Time to clean out what you know you will never use: fiber, yarn, equipment, "whatever", to bring to this next meeting. You can sell, give away, or exchange goods with other members.
STASH MANAGEMENT
by Pam Salisbury
“Stash Management” – this must be a hot topic these days because I hear these two words spoken frequently and most often they are linked together. Let’s examine.
‘Stash’, defined in Webster’s as a transitive verb: to hide or store away in a secret place; and then, defined as a noun: a hiding place for valuables – or – an amount hidden away.
‘Management’, defined in Webster’s as a noun: the act, manner, or practice of managing. (see managing) ‘Managing’, defined in Webster’s as a transitive verb: to make submissive to authority or discipline; control.
Well, shucks, I’m already in deep trouble with this one. First of all, there is nothing secret or hidden about my stash. It’s all over the place. It’s in bins, bags, piles and stacks. One might conclude we merely reside as guests among my fiber stash as we are clearly outnumbered in terms of space allocation. Secret and hidden implies something along the nature of subtle. My stash is totally in your face….more accurately, in my face, my husband’s face, overflowing, abundant, plentiful, ample….well, you get the picture. So my “stash” doesn’t really meet the definition of “an amount hidden away” in any way shape or form. The only thing even close to meeting the “hidden” criteria are what items happen to be at the bottom of a very public pile of bins, bags, and stacks….but hidden? Nope, not at all.
Further, I have failed miserably at achieving the definition of “managing”. There is zip, zero, nada about any of my actions, past or present, which in any way resembles making my accumulation of fiber ‘submissive to authority or discipline’. As for the issue of control, that was lost many decades ago, if it ever had any dubious foothold in the first place.
So, according to prodigious evidence, my fiber accumulation fails to meet the definition of stash in either the verb or noun forms of the word. Therefore, in order to be accurate, I am renaming my former stash to ‘mass’. Likewise, I am discarding the unsuitable work ‘management’ for the more precise ‘unrestrained’.
And there you have it. What resides in our house (and outbuildings) is an unrestrained mass, or to be very explicit, an unrestrained fiber mass. I am experiencing much relief having extricated myself from the burdens of stash management. In future when those two words come up in conversation, I shall smile serenely knowing that my unrestrained fiber mass does not carry with it the onus, much less the anxiety or any of the implied responsibilities, of ‘stash management’. Just me and my UFM, happy at last.
[Used by permission of author and as originally published in the Northwest Regional Spinner’s Association July/August 2011 Newsletter ]
A Way To Participate In Spinning & Weaving Week
Forest Home Farms Historic Park,
Saturday, October 8, 10 am to 2 pm
They will be having their first ever Resident Appreciation Day for the community with free admission to tours and free tractor rides. Treadles to Threads has been invited to take part by demonstrating spinning.
October is a beautiful month at the farm and usually weather-wise as well. This event will also be part of a local event during the month of October called "Tri-Valley Heritage Happenings". So hopefully there will be lots of people to appreciate our wonderful spinning.
Next Month's Meeting:
A Road Trip to "A Verb for Keeping Warm" More about this, and making car pools, at the September meeting.
About This Blog: Last month only 5 people viewed this blog. I don't really want to keep spending my time on this if there is no need for it. Maybe all we need is the email reminder that there is a meeting, as that seems to be what most everyone looks to. I'm not looking for any kind of accolades, I just have better things to do if this is superfluous. Vilija