Variety is the Spice of Creativity
Jessie: In New Hampshire where the late summer blooms are attracting hummingbirds!
It has been a busy year, writing-wise and lately I have been feeling a great need to keep my creative well topped up. Every once in a while I feel as though I need to turn my attention to new spheres in order to all the wheels of productivity greased. Whenever that happens I know that I need to stop whatever it is that I am trying to produce and to try my hand at something new for a while.
It could be that a day trip to somewhere interesting and new is in order. It could be taking the time to read a completely different sort of book than I usually read. But generally, the most effective way to fill myself back up is to dive into a different sort of creative process than the one used for writing.
So, yesterday I took the morning off to indulge in a favorite summer pastime, yarn dyeing. I have mentioned on more than one occasion how much I love to knit. I think I’ve even included at least one knitter in each of my novels. But like with so many things, one passion leads to another and last summer I picked up some dye and some bare sock yarn in order to try my hand at the process.
It was surprisingly fun and the process feels to me a lot like writing a novel. Like with a book, I have an idea for a project that I would like to make. It is usually nebulous at first, then more and more clear as time goes by. I do a bit of research about what it will take to create the sort of effect I have in mind. There is so much to consider. Do I want a soft, blended sort of effect? Something speckled? What about striped? What is the color palette and the saturation of color? What will the yarn be used for in the end?
The yarn has to soak at the right temperature long enough to become completely saturated. I usually need to soak up the research for long enough to feel like I can’t hold much more either at the beginning of a book. Then, the fun begins. The heat is turned up, and the color is applied. Right before my eyes the bare yarn begins to transform and the colors blend, or don’t, stay vibrant or soften. Like the first draft of a novel, it begins to show the possibilities of what it might become.
After the dye is applied it is time to let the skein simmer at just the right amount of heat until most of the color is absorbed.
Then the cooling-off period begins. I usually prefer to give my writing a chance to sit for a while between drafts too. Once it reaches room temperature the rinsing begins, removing excess dye and water. This reminds me of the second draft where the initial refining of the story takes place. After that the skein is hung to dry and then it is wound into a ball or a cake before being swatched.
Swatching, or knitting up a small sample, is where the results reveal themselves. Even though I started out with an idea, a plan, research and sound methods for execution the end result is never exactly what I had envisioned. It might appear brighter, or more blended, or even completely unlike the expectation. But like with my novels, it is never a disappointment. It is always magically fun. And it always leaves me wanting to try my hand at the process again!
Readers, have any of your interests spawned others? Writers, do any of your other passions remind you of writing?
