2017: Blog Reboot

Happy New Year! 2017! 

It's a new year, so why not reboot the blog. Rather than dwell on what went wrong last year I'm just going to look ahead and set my goals for the year ahead.

Slowing down and simplifying life is one thing that is pressing on my thoughts right now. I want to be able to enjoy the moments and the process rather than try to rush through to the finished object or the destination. I'm aiming to take the pressure of myself stop trying to achieve unrealistic goals or to make everything that catches my eye. So the goals will be less extensive and detailed this year and kinder to myself.

I've come to accept that "Stash Less" is just not for me. I know I really should but I can't especially since I started working at my LYS, Sunspun and I'm surrounded by such attractive yarns on a regular basis. I am a stash enhancer but maybe I should turn that into a strength and write more often about the spectacular skeins of yarn that cross my path and find their way into my stash. So you can look forward to some more yarny thoughts this year on the blog.

I want to spend more time on my sewing machine. The growing fabric stash will be a new area of attention for me. I have been collecting and dreaming of building my handmade wardrobe and I really need to just apply myself to making it a reality. I also want to make more items for my children so that they can wear at least one piece of handmade everyday.

Some knits that I definitely want to make this year:

Little Wave cardigan by Gudrun Johnston. I want to knit this for my husband for our 10 year anniversary this year. 

Isadora Lopapeysa by Kate Gagnon Osborn. This will be for my boy because I want to knit a stranded colourwork sweater and a kids sized one is the best place to start.

Pictured above is what I'm working through right now. It's Annie Rowden's Polka Dot Tunic for my girl but I'm considering changing the bottom of it because I predict that a white "skirt" bottom will definitely return from kinder very dirty. I'm knitting this with my last 200g skein of Tarndie 8ply and some lovely squishy Wool Days Scout and I think of it as my "All Australia" project because both these exquisitely woolly wools are traceable to two single farms in Australia. Both yarns have fabulous stories behind them; take a look through their websites if you want to know more or wait till I post up a yarn review.

For myself, there are too many jumpers, cardigans, shawls, cowls and etc. in my making dreams. I will probably just let the fibre speak to me and choose projects based on which yarns I want to play with next. Like that Blacker yarns Cornish Tin II that is pictured at the top of this post. I keep wanting to squish (and sniff) it and I'm thinking it will be a lovely yarn to use for a Rocquaine from Pom Pom 18.

Please share your making goals in the comments. Happy making in 2017. 

The Siren song of the Crafts

Lately the fabric has been calling to me and I've been daydreaming about sewing.

There are times when the craft supplies, whether they be the fabric stash or the yarns, call to you and pulls you in like a Siren song. This past couple of weeks I have been finding myself longingly staring at the fabric stash and dreaming of projects to turn those gorgeous pieces of cloth into. My skills are limited but my dreams are big.

The lure to craft is not unlike the effect of a Siren song upon a weary sailor. When the materials are special, the call is entrancing and irresistible like the mythical lullaby of the Sirens. When I feel the pull towards the fabric I find my brain is taken over by thoughts of projects and the colours and prints upon the cloth. It draws me in until I find myself working at my sewing station cutting and pressing and stitching away.

One of the Wiksten tanks that's I've made of late.

I feel like the pull to craft is not only something mystical it is some kind of subconscious push towards some tap out, therapeutic craft time. Like the weather-worn sailor I find myself in a season of busyness and stress and my ability to juggle everything is failing more often than I'd like. Mentally I'm feeling the strain and though I am tired and in a bit of a funk I cannot resist the urge to make something.

I've written before about how I find making and crafting very therapeutic; a path to mindfulness. Again I write here to reiterate it. Undeniably there are times when certain yarns or fabrics sing to you and you just know it is asking to be made into something beautiful. The process of making leads one to put aside the stresses and 'to do lists' of life for a while and the joy of a product made with love lifts the spirits.

A friend of mine was recently sharing of her struggle with depression and then excitedly took me down to her workshop where she has been making a table top with recycled wood. She spoke with such delight when she explained where each piece of wood originally came from and how she was almost finished with the varnish. Her work is beautiful and I marvel at her talent but more so her ability to find a positive mental space when she is feeling the blues.

More things cut out ready to sew up.

Sometimes we do not realise that we need to be involved in this process of making. Our heart and mind suddenly crave to make something and all stemming from a need to nourish the mind and soul with some positive energy. Initially, the pull may feel like a dangerous Siren song because of all those tasks that need to be ticked off and jobs to be done, but once we immerse ourselves into the making and take a breath we realise that craft time was exactly what we needed.

I believe it is alright to allow yourself a little bit of tap out time to do the thing that you love. The Siren song of Craft is not a bad thing, but instead a chance to experience a moment of mindful peace.

What do you like to make or do when you take the time to tap out from life's stresses? Does it nourish your mind and soul and feel like it was exactly what you needed to do? Share your thoughts.

Making with bravery, not perfection

*This is a follow up to my previous post where I shared some thoughts on how mistakes are often a normal part of the making process. Thanks to those who read the last post and shared some encouraging thoughts in response.

A few months ago I came across Reshma Saujani's TED talk, "Teach girls bravery, not perfection" and I was blown away. From the title it would seem like a simple enough concept but as I listened to her talk, all the points she brought up had me nodding in agreement. She believes that girls are socialised to be perfect and the "fear of not getting it right, of not being perfect" is stopping girls and women from being brave and taking risks.

Reshma's talk spoke about this need for bravery in the context of careers and academic excellence which are of course areas where girls should be encouraged to exhibit bravery but I want to apply her ideas in the context of making.

So often, I struggle with the belief that I can make some thing beautiful let alone wearable. I look at some patterns and just put it into the too hard for me basket. When I make mistakes I mull over them and never hesitate to point them out rather than relishing in the joy of the finished object. I keep pinning sewing patterns and pining over a handmade wardrobe but I don't dare to make that first cut into the fabric because I am afraid since my sewing skills are at such a novice level.

I want to challenge myself to "undo the socialisation of perfection" in myself. If I took Reshma's ideas and applied them to my making I believe that I would ultimately learn more and grow more as a maker. If I were to make with bravery rather than seeking perfection I would be more motivated to try bigger challenges. If I were brave enough to cut into that cloth I would achieve my goal of having a handmade wardrobe one day.

Such yummy balls of The Fibre Company Canopy Worsted

Now, when I look at all the balls of frogged yarn from the Maeve shrug project I don't see my failure I see the potential that this yarn be something else great. I also loved frogging it. It was so much fun pulling all those stitches out and making these bright yellow balls with it. I actually took it on our road trip to Port Macquarie and during the night when the Hubs was driving I frogged away because I realised it was easier to frog in the dark than to knit. Feeling this yarn in my hands again made me fall in love with it again and I do want to wear something knitted in its dreamy softness one day.

So, let's see how I go with this. I hope that as I make with bravery I will ultimately learn more and become a better maker. Will you join with me in being a brave maker too?

**The "Teach girls bravery, not perfection" TED talk can be found here.