The "Get Together" Episode

This episode shares the importance of what it means to Get Together and is the final “G” in the series. Explore the nuances of what it means to get together, as we knit together the Triangulate Pattern. This pattern is your free gift for being a listener of this podcast. I appreciate the time with you!

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Transcript

Melissa Schoenwx: 0:00

Hi I'm Mel, a really curious yarn fan who loves knitting, and is also obsessed with encouraging you to feel the same. No matter where you are in your journey. Whether you're an adventurous knitter, or one in the making, we've got more in common than you might expect. It wasn't so long ago, I get frustrated with too many cast ons, but never any completed projects, or endless piles of wavy yarn from ripped out knits. Fast forward to today. I've learned from languishing projects, and so called failed ones to every aspect of my life fuels my creativity, and my creativity adds to my enjoyment of life. I've created this podcast to share tips, mind shifts and challenges to help you do the same. So if you're a thoughtfully creative spirit, or someone wanting to grow in that direction, looking to love all the perfect knits you make an embrace the ones with feature design elements to you're in the right place friend. Welcome to encourage better knitting podcast, your knitting podcast This episode is the third G in the series. We had gratitude knitting, goal knitting. And today is get together knitting number for us say I have an awesome knitting group. Now, I probably don't need to listen to this episode, my friend, get together may surprise you. Just like our other geez, I've got more than one way to look at this. And if you're on my email list, you probably saw a pattern I set for you to cast on while you listen to this episode. I hope you are ready to knit along. And if you're not on the email list, no worries, my friend, you are not going to be left out. You can pop over to Instagram right now while you're listening and text me get together. And I'll send it over now to you. So you can pause me if you want and either check your inbox, or DM me on Insta. And I will truly and honestly I'm going to wait right here until you are ready. You can click away with that pattern. I'm knitting it right now as I record this, and I'll be sharing a bit about that later in the episode. So you may hear my needles from time to time, I'm using wooden needles, and I'm sitting at my desk in my library. And every so often you may hear my needle tap on the wooden table. And instead of that being something that makes you cringe, I hope that is something that makes you feel connected. Because it's fun that we can actually get together virtually and do this knitting this same project together, chatting about knitting, it's fun that we can do this, don't you think? We are hours maybe actually days away from one another. And yet, common stitches make it possible for us to be connected right now. So get together can be considered to refer to knitting groups. How awesome would it be to sit at a table together in an in person knitting group? Oh my word. I would love that. I went to forever yarn in Doylestown, Pennsylvania many years ago and it was when I was visiting this yarn shop that in the front of the shop there was this room filled with lovely yarns and incredible sample knits. This is the old location. Forever yarn has since moved to a new location still in Doylestown and I have not been to the new location. But this one, I was tickled to wander around through it all. I spent quite some time searching for something I needed. And I kept hearing laughter a variety of happy sound Only was coming from the back of the store. And the laughs Of course, drew me towards them. A group of eight or more women were on one side of the room at this rectangular table, and they were knitting the sunset highway sweater, it had just come out. And they were so excited, and they were having so much fun. And what was really cool is they were welcoming to me, though I wasn't saying I was only shopping. They still shared their progress. They told me about the yarns they were using, and they gave me really candid thoughts on the projects, I wound up at that time, being introduced to the dire life in the long grass. based on recommendations from them, it was a terrific yarn that I thoroughly enjoyed. This simple connection of just being a knitter or a fiber aficionado was enough for all of us for a little while, to simply didn't delight in one another's company. It was precious. Get together with a few excited knitters and my friend, it will recharge your batteries like a bolt of lightning. That's how it felt for me. I've shared before that sense of community for for me at my local yarn shop is it isn't something that I have here simply because the local yarn shop doesn't have a traditional knit group. I definitely need community for my creativity to be uplifted and enriched. And so I work really hard to find ways to satisfy that missing piece. Now, before I touch base on the second illustration, I'd like to give you just a couple of quick ideas on how I make community for myself, and perhaps an Ignite in you ways to either take these ideas and tweak them and make them your own. Or maybe repeat them so that you can enjoy your version of community. I mentioned in an earlier episode that I will link in the show notes, how I created a small group knitalong. You can listen to that episode and hear how I did that. So that's one thing that you could do is start a small group. Virtually, I did mine by whatsapp. I won't spoil that episode, or bore you by Re stating that episode, which I've already shared here. But a few other ideas. One, I created this podcast, I did it so I could be able to talk about knitting and use a blog post connected with each episode to actually hear from you, your responses, what you have on your mind based on the things that I talk about in the podcast. That is really an important part of what feeds my creativity. I know listening to podcasts is wonderful, and it is helpful. And I often times get the information that the podcast or is sharing. There are a lot of podcasters that give lots of yarn recommendations. And it instead of it propelling me to purchase more yarn, because I don't need to purchase more yarn. It actually will kind of tap me on the shoulder and remind me of a yarn that I have in stash. It's most often not anything from the dire mentioned, or the store shared. It just has something that for whatever reason, it causes me to think about oh, I have that yarn in stash. And wouldn't it be fun to create something? So listening to podcasts can enrich us be because it, it feeds into our memory. We feel like a friend is talking to us and encouraging us to have a good stop and think about it reflecting time. And yet, there's something missing from that. For me, though I do love listening to podcasts. I want to connect and talk. And you may feel that way. So maybe starting a podcast is a good idea for you. Or maybe when you hear the things in the podcast, for instance, I do this every episode is take the host or hostess up on their offer to connect with them. I get very excited when I hit publish for this podcast, because I know somebody's going to listen and hear something. And the part that makes me excited is getting over to the supporting blog post that is linked to the actual episode, because I want to hear what other knitters are thinking about the topic mentioned. So number two, recently I held a virtual retreat. It was a two day event. It was free to all knitters. I taught and shared and we had a guest oboist perform. knitters join me on stage to show the progress they had made on the same pattern I shared earlier in this podcast, the one that I'm knitting now, and the one that hopefully you are knitting. And that pattern brings me to another way to connect. We are knitting this now hopefully, I'm knitting it now. And I'm going to interrupt my list of get together ideas and share about what is on my needle currently. So I'm knitting the triangulate pattern. I'm using Sparrow from quince and CO, and it's a linen yarn, I'm gonna put my knitting down because I have some notes about Sparrow I'd like to share with you. Sparrow is a fingering weight linen yarn. And what I love about it, it's organic linen, it's a clean linen. And it's it's very smooth, when I squeeze it and I rub it, contrary to what I hear from a lot of people, most frequently, that linen dries their hands out or feels rough. And like a sponge, it's so dry, it just wants to pull all the moisture out of their hands. I have never experienced that, too. As I'm rubbing this amazing linen. It is smooth. And it's strong. You can feel how strong it is, as I'm pulling it. It's just silky and grippy at the same time. It is actually spun in Italy, from flax from Belgium. And I always think of an exchange student from North Carolina that my eldest daughter became super good friends with and she was from Belgium. And it's just it's funny how yarn can just connect you with all these different thoughts from your past. At the same time, it connects you with your hopes and your dreams for things in the future. So even though it is a multi ply, it's not a single ply. It's multi ply, which I think adds to its strength. It that twist to it and that sheen really does give beautiful look to whatever I stitch. Whether I'm knitting tank tops, or pullovers, or shops, I have renamed many wool shawls and linen for fun just to experiment and explore and so I can learn. So this yarn is is really lovely. And to me, it gets me very excited. The triangulate pattern on my needle. I designed as a gift for a friend. And that is the little triangle that I mentioned in the gratitude episode. This is an auto pilot and it in the mechanics of the pattern. And so by that, I mean, it allows me and you to spend time enjoying the fabric of your yarn, because the pattern is a simple pattern. And it can be used as a tool to allow us to keep our hands busy, and not have to really think about okay, what comes next in the pattern we get in a rhythm. And once we hit that rhythm, we're free to then dig in and investigate the yarn that we've chosen to knit. So the triangulate pattern, I do hope that you've taken me up on either going to your inbox and downloading that pattern there, or DMing me on Instagram get together I'll send you the link to get it and it's it's fun to have a simple pattern, you can trade out a variety of different yarns use a variety of different needles and become a detective yourself. Linen is so different from wool. And taking the time to learn about the way it behaves, adds to my understanding of other yarn. And that my friend helps greatly when we want to substitute fibers for a variety of patterns. It gives you a real sense of the way a yarn behaves. And when you use a variety of yarns, that only do you learn about that yarn from what you are creating. But you can also learn about other yarns and their strengths and the areas they need to be supported or their weaknesses. Based on a compare and contrast method. It's so important to always be a student, and to always learn all the things. For me, it drives all the ways that I can be creative. So since we are knitting the same pattern, you could totally snap a picture and email it to me, which is another way to get together right. I do love emailing you each week, because it's an opportunity for me to sit down and think about what can I do to serve you? What can I say? Or what can I share. And before email, there was snail mail. And that my friend is my favorite way to get together. I have joined tons of postcard swaps, yarn swaps, printed pattern swaps, all with the intention of getting together with a fellow knitter. Sometimes these things were promoted on Ravelry, or Instagram, I joined one last year and met my good friend Amy in San Francisco through it. So if you can't find one of these things, one of these ways, reach out to three other people, maybe Facebook or Instagram, friends, other knitters locally and ask them to join in. And maybe you only have two people that take you up on it and you want it bigger, then you can invite them and ask them to each invite one other person. And in no time, you're going to have a nice group to organize it. Just a word of caution here. Don't start the first one off with too many people. The more the merrier can be a thing, but it can also be hard to manage. And so as I have said before, an audience of one is still an audience and the size and number of an audience doesn't determine value or worth. If you are connecting with two people, or 20 people, those people are all valuable. So one last idea for get together ways to connect is taking advantage of invitations. And not just invitations but on likely invitations. Even if it's something that you're like ooh, I don't know if I'm interested in this good Have it a try at least once. For instance, there are often charitable, charitable, charitable knits, or knit nights, classes, retreats, challenges, invitations that seems so simple, even like commenting on a blog post can become opportunities to chat with a fellow knitter, all about the good knitting news. So here's the story. And I want to share this because it's an invitation. And it's a beautiful story. So Kim, a dear friend of mine, used to read all of the comments back way, way back on my single handed knits blog. She very rarely left a first comment herself. By that I mean, like, I'll say get in the comments and share with me this or share with me that she very rarely was the one to leave a comment. But she was the one because she is number one, awesome. And number two, a knowledgeable knitter. She would respond. If there were knitting questions or confusions, she would respond to the comments or the messages in the comment section. Most often, she would do that before I even had the chance to offer pattern advice, or even a recommendation myself. She did that a few times to a comment or named Carrie. And Carrie would always say thanks. Thanks so much, or what about what a big help you are. And this was back in the day when on the I think I had a WordPress site and you could like another person's comment. And after many interactions, they started connecting by email, and then snail mail. Kim, actually because we're friends had to hop off a phone call with me. We were chatting. And she was like, oh, curious, calling. I gotta go. And later on when I asked her I was like, Carrie is that Carrie from the blog? We have a different name for her. But essentially, that's what I asked. And she's like, yes, she's like we usually dog couple times a week. So a friendship grew. They're still friends today, and have attended a couple of knitting retreats together. They do yarn swaps. I know that they're constantly WhatsApp messaging and things like that all because Kim made it a habit of responding to others in the comments. Kind of cool, huh? So get together can also mean getting myself together. And this is a big huge one that I am going to be unpacking for a long time with you. But I wanted to start now and share that get together for me means I need to be aware that organization being tidy being squared away is a noble thing to strive for. A useful practice I have is journaling about aspects of my knitting. It gets to gather all of my thoughts and responses to projects, from yarns to patterns to feelings, starting to casting off, journaling helps me streamline and record my feelings, as well as my actual thoughts, logical thoughts in that manner. And it's helpful to me because I don't remember all the things, especially when it's important. Another very important practice for me is a sense of place and preparedness in my knitting. I love to get together and create a new book. Just a small, simple area for where I knit. Mine isn't fancy by any stretch of the imagination, but it is perfect. And I need to break it down so that you understand what perfect is so that we're on the same page and you don't think perfect means it's super clean without any dust with that out any, any, it's not an Instagram picture, but it is a corner of our great room. tucked off away from the main area, the sofas, the fireplace, the the hub of interaction, it's kind of off and behind a little bit. It's a return chair and a foot rest very simple. And it's in a corner. And on the two walls on the right in the left, there's about a dozen pieces of art that my husband and kiddos have created. They've also got a few baskets of knitting or knitting supplies. I've got a lovely little plant on the floor. And one of the windows just past the artwork is a wall window. So even when I'm inside, I can feel very close to the outdoors. I will sit there, all of my needs, mostly all of my needs, I guess, are within arm's reach. And I can get together my thoughts, my intentions, my project and nit, I don't have to rush around and, and look and and take away time from my, my knitting my valuable knitting time, I can have everything there. Get together a few things in one space. of few things that bring you happiness, or joy and excitement. Get together those things and enjoy your little spot. It doesn't have to be fancy. It doesn't have to be perfect. It needs to be yours. So whether it is a little corner of the peninsula in the kitchen, that you can put a jar with knitting needles, and a little container for your stitch markers. And a tiny basket of scrap yarns to keep you excited. And maybe a bigger basket or a project bag. So you can just sit and be calm and collected in your spot. Get together those things that help you when the weather is good. I'll collect all these things. And I had outdoors to enjoy knitting in nature. Are you super organized? What are some ways that you stay that way? Do you use special tools to keep your yarns tidy and organized? What about patterns? Are your projects? How do you keep them neatly sorted, or the flip side because I'd love to learn about those. But I'd also love to learn what doesn't work like hey, you know what, I have a three ring binder, I print my patterns, and I tuck them in there. And then even though they're nice and neat, I totally forget about them. Share with me the way that you keep things organized or you keep things together and be blunt share like The Good, the Bad and the Ugly, celebrate and evaluate and I'd love to hear about that. You can share it in the comments on the blog post that I have listed in the show notes. Or you can head to www dot encouraged better.com forward slash blog forward slash to gather and that will have all the supporting information as well as in the show notes for this episode. Now, before we go first, can you help me with the goal of serving more netters through this podcast, it is super easy to do, you can simply click the share button where ever you are listening to this episode. Take just one action, you can text or email this episode to your favorite knitting friend. You can either do this episode or pick your own favorite. It's okay. You can also use the link there's a copy the link option and you can share it on social media. I would be ever so thankful. Another way to help is to some of them words. Another way to help is to subscribe to this podcast if you don't already. Consider this your personal invitation. Today friends, it is a green check day and that means someone is going to get a package from me the written That review winner has already been selected. And this is what they said. Whenever I listened to Mel, I feel so much calmer and inspired. She makes me feel like I can try anything with confidence. My friends, I hope all of you feel that way. And if you do, share a written review and tell me how you benefit from this podcast. If you can't leave a five star written review, send me the number one way I can improve this podcast. Chances are, I am not aware of the area that you're seeing for improvement. And I'd love to earn the opportunity for your five star review. So today's review was given by loony hiker, so please email me to get your knitting treats. All winners have 14 days from the date of the show airing to claim their treat. Now everybody listening today gets a free knitting pattern. The triangulate pattern is yours. And I hope that you enjoy it. It's been a delight knitting along with you today. I am now at the bind off a few stitches to make the slip through space on this fun pattern. And I'd love to see your progress. So email me it or post on Instagram. And if you post on Instagram tag me, you know you could do both. You could email me and posted on Instagram. I just love to connect to get together with you. So until next time, my friend remember you are so valuable not because of what you make, but because of the way you've been incredibly made. I hope the sun is shining on you where ever you are. Aloha and Happy Knitting until our next time together which I hope is real soon.