Fine Finishing: Felting a Life?

And it's done. It blends two different yarns, one that felted beautifully and one, not so much. I knew that though, so I'm going to do some needle-felting on the base to reinforce it and tighten it up a bit. Always an adventure it is, the altering of fabric.

Overall I'm happy with the final appearance and structure. It's not unique, but it's already proving useful and beautiful. It has gotten lots of complements just in the 24 hours I've been carrying around to test it out. It's meant to be the simplest of shopping bags-expandable, strong and able to hold a lot. I can't wait to use it at the farmers markets I like to frequent in the spring and summer. I'm still considering it in a sort of alpha-testing though, because I as the potential user will probably tweak some things before I teach the class and then release the pattern. I'll keep you posted.

On an obliquely related note (I'll get round to it in a minute) I saw an ad for the dreaded AARP that made me think hard about the next 40 years or so of my life. Did you know that Julia Child didn't become a famous chef till the age of 51? Or so they say. (Can't find it online, but will keep looking, but I also found relevant wisdom here.) I consider myself to be on the cusp of a second career after 26 years as a stay-at-home mom, and while it's a bit terrifying to think of starting over at the age of 46, it's also pretty dang cool to think that I get to reinvent myself and use my skills in new ways. Even though I'll likely be doing some of what I've already been doing part time for many years, my focus will change. Until next year, when my youngest leaves home, my first priority is cleverly managing the resources my husband provides, running my home in a creative and productive way and actively parenting my children. All outside business decisions are subjugate to those aims. Now I am starting to plan for putting business and education a step higher in the priorities, and it's a bigger adjustment than one might think. Thus the excitement along with a few shivers. Or, I might be able to go in other directions. I've had lots of interests and dreams over the years. Occupational Therapist. Helping manage a charity or non-profit. Full-time volunteer. Who knows? Maybe the knitting and photography will stay in the background and something else will come to the forefront. Or maybe something unexpected will come along that lets me put them all together.

A bit like felting, there is lots to do in terms of planning and figuring, but in the end, it will come together as it will, and it will be up to me to make the most of it.