I am a maker. I have always wanted to make stuff – whether it was craft projects in day camp, cookies to eat and share with friends or my first yoke sweater when I was a teen. While this has always been a love of mine, it has never been easy for me to make things completely alone. When I was making that first Lopi yoke sweater (pre YouTube!), there were techniques I needed to learn and I wasn’t very adept at learning from books. I had to wait to find people to teach me so I could proceed – took forever to find someone to teach me how to cast on to 4 dpns! I took my largest leaps forward when I began working at Atelier Yarns in San Francisco and was part of a consistent crafting community.
When The Yarn Spot was open, I again had the opportunity to be part of an ongoing fiber community, and my knitting again took great leaps forward. Between Marianne (my perfectionist conscience and instructor) and Teresa (the ultimate product knitter), Lee (my inspiration) and Amy (my companion) I was able to fill all sorts of parts of my knitting soul, and more, with other friends.
Since that time, I have struggled with my knitting – finding time, making time, knowing how to proceed, taking steps forward. I was missing my community. Life’s demands – work, children’s needs, laundry got in the way, and without others to keep me on track, I faltered.
Reaching out to Lee, to Teresa, to Amy – has gotten me back to focusing on what I love – making things.
I am very much a process person – I love to try new techniques, develop new skills and engage with craft. But I can also borrow my friend’s resolve and inclinations and use their examples to finish projects. I can ask for a helping hand when I need one and then keep knitting on my merry way.
Group texts, Ravelry groups, #knittersofinstagram, stitching time with friends – these are ways I am devising to keep my community growing and dynamic. And now this, this blog. The dedicated time to think about my stitching goals with a friend, a partner, a muse will go a long way to keep me going creatively. I believe that as others contribute a post here, a thought there, we will all benefit from sharing our love of making, of craft, of yarn.
Come join us! Share your projects, your questions, your ideas and thoughts. Let’s stitch out loud together!
Victoria
Photo by Alex Block on Unsplash
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