What is holding you back from your creativity? Lisa talks about the obstacles to your creativity and how to get past those obstacles. There is, of course, a creative exercise to build up your creative muscle.
You can listen to it here or subscribe on iTunes, Spotify or wherever you listen to podcasts.
I hear crafters talking all the time about having a hard time picking colors for projects. Especially those large multiskein projects with requirements for spreckles and gradients and variegated colors. As usual I’m here to help. At a festival or during our month open studio, I’ll help you pick colors that will make that project really shine. But when you are on your own, I have some suggestions as well.
First of all watch this video. I talk about a sure fire way to up your color IQ. My answer to use Pinterest. Make a color inspiration board and start pinning photos that really excite you. Photos that you love. DO NOT pin yarn. Nope. Pin photos of landscapres or animals or flowers or closeups. Pin 4-6 photos a day for a week or two. This will help you to define your color style.
And if you are interested in learning more about color, listen to my podcasts from Season 2 Episodes 6-9. You can find links here.
In this episode, I talk about visiting, really visiting your collection. This is the first step to go from shame to love! I know that some of you have a pretty big collection that may not just be a few bins but a roomful? There’s a strategy for that as well.
Last year, just before the pandemic hit, I went through my quilt stash and changed it to a collection of fabric that I truly love. I did 1 bin a day. It took a week as I recall. I went through each bin and really visited each piece of fabric. I did KonMari** on it. If it brought me joy, I kept it. If it was just “meh”. I put it aside to donate. I am so glad that I spent that time. I’m so glad that I did a little a day. I just spent an hour or so. But did it day after day. That way I avoided overwhelm. So I’m suggesting that you do that too.
I know that after you listen to this episode and doing the simple steps that I suggest, you will feel the excitement and yes, the LOVE of your collection!
** The KonMari method was pioneered by Marie Kondo, the Japanese Organizational expert
In this episode, I talk to Emily about shepherding. We talked about how she became a shearer and shepherd. We talk about raising healthy animals and how she is using regenerative practices to improve her land. We also talked about what it takes to be a woman shearer in a man’s world.
Emily is one to the strongest women that I know. She made a place for herself in a really physically demanding profession. She is empathetic to the animals and the shepherds who tend to them. And she has raised a strong, smart daughter.
In today’s podcast, I talk about “Fast Fashion”. This is the push by marketers and manufacturers to make cheaper and cheaper clothes that we buy, wear once or twice and cast away while chasing the next fashion trend. It used to be that there were 2 “seasons” in the clothing industry. Now there are 52 “mini-seasons”. The pursuit of these fashion trends is making our planet sick. The chemicals to make and dye the fabric is toxic to us and to the environment. The pursuit of this fashion is making our bodies sick as well. There are hormonal changes that are happening, not only to the people who work in the industry but also to those who were the products on their skin.
I offer some ideas for how to wean ourselves off this hamster wheel.
This is just the first in a series talking about fast fashion vs. slow fashion. I’ll be talking about the Fibershed movement too.
There is a lot of conversation on Instagram and FaceBook about designers and indie dyers. Some people feel discriminated against because they can’t use expensive yarn. I think I am hearing that some knitters feel unseen by the knitting industry.
There is a lot that goes into a collaboration between a designer and an indie dyer and even more when you think about farm yarns. There is the cost of the yarn and the marketing of the pattern along with the yarn. And sometimes, the yarn recommended in the pattern becomes unavailable. There are so many choices of yarns and many of those choices are regional.
Because of this it is important to learn how to substitute yarn in a pattern. That way you have all the freedom to use yarn in your stash, yarn from a big box store or yarn from a fiber farmer like me. I just published a podcast all about yarn substitution. You can find it on itunes or you can click here to listen.
Here are the highlights:
And if you like the podcast, I would appreciate you leaving a review on itunes. I’ll be addressing more on this topic in the future. Have a question? Let me know what it is. I’d love to have some Q & A sessions as well.