Tetelestai!

[mightyjesse]

The SEKRET PROJECT was finished at 10:30 last night and neatly packaged for transport by eithni. Also finished were a couple of additional props that can be used in some sort of related schtick. I hope someone calls me to tell me how it went. The solid month of labor that went into this project will be totally worth it if we manage to get a guffaw or tear out of the involved parties.

A lady on the bus who follows all my projects with abject fascination asked me if I feel a sense of loss when I complete a project and hand it off to it's new owner. I thought that was a really good question. So tell me, dear readers: How do you guys feel when you finish projects that have HOURS of blood-sweat-and-tears invested?

I generally feel a combination of Deep Satisfaction (Because FINISHING ANYTHING is a struggle for me, and a long standing complaint of both my parents and teachers...) and RELIEF. My attention span is short, so generally, by the time I get to the end of a project, I am TOTALLY OVER IT, and ready to start the next interesting thing. Especially the sewing projects. Sewing is a necessary evil when it comes to utilizing my embroidery and tablet weaving projects to their maximum potential, but seriously... it makes my right shoulder crack and pop like a breakfast cereal, and let's face it... Hand sewing can be BORING. But who the hell machine stitches the project that they just spent 400+ hours hand embroidering? Right. It's a matter of principle.

I've been working on a sweater for my mother for the last week, and it seems to have gone wrong... Looks like this weekend I'll be frogging it and trying to come up with a better plan.

Comments

[valkyr8.livejournal.com]

I pretty much feel exactly the same way and can't wait to get the finished item to the person in question.

The only thing I feel a sense of ownership over are my pavilions. If I see a pavilion I made and it looks sloppy (or simply set up wrong) it makes me insane and I must fix it NOW. I'm working on trying to stop this, but I don't think the compulsion will ever go away.

[mightyjesse.livejournal.com]

I suppose it's a good thing you weren't at Pennsic while 'Rigo was trying to set his pavilion ON FIRE...

*headdesk*

The best compliment I can receive on any gift is to be told several years later that the object is WORN OUT from repeated (CORRECT) use and needs to be replaced/patched/repurposed.

[valkyr8.livejournal.com]

I didn't make his tent. Why was he setting it on fire????

[abelove.livejournal.com]

when i finish stuff it's a combination of relief and quiet panic at trying to decide what to do next (i don't deal well with being idle).

and my sewing teacher's favorite mantra is "a pile of unfinished projects is a sign of a creative mind". her solution is to put it away neatly, cuz you may come back to it years later =)

[mightyjesse.livejournal.com]

I know what you mean about panic. I usually know *what* I want to do next (Or have been waiting for mental permission to start the next project.) but the planning phase of any project usually makes me INSANE. I hate tracing embroidery patterns and I DESPISE cutting out fabric, and dressing a loom makes my neck stiff - but after that, everything's a breeze... Once I get into the *doing* of the project, everything settles down and becomes enjoyable.

[othelianna.livejournal.com]

I absoloutely adore handing off finished projects. Not surprisingly, as a theatre person, I live for the applause, for that thirty seconds of silence (or hysterical laughter) after I've unveiled the item.

I hate keeping my items, because the moment it's Finished, and the glow wears off, I can always see where I could have done better. Consequently, I keep very few of my own creations.

[jenakaekat.livejournal.com]

Awesome job on the sekret project!!! It's on tape, her Highness will have the footage. :-)

[mightyjesse.livejournal.com]

oooOOOoooh! Tape! Yay! Part of me was glad that I wasn't there, because that would have just made me nervous, but part of me did want to see her face when the schtick hit "full potency"...

Hooray for the best of both worlds!

[eithni.livejournal.com]

I LOVE the moment of the "reveal" - even when I am not there. I find I put more time and care into things for OTHER people than I do on projects for myself and consequently love them more.

Although, I agree about the need to see the item used and cared for correctly. Repeated abuses of things I have made has led me to reduce how much of that I do because it is just too heartbreaking to see something senselessly ruined.