Getting Ready for the Retreat

seagulls eating herring roe on Parksville Beach

March came faster than anticipated in spite of a long February.  There isn't much time to finish projects and complete tasks before the Spinners and Weavers Retreat starts on March 30th.  Some of us wish we had picked a less ambitious project for the fashion show or bag exchange or display.  You know what I mean.

In addition to finishing projects some of us have workshops to organize, lectures to prepare, goodie bags to stuff or door prizes to collect.  That means there is not much time for walking on the beach or watching the herring cycle unfold. 

My challenge is to finish twisting the fringe on this iridescent shawl so I can bring it to the sharing session (show & tell).  I had great fun designing the piece and choosing the colours.  I was in a hurry to turn the design into cloth so the weaving went quickly.  But finishing a piece is always a slow boring process so this shawl has been lurking in the cupboard for too long. 

  I suspect I am not the only one with almost finished items in their cupboard.  There are more hems to sew, edges to crochet, buttons to put on or fringes to twist than most of us would like to think about.  And there are so many handy excuses.  You need to shop for thread.  The buttons are just not the right colour.  Another project is calling you.  The cat's claws need clipping and it just can't wait.

I believe the only solution is to reward yourself for doing those boring tasks.  Take the fringe for instance.  Completing half of one side should be enough to earn a cup of tea, finish the entire side and you can have a cookie with it.  Complete both sides and you've moved up to a piece of chocolate.  The reward needs to be in keeping with how distasteful the task is.  For some things you really need a powerful incentive.

Kelp basket by Linda Raven

The members of the retreat organizing committee are working on the final details of the event.  There will be 3 presentations, Ingrid Bossel will talk about the use of computer programs for weaving design (no more graph paper draw downs).  John Fitzpatrick will give a presentation on Tartan and Its History and Judith Crosbie will take us on a textiles trip.  There will also be a hands on workshop in Kelp Basketry given by Linda Raven.  For updates on the retreat activities see announcement to the right of this posting.
Stuffing the registration bags is next week's big task and it might require some reward incentive.  I am thinking it might have to be better than tea and a cookie.