cell phones, socks...) for. I can go to bed when I want, get up when I want, eat when I want, and, best of all, spin when I want. And I want to spin all the time.

I have been struggling to finish my in-depth study for the Olds College Master Spinner Program for several months now. I had only just gotten started when I broke my wrist in 2005, and the whole thing had to be back-burnered until my wrist healed, which took about a year. I restarted in October of 2006 and have been going in fits and starts since. I seem to average a sample skein a week when I am focused, but I am easily distracted by other projects and family demands.

So this week, I decided to put the nose to the grindstone. I am almost finished the yoga shawl commission, so I can set it aside for a couple of days and spin. And spin I have. I have completed two skeins and spun two singles for the next 3-ply skein. That one should be finished today. Each skein is approximately 200yards; half of the skeins are woollen, half worsted; there are 2,3, and 4-ply yarns; then each sample is knit into a sock plus sample squares. There are a total of 18 skeins/socks, and I now have 10 skeins finished and 6 socks. I hope to get one more of each done before the hoarde returns. It's amazing what one can accomplish when one does not feel obligated to put the needs of others ahead of one's own work. I guess the real question is: Can I keep up the momentum when there are more people around? Or will I use the family as an excuse to procrastinate again? (That's two questions, but who's counting? Oops! Three questions!)