Wednesday, July 22, 2009

What is that thing you crocheted?

The above question features quite prominently in the comments I've received. And as much as I would like to answer it, I can't. Because I don't really know myself what I crocheted. To call it a blanket would be stretching the truth, and to call it anything else finished would just be outright lying. I might call it 'art', but that is just a euphemism for a project that took an unfortunate, less than creative turn at some point, or a project that I was working on while I was also enjoying my wine and consequently spilled something (possibly wine) on it, or a project that the maid cleaned with a wet cloth and some pledge leaving to it a sticky surface and making it smell of 'poutpourri' (the last one mainly goes for my pathetic attempts at oil painting, not so much the knitting or the crocheting).

Who knows?

I think this whole crocheting thing might be more about the process than the actual finished product. Be it 'art' or not. And I will not say it is about that other thing I linked it to, because I have been getting visits from some people who found my blog through some rather extreme Google searches and I'm not sure that is the kind of audience I can cater to. Or want to cater to, for that matter.

This 'choosing the process' over one day actually finishing something is not a new idea for me. Although, the fact that I just called it 'choosing the process' gives it a slant that I don't really think should be there. In truth, and I might have mentioned this before, I just don't seem to finish many things I start.

But I'm really good at starting things.

She says as she packs away the half-finished crochet 'art'.

Here are some of my other ways of 'choosing the process':

:: I recently deleted the voice of the protagonist in my novel, thus effectually cutting about one fourth of what I had written. I like how it reads now much better, but know even less where it's headed. (Let's be nice and not say "nowhere" under our breaths now. Thanks.)

:: When I started my blog, I immediately afterwards found a volunteer gig that I couldn't say no to and that took up all of my time. I had a near-empty blog for 2 years. And no, unlike what julochka's husband still believes no blog ever updates itself, or if they do they drunk-spell or go all not funny (that's what happens when something subpar gets posted on here, just so we're clear on that). The useless bastards.

:: I finally got around to writing on my blog when I decided this was the time to concentrate on my novel. Now I'm lucky if I open the novel-file once a month. And sometimes I open it just to, you know, so that I don't have to fish it out of that 'last year' folder. I'm also great at procrastinatory mind games.

:: Right as I was writing the previous sentence I picked up a photography mag and now it's 30 minutes later. And I'm getting a new camera. And starting photography.

Actually, I rock starting things.

I already know about how C.E. feels about this, but what are your ways of 'choosing the process' or do y'all just think I should just pull that thumb out (I must be cutting off circulation by now anyhow), wash it, and use it for some typing (I type the blog using my index fingers, but for the book I might be willing to go all out)?

33 comments:

will said...

It may be semantics but I think one can start a conclusion ... if you've already started in the first place, that is.

LordLynxx said...

Blogs doesn't update themselves... I was hoping it wasn't true.

Thanks for clarifying it for me.

Cheers.

monica said...

It happens with me as well...out of boredom i start up with new things and then i am in the middle of no where!
It's like you have given an outlet to my random feelings.
Some one told me that 'starting up could lead to you to unexplored horizons'.So don't hesitate to board a flight into the world of unknown.

CrazyCris said...

I don't know about starting and finishing things... but I'm the queen of procrastination and that's what blogging has taken first place for with me! :p

ToBlog today said...

If you had a slow start with this blog, you sure have picked up speed. Thank you for regularly up dating your blog.

In my opinion, whatever it is worth, it matters not how many things you start and don't finish as long as you have the interest to get motivated in the first place. Things that make a difference to you will maintain your interest.

Okay, now go out and grab your ball of yarn and create or not.

ellen abbott said...

I'm good at starting things too. Somewhere around my 50th birthday (the theme of which was 'know thyself', I figured if I didn't know my self by then I never would) I tossed all those half finished projects I had started in my 20s, 30s and 40s. Like the beaded moccasins, the quilt of Texas made from all our old bluejeans, the elaborate embroidery on a jacket, and others I can't quite remember now. And then there are the three rooms in this house where I started stripping the woodwork. Three rooms half done. Could I have at least finished one before starting on the next? Apparently not.

And don't get me started on procrastination.

Judearoo said...

I'd be the queen of procrastination myself... if I'd ever gotten around to doing it that is. :D

kristine said...

just a few things first. I cant believe nobody had commented on the extreme google searches. thats the funniest thing I have heard all day (yeah ok its 7.45 am, but still.) Thats outrageous. Second, I am so impressed you can crochet at all - why do we always need to define everything, anyway.

I had an idea for a novel a while back. I have absolutely no ambition for it whatsoever. I know it will never come to anything, although the idea is kinda cool. (is this a defeatist attitude??). But i do tinker from time to time. I have noticed that professionals say they sit down and write 500 words a day regardless how they feel about what they have written. what do you think of that?

sorry for the epic comment.

kristine said...

sorry i just have to add, lest you think i am a complete lame-o, that said novel idea is not the chick lit idea i talked about. that was just a joke.

Sarah said...

I have perfected the starting, then wandering off because I saw something shiny, thing. I am always thinking I need to get a hobby, but then I press the refresh button and get distracted. Wait, what was I talking about?

Tessa G. said...

I am INFAMOUS for wanting to take up all these new projects, ideas, books to read, etc. I have about 10 unfinished scarves creeping around my room someplace.

I am rather proud of myself; lately I have been really buckling down and getting stuff done. I gave my car a really thorough cleaning after forever of not doing so, I finally enrolled in a ballet class, and I sat down and made a collage on canvas yesterday.

So sometimes it is a matter of just getting me started... then I get the ball rolling and want to keep it up.

Good luck!

Kim said...

I am also famous for starting things and never finishing them. I just lose interest. Fortunately the lure of ratings, meeting new peeps and having lots of visitors has helped me keep up the interest in my new baby - whenever I see the visits dipping I think - Oh no, time for a new post! Glad to know I'm not alone :)

Cyndy said...

I wonder if starting something is better than not giving it a go at all. I am an idea person (and perhaps an extreme procrastinator, for I put things off before I even start them). Somebody once told me I could save the world if I would only put my ideas into action. I'm waiting to delegate it all (until I get that tiara, that is).

The only thing I don't put off is poetry. When the moment strikes, I write, no matter where I am or what I am doing. If I don't, it lurks in my mind and then never comes out how it was first intended. They are snapshots in my mind that must be taken when the light is right.

So you are going to NM? Not exactly close to the mid-Atlantic states, huh? Do you know how hard it will be knowing that you are on US soil and still so very far away?

wv: rheratoc: a watch adorned with a band made from rhinoceros hides

Harlow said...

Barbara Sher calls you people scanners and gives workshops for you.

jen said...

I open my novel and then get Word fright. I leave it open for days at a time just in case.

I rock at starting things too. Would be nice to finish at least one thing.

Great post :)

lyndseywiley said...

Beginning a process is training for the next. Whether you finish or not, you learned the process. And I am so committed to that ideal, that I have an entire storage closet devoted to my process :o). My husband, however, does not prescribe to the same method of thinking...

Also, found your blog via Blogs of Note, as I would hate to be grouped among the Google lame-o's!

Kim: said...

Hold on. Wait. You mean just purchasing the items that will be necessary for the new thing isn't the same as actually doing the new thing.

Dang.

(Hey, if you're really coming to Albuquerque, I'd be happy to recommend things and/or buy you wine if you're interested. Drop me an email: heliotrollop(at)gmail

caroldiane said...

Are you comforted to know that there is a workshop that will "fix" you? Don't even think about it - we love you as you are!!

Unknown said...

Heheh, loved how you referred to your creation as an 'it'. Aren't they always? And I think I am one of the people whose procrastination alwayss gets the worse of them. Ugh. Oh well.

Be sure and come by my blog today and comment&follow. My photo caption contest is still going on, so please submit a caption!

-Laila
www.randomweavings.blogspot.com

Optimistic Pessimist said...

I consider procrastination a form of art. Being an artist of said art I am quite touchy when someone makes a snarky comment about it...art is art sometimes there's no rhyme or reason - it just is.

Nicole Woolf said...

I am very good at starting things and not finishing them - I think that is why I don't have a grown up job :) Par exemple, I have been a recycler sorter (for 3 days), a waitress, a stripper pole saleswoman (for 2 weeks), a data entry clerk, a barista, a door to door security system seller (for a day), a teacher (for 1 year), ... you get the picture.

I gotta say based on your regular posts, your addictive (for the reader) style of hilarious writer, your followers, you are damn good at this blog thing.

Wanderer said...

I believe your crocheting is another outlet or release, like keeping a journal, or writing down random thoughts...or blogging. It doesn't really have to turn out to actually 'be' anything.

I'm right-handed, and recently began keeping a left-handed journal (of random thoughts) as a kind of brain exercise (dad has Alzheimer's so I'm hoping NOT to...) Lo and behold, I can actually write ledgibly, left-handed...who knew?

I can really relate to your blog. Nine years ago I put my house in Florida up for sale, sold my car to pay for my plane tickets, gave away or sold all my stuff, and moved to Australia. I married a man from Scotland there, then lived all over the world for 3 years. Our adventures were amazing. We did everything from ride camels to drive across Europe in a camper van, and board a ferry for Morrocco. It's amazing what we can do when we set ourselves free...

Escapologist said...

Hey if you have a minute in between projects, check out my blog. I gave you an award ...

http://becausethereisntthatmuchtime.blogspot.com/

Stephanie said...

Love your blog!
I rock at starting things too...now I feel I am allowed to brag about that. Thanks!

C. E. said...

(daring to be different and not mentioning the whole "starting-and-that's-about-it-from-there" topic because, yes, you already know how I feel about that)

Is it hat? Or a cozy for a baseball bat? Or a sleeping hammock for a vampire bat, made from the hair from my angora cat? Is it a time-out mat for a brat - or a coaster for things that go "Splat!"? Or a wrestling mat for some kid stupid as a gnat? (and that one there doesn't not rhyme as well as:) Whatever those crocheted things might be, at the table lying flat, they certainly are pretty to look at.

That is the last time I will ever channel Dr. Seuss, rest assured.

But I do mean it, that what you're crocheting is nice. I'm all thumbs when it comes to that sort of thing; I can barely manage a needle and thread.

julochka said...

i think them thar crocheted thingadingies is circles. like crop circles. so i was wondering if those guys from the space ship told you to make them...

Cyndy said...

I'm liking the crop circles idea, as suggested by Julochka. The green and yellow one especially gives you away.

Drove 200 miles through the PA countryside today and saw lots of corn and thought of you...

Sandy K. said...

I have lots of things I've started, and occasionally I have a spurt where I finish one or two of them. My problem is I start so many things and become involved in so many projects that it's too difficult to find the time, and then to choose which to work on! My novel sounds like it's on the same path as yours.

Process IS important, but it will drive me crazy if I don't try to finish something now and then.

My name is Erin. said...

I'm also genius at starting things. Let's start a club, but never finish it!

SkyeBlu said...

Procrastinators Unite!

Tomorrow

Josefine said...

Are they nipple pasties? Cause if they are I think a good idea is to attach some sequin. It's all the rage. I'm told.

Extranjera said...

Bill - I'm pretty sure I have started. I start plenty, and well.

LL - You're welcome. Wouldn't want anyone to have that misconception, and thus also patting myself on the back, for being so good at it...

Monica - Looking forward to the new horizons... And hoping to see it beyond the massive amount of yarn I seem to own, that really should be either crocheted or knitted into something other than circular art. Possibly. If I ever get around to it.

CC - I too am horribly good at procrastinating. There is not a thing on earth that cannot be procrastinated to oblivion. sadly.

Angelina - Thank you so much for calling two years of complete blogsilence a slow start. Thank you!

Ellen - Thanks for making me feel better about never fully unpacking while in Mexico. You are giving me some perspective.

Judearoo - You should at least start being a queen, and then just keep procrastinating about finishing it. At least you would get to be queen, which should be cool. I think. Unless you're the queen of England in which case, sadly you must be smelling manure all the time, or at least it mudst be written on the etiquette that you must look like you are. And also, that waving cannot be good for anyone's wrist.

Kristine - Yah. I totally believe you when you say that your idea is not chick lit. Totally. Uh huh. That's why you had to come back and state it. Yup.
Although, I must say I envy you for actually having an idea. Because all I have is a bunch of crazies that interact with each other in some more or less despicable ways when I sit down to write. Sad, ain't it?

I'll try that 500 words thing. If the hours stop running from me, while I'm doing everything else (read: maniacally refreshing, making coffee and completely forgetting why I climbed upstairs in the first place).

VEG - I don't need a hobby, I just need someone to organize my life, so that I remember what I'm supposed to be doing from one minute to the next. Oooh, something shiny....

Tessa - Good on you. And thanks for the support!

Kim - You are definitely not alone!

Cyndy - I wish it was like that with me and writing, but alas, whenever I feel like sitting down to write it only takes me about 1 second to get distracted and that's it...
Yup. Will be in NM in a couple of weeks, and in Atlanta for about 6 hours, but still quite a ways out of your way... How's about a trip to SA for you? Blog Camp SA?

Harlow - Too bad the workshop's on Crete.

jen - I totally get you. I do!

Lyndsey - I think there should be more understanding for us who are devoted to the process. I do.

Kim - Nope. That counts. Does too. At least you get some points. You know, for starting. beats sitting (which I also rock)

Caroldiane - Yup. Good think it's all the way on Crete. Would hate to be their first failure.

Laila - The creation is definitely an it. there's no way around it.

Opie - That's why I'm 'choosing the process'.

Nicole - Welcome to the network of 'Choosing the process'. You score instant admission.

Wanderer - I'm so glad someone's taking something good away from my scribbles. Thanks!

Armyblond - Thanks. I love me them awards, although I have to tell you. I tend to forget about them most of the time, it must be that I see something shiny. But thanks!

ModernMom - Brag away!

C.E. - I feel you just might have lifted the whole it to a different level altogether. Awesome! Keep channeling whoever you want.

julochka - Nope. They just strongly suggested.

Cyndy - Awww, but we're you watching it grow? That's the best part.

Sandy - Yup. That dang novel. Don't see no light at the end of the tunnel...

Erin - Yes. Let's. That's a frikken good idea. Now let's run with it, and then just kind of not do anything about it for a really long time ;o)

SkyeBlu - If we ever get around to it.

Josefine - I'm a little afraid now regarding the size of your nipples, and kinda glad you're on a different continent, you amazon.

ignominia said...

well, Leonardo Da Vinci started a lot of things and never finished them... let's say that we are not people who "specialize" (by mastering our skills) in an era that prizes specialization and narrow knowledge. We are inventive and enthusiastic about the flittering ideas that appear in our minds. We are eclectic and fickle and very amusing. With us there is never a dull moment, yes?