Can we chat?

Deep in conversation about self care for the knitter.

I mean, have a chat about chatting?

This morning I was watching a story from one of my favorite Instagram account. She talks about decorating, raising kids, and every day life in the South. I find her interesting because she's very upfront about most things. She says it like it is, with a sassy southern drawl.

Lately she's been creating herself an office in her home. She'll tell her Instagram followers "ok, I"m gonna show ya'll what the office looks like right now, but I don't want ya'll to send me dm's (direct messages) tellin me how to arrange it. I just wanna share my progress."

Then of course people send her dm's telling her how to arrange things. So in her next story she'll say "peeeple, please..."

This morning, in her stories, she started talking about her slip. Yes, her slip.

How it's important to wear one, how 30 somethings don't and women of a certain age do. She talked about the purpose of a slip, showed us what a slip is, what it looks like on, and provided a link to buy one.

I thought it was an odd conversation she had with her Instagram followers.

There was always a good conversation happening around Bluebird Yarn's table!

I started thinking about how it's so easy for some people to hold a conversation. And how it's not quite as easy for others. 

My sister can hold a conversation on just about everything. She will give you details about the topic, tell you the history of the topic, and give her opinion on the topic. No matter what the topic is, she can hold an active, and engaging conversation. 

It's an art form, really.

​I love to talk about knitting, and the patterns and colors that surround us in nature. I love to talk about different stitches, and cooking. Oh boy do I love cooking!
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And then, sometimes, I need to be the listener. You can learn so much from listening to others, hearing their stories, and learning new perspectives.  

And sometimes, I need my solitude. A time to disengage from the sounds of other human voices, and listen to nature. The sounds of the bugs buzzing by, the sound of the wind thru the branches, the soft rustling of the grasses. 

The solitude of Humbug Valley

These are the sounds that rejuvenate my soul.  

It's important to have solitude to contemplate. Being in the middle of an open valley gives me the opportunity to think thru what I want to accomplish. And it provides an opportunity to really see the details of my surroundings. To see to colors of life around me.

My favorite combination, old wood and rusty tin!

And have those colors influence my work. 

I'm always amazed how small details of my surrounding world sneaks into my work. Typically, it's not until I finish a project when I realize something from the world around me  had a great influence on me.

And then I sit back and think, whoa, how did that happen!?!