Historically my top love language has always been Words Of Affirmation (followed very closely by Quality Time), and as I get older I realize more and more how much the need for this affirmation has gotten me in trouble as far as building self-confidence and being able to give myself recognition/validation for a job well done. This type of validation-craving trouble is something I recently discovered about myself in a creative coaching session, thanks to my customer-turned-professional-mind-blower aka Jean. I’ll share more about creative coaching later, but my long-story-short-actually-long poi ..read more

Greetings From Sleeve Island! Just poppin’ in quick to show you my latest wool sweater that’s almost finished, just in time for summer — Ha! I know a lot of knitters dread the sleeves on sweaters. It’s often the final step, and though sleeves usually contain far fewer stitches than the body of a sweater, for some reason this final stretch feels like it takes the longest. I’m guessing this general vibe of “When will I be rescued?! When will this end?!” is how Sleeve Island got its name. I haven’t started drawing faces on volleyballs yet, but I do have a series of mental tally marks carv ..read more

Allow me to introduce my current obsession: Mama Chuck and The Chucklings! We’ve had a resident Woodchuck living under the deck of my family’s home for four years now. During year one we named our new friend Chuck Norris, not knowing that year two would bring an extra special delightful surprise — baby chucks! After that, “Chuck” became short for Charlotte Norris, aka Mama Chuck. Last spring we had no wee chucklings (much to my dismay) but this year Mama Chuck has five brand new bebes! I’ve set up a wildlife cam in order to capture the rare and wonderful treat that is baby woodchucks. Here’s ..read more

It’s rainy and cold here today, as it tends to be in April in my neck of the woods, and the gloomy lighting coming in through the window inspired me to create a little scene to showcase my latest work in progress: The Weekender Sweater by Andrea Mowry. I knit my last shawl project with a friend in a casual long-distance Knit-Along (KAL). It was so uplifting that as soon as I finished I was eager to do it again! My friend Tessa mentioned she just bought yarn for a Weekender, and since I have been meaning to knit a sweater with Organic Merino Worsted I asked if I could tag along. She ent ..read more

I started my last project post with “Allow me to introduce you to my new favorite shawl!” and I think that will probably be the recurring theme with each new shawl I finish. But can you blame me?! What is it that’s so satisfying about knitting shawls? That’s a rhetorical question because I know the answer, at least for me, is I love the interesting construction of a triangular shawl (as opposed to a standard scarf), and literally wrapping yourself up in the magic of wool when you’re finished is something truly special. Unlike my last shawl, this was a pretty quick knit for me! My ..read more

Here I am, on a Friday, a creative small business owner who just launched two new t-shirt designs for the spring season. I sent out a newsletter, posted to Instagram and now instead of sharing more of the finished product and the marketing aspect of launching something new to sell, I wanted to share the original sketch that inspired the artwork, as well as some unpolished thoughts on WIPs. I love when fellow artists share in-progress photos like this! It’s so easy to get caught up in the super polished Instagram posts that only feature the best version of life/work/art etc. It’s important to h ..read more

I first learned how to dye yarn back in 2016 and though the basic principle of dyeing yarn isn’t all that complicated (wool + heat + acid + dye = beautiful yarn), it would take me years before I was comfortable enough to start selling the yarn I had dyed. Why? Because it took me years of trial, error, and reading textbooks on the subject before I was confident enough in my actual understanding of this particular sector of Fiber Alchemy. And alchemy it truly is! Yarn dyeing is equal parts science and magic! I experimented with many different brands of dye, many different bases of yarn, and many ..read more

Allow me to introduce you to my new favorite shawl! It’s the Chiral Shawl, designed by Leila Raven, knit in my very own Organic Merino Worsted wool. The color is called Hedge Mistress and though I formulated the dye recipe with springtime in mind, I love how perfectly it transitions to a fall color as well. After retiring my old blog because of creative burnout I promised myself I’d embrace the slow in Slow Fashion when creating and sharing projects this time around. This shawl is certainly proof of me staying true to my word. I actually started knitting this shawl back in Octobe ..read more

Friends! This news feels SO GOOD to share! Back in August I took a chance on myself and applied for the Fall 2021 Spoonflower Small Business Grant and, *Spoiler Alert* – I won! I was one of fifteen incredible artists/makers chosen as a recipient of the grant, and after a difficult year, this reward comes with so many wonderful feelings. I am equally thankful for the opportunity and proud of myself for applying. Knowing that a panel of fellow artists evaluated my work and believed in me enough to invest in my future is… well it’s a really incredible and empowering affirmation! I know I’m not a ..read more

If you’re reading this journal entry you likely found it through my newsletter, or my Instagram account (which I’ve taken a much-needed break from), or perhaps you’ve been with me since my blogging days at Lucky Lucille? Do you remember the heyday of blogging? Instagram killed the blog post much like video killed the radio star and lately I’m recognizing the nuanced ways in which the “insta” format has utterly stifled my creativity, which is ironic seeing as how Instagram is allegedly a space for creators. I haven’t picked up my camera, my actual camera camera, in such a long time and I want ..read more