My Little Blue Shed

  “Playing around is a way to learn what you really like and how to get it. A way to stretch your imagination and build your confidence in the kitchen.”  Dorie Greenspan It’s officially summer and time to play, I am a firm believer that play is NOT and should NOT be just for kids. Adults also need to keep playing. That can be in the form of sports, crafts, baking, gardening, and many other things. I am taking that quote above out of the kitchen and applying to my design work as well. I started playing around with a bit of visible mending and just let the areas that needed reinforcing guide where my stitches took me. Adding a bit of soft color in to the mix really made it fun. If you see me at the markets you might see the finished jeans, circles on one leg, lines on the other. The playing around made the job of mending a lot more fun and the jeans are definitely fun to wear. I also took to playing around with what I would make and sell at the markets. Look for a few new items in Aug

  “The amazing gift of being alive is that no matter what, we can always begin again ."  Sharon Salzberg I love spring. It’s the sun shinning through the windows, the longer days, the newness of the plants growing, and just the shedding of all the heaviness of winter. This year I am really looking forward to what spring brings. We planted 150 assorted daffodil bulbs in our yard last fall, now we wait to see them emerge from under the snow. I do a daily check to see what is coming up. I see a few have already begun to grown, slowly they emerge. It’s fun to remember where we planted them last fall. I think of the spring bulbs as a metaphor for myself this spring, maybe you see it too. We are coming out of 2 years of the pandemic and need to be gentle with ourselves. I am emerging slowly, finding new ways to connect with others, and just begin again. I’m trying a practice I recently heard about, starting my day with 10-15 minutes of creative work. I’ll share a few ideas with yo

  “INTENTION is more then wishful thinking. It’s willful direction.” - Jennifer Williamson It’s a new year and of course everywhere you turn people are talking about goals, resolutions, intentions, bucket lists, and the word of the year. I love all that but it has never worked for me. I needed something different, something to focus on each month, especially now during the winter in Utah and the lingering pandemic. I decided to do a month to month goal. I started out with 2 that worked together, yoga and meditation. I did the Yoga with Adriane 30 day yoga journey Move. For meditation I use the Ten Percent Happier app. I didn’t set out with a planned 12 month list, and am seeing what intention I want to set as each month comes. Hint: you can tell what’s next if you look at the pictures above. How does that fit with my studio - My Little Blue Shed? Well I am still processing a lot of that. I know I want to try and build a community where I live. I enjoyed meeting people, sharing s

  Snowy days are the best. Days that make you want to slow down and hang out inside. I can make a cup of tea and knit away the morning. I am looking forward to that this year, as I write this we are getting some much needed snow. With my studio work mostly being outside, and days getting cooler and darker, usually I have finished up dyeing in October. This year I took a class in November, so I had to get creative and set up an indoor dye studio. I am glad I did, now I can dye all year long, I’m looking forward to the snowy days of January to try out some new ideas. At the end of the year I try to sit down and think back over the year, what worked, what didn’t work, what do I want more of, what do I want less of. I do this for all the parts of my life not just my studio work. For my studio I know one thing I want more of is gathering together with people. I think we have all had a taste of what its like to be separated from others and long for that connection again. So I will definitely

Sometimes, I feel we get stuck in a routine, a comfort zone of sorts, and just stay there because that’s easier, or simpler then trying new things. I am no different. Taking a class helps me with this. I learn something new, meet others that have similar interests, and get pushed out of my comfort zone. These are all good things. Over this last 18 months that has been hard to do. Maiwa started offering classes online and when one piqued my interest this fall I signed up right away. I miss being in Vancouver, meeting others in the studio, and picking up a chai at one of the coffee shops on Commercial avenue on my way down the hill to class. I do have the chance to learn something new, try new techniques, and use my studio in a new way, a virtual classroom. When I signed up for the class I decide to treat it like a regular class, completing the technique the week they were are shown, reading the questions & comments that are posted, and starting my morning with a chai. I’m learning

                            When the weather turns cooler and the days get shorter I always start to plan for next year. Since all of my work is done outside it’s time to start thinking of what can to be done inside. I am planning some sewing projects both for me personally and for the studio shop. I will getting out my spinning wheel again and planning some new winter knitting projects. I will take the month of October to look back on the good times of the summer of 2021 and evaluate what worked and what didn’t. Going forward I will try to do more of what I enjoyed and I will let go of what I didn’t. I hosted 2 successful Indigo Gatherings one in June and one in September. I will definitely do more of them in 2022, starting in the spring after the snow melts. I am hoping to find a place in either Salt Lake City or Logan to carry my handmade pillows and napkins. That will be my fall project, if you know of a place I should check out let me know. In October I will be taking an online wo