Beginning Again

Posted on May 12, 2024 by Tasha

*Driving through Texas a decade ago, the roadside wildflowers were so lovely that we found a place to stop and take them in, with a lot of photos.* *I just made this my laptop background for spring.*

Fellow meditators among you may recognize this instruction: If you find that your thoughts have strayed, that you are no longer on your intended path, just begin again. You can begin as many times as you need to, over and over again. Each new beginning can even be celebrated as a moment of mindfulness. There’s no need to despair over the time that was lost.

In life, I think the time is rarely lost. Things other than what I had planned to do often demand my attention. Many of them are actually important, whether they pull me in another direction for a moment, or alter my whole course. Usually it’s both, an ongoing intermingling of my dreams and plans with the workings of the world, in which everything influences everything else.

And so I find myself sitting at my desk today, beginning again with this idea of reaching out, of sharing some of what I am doing out to a bit wider circle.

Teaching at New Venues and with Old Friends

My teaching schedule is alive and well, and my traveling workshops for this year so far are up here! I’m excited to be going with my partner Bryan on a road trip in June to Sitka Center for Art and Ecology on the Oregon coast, where we are both teaching. Robin Wall Kimmerer wrote part of Braiding Sweetgrass there (hearts come out of my eyes thinking about that) and it will be my first visit. I’ll be offering a workshop on Mending and Mindfulness, and one on Botanical Forms in Felt. Details and links are on the class page!

I’ll also be returning to both my beloved folks schools (in fact I have already been to North House once this year). And I am dreaming and scheming with a friend about a new possibility in AZ … more details about that to come later.

Flag Wool Workshops Closing Soon

I’m not teaching this year at Flag Wool Festival, because I’ve been deep behind the scenes organizing the workshops and vendors. The whole Threaded Together team has been working hard to bring FWF 2024 to life! We have some great workshops on offer, including rare opportunities to learn from talented Indigenous artisans, and knitting designers from out of state. Learn more and sign up here. Registration closes this Wednesday, May 15!

That’s all for this particular new beginning. For the last few days, the wind has pushed smoke from a controlled burn away from my place in the late afternoon and I’ve been walking in the nearby woods around sunset, watching the grass get just a little taller and more tiny plants sprout up. The oaks are not really leafing out yet, but I think we’re close.

Be well everyone, and of course feel free to reach out!

News April 2016: Flag Wool and Me-Made-May

Posted on April 15, 2016 by Tasha

Hi everyone! Just a couple of quick things today.

First off, I’m teaching at my hometown wool festival Flag Wool and Fiber again this year, and it’s coming up: June 4 & 5. I’ll have a brand new class on modern free-form embroidery, and I’ve really been enjoying researching and brushing up my stitching skills for that. I’m also doing a “Knitter’s Toolbox” class that’s intended to take your knitting to the next level. Click through to the festival’s site to read more about both classes.

Second, it’s almost Me-Made-May! After some debate I’ve decided to pledge to wear only me-made (not just -altered or -repaired) garments this year, with a few exceptions: raincoat (not about to try making one when I have an almost-new one), socks (not enough me-knit ones yet), and then there’s a jacket which I would love to finish by May … but it might very well not happen, so I left myself a little wiggle room (if it’s cold enough for a jacket I’m wearing one, me-made or not).

We’ll see how this goes. I’m not sure that I’ll feel more self-sufficient wearing only things I cut from scratch rather than things I altered or fixed so I could wear them, and I’m pretty sure there are a couple of garments I’ll miss wearing. But this pledge seemed like the next logical step in the wardrobe direction I’ve been headed, and I’m curious to see how I end up feeling about it and what I’ll discover. I’d also like to share (most likely on Instagram) a little more of my MMM than I have in the past couple of years. Even though that can be hard on the road, I’m going to try.

And launching soon, a project which is actually a fusion of the two items above—I hope you’ll stay tuned!

Winter/Spring 2015 Workshops & Announcements

Posted on January 20, 2015 by Tasha

Hello everybody! I’ve got some fun opportunities for hanging out with fiber folks and in-person learning coming up that I wanted to share.

I’m teaching felting again this year at the Fiber Retreat at Arcosanti, AZ, coming up this weekend (Jan 23 and 24)! My class is full, but there are still spots in other classes, and overall it should be a good time, with vendors, a speaker, and lots of opportunities to just hang out and knit or spin. If you’re in the area and you’d like a little more info, contact me and I’ll send you some. (Their website is a little sparse.)

And, if you’d still like to take a felting class with me in AZ you may be in luck, because I’m also teaching at the newly revamped Flag Wool and Fiber festival this spring, May 30 & 31st! I’ll be teaching felted flowers and 3D wet felting. Details about the workshops should be up on their site soon.

A new year also means new classes at Purl in the Pines. Beginning Knitting and Sweet Tomato Heel Socks start the last Saturday of January. Coming February 21st is a class I’m quite excited about, because we’re knitting a pattern of my own design, which I put together just for beginning lace knitters! It’s called the Lupine Cowl (pictured above). Please contact the store for more info and to sign up.

I’m also talking with the folks at LocalWorks (Flagstaff’s maker space) about running some beginner sewing classes there, and hopefully I’ll have more info on that soon.

While we’re on announcements, I keep meaning to mention (for those of you reading via email) that I’ve been working on the site slowly, starting this summer, and it this point I think it looks about as good as it’s going to unless I break down and pay someone to help with it (what—people do that?). There are now category pages which hopefully make it a lot easier to find what you’re looking for, and a bunch of hand-carved stamps and typewritten words which have found their way into the digital world, so if you haven’t been in a while, check it out!

I’m going back to preparing for Arcosanti now, but I hope to see you all soon, either in person or out here on the interwebs!