oh the things i could be doing.....

Lately I've been inspired by the fun spring projects around the web.

Right now, I'm feeling......

• Moved by this video,
• Inspired by this knit fish hat (pattern in link),
• Called to donate on Ree Drummond's fabulous site,
• Excited to start something new after looking at this quilt,
• Ready to make an octopus. Or perhaps this frog. Or even better, these slippers. (I die!) 
• Dreaming about what one day may be here... (did I ever mention I envy all farmers - and one day hope to be one?)
• Eerily Inspired by this Pioneer Woman post (I've been contemplating writing a children's book about Barley for a few months now - don't tell!)

But with all this inspiration, eventually I have to actually do something with the information. There is a fine line between using your free time to gather ideas and wasting your free time looking at the cool stuff everyone else is doing. Lately my mind scatters from one idea to the next in just a few moments - I am ready to bake a cake, sew a quilt, make my own purse, knit a hat, make baby clothes for my pregnant friends, grow heirloom tomatoes, make my own paper, gather herbs for homemade soap, plan a scavenger hunt, read War and Peace, plan a detox, learn how to play the fiddle, and start planning my sheep farm. And that's just while I'm sipping my first cup of coffee.

Gathering inspiration from other people is, on one hand, a great blessing. I feel charged by the energy of other people, and I can mainline enthusiasm directly from one person's project directly into my soul. Sometimes I feel so full of ideas that I could burst. But often, I feel so.... unaccomplished. For all of the dreaming that I do, such a small percentage of it translates into actual doing.

Even though I am pulled to do a little bit of a lot of things, there is such value in doing one thing well. My mother is a master quilter. Really, her technique is impeccable, and she has been quilting for much of her life. Even in the midst of a particularly long and challenging project, she still plugs away at the quilt until it is finished.

As soon as I get tired of a project, I move on to something else. And though I enjoy having varied interests, I often feel that I have very little to show for it.

I'm going to sign off and work on a project that I've been meaning to finish for a while. I'm going to focus on just one thing.

Braves game on TV,
New soy candles setting the mood,
Dog curled up by my feet,
Knitting needles in hand.

Tonight I am happy to focus on one thing. Tonight, one thing is enough.