This morning I got a fabulous surprise. I woke up to a shout out from a fellow blogger and Etsian, Michaela of Buttons and Yarn Oh My! A couple of weeks ago, she'd bought a skein of my handspun yarn (one of my favorite ones, at that!) and she had some very kind words to say about it, and about handspun yarn in general. Thanks Michaela! You can check out Michaela's shop at www.buttonsandyarnohmy.etsy.com.
Handspun yarn is very hard to give up. There's just something about it. The process of spinning is so tactile and so tangible, not to mention so time consuming, that you really grow to care about the yarn. There are skeins that are like a beloved pet to me, that I would never give up. With others, I just want to see the yarn in the hands of someone who loves it.
I'm sure that artists of every type experience the same separation anxiety that I do. I know firsthand how hard it can be to give away a knitted garment or to sell a piece of handcrafted jewelry. I can't even imagine what it must be like to sell an original painting or sculpture - even if your living depended upon it.
So I'm wondering... for those of you who create original, one of a kind art or crafted items, how do you deal with giving them away or putting them up for sale? Does the sale make it worth it, or do you miss your item later on? Or is it enough, as with my skeins of yarn, to see it in the hands of someone who loves it?
I can imagine it would be ten times harder for you than me. I make clothing from other peoples products they designed. So I figure it would be real hard.
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I can only imagine how hard it is to part with something you created like that yarn. For me it's different as I'm much more service stuff.
ReplyDeleteI love the process involved with spinning, and the challenges I make to make it more interesting for me. I actually go through withdrawal when I don't spin for a day or two--and with all of that yarn, there's no way I could knit with all of it.
ReplyDeleteSometimes, I just want to create a type of yarn, but it's not yarn that I want to use--I just want to make it. That said, I've used some of my own yarn, but I've also sold some of it. I never experience separation anxiety since I wouldn't put it up for sale if I loved it too much, and also because most of my colorways are 100% reproducible and I can make more if I want to! :)