No, not of yarn. Or raw materials, or dyes, or anything tangible.

The verb kind of inventory. Like to look at yourself and see where you’re at and where you want to be. To look how far you have come from last year.

That is my first dye hand. Kool-aid to be exact. Blogged about on 2/09/06. One year ago.

One amazingly crazy year ago.

The first skein. They turned into these for sockpalooza.

So.. why did I continue to dye? I couldn’t stop.

Quite honestly. I could not stop. I got this churning in my brain and tingle in my finger. That spark. That crazy,creative spark I loved so much in art school was back. Back in full force, sans pressure. No worries about grades. No pressure about deadlines. Pure joy relived.

You know, at one point in my life I thought that having a studio and being an artist was my life’s dream. I am starting to live the dream, friends. And it feels good. Very, very good.

There are friends and fiber colleagues of mine that are doing the same. All around me, in my network, I am seeing this happen. We are holding hands and sharing ideas. We have virtual “salons” and critiques. Many of us do a virtual handshake with our business deals. We are artisans. We recognize that we need other artisans to get better at what we do. We trade information and spark creativity in each other that would be dormant alone.
Why do I sell my yarn? Simple. I have to have it leave to be able to keep creating. I have to sell it to be able to get better at what I do. And, looking back over the last year, I see improvement. I am starting to see a sophistication that was not there even 2 or 3 months ago. I am reading about the process and thinking in terms like an artist again.

No one will ever get rich selling yarns/fiber/knit designing/spinning…. we may make a living. But the millions are not in this field. We do it, I do it, because I have passion for it. I love it. And, as hard as it gets to balance this fibery double-life that I lead, I would not trade it in. Even though, when times get stressful I threaten to. I won’t. I am an artist. I am not happy without this.

So, taking inventory of this year is sweet. I see in one year my little “project” has bloomed into a studio. My need to learn has made way for the room to teach. I am partnering and talking to people who inspire me to dream big. They trust, respect, and value me as an artist. I have amazing friends. Life is good. Life is very, very good.

All of this would never be possible without you all. You test knitters of those first skeins, those folks who bought the first batches, the ones who email me daily for requests, my sisters in knit that listen to my silly yarn dye crap, and the ones who read my silly ramblings… thank you. I am one grateful mama.