Slippery Slope

Well, it was all downhill from there. And, like other kinds of addicts I rationalize the crazy decisions that I make around my "need" to delve deeper and deeper into this fiber Odyssey. Ex: I have good reason for keeping every one of the 5 spinning wheels I "need". Furthermore, I have my husband thoroughly convinced as well. (We do not speak of the elephant in the room.)

Allow me to digress a moment...

There are two things you must do in order to normalize and maintain your addiction:

1. Your spouse must be convinced beyond all doubt that your behavior is actually a delightful and unique aspect of the wonderfulness of you! This is not an easy task when he's tripping over fleeces while holding his arms out straight so you can wind a skein. If he falls in love with a project you must not sell that project. If he expresses curiosity about whether or not it is possible to hand spin dryer lint or pill bottle cotton you must humor him and spin it, ply it, and knit him an egg cozy from it! Keep him intrigued or take your chances that he'll wake up, smell the coffee and realize he's been cocooned in wool.
2. Convince yourself that nothing is wrong. The best way to do this is to make sure that most of your friends are fellow addicts. Join a fiber guild. Surround yourself with other people who use their crock pots to dye wool and their salad spinners to wring out fiber. I personally know 3 people who have a second microwave used solely for heat-setting acid dyes.

Now here's the rub. You can convince your spouse that you're normal, you can surround yourself with fellow addicts, but good luck tricking your children. They learn early on that none of their friends have drum carders vice-clamped onto the dining table. They look around in the orthodontist's office and see that no one else's mother is twirling a drop spindle. (They have no use for lint-spun egg cozies.) All you can do is lay low. Best advice here, try to be "cool" once in a while. (It can happen.) Heck, look at me I'M BLOGGING. Well, time is up. The microwave just told me the Corriedale is color set.