I've been looking back a lot lately and accepting that I have come really far on this knitting journey. 😀
It's hard to remember when knitting something new scared me, but it did and I conquered each one of those fears by knitting through them.
I've realized that all those dreams that I talked about for years have happened. I am so blessed to be here and able to work on my dreams. I do not take any of this for granted.
I am very, very grateful, to the Universe and my family and friends who have always supported me and cheered me on. I am thankful to all my teachers and students who have always helped me to see another view and perspective in creating knitting, classes, and patterns. I am thankful to you, dear reader, be you here today or in the future, may you be blessed by creativity and light. Thank you for visiting my blog, it is a labor of love, sweat, tears, and discovery.
Woven through all these years is my journey to heal or at least make peace with my anxiety. Most of the time my fears make no sense or have no bearing on what is actually going on, but I can't always see that.
I have so many patterns that are half done or just missing something because I think it gives me an excuse to validate that "not good enough" crap that my mental monologue goes through.
And...well, I am tired of it. I have been firing back with a child's "why?" every chance I get and usually there is this vague feeling but no real truth.
I can get behind my fear of mouse droppings since they can actually be dangerous. I can get behind my desire to have a safe environment with Covid out there still. But I can't get behind my inner fear storytelling me I'm not good enough anymore or that I can't do something, because I can. It may take work and I may not be amazing at it the first time but that is okay. Everyone learns their craft or skill in a way that makes sense to them.
I talked for years about wanting a YouTube channel and now I have one. I put out whatever I can't show in three pictures to help provide an alternate way to view what I am teaching in a tutorial or stitch pattern. My video creation knowledge is still in a stage of infancy but I have learned so much and I am proud of what I have been able to share and create. Do I still have a lot to learn, yes...but that is okay. I am going to enjoy every part of the learning process.
I only talked for three weeks about wanting an Instagram account and I did the research and set it up and I feel that it has been so wonderful to have this connection with like-minded crafters and yarn creators. Again, I am learning lingo and hashtags and such and it is fun. I am enjoying the journey.
I'm done dreaming about the things that I could have done and I am starting to do them. It took a while to get things set up but now I feel that I am in a good place to start going through my to-do list.
First on that list is to look at my Ravelry patterns which there are only a few because I have 60 in my computer here that need testing or knitting or something that should be in there...but I digress...
I want to reknit and rebrand each of those patterns. I want to see if they need videos or I can hook them up to blog posts. I want to spend a little time which each of them and then I can move on knowing that I have done my best with what I have out there.
One of Vixenpath's goals is to create patterns that have all the steps that a beginner might need to stair-step up to the level that the pattern is on. A lot of times you see patterns on a rating system and I understand that is necessary for the formats that they are presented in. These patterns might be missing steps that will help beginner knitters to partake in the pattern without going to YouTube and doing research.
I've read that this frustrates people and I know that I can't accommodate everyone but I do try to add as much information as I can to a pattern. When I publish a pattern, I like to make it accessible to anyone that can knit and purl. I agree that adding videos and tutorials to help fill in these gaps can be very helpful and I am working on that as well. But in the end, my patterns are more like little tutorials and that could be because I started as a teacher.
*steps on soapbox*
But more so it came from hearing, "I can't make that because I am not good enough," and that hurts because everyone is good enough. You may not have the skills yet but your worth does not come from a pattern or how well you knit. You are worthy just by being the amazing being that is you.
*steps off soapbox*
I want to provide instructions to empower people to be able to enjoy the process of their knitting step by step. If you can knit and purl you can knit linen stitch. Linen stitch is simply moving the placement of the working yarn to the front or the back depending on the row combined with knits or purls, and the end result is magical
So, I am starting with Frederick.
I've talked about Frederick before and it makes me think of Mom and Dad because they would read me Frederick and I just loved the whole idea of it. Even now as an adult, envisioning this little mouse grabbing colors and things to say so that the mice have sustenance on a cold winter's day always touches a place in me deep down.
I was paging through my Instagram when I came upon a yarn that really grabbed me in Miss Babs's feed.
This beautiful yarn reminds me of English manicured gardens full of roses, hyacinths, and of course irises. I immediately thought of Frederick and his colors and I knew that this was the moment that I would actually go back and edit anything that needed it, rebrand, and re-knit a new cover photo for my Ravelry patterns.
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| right side |
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| wrong side |
I am really excited to knit with this yarn. It is so soft between my fingers and so very lovely to look at.
Linen stitch has always fascinated me how it looks woven on one side and bumpy and beautiful on the other. I made this pattern to showcase the beauty in yarn that appears when you use slip stitch patterns like this one. This is about eight hours of work and I think the way the colorway is dancing through the stitches is gorgeous!
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My friend made another beautiful baby blanket and I had the pleasure to block it for her. The yarn is Mandala by Lion Brand and it has such lovely pastel color changes.
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Safe socially-distanced hugs 🤗
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Sending love and light to everyone being affected by this virus.
May you be safe.
May your loved ones be safe.
🙏
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Sending love and light to everyone facing discrimination, hate, prejudice, inequality, or racism.
🙏🙏💖💖🙏🙏
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Vixenpath is a safe space.
If you are:
LGBTQ+
Black
Brown
Asian
Any race
Coming out
Anything.
I am a safe person and I will always hold space for you in love and light.
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