Finally Finished, Sort of...

As many of you must know by now, Sundays are holy for me. I make no plans. It's the day I do my arts & crafts at the senior citizens club. I've always loved arts & crafts, all my life, for as long as I can remember. When my kids were little, I didn't buy them toys, but they always had papers, crayons, scissors, paste etc. Those were the best toys. And yes, the crafts can't be done on Shabbat. They did have blocks and permitted stuff like that, which are still in the house.

Most weeks we do mosaics, but sometimes we weave. Now, my weaving experience had been limited to those potholders we wove on a simple metal frame when I was little. And, yes, we got those for my children, too. And I even bought them for my grandchildren, but by then the frames were made of plastic.

One of my neighbors teaches the weaving. All of the "staff" are neighbors who volunteer their precious and professional time. We just pay a nominal fee to help cover costs of materials. There was a choice of large and small wooden looms or a round metal one. No surprise, but I chose the large one. And no surprise that I found weaving row after row horrendously boring, so I jumped from "first time beginner" to "intermediate" within minutes, not that I knew what I was doing.

As you can see, I started playing with the colors, not following a pattern or rules and figured out how to get two colors on the row. I also found it much easier to set the loom up as an easel and sit across from it. It's much more comfortable, at least for that size loom, and I can't understand how others bend over the table and survive.

I'd take it home to work on when I had time, though it was much more fun to do it with everyone else. And it did take a long time.

And now it is finally finished. I did the last few rows at home. But now I don't know which way it should go and what to do with it. It still need "finishing touches," which are beyond my capabilities and knowledge right now. The neighbor will do the "finishing" for me.

While weaving it I'd be asked what it was for, and I'd answer:

"Occupational Therapy."

That is true, but still I'd like to find a use for it. I've been giving the mosaics away as gifts.