Add to the Knitting Pie! Special Episode #7
There is no shortage of things the we can not control. 2020 has definitely decided that was what he was here to teach us all year long. BUT I AM NOT BUYING IT! There are things I can control and own and what’s more, I can ENJOY them. And so here is my gift to you today: a break from the tough bits of 2020 and an opportunity to reclaim some carefree, joyous moments!
ALSO there is a free scavenger hunt bingo board to just have some fun with!
We deserve to just have a time of carefree happiness!
Can you share with all the folks that you know need some fun? I want to encourage you to be brave and tell 2 friends about this podcast.
If you enjoyed it and felt at all encouraged by it, recommending it to 2 friends is a chance for them to feel the same…and goodness knows so many of us need an injection of hope today!
Podcast available on these platforms:
ApplePodcasts Stitcher BuzzSprout Spotify
Look for Encourage Better: Knitting Adventures in Alaska on your favorite platform and SUBSCRIBE!
Transcript below:
Aloha knitter. It is November 5 2020. And this is an extra special episode of The encourage better podcast, it's going to sound slightly different than usual. I'm your host, Melissa, you can call me Mel. And my sincerest hope is that this episode brings you encouragement, and joy today. Today is a day where I'm going to share a big idea with activities that you can do right now, to give you, hopefully, satisfaction and peace, and some enthusiasm. Along the way, I'm also going to open up an invitation for you to join me. But before I do all that, I need to be very transparent with you. I feel a little bit vulnerable, but hopeful. For at the time of this recording, the things are not very rest filled, or peaceful inside of me. And I'm aware, it's a feeling that many of you, dear listeners, are probably sharing right now. And it's a place that I know, none of us want to stay. None of us want to continue feeling this way. Now, circumstances far beyond my control are unsettled. And try as I might try to quell my anxiety. It's a task that feels a bit overwhelming. And that overwhelm is a bit of a reminder, though, of what I do not want in my life. I do not want overwhelm, discouragement, frustration, and that nagging sensation of not being able to finish something. Now, I can't control those things right now on a large scale. So I'm doing it in a place closest to me in my knitting. And I want to invite you along to so now I'm going to pivot a bit with you. Because you are invited to come along with me. And in this podcast, I'm going to move forward in the fun. I'm going to embrace the things that I love that built me up. And I'm going to roll up my sleeves to share with you tips and tricks and ideas to help you as well as an announcement I have been longing to share. Aren't you glad you made it here today? I am! so let me pull back the curtain and share with you a glimpse into messy Melissa's old knitting thoughts and life for a second. It'll just be a quick peek because I don't want this podcast rated as like a horror film level. I once had piles of projects scattered about that I cast on in a hopeful frenzy. And some that I thoughtfully planned and prepared and, and researched and and spent hours digging through yarn or thinking through yarn or scanning online. I spent a lot of time on other ones peppered in that collection to projects were in baskets. Sometimes a few others were in spaces of disarray and others. Others were in lovely project bags that had delightful fabric on the outside. But they kept a hot mess of a secret inside my net, my knitting my knitting would be here and there and everywhere. But the ones that were captured in these beautiful knitting bags were tucked away. And they they really did a great job of masking the project that was in there. Now, I was of course a bad knitting mom at this time, as I clearly had favorites among my knitting kiddos.
And I do have to admit I would give them preferential treatment to the point of ignoring their fibery siblings Are you with me here? Any of you and knitting mama or Papa with a favorite? It is okay to have favorites and knitting projects. Our cast ons don't actually get their feelings hurt, but they can get neglected. And that is definitely a point none of us want. Fast forward to today. I love having lots of projects going. It definitely, definitely satisfies my need for creative exploration and adventure. And I believe it helps me It calms me and enlivens my creative makeup, and my naturally curious nature. But the way I do it today is in bold contrast to what I did before. I moved away from overwhelm, and frustration, and touch of embarrassment, and a little smattering of guilt to a place of inspiration and intentionality, not the overthinking type that takes me forever to make a decision version of intentional that I thought the word meant, but just easy to implement helps and mindset adjustments that took very little time to do and somehow provided me with abundant knitting time, and Mojo. If you master these skills, where do you think you could be a year from now? Six months, a few weeks. That is what I'd like to find out. I have a treat to share with you after this next story. It will be fun, and hopefully will lighten your spirit and bring a bit of a chuckle or two to your day. So here's my project backstory, and an example of simple intentionality. And through it, I'm going to share something that you can do today to start your forward steps and helping yourself be the happiest knitter you can be. And then my friend, I'm going to share my announcement, and even a few free actions you can do today to set yourself up for even greater creative success in your making. Remember those pretty project bags I mentioned earlier, they became such a beautiful addiction, the lovely fabrics, variety of styles, ease and convenience of using them. But I'd have four or five of them in a pile and couldn't add a glance, see what was in them. And oftentimes, I couldn't remember which held what. And from that one simple starting point, that revelation of sorts, I made a few adjustments that took me in an entirely different direction. I began with my past my UFOs and older WIPS. Now for those of you who are knitters that don't use these terms, let me unpack them for you just a little bit. A UFO stands for on finished object. They're usually those projects that we have lounging around for quite some time and they just haven't been completed. A WIP on the other hand is a work in progress. Now, I know you may be thinking because I do to melt if it's a UFO is a UFO a wip and as a wip UFO. That is a great debate that I think we should have on a live Instagram show. One of our live Instagram Stories, make the case.
So a UFO I think just has been lounging a long time. It hasn't been receiving a lot of attention. And it's more akin to what I mentioned just a few minutes ago when I was talking about having a favorite and then having those neglected knitted buddies. So my little knitted buddies or my knitted friends or my dead children, the ones that aren't really getting active attention. I'd probably classify as a UFO now WIP a work in progress is something that we've got on our needles, and we are in it. We are excited we are stitching away and, you know, Top of Mind project. Wow. Now that we've got those clarified, let me unpack what I was sharing. So I started this journey in my knitting life towards this joy and happiness that I really do always feel about my projects. win, lose draw. It makes me happy. But I began with my past those UFOs and older wips. I got them easily organized, prepped and ready to be picked up at any given moment, to continue onwards, even if that that project, or that moment work on that project was four years or more later. And yes, I have a hat began four years ago in St. Thomas, US Virgin Islands. And it is actually all set and ready for me to pick it up tomorrow. And, and I could begin the heavily cabled pattern, no problem, if I wanted to, right now in my new home, which is thousands of miles away here now in Alaska. So yeah, thousands of miles apart, hundreds and hundreds of days apart. What is that 365 times four, so thousands of days apart. And I can still pick that pattern up and suddenly be really present in the moment, right then doing that project. So if you are in the midst of all the other things right now, I need you to come back to me for just one second, because I want you to hear this. That was just the start. I went from getting my whips and UFOs prepped and ready for service. But that first action led me to being present in the here in the now collecting my thoughts and responses and ideas and improvements through a variety of mediums. I taught myself to be a better storyteller of my knitting adventures, in words and images, so that I could continue this adventure into the future that my cat has decided to join me on my lap. That future allowed me to record ideas, explore and develop them and create patterns for myself and eventually for others. Isn't it exciting when you see things finally come together? things that work full circle. Now Lean In a little closer to here this my friend. I'm not special. Not at all. This process is learnable and repeatable. And if I can do it, you can too. I've got a special download for you to lift your spirits and help you start this very same thing. Now, before I tell you where to get your free adventure guide packed with the joy and happiness we all need right now. I want to share an opportunity with you.
A little over a year ago, I tucked in, got a bit intentional and started to dig in and work. I wanted to create a course that would help other knitters, other creative people like you to find honest to goodness, full circle growth in their knitting life. And that knitting life spills over into all the areas of life, other creative endeavors, other habits, it's just it's amazing how much our crafty selves build up our whole self. It's good stuff. I wanted to take the pain points and the struggles that I had heard from over 10 years podcasting and blogging and designing and just that friendly interaction that I have with you, being a co friend, a co knitter. I wanted to solve those problems. And my friend, I think I have, well, no, actually, I know I have. Can you imagine waking up tomorrow morning, and instead of seeing your crafty journey of stops and starts and fits of passionate beginnings and frustrated stopping points, also those forgotten things that you really meant to remember those dreams of altering, or maybe even designing yourself, instead of seeing all of that as a bundle of maybe one day, or I wish I could, all of that talk leads to creative energy lost and not realized. And it's our kryptonite. Well, rather than allowing it to be kryptonite, can we not flip the script slip our thinking and our behavior, and our lack of old fashioned someone coming alongside of us and mentoring us and sitting with us either by the fire side, or who knows where in the library wherever people used to gather, and they'd sit and they sit and they pour into real life growth? Well, taking those ideas and turning it into our superpower, we've got a lot of creativity and worth. And inside a view, you've got it in spades by friend. And my heart is to set you off on the adventure to realize it, but not on your own. In company, us together, we can start with the past stuff, the projects in progress, and those that have been put on hold. We whip those whips into shape. Sorry, couldn't resist. And then we'll work together through some knitting projects and pattern. And those projects and patterns. I written specifically, to guide you not only through making a knitted project, but through capturing your story as you go. I am going to help you be a better writer and photographer. So you always remember your experiences for which your future knitting self will thank you. And that if you decide to share your journey one day to encourage and inspire others, you have everything you need to share. No more self doubt and your knitting either. We'll work together using guides and templates that I've created to move you forward into action into your knitting happiness. If you've been wondering how to do all the Crafty Things at once, and how to incorporate them, we will walk through that too, together, get set up for success in altering projects or exploring designs so that you can know the joy of creating patterns for yourself, or to share with the knitting world.
And let me be real here for a second.
The knitting community needs all of our voices, all of our gifts in I think we need to shift our thinking that this knitting community and the space to share and give and create. It's not some pie that keeps getting sliced into smaller and smaller and smaller pieces. As more of us give and share and grow. No, absolutely not at all. In fact, I would say the exact opposite is what happens to our community. The more you add to the knitting world, the bigger the pie gets. Did you hear that truth? The pie gets bigger, not the slices get smaller and I am To tell you one more thing. Melissa's preaching sorry, I don't mean to be preaching, I'm just passionate, there's a huge difference. The more that we add to the pie, not only does the pie get bigger, but it tastes better, too. It has different spices and flavors and gifting. And a sense that you and your voice and your ideas and your background and your life circumstance from the past in this here and moment, right now, and things that you're feeling and dreaming of for the future. All of that gets collected in what you create. And when you share that with the world. It doesn't make it a tighter fit, or we're bumping elbows. No, no, it makes a bigger, richer, more fulfilled community. And we don't have to be afraid of putting ourselves out there. I just, I just love the diversity and the excitement of the way each of us knitters think. And then the things that we bring, the patterns that we create the stories that we can tell. It's just, it's amazing, your special gift and my special gift. And what's a gift if we have it. And then instead of giving it we just shove it under our bed or stuffed it in the closet, or worse, stomp it down, and throw it away. Now good stuff there. Let's make it good stuff. Let's make it good stuff together. So I'm here to offer a way of teaming and organizing your whips once and for all. So that you can reclaim and maximize your creative space and joy and progress to success. We can embark and embrace our knitting journey and our knitting temperament. And understand what excites us and motivates us to create. And let me tell you, it's not in a touchy feely theoretical vision casting way that we do this. It is actionable activities, where you're mentored and guided towards repeating things and creating habits that once you get them down, you run with them and tweak them and make them your own. And you do the things we think and do the things we consider. And then we implement the things. You'll learn to record your knitting adventures in words, and images, and unnatural, effective way. So you'll be able to cherish and share these moments with your future self or with others. Without having those activities of recording these things in words and images, those moments of doing that won't steal from your knitting time. And I'm going to get really specific on how you can become a better storyteller and photographer, we will totally level up our photography skills, and even reshoot some much loved finished objects from the past. I love thinking about our past, our present and our future self as one connective being. It makes me feel really intentionally happy creative.
We're going to explore as I just mentioned, how to successfully create and alter projects and patterns, as well as explore how to design our own. Now this project has been a long time in the making well over a year and in fact closer to two. Now, can you imagine if you gain the skills where you were? Where could you be a year from now? Life Changing stuff here, right? Well, life change I believe happens best in small groups, which is why I plan this course to be a mentoring course. One that's going to include weekly modules of clear video instructions, and activity guides to support your journey as well as and this is what I'm so excited about a live QA weekly chat with me. Yep. And our each week of the course, to ask questions and engage with me. pick my brain. Tell me you need help. Ask me to clarify and take down and, and dig in. I'll be right there live with you. Friend, I have put sharing this with you off a few times this year because 2020 has been just Well, you know what it's been. But these helpful solutions, this mentored growth I want to share it is powerful, and I don't want to be ashamed of having something good to give and put out into the world especially right now.
So a few next steps a if you know you want in on this and you're eager to hear more, click the link in the show notes or hop over to encourage better.com/mentored and let yourself to be the first invited to join the free live masterclass that I'm hosting very soon by just signing up right there.
Now be maybe you're thinking, you know what this sounds like what I'd enjoy, and you just want to learn a bit more about it. You still can head over to encourage better.com/mentored and add yourself to the list. I'll get in contact and share some really good things some fun activities for you to enjoy, and an opportunity to join the live masterclass when in if you're ready. Now, you can also give a listen to previous episodes, especially podcast episode six, and a or b.
Get ready for this fun now. (drum roll:dum dum dum dum dum dum) gather up your wips and UFOs for some fun in a terrifically silly happy way. You can download a PDF board. And it's like a bingo board meets a scavenger hunt. And let's do a few fun things together to brighten our day. Clear our creative headspace and home space. This fun PDF help Activity Guide. I'm trying to think of what to call it it's it's really fun though.
Okay, this is for you to enjoy.
And it's in the show notes and just click the link and head over to grab it.
It is guaranteed to make some of you laugh out loud. You all I'm so, so honored to have this space with you. I do commit to being my very best for you to give to you each time that we're together. Because I know what with an unwavering boldness that you are a gift to this world. You are a creative person of value that I cherish and I'm so thankful for you connecting with me today.
I hope to see you on the free masterclass that I'm hoping that you're signing up for and until then. Bye for now.
