Sunday, December 30, 2007

Guilt vs Happiness

This week I have been thinking a lot about guilt. Guilt can hold us back, or it can really challenge us to move forward. Some guilt is trivial, some runs deep.

I experienced a little humorous trivial guilt this Christmas. I made socks for my mom, sis and niece and they were very well received. But.....my dad made it very clear that it wasn't fair that he hadn't been given any wool socks or slippers. I had no idea he even wanted a pair and I felt a little guilty. This was cause for action.

I immediately cast on for some felted slippers for him. Guilt no more!

Amy and I were discussing the guilt of stash. We are both feeling guilty over the size of our stashes. Mine is truly bad. I know there are many others out there who have tons more yarn than I do, but I know this is too much for ME to have. I am going to try very hard in the new year to buy very little yarn and work from the stash whenever possible. Dad's slippers were from stash yarn and I will be using more stashed wool very soon.

I will be making slippers for myself. I received these for Christmas last year and I have literally loved them to death. The holes are getting so big that I really have no choice but to make myself new slippers quickly. Michigan winters do not go well with holey slippers.

There are other things that make me feel guilty too, but I have been told by a very good friend that I shouldn't be so hard on myself. In 2008 I am going to stop putting so much pressure on myself, comparing myself to others and just be me. I am going to concentrate on the things and people that make me happy. I am not superwoman, nor do I want to be. I will never be the best designer, blogger (I'm not even going to apologize for not posting in 2 weeks), friend etc. in the world. I am just going to be myself.

I will leave you with a silly picture of Brodie. (I know he's not a cat, but some bloggers actually have cute dogs lol.) It looks like he is just staring aimlessly at the cupboard....

but actually, he is sitting directly in front of the heat vent and letting the hot air blow on him. What a silly dog.

Next time I will have to tell you about our crazy trip.

8 comments:

Alison said...

It's not just a stash: it's also a yarn library. It is the means by which you can cast on on a whim's notice and work at something that needs to be done right now, that an hour before you hadn't even known the need for it was going to exist. It is the means by which serendipity can happen. It is the means by which you can make someone else happy, shortly, and yourself happy immediately in working and looking forward to their being so. Without having to drive to a store or look for just the thing or ring it up on a bad month for the credit card. You can just go do.

Stash is a wonderful thing.

Anonymous said...

(Sorry, silly Blogger. I meant that to link to me, not to the Blogger addy that hasn't existed since I moved to my own domain.)

Marianne said...

Your intentions for 2008 could be mine too :-)
You have designed some very pretty things though !
Do you (or your husband) come from the Netherlands btw ?

Kim said...

um, if it is that easy to get handknit socks...I'd like them too.

Dads are relentless, aren't they? My friend, Mitzi, made me a pair of socks last year for Christmas and I treasure them.

Ravelry has a forum for destash and I plan to use it as soon as I can get some organization around my mess.

Opal said...

I know what you mean about stash guilt. I need to stop buying so much sock yarn. Maybe we can be our own support group.

As for Brodie, he's my favorite bloggin' puppy! He is just too adorable! Don't stop with the doggie pictures, please!

JeanTownsend said...

sending you clog hugs.

tiennieknits said...

Happy New Year to you!

Susan Pandorf said...

Hey Lisa! Thanks for pulling me out of my self-imposed quarantine from all things bloggy. Two weeks of family time is probably plenty (for now.)

I was up in Leland, just north of Traverse City, visiting my family for the holidays. Had some lovely snow and even lovelier company.

Blessings!