Returning to myself

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What’s been happening lately.

For those of you who have been following along, you might remember that I had plans to open a mobile boutique, and securing a grant was a big part of that plan. Well, I found out that I didn't get the grant. To be honest, I knew it was a long shot, since my application was one of MANY. But, the interesting thing is, that I wasn't upset at all. I was on the floor of my studio painting some fabric for an art project when I got the email. And, after I read it, I just got back to my painting. That made me feel like maybe it wasn't that important to me in the first place. I still think that the mobile boutique is a good idea, but at the moment, I really don't want to spend any more time grant writing, so I'm going to put the mobile boutique on the back burner. I'm still going to check out FB marketplace (the only reason I still have an FB account), and see if I can find a school bus that my husband can convert into a tiny house. I'd love to galavant all over the US doing shows along the way. Who knows what will happen. We shall see.

The overhead for my business (and my life for that matter) is incredibly low, and I intend to keep it that way. My husband and I haven’t had credit cards for a long time and we pay cash whenever possible. I won't take out any loans or go into debt, so it looks like I'll be pivoting and finding other ways to grow my business. This business has evolved and grown organically throughout the years, and it will continue to do so. It is more difficult without social media, but I won't build my house on borrowed land. And, if my heart and my business practices don’t overlap, then what’s the point? I believe that I’m here to do what I love everyday with all my heart while holding space for myself and others. My goal is to not concede to capitalism as we know it by working to create a vision for a better world.

So, on a lighter note. . .

Some things I made last week

I spent a lot of time last week making things that are very utilitarian. For some reason, even though I love to make elaborate fancy things, I find that making very useful things brings me joy. It's empowering to make things like that. And, it really gives me a great sense of autonomy to be able to take something that's usually pretty basic and make it more unique.

I wrote about the cordsmith tools I bought, and how I've loved using them to make I-cords. So, I was wondering what types of interesting things I could do with these I-cords aside from the usual, and it hit me. I want to make shoelaces. So, that's what I did. I ordered the little plastic tips, that I learned are called aglets, and I made a bunch of I-cord shoelaces. Then, I thought I could make some fabric shoelaces out of scraps, and that worked out great as well. The shoelaces were a big success at my show on Sunday, and I will now be offering them at shows and made-to-order on my website in both high top and low top sizes. If all goes well, I should have listings up on the website by the end of the week.

Since the shoelaces worked out so well, and it was time to take a break from tedious (and highly addictive) I-cord making and burning my fingers from ironing tiny strips of fabric, I thought I'd stick to the utilitarian theme and make myself some underwear. I've done this many times before, but it's always so satisfying. I've used different types of elastic for the legs and waist, but ultimately, I prefer to just use t-shirt scraps instead. If you'd like to learn how to make your own underwear the easy way, just let me know in the comments. Maybe there will be an underwear making zine or a pdf in the future.

Continuing on with the theme of making things we use on a daily basis, let's move on to socks. Even though I'm barefoot as much as possible, I love socks. While I have crocheted socks for myself before, I find that to be more of an oxymoron than anything else. Translation: crochet socks are bulky and not very comfortable. I haven't even tried to knit myself socks due to my dual phobias of patterns and double pointed needles. So, what was I to do? Well, last winter I made a discovery as I was putting on a pair of fleece socks. These socks were sewn together. Imagine a giant lightbulb popping over my head at this exact moment, and filling me with glee. Long story short, I grabbed my amazing fleece socks as a template, traced out a pattern on a paper bag, and started my sock journey. Since then I have made myself many pairs of socks. They’re incredibly comfortable and fun. I think I might make myself a really long pair out of a sweater this winter.

Now, if I could just cobble myself some shoes I would be giddy with excitement. Failed moccasin attempts over the years leads me to believe that I will never be a rogue cobbler. Alas, alack, it is true.

Gratitude list in lieu of a lament

Since I've been lamenting (as I always do), the ending of my beloved summer, I thought I'd put a twist on it and list the things that I love about fall instead. After all, it is my second favorite season.

• Halloween (forever and always)

• Hot beverages

• Crisp beautiful days

• Fall is my favorite season for hiking

• Making crochet clothing and accessories

• Wearing hats

• Being cozy and sitting under a blanket with a book and/or my yarn

• Putting the gardens to bed. Even though I love gardening, it’s a lot of work.

• Watching scary movies

• Eating delicious soups

• Sitting by the fire pit

• The changing leaves

• Indoor craft shows (after dealing with the relentless rain, wind, and excessive heat this summer, I’m looking forward to this).

• A lack of mosquitos

Last week at a glance

• I discovered that there are some kittens in an alley near my house. Some folks who live nearby have set up shelter, food, and water, but so far I’ve only caught a glimpse of the mother. I’m doing my best to help out as much as I can, but I haven’t seen them for several days.

• We’re replacing 2 old smoke detectors, so they’re sitting on top of some shelves. At 3 am one (or both) of the cats set one of them off. My husband and I stumbled down two flights of stairs, only to find the cats staring at us like, “what?” Then, of course we couldn’t turn it off. Remember Phoebe in that one episode of Friends? That felt very relatable.

• My family and I went for a beautiful early evening hike, which is my favorite time of day to go hiking.

• I vended at a show on Sunday that was great. Big thank you to the organizer of the show and the lovely folks who stopped by.

I appreciate all of you who choose to be here and read my newsletter.

I hope you have a beautiful week.

xo,

Christa

Links

Email: wildchildfibers@gmail.com

Website: https://www.wildchildfibers.com

Gallery: here

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