I just love Crazy Aunt Purl. So when I read her recent post (her June 15th one to be exact) about quiet time, I couldn't agree more. (However, I LOVE email and loathe speaking on the telephone. I have never liked speaking on the phone. I guess because it is such a pain to be so actively disrupted from your quiet time by a ringing phone. Phones feel impersonal. I would rather talk face to face.) For I have been thinking on and off for months about how nice it is to turn off the TV and to just spend time thinking creatively. I have been doing alot of that this last week, hence I have fewer blog posts lately.
I have been doing some physical housecleaning. Filing bills and getting more organized. And it feels great!
I have been doing some physical housecleaning. Filing bills and getting more organized. And it feels great!
I have been working on some ideas for part-time businesses that I could start. It is hard though. Because, as I have posted before, you get afraid to take that leap to try in case your choice is a mistake. It is ironic; because I am kind of like a "life coach" for my friends. Only I don't charge them money like those cheesy hacks (Y'all should watch the Penn & Teller Bullshit! episode on life coaches). I am the one that they call for initial and ongoing encouragement to take the leap and follow their dreams. I need to take my own advice! It is also scary because I don't want my "professional life" to be viewed as being derailed too much by my various career adventures. Cause some of y'all know that I have been thinking about getting a PhD as well for awhile. Some people are such purists, if you don't remain dedicated to one profession, they think something is wrong with you. But I believe that everything we do has great lessons learned to apply in any job. One of these part-time businesses could actually help me fund my way through a PhD if I was successful. The other would be more for the love of it. :) And what better reason to do a job?
I should take inspiration from my friend, Mary, and my own life thus far. We both are constantly learning new things, and I think it makes us better people for it. My friend Dianne who just takes the plunge into business, herself. I think my new friend Isis is the same way. People never expect me to do the things that I do. "You were in the Army?!" "You used to be a cheerleader?!" "You study martial arts?!" "You knit?!" "You are studying interior design?!" "You know Russian?!" etc., etc., etc.. Why live your life with regret? Just pursue your interests.
Ah, forgive me for the venting. I try not to get into uncomfortable levels of TMI. But it also helps to throw it out there in writing. For years, I have forced myself to acknowledge my fears. Until last year. Now I am doing some of that emotional house cleaning that I have been putting off. (Working jobs with crazy insane hours have a way of shaking you up, but leaving you with little energy to tackle issues.) I have a quote (from a modern performing arts show on PBS that I watched about 17 years ago) that I still hold it close in my mind whenever I find myself stalling on something:
"What are the three obstacles to work?
Indecision, Indifference, and Fear."
So ask yourself, which is it? What is keeping you from doing something? From moving forward?
(People think I am starting to babble crazy talk when I say things like this. But I think it is powerful. As these three categories pretty much fit all of the reasons why I stall on something.)
So my friends, my problem here is both indecision and fear. Still trying to work through them. Maybe I will take the plunge soon.
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And now back to the knitting content: Yay!
Yarns Forever is now officially closed. The local knitting community has lost a great asset. And it makes me sad because I don't think that everyone out there quite realizes it, or is even willing to acknowledge that. But what can you do when some of the local knitters do not support a local store? I am not going to get into the local knitting politics and debates over how much people claimed to have supported that store, but keep this in mind people....a handful of knitters cannot spend enough to even support one local store. We have families to feed and bills to pay. We need all of you out there supporting your LYSs. It is one thing if the LYS does not carry the one yarn you really want and can't order it for you, so order it yourself. But do try to look at the LYS for a substitute first. I consider myself a LYS tourist. I try to visit LYSs where ever I go. I get to help support local stores with my dollars, and I get to see what other yarns are out there. Not every store can carry every possible yarn choice out there. Try doing the same thing on your next vacation.
We all know that Dianne is on to greater things with her handdyed business. Shows are more profitable than bricks and mortar stores with less overhead and more buyers coming in over a small period of time, so we will see her at SAFF. I hope my local readers will go to SAFF, as it is a great opportunity to buy and support small businesses like Dianne's and Miss Babs. I can't wait to get to that show early and scoop up the prettiest hand dyes!
When one door closes, another opens. Goodwin's has moved to Campo Bello, SC, for those of you who do not know. I think it has the potential to be a great store, since there new house has great "bones" for knitting. (Truth be told, I have heard that it was a great store when it was in NC, but was always out of my way. So it is not a new store!) Outdoor fireplace, screened porch, many rooms full of yarn. It is a ways out of town, but I think it will be worth the trip. They also teach classes there, so for those of you who need them, hopefully they can replace our loss of classes that Yarns Forever provided. I am hopeful.
Goodwin's website is out of date, so I am going to post directions to their store that they provided to me:
The new location is 221 N. Main Street Campobello.
Easy to get to, just take 26 and get off at exit 5. Head towards Campobello, go about 3 miles,
turn left onto 176. Shop is about 3 blocks down on your right. Pull on in the driveway. Plenty of parking.
I was able to get the following yarns on my visit to Goodwin's:
Some of the owner's own handdyed sock yarn, North Woods Farm Fiber Co. There is no colorway mentioned. I think she said when that happens, it is just a one time colorway she is experimenting with. I am going to combine it with some old Cherry Tree Hill to do that Chevron Scarf, methinks.
I should take inspiration from my friend, Mary, and my own life thus far. We both are constantly learning new things, and I think it makes us better people for it. My friend Dianne who just takes the plunge into business, herself. I think my new friend Isis is the same way. People never expect me to do the things that I do. "You were in the Army?!" "You used to be a cheerleader?!" "You study martial arts?!" "You knit?!" "You are studying interior design?!" "You know Russian?!" etc., etc., etc.. Why live your life with regret? Just pursue your interests.
Ah, forgive me for the venting. I try not to get into uncomfortable levels of TMI. But it also helps to throw it out there in writing. For years, I have forced myself to acknowledge my fears. Until last year. Now I am doing some of that emotional house cleaning that I have been putting off. (Working jobs with crazy insane hours have a way of shaking you up, but leaving you with little energy to tackle issues.) I have a quote (from a modern performing arts show on PBS that I watched about 17 years ago) that I still hold it close in my mind whenever I find myself stalling on something:
"What are the three obstacles to work?
Indecision, Indifference, and Fear."
So ask yourself, which is it? What is keeping you from doing something? From moving forward?
(People think I am starting to babble crazy talk when I say things like this. But I think it is powerful. As these three categories pretty much fit all of the reasons why I stall on something.)
So my friends, my problem here is both indecision and fear. Still trying to work through them. Maybe I will take the plunge soon.
-----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
And now back to the knitting content: Yay!
Yarns Forever is now officially closed. The local knitting community has lost a great asset. And it makes me sad because I don't think that everyone out there quite realizes it, or is even willing to acknowledge that. But what can you do when some of the local knitters do not support a local store? I am not going to get into the local knitting politics and debates over how much people claimed to have supported that store, but keep this in mind people....a handful of knitters cannot spend enough to even support one local store. We have families to feed and bills to pay. We need all of you out there supporting your LYSs. It is one thing if the LYS does not carry the one yarn you really want and can't order it for you, so order it yourself. But do try to look at the LYS for a substitute first. I consider myself a LYS tourist. I try to visit LYSs where ever I go. I get to help support local stores with my dollars, and I get to see what other yarns are out there. Not every store can carry every possible yarn choice out there. Try doing the same thing on your next vacation.
We all know that Dianne is on to greater things with her handdyed business. Shows are more profitable than bricks and mortar stores with less overhead and more buyers coming in over a small period of time, so we will see her at SAFF. I hope my local readers will go to SAFF, as it is a great opportunity to buy and support small businesses like Dianne's and Miss Babs. I can't wait to get to that show early and scoop up the prettiest hand dyes!
When one door closes, another opens. Goodwin's has moved to Campo Bello, SC, for those of you who do not know. I think it has the potential to be a great store, since there new house has great "bones" for knitting. (Truth be told, I have heard that it was a great store when it was in NC, but was always out of my way. So it is not a new store!) Outdoor fireplace, screened porch, many rooms full of yarn. It is a ways out of town, but I think it will be worth the trip. They also teach classes there, so for those of you who need them, hopefully they can replace our loss of classes that Yarns Forever provided. I am hopeful.
Goodwin's website is out of date, so I am going to post directions to their store that they provided to me:
The new location is 221 N. Main Street Campobello.
Easy to get to, just take 26 and get off at exit 5. Head towards Campobello, go about 3 miles,
turn left onto 176. Shop is about 3 blocks down on your right. Pull on in the driveway. Plenty of parking.
I was able to get the following yarns on my visit to Goodwin's:
Some of the owner's own handdyed sock yarn, North Woods Farm Fiber Co. There is no colorway mentioned. I think she said when that happens, it is just a one time colorway she is experimenting with. I am going to combine it with some old Cherry Tree Hill to do that Chevron Scarf, methinks.
And some new sock yarn I had never seen before. I had to buy it because it was a peachy orange and blue and white, like the Florida Gators. It is Leili from Liisu Yarns in the Fiesta colorway. I have never seen it before. It is 75% superwash and 25% mohair. It is really quite enchanting, and the picture does not do it justic as to how pretty it is.And I received my Molly Bag replacement from Knit! Yay! I love it.
It is housing my current WIP. The Father/Daughter hat, I am making it for my dad with two strands of the alaskan alpaca yarn held together. OMG it knits up sooooo heavenly soft. I worry though that the hat will not be large enough to accomodate the ole melon head. :) I may have to frog. Also, I was weirdly uneven in my gage when I was last knitting it. Ugh. This is the first of the Xmas knitting to get started.
Honestly, I also felted a Felted Military Belt. But it is quite uneven. I have to laugh. I was knitting it on the wrong needle size while recovering from hives on my hands. I don't care, I will wear it anyway even if its quality resembles those childhood pottery art projects we all made for our moms. If I get to finishing it with the buckle and all, I will post a pic later.
3 comments:
I miss Yarns Forever too! However, since I am forced to work for a living, when Dianne stopped having evening hours and hired such an unfriendly person for the few Saturday hours the shop was open, she pretty much lost my business. Dianne WAS the shop, and when she wasn't there it just wasn't the same.
"What are the three obstacles to work?
Indecision, Indifference, and Fear."
Interesting concept, and something I'll have to keep in mind. Because, of course, the next question (assuming the thing is a good thing to do) is what can be done to overcome the indecision, indifference, or fear. And that's where the rubber meets the road.
OK, enough philosophy for now. I just wanted to let you know that I placed an order at Elann for you yesterday -- it'll arrive without cost or sender information one of these days. There's a good chance, though, that you'll be getting something else as well (though probably not before the end of June -- sorry about that!)
First of all, I hate talking on the phone too. Second, I love the quote you used. I often let indecision and fear dictate far too much in my life as well, and I hate it. It's something I'm struggling with as well, because I'm afraid I'm going to wake up one day and wonder what happened to my life. Third, I love the new yarn.
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