My Little Blue Shed

  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

  Sometimes I feel like a hamster on a wheel. I keep planning things, changing them, making new plans, and changing them again, and the cycle continues. I have come to realize that is just part of being interested in so many different things and maybe possibly a little of my insecurities. After the first few months of having my website up and running I have made a few decisions to keep myself from this hamster wheel and to provide a more consistent experience for my customers. I will be hosting two Indigo Gatherings, one in late spring and one in early fall. I will see how those go and decide about other workshops. I plan to do seasonal shop updates, of pillows, and napkins. I am hoping this keeps me on schedule with both making my items and with scheduling of Gatherings. Sometimes as a creative its hard for me to keep my focus when I don’t have plans or schedules to keep me moving forward. If I am being honest, it is sometimes ha

If you had asked elementary school Patty what she wanted to do when she grew up, she would have said make stuff all day long. Middle school Patty would have said sew all day long. High school and college Patty would have said create and design. Current Patty would say all the above but share it with others. Show and teach others how much joy you can get from a day doing something with your hands. My Little Blue Shed backyard studio was the location of my first such workshop, a Natural Indigo Gathering, I decide on that name to change the focus from it being a class to being a time to just gather and create. I know I had a great time, and I think the 4 people (plus a little one) also enjoyed our time together. I look forward to more things like this. For me this was a dream that finally became a reality.

These past few weeks I have been setting up my website, transferring images, and blog posts from previous sites to just this one location. With that I had a chance to look back at the past years and what I have been doing. This last year was really hard but it also allowed me time to really decide what was important to me. I really miss being in classes with other people and I really miss sharing my excitement of creating with my hands. So with that in mind I decided to start offering classes, or as I prefer to call them Gatherings. I noticed when switching my blog over that what I said over a year ago holds true today. I need to reread the last stanza of the John O'Donohue Poem, 'For a New Beginning' Awaken your spirit to adventure; Hold nothing back, learn to find ease in risk; Soon you will be home in a new rhythm, For your soul senses the world that awaits you.