First of all, thank you so very much for all the spin and spindle love from the last post. The comments and private emails encouraged me to plan some “Meet The Maker” posts featuring the spindle makers so stay tuned for that.
Today’s post has multiple working titles — “In Support of an Instagram Fast”, “Nourish”, “Fast Finish”, “Spin, Spin, Spin” — titles which all make sense when I think of this week’s crafty finish. I can ramble on and on and on about Instagram, how much I love it, how many relationships I formed there, how much it upsets me at what the platform has become and how much I despise being at the mercy of an algorithm. What really got my attention was how much time I spent on the platform, how weary it was making me, how much the insta posting was not meeting my need to document my makes, reads or express my thoughts fully and how much I was not engaging in the creative pursuits I enjoy.
The push I needed came when I looked at the time record in my profile. I averaged 3 hours daily on the platform. To say I was shocked was an understatement — it never seemed that long in my mind, especially since I didn’t stay on in one long interval. I thought of all the mindless scrolling, all the comparison, the time wasted and I wasn’t happy. The weekend following my “revelation” I looked at the Netflix documentary “The Social Dilemma”. That was it! I wouldn’t say more about the documentary but if you have a Netflix account, take a look then let me know — I’d love to hear what you think about it.
So I quit … cold turkey.
I’m still on the platform, my account is still active but I worked my way down from a 3 hours, 15 mins daily average to 15 mins in 10 days.
In the time I’ve quit mindless scrolling, I finished the spin featured in this post, taught myself to use a double drive spinning wheel, finished 2 books, started a crochet project, done some meal planning and cooked more. In other words — I nourished myself, had a fast spin finish, spun, spun then spun some more and am fully in favor of Instagram fasts — no matter how little a person uses the platform.
I’ll show you the crochet throw next week, it should be finished by then but in the mean time: here’s Comfort and Joy — spindle spun and plied (2 ply). The resulting yarn is definitely light fingering and all that’s left to finish the skeins is to wash them. From the almost 2.5 ozs, I got 422 yds in singles and 211 in 2 ply. Next task is to look for a worthy project.
Still Reading: The Raybearer and loving it!
Hope your week is going well and cheers for a good rest of it. ❤
Joining Kat and friends for “Unraveled Wednesdays” to see what everyone is crafting and reading.
D'NALI 
I made some big social media changes after watching the documentary a few months ago. I set a 30 minute timer on Instagram and Facebook and unfollowed masses of people. At first the 30 min timer used to pop up, but now I am so quick glancing at it that it doesn’t hit the 30 min timer. It has made a big difference to my productivity for sure. I look forward to reading more posts as part of our YOP group. 🙂
That documentary was truly an eyeopener.
Thank you so much for your warm welcome, I look forward to getting to connecting with everyone. 🙂
I too was spending an inordinate amount of time on IG, worrying about what I would post, how did it measure up, etc. And my focus last year was Intentional Living….there is no way you can be intentional spending hours a day scrolling. So, I like you gave it up. I still have an account. I have 2 or 3 IG people that I get a “notification” when they post. (they are my favorite designers) and I no longer “doom scroll” or worry about posting a photo. If I decide to post a photo… great, if I don’t… equally great! It was one of the best things to come out of last year!
Your spinning is gorgeous! Wow! Those colors are just spectacular!
Thank you Kat! I really enjoyed this advent spin.
I love that you purposed how you wanted to spend your time last year into this year. I turned off notifications so I check in when I want to. I still have to get over not posting as often as I used to but so far so good.
I have limited my time on insta quite a bit, it’s good for me and it works. I like blogs because there’s more content than what insta can give.
Same, I enjoy the longer posts and the details shared in blog posts.
Thank you for visiting Karen. :heart:
Great for you to put self care on top of the list. I love the yarn!! Can’t wait to see the crochet WIP. Like you, I am convinced that we all benefit from some kind of social media boundaries. IMO, Instagram is like a deep fried chocolate & bacon glazed donut…both need to be consumed with moderation or they can quickly become unhealthy. { Is it obvious that I haven’t had a donut in so long???…..craving for one 🙂 }
LOLOL! Yes it’s obvious and yes I agree. I miss my people who are there primarily but there’s a level of something different but still good that I can’t explain.
Now you’re making me want donuts! LOL!
Your time has obviously been very very well spent!! The spinning is magnificent.
Thank you Steph! The advent spin was really a joy!
With pandemic fatigue finally catching up to me, I’m trying to be more purposeful about how I spend my time.
That yarn is so beautiful!
I totally understand how IG can be a huge time suck. I usually check it for a few minutes at a time several times a day, but I can easily see how I can spend so much more time there. Checking in as a brief break from work seems to work well for me; I know I have to get back to work, so I get in and get out relatively quickly.
I’m glad you’ve found what works for you re IG. I still love it but I definitely needed to implement some stricter boundaries.
Thank you so much for the yarn love! This advent pack was a joy to spin, I really enjoyed it. I probably should do a post strictly dedicated to this project.
What beautiful yarn. It is nice to read about another spindle spinner. I began spindle spinning this past summer – I am quite a beginner. I also love the subtitles on your blog. I look forward to reading more.
Thank you Jane, it’s lovely to have you here. If you have any questions re spinning (or anything I post here) feel free to reach out. I appreciate the yarn love.
This is so impressive in every single way! Thank you for leading this charge of taking our lives back. It is liberating and powerful.
Also, THAT HANDSPUN! It is exquisite and I’m excited to see what pattern you choose! 😘😘😘
I’m trying. I can’t keep doing the same thing repeatedly and expect different results. That’s the definition of insanity.
Thank you for sharing your pack with me! I’m thinking of using it with the Northern Light packs and doing a giant throw of some sort.
Those spun skeins are beautiful in their texture and range of color! I keep reaching to reconnect with my own beginner spindling, but hesitate probably due to perfectionism.
As for mindless scrolling, I wouldn’t say I’ve been completely successful with its elimination. Some days I’ve fallen back into that old pattern of the endless scroll with zero engagement. If I open the app I try to engage (like and comment) with a max of three posts or stories to keep my time on the app low. If we spend too much time looking at all of the wonderful things everyone else is doing we aren’t getting anything done ourselves!
Also, how does one sign up for Unraveled Wednesdays?😅
Even with machine sometimes there are breaks and poor color placement so no perfectionism needed in hand spinning.
The mindless scrolling is like a drug. The first week I find myself automatically moving to click that button on the home screen of my phone. I still do it but it’s getting less.
I 100% agree, the people cranking projects out are taking time to get those things done. True some of them might be full-time fiber artists but others are like me — having a full time job and crafting part time — I gotta get off this hamster wheel. LOL!