I've been postponing cleaning out the scrap box in the studio for years. Today I decided to attack it. I had the right attitude when I started but it wasn't long before I had a mess all over the studio and I was overwhelmed. I can't believe how naive I was to think it was something I would be able to do in an afternoon. I also recognize that I have indeed have a problem and I am going to have to establish some sort of rule about how small of a piece of fabric I keep and when it really should be 'scrapped'!
In my frustration I (of course) surfed the internet looking for wisdom. I found a post about a Scrap User's Systems on Bonnie Hunter's Quiltville. Looks like lots of sorting, ironing, cutting, and storing... I don't know if I can manage the discipline. I was oddly comforted when I saw her "crumbs" and the quilt she made from them: Crumbs, Crumbs, Crumbs - clearly satisfied my desire to hoard every little tidbit of fabric!
Living consciously...
Oohhh, some days, I just feel like abandoning the whole exercise! I have no problem with appreciating the fact that human communication is intricate and we can all learn a lot my paying closer attention to reading body language. But Hendricks suggests that after asking a question of an employee, don't be afraid to ask things like "I noticed your eyes blinked and your brow crease---what were you feeling when I asked you about the deadline?"
Give me a break.
Okay, I did enjoy the quotation by Yogi Berra that he included in the reading today: You can see a lot by watching. (It doesn't say anything about flowing it up with a feeling question!)
Sunday, July 27, 2008
Not easy.
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5 comments:
if you followed up a question about a deadline with "how were you feeling" to me I'd likely look at you and suggest that every thought during my working hours was NOT purchased by you, that you were paying me for my work, and suggest you "mind your own business" -- talk about invasive in the extreme. There are times and places, but the work place in a supervisory role is not it in my book...
Thanks for the links! I love the Crumbs quilt idea. It would also be a great way to jump start creativity during the dry spells!
:) When I see those wrinkled brow expressions, my response is "What?!"
No tact, no manipulation, no fancy phrasing. Just tell me...
I'm not sure about the question for an employee. Unlike Quilt Pixie, I think I might be pleased an employer was that interested in my opinion.
As for scraps, thanks for the link. I actually like sorting scraps; it's a kind of procrastination. Don't you wish you could hire me? Anyway I have odd shapes sorted by color but strips and squares sorted by shape: several boxes of strips, several of squares. Exact size doesn't seem important to me.
I can definitely relate to your scarp dilemma. Particularly since I started making a lot of postcards and ATCs I keep every last tiny little bit!
Donna, Jen, Kay - I know Hendricks is all about relationships but taking it to the workplace did not sit well with me. I want simple, clear, concise communication. The older I get I'm sure that I misread others as much as they misread me. I figure with all the changes in vision, muscle aches, and mental lapses and distractions, my body language just ain't what it use to be!
I keep thinking about the Crumbs quilt. As I'm sorting the scraps and wondering how/where to store them I'm considering just sewing the crumbs together and storing them as sheets of fabric. (Seems I keep going deeper and deeper into distraction activities!)
...and Yes, Kay, I do wish I could hire you! I am NOT liking this scrap mess at all. I really underestimated how much time this was going to take. I'm giving it one more day, trying to be zen-like, yadda yadda.
Angelcat - I was sure I was not alone! I am wondering why I feel compelled to cling to every little bit - is it that I don't want to waste or that I just want to hoard?
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