Jananas

I read alot and talk alot about what I’m doing, not thinking about or talking about or planning for but what I’m actually doing and accomplishing. My reaction to lost productivity (i.e. not knitting during meetings at work) is in mostly because I could be doing something and doing more. There’s a chance to improve and pack more into that one moment so that I have free time later to do or make or accomplish something else.

There’s something more than just doing though and that is what did you make today?

So much of our lives now are knowledge based. I wrote a blog post or finished a business case or tweeted. I thought about a problem.

We tend to focus on how important those things are to our economy and livelihoods. I think that an equally important skill set is being able to challenge yourself in the physical realm as well – making rather than thinking. New skills are always awesome and each new one makes you more knowledgeable and well rounded and formidable.

It helps people to understand others better. For example, I’ve knit myself sweaters. I know how much time it takes me and how much money I spent on the yarn. So when I see a price tag on something that’s been handmade (or even machine made and mass manufactured), I can better evaluate whether that price is reasonable or not. This principle extends – if I try to fix a plumbing mishap myself I’m going to better value a plumber’s time and skillset (and less likely rail against his high fees) next time I need one. Or maybe I’m just a very different thinker.

Last weekend I tried my hand at dying my own rovings. One batch was just a bunch of silliness and rainbow goodness so that I could play and see what happened. I spun it up late last weekend attempting a single ply. It was better than usual, but still kinky so I had to wash and hang it with a little weight to set it.

I made yarn and that’s a pretty neat thing to be able to say.

More from jananas

• Antique Spinning Wheel & Yarn Winder
• The Dilemmas of Working
• The Hybrid Generation