Returning to myself

Dear Reader,

I came to a realization last week. This summer, I spent a decent amount of time writing up a guide for a crochet tank. I prefer guide, since pattern sounds a bit too rigid for me. First I thought I might make a simple eight page zine. For those of you who don’t know, this basically means that I would use one 8.5'“ x 11” piece of paper and fold it into a little booklet. Well, I soon found out that the guide would never fit in this format, so I edited. But, after editing, not only was I not happy with the results, but it still wouldn’t fit. Then, I thought about making it into a larger zine using my original guide and scrapping the edit. This too wasn’t something that I really wanted to pursue.

Since my previous attempts didn’t work out so well, I decided to try online guides instead. That lead me to google docs, which was pretty easy to use. I thought I’d start by offering the guide here free as a pdf. If that worked out ok then I would make more and possibly eventually offer them for a small cost on my website. While I won’t be writing code anytime soon, I am pretty tech savvy if I do say so myself. However, in this case, the tech savviness was not shining through. Frustration won out in the end and I bailed. In the midst of all of this I came to the aforementioned realization. I don’t want to write guides. It would have been nice to realize this earlier, but that’s not how it happened. And all of this writing didn’t go to waste, because it really helped me have more of an awareness of my crochet process. So, after going through all of this, it lead me to something much better for me and I hope for others as well.

What do I want to do?

Throughout the writing process of this guide it didn’t occur to me until the end, that it felt disconnected. I think I explained the process pretty thoroughly, and I’m happy with the writing, but it’s not how I want to convey the information. What I’d rather do is teach people how to make things in real life like I used to do. So, I’m going to teach folks how to crochet the way that I do, which is freeform or intuitive. I haven’t figured out the when and where yet, but all will be revealed here when I know for sure. If I have enough interest in teaching classes locally, then I also might consider doing zoom classes as well.

Last week at a glance

• I’ve not been enjoying posting on instagram.(For those of you who don’t know, I’m back there to advertise for an upcoming show, something that is a requirement in some cases). In the midst of being irritated because no one is seeing my posts, which then led me to wonder why I was asked to advertise for the show in the first place, I made a decision. Rather than let the process frustrate me, I’m going to find a way to have fun with it. So, I’ve just been posting random pictures with cryptic content. It’s a bit of a game that’s been working for me. Kind of a nonchalant sort of thing that keeps it lighthearted. Any WCF news happens here first.

• I finished the book, All The Bright Places, which was good, but very sad.

• I made more stickers for my business.

• I also made a bumper sticker as well.

• I made some long skirts and another crochet vest

• I received some white sheets in a donation. Since I couldn’t think of a what I could make, I decided to paint them and make some totes. I offer totes for sale at my shows and free to people who purchase any clothing.

• That incident with the toxic person that I spoke about here had a better outcome than I imagined. Not with the toxic person (that will never happen), but with another person who was a part of the situation. It’s a step in the right direction at least.

• I saw a car accident (fender bender) happen way too close to me when I was walking my dog. It was pretty frightening and loud. Thankfully, no one was hurt.

• More basketball fun was had this week. Next week we’re going get together with our friends and play.

• I experimented with some new crochet accessories that I want to make for fall/winter.

• My kids and I started a new tradition of weekly hikes with their bffs and the moms.

• We acquired a new dresser for my oldest’s bedroom. The dresser is antique and really cool.

• My family and I went thrift store shopping in search of more components for the kids’ Halloween costumes. They both often make two costumes-one for Trick-or-Treating and one for The Renaissance Faire. Halloween is serious business around my house, folks. Grateful that I am not the sole maker of these creations anymore. They just come to me for help when needed.

• My family and I had some delicious pumpkin ice cream, but it seemed a bit weird since it still feels like summer.

• My husband made apple fritters and they were delicious. Before he was a carpenter/woodworker he was a chef. Food is also serious business around my house. We also used to own/operate our own restaurant many years ago.

• I’m starting to stress about making my Halloween costume because I really can’t work on it until October. Technically I could, but I have to prep for my show on September 27th.

• I wasn’t inspired to sew or crochet clothing for a while, and now I’m really into it I and have a constant flow of ideas in my head once again. That feels good.

  What will I be working on this week?

• Crochet beanies (I haven’t made enough yet)

• Scarves

• Crochet dresses

• Tops with buttons/ruching and tees

• Jackets

• Sweaters

• long-sleeved dresses

• Finishing up a quilt

• Try to figure out how to add more hours to each day so I can finish all of these things. Or, maybe I can get one of those time turners that Hermione has in The Prisoner of Azkaban.

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

  I hope you have a wonderful week.

  xo,

  Christa

  

  Links

  Email: wildchildfibers@gmail.com

  Website: https://www.wildchildfibers.com

  Gallery: here

  Anytime 20% off discount in the online store for subscribers.

  If you’d like the coupon code, leave a comment and I’ll give you the code. ♡ ♡

Thanks for reading. I appreciate you.