joyful - Flying Goat Farm

I told you I was re-reading Joyful by Ingrid Fetell Lee. In her 2nd chapter, she writes about the joy of abundance. I think this is a particular importance to use yarnie and textile pieces. When I think of abundance, I think of sprinkles, candy stores, yarn stores, multicolored quilts and my very own stash.

Earlier this year, before this pandemic was on the horizon, I went through my fabric stash. I wanted to “Kondo”ize it. I went through each piece of fabric and kept only what gave me joy. And I can honestly say that my fabric stash now gives me so much joy. I ended up giving away 3 trash bags full of fabric, elastic (I know…I wish I had that today) and seam bindings (yes I wish I still had that too).

When I walk into my studio, I also feel the joy of abundance. All those colors are chaotic and evocative. They inspire me and they thrill me. I think that’s why it’s so fun and overwhelming to go to a fiber festival.

Even with all the festivals going into virtual mode, you can still experience joyful abundance by visiting our website, watching our Instagram stories and watching our YouTube videos.

Be joyful now and forever!

Yes, it’s that good. Actually I’m re-reading it and also listening to it as I work in my studio. What’s the book?

Joyful by Ingrid Fetell Lee

Why is this book resonating with me? I think because I can see so many textile, yarn, color, dyeing connections. I also think that with all that is happening in the world around us, I need to find some more joy. I need to savor what brings me joy. Bring more of it into my life. I want to examine what brings me joy and do more of it.

Lee organizes the joyful world into 10 aesthetics:

Energy (vibrant color and light), Abundance (lushness, multiplicity and variety), Freedom (nature, wildness and open space), Harmony (balance, symmetry and flow), Play (circles, spheres and bubbly forms), Surprise (contract and whimsy), Transcendence (elevation and lightness), Magic (invisible forces and illusions), Celebration (synchrony, sparkle and bursting shapes), and Renewal (blossoming, expansion and curves).

So for the Energy chapter Lee tells us that it is impossible to separate color and emotions. Just think about blue Mondays and having a sunny disposition. Having a red hot temper and looking for the silver lining in a hard situation (social distancing, perhaps?)

Pandemic Colorways L to R: Antibody, Corona and Vaccine

Color is energy made visible. If I go into my science geek again, well this is proven. Each color has it’s own wavelength. It is energy. And it is color.

And what about Chromophobia? That’s the fear of color, especially seen in our houses. People love colorful spaces but it is really hard to make a choice on a wall or room in your house. I see this fear all the time. I think that some are so afraid of making a mistake that they either decide to pass on the choice, or more likely they rely on their more color confident friends. Do you have to live this way? No you can train your eyes and build your color confidence. It takes looking at lots of colorful art or photos. You can do this in an art museum. You can do that in Pinterest. Get to know what you like. What makes you say “Ahhhh” or what makes you smile.

I will be blogging more about this book because it is just so full. So full of interesting ideas and “Aha” moments for me and I think for you.

Tag: joyful

the joy found in abundance

book I’m re-reading