Time to Relax

I am one of those people who always has a lot on my plate. I can easily become overwhelmed if I am not careful. For the past two years I have been working towards earning my Master’s Degree through online courses. If you have ever completed any type of online class or program, you know how much time these classes can consume because they require an incredible amount of writing, not to mention all of the reading that goes along with post-graduate coursework. Spending 2-3 hours a night and 6-7 hours on the weekends doing classwork had severely cut down the amount of time I had to take care of my responsibilities as a working wife and mother. I figured out a way to make it all work, but what I couldn’t fit in was my crafting time. I would plan projects in my head and sometimes even go buy the stuff to make these projects, hoping that I would get to them in the short time between semesters. Last year I learned to crochet beanie hats and could whip those out in a couple of hours, but once classes started up again, they would be put to the side. Fast forward to December of 2012: graduation. Although I won’t participate in commencement until May, I was finished with my classes and could join most of my colleagues as a holder of a Master’s Degree. When I finished I found myself confronted with all of those projects, not only the ones I had bought stuff for, but new ones that were found on You Tube or Pinterest. In my desire to dive right into my passion for creating, I was a bit overwhelmed with the multitude of projects that lay before me. What would I do first? Knit socks? Learn to crochet Granny Square scarves? Sew new patchwork Christmas stockings? Make jewelry? I am also seriously behind in my scrapbooking and my card collection is sparse at best. I really never imagined that something that I found so enjoyable could be so stressful. I tend to think chronologically, so I decided that since I have been collecting sock yarn the longest that I would start with knitting a pair of socks. When I get tired of knitting, I head downstairs and make some jewelry or work on a sewing project. My challenge is to not let something that I enjoy so much become something that is a chore. I also don’t want to be that person who has 6000 started projects, but nothing finished. And most importantly, I really shouldn’t take on anything new until I have tackled some of these projects. Although quilting looks like it might be fun.