picture this…you move four hours and two states away from your friends, your family, your job, and the ultimate (cue dramatic music) your comfort zone.

 

Day 1 Post-Move:  The Skein

 

it’s been two long, hopeful weeks since your last job interview and you still have no foresight into whether or not you’ll be employed in the near future or if you’ll finally (and- let’s be honest- eagerly) have to resort to becoming a stay at home dog-mom buried in yarn. (believe me, it is a strong contender while considering all of the options)

your box of yarn stash and project bags glowing with the comfort of home are still sitting in the corner of the living room behind the other boxes of appliances, books, and furniture you’re still not entirely sure will fit into this small one-bedroom apartment.  you couldn’t possibly consider opening those boxes without the underlying guilt that will undoubtedly consume you as you sit amongst the wreckage of the fresh move.

at the end of that very first day, you reach for the refrigerator door looking for something to satiate your stomachs not-so-gentle demand for food, just to realize all you are going to see is that bottle of champagne that was gifted you as a “congratulations-on-the-big-move” gesture. and while that, too, is very tempting you decide you better consider your liver just a little more and go with some take out Chinese food and ice cold…er…luke warm tap water.

 

i know what you’re thinking…how can this only be the “skein” and not the “knot”?! hang tight and you’ll find out exactly why.

 

Day 2 and 3:  The (Supposed) Knot

 

rinse, repeat.  as this time passes the glow of those comfortable boxes gets a little bit brighter as the boxes of crap start finding their homes within closets and cabinets and corners- but the guilt still looms close. on day 3 you end up finding out that you did not, in fact, get the job that you had put all of your proverbial eggs into your proverbial basket for.

there it is…the knot.  the big ol’, quadruple looped, “tried-to-wind-a-mini-skein-on-your-lap” knot.

 

the glow grows brighter and further away.

 

now even for someone who is, admittedly, fond of change and largely optimistic- this can be enough to feel like perhaps you might be in over your head. or that somehow you’ve taken 5 big steps back by making the decision to indulge in your oh-so-favorite activity of shaking your life up in a big old “Yahtzee-like” cup and tossing it carelessly into the wind just to see where the pieces fall.

 

however, the glow still remains there and once this “knot” can be negotiated through hard work, positivity, and perhaps some divine intervention; the skein will continue as it always does.  nobody gets to a knot in a skein after making a sweater for a year and a half and throws it out of the window, or into the trash.  they look at it, slump over and sigh with a little bit of frustration, and then they try it on, look in the mirror, and realize that once they get past this knot and they keep working it will be an insignificant glitch in the process.

 

it will certainly never be seen as a glitch when you wake up on a snowy Vermont morning and have the most beautiful piece of wooly art to wrap around your body. that knot and its memory will be a dull glow (replacing the light given off by your – then–  neglected and lusted after knitting life) existing just to remind you that you capable of more than you think and that is why you picked out the skein with the knot.

 

thank you miss Sylvia [Plath] i think i will do just that.

so one of the questions that was asked on the “Ask Us Anything” ravelry thread was in regard to my tattoos.

“I see you have tattoos, and I’m just wondering if you could share the meanings of them.” 

thank you for the question Monica!  i’m happy to share that with you in bits and pieces as i do have quite a few.

disclaimer: i am 200% in the mindset of loving tattoos just for the art of them and not all of my tattoos necessarily have a deep existential meaning behind them.  

i think for this post i will start with the tattoos you guys see the most during the podcast episodes…

so the one i inadvertently flash to you guys the most is my little cursive “s” on my right ring finger.  i got this guy in Key West on our honeymoon [yes it was totally planned and not a mimosa induced snap decision- though i wouldn’t have been opposed to it happening that way either]. the “s” is for my maiden name [stokes] and it’s lower case because i have a thing about lower case letters…if you watch the podcast you know why, if you don’t go watch episode 12 and you’ll hear about my bizarre aesthetic-based quirk.

 

the next one that has been featured on the small screen pretty frequently is my olive branch.  this one actually does hold a lot of emotional weight for me.  i got this almost exactly a year ago at a point in my life where i could really use some peace. Justin and i had lost more than a handful of very important people in our life within a couple weeks time and wore more black than i knew i owned and cried more tears than i knew the human body could produce.  those are just the parts of that timeframe that i’m comfortable sharing but it is safe to say that after having to learn how to cope with large amounts of loss in a short amount of time my proverbial plate was full and lying on the proverbial floor smashed to a few hundred pieces. now that you have a bit of a back story, let’s get to the ink.

i [personally] quite enjoy the process of getting tattoos [for anyone out there that has them i’m sure you know what i mean] the pain isn’t [always] painful, which sounds absurd to anyone that hasn’t experienced it, but i promise it’s true.  i spent the entirety of this appointment reflecting about all of the things and really finding peace not only literally in the moment but figuratively in the form of the beautiful artwork i carry with me every day.

i am planning on growing this into a half sleeve from just below my elbow to my wrist in the very near future.  all different flowers with all different meanings- super pumped on it.  will definitely show the progress on the podcast as i work on it.

 

okay let’s shake off the serious and get to the fun new ones… a couple of months ago Justin and i spent the day in Bushwick because one of his all time favorite tattoo artists
was doing a residency at a shop there so i of course volunteered to go with him and make an appointment of my own at a different shop. [he couldn’t have all the fun, amirite?] so i got a few fun little diddies on my arm.

the crown is from the well known and well loved children’s book “Where the Wild Things Are”. commonly referred to as the “Max Crown”, this design is a popular one [at least from what i’ve seen] that people decide to get tattooed quite frequently.  Maurice Sendak was nothing short of a genius and a Nutmegger to boot! the story is multi-layered in examining the development of children and their emotions, originally semi-controversial, and gorgeously illustrated.

i honestly needed to get a previous tattoo covered up because it never healed well, and i liked the story, and i liked the image, and i wanted a tattoo.

the dancer is a little more self explanatory… again- if you watch the podcast you know i was a very serious dancer for the vast majority of my young and adult life. i went to school in rhode island and worked to receive my bachelor’s degree in dance performance.  dance is something i’ll never lose sight of or appreciation for, right now i just consider myself to be on a hiatus for an undetermined amount of time.

the line work on this tattoo definitely needs some touch ups so i will get that done in the near future and also continue to work on developing the design on this arm in a more linear themed direction.

so there ya go guys!  not exactly knitting content, but it was a question that was asked and i thought it might be a fun “extra” for anyone that was interested.  now it’s time for me to get back to the knitting- i’ve gone all day sans knitting and i am just not okay with that, so excuse me while raise my needles and WIP some yarn around. [see what i did there?]

thanks for reading and happy knitting, needles up!

for anyone that follows us on Instagram and hasn’t seen our post about the interview (thanks IG algorithm) on Marigolds Loft this morning, i wanted to be sure we were able to share it with all of our favorite knerdz on all of the platforms.

our new friend Natalie took some time to ask us a few questions about our crafting world as well as our every day world -which can some times be hard to distinguish between- and decided to share it with everyone on her beautiful blog space.

Marigold’s Loft group can be found on Ravelry and Natalie’s Ravelry page is found under the username Marigoldsloft (all one word)

Natalie is running a 2016 Sock-Along through her Ravelry group and she has some fabulous sponsors behind this year long venture.  If you’re already planning on/have been knitting socks this year (and i know you all are, because they are the most fun to knit) then head on over and see if this KAL might be up your ally.  She offers pattern suggestions to serve as inspiration and is very responsive if questions do arise in the group.

thank you Natalie for your interest in our little podcast and for helping to share our story.

needles up people!

 

 

 

hey guys, i’m married now, and it is time that i get my shit together [excuse the profanity].  i have an un-godly amount of un-documented WIPS and even more blog topics to write about and a podcast that i’ve been promising for well over a year now that i need to either act on or re-think [periscope?]  so let’s begin…first blog topic: obligatory wedding recap.

because my mother has created the most incredible web of knitting friends through her periscope feed and has graciously introduced me to a large handful of these wonderful individuals, i feel that i need to share a few of my favorite moments from our wedding so that everyone that i’ve been chatting with on periscope can get a better look into the day that my mother and i have been talking about for so long.

top three most favorite moments from the best day of our lives [so far]:

1. the entire mass/ceremony–  this was the point in the day i felt the most relaxed and really [really] took the time to soak everything in.  the moment justin and i smiled at each other it was as if everything was put into perspective, the stress melted away and we were ready to have some fun.

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2. the father daughter dance– my dad and i danced to the song that we danced to my entire childhood before bed, The Itsy Bitsy Spider by Carly Simon. it was the most fun dancing experience i’ve ever had [and that’s saying a lot considering that the vast majority of my life was spent dancing] sidenote: we could also make a hell of a karaoke duo, we sang every lyric. #lookoutcarlysimon

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3. great aunt theresa’s birthday song- when justin and i picked out our wedding date 2 years ago we did so completely unaware that the day we picked was going to land on great aunt theresa’s 91st birthday.  when this was realized we immediately began planning how we would celebrate.  see below for result of said planning.

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so there you have it folks, three of my most favorite moments from the big day.  i hope you enjoy the slide shows and i will be seeing you soon with more of my knitting ventures now that i can say that this wedding has been properly documented and thoroughly celebrated.

xo.

Copyright © 2015 Gina Henderson Photography

welp, here’s the first official LegacyKnitz blog post. [holy overwhelming]

i guess i’ll start by telling you the 5 reasons i love to knit.

1.  i’m never ever bored.  think back on all of the times in your life that you’ve said to yourself “i wish i had something fun to do right now” #problemsolved

2.  all of the pretty colors. i mean…have you SEEN the indie dyers out there right now?! the hand dyed yarns offer the most gorgeous and vast color palate you’ve ever laid your eyes on. nothing  satisfies the artist in me more than to lay my eyes on an instagram post from Hedgehog Fibers, or Haute Knit Yarn and gaze into those beautifully dyed yarns and dream of the fabric they’d create…alright back to reality [wipes drool from chin].  I LOVE COLORS.

3.  it’s wearable art.  don’t you like to have something new and beautiful to wear waiting for you in your closet? [if you answered “no” please kindly excuse yourself, we don’t support that kind of negativity here at LegacyKnitz] the correct answer to this is “YES I DO, EVERYONE DOES”!  well lucky for all of us knitters we get to not only acquire the most gorgeous clothing, but we get to make said clothing for ourselves.  Since i was a wee pup i’ve been fortunate enough to be wearing hand knits lovingly [and perfectly] made by my mom. however, there is no greater sense of accomplishment and pride that pulling on that first article of clothing that you made for yourself.

4.  all of the fun accessories.  if you’ve previously had a bag addiction to things such as purses, backpacks, clutches, etc. then run, and run fast…because you are about to dive into a whole different realm of addiction.  without further ado, i present to you the project bag.  they come in all shapes and sizes, fabrics and colors, and they house your precious knitting.  let me get your palate wet by introducing you to Freckled Whimsy and the lovely Stitched by JessaLu [with whom i’ve had the pleasure of meeting at the CT sheep and wool festival].  those are two of my personal favorites but i assure you there are a large many others out there waiting for you. can you tell i’m a bag girl? anyway, we haven’t even started to discuss stitch markers, and yarn-its, and yarn bowls….oh my.  well needless to say, there are A LOT of fun accessories that come along with this enjoyable pastime, and i recommend exploring [and purchasing] as many as possible. BONUS: 9 times out of 10 you will be supporting a small business and these artisans will take care of you better than any “big brand” store ever could.

5.  the health benefits.  generally speaking, i’m a pretty laid back chick. however, i’ve been known to have  my bouts with anxiety and stress [as i’m pretty sure everyone who is living and breathing has] and after knitting every day for around 3 months now, it’s safe to say that i’ve definitely noticed changes in not only the presence of anxiety and stress in my life, but also the way i choose to cope with such struggles.  i’ve come across a slew of articles linking health benefits to knitting [just google it, you’ll see what i mean]. in even BIGGER news- i’m learning to be patient.  i’ve been trying to learn patience for 28 years now to no avail, and in 3 short months knitting has done the work for me. granted i still have a LONG way to go- the change i’ve started seeing in this area has been eye-opening. [maybe it’s just because i’m holding a set of sharp needles and i hold comfort in the fact that at any given moment i can stab a pillow out of frustration….or maybe knitting just teaches patience…i’ll let you decide which to subscribe to]

so there you have it folks, the five reasons i LOVE to knit.  i’d love for you to share the reasons you decided to pick up knitting, or why you love to knit in the comments below.

needles up people, happy knitting.