Back to Blogging

It’s been far too long since I’ve written a blog post. I’ve started and stopped writing a new post multiple times in the past 3 years, and it’s partly because I was embarrassed about the noticeable gap in posts, and partly because I wasn’t sure how to jump back in. But like anything that is worth doing, sometimes you just need to start small. So this is me taking a small step to get back into writing blog posts.

There are a lot of changes that have happened in my life since I last hit “publish.” I went through a divorce and learned how to navigate the single mom life, worked at my local yarn shop for a few months, moved into a new house, went back to school and got certified as a speech therapy assistant, and started a new career working in education providing speech therapy. During this time it was necessary for me to take a step back from designing and public posting on social media, and yet I did still manage to get a design published in a book (Berry Patch Square in 60 Quick Granny Squares *Amazon affiliate link). It’s been a whirlwind to say the least, but I have missed designing patterns, and I want to get back into designing and writing again. I have also still been journaling and reading lots of books, so I would like to add some of that content onto the blog as well. I used to do reviews and journaling videos, so maybe that will come back as I ease back into a more public persona of my creative endeavors. I have managed to publish a few new designs each year, which you can check out on my Patterns page on the website or find on Ravelry.

I mostly needed time to let my crafting be a source of happiness and comfort, rather than deadlines and expectations, self-imposed or otherwise. But now I feel ready to revive some things I once loved doing as I move forward into another chapter of my life. I’ve got a milestone birthday coming up in March, and I want to start a new decade of my life returning to things I once loved doing as a way to reclaim what I abandoned or let grow stagnant. In other words, I don’t want to just survive my life anymore, I want to make intentional choices to thrive and enjoy creativity once again.

So this is me writing to say that I am still here. Still crafting and creating. Ready to write again.

Photo Friday: The First Three Blocks

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I have crocheted the first three blocks in my 200 Blocks in 200 Days challenge (see previous post for more details). These scraps bring back a lot of memories from my early days of crocheting and tell the story of how my yarn choices have matured through the years. I can’t wait to finish my first week of squares and post my first update next Tuesday.

200 Blocks in 200 Days

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I’ve been crocheting for a long time, which means that I have some finished projects that I am not especially fond of now years later. Some are because I don’t like the color combos I originally chose, some are because I wasn’t the best at finishing and weaving in ends in my early years of crocheting, and some were projects that I just never liked the finished result. So I decided that I wanted to reclaim the yarn from some of these projects and create something new that I will love. And that is how this new project was born: 200 Blocks in 200 Days.

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I have had this book, 200 Crochet Blocks by Jan Eaton, for many years now and have made a few blocks from it. However I tend to pick and choose my favorites and ignore the rest. In order to push myself to use every pattern from this book, I want to challenge myself to crochet a block a day, starting with the first one and going straight through the entire book. I will be using mostly scrap yarn, and I anticipate making one possibly two blankets from all these squares.

I would love for others to join me in this adventure. If you are interested in joining, click “Follow This Blog” in the sidebar (or if you are reading this mobile, scroll to the bottom of the page to find the Follow button), and then feel free to post your progress in the comments of my weekly update posts. You can also follow me on Instagram, as I will be posting my progress there too. Feel free to use hashtag #200blocks200days to share your progress on Instagram! You can find a copy of Jan Eaton’s 200 Crochet Blocks on Amazon here: 200 Crochet Blocks for Blankets, Throws, and Afghans: Crochet Squares to Mix and Match