Bit the bullet

and cancelled the two classes I had contracted to teach this spring. I've never done this before, and it has been a very difficult decision.. But--in all fairness, I'm not in any shape to give it my best, and when I teach, the students pay for my best. I have tried a little hand stitching, but yesterday, four stitches and I was in pain. There is no way I could teach a class on hand beading on fabric, with all of the demonstrations needed. But--I feel as though there has been a tremendous weight taken off my shoulders.

About a year ago, I gave myself a year's sabbatical from production work, in order to revive my muse. I have taken every class I could on painting or fibre, experimented with printmaking, and generally had a wonderful time. My muse came out to play early in the process, and has been re-appearing more and more frequently. But now I'm getting indications that my recovery time from this devastating fracture will be measured in months, if not years, rather than the 12 weeks that had first been estimated. This is one of those times when a little knowledge can be a dangerous thing. My rehab background makes me aware of the hazards of such injuries. I'm well aware of the extent of the soft tissue injury, and I may be starting to see indications of potential nerve damage. So my best course of action is to be patient and do as I'm told. I'm not known for being good at either of those things.

So I plan to celebrate by extending my sabbatical by one more year. This will probably mean starting over on the show circuit, but even that will give me an excuse to visit as many shows as possible to maintain my awareness of what is a "hot" item. So, let the fun begin, and if I have to spend half my time playing internet poker (for play money), out of sheer boredom, at least let me win, once in awhile!