Labor Day weekend always feels like the start of a new year to me. Maybe it's because I spent so much of my life in the academic world. Maybe it's the thought of the changing seasons. Whatever the reason, it seems like a good time to shift gears, change priorities, and start something new.
So this year I'm starting a new blog. I hesitate to add to a world already filled with electronic noise, but I find one voice missing, and I think it's one that needs to be heard. So here I am to do my best to be that voice.
When I listen to podcasts or read blog posts on the topics of knitting and quilting, my two main passions in life, I hear and see a lot of wonderful projects being made with the latest materials made by both commercial and indie producers. And there's a lot of wonderful stuff out there to work with. I also understand that podcasters and bloggers want to feature these materials because at least some of them are sponsored by the makers of these materials and others, perhaps, would like to be.
But I'm in a different place. I'm retired, which means I have a limited income. And because I bought a lot when I had more money to spend, and because I have generous friends, I have a lot of both fabric and yarn in my house. We who work with fiber often joke about SABLE - stash above and beyond life expectancy - but as I get older I realize more each year that this is a reality, not a joke.
So I am focused more on using what I have to create things that are both beautiful and useful and less on using the newest and the shiniest. I usually start with the question "what can I make from this?" rather than "what do I need to buy to make this?"
As I thought about my place in the fiber world and the kinds of questions I ask as I think about my stash and the amount of time I have left to use it, it occurred to me that there were probably at least a few people out there who are in the same place. We buy a few yards of fabric or a few skeins of yarn because they are beautiful and inspiring, and we bring them home - and go back to work on our current projects, and our newest purchases become part of the stash. We buy more than we need for a project because we don't want to risk running out, and the leftovers become stash. If we do things with fiber we acquire stash. We need ways to use it, both because we love it, and because we can't bear the thought of our beloved alpaca yarn selling for $1 a bag at our estate sale.
So that's the rationale behind this blog. I plan to show projects I'm working on, in hopes you may be inspired to do something similar. I plan to share ways to use scraps and leftovers, especially patterns that work especially well. I plan to highlight people and organizations who want to receive handmade things so you can keep working even when your family says "No More!" And when a holiday season comes around, I plan to highlight projects that are particularly appropriate.
I hope you'll join me on this adventure. I hope you'll share any ideas you have. Leave comments to let me know what you're thinking.
Happy fibering!
So this year I'm starting a new blog. I hesitate to add to a world already filled with electronic noise, but I find one voice missing, and I think it's one that needs to be heard. So here I am to do my best to be that voice.
When I listen to podcasts or read blog posts on the topics of knitting and quilting, my two main passions in life, I hear and see a lot of wonderful projects being made with the latest materials made by both commercial and indie producers. And there's a lot of wonderful stuff out there to work with. I also understand that podcasters and bloggers want to feature these materials because at least some of them are sponsored by the makers of these materials and others, perhaps, would like to be.
But I'm in a different place. I'm retired, which means I have a limited income. And because I bought a lot when I had more money to spend, and because I have generous friends, I have a lot of both fabric and yarn in my house. We who work with fiber often joke about SABLE - stash above and beyond life expectancy - but as I get older I realize more each year that this is a reality, not a joke.
So I am focused more on using what I have to create things that are both beautiful and useful and less on using the newest and the shiniest. I usually start with the question "what can I make from this?" rather than "what do I need to buy to make this?"
As I thought about my place in the fiber world and the kinds of questions I ask as I think about my stash and the amount of time I have left to use it, it occurred to me that there were probably at least a few people out there who are in the same place. We buy a few yards of fabric or a few skeins of yarn because they are beautiful and inspiring, and we bring them home - and go back to work on our current projects, and our newest purchases become part of the stash. We buy more than we need for a project because we don't want to risk running out, and the leftovers become stash. If we do things with fiber we acquire stash. We need ways to use it, both because we love it, and because we can't bear the thought of our beloved alpaca yarn selling for $1 a bag at our estate sale.
So that's the rationale behind this blog. I plan to show projects I'm working on, in hopes you may be inspired to do something similar. I plan to share ways to use scraps and leftovers, especially patterns that work especially well. I plan to highlight people and organizations who want to receive handmade things so you can keep working even when your family says "No More!" And when a holiday season comes around, I plan to highlight projects that are particularly appropriate.
I hope you'll join me on this adventure. I hope you'll share any ideas you have. Leave comments to let me know what you're thinking.
Happy fibering!
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