:: January 2001 
Advice
Your Fibre Work Legacy
Why not make a New Year's Resolution as a fibre lover to write down an outline of your fibre legacy, past and future? Make yourself a pot of tea or coffee (or take yourself and your notebook to a bakery) and make a list of the fibre works you have already made during your lifetime. Include approximate dates and where the items are now, if you know. You may be surprised by what you have already accomplished!
Next, put your pen down for several minutes and think about the additional fibre works you know you want to complete during your lifetime. What projects have you considered making, but have not yet started? Which projects have you started, but laid aside for a variety of reasons?
Decide what you want to try to start or finish in 2001. Parallel projects are fine for many people; for others, seeing one project through from design to completion is more rewarding. Decide which way you function better as a fibre worker, and make a plan for the new year.
This is important! The fibre work that you create is a part of your legacy. No one else can replicate your work exactly as you do it. And in this age of acid free framing materials and climate-controlled buildings, our fibre work can be expected to last for hundreds of years, if properly cared for by others.
Here are a few tips to encourage you to take your fibre work seriously:
1) Buy or make yourself an attractive sewing project bag to carry with you as you work with fibre. Put your name and address in your bag so your irreplaceable stitches can be returned to you if you inadvertently leave your bag in an airport or on a park bench.
2) Be lenient with yourself if you start a project you know will take time. It is useful to set deadlines for completing fibre works, but the pressure of completing a project should not overshadow the pleasure of working on it. For example, I am about to start a family tree sampler using the names of the mothers in my family. I plan to spin the silk for the lettering and use a tree pattern from another sampler. If I am finished with this project in two years' time, I'll be quite pleased.
3) Always keep in mind that your fibre works are works of art, skill, and love. They are a part of you in that they reflect your technique, your flare for color, your choice of design, and your gift of time in making them