I walk outside almost every day. It might be five miles (most days) or three miles (some days) or just around the block (for Sully), but I do it. If it is cold, if it is hot, if it cloudy or sunny or windy or rainy, I do it. It can be difficult to motivate when the weather is bad or chilly - it is so much easier in the sun and warm air - but I do it. I go mostly alone and I never listen to anything. It's just me (and Sully) and the world outside. I relish that time, whether it is 15 minutes or 90 minutes. It's meditative and restoring. I let my mind rest, my thoughts go and just be.It's full-on spring headed into summer here and my walks are starting earlier and earlier each week. On my walk Saturday, as I crossed the second busy street on my loop, I took in the roundabout with the statue, all the spring flowers, the historic homes and the sun shining low in the sky. It hit me then, this overwhelming sense of sadness that I am feeling for a moment or two every day. It comes out of nowhere and on Saturday, it was because I realized that this should be Derby week. It is always a festive and happy time in our city, but not this year. On Sunday, the moment came when Kate showed me the video the school sent of the teachers on zoom all dancing to the Friends theme song. Yesterday, it was when I realized I had forgotten to get garlic bread for Jane's dinner choice at the market. Silly things that shouldn't derail me, but they do.These moments are just that: moments. I have to remind myself of this frequently. I am working hard not to dwell on the negative and it is difficult work for me. I have no reason to complain - we are healthy, we are together, we have what we need. I know this. Still, I have to look for the good, for the things I am grateful for, for the happy and carefree moments. They are there and I am trying so so hard to see them. To notice them when they are happening. To catalogue them. To hold them in my back pocket as reminders when the moments are not so good.To that end, I am lacing up my sneakers and taking it outside. I'm going to let my mind rest while my body moves. The forecast had predicted rain, but it is 60 degrees with 0% chance at the moment. One more good moment to add to the others I am carrying with me.
If you follow me on Instagram, you are well aware that we got a puppy in January. His name is Sully and he is the best thing about 2020 for sure.We lost our sweet Hazel in July and I thought that we would never have another dog. Fatty and I are looking forward to traveling more with an empty nest and having a dog makes that more complicated. But I found myself really missing having a dog. And the house was so quiet during the days with Jane away at college and Kate at school. I needed a buddy that would hang out with me in the studio and walk with me in the park. One Thursday night, I casually mentioned to Fatty that I was looking at puppies. By Friday afternoon, we had made an appointment to go visit them on Saturday. On Monday, we brought him home.He's an Australian Labradoodle and the sweetest little guy around. When we got him, he was four and half months old with equal parts puppy energy and calm demeanor. We've had him a few months now and he is a wonderful fit for our family. One of the silver linings of isolation living for me has been that Sully has our full attention. We have bonded with him in a way we wouldn't if we were coming and going each day and traveling for spring break and the like. The girls also get to be around him daily and this makes him more of "our" dog instead of "my" dog.Plus, he is unequivocally the biggest bringer of JOY. And we all need joy right now. We love him.
Last spring I was contacted by the team at Quiltfolk and asked if I was interested in being profiled for their upcoming Kentucky issue. I don't think I could respond to that email fast enough...the answer was a resounding, "YES!" I have been a subscriber to the quarterly magazine since its second issue and I was so honored and humbled to be asked to represent a slice of quilting in my home state. The day the team arrived at my house, I was so excited to show them my work and talk about what I create and why I quilt. It was so much fun having them here and the two hours they spent with me seemed to fly by. The conversation was mostly between one member of the team and myself while the two others flitted around, styling and taking photos. We talked about how I started sewing, the early days of this blog, how my focus shifted towards quilting, the books I have written and how I give away most everything I make to family, friends and charity. The team was warm, friendly to Kate (the only other person home) and kind to my dog (sadly, she passed away in July - I still miss her). It was a wonderful experience and I felt so good about all of it. I was told the issue would be out in October and that there would be some back and forth before then. Then off they went to their next appointment.My subscription issue arrived at my house the first Friday in October. I knew it was on its way and was so so so excited to see the Kentucky issue and to read the story about me. As I read the first paragraph, my heart sank and I started shaking. They got so much wrong, including Fatty's name, my niece's name and the name of our business. I couldn't believe what I was reading. I started crying. I was shocked. And disappointed. And embarrassed. These were big mistakes.I emailed Quiltfolk after I read the article and pointed out the larger errors. I told them how sad and disappointed I was.I received a reply within an hour. They messed up and admitted it. They apologized and took full responsibility. Then we began to work together to make things right. They were extremely responsive, answering my questions and communicating their thoughts and plans with me as they unfolded. The publisher, Michael McCormick, wrote a heartfelt apology, which you can read here.I have the utmost respect for Mike, Mary Fons, the rest of the Quiltfolk team and the publication itself. They handled this unfortunate situation with grace and worked to make sure that I felt good about it. And I do. Their apology is sincere and they also emailed all their subscribers a corrected version of the story, which I hope you will take the time to read. After all, I was very excited to be part of this magazine and I am proud of what I do.Part of being a creative person is making mistakes and learning from them. I tell the eighth graders in my sewing class that I use my stitch ripper daily because I do. I've cut fabric incorrectly, set quilt blocks upside down, and cut two right sleeves for a blouse instead of a right and a left. I've unraveled hours of knitting when sweaters turn out the wrong size, a dropped stitch wasn't noticed or the color work is off. I once baked a cake and forgot the eggs - into the garbage it went. And these are only the crafty mistakes! I've made my fair share of personal bumbles, too. I understand that mistakes happen because I make them myself. On the regular. I am human and part of being human is screwing up sometimes. The key is to admit it and apologize when necessary. Then figure out why it happened and learn from the error. Fix it if you can or, if not, start over.I am grateful to Quiltfolk for admitting their errors, apologizing and fixing what they could. Everyone deserves a chance for a do-over.
I'm excited to share some new things with you today! My friend, Tracey Wirth, has a new line called Jump, Ride, Spin with Paintbrush Studios Fabrics and it is adorable! The prints are fun, cute and come in great colors - fresh hues of yellow, orange, green, pink, blue and gray. They are so versatile and are perfect for all kinds of project. Naturally, though, I made a quilt!
I made a baby size of my newest pattern, Super Squash Blossom. These oversized blocks come together quickly and work well in large and small scale prints like the ones in Tracey's line. I decided to to use the gray, orange and yellow colorway and backed it with a nice aqua solid. They really pop against the white background!
It's been a longtime dream of Tracey's to design fabric and I couldn't be more thrilled to see it become a reality! Her fabrics are whimsical and fresh and would be good for so many projects. You can see more ideas of how to use them on the Paintbrush Studios Blog. The pattern for my quilt, Super Squash Blossom, is available in my shop. Take 25 % off through Sunday, December 9th with the code JUMPRIDESPIN.
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Do you all remember my Rinse and Repeat quilt? With Make Your Own Medallion finished and out in the world, I finally had the time and attention to get the pattern completed and I will be releasing it next week! Of course, I will let you know when it's available here and on Instagram. I'll also be sending out a coupon code to my newsletter subscribers. Not on my mailing list? You can sign up at the top of this page, in the blue bar.Back with more Rinse and Repeat action throughout the week. I started cutting and sewing another one this weekend!
Let's start with the obvious: I'm on a bit of a sock knitting bender.
Eight pairs since July, with the ninth on the needles right now, almost finished.
Despite the tiny needles (size 1! Officially crazy!) and the thread like yarn (fingering weight, I'm looking at you), both of which would have made me run away quickly a year ago, I'm all in. I have surprised myself - I don't do that very often - and have been thinking about why I find sock knitting so appealing at the moment. This is what I have come up with:
The yarn. This is a no brainer - there are so many beautiful sock yarns on the market. Speckles, self-striping, indie-dyed skeins are gorgeous and seemingly limitless in their variety. I can buy all the crazy colors, ones I would never wear as a sweater, and knit them up for my feet or someone else's feet. Seriously, I have sock yarn with gold sparkles in it! Fun and frivolous and perfectly suited for a certain 17 year old. I have amassed quite the collection of sock yarns and keep adding to it.
Portability. It's very easy to grab socks to knit on the go. I can throw a project bag in my, admittedly very large, purse and have it with me all the time. I knit in that half an hour after we get to lacrosse and before the game starts, before doctor appointments and in waiting rooms of all sorts, while in the carpool line, in airplanes, on road trips (Fatty is our driver) and in airports, and, of course, in front of the TV. There is no wrangling of a heavy, in-progress sweater. My arms aren't flailing left and right while I wield a large circular needle with something hanging off of it.
The magic loop. This was the game-changer for me. The sock is on one needle so I am not keeping track of four double points and not dropping stitches and needles all the time. Magic looping is also extremely fast and I love trucking along at a decent clip. It does take a bit of getting used to - awkward does not adequately describe my first attempts - but once I got it, holy moly, it was amazing. I don't think I will ever knit socks on double points again.
Variety. So many cool sock patterns are out there for the taking. I love trying a new technique on a small scale. I am comfortable enough with the basic sock form now that I can stretch my brain with different techniques and variations. It has not gotten boring yet!
Small projects equal fast finishes. There is a reason I like knitting hats. Quick, easy (once you know what you are doing) and satisfying. Socks fall into this category, too. The difference, you can wear socks all day, every day. I guess you could do that with a hat, too, but that's not my speed. I have two hand knit hats that I love and rotate between. Adding a new one to my repertoire each year is plenty. But you can never have enough socks! Growing a sock drawer is seriously fun business.
My foot issues. Boring stuff, but my reality. And it has not been lost on me that the part of my body that is giving me the most trouble, is the part that I am taking the most time to cover in hand knits. Hand knit socks are amazing to wear - they are cozy and cushy and luxurious and feel like a treat each time I pull a pair on. For me, it's self-care in a new form.
Work making vs. for fun making. While I was deep into the sewing for my next book, knitting socks is gave me a creative outlet that wasn't work-based. Don't get me wrong - the sewing part is fun, too, but it is deadline driven. I need balance so I am knitting socks outside of business hours and outside of the house. It's scratching a making-itch that I need to take care of to produce my best work.
Creating memories while I knit. This part is a little more ethereal, but it's important to me. These moments in time are marked in knit and purl stitches and then come back to me when I see them or wear them. For example, I bought a skein of hand-dyed blue yarn in Vancouver that became a pair of cabled socks knit in a week, worn with Birkenstocks while Jane and I toured colleges out East this past fall. I think about our summer vacation and our college trip every time I pull that pair on. The ones I just finished knitting are from yarn that my friend Jennie picked up for me in Nashville and I think about how she picked the perfect speckles for me. I want to keeping knitting memories.
Joy. Period. Full stop. Sock knitting brings me joy.
I know that this post is a whole lot words to explain why I can't stop knitting socks. Maybe it should be simpler than that? I could have gone solely with joy, because that is essentially what it is all about, but I am actively trying to reflect about what motivates me to do what I do. It's good mental exercise that is easy to skip if I don't make the effort.
Do you knit socks? Got a pattern to recommend? Or some yarn I shouldn't miss? Or are you obsessed with making something else at the moment? I would love to hear about it. If you want to see snippets of my sock knitting, I made a hashtag on Instagram.
This December is calm and bright. And merry. So merry!
If you have seen my posts recently on Instagram, you know that I am taking time to list the things I am grateful for everyday. Inspired by my dear friend, Emily, this gratitude practice was just what was I was missing. Taking a few minutes to review what I am thankful for each my day has been the best reflection for me. I hadn't realized just how much I missed taking a photo every day and saying a few words about it, like I did for 5 years on Flickr. Although the gratitude practice that I am doing now is different, I believe it fills the hole that my 365 projects left. I did not realize how much I missed it (and habit! I still miss habit). Life is hectic and busy and messy and lovely and wonderful and loving and energizing and I want to feel it all, love it all, live it all.
Among the many things I am grateful for is this blog and all of you who read it. I don't say it nearly often enough, but I do so appreciate the time it takes to stop here, read my words, and comment on my posts. I love sewing and knitting and making things, and having people to share it with has been a wonderful blessing in my life. I love knowing that like-minded people are out there, following along. Thank you. Truly, I am grateful for all of you and everything you do to support my endeavors.
I'm not signing off for the year, yet. I do have some posts planned, but I'm soaking in every moment of this holiday season and don't want to miss the opportunity to wish the best. Whatever holiday it is that you celebrate, I hope that it is full of love, kindness and gratitude.
Merry Everything, Happy Always, my friends!