surreal.
Since becoming mildly obsessed with sewing, I've mostly forgotten to check Ravelry for the latest in knitting trends and pattern publications, preferring instead to haunt BurdaStyle for sewing resources.

But I still do occasionally log in to Ravelry to take a look, and in the few months that I've been a member, two complete strangers have messaged me with their "Fishfish Designs inspired me to learn knitting" stories. It's surreal, that people could find my work so inspirational that it affects how they spend their free time. I guess I don't know my own strength. Weirdness aside, I like my newfound "compel others to take up handicrafts" powers. Experiencing fulfillment from working with one's hands is increasingly rare in our consumer society, so it gives me joy to know that I can help guide people toward a meaningful path.

***

In other news, I've been sewing something every weekend for the past 3 weeks. It feels good, in fact it feels wrong if I don't. I am still drowning in fabric, which still feels okay but gets kind of messy because it gets strewn across the floor while I work.

This is what I do: I fixate on learning a new skill, throw myself into research and self-teaching, and once I'm well-versed in it, I begin to integrate it into my existing skillset. I can trace the years of my childhood and adolescence by whatever crafts I was practicing intensively at the time. I was distressed (perhaps irrationally, in hindsight) when I lost interest in knitting in favor of sewing, but I guess that's the natural progression of who I am as an artist/designer/crafter/person-who-makes-things. Maybe someday the pattern will stabilize and I won't be so fickle, but for now I like it, it's exciting.

As you can tell, the store has become extremely lasseiz-faire as a result of my artisanal infidelities. Oh well.