Proof of time passing

Knitting, like a lot of crafts, is time-intensive. It's no wonder I have come back to it during these strange times. I pour hours into my yarn and needles, and receive something tangible in return. I trade my empty evenings for a woolly sweater.

I've been working in the garden, too. It's so comforting to watch my seeds sprout and my seedlings develop, gaining new leaves and reaching up to the sky. Seeing a row of peas that wasn't there two weeks ago helps to separate one day from the next.

Time seems strangely elastic now. I'm not the first to notice it - plenty of people have talked about this online. At first, when the news never stopped coming, when new measures were being taken each day, everything moved so quickly and yet the last 2 weeks of March felt like a lifetime. Meanwhile, as I settle into isolation, April has passed by in a blink.

But I have proof that time is passing - I have handspun yarn, and I have half of a sweater, each treadle and each stitch counting a second that ticked away here at home.

My partner and I are both fortunate enough to be able to work at home for the most part. My family and friends are all thankfully healthy. I hope wherever you are and whatever your situation is during this, that you and your loved ones are safe.

~Joyuna

Eleven Years.

I can't believe how time has flown. Eleven years ago I made my first post on this blog.

I had only been knitting for half a year, and I already had taken my first steps in spinning. I never go in just halfway to a new fixation.

In some ways, my approach to my crafts hasn't changed much. I'm still afflicted by startitis and sometimes overly ambitious (I had been spining for about 2 months when I decided to spin a sweater).

Knitting led naturally into designing, as I gained confidence modifying existing patterns and coming up with my own. It's been a long time since I've released anything, but the creative spark hasn't left me.

My first bulky raglan shrug - my latest handspun sweater

Of course, in the meantime I have also gained two degrees, moved countries, and built a career in marketing. I got my first digital marketing job partly thanks to my blogging and my designing - and now, in turn, I am taking a critical eye to my older patterns and using the graphics and layout skills I've gained from my jobs to pay it back.

The time and energy I've had to devote to knitting has waxed and waned over time - currently, I'm in a new upswing.

281 knitting projects. 227 FOs. 77 handspun projects. 29 published designs. (and, while I can't promise any timeline yet... more to come)

Happy new year, everyone.

PS - I'm also practicing my photography. Follow me on Instagram?

~Joyuna

Knitting when I'm happier / Happier when I'm knitting

I wasn't knitting for a long time. I wasn't spinning, either. Or writing, or creating much of anything at all.

There are a lot of reasons. My energy was low, I'd picked up other hobbies, I was having a rough time at work, and the whole world has been having a rough time for the past couple of years. Plus I had a pretty bad moth infestation, so the skeins sitting in my cupboard were less full of exciting possibilities and more full of disappointment.

So I lost my mojo. I lost my drive to create, and I focused on other things. It wasn't all bad - I read a lot books and learned tons. I grew and changed as a person. I think I got a little wiser. But when I'm not making things, I feel less like myself.

I'm not sure which way is the right order: do I knit when I'm happy, or am I happy when I knit? They feed on each other in a seamless circle. Knitting makes me feel better, but I can't create when I have nothing to give. A few years ago, I lost my rhythm and got thrown out of the cycle. And suddenly, last month, I picked up some yarn and I felt the hunger again. I picked up the needles, and by the end of one week, I had made a shawl.

Immediately I made plans for the next one. I let the yarn flow through my hands; I watch the colours splash and meld while the fabric grows from the needles.

I'm feeling like myself again.

~Joyuna

Paris!

I won't be around to post or answer emails for the next few days, because I will be in Paris! The boy and I are hopping the train for a little Easter break holiday (I'm a grad student and he's a teaching assistant, so our schedules are nicely lined up!).

Won't be doing anything very yarny there (I don't think there are many good yarn shops in Paris), except maybe knitting on the Eurostar :P See you guys on the weekend!

~Joyuna

Tajik Textiles

Over the next few posts, I'm going to write about the textile-related things I saw during my two-month stay in Tajikistan. I didn't find as much knitting or fiber as I may have liked, but I did find several interesting things.

(this is at the botanical garden in Dushanbe)

Tajikistan is a former soviet country located in Central Asia, in between Afghanistan and China. They speak the Tajik language there, which is a dialect of Persian (which I have been studying). I stayed with a local host family and took language classes on weekdays, and explored the capital city and the wider country during my free time.



(These are all store bought :) I didn't bring any of my handknit socks on the trip, for fear that they would get lost)

~Joyuna

Off on an adventure

My posts will be sporadic for the next few months, as I will be busy studying abroad in Tajikistan for the summer. I hope to bring back pictures and information about textiles in the region, if I am able. This is a part of the world where spinning and weaving are definitely still everyday activities!

In case you're wondering, I am traveling over there to study Persian. Tajikistan is in Central Asia, in between Afghanistan and China. It promises to be a very exciting trip!

~Joyuna

My knitting hangover

Thursday night I bound off the Wings of a Dream shawl, and it finished blocking Friday morning. I'm wearing it to my cousin's wedding this evening, and I will have pictures for you after that!

I had cast on Wings of a Dream way back in February, planning on giving myself plenty of time to finish it for the wedding. Of course, I only finished it the day before the wedding, and I only achieved that by working on the shawl nonstop for the past week and a half or so. And now... I don't want to knit a thing! I have a knitting hangover.

I'll just keep away from the yarn for a few days and once the aching in my hands subsides, I should be able to knit again. Hopefully!

~Joyuna

Feature on Dip Your Toes

I got interviewed over at Dip Your Toes (into something new). I talk about how I got started in spinning, what I do to maintain my shop, and some of my favorite Etsy sellers.

I'm busy with dyeing, designing (a lace shawl!), and various part-time job work, as well as preparing for the boy's visit next week (!!!). As soon as I get some spare time I have a few informational articles planned, which should help people, with such intimidating topics as untangling yarn and washing wool socks! Stay tuned...

~Joyuna

Mark's scarf from RENT: knitting on commission (with pattern formula!)

I got an exciting project started this week - my sister is paying me to knit her a scarf for her boyfriend's birthday. They are both huge musical theater nerds, so my sister asked me to knit her Mark Cohen's scarf from the musical and movie RENT.

It's a simple enough scarf; striped stockinette in navy and white with a fringe. Lucky me, I found two colors of Knit Picks Main Line (75% cotton/25% wool) on clearance - Blueberry and Ivory. It's a nice yarn, would probably be great for garments. Sad that they seem to be discontinuing it. But I digress.

I really enjoy trying to copy knits. I get a real sense of accomplishment knowing that I have untangled someone else's pattern, using only my eyes and my knitter's experience. Sometimes I get it right and sometimes I just get it close, but I really enjoy it. My Golden Compass mitts for instance.

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Joy getting eaten by a dinosaur!

Nancy over at NFall2rt Design Studio tagged me for a meme :)
This is the 10th picture in my photos folder:

It was during spring break, when I was showing the boy around at my university. We were exploring the geology museum and found the fossils. :)

I'm not going to tag anyone specific to pass on the meme... If you want to snag it, feel free. :) Show us your tenth photo.

~Joyuna

This Girl's Bookshelf: My new blog

I am pleased to announce my new blogging project, This Girl's Bookshelf. It's a reading blog mainly featuring book reviews. I'm so excited to be able to read as much as I can during the summer, so I thought I'd share some of my excitement with the world. :)

Does this mean that Joyarna is going into retirement? Certainly not! I will be updating both blogs regularly. If you're interested in hearing what I think about the books I read, please visit This Girl's Bookshelf. It will be an Entrecard and Adgitize enabled blog as soon as it gets accepted into those programs.

I've reviewed two books so far, with a couple other miscellaneous posts. More reviews are forthcoming, as well as best-of lists, informational articles, and more. Check out This Girl's Bookshelf!

~Joyuna

On being 'crafty'

Before I learned to knit, I never considered myself a 'crafty' person. I didn't really draw or paint, I didn't sew or sculpt, I didn't do any of that stuff. I didn't make things; Michael's was not my usual hangout. I never thought of that as 'me'.

I might say that knitting is different from other crafts that require artistic ability or coordination, but learning how to knit has become something of a gateway drug* to other crafts, which certainly do. Dyeing involves more color theory than I had ever expected to learn. And if you don't think that spinning involves coordination... try it sometime. Whew!

Basically, what I'm trying to say is that if you don't think you're crafty, just try it sometime. Ask for a quick knit or crochet lesson from a friend, or look up how a sewing machine works, or whatever tickles your fancy. I taught my boyfriend to knit! You might be amazed at what you can accomplish.

And really, there's very little that can make you more proud than wearing something you made with your own hands. When someone compliments you on it, and you can say, "Why thank you - I made it myself!"

What a great feeling. And if I had never tried knitting, because I wasn't crafty enough, I'd never feel it.

*I'm not afraid to admit it. Yarn is my crack.

~Joyuna

Thanks Jerri!

I want to give a huge thanks to Gems by Jerri, because when I got home to Cincinnati I had a package waiting for me, with three pairs of earrings. I was the winner of her May giveaway. All three pairs are really gorgeous, and I'm so happy with them. Thanks a bunch Jerri!

I'm finally getting settled in at home, and I'm super-excited because tomorrow is Worldwide Knit in Public day. Sock Knitters Anonymous is having a 'scavenger hunt', where you take photos of your sock with various things to earn points. I think it's going to be so much fun! I just have to decide what kind of sock to cast on tomorrow... I'll tell you all about it. :)

~Joyuna

Burnout...

Today I had three exams. I had to wake up at 8 (you may laugh, but that's earlier than I've had to wake up all quarter). The first two were back-to-back in the morning, and the third was in the late afternoon. I got out of my last exam at 6:30 or so, came back to my dorm, watched TV on Hulu and knit.

It's now past 10. I'm still knitting...

I've had precious little time for knitting this past week, so I consider it a sort of catch-up evening. I've been working on the Japanese Feather and Fan Shawl, which is going beautifully. I finally ran out of my little 330yd skein of Buffalo Gold, but lucky for me I like all the same colors. I had some Knit Picks Shadow on hand in juniper heather, which is a darker version of nearly the same green. It goes well enough together, and now I don't have to worry about running out of yarn. I was going to fudge and cut out some rows near the end, but now I don't have to. :)

I'll take some pictures and put 'em up when I get the chance, after I'm packed and moved and unpacked again... who knows when that will be. But I'll be sure to post my progress. I may even bind off this week, once I'm out of my dorm.

I've been watching House, Buffy The Vampire Slayer, and the new show Glee... what are your favorite things to knit to? Do you knit to TV and movies? How about music? Books? Blogs? ;) I really love to knit to audiobooks too. Librivox.org has some great public domain audiobooks, done all by volunteers for free.

~Joyuna

Keeping up with Joyuna

Things are getting quite hectic what with the end of the quarter and all, especially with next week being exams and moveout week. I haven't been blogging as often as I'd like, and I expect the next week to be no different unfortunately. Even though I'm not blogging, you can still get updates about the shop, my crafting and me personally.

Twitter: Joyuna - I use twitter a lot, both about my Etsy shop and about my life in general. You might find it interesting, you might not, totally up to you.
I made yarn, by Joyuna on Facebook - Any major updates and news about the shop are posted here. There are also photos and links, plus you can write on my wall. :)
Joyuna on Ravelry - You have to have an account to see my Ravelry notebook, sorry. I keep all my knitting stuff here, including what projects I'm working on and my ever-growing stash. You can also see how far along I am on my projects, and any comments I have made about them. Ravelry is my favorite website bar none, so if you're a knitter I highly recommend getting an account - not only for networking, but also for the wealth of information in the Ravelry database. There is a waiting list for sign ups, but it should only take a couple days to get your invitation.

~Joyuna

It's June! It's almost summer!

I'm so glad it's nearly summer. Exams are coming up, but after that I will be free to relax. Relax, you know, like job hunting and order packing and advertising and craft fairs? Yeah...relaxing summer. Well, it'll be a change from school anyway.

Here are my top five Entrecard droppers for May. Thanks for stopping by my blog so often guys!

• Silver Sachet
  
• Split Rock Ranch
  
• Gems by Jerri
  
• Meow Diaries (Mariuca)
  
• Lohman Trading

And thanks to all my commenters too, and everyone who has entered the giveaway. There's still time if you haven't entered yet: It ends June 10th.

If you haven't been to my shop recently, check it out! I've got a new banner and avatar, from Black Arrow Designs. He worked with me til I got exactly the banner I wanted, and I am so pleased with the results! He's done some great banners for other people too, so if you're thinking of a custom Etsy shop banner or other graphics, do check out Blackarrowdesigns on Etsy.



~Joyuna

Sheepy and Owly welcome another new friend!

Meet Kirby!

I received him today courtesy of Nooshka and the Salad for Breakfast blog. He's so totally adorable, and you know I love owls... I think I may be starting a collection.

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Memorial Day

Hope everyone's had a good Memorial Day long weekend (or bank holiday, if you're in the UK). Tomorrow I will be back in Columbus and back to promoting and blogging (...and studying...). Things to look forward in the coming week are newly handdyed lace merino yarn and fingering weight wool-silk blend yarn, some new handspun yarn, and a giveaway on the blog. I hope you all will stay tuned!

~Joyuna

Long Lazy Weekend

I won't be too active this weekend, as I have gone home to Cincinnati for the long Memorial Day weekend. I'm hanging out with my family, looking for a summer job, and dyeing up some gorgeous lace yarn. I don't have any beefy blog posts planned, but there will be a guest post this weekend... stay tuned. I wonder who the mystery blogger will be? ;)

I am also currently planning a giveaway... stay tuned for that as well! It will run for two weeks, and I will probably start it sometime this coming week. It is knitting-related... but it isn't yarn... wait and see what it is.

And now, back to dyeing.

~Joyuna

Sheepy has a friend

Remember the other day, when there was a mysterious owl in the background of my photo? He fluttered into my mailbox last month from England, and I dubbed him Owly. (Creative, ain't I?)

Owly is a sweet little snowy owl, and he and Sheepy became fast friends.

Owly is not as keen on a modeling career as Sheepy is, but he is rather famous across the internet. Does this look familiar?


(If you're confused, check out Know Your Meme.)

~Joyuna