After a week of bunny making and very little sleep, I was so tired yesterday that I fell asleep on the living room floor after dinner. I was listening to my husband play the guitar, and then I was just out.
For a while now I've wondered how Etsy sellers do this every week. Hard-working makers fill their Etsy shelves with delightful handmade items. Their owners generously share words and photographs about their creative process and their daily lives. Behind the scenes, there is the administrative work that you don't even see: hours of listing items, correspondence with buyers, boxing and mailing, not to mention the late-night hours actually creating.
From seeing friends selling their items, I've understood the difficult logistics as a bystander. This hectic week of bunny making has given me an inkling of the why of the process, the spirit that drives them past the need for sleep and other physical limitations. (And you can say this about so many other vocations: parenthood, nursing and doctoring, serving in the military, teaching, ministering, social service work, etc.)
At the very heart of my motivation is seeing my son cuddling the bunny I made for him. It's knowing that this humble little bunny, made of castoff materials lovingly brought together by my imperfect stitches, gives him comfort and pleasure. The gentle curve of its back conforms to his little hands. The felted wool is a textural treat next to his cheek. It fills his sensory needs, and it is also a vessel for his imagination and play. He puts together a family of bunnies, a coterie of friends. He weaves stories of their adventures.
I am glad I said yes to his request to make him a bunny.
More tomorrow on cherry blossoms and friends, two of the other motivators helping my tired hands do more than I thought they could. Tomorrow is the final day for the Crafting for Courage sale, and I hope you'll let friends know or perhaps even stop in one last time to shop. Your support for the children of Japan is very much appreciated!
Note--I'm having trouble with Blogger uploading the photos in this post. For now it will have to do! Family calls.
2 comments:
Hope you got some more sleep. You must show us O's bunny in his little hands :)
Give him a big kiss for us and tell him thank you for helping with the bunnies.
you worked hard on your bunnies, and everyone is thankful to you for that. I just purchased the instructions (thanks !!) and hope to make some for Easter for the boys, and why not for gifting.
Keeping a shop is not without any work, that's for sure. I don't want any pressure, so that's why I add things when I can, when I want, and also make when I feel inspired to. Not the contrary. Sometimes, I think I'd like a brick and mortar shop, but quite frankly, that's even more stressful & more work.
Sending you big hugs xoxoxo
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