I just got back home after my first appointment with an occupational therapist for my thumb injury. And I have homework! The thumb exercises feel a little silly, but I recognize the importance of encouraging mobility. She also sent me home with instructions to make a rice sock, ha ha, but I'd forgotten that we already had one! It was nice to get confirmation on applying heat, though. I did a little heat therapy while I was there, too. It was a strange little machine. Check this thing out: My...
19 days ago • 3 min read
I got the email yesterday that my work was not selected for the art show I recently submitted to. It's a bummer, true, and yes, I feel some disappointment. But I'm still proud of myself for putting my work out there. For standing up for myself and claiming the title of Artist. For trying. Because you can't get a YES if you don't brave the NOs. And you know what? A new friend of mine DID get into the show! So I'm excited to go show her some support and am looking forward to volunteering for...
25 days ago • 1 min read
Y'all. This year. This year has been something else. This year I did some brave things. I decided to allow myself to dream of being an artist with a capital A. A Big A Artist. Oh sure, I've been dreaming of that since I was a little girl making confetti out of deconstructed yarn and tiny bits of paper and hiding it in jars and boxes all around my bedroom. But this year? This year I took action. I applied to be in a juried art show. And I got in! Read about the Fiber Hawai'i Art Show I also...
about 1 month ago • 2 min read
Earlier this week I walked into my studio space (read: spare bedroom/craft room) to discover that my glass fishbowl that has been collecting leftover ends and other bits of yarn and fluff for YEARS had walked off the shelf and shattered into thousands of tiny bits all over the place.I blame the sometimes over-vigorous washing machine on the other side of the wall that also likes to go for shimmying little walks from time to time. At first I had hoped that I'd be able to salvage some of the...
about 1 month ago • 2 min read
What do math and plovers have in common? Not much, I imagine, except that they're what's going on in my world right now! (You'll find the plovers in the bird update at the bottom of this email, of course.) So I've spent most of this past week lost deep in the darkest depths of design math. (Which is why it's somehow Friday instead of Thursday, like when I usually write to you!) Some of what I've been working on I can share with you, but some of it is secret! Shhhh... I'm working on a project...
about 2 months ago • 3 min read
This past weekend we packed up the truck and headed to the beach—for the kiddo's very first overnight camping trip! I brought some crocheting along, of course, as well as my current read, but I didn't end up crocheting one single stitch! Or reading much, either. Which surprised me. But, I guess we actually stayed pretty busy. We got checked into our campsite about three in the afternoon, set up the tent, drove around the area a bit (we went to Bellows Beach up on the Air Force Base) and then...
about 2 months ago • 3 min read
Last week I mentioned putting some of my artwork on fabric, like maybe through a Spoonflower shop, and I got so many sweet and encouraging responses! Thank you for that. <3 If you're not familiar with my paintings, you can see a few examples here, although I need to update that page because the Society6 links don't work since they changed the way they do things. Hashtag sadface. You can also take a peek at one of my most recent little paintings over on Patreon, where I shared about our trip...
2 months ago • 3 min read
Last night I was packing up my stuff to take to a local crafting meetup and one of the wooden dowels on my grandmother's little stand-up crochet bag just... snapped. I was crushed. I've been using it for a few years now, since she passed in 2019, I think it was. The fabric is threadbare and one of the seams has been slowly ripping further and further down the side. But I've kept using it nonetheless. I've been thinking about making a new bag for the frame for a while. Like. Years. But......
2 months ago • 2 min read
So I just got back from dropping the kiddo off for his first day of school. Third grade this year! How have you been? Did you take a break for the summer? Or maybe your summer break is still going?? I kind of wish mine was still going! But it's also good to be writing to you again. I've missed you! But, to be honest, I didn't have much to write about these past few weeks. We've had a lot of pretty great family time this summer. We visited two of our neighboring islands (the Big Island and...
3 months ago • 2 min read