Thoughts on Perfection + My NEW Pom Pom Garland VIDEO Tutorial

I was talking with my friend Cheryl a while back. We are both about the same age and both had kids when we were a little older than most. We are both artists and authors and struggle with many of the same things. She mentioned something that really resonated with me and which I have thought about a whole bunch since then. And then the same subject came up in a different way the other day with another friend. I would love to hear your thoughts about it - whatever your age..... 

Cheryl was saying that people of our generation (we were both born at the end of the baby boomer generation) have trouble putting things out there on-line as compared to the younger 20's and 30's generation. She said that she worries too much about perfection and will not launch something until it is perfect. And she said she is trying to change that part of her personality. 

I fall somewhat into that same category frequently - although not always. Because I write books and make art and things for sale, I strive for perfection. I want my products to represent me in the best light. I think that people expect a certain standard from me. 

But perfection is such a hinderance. I cannot be good at everything. Do I want the striving for perfection to slow down my product range? My life? My art? My income? Sometimes you just have to let it go - especially when you work by yourself and are self-employed. Sometimes my patterns may have a typo. Although when I do find them, I shudder  and I fix them - do I really think a mis-typed word makes my work any less valuable. Seriosly. 

I think that having a child with special needs and living on a farm has helped me to face the fear of lack of perfection. I think that living with animals and all the life and death that goes on here has helped me realize that life is too short to worry so much about everything being perfect. 

I'm working on a range of new pottery to sell for the holidays on-line on my Etsy shop. Is it perfect? No, it isn't. But I will be putting it out there for sale. It is an expression of my art, my life, my growth as an artist working in clay and surface decoration. Whoever buys the pieces will have a bit of me in their home - my hands, my design sensibilities, my lines, my love of color, my slightly mis-shapen pots. 

So those are my thoughts for today for you. I would love to hear what you think about perfection, about the generational differences in "putting it out there" before it is really perfect. It's an interesting thing to think about. What do you do? Do you put it out there? Do you hide something that isn't perfect in your closet? And what generation are you? 

Now onto the rest of the story......

Sometimes I wonder where the weeks go. Don't you? I know where Thursday went. On Tuesday, I got an email from Yankee Magazine. I'm not sure if you remember but they were at our farm for an upcoming feature in their magazine last December 18th. (I run to the the mailbox every day hoping the magazine will be there! No luck yet.) Besides hundreds of photos that Joe Keller took, Amy, the editor, took a video of me making pom poms for their website. 

The Tuesday e-mail said something like "HELP" - the video file has disappeared. UGH. That meant that I had to re-create the tutorial on my own because it was referenced in the print article. I have made videos by myself in the past but not in several years. I much prefer having someone tape me and then let them do all the editing which takes hours and hours. I lugged out my camera, my tripod, my camera manual (remember those? I had to buy mine), my computer and carried it upstairs into the bathroom. It is the best place to tape audio because the room is small and well lit. 

Sometimes I really wish I had an assistant! It took me all morning. I am having trouble w/ my 70-105 camera lens - it seems to move by itself after focusing. It is fine for stills because they are quick. Every video I did was fuzzy. So I changed lens to my 50 mm, reset everything and re-taped everything. 

Then I wanted an intro because somewhere on some website or podcast I learned that viewers like the presenters to be seen in the videos. I set up the tripod and camera in the living room and then made believe I was on t.v. If anyone knew what goes on in here some days they would think I was nuts. I had to make Mark wait outside until I thought I had a decent take. Poor guy - all he wanted was to eat lunch. 

Then I had to crack open the new version of IMovie and try to put the video together. I hadn't used IMovie in at least 6 years and this version is much better and easier. I did find this tutorial on YouTube which was really helpful. Thank you YouTube. But it did take me at least 4 hours.

So here is my finished project. It is in high def on YouTube.

It is a little long - 11 minutes. I would love to re-edit it into a shorter version but I have so much to do that I'm not sure I can find the time. Remember - I am trying not to worry about perfection. I had to get it out there and move on. 

I hope you might making your own Pom Pom Garland project this upcoming holiday season. It is a fun project to do with kids and a great way to use up your scrap yarn - even moth damaged less than perfect yarn - as long as you have gotten rid of the bugs.