Scars...not wounds.

Lately, I've been contemplating those heady days of the mid 00's, when I found myself in a vibrant and connected community of like-minded and crafty souls. Since then, many of those blogging buddies have become real-life friends, staying in touch across other digital platforms and real-life meetings instead of through blog posts, comments and late-night email conversations. The bonds that we formed over chats about knitting needles and ironing board covers remain solid.

In those early days, this blog was a mix of business, personal life and crafty hobbies. Sometimes I drew threads of connection between those. Other times, I would have a bit of a rant, promote a new product or event, or simply share a moment of joy.

Blogging gave me the habit of regularly reflecting on life, as I was living it. It served as an archive for photos of the things that my then-wee-girl and I were making and doing, as much as it connected my business to the world. It gave me the space to write - to craft sentences and play with words - and I loved it.

In the last few years, I've rarely had the ability to blog like I used to, and I've felt that loss acutely.

Times change.... Life has changed.

The social media landscape is completely different.

The "wee girl" is a teenager.

I've scaled YOU SEW GIRL right back - to mostly an Etsy store and a few teaching gigs.

Teaching in higher education has led me in exciting new directions (...fancy a lesson in Design Thinking, anyone...?).

The original You Sew Girl feels like a lifetime ago and I wonder how relevant blogging under this banner might be.  And yet, I still want to write here - in the old way... to pull the threads of life together - for myself, if for no other reason. Old habits, I suppose.

For the last few years, it's been difficult to find the time... but more than that - it's often been a struggle to find the words and pictures.

The other day, I heard the phrase "share from your scars, not your open wounds"  and it resonated. The conversation was about allowing for time and perspective before we can channel our experiences into something creative, so that other people can connect to them.  I realised that - unconsciously - this is indeed what I have been doing here (if perhaps not in real life!).

Life events in the last few years have often been such, that photographing and writing about my knitting, sewing or teaching has felt irrelevant and trite, but without the lens of pretty purses and crochet to help me talk about things, I felt that I would bleed all over the page if I tried to write.  I was stifled and stuck between these two hard places, awkwardly trying to work out what... and how... to share... when there was so much going on that I was trying to process.

Since starting my #chemostyle project, I'm more able to share the life/work journey.

I'm excited by the way that this project is taking shape, and value the experiences and connections that it is creating.  Soon, it will get a proper name and a social media space of its own.  I'm working on it!

And who knows? Maybe one day I'll start blogging here again, about my knitting and everyday life.

Or I might share a bit more about my machine embroidery.



By the way, if you'd like to join in on a #chemostyle hat-making workshop, the next one is 24th Aug.
Bookings here.