Blue is the answer…

“I’m stuck in the middle of a project!” Haven’t we all said that at some point? Well, that’s been my mantra this week.  And truth be told, I’ve been stalled for a few weeks now but have been politely ignoring it. I don’t know about you, but I have a series of steps I go through whenever a project doesn’t follow my master plan! 

Step 1 – There’s usually pouting like a 6 year old when things originally go off the rails. 

Step 2 – While still pouting & being generally ornery, there is a period of reviewing where I went wrong in the project. This is the shoulda-woulda-coulda stage. 

Step 3 – Pretending it’s not there (which takes skill, since there’s a 36″ floor loom in the way every time I enter the basement)! 

Step 4 – Actually looking at it again with fresh eyes, thinking outside the box, asking “what if”?

Step 5 – Working on a solution – any solution! Giving it my best answer at the time to finish it up. 

Now in the past, it has taken me anywhere from 4 hours to 6 months to get from original pissiness to completed fabric. In this instance, I used the holidays as my excuse to let it all stew. 

But this is the week to wrap it up! Here are a few details so you get the picture. I have a necktie project on the loom where I have simple cotton for the warp yarns (running through the loom) and strips of recycled neckties as the weft (going the other direction). Kind of a rag rug technique, if you will. It takes awhile to prep the ties & I prepped a TON! The project is all oranges & yellows – beautiful! 

Until I get to the end of my plan & I still have probably an entire yard of warp left on the loom! And to make matters worse, I’ve ended with a peachy color! This may not sound like a big deal to you. And in the universe of real problems, it isn’t. But, I don’t have other peach-colored ties to continue with. AND, I kind of seriously dislike the color – just adding insult to injury! 

So here I am. Staring at a project I have to finish before I can do new, fun things. Deciding how to gracefully move from peach (ugh!) to yellow (because those are the color ties I have left). Then, an idea started to form – blue! Blue will be the bridge. 

Now, finally, I have a plan of attack. Weave blue ties intermittently with the peach I have left, gradually work in blue & yellow ties, then only yellow. Whew! It was a close one! It may not be a perfect solution, but it’s good enough to finish it! And most days, that’ll work! 

Thank you for commiserating with me! How do you get yourself out of these situations? I’m always up for suggestions!