Blossoming

I saw this quote the other day while searching online. It really spoke to me and I wanted to make something for share it with that was my own. This quote (according to the internet) is by Anais Nin and reads a bit different then this quote I found. I have to say that I like the one I read first more, but thought I would share where the quote came from. This is formatted to fit on your Facebook cover image and can be downloaded by clicking on the image. 

I hope this inspires you the ways it did me and that you reach for what you want and blossom rather than stay the way you are today. You can see other digital designs on my ETSY shop. 

Right click to 'save image as'

My ETSY Shop & How it All Began...

I remember when I first learned how to knit it was in high school. I had just moved to Vancouver Island and I met a girl in my history class named Rachel. She knitted all through class and I would watch her make these amazing socks. One day I got up the courage to ask her if she would teach me how to knit. I had not experience with knitting. I had never bought knitting needles or even a skein of yarn. She was very kind and patient with me and she taught me how to knit socks while we sat in History class. Our teacher, he was a great teacher, was okay with it for the most part, he would sometimes call on me because, I am sure, I wasn't paying enough attention to class, I was having to much fun. His rule was, as long as I (we) got all our work done he would let us do it. So Rachel & I went down to the yarn shop in the town and she helped me pick out needles and yarn. As I walked into the store, I felt such joy. The yarn was stacked from floor to ceiling. It was overwhelming and amazing and it just felt so welcoming and accepting in there, I loved it. To this day it is still a very clear memory to me. I picked out a skein of yarn that was 100 % wool. It had been made locally and still had some vegetation in it, which just made it feel even more special to me. I was like I could see the individual who made it with care and her own hands. I think that was the first time I experience the thrill of going into a yarn shop and seeing the possibilities that laid inside. I fell in love with it immediately. Rachel was a much better student then I and it didn't last very long for me in class. But I did learn to knit socks and the first thing I made was a pair of wool socks for my dad for Christmas.

I stopped knitting after that last year of high school. Life got a bit busier and I got married. Many years later, almost 15 years I had a daughter after having 3 sons. Something woke inside me and I wanted to make something special for her, that was just from me. I couldn't remember how to knit, it had been so long. I still had my knitting needles but I didn't know where they were and what I would even make with them.  So I started looking around on the Internet for ideas and instruction and I discovered YouTube and all it possibilities. When I finally found something I wanted to make, I sat there in front of my computer and watched and followed that video until I got them right. I am sure I took it them apart many times, that 20 minute video lasted over 2 hours by the time I was done, but I learned to crochet and I made her a pair of crochet shoes. 

I started crocheting a the time. I made lots of hats and learned so much. When my daughter was around 8 months  old my sister had started an ETSY shop. She was really enjoying it and doing well. So I thought to myself... I can chance $.20¢ and list an item and that's how it all started. My first listing was an Owl Hat that I had made for my daughter.  She was so much fun to dress up and take pictures of and this hat was made with just hat in mind.  I made it without a pattern and just went with what felt fun and cute and it turned out great. That first winter I sold 23 of those hats. It was fun and I learned so much! 
 
Now  I am 5 years into my ETSY Shop and that is so hard to believe. Time has just flown by. I have picked up my knitting again and found that I love it just as much as I did all those years ago in high school. At first it bothered me, it was slower and took longer to make something, but now... I love it. I love how different yarn looks when knitted vs crochet and its so fun to try things out and change what I am doing based on the look of the yarn. Since opening up my shop I have added yet another skill to my repertoire, I am now a spinner. I bought a lady bug spinning wheel a few years back and have really, really enjoy that. 
It is just something that lights me up inside and feeds my soul. I love that I can make something from scratch and give it new life. I am grateful to be able to learn how to do it. 

Here's an example of yarn I have dyed and spun up with my Lady Bug Spinning Wheel.