Just do it? Studio Notes #47

I’m not good at doing things just for the hell of it. I struggle to justify doing anything, even things that are supposed to be fun, without some overarching goal. (This is probably why knitting is such a fantastic hobby for me. It is very results-oriented, and the results are supremely practical.) But I don’t really like this about myself. For one thing, philosophically I deeply believe in the value of leisure… in the abstract. For another, there are plenty of things that I am sure are worthwhile, but their worth only manifests in the longer term. Obviously, it’s hard for me to commit to doing something long-term if I’m not really sure what I’m doing it for – so I never reap the benefit.

So I’m trying something new. Well, two somethings, but one new approach. I’ve taken on two new daily things, just to see what happens – I won’t know what I’m getting out of it (or not) until I’ve given it a solid try. One of those things is meditation (inspired by Rachael’s latest Patreon essay). Another is drawing. I had to go and get a couple of books to help me on this one, and I do feel a bit silly about that, because I know that it basically comes down to “just draw, every day”; but I need the handholding. So now I have two books and no more excuses. Let’s see how it goes.

We’re rapidly heading to December, and you know what that means? GIFTALONG TIME! If you’ve joined in before, you get it. If you haven’t, here’s the précis: it’s a Ravelry sitewide game and promotion for indie designers. For one week (23-29 November), you can get 25% off literally thousands of patterns. But more than that, it’s a huge party that runs till year-end, with knitalongs (or crochet-alongs) for every possible category of make: wild chatter, motivation, inspiration and of course lots of prizes. Definitely the best way to take care of your gift knitting, or just see the crafty year out with needles and hooks flying. Despite the name, there’s no rule that you can’t work on gifts for only yourself. And if you feel you deserve some more gifts – well, I fully support that, and may I suggest one of these lovely finds? (No affiliate links, just stuff I like.)

I read on Twitter recently that “frail” can be a noun meaning a leaf skeleton. Did you ever hear anything so perfect? Sadly when I checked it out, I couldn’t find a shred of evidence to support this usage, but it should be true. So I used it for my next design anyway. (You know that sad Twist story above? Yeah, it was this one.) Watch for the Frail scarf in early December.

Happy making!

Robynn