Ring Around the Rosy

Let us not think about how exhausted we are, but rather how much fun it was to finish these off and then take them to class, call out to friends, and watch as they picked over them, discussed them, giggled and held up individual pins to their sweaters, laughed and swapped, and after much deliberation everyone was happily settled with a little something to brighten up their day. And they wore them immediately! And pointed this out to me! And berated me for not having one myself [I did actually keep one for myself, but it was more fun to give than to keep], and then laughed and said that we looked like a club and I was their ringleader.

It's funny how, when making these, some fabric combinations were my favorite and then not, back to favorite after the button was sewed on, then not again once the whole thing came together. I guess I don't quite have enough experience to anticipate these things. Or maybe that's the point, really - that there are always surprises that pop up in the process of making. I like how individual they all are, even the ones that share the same fabrics and color schemes.


I also discovered that the process of making one item over and over again does lend itself to minor tweakings with each item. Variations on technique, subtle improvements in design. I like this. After all, I usually make one thing and then am off to the next very different item or design, and usually as a result, suffer great bouts of indecision inbetween for lack of experience and therefore lack of confidence.

And so just as I am learning to jump in without hesitation and wing it as I go along ["The problem with you, Jessica, is that you want things to be just right the first time around," my mother likes to tell me. "Well life isn't like that."], I am also learning the great virtue of repetition and building depth in one small area before jumping on to the next thing. There's no guarantee I'm going to make a habit of it, but given my life to date it sure is something I could stand to use a little more of.