sweetgeorgia

Better Than Perfect, Mighty Ugly

I just woke up to see Kim Werker on the Breakfast Television show where she gave a little preview of what she is doing this weekend (actually starting today) at the One of a Kind Show in Vancouver. See, Kim leads workshops on “confronting creative demons, pushing creative expression & gettin’ crafty in new and unusual ways. Embrace the ugly.”

The concept is brilliant. What would feel better than trying to be perfect? Ahhhh… freedom to be creative, peace in your heart and trusting your true self. No more fear of failure. It would feel so good not to be so self-critical or judgemental or overwhelmed by your own expectations. It would be so therapeutic, as Kim says.

So these “Mighty Ugly” workshops lead people through a creative exercise in making something that’s supposed to be ugly. It’s freeing. It’s a sigh of relief, not having to fit anyone’s exacting standards (especially your own). Because when you start with the goal of making something ugly, you can’t go anywhere but up. It’s about “celebrating the benefits of failure so we’re not so afraid of doing big things.”

I’ve heard other knitters say the same thing, so I know I’m not alone… that when you spend way too much time surfing Ravelry, you start to feel overwhelmed by how awesome everyone else’s projects are. You feel intense pressure to also be awesome, somehow. You set up irrational beliefs that you are not good enough. You become disheartened and fear starting larger, more complex projects because you fear not being able to succeed or produce a finished object. Then because you feel like you have nothing to show, you feel like a failure. Oh, it’s a bad trip that never ends.

If you can relate, maybe take a break from that last minute gift knitting craziness and visit Kim at the One of a Kind Show starting today and indulge in a bit of craft therapy.

New Yarn Needs a New Name!

I’m totally stuck. I have this absolutely gorgeous new yarn base that I am dyeing and want to add to our main stable of yarns, but it needs a name! So, with a great suggestion from Aimee at L’Oisive Thé, I’m running this as a contest… help me name the yarn base and you’ll get a skein in the colourway of your choice.

The yarn is 50% of the softest and squishiest superwash merino wool blended with 50% glossy silk in a fingering/sock weight. It’s about 375 yards per 4 oz skein and could definitely be used to knit a pair of special socks, or better yet, a little shawl or cardigan. I love this yarn because it has the easy-care of superwash, but also added strength and lustre from the silk.

I’d like to add this to our website for early Spring, so go ahead and email me your suggestions at felicia [at] sweetgeorgiayarns [dot] com up until February 28, 2010. Send up to 5 suggestions for the name of the base yarn (not the actual purple colour) and also the colourway you’d like if you win… see our colourways here » So far, our sock yarns are called things like “Tough Love Sock” and “Superwash Sock”…

I’m so looking forward to hearing your ideas!!

Handmade Nation!

A couple months ago, I found myself quite challenged and provoked by a documentary about the intersection between creativity and responsibility. It is truly liberating and enlightening to have someone describe and defend creative work in any genre. And so, I’m really looking forward to attending the Vancouver premier screening of Handmade Nation this Thursday, July 9th.

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