tips for after sheep and wool

The days after a sheep and wool festival (or any large event) are ones which can cause a range of emotion. While I didn’t make it up to Rhinebeck this year, today I gathered a few of my favourite tips for recovering from a large creative event.

My Number One Tip – Pause

There are a few post-event emotions that seem to occur whether you’re a first-time attendee or have years of shows under your belt. You’re likely exhausted, exhilarated, excited, and overwhelmed all at once.

That’s ok!

Many of you are likely also introverted and find it challenging to get back to the day to day.

Carve time to yourself (15 minutes can do wonders) each day for quiet meditation, however you like. It could be a short run in the trails, napping with a kitten (or puppy), writing in a journal, painting, sitting with your favourite beverage and a good book. These events can be overstimulating and pausing before you formally process will help you do so more meaningfully.

Three tips for Processing your Sheep and Wool Experience

1. Write it down. It’s an established fact that I love notebooks. I essentially write documentation of who I saw and spoke with, what I bought, and ideas for next time. I’m working on sketching so I might try to sketch some of my friends or more likely the layout and colour inspirations of a booth I liked. For yarn and fiber I like to record the details on the label as we know they like to go on walkabout.
2. Write more. In my notebook I also try to record the ideas and plans I have for these new acquisitions. It’s likely that as I swatch those ideas will change; the journey is an important one for me to track.
3. Review. I like to use this time to review my collections of yarn, fiber, books, and notions. Yarn and fiber are recorded into Ravelry and new books are catalogued in LibraryThing. While I don’t track my needles and notions in a database, I properly store them. During this review, I evaluate if for items to be kept, gifted, sold, or donated. I don’t have a strict one-in-one-out policy, but I am trying to reduce the footprint for storage and want to see tools used and stash evolve into beautiful projects.

Additional tips:

• Craft Industry Alliance posted about How to Run an Amazing Destash Sale
• Lindsey of Poetry in Yarn who now blogs at The Lindsey Life provides 4 Ways to Get Rid of Yarn